At least one haste provider is necessary as otherwise it can become very difficult to win from the same turn as going infinite. Most of your damage is going to be dealt by creatures, and aggro is a bery viable strategy for Animar. That being said I don't think you need more than one or two haste providers; Maelstrom Wanderer should be enough. I really like that list of includes, my list will probably be almost identical.
I think I'm only going to add the first 4 there and not add Profaner of the Dead. I'm planning on making significant changes to my deck after the release of Dragons of Takir, shifting it into a more controlling direction to try and combat the sweepers which keep blowing me out
given your meta gelf would inspiring call be of any use to you or just the fact that it's only a one time use and only really protects animar make it not worth it?
I'm trying to keep all my responses (counterspells and instant trickery) to 2 mana or less.
For three mana, I've got to start justifying why I would run Inspiring Call instead of Negate? I suppose the best answer is that Inspiring Call draws cards, so it at least replaces itself at the same time as protecting Animar, but if I'm losing 3 or 4 other creatures at the same time, I'd be much better off countering the board wipe.
Some builds/creatures make running Inspiring Call much more desirable - Master Biomancer, Forgotten Ancient, Hydra tribal, etc. If you can ensure most creatures you have on board at any time have +1/+1 counters, then Inspiring Call becomes an amazing way to protect against a board wipe, or to refill your hand just before the start of your turn.
I don't run Maelstrom Wanderer or any of the Cascade creatures because of the anti-synergy with the Morph creatures. And adding in more Morph creatures means that Wanderer is definitely not a go for me, especially since I also have Mystic Snake and Draining Whelk.
Further more, we run plenty of bounce, so you can return a creature to your hand if you want to use it later and you don't have to cast the spell, you may cast the spell. If it isn't good to cast it, don't cast it!
Given that Maelstrom Wanderer lets you cast every spell in the deck apart from maybe 5 or 6 and has a similar number of 'bad cascades' where you wouldn't want to cast the spell, I personally think it's worth running.
I find myself torn on Bloodbraid elf on occasion because it's far more likely to grab a morph but it can grab curio. but again that's why we play with a lot of bounce.
I'm curious Gelf if there are any cards that we haven;t discussed that you think we might have overlooked?
With Cascade, I find myself valuing Maelstrom Wanderer the most because you get 2 free spells and it draws from a wider pool than the lower cost cascade creatures. So while it isn't as consistent, nor does it require manipulating the 1, 2 and 3 drops to avoid the higher percentage chance of hitting a something you don't want to cascade into.
I need to go through the full set again and write my review, but I think the megamorph critters that we've talked about and Ancestral Statue are the best additions to Animar deck. I don't feel like we've overlooked anything amazing, but there may be some interesting synergies for niche builds still worth investigating
Khans block was amazing for EDH in general, but Animar in particular. Morph was the obvious standout, but lots of smaller themes and cards are surprisingly relevant. Almost all the dragons are playable to some extent (hint, try Phyrexian Altar in Animar). Ferocious and Formidable give us some strong synergies (such as with Surrak the Hunt Caller). There are numerous artifacts worth mentioning (Altar of the Brood gives us a wincon off infinite bounce for 1).
Yeah im super happy about Khans block. A ton of new people started played EDH because of it, at least at my LGS.
Also happy because I got all the cards I needed for animar at the prerelease ;P
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
SonofaBith - Wizards was so excited about making the packaging for Modern Masters 2 recyclable, they decided to make most of the rares and all but 1 of the UC's recycle-bin ready too. Convenient!
Explanations:
This is a pretty big change to my deck. Some cards I really didn't want to take out. For example I do need to find a way to put Fathom Mage back in the deck. Chief Engineer and Treasonous Ogre still feel undertested, but in the end I made cuts where I felt cards had not done enough recently and based on discussion in this thread.
Acidic Slime was swapped with Ainok Survivalist as I took on board discussion about their relative strenghts and weaknesses. Not being able to hit lands may be an issue, we'll see how it plays.
