Hey guys! This thread is about the Animar "Good stuff" deck that got 9th from the tournament in Arras. I am hoping the pilot from the tournament will be able to comment on this thread. For reference, the decklist is attached. I have been torn between this decklist and the more combo oriented version with a bunch of Elves and Glimpse of Nature. Let me know thoughts, changes to this decklist and anything else! I am thinking of cutting the Izzet Staticaster, just dont know for what. Thanks!
COMMANDER
1 Animar, Soul of Elements
34 LANDS
2 Forest
2 Island
1 Windswept Heath
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Stomping Ground
1 Taiga
1 Steam Vents
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Arid Mesa
1 City of Brass
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Eye of Ugin
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Mountain
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Mana Confluence
1 Flooded Strand
1 Volcanic Island
Sacrificed cheap CA for a bit "well rounded" strategy like Kiki+Conscript/Exarch or having creature counterspells and other utilities... The only missing is Emrakul.
Because no one is discussing as extensive as Jester's... The topic is the same but the approach is different.
In addition, the OP didn't even bother responding back which is a very essential if the thread is worth talking. One of them should respond on something.
I'd say that's the exact kind of thing to post in the other thread, a slightly changed deck with a different approach, report your testing and why the changes are better and add to the discussion. Otherwise you just get people saying to look at jesters list and not really discuss much until this thread is forgot about in a week. It's just strange having the to the top 3 post basically all the same list.
Just caught this after you posted on mine. I like to post my decklists just for my own personal reference in addition to discussion, but what you're suggesting is wise. Continue to post in Jester's thread.
Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say that all Animar decks should be discussed in my thread. What I try to accomplish with Imperial Animar is a systematic combo, which requires fundamentally different deck building guidelines. Where in my approach, I shy away from a lot of truly powerful cards that simply don't given the constraints, I think there is a place for both value oriented combo builds, and for midrange good stuff builds.
From the perspective of sheer explosiveness, resilience and consistency, it's mine and many other's opinion that Imperial Animar is a pound-for-pound better approach, however in a lot of ways, if that's the only conclusion, then we're stymieing the growth of value combo variants, and midrange good stuff variants. In that regard, it's important to expand the discussion, as it's distinctly possible that what matters more is having a different matchup spectrum that is more suited to the metagame than simply having the best overall win rate.
That said, I do believe that there's a large issue with players simply not understanding how Imperial Animar works, and then making derivative decks with a lot of win-more fluff at the expensive of tempo, consistency, and most importantly chain-ability: the very sought after ability to make the combo go unabridged without requiring staples. From the outside perspective of someone watching the combo, it might seem lucky for the Imperial Animar player to pull off complex 30+ card combos, usually without any mana to spare, before finally digging into an infinite loop to close the game, however, it's consistently reproducible and is completely driven by skill and discipline.
What I'd like to see is a discussion in which people understand how the combo works fully, and either contribute to it, or, alternatively, contribute towards the progression of other strategies. It is definitely important to nourish other strategies, and I apologize for any role I've made in taking away from the development of that.
So obviously Imperial Animar is a dedicated combo deck, but how can we better classify what this "goodstuff" version is? I would venture to say that this is a midrange deck. I've got two questions for you all:
1.) Would you agree that this is midrange deck? Decently sized and decently costed creatures, seems to fit the bill. And
2.) Could there potentially be a third Animar variant for tempo? Cheap creatures would curve well into Animar's aggressive cost.
If that's the case, I might be interested in drafting up Tempo Animar, though if everyone unanimously thinks that is a terrible idea or if the decklist turns out to be poor, I won't post it.
