Anyone know of a more "normal" build of this deck? I've only found a few threads here and this is the only one that appears to have been maintained. I'm looking for something more creature reliant. I found the ETB version but the thread is old. The deck I'm needing will be solely for MTGO play so the power level has to be pretty high to keep up. Any suggestions?
Define normal.
My list is pretty up to date (minus SP still being in the list, but I replaced it with Dosan). As for playing on MTGO, I quit the deck because managing the triggers was too much of a pain in the ass, and it just annoyed players.
By normal I meant not banking on sticking a Primal Surge for the win. Glad you mentioned the triggers are a pain online cause I don't want to deal with that either.
Ah, I found the comments about Opal Palace. I'm not sure why search couldn't find it.
Thanks for the hint Psilocybianth. I will use that list as a secondary list when making my deck.
Would something like Eldrazi Monument and/or Asceticism help against removal so much that they could be included in the deck? Asceticism needs mana, but it is very powerful enchantment if it sticks. I'm thinking about Akroma's Memorial as well. It just transforms creatures to something completely different, and gives protection from single target removal.
I think any of those three are playable creature heavy aggro list. I played Asceticism for good while myself, but eventually removed it being a win-more card. I liked more using Stalking Vengeance and Vicious Shadows to make opponents think twice before using removal or blocking creatures.
Anyone know of a more "normal" build of this deck? I've only found a few threads here and this is the only one that appears to have been maintained. I'm looking for something more creature reliant. I found the ETB version but the thread is old. The deck I'm needing will be solely for MTGO play so the power level has to be pretty high to keep up. Any suggestions?
Define normal.
My list is pretty up to date (minus SP still being in the list, but I replaced it with Dosan). As for playing on MTGO, I quit the deck because managing the triggers was too much of a pain in the ass, and it just annoyed players.
By normal I meant not banking on sticking a Primal Surge for the win. Glad you mentioned the triggers are a pain online cause I don't want to deal with that either.
Well mine is more of a combo deck using Cloudstone Curio. It's trigger happy IRL, and a true pain in MTGO.
I haven't played online, but I imagine the many triggers would make playing the deck feel pretty tedious. At least playing with cardboard you can take some shortcuts.
I picked up an Etherium-Horn Sorcerer in a trade so I thought I'd give cascade a bit more space in the deck. For this reason I removed Swan Song and Savage Summoning as subpar cascade results, which freed up space for Purphoros, God of the Forge and Xenagos, God of Revels. I've been meaning to add Purphoros since Theros was spoiled, and Xenagos seems like a fun card to push aggro victories, especially as he will often be a creature himself; for the time being I'm proxying both gods, because I haven't yet managed to get hold of them. Cutting Draining Whelk was tough, but I'm shifting towards a more aggro build and so it seemed fitting to remove a control element. This probably makes the deck a bit less competitive, as I'll be less able to protect my combos, but I'm hoping indestructible win cons like Purphoros and Xenagos offset this.
Opal Palace is a bit of a gamble. I don't think it will stay in, but I wanted to test it before I dismiss it altogether. Yes it adds counters to Animar on cast, but at the cost of an extra mana and that small tax may be too much. In some ways this could be considered the replacement for Savage Summoning, although it only adds a counter and doesn't add the benefit of counterspell protection or instant speed. Llanowar Reborn is another way to get that first counter on Animar if it's in my opening hand. Because I don't run any 1 drop mana dorks, I don't see that coming into play tapped on the first turn is a big disadvantage. Obviously it is a lot worse if your strategy relies on casting Animar turn two. To make space for the two lands I removed a basic forest (slightly less valuable since Sylvan Primordial is out) and Raging Ravine, replacing one 'come into play tapped' land with another. Opal Palace does mana fix (badly, but still...) so I feel the loss of a R/G land isn't a major issue.
Etherium-Horn Sorcerer is amazing, capable of doing a lot of work by itself. A great play later in the game when you have a lot of mana and you need to pick back up some steam. Works really well with Bloom Tender and other cards which can consistently generate quite a bit of mana.
