MTG Salvation

Hello, I am testing out Esper Reanimator and there have been times where I get off an early Buried Alive with Animate Dead in hand, but not sure which 3 creatures to get. What are the best stuff to grab?

My targets have been:

• Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
  
• Sheoldred, Whispering One
  
• magister sphinx
  
• Avacyn, Angel of Hope
  
• Reya Dawnbringer
  
• Obzedat, Ghost Council

edit: almost forgot: Tidespout Tyrant and Karmic Guide (sometimes Sun Titan if there are certain enchantments in the GY)

edit 2 : LOL almost forgot: Iona, Shield of Emeria

That would be very dependent on what colors and decks you opponents are playing.

In general I would grab either Iona or Gin unless you want combo pieces (Mike & Trike perhaps). Out of those two unless your hosing the only other competitive deck at the table or all the other decks I would go for gin above Iona as it gives mad card advantage.

Against some decks I'd also get Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite.

Quote from Outcryqq

Against some decks I'd also get Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite.

yep, she is in the deck too...forgot to mention. I get her if I am playing Derevi/Edric and want to kill mana dorks.

Quote from Ellusion

I would go Avacyn+Iona+Sheoldred. Iona may block your opponents for some time, Avacyn say "meh" to any kind of removal and Sheoldred can get for you someone from your graveyard to battlefield.

avacyn hasn't been working for me... too much exile/tuck effects floating around.

I once played against a guy who did turn one Entomb and turn two cast Reanimate on the It That Betrays he entombed. It was not easy to deal with and made the first few turns hard to survive in.

Turn two Jin is pretty much the best possible. It gives you more chances to reanimate next turn and destroys opponents.

Yea with no instant speed removal Jin is at worst a draw 7. At best it's good game

Side question:

Esper or BUG for reanimate? I like white due to tutors and removal. Hard to compare white vs green creatures.... Ramp is not an issue because of the low casting cantrips and reanimate spells.

I generally try to get one real nice target (Jinn is normally the most game breaking, But Sheoldred is another favorite of mine). And then two value cards I play grixes, so I tend to get things like anger and the goblin nabob, but in esper I would probably get the fact or fiction sphinx, or maybe jwar isle as a back up so that I am not hosed to graveyard removal, but do have other threats when the first gets exiled.

Quote from Dies_to_Doom_Blade

Turn two Jin is pretty much the best possible. It gives you more chances to reanimate next turn and destroys opponents.

Yeah, I'd agree with this. The Praetor cycle sure are filthy, especially when cheated out.

Quote from ajprokos

Side question:

Esper or BUG for reanimate? I like white due to tutors and removal. Hard to compare white vs green creatures.... Ramp is not an issue because of the low casting cantrips and reanimate spells.

White:

Iona
Elesh norn
Loyal Retainers
serra ascendant
Swords to plowshares
Path to exile

Green:
Eternal witness
Greater good
Pernicous deed
Terastodon
Woodfall primus
Sylvan library
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST!!!



Personally I went with green because 100 percent of the time I'd rather get Jin out than norn or Iona. Survival of the fittest is better than any other white cards in reanimator by a massive margin. Also greater good/sylvan library/life from the loam/eternal witness/pernicous deed.

Quote from Dies_to_Doom_Blade

Quote from ajprokos

Side question:

Esper or BUG for reanimate? I like white due to tutors and removal. Hard to compare white vs green creatures.... Ramp is not an issue because of the low casting cantrips and reanimate spells.

White:

Iona
Elesh norn
Loyal Retainers
serra ascendant
Swords to plowshares
Path to exile

Green:
Eternal witness
Greater good
Pernicous deed
Terastodon
Woodfall primus
Sylvan library
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST!!!



Personally I went with green because 100 percent of the time I'd rather get Jin out than norn or Iona. Survival of the fittest is better than any other white cards in reanimator by a massive margin. Also greater good/sylvan library/life from the loam/eternal witness/pernicous deed.

Thank you. Great calls. PS thank you for your primer. Question - why no Natural Order?

Quote from ajprokos

Thank you. Great calls. PS thank you for your primer. Question - why no Natural Order?

Because there aren't many green targets worth getting.

Terastodon is good and all but at four mana I'd rather set up either infinite/protect Jin/or a greater good chain.

And by the time I have the mana to cast natural order and have someone to sac for it, odds are terastodon is already in the graveyard.

If Sylvan primordial was still legal I may use it though.

BUG lets you run Mimeoplasm as your general which is nice since you can always have the opportunity to reanimate stuff for 5 if you run out of reanimators. Plus it lets you run Survival of the Fittest, which is one of the dirtiest green reanimator supports.

No love for Consecrated Sphinx? Its a fairly good reanimation target.

In the past I liked BUG better then Esper. They baned all the really powerful green ETB bombs, though.

Survival of the Fittest + Living Death is pretty amazing though.

Ashen Rider can be useful at times, especially if you have a sac outlet handy.

Quote from XeroxedFool

No love for Consecrated Sphinx? Its a fairly good reanimation target.

In the past I liked BUG better then Esper. They baned all the really powerful green ETB bombs, though.

Survival of the Fittest + Living Death is pretty amazing though.

Sphinx is decent but in the testing I've done I never once went for it when I could get Jin.