COMMANDER
1 Animar, Soul of Elements
34 LANDS
2 Forest
2 Island
1 Windswept Heath
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Stomping Ground
1 Taiga
1 Steam Vents
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Arid Mesa
1 City of Brass
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Eye of Ugin
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Mountain
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Mana Confluence
1 Flooded Strand
1 Volcanic Island
1 Copperline Gorge
1 Polluted Delta
1 Breeding Pool
1 Ancient Ziggurat
1 Command Tower
1 Tropical Island
1 Opal Palace
1 Wasteland
1 Wooded Foothills
52 CREATURES
1 Mulldrifter
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Body Double
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Inferno Titan
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Shrieking Drake
1 Bloom Tender
1 Mystic Snake
1 Shardless Agent
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Acidic Slime
1 Soul of the Harvest
1 Fierce Empath
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Dream Stalker
1 Sylvok Replica
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Deceiver Exarch
1 Prophet of Kruphix
1 Maelstrom Wanderer
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Bane of Progress
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Imperial Recruiter
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Raven Familiar
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Duplicant
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Eternal Witness
1 Gilded Drake
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Painter's Servant
1 Wood Elves
1 Llawan, Cephalid Empress
1 Peregrine Drake
1 Man-o'-War
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Primeval Titan
6 INSTANTS and SORC.
1 Beast Within
1 Chord of Calling
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Crop Rotation
1 Brainstorm
7 OTHER SPELLS
1 Cloudstone Curio
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Earthcraft
1 Domri Rade
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Birthing Pod
1 Sylvan Library
1 Animar, Soul of Elements
Creatures:52
1
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Shrieking Drake
2
1 Bloom Tender
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Dream Stalker
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Gilded Drake
1 Man-o'-War
1 Painter's Servant
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Wall of Blossoms
3
1 Deceiver Exarch
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
1 Eternal Witness
1 Fierce Empath
1 Imperial Recruiter
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Raven Familiar
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Shardless Agent
1 Sylvok Replica
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Wood Elves
4
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Llawan, Cephalid Empress
1 Mystic Snake
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Acidic Slime
1 Body Double
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Mulldrifter
1 Peregrine Drake
1 Prophet of Kruphix
1 Zealous Conscripts
6
1 Bane of Progress
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Duplicant
1 Inferno Titan
1 Primeval Titan
1 Soul of the Harvest
7+
1 Maelstrom Wanderer
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Instants:6
1 Beast Within
1 Brainstorm
1 Chord of Calling
1 Crop Rotation
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Worldly Tutor
Enchantments:3
1 Earthcraft
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Sylvan Library
Artifacts:2
1 Birthing Pod
1 Cloudstone Curio
Planeswalkers:2
1 Domri Rade
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Lands:34
2 Forest
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Breeding Pool
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Taiga
1 Tropical Island
1 Volcanic Island
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Delta
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Ancient Ziggurat
1 Cavern of Souls
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
1 Copperline Gorge
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Mana Confluence
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Eye of Ugin
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Opal Palace
1 Wasteland
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
In addition, the OP didn't even bother responding back which is a very essential if the thread is worth talking. One of them should respond on something.
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
Just caught this after you posted on mine. I like to post my decklists just for my own personal reference in addition to discussion, but what you're suggesting is wise. Continue to post in Jester's thread.
cEDH: [G(U/R) Animar] - [(U/B)(G/W) Redless Wheels] - [(G/U)(W/B) Redless Pod] - [(B/G)W Ghave Metapod]
From the perspective of sheer explosiveness, resilience and consistency, it's mine and many other's opinion that Imperial Animar is a pound-for-pound better approach, however in a lot of ways, if that's the only conclusion, then we're stymieing the growth of value combo variants, and midrange good stuff variants. In that regard, it's important to expand the discussion, as it's distinctly possible that what matters more is having a different matchup spectrum that is more suited to the metagame than simply having the best overall win rate.
That said, I do believe that there's a large issue with players simply not understanding how Imperial Animar works, and then making derivative decks with a lot of win-more fluff at the expensive of tempo, consistency, and most importantly chain-ability: the very sought after ability to make the combo go unabridged without requiring staples. From the outside perspective of someone watching the combo, it might seem lucky for the Imperial Animar player to pull off complex 30+ card combos, usually without any mana to spare, before finally digging into an infinite loop to close the game, however, it's consistently reproducible and is completely driven by skill and discipline.
What I'd like to see is a discussion in which people understand how the combo works fully, and either contribute to it, or, alternatively, contribute towards the progression of other strategies. It is definitely important to nourish other strategies, and I apologize for any role I've made in taking away from the development of that.
1.) Would you agree that this is midrange deck? Decently sized and decently costed creatures, seems to fit the bill. And
2.) Could there potentially be a third Animar variant for tempo? Cheap creatures would curve well into Animar's aggressive cost.
If that's the case, I might be interested in drafting up Tempo Animar, though if everyone unanimously thinks that is a terrible idea or if the decklist turns out to be poor, I won't post it.
cEDH: [G(U/R) Animar] - [(U/B)(G/W) Redless Wheels] - [(G/U)(W/B) Redless Pod] - [(B/G)W Ghave Metapod]