Last night I cast Maelstrom Wanderer into an Etherium-Horn Sorcerer, it is such a good card. Especially with the built-in bounce. Talk about going to value town!
Had a game yesterday with Etherium-Horn Sorcerer and the self bounce really helped when I had an other wise empty hand. Played against a Child of Alara deck, so the board was wiped a few times. Also got Xenagos, God of Revels out (good cascade ;)) and found the +X/+X ability useful in activating Mosswort Bridge.
Hey gelf, I noticed in your decklist that you run Savage Summoning, but don't mention it in the later card breakdown section. What's the typical play on that card? Do you use it for an EOT Animar, protecting a combo card, or both?
Also, have you considered the one drop mana dorks like Skyshroud Ranger? I'm considering them as a way to power out a T2 Animar.
@Cryogen - Savage Summoning was almost always used late game to play Animar EOT and then untap and combo off. I have just cut it in the most recent update because I've included more cascade.
I've intentionally stayed away from one drop mana dorks as I have never intended to put out a turn two Animar, however I recognise that turn two Animar is probably the fastest path to victory as it allows the possibility to combo off a turn earlier (potentially turn 3 or 4 if you have the right hand and build). I would favour land drop cards over tap for mana creatures, as they provide a degree of insurance if your super early combo is stalled, however they do require lands in hand, so are harder to keep multiples in opening hand and become worse late game or if you're experiencing mana screw. I think Exploration might be worth running instead of dorks, if this is your game plan.
In short, I think their cons outweigh the pros, but I'd like to hear your reports if you do test them.
Edit: Savage Summoning does appear in the primer still:
Savage Summoning - Seems like a really great way to get Animar out before the start of my turn potentially allowing for a surprise combo victory, also allows the instant use of a number of utility creatures.
@Cryogen - Savage Summoning was almost always used late game to play Animar EOT and then untap and combo off. I have just cut it in the most recent update because I've included more cascade.
I've intentionally stayed away from one drop mana dorks as I have never intended to put out a turn two Animar, however I recognise that turn two Animar is probably the fastest path to victory as it allows the possibility to combo off a turn earlier (potentially turn 3 or 4 if you have the right hand and build). I would favour land drop cards over tap for mana creatures, as they provide a degree of insurance if your super early combo is stalled, however they do require lands in hand, so are harder to keep multiples in opening hand and become worse late game or if you're experiencing mana screw. I think Exploration might be worth running instead of dorks, if this is your game plan.
In short, I think their cons outweigh the pros, but I'd like to hear your reports if you do test them.
Edit: Savage Summoning does appear in the primer still:
Savage Summoning - Seems like a really great way to get Animar out before the start of my turn potentially allowing for a surprise combo victory, also allows the instant use of a number of utility creatures.
Well I am going to get the one-drop put land into play dudes for sure. Exploration or Burgeoning are outside my budget right now, but I like the idea of being able to drop them turn one, or being able to add a counter to Animar later on. I am pretty consistent in being able to go off T5 now, and want to now focus on shaving everything out of the deck that does not contribute to a win by then. I don't have a Savage Summoning, but I really like the idea of it, so I'll have to pick one up.
Born of the Gods introduces two new mechanics and revisits those of Theros (minus Monstrosity). As with Theros the new mechanics are creature based, and again they are not particularly impressive for Animar.
Inspired – Potential abuse with Earthcraft (at least it slightly speeds it up if you don't have haste or don't want to attack). Overall it is a slow ability and without untap effects is unlikely to be good enough for the deck.
Arbiter of the Ideal - In a permanent heavy deck like Animar, this certainly will certainly put things into play, however you're looking at one permanent a turn which is probably too slow. Also turning those permanents into enchantments increases the amount of removal that can blow you out.
Sphinx’s Disciple - Tiny body for the mana cost, even with Animar's discount, but free card draw is free card draw! Budget decks might consider this I guess.