Words of Wind definitely has combo potential but I usually felt bad about giving up a draw and spending mana to do it, so it was pretty easy to give up.
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger combos with Palinchron, but always received groans from opponents and rarely survived long. He's a mean creature so I decided to give him a rest from the deck.
Voidmage Husher has not had much impact in recent games and I was always reluctant to reveal it if I was holding it as a trick, so it often felt like a dead card. Replaced it with other counterspell effects as I move towards a build with more control against boardwipes.
Fabricate was the only way to reliably find Cloudstone Curio (and Birthing Pod), but I'm trying to increase variance and rely more on card draw. Cutting this did made it easier to cut some of the other artifact creatures at the top end, and once they were cut, Chief Engineer seemed less useful too.
Steel Hellkite is a very versatile card because it can come down for free and kill annoying permanents if you can hit in combat and have extra mana. However, have I ever used it to kill permanents? Not in recent memory, so out it comes.
Nullstone Gargoyle provides decent protection and acts as a soft lock, but at 9 mana it was rarely coming down unless I was already ahead. Seemed like win more.
Time Spiral is an amazing draw spell, acts as gravehate and untaps my Gaea's Cradle. I love that card, but like others I didn't feel like I had played it much recently and it felt like an easy cut as a non-creature spell.
Simply swapped out a Forest to put Kessig Wolf Run back in. I love that it can just win games using utility dorks, if necessary.
As you can see I put back in and added additional counterspell support: Swan Song, Stubborn Denial, Stratus Dancer, Mystic Snake and Draining Whelk. I also put in Sage of Fables due to the potential to combo with Glen Elendra Archmage, however her 2 draw ability is pretty useful, taking +1/+1 counters from Genesis Hydra, Draining Whelk, Prime Speaker Zegana and converting them into card draw is well worth it, not to mention simply taking counters off Animar once he is big enough. (Need to put Fathom Mage back because the synergy between her and Sage of Fables seems good!)
I also upped my morph count thanks to many new powerful megamorph friends. Went from three morph cards to eight with this change: Rattleclaw Mystic, Willbender, Nantuko Vigilante plus the new; Stratus Dancer, Den Protector, Ainok Survivalist, Hooded Hydra (synergy with X mana and leaves bodies behind after a board wipe, or simply a morph body for infinite tricks) and because of all the other morph cards Vesuvan Shapeshifter got a place back in the deck. The best thing about all these morph creatures is that they all cost 2cmc to turn face up (apart from Hooded Hydra which will rarely be cast as a morph if I want it to be a hydra), which is easy to leave open if I'm being tricksy.
I added Birds of Paradise and Bloom Tender based on reports about how good they were, I thought it was time to test for myself, despite my reservations about mana dorks. An ocassional turn two Animar seems ok, but I'm reluctant to add any additional one drop mana dorks. Bloom Tender cast on turn two, allowing a turn 3 Animar plus additional GRU is pretty significant ramp.
And last of all, Ancestral Statue. Because when all else fails we can swing with an infinitely large Animar.
These changes really lower the curve of the deck, add survivability against the dreaded Wrath of God, adds more opportunities to get infinite creature casts (Ancestral Statue and additional morph cards) and an opportunity to cast Animar on turn two for an explosive start (Birds of Paradise). I've had to give up some of my babies to do this, but I also feel I was letting the deck stagnate a bit and feeling like every other game I was simply being boardwiped into oblivion with no way to stop it. This took longer to type up than I intended, so main page update will have to happen in the near future.
Sage of Fables + Megamoprh is really good. That's why I thought you put it in, but you seemed to gloss over that amazing interaction Gelf. Another card to consider in that slot is Give//Take. I also find it interesting how this latest round of changes pushes your deck even closer to mine, especially with the addition of more counterspells and mana dorks. I like all of your changes, though I think both Stubborn Denial and Swan Song is a bit excessive. 1cmc control cards are most important in the first couple of turns, which we usually spend setting up and then casting Animar. Assuming turn 3 is always Animar and turn 4 is always another creature, you only have two opportunities in your first four turns to actually leave mana up for a counterspell. Not that leaving mana up is bad, but drawing both Stubborn Denial and Swan Song in your first ten cards would suck.
