bryanbogz, I would replace the cabal therapy and the gitaxian probe with Duress and putrid imp. I think you need more discard mechanics, plus Duress will protect you from counterspells just fine.
The lack of cantrips is an obstacle that I'm trying to compensate for with extra reanimation spells and my 4 tutors. Instead of 4 Necromancy I'm going to try 1 Reanimate 1 Necromancy 1 Victimize and 1 Jet Medallion. Best of all, this will shift my balance from 4 sorceries to 8 enchantments to 6 sorceries to 5 enchantments and thus give me reasonable cause to swap Rorix Bladewing for the creature everyone is clamoring for with this deck... Akroma, Angel of Wrath!
UPDATE:
These are the 8 best pre 8th edition creatures that I have found, 4 from the ground and 4 from the sky. Avatar of Hope- an invaluable blocker against multiple creatures (a situation I often find myself in) Avatar of Woe- A creature assassin with another form of evasion Multani, Maro-Sorcerer- Pure power, especially in the early game, plus he can't be targeted Phantom Nishoba- Read the text, speaks for itself Reya Dawnbringer- A must for an old school reanimator in my opinion Rorix Bladewing- A hasty threat from the sky, not limited by black reanimation enchantments like Akroma, Angel of Wrath or Spirit of the Night Symbiotic Wurm- Go ahead and try to remove this beast! Thorn Elemental- 7 points of guaranteed damage, yes please!
I'll admit that I am primarily a kitchen table player, but I would like the deck to be the best that it can be (within my parameters) all the same. Having said that, why is Animate Dead worse than Necromancy in your opinion? If you are going to lecture on the value of a 1 mana cost difference for more than 1/3 of my life total, why is it worse to lose -1/0 at the expense of 1 extra mana? Or are you proposing that I only run 4x Exhume and 4x Reanimate for reanimation?
Updated list:
CREATURES-these are the 8 best pre 8th edition creatures that I have found, 4 from the ground and 4 from the sky. Akroma, Angel of Wrath- A kitchen sink creature who is worth the risk of not being able to reanimate with almost half of my reanimation spells Avatar of Hope- an invaluable blocker against multiple creatures (a situation I often find myself in) Avatar of Woe- A creature assassin with another form of evasion Multani, Maro-Sorcerer- Pure power, especially in the early game, plus he can't be targeted Phantom Nishoba- Read the text, speaks for itself Reya Dawnbringer- A must for an old school reanimator in my opinion Symbiotic Wurm- Go ahead and try to remove this beast! Thorn Elemental- 7 points of guaranteed damage, yes please!
REANIMATE- I have no interest in the card Reanimate, since my opponent packs lot's of removal/disablers with his white cards I have no interest in large life sacrafices Animate Dead (4) Exhume (4) Necromancy (1) Reanimate (1) Victimize (1)
PROTECTION- This is the best defensive group I have found for mono black. I use Duress as a pre counterspell to get my opponent to dump removal/disablers, while Infest and Mutilate limits my vulnerability to multiple creatures on the board. Duress (4) Infest (1) Mutilate (1)
Reanimate is only good with post 8th edition beasts in my opinion. The only creature of note with Lifelink is Phantom Nishoba, with any other creature I think it is simply too much life to forfeit just to save 1 mana. If only they had made Griselbrand a little sooner... :-(
No splashing, even for Deep Spawn, that's part of the fun with this challenge!
Here is an update of my current top 8: Avatar of Hope- an invaluable blocker against multiple creatures (a situation I often find myself in) Multani, Maro-Sorcerer- Pure power, especially in the early game, plus he can't be targeted Phantom Nishoba- Read the text, speaks for itself Reya Dawnbringer- A must for an old school reanimator in my opinion Symbiotic Wurm- Go ahead and try to remove this beast! Thorn Elemental- 7 points of guaranteed damage, yes please Verdant Force- A great answer to Pacifism Visara the Dreadful- I still prefer her to Avatar of Woe, I felt it was important to have at least 3 flyers
Been there done that Obould, that is how I have gotten this list to where I have. It's not so much that I'm looking for creatures that I've missed (though suggestions are always welcome), but with the list I've presented and 8 slots to fill... how would you fill them?
Nicol Bolas would be fantastic with haste, but would I be sacrificing too much consistency if I had to add Anger, Tainted Peak, and Rocky Tar Pit just to ensure it all happens? Would it all be worth it considering my other fatties?
Thinking of something not listed here? I'm open to any and all such suggestions except: Worldgorger Dragon- I'm not interested in these crazy shenanigans Akroma, Angel of Wrath or Spirit of the Night- I don't run reanimate so the only card I could bring these back with in my deck is exhume (1/3 of my reanimation spells)
Any combination of big number meat in hopes of fueling one fat Sutured Ghoul- I would rather have fun and be flexible
Last Rites is a fantastic card except for the mana cost, and frankly I feel the same way about Insidious Dreams. Mental Note seems a little too random considering I'm only running 8 creatures. Tome Scour may be a little more useful, but it isn't pre 8th edition.
Strands of Night is definitely an interesting card that I might look to incorporate. I think adding 1 Sutured Ghoul would be a nice addition as well. I still don't think I'm comfortable with the risk Reanimate would bring with my criteria. There have definitely been creatures printed since 8th edition that are well worth the life hit, but I just don't know if Akroma, Angel of Wrath is worth the chance of that or getting stuck. Are there any other decent old school creatures with the hexproof qualities of Multani, Maro-Sorcerer?
Thank you for replying to my post! I have just placed an order for a playset of Unmask, that is a fantastic card! I do have a set of Funeral Charm and greatly appreciate their flexibility. Avatar of Woe I feel like is a poor man's Visara the Dreadful, I would rather fly than have fear in case my opponent plays black. I keep getting mixed reports on Akroma, Angel of Wrath and Spirit of the Night. Some say they can't be reanimated with enchanments and some say can. I called Channel Fireball and one of their judges told me the creature would in fact die as soon as it is brought into play due to the protection from black, are they mistaken? Crater Hellion and Petradon do add nice variety, so I have ordered playsets of those as well. Hidden Horror is an interesting option as well, I just don't know what I'd give up to add it. Thanks again for all of your help!
These are the 8 best pre 8th edition creatures that I have found, 4 from the ground and 4 from the sky.
Avatar of Hope- an invaluable blocker against multiple creatures (a situation I often find myself in)
Avatar of Woe- A creature assassin with another form of evasion
Multani, Maro-Sorcerer- Pure power, especially in the early game, plus he can't be targeted
Phantom Nishoba- Read the text, speaks for itself
Reya Dawnbringer- A must for an old school reanimator in my opinion
Rorix Bladewing- A hasty threat from the sky, not limited by black reanimation enchantments like Akroma, Angel of Wrath or Spirit of the Night
Symbiotic Wurm- Go ahead and try to remove this beast!
Thorn Elemental- 7 points of guaranteed damage, yes please!
I'll admit that I am primarily a kitchen table player, but I would like the deck to be the best that it can be (within my parameters) all the same. Having said that, why is Animate Dead worse than Necromancy in your opinion? If you are going to lecture on the value of a 1 mana cost difference for more than 1/3 of my life total, why is it worse to lose -1/0 at the expense of 1 extra mana? Or are you proposing that I only run 4x Exhume and 4x Reanimate for reanimation?
CREATURES-these are the 8 best pre 8th edition creatures that I have found, 4 from the ground and 4 from the sky.
Akroma, Angel of Wrath- A kitchen sink creature who is worth the risk of not being able to reanimate with almost half of my reanimation spells
Avatar of Hope- an invaluable blocker against multiple creatures (a situation I often find myself in)
Avatar of Woe- A creature assassin with another form of evasion
Multani, Maro-Sorcerer- Pure power, especially in the early game, plus he can't be targeted
Phantom Nishoba- Read the text, speaks for itself
Reya Dawnbringer- A must for an old school reanimator in my opinion
Symbiotic Wurm- Go ahead and try to remove this beast!
Thorn Elemental- 7 points of guaranteed damage, yes please!
REANIMATE- I have no interest in the card Reanimate, since my opponent packs lot's of removal/disablers with his white cards I have no interest in large life sacrafices
Animate Dead (4)
Exhume (4)
Necromancy (1)
Reanimate (1)
Victimize (1)
PROTECTION- This is the best defensive group I have found for mono black. I use Duress as a pre counterspell to get my opponent to dump removal/disablers, while Infest and Mutilate limits my vulnerability to multiple creatures on the board.
Duress (4)
Infest (1)
Mutilate (1)
DISCARD/DIG- The best budget options IMO
Buried Alive (4)
Putrid Imp (4)
Rhystic Tutor (4)
GAMECHANGERS- Phyrexian Arena turn 1 provides a huge advantage, while Living Death is a definite win condition in the mid to late game.
Living Death (1)
Phyrexian Arena (1)
MANA- Sweet and simple
Dark Ritual (4)
Swamp (16)
No splashing, even for Deep Spawn, that's part of the fun with this challenge!
Here is an update of my current top 8:
Avatar of Hope- an invaluable blocker against multiple creatures (a situation I often find myself in)
Multani, Maro-Sorcerer- Pure power, especially in the early game, plus he can't be targeted
Phantom Nishoba- Read the text, speaks for itself
Reya Dawnbringer- A must for an old school reanimator in my opinion
Symbiotic Wurm- Go ahead and try to remove this beast!
Thorn Elemental- 7 points of guaranteed damage, yes please
Verdant Force- A great answer to Pacifism
Visara the Dreadful- I still prefer her to Avatar of Woe, I felt it was important to have at least 3 flyers
Here is my current top 8:
Crosis, the Purger
Multani, Maro-Sorcerer
Penumbra Wurm
Phantom Nishoba
Reya Dawnbringer
Symbiotic Wurm
Verdant Force
Visara the Dreadful
5 control creatures and 3 very useful flyers...
Nicol Bolas would be fantastic with haste, but would I be sacrificing too much consistency if I had to add Anger, Tainted Peak, and Rocky Tar Pit just to ensure it all happens? Would it all be worth it considering my other fatties?
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/legacy-type-1-5/budget-legacy/691588-budget-old-school-legacy-reanimator-mono-black
Long story short, I want to run 8 creatures in my reanimator. Please let me know the best PRE 8th Edition creatures to run in my deck.
Here is a list of the contenders I have gathered so far:
Avatar of Hope
Avatar of Might
Avatar of Woe
Aven Fateshaper
Crater Hellion
Crosis, the Purger
Dragon Mage
Fungal Shambler
hypnox
Laquatus's Champion
Multani, Maro-Sorcerer
Penumbra Wurm
Petradon
Phantom Nishoba
Reya Dawnbringer
Rorix Bladewing
Scion of Darkness
Sutured Ghoul
Symbiotic Wurm
Thorn Elemental
Verdant Force
Visara the Dreadful
Volrath the Fallen
Thinking of something not listed here? I'm open to any and all such suggestions except:
Worldgorger Dragon- I'm not interested in these crazy shenanigans
Akroma, Angel of Wrath or Spirit of the Night- I don't run reanimate so the only card I could bring these back with in my deck is exhume (1/3 of my reanimation spells)
Any combination of big number meat in hopes of fueling one fat Sutured Ghoul- I would rather have fun and be flexible
Who's in your top 8?
Thank you for replying to my post! I have just placed an order for a playset of Unmask, that is a fantastic card! I do have a set of Funeral Charm and greatly appreciate their flexibility. Avatar of Woe I feel like is a poor man's Visara the Dreadful, I would rather fly than have fear in case my opponent plays black. I keep getting mixed reports on Akroma, Angel of Wrath and Spirit of the Night. Some say they can't be reanimated with enchanments and some say can. I called Channel Fireball and one of their judges told me the creature would in fact die as soon as it is brought into play due to the protection from black, are they mistaken? Crater Hellion and Petradon do add nice variety, so I have ordered playsets of those as well. Hidden Horror is an interesting option as well, I just don't know what I'd give up to add it. Thanks again for all of your help!