Felhide Spiritbinder - It's like a very slow and mana intense Kiki-Jiki! With all the ETB effects in Animar, this would probably gain value for 1R but again actually getting the effect to trigger would be the problem
Tribute – It's a cool ability in limited but quickly loses its shine in constructed formats when you realise you’ll always get the outcome that benefits your opponent most. For this reason I don’t think there is anything here worth discussing for the deck.
Bestow – Not being able to benefit from Animar's discount when you're actually casting using the bestow cost was a major disappointment in the block.
Noble Quarry – I mention this card because it forces all your other creatures through, or acts as a board wipe against one opponent if you enchant a huge Animar and run him against an army. The bestow cost is pretty high, but this creature may simply let you win against a creature heavy board state, and if bestowed gives the effect over two combat steps.
Devotion – Other than the gods themselves, there was nothing worth noting.
Gods - Only the one in our colours, but he's a beauty!
Xenagos, God of Revels – Offers a haste effect for one creature a turn (including the turn you cast him) with an additional increase to power and toughness. Enjoys Animar's discount, even if he stops being a creature after he enters the battlefield and can also be tutored using Chord of Calling or Birthing Pod. By far the biggest advantage is that he survives most sweepers so he’ll be able to offer haste after a board wipe, letting us swing with our numerous fatties into clear fields.
Heroic – offers no benefit to my Animar build, so I'm not even going to review the creatures.
Scry – usually offers some deck manipulation on top of another effect, there are a few utility spells, but nothing amazing and only one creature.
Fated Infatuation – The triple blue is a big ask, and it’s not particularly abusable, but it does give options especially with all the ETB effects in the deck. Would be an amazing creature, but as is a mediocre spell even if you get the scry effect.
Stormcaller of Keranos – Scry on demand isn’t a bad ability and this is really the only other red creature worth mentioning. The best of a bad bunch.
Archetypes – A cycle of enchantment creatures that provides all its owners creatures an ability, while preventing opponents creatures from having it. All in our colours are pretty good!
Archetype of Imagination – A great finisher for an aggro deck, this essentially makes your army unblockable.
Archetype of Aggression – Slightly less good as a finisher compared to Imagination, but a trample enabler isn’t bad for Animar. The double red cost isn’t ideal, but it could also be a meta card against big green decks like Omnath that usually rely on trample to get through our numerous blockers.
Archetype of Endurance – If you were running Asceticism this is a relevant replacement, the mana cost shouldn't be an issue with Animar offering a hefty discount. It also acts as a meta card against Lasav and Sigarda, and has more synergy compared to the other meta choice which is Glaring Spotlight.
The Rest:
After delving through all the mechanics there wasn't much left to add here. Unfortunately these are the dregs...
UUUBLUEUUU
Perplexing Chimera – This is a card to add a random element to the game! Either that or it will prevent anyone casting spells because they fear you nicking them, until someone casts a board wipe at least...
Tromokratis – This is a big evasive beater. Immune to sorcery speed targeted removal and surprisingly hard to block, it may be worth considering in aggro builds.
Vortex Elemental – This little elemental could be a sleeper. It deters attacks and can force a block, tucking an opponents creature into the deck. I won't say its brilliant, but it does offer a good removal effect on a cheap creature.
Whelming Wave – Mass creature bounce for low casting cost. With all the ETB effects in the deck this could work out well, although unfortunately Animar is not a Kraken, Leviathan, Octopus or Serpent, so his counters get reset.
RRRREDRRR
Nothing to see here. Move along.
GGGGREENGGG
Courser of Kruphix – It’s not quite Oracle of Mul Daya. The life gain may be relevant (I don’t have any source of lifegain at the moment) and playing lands off the top is card advantage, but it doesn’t offer ramp the same way as Oracle. May be worth running both, especially while Garruk’s Horde is in the deck, but certainly doesn’t replace Oracle, even at a cheaper mana cost it doesn't enjoy as great a discount.
Hunter’s Prowess – Sorcery speed hurts this cards playability, but potentially this lets you draw a crap load of cards. It can also act as a finisher by granting Animar trample. It's not really the style of my deck, but may suit budget or aggro Animar decks.
