Moved to Casual, as this deck isn't Modern or Legacy Legal
It's not clear what format you're trying to play this in, but do be aware that Frantic Search is banned in Legacy, and as such, many playgroups would not allow it for Casual play. In the event that they do, it's a fine card.
Discard Outlets:
Generally Legacy Reanimator runs 4x Careful Study or Faithless Looting (for the BR versions) and 4x Entomb as its primary discard outlets, with some number of Thoughtseize, Cabal Therapy, or Unmask as secondary discard outlets that can double as disruption/protection. Entomb, at the very least, is incredibly good, and allows you to expand your toolbox greatly, and turns reanimation into frequently a two-card combo instead of a three-card one. It's a bit pricy if this is a budget deck, but the Eternal Masters ones can be had for under $10. Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is another very powerful discard outlet (certainly an improvement over Merfolk Looter), as, once it has flipped, it can flash back your Entombs and Reanimate effects. Careful Consideration is definitely too expensive, and [c}Funeral Charm[/c]/Mind Bomb are definitely no good.
Reanimation Spells:
If budget isn't an issue, I'd definitely recommend swapping out the Stitch Together for some Reanimator is a huge boon. If you can't afford that, Necromancy is a cheaper option that's still considerably better than Stitch Together and will lead to more common early reanimations. I'd definitely recommend going up to 11-12 total reanimation spells.
Protection/Disruption:
As stated earlier, Thoughtseize, Cabal Therapy, and Unmask are great a discard outlets that also double as protection and disruption. Daze is solid, but You may want to go up to four of those. Force of Will is great if you can afford it. Counterspell is always solid, though even Spell Pierce is generally better than Swan Song.
Other Dig: Ponder is great. Preordain would be a decent inclusion as well, though Brainstorm is better if you can afford fetchlands.
Acceleration:
Many reanimator decks run Dark Ritual and/or Lotus Petal as a way to speed up the reanimation.
Reanimation Targets: Griselbrand is the end-all, beat-all Reanimation target. He draws you a ton of cards, which lets you then discard additional targets, while letting you fire off Unmask and FoW at will to rip apart your opponent's gameplan. It also is a huge lifelinking flyer like Steel Wind. A few Ashen Rider/Terastodon are alright, though if you've got the Entombs you can trim those numbers down. Inkwell Leviathan is solid as a hard-to-kill beater, but you may consider Empyrial Archengel, since it can also keep you alive. Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur is another solid option, as it draws a bunch of cards and rips your opponents' hands apart. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobyte is one of the stronger options as well for stymieing aggro decks.
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You can improve the deck a lot without even buying expensive cards like Entomb, Jace, Reanimate, Thoughtseize, Griselbrand, fetchlands, or Force of Will (i.e. without spending $1000).
While staying on a budget you can cut out the bad cards and replace them with better cards (digging, discard, protection) for the main game plan and a better manabase. You need many Islands for Daze and blue mana to cast Ponder/Careful Study often.
I also recommend using Empyrial Archangel instead of Inkwell Leviathan, but it's not a big deal if you like Inky.
This was working pretty nicely in playtests. I'm hesitant to run daze. I like the dependability of swan song. If my opponent gets a single 2/2 that really shouldn't affect the outcome of the match.
I think I have to stick with stitch together just out of price point. We really try to keep card cost under $2 or $3. There are some other animation spells that have a CC of 4 which I was thinking about using instead.
If you're going to run Dance of the Dead you might consider trying Worldgorger Dragon reanimator. It requires you tweak some of your other spells, as you really want a few instant-speed ways to break the loop by putting a wincon in your graveyard - Read the Runes becomes a good looting spell, and as always Entomb is really good. A single Disciple of Athreos in your deck with either of these instants allows you to break the loop by killing the entire table.
If you can't run Griselbrand, I'd at least consider Sire of Insanity.
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Daze and Putrid Imp work better in a "fast" Reanimator build looking to put out a fatty on turn 2. In such a deck, speed and mana efficiency are important. 1 mana on Putrid Imp is better than 2 mana and summoning sickness on Looter. 0 mana on Daze is better than 1 mana on Swan Song (which also cannot counter some types of spells). The 2/2 bird can also chump block your attacker, buying them a free turn to stabilize.
However, if you are playing "slow" Reanimator, then other considerations come up. Merfolk Looter digs you deeper and avoids card disadvantage, so it is a better card as the game goes longer. Swan Song counters stuff on turn 5 as well as it does on turn 2, so it works better in a slower strategy. Dance of the Dead is still bad as paying 1B to untap it over and over can be a burden. If you are OK with playing a slower reanimator, then there are other cards like Necromancy and Zombify that do not have this drawback.
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Been working on this deck for awhile. Could use some input.
Cheers!
2x Careful Consideration
2x Daze
2x Frantic Search
1x Funeral Charm
2x Swan Song
8x Island
8x Swamp
4x Temple of Deceit
4x Exhume
1x Mind Bomb
4x Ponder
2x Stitch Together
4x Animate Dead
2x Inkwell Leviathan
2x Merfolk Looter
3x Sphinx of the Steel Wind
2x Terastodon
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/28-12-16-reanimater/
It's not clear what format you're trying to play this in, but do be aware that Frantic Search is banned in Legacy, and as such, many playgroups would not allow it for Casual play. In the event that they do, it's a fine card.
Discard Outlets:
Generally Legacy Reanimator runs 4x Careful Study or Faithless Looting (for the BR versions) and 4x Entomb as its primary discard outlets, with some number of Thoughtseize, Cabal Therapy, or Unmask as secondary discard outlets that can double as disruption/protection. Entomb, at the very least, is incredibly good, and allows you to expand your toolbox greatly, and turns reanimation into frequently a two-card combo instead of a three-card one. It's a bit pricy if this is a budget deck, but the Eternal Masters ones can be had for under $10. Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is another very powerful discard outlet (certainly an improvement over Merfolk Looter), as, once it has flipped, it can flash back your Entombs and Reanimate effects. Careful Consideration is definitely too expensive, and [c}Funeral Charm[/c]/Mind Bomb are definitely no good.
Reanimation Spells:
If budget isn't an issue, I'd definitely recommend swapping out the Stitch Together for some Reanimator is a huge boon. If you can't afford that, Necromancy is a cheaper option that's still considerably better than Stitch Together and will lead to more common early reanimations. I'd definitely recommend going up to 11-12 total reanimation spells.
Protection/Disruption:
As stated earlier, Thoughtseize, Cabal Therapy, and Unmask are great a discard outlets that also double as protection and disruption. Daze is solid, but You may want to go up to four of those. Force of Will is great if you can afford it. Counterspell is always solid, though even Spell Pierce is generally better than Swan Song.
Other Dig:
Ponder is great. Preordain would be a decent inclusion as well, though Brainstorm is better if you can afford fetchlands.
Acceleration:
Many reanimator decks run Dark Ritual and/or Lotus Petal as a way to speed up the reanimation.
Reanimation Targets:
Griselbrand is the end-all, beat-all Reanimation target. He draws you a ton of cards, which lets you then discard additional targets, while letting you fire off Unmask and FoW at will to rip apart your opponent's gameplan. It also is a huge lifelinking flyer like Steel Wind. A few Ashen Rider/Terastodon are alright, though if you've got the Entombs you can trim those numbers down. Inkwell Leviathan is solid as a hard-to-kill beater, but you may consider Empyrial Archengel, since it can also keep you alive. Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur is another solid option, as it draws a bunch of cards and rips your opponents' hands apart. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobyte is one of the stronger options as well for stymieing aggro decks.
Currently Playing:
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Cuts:
-2 Careful Consideration (too slow)
-1 Funeral Charm (doesn't do much)
-1 Mind Bomb (sucks)
-2 Stitch Together (you won't have threshold when it matters)
-2 Merfolk Looter (not bad but too slow and fragile)
Increase the numbers of these cards:
+1 Frantic Search (helps you refuel/go off again)
+1 Daze
Then add:
+2 Spell Pierce
+4 Putrid Imp
Since your deck will require more blue mana than black mana, I would also change the manabase:
+2 Island
+2 Drowned Catacomb
-4 Swamp
4 Putrid Imp
3 Ashen Rider
3 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
2 Inkwell Leviathan
2 Terastodon
4 Ponder
4 Careful Study
4 Exhume
4 Animate Dead
//Instants: 10
2 Spell Pierce
2 Swan Song
3 Daze
3 Frantic Search
10 Island
4 Swamp
4 Temple of Deceit
2 Drowned Catacomb
While staying on a budget you can cut out the bad cards and replace them with better cards (digging, discard, protection) for the main game plan and a better manabase. You need many Islands for Daze and blue mana to cast Ponder/Careful Study often.
I also recommend using Empyrial Archangel instead of Inkwell Leviathan, but it's not a big deal if you like Inky.
You'd go Putrid Imp > Merfolk Looter?
This was working pretty nicely in playtests. I'm hesitant to run daze. I like the dependability of swan song. If my opponent gets a single 2/2 that really shouldn't affect the outcome of the match.
I think I have to stick with stitch together just out of price point. We really try to keep card cost under $2 or $3. There are some other animation spells that have a CC of 4 which I was thinking about using instead.
2x Ashen Rider
3x Inkwell Leviathan
3x Merfolk Looter
1x Sharuum the Hegemon
3x Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1x Terastodon
4x Exhume
4x Ponder
2x Stitch Together
4x Animate Dead
2x Frantic Search
4x Swan Song
9x Island
8x Swamp
4x Temple of Deceit
2x Ashen Rider
3x Inkwell Leviathan
3x Merfolk Looter
1x Sharuum the Hegemon
3x Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1x Terastodon
2x Frantic Search
4x Swan Song
4x Animate Dead
2x Dance of the Dead
1x Diabolic Servitude
4x Exhume
4x Ponder
9x Island
7x Swamp
4x Temple of Deceit
If you're going to run Dance of the Dead you might consider trying Worldgorger Dragon reanimator. It requires you tweak some of your other spells, as you really want a few instant-speed ways to break the loop by putting a wincon in your graveyard - Read the Runes becomes a good looting spell, and as always Entomb is really good. A single Disciple of Athreos in your deck with either of these instants allows you to break the loop by killing the entire table.
If you can't run Griselbrand, I'd at least consider Sire of Insanity.
Currently Playing:
Legacy: Something U/W Controlish
EDH Cube
Hypercube! A New EDH Deck Every Week(ish)!
Daze and Putrid Imp work better in a "fast" Reanimator build looking to put out a fatty on turn 2. In such a deck, speed and mana efficiency are important. 1 mana on Putrid Imp is better than 2 mana and summoning sickness on Looter. 0 mana on Daze is better than 1 mana on Swan Song (which also cannot counter some types of spells). The 2/2 bird can also chump block your attacker, buying them a free turn to stabilize.
However, if you are playing "slow" Reanimator, then other considerations come up. Merfolk Looter digs you deeper and avoids card disadvantage, so it is a better card as the game goes longer. Swan Song counters stuff on turn 5 as well as it does on turn 2, so it works better in a slower strategy. Dance of the Dead is still bad as paying 1B to untap it over and over can be a burden. If you are OK with playing a slower reanimator, then there are other cards like Necromancy and Zombify that do not have this drawback.