I noticed the megamorph + Sage of Fables interaction and see it as upside, but I didn't consider it amazing. Sage of Fables makes any +1/+1 counter more valuable and I'd run those megamorphs as basic morphs anyway!
My major problem with Give // Take is that it is a sorcery. I don't like that you can't cast it in response to something losing counters. Sage of Fables can use her ability as an instant, even if it is more mana instensive.
I don't think it will be a huge problem running both Swan Song and Stubborn Denial. For the U cost they are relevant even in the late game and it is easy to leave mana up for them.
I am still trying to find a Craterhoof Behemoth in my area, but can't imagine making more cuts at the moment
I like theses changes. Your list is looking more like mine now. I however love Voidmage Husher. It has won me countless games. Its utility and replayability are so good! Craterhoof has pulled his weight in my build more often than not. He is a win condition. I am intrested to hear how straight counter spells work for you, they flopped in my deck. I was running Force of Will and Plasm Capture.
I've played a couple of games since changing the deck and so far both Swan Song and Stubborn Denial have been good. It is very easy to hold up one island to counter a Wrath of God and doesn't come with the inherent card disadvantage of Force of Will (perhaps a small price to pay for a free counterspell, but not one you want to do again and again). In one game I was able to recur Swan Song a few times with Eternal Witness, to protect my board from multiple threats.
Voidmage Husher has been in the deck since initial construction. Perhaps it is an unfair cut, it has previously been an all star, but at this point in the deck's development most of the cards I cut are good for the deck, and the only way to try out something new is to cut something old
Lifeblood Hydra is great, especially with some of the new Exploit creatures. The problem is a reliable sac engine. Hydras also have extremely negative synergy with Cascade and other effects based on cmc, such as a lot of tutor effects. I've played Hooded Hydra a bit (I have a copy for Ghave) it's really only good if you have a fair amount of sac-recursion and team pump effects.
Main reason I'm testing Hooded Hydra is that it leaves bodies behind after a board wipe, threatening death by snakes! Morph redundancy is also good. My dream scenario: I flash it in before a board wipe using Prophet of Kruphix then cast Craterhoof on my turn for MAXIMUM SNAKEAGGEDON. Bit hard at the moment because I don't have Craterhoof Behemoth yet but don't underestimate what an army of 1/1 snakes can achieve once all blockers have left the battlefield.
Lifeblood Hydra would fill a similar role; it refills your hand instead of giving you 1/1 snakes on board, which is arguably better, and gives a nice life buffer (may or may not be relevant). Triple green cost is quite demanding and it doesn't act as a combo piece in the same way that a free morph critter does. Without a sacrifice engine to use it as a Sphinx's Revelation it may be too unreliable.
Also don't underestimate the psychological impact of morph. My opponents fear Willbender and Stratus Dancer, which affects their plays accordingly. Sometimes the bluff is enough to give you an extra turn with combo pieces in play.
I also haven't opened by Commander 2014 decks yet, so Lifeblood is not on hand
I am going to fit in the following into my deck:
Does anyone still run haste effects? I am thinking of dropping Urabrask the Hidden and Cyclops of Eternal Fury, among other things, to fit in these cards.
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I think I'm only going to add the first 4 there and not add Profaner of the Dead. I'm planning on making significant changes to my deck after the release of Dragons of Takir, shifting it into a more controlling direction to try and combat the sweepers which keep blowing me out
I have Maelstrom Wanderer and Xenagos, God of Revels in my deck as haste enablers at the moment. Victory is almost always Purphoros, God of the Forge; Kiki-Jiki + Zealous Conscripts, or bounce away blockers and hit with 21+/21+ Animar. Haste is nice though.
For three mana, I've got to start justifying why I would run Inspiring Call instead of Negate? I suppose the best answer is that Inspiring Call draws cards, so it at least replaces itself at the same time as protecting Animar, but if I'm losing 3 or 4 other creatures at the same time, I'd be much better off countering the board wipe.