Unravel the Aether – Deglamer functional reprint. May become a valuable tool against opposing gods (although consider Brutalizer Exarch as a creature based option).
RGUMULTICOLOURUGR
Kiora, the Crashing Wave – our first blue green planeswalker. She doesn’t offer any particular synergy with Animar, although all her abilities are pretty decent. Her first ability affects permanents, so she can shut off an opponent’s Purphoros or Pestilence or Ashling the Pilgrim, which shouldn’t be underestimated. Second ability is Explore; If you get two of these before she dies, she’s earned her place (especially if you make the extra land drops). Her ultimate provides a steady stream of massive token Krakens. She’s a little fragile for her cost, and I’m not keen on Planeswalkers in my deck, but she’s certainly worth of consideration if you’re running a goodstuff or control build.
Kiora’s Follower – Effectively a mana dork because he can untap lands. I wouldn’t run him over Coiling Oracle given a choice, although in the long term if he sticks he could generate a lot of extra mana simply by untapping Gaea’s Cradle.
x0ARTIFACTS & LANDSxx
Springleaf Drum – I know it is a reprint, but it may be worth running as a sort of Earthcraft variant. Every little bit of mana helps in this deck, this turns every creature into potential mana dorks with haste and it doesn’t die to most board wipes.
Other than Xenagos, God of Revels and the Archetypes there is nothing much worthy of consideration. Any cards you're keen to experiment with? Any cards you think will be great that I've failed to mention?
Finally got around to uploading my set review though it was a bit disappointing... also been editing links and cleaning up the primer, but still need to put through the latest deck changes. Work in progress.
This is a great primer and I've been actively using it as inspiration for my Animar build.
Right now my version has a bit more bounce with Crystal Shard, Erratic Portal, Aether Adept etc along with the usual suspects. I also have a few more morph guys like Voidmage Apprentice. I definitely love the deck and I'm constantly tweaking it. I just recently pulled Xenagos the god so I'm looking to find a spot for him also but it's tough to make cuts!
You dismissed tribute totally but I reckon multiplayer is where it really shines. You can kind of talk your way into getting what you want most of the time. Very political ability. Just choose an opponent that's in the same boat as you who will also benefit from the effect and they won't pay the tribute.
You dismissed tribute totally but I reckon multiplayer is where it really shines. You can kind of talk your way into getting what you want most of the time. Very political ability. Just choose an opponent that's in the same boat as you who will also benefit from the effect and they won't pay the tribute.
None of the effects offered by Tribute are unique, so why would I risk having to play politics when I could include a card that lets me do what I need to do, when I need to do it?
I see your point that it can be political, but they're still subpar cards compared to what else is available in my opinion.
You dismissed tribute totally but I reckon multiplayer is where it really shines. You can kind of talk your way into getting what you want most of the time. Very political ability. Just choose an opponent that's in the same boat as you who will also benefit from the effect and they won't pay the tribute.
None of the effects offered by Tribute are unique, so why would I risk having to play politics when I could include a card that lets me do what I need to do, when I need to do it?
I see your point that it can be political, but they're still subpar cards compared to what else is available in my opinion.
Besides, this is a combo deck at heart. Any opponent familiar with Animar knows to pay the tribute because you're going to go infinite one way or another pretty soon. The only time you would care about the Tribute is when you're hurting for a board state.
Updated the decklists in the Primer, card explanations with my latest changes, modified the layout a little and updating the combo and the 'why don't you play something?' sections.
If you are pushing more into the aggro direction (which I find great :)) I really recommend Craterhoof Behemoth. I don't know how many games I won with his help. Even on a small board he can usually knock out a player.
I also advise you very much not cut Draining Whelk. I know it's a bad cascade with Wanderer (altough sometimes a 9/9 flyer is just the thing you need ;)) but when winning with (combat)damage you usually need to be able to protect your board for a few turns. That's why I use every counterspell stapled to a creature that's available. I still recommend you to run Voidmage Prodigy. While it's true that he needs a lot of blue mana (though still not more than Kiki-Jiki needs red!) he can often give you a lot of extra time since there are actually quite a few wizards in the deck. If you replace Raven Familiar with Seagate Oracle you'll have even more wizards. Also Voidmage Prodigy is morph redundancy.
