Chord of Calling doesn't even require you to keep lands untapped; as long as you have at least three green creatures, they can be tapped using the convoke cost to provide the green mana. It is really an amazing card.
-2 Terramorphic Expanse and Evolving Wilds: The basic fetches are great cards, but I needed landslots for other uses. With three real fetches now, I think their loss is fine.
-3 Izzet, Simic, Gruul Signets: The Signets are great cards, but at this point I don't think the deck needs them.
-1 Ondu Giant: Redundancy is great, especially on such a useful ability. However I have three other cards with the same or similar ETBs and ramp's value goes down dramatically once you pass 2 mana.
-1 Forgotten Ancient: The king of +1/+1 counters, really only Animar is better. However I've been pushing the deck to be more and more competitive, meaning some stuff has to go. This was really just too slow.
-1 Darksteel Colossus: Big Daddy colorless is awesome, but too damn expensive.
-1 Phyrexian Ingester: Duplicant is a great card, however this version often sits dead in my hand. I opted to take it out in favour of a more aggressive draw.
+1 Wooded Foothills: A case of "strictly better" with the basic fetches.
+1 Alchemist's Refuge: This turns every card into a combat trick, allowing me to compete in the Instant Phase (otherwise known as your opponent's end step).
+1 Arbor Elf: Turn 2 Animar is amazing, this is the only other 1-cmc mana dork that can do it.
+1 Phantasmal Image: This is one of the best blue utility creatures ever printed, and the second best clone behind Phyrexian Metamorph. An easy shoe in for the deck.
+1 Imperial Recruiter: This fetches almost a third of the deck. Plus it's a creature.
+1 Heartwood Storyteller: A cheaper Consecrated Sphinx that is also very controlling.
+1 Cloudstone Curio - Combo machine with Animar and just about any creature with an ETB effect.
+1 Voidmage Husher: Stifle on a stick that resets itself. Seems good.
+1 Chord of Calling: Another card which utilizes the Instant Phase, this time as Wargate.
Again I fully support those changes. I considered Heartwood Storyteller before and now I'm considering him again. My concern is, that while we probably draw the most cards, our opponents can also draw quite a lot and I don't know if it's a good idea to help them find their sweeps and other answers to our explosive gameplan. So some feedback how much of an issue that is would be great. What I like about it, is that he draws cards after after our end step (a.k.a. after we have to discard) thus allowing to untap with a full grip of cards.
I find Winding Canyons a tad better than Alchemists Refuge. While you have have the minor drawback of only being able to flash creatures (your list has only four cards that suffer from that restriction) it activates with colorless mana.
I'm currently trying Nin, the Pain Artist as a low curve carddraw option that is also good in lategame. While it's nice to be able to draw lots of cards at instant speed it could be bothersome to have to untap with her plus she eats up a lot of mana.
On the plus side she's also a pseudo sac outlet and, if you are really desperate for somthing to die, removal.
What do you think?
@Volango: Just read your recommendation for Primal Surge. I tried it out on my deck for quite sometime and totally didn't like it. Although the total amount of non-permanents I ran in Animar is 2, there are still a very high chance I will end up dead when Primal Surge resolves.
One funny situation is during one particular match I had my opponents let me resolve the surge. I flipped through my deck expecting a win but it was stopped short of 10cards due to GSZ. What killed me is the Regal Force that was revealed with Laboratory Maniac in the remaining 10 card library. So much of an instant win card lol.
@ Volango: See my signature, I proxied Imperial Recruiter. I can see that being an issue with Heartwood Storyteller, but most of my opponent's play more spells than I do, benefitting me the most. I want to test Alchemist's Refuge to see wether the flash is worth it (I think it will be). Winding Canyons will most certainly be included if the Refuge proves to be worth it. Nin, the Pain Artist seems like an interesting card, but it is a massive mana sink.
@ Leroy: Glimpse of Nature is great, will probably go in now that the Cloudstone Curio combo is in. Soul of the Harvest is already in the deck, I like it for being a big creature on top of the ability. Primordial Sage is a card I've considered, it may go in for Consecrated Sphinx depending on how combo heavy I make the deck. I don't see how Earthcraft is obvious, it's not super high quality acceleration. I've already stated my opinion on the Eldrazi titans, I don't like them. Fierce Empath is only okay, it fetches very few creatures. However A more combo heavy deck would certainly make use of it as an additional tutor. And this combo oriented deck is where the bounce creatures have their home. Cantrip creatures are excellent, but I'm not sure how many slots I want to devote to them. Tutors are cool, but their spells. Wirewood Symbiote is cool