Some builds/creatures make running Inspiring Call much more desirable - Master Biomancer, Forgotten Ancient, Hydra tribal, etc. If you can ensure most creatures you have on board at any time have +1/+1 counters, then Inspiring Call becomes an amazing way to protect against a board wipe, or to refill your hand just before the start of your turn.
I have Lightning Greaves in my build. I think that and Urabrask the Hidden should suffice. If only Xenagos, God of Revels also gave trample. -
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Given that Maelstrom Wanderer lets you cast every spell in the deck apart from maybe 5 or 6 and has a similar number of 'bad cascades' where you wouldn't want to cast the spell, I personally think it's worth running.
I'm curious Gelf if there are any cards that we haven;t discussed that you think we might have overlooked?
I need to go through the full set again and write my review, but I think the megamorph critters that we've talked about and Ancestral Statue are the best additions to Animar deck. I don't feel like we've overlooked anything amazing, but there may be some interesting synergies for niche builds still worth investigating
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Also happy because I got all the cards I needed for animar at the prerelease ;P
GW Rhys the Redeemed EDH
RUGAnimar, Soul of Elements EDH
WBRAlesha, Who Smiles at Death EDH
BWGJunkBWG
BRGJundBRG
B1Eldrazi ShopsB1
UAzami, Lady of ScrollsU
BGMeren of Clan Nel TothBG
BUWJenara, Asura of WarBUW
GURAnimar, Soul of ElementsGUR
I have changed 13 cards in my deck, will update the main list as soon as possible.
Out:
- Fabricate
- Time Sprial
- Words of Wind
- Chief Engineer
- Fathom Mage
- Treasonous Ogre
- Voidmage Husher
- Acidic Slime
- Deadwood Treefolk
- Etherium-Horn Sorcerer
- Steel Hellkite
- Vorinclex
- Nullstone Gargoyle
- Forest
In:
+ Stubborn Denial
+ Swan Song
+ Birds of Paradise
+ Ainok Survivalist (morph)
+ Blood Tender
+ Den Protector (morph)
+ Stratus Dancer (morph)
+ Hooded Hydra (morph)
+ Sage of Fables
+ Ancestral Statue
+ Mystic Snake
+ Vesuvan Shapeshifter (morph)
+ Draining Whelk
+ Kessig Wolf Run
Explanations:
This is a pretty big change to my deck. Some cards I really didn't want to take out. For example I do need to find a way to put Fathom Mage back in the deck. Chief Engineer and Treasonous Ogre still feel undertested, but in the end I made cuts where I felt cards had not done enough recently and based on discussion in this thread.
Deadwood Treefolk seems like it is easily replaced by Den Protector as superior recursion.
Acidic Slime was swapped with Ainok Survivalist as I took on board discussion about their relative strenghts and weaknesses. Not being able to hit lands may be an issue, we'll see how it plays.
Words of Wind definitely has combo potential but I usually felt bad about giving up a draw and spending mana to do it, so it was pretty easy to give up.
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger combos with Palinchron, but always received groans from opponents and rarely survived long. He's a mean creature so I decided to give him a rest from the deck.
Voidmage Husher has not had much impact in recent games and I was always reluctant to reveal it if I was holding it as a trick, so it often felt like a dead card. Replaced it with other counterspell effects as I move towards a build with more control against boardwipes.
Fabricate was the only way to reliably find Cloudstone Curio (and Birthing Pod), but I'm trying to increase variance and rely more on card draw. Cutting this did made it easier to cut some of the other artifact creatures at the top end, and once they were cut, Chief Engineer seemed less useful too.
Etherium-Horn Sorcerer cascade becomes less useful as counterspell numbers increase, so for now Maelstrom Wanderer is my only cascade engine.
Steel Hellkite is a very versatile card because it can come down for free and kill annoying permanents if you can hit in combat and have extra mana. However, have I ever used it to kill permanents? Not in recent memory, so out it comes.
Nullstone Gargoyle provides decent protection and acts as a soft lock, but at 9 mana it was rarely coming down unless I was already ahead. Seemed like win more.
Time Spiral is an amazing draw spell, acts as gravehate and untaps my Gaea's Cradle. I love that card, but like others I didn't feel like I had played it much recently and it felt like an easy cut as a non-creature spell.
Simply swapped out a Forest to put Kessig Wolf Run back in. I love that it can just win games using utility dorks, if necessary.
As you can see I put back in and added additional counterspell support: Swan Song, Stubborn Denial, Stratus Dancer, Mystic Snake and Draining Whelk. I also put in Sage of Fables due to the potential to combo with Glen Elendra Archmage, however her 2 draw ability is pretty useful, taking +1/+1 counters from Genesis Hydra, Draining Whelk, Prime Speaker Zegana and converting them into card draw is well worth it, not to mention simply taking counters off Animar once he is big enough. (Need to put Fathom Mage back because the synergy between her and Sage of Fables seems good!)
I also upped my morph count thanks to many new powerful megamorph friends. Went from three morph cards to eight with this change: Rattleclaw Mystic, Willbender, Nantuko Vigilante plus the new; Stratus Dancer, Den Protector, Ainok Survivalist, Hooded Hydra (synergy with X mana and leaves bodies behind after a board wipe, or simply a morph body for infinite tricks) and because of all the other morph cards Vesuvan Shapeshifter got a place back in the deck. The best thing about all these morph creatures is that they all cost 2cmc to turn face up (apart from Hooded Hydra which will rarely be cast as a morph if I want it to be a hydra), which is easy to leave open if I'm being tricksy.
I added Birds of Paradise and Bloom Tender based on reports about how good they were, I thought it was time to test for myself, despite my reservations about mana dorks. An ocassional turn two Animar seems ok, but I'm reluctant to add any additional one drop mana dorks. Bloom Tender cast on turn two, allowing a turn 3 Animar plus additional GRU is pretty significant ramp.
And last of all, Ancestral Statue. Because when all else fails we can swing with an infinitely large Animar.
These changes really lower the curve of the deck, add survivability against the dreaded Wrath of God, adds more opportunities to get infinite creature casts (Ancestral Statue and additional morph cards) and an opportunity to cast Animar on turn two for an explosive start (Birds of Paradise). I've had to give up some of my babies to do this, but I also feel I was letting the deck stagnate a bit and feeling like every other game I was simply being boardwiped into oblivion with no way to stop it. This took longer to type up than I intended, so main page update will have to happen in the near future.
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My major problem with Give // Take is that it is a sorcery. I don't like that you can't cast it in response to something losing counters. Sage of Fables can use her ability as an instant, even if it is more mana instensive.
I don't think it will be a huge problem running both Swan Song and Stubborn Denial. For the U cost they are relevant even in the late game and it is easy to leave mana up for them.
I am still trying to find a Craterhoof Behemoth in my area, but can't imagine making more cuts at the moment
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Voidmage Husher has been in the deck since initial construction. Perhaps it is an unfair cut, it has previously been an all star, but at this point in the deck's development most of the cards I cut are good for the deck, and the only way to try out something new is to cut something old
I agree with trmptdrummer that Voidmage Husher can be amazin.
3 Animar, Soul of Elements
Creatures (51)
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Shrieking Drake
2 Ainok Survivalist
2 Bloom Tender
2 Cloud of Faeries
2 Den Protector
2 Dream Stalker
2 Elvish Visionary
2 Fauna Shaman
2x Genesis Hydra
2x Hooded Hydra
2 Rattleclaw Mystic
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Stratus Dancer
2 Sylvan Ranger
2 Willbender
3 Eternal Witness
3 Farhaven Elf
3 Fierce Empath
3 Man-o'-War
3 Raven Familiar
3 Sage of Fables
3 Wood Elves
4 Ancestral Statue
4 Glen Elendra Archmage
4 Mystic Snake
4 Nantuko Vigilante
4 Oracle of Mul Daya
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Purphoros, God of the Forge
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Venser, Shaper Savant
5 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
5 Kruphix, God of Horizons
5 Mulldrifter
5 Peregrine Drake
5 Prophet of Kruphix
5 Xenagos, God of Revels
5 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
5 Zealous Conscripts
6 Draining Whelk
6 Duplicant
6 Prime Speaker Zegana
6 Primordial Sage
6 Soul of the Harvest
7 Palinchron
7 Sphinx of Uthuun
8 Maelstrom Wanderer
9 Artisan of Kozilek
10 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
11 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
3 Cloudstone Curio
4 Birthing Pod
Enchantments (4)
1 Hardened Scales
2 Earthcraft
2 Sylvan Library
3 Equilibrium
Instants (4)
1 Stubborn Denial
1 Swan Song
1 Crop Rotation
3x Chord of Calling
Sorcery (1)
1 Glimpse of Nature
Land (37 - by quantity)
1 Ancient Ziggurat
1 Breeding Pool
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Command Tower
1 Fire-lit Thicket
1 Flooded Grove
5 Forest
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Gruul Turf
1 Hinterland Harbor
7 Island
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Llanowar Reborn
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mosswort Bridge
2 Mountain
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Winding Canyons
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Animar, Soul of Elements
Aggro
1 Maelstrom Wanderer (+ draw)
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
Bounce
1 Ancestral Statue
1 Cloudstone Curio
1 Dream Stalker
1 Equilibrium
1 Man-o'-War
1 Shrieking Drake
Misc. Utility
1 Hooded Hydra (morph)
1 Kruphix, God of Horizons
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter (morph)
Draw
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Genesis Hydra
1 Glimpse of Nature
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Mulldrifter
1 Prime Speaker Zegana
1 Primordial Sage
1 Raven Familiar
1 Sage of Fables
1 Soul of the Harvest
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Sylvan Library
Ramp/Tempo acceleration
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Bloom Tender
1 Cloud of Faeries
1 Earthcraft
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Hardened Scales
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Palinchron
1 Peregrine Drake
1 Prophet of Kruphix
1 Rattleclaw Mystic (morph)
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Sylvan Ranger
1 Wood Elves
1 Artisan of Kozilek
1 Den Protector (morph)
1 Eternal Witness
Removal
1 Ainok Survivalist (morph)
1 Duplicant
1 Nantuko Vigilante (morph)
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Spell Defense/Counters
1 Draining Whelk
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Mystic Snake
1 Stratus Dancer (morph)
1 Stubborn Denial
1 Swan Song
1 Venser, Shaper Savant (+ bounce)
1 Willbender (morph)
Tutors
1 Birthing Pod
1 Chord of Calling
1 Crop Rotation
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Fierce Empath
Win conditions (Combo)
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Zealous Conscripts
Basic lands
5 Forest
7 Island
2 Mountain
1 Ancient Ziggurat
1 Breeding Pool
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Command Tower
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Flooded Grove
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Gruul Turf
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Kessig Wolf Run (win con.)
1 Llanowar Reborn
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mosswort Bridge
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Winding Canyons
1 Wooded Foothills
URGAnimar, Soul of Elements
WBRKaalia of the Vast
GGGFreyalise, Llanowar's Fury
WUBSharuum the Hegemon
RGWHazezon Tamar
RUWNarset, Enlightened Master
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BWBAthreos, God of Passage
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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.
Lifeblood Hydra would fill a similar role; it refills your hand instead of giving you 1/1 snakes on board, which is arguably better, and gives a nice life buffer (may or may not be relevant). Triple green cost is quite demanding and it doesn't act as a combo piece in the same way that a free morph critter does. Without a sacrifice engine to use it as a Sphinx's Revelation it may be too unreliable.
Also don't underestimate the psychological impact of morph. My opponents fear Willbender and Stratus Dancer, which affects their plays accordingly. Sometimes the bluff is enough to give you an extra turn with combo pieces in play.
I also haven't opened by Commander 2014 decks yet, so Lifeblood is not on hand