If you are pushing more into the aggro direction (which I find great :)) I really recommend Craterhoof Behemoth. I don't know how many games I won with his help. Even on a small board he can usually knock out a player.
I also advise you very much not cut Draining Whelk. I know it's a bad cascade with Wanderer (altough sometimes a 9/9 flyer is just the thing you need ;)) but when winning with (combat)damage you usually need to be able to protect your board for a few turns. That's why I use every counterspell stapled to a creature that's available. I still recommend you to run Voidmage Prodigy. While it's true that he needs a lot of blue mana (though still not more than Kiki-Jiki needs red!) he can often give you a lot of extra time since there are actually quite a few wizards in the deck. If you replace Raven Familiar with Seagate Oracle you'll have even more wizards. Also Voidmage Prodigy is morph redundancy.
Yeah Craterhoof is very strong, I've won some games with him also. Right now he is out of my deck though as I'm trying a more balanced build of combo/control/aggro with several win conditions but he will probably get stashed back in as he is such a game ending bomb. Not to mention if you have a bounce engine active you could double up his ETB and take out multiple opponents in one big swing.
As far as morph controllers go I actually prefer Voidmage Apprentice over the Prodigy as he is less blue intensive (with morph included) and more repeatable without the need to sac a wizard. Both are solid though for sure.
I'll see about getting a Craterhoof Behemoth to experiment with (for massive beats!). I understand that by lowering the counter spells in the deck I'm leaving myself open to bigger blow outs, but I feel for the moment it's the right call in my meta-game.
I'm trying to find the balance between control elements to protect the combo and aggro elements so that I don't always combo for the victory.
I'm really interested in trying out this deck. I have my reservations about running an all out combo deck though. I know you have creatures with etb abilities that can deal with things but has anyone tried a more well rounded version of the deck? Maybe something that runs a few more answers and can interact your opponents a bit more?
I can point you to my list (it's linked in my sig). It's much more focused on the combat step for winning and has a few more slots dediated to answers. I also run some indestructible stuff for more resilience so maybe thats what you are looking for.
But you also have to bear in mind that in order to get the most out of this commander you have to make certain accommodations that use up a lot of slots.
If you have more questions or want to discuss individual card choices, let me know
I can point you to my list (it's linked in my sig). It's much more focused on the combat step for winning and has a few more slots dediated to answers. I also run some indestructible stuff for more resilience so maybe thats what you are looking for.
But you also have to bear in mind that in order to get the most out of this commander you have to make certain accommodations that use up a lot of slots.
If you have more questions or want to discuss individual card choices, let me know
Yeah, I understand with a general like this it's important to build around him but this deck just folds to Humility doesn't it. I'd like to find that balance of being creature heavy enough to win through beats or combo while still being able to interact and have answers to things like Humility that would otherwise make this deck fold. Just looking at the title of your deck how do you answer things like Torpor Orb? I'm assuming many of your answers will be creatures with ETB effects?
I can point you to my list (it's linked in my sig). It's much more focused on the combat step for winning and has a few more slots dediated to answers. I also run some indestructible stuff for more resilience so maybe thats what you are looking for.
But you also have to bear in mind that in order to get the most out of this commander you have to make certain accommodations that use up a lot of slots.
If you have more questions or want to discuss individual card choices, let me know
Yeah, I understand with a general like this it's important to build around him but this deck just folds to Humility doesn't it. I'd like to find that balance of being creature heavy enough to win through beats or combo while still being able to interact and have answers to things like Humility that would otherwise make this deck fold. Just looking at the title of your deck how do you answer things like Torpor Orb? I'm assuming many of your answers will be creatures with ETB effects?
I have to admit Torpor Orb and Humility are really bad news. Thankfully none of those are played much in my meta and if they both are played heavily in your's I'd advise not to build this deck. To be frank I guess there is really little I can do against a resolved Humility (except for using Ulamog) but there are still quite a few counteroptions even in my current build(Mystic Snake, Glen Elendra Archmage, Voidmage Prodigy and Draining Whelk. But in order to consistently being able to deal with it you might have to water the deck down so much that much of Animars initial power will be gone. If you still want to do it Cyclonic Rift, Oblivion Stone and additional counterspells could be the way to go.
You also have to consider that this deck can consistently kill really fast (at least one of ypur opponents) so you can always kill the Humility player before they find and cast it :D.
All I said about Humility applys to Torpor Orb but to a much lesser extent since, compared to Humility, it's much more harmless. Don't get me wrong it's still pretty bad news but if it is a consistent problem in your meta there are a ton of answers you can run that still fit the gameplan:
Bottomline: Humility and Torpor Orb are this decks Kryptonite but they also are its only major weakness. Apart from that it (at least my list) is very strong and resilient in almost any other way. From my experience with playing this deck I can say it's a lot of fun because you can consistently win very fast but you are always using different cards to do it
Question for you Animar players with far more experience than myself - how many noncreature spells would you run at most in this deck? I'm currently running 7 and generally it feels alright, but there have been a couple of games now where I've wanted to run more creatures.
Thoughts?
I think it probably depends on what those non-creature spells are. I also play seven but four of those (Sol Ring, Tormod's Crypt, Skullclamp and Sensei's Divining Top) are so low costed that they don't disturb the gamplan, two are still reasonably costed value engines(Birthing Pod and Cloudstone Curio) and the las one (Primal Surge) is a big fat auto win button :D. What should be noted is that most of those cards create card advantage, so even if they are non-creature spells, they will help me getting more creatures. I guess it would be a problem if most of those non-creature spells are just answers.
By normal I meant not banking on sticking a Primal Surge for the win. Glad you mentioned the triggers are a pain online cause I don't want to deal with that either.
I think any of those three are playable creature heavy aggro list. I played Asceticism for good while myself, but eventually removed it being a win-more card. I liked more using Stalking Vengeance and Vicious Shadows to make opponents think twice before using removal or blocking creatures.
Well mine is more of a combo deck using Cloudstone Curio. It's trigger happy IRL, and a true pain in MTGO.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Out:
- Sylvan Primordial
- Draining Whelk
- Swan Song
- Savage Summoning
- Raging Ravine
- Forest
In:
+ Garruk's Horde
+ Etherium-Horn Sorcerer
+ Purphoros, God of the Forge
+ Xenagos, God of Revels
+ Llanowar Reborn
+ Opal Palace
Explanations:
Sylvan Primordial was banned and I want to keep my Birthing Pod curve smooth, so Garruk's Horde is back in mainly because I have one. I think I may end up putting Sphinx of Uthuun in its place eventually.
I picked up an Etherium-Horn Sorcerer in a trade so I thought I'd give cascade a bit more space in the deck. For this reason I removed Swan Song and Savage Summoning as subpar cascade results, which freed up space for Purphoros, God of the Forge and Xenagos, God of Revels. I've been meaning to add Purphoros since Theros was spoiled, and Xenagos seems like a fun card to push aggro victories, especially as he will often be a creature himself; for the time being I'm proxying both gods, because I haven't yet managed to get hold of them. Cutting Draining Whelk was tough, but I'm shifting towards a more aggro build and so it seemed fitting to remove a control element. This probably makes the deck a bit less competitive, as I'll be less able to protect my combos, but I'm hoping indestructible win cons like Purphoros and Xenagos offset this.
Opal Palace is a bit of a gamble. I don't think it will stay in, but I wanted to test it before I dismiss it altogether. Yes it adds counters to Animar on cast, but at the cost of an extra mana and that small tax may be too much. In some ways this could be considered the replacement for Savage Summoning, although it only adds a counter and doesn't add the benefit of counterspell protection or instant speed. Llanowar Reborn is another way to get that first counter on Animar if it's in my opening hand. Because I don't run any 1 drop mana dorks, I don't see that coming into play tapped on the first turn is a big disadvantage. Obviously it is a lot worse if your strategy relies on casting Animar turn two. To make space for the two lands I removed a basic forest (slightly less valuable since Sylvan Primordial is out) and Raging Ravine, replacing one 'come into play tapped' land with another. Opal Palace does mana fix (badly, but still...) so I feel the loss of a R/G land isn't a major issue.
GWU Rafiq
RWB Zurgo
WBG Ghave
WUB Oloro
WBR Kaalia (Archived)
My Blog, currently working on series about my custom set Cazia.
Steam Trades - I play Dota 2, CS:GO, TF2, and trade cards heavily. Add me if you like.
URGAnimar, Soul of Elements
WBRKaalia of the Vast
GGGFreyalise, Llanowar's Fury
WUBSharuum the Hegemon
RGWHazezon Tamar
RUWNarset, Enlightened Master
BGBVarolz, the Scar-Striped
BWBAthreos, God of Passage
RRRDaretti, Scrap Savant
My 450 Unpowered Cube
My cube on CubeTutor
Also, have you considered the one drop mana dorks like Skyshroud Ranger? I'm considering them as a way to power out a T2 Animar.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
I've intentionally stayed away from one drop mana dorks as I have never intended to put out a turn two Animar, however I recognise that turn two Animar is probably the fastest path to victory as it allows the possibility to combo off a turn earlier (potentially turn 3 or 4 if you have the right hand and build). I would favour land drop cards over tap for mana creatures, as they provide a degree of insurance if your super early combo is stalled, however they do require lands in hand, so are harder to keep multiples in opening hand and become worse late game or if you're experiencing mana screw. I think Exploration might be worth running instead of dorks, if this is your game plan.
In short, I think their cons outweigh the pros, but I'd like to hear your reports if you do test them.
Edit: Savage Summoning does appear in the primer still:
Well I am going to get the one-drop put land into play dudes for sure. Exploration or Burgeoning are outside my budget right now, but I like the idea of being able to drop them turn one, or being able to add a counter to Animar later on. I am pretty consistent in being able to go off T5 now, and want to now focus on shaving everything out of the deck that does not contribute to a win by then. I don't have a Savage Summoning, but I really like the idea of it, so I'll have to pick one up.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Mechanics:
Born of the Gods introduces two new mechanics and revisits those of Theros (minus Monstrosity). As with Theros the new mechanics are creature based, and again they are not particularly impressive for Animar.
Inspired – Potential abuse with Earthcraft (at least it slightly speeds it up if you don't have haste or don't want to attack). Overall it is a slow ability and without untap effects is unlikely to be good enough for the deck.
Tribute – It's a cool ability in limited but quickly loses its shine in constructed formats when you realise you’ll always get the outcome that benefits your opponent most. For this reason I don’t think there is anything here worth discussing for the deck.
Bestow – Not being able to benefit from Animar's discount when you're actually casting using the bestow cost was a major disappointment in the block.
Devotion – Other than the gods themselves, there was nothing worth noting.
Gods - Only the one in our colours, but he's a beauty!
Heroic – offers no benefit to my Animar build, so I'm not even going to review the creatures.
Scry – usually offers some deck manipulation on top of another effect, there are a few utility spells, but nothing amazing and only one creature.
Archetypes – A cycle of enchantment creatures that provides all its owners creatures an ability, while preventing opponents creatures from having it. All in our colours are pretty good!
The Rest:
After delving through all the mechanics there wasn't much left to add here. Unfortunately these are the dregs...
UUU BLUE UUU
RRR RED RRR
Nothing to see here. Move along.
GGG GREEN GGG
RGU MULTICOLOUR UGR
x0 ARTIFACTS & LANDS xx
Other than Xenagos, God of Revels and the Archetypes there is nothing much worthy of consideration. Any cards you're keen to experiment with? Any cards you think will be great that I've failed to mention?
Right now my version has a bit more bounce with Crystal Shard, Erratic Portal, Aether Adept etc along with the usual suspects. I also have a few more morph guys like Voidmage Apprentice. I definitely love the deck and I'm constantly tweaking it. I just recently pulled Xenagos the god so I'm looking to find a spot for him also but it's tough to make cuts!
Thanks gelf!
None of the effects offered by Tribute are unique, so why would I risk having to play politics when I could include a card that lets me do what I need to do, when I need to do it?
I see your point that it can be political, but they're still subpar cards compared to what else is available in my opinion.
Besides, this is a combo deck at heart. Any opponent familiar with Animar knows to pay the tribute because you're going to go infinite one way or another pretty soon. The only time you would care about the Tribute is when you're hurting for a board state.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
I also advise you very much not cut Draining Whelk. I know it's a bad cascade with Wanderer (altough sometimes a 9/9 flyer is just the thing you need ;)) but when winning with (combat)damage you usually need to be able to protect your board for a few turns. That's why I use every counterspell stapled to a creature that's available. I still recommend you to run Voidmage Prodigy. While it's true that he needs a lot of blue mana (though still not more than Kiki-Jiki needs red!) he can often give you a lot of extra time since there are actually quite a few wizards in the deck. If you replace Raven Familiar with Seagate Oracle you'll have even more wizards. Also Voidmage Prodigy is morph redundancy.
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer
Yeah Craterhoof is very strong, I've won some games with him also. Right now he is out of my deck though as I'm trying a more balanced build of combo/control/aggro with several win conditions but he will probably get stashed back in as he is such a game ending bomb. Not to mention if you have a bounce engine active you could double up his ETB and take out multiple opponents in one big swing.
As far as morph controllers go I actually prefer Voidmage Apprentice over the Prodigy as he is less blue intensive (with morph included) and more repeatable without the need to sac a wizard. Both are solid though for sure.
I'm trying to find the balance between control elements to protect the combo and aggro elements so that I don't always combo for the victory.
But you also have to bear in mind that in order to get the most out of this commander you have to make certain accommodations that use up a lot of slots.
If you have more questions or want to discuss individual card choices, let me know
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer
Yeah, I understand with a general like this it's important to build around him but this deck just folds to Humility doesn't it. I'd like to find that balance of being creature heavy enough to win through beats or combo while still being able to interact and have answers to things like Humility that would otherwise make this deck fold. Just looking at the title of your deck how do you answer things like Torpor Orb? I'm assuming many of your answers will be creatures with ETB effects?
I have to admit Torpor Orb and Humility are really bad news. Thankfully none of those are played much in my meta and if they both are played heavily in your's I'd advise not to build this deck. To be frank I guess there is really little I can do against a resolved Humility (except for using Ulamog) but there are still quite a few counteroptions even in my current build(Mystic Snake, Glen Elendra Archmage, Voidmage Prodigy and Draining Whelk. But in order to consistently being able to deal with it you might have to water the deck down so much that much of Animars initial power will be gone. If you still want to do it Cyclonic Rift, Oblivion Stone and additional counterspells could be the way to go.
You also have to consider that this deck can consistently kill really fast (at least one of ypur opponents) so you can always kill the Humility player before they find and cast it :D.
All I said about Humility applys to Torpor Orb but to a much lesser extent since, compared to Humility, it's much more harmless. Don't get me wrong it's still pretty bad news but if it is a consistent problem in your meta there are a ton of answers you can run that still fit the gameplan:
Bottomline: Humility and Torpor Orb are this decks Kryptonite but they also are its only major weakness. Apart from that it (at least my list) is very strong and resilient in almost any other way. From my experience with playing this deck I can say it's a lot of fun because you can consistently win very fast but you are always using different cards to do it
I hope that helped for making further decisions.
I think it probably depends on what those non-creature spells are. I also play seven but four of those (Sol Ring, Tormod's Crypt, Skullclamp and Sensei's Divining Top) are so low costed that they don't disturb the gamplan, two are still reasonably costed value engines(Birthing Pod and Cloudstone Curio) and the las one (Primal Surge) is a big fat auto win button :D. What should be noted is that most of those cards create card advantage, so even if they are non-creature spells, they will help me getting more creatures. I guess it would be a problem if most of those non-creature spells are just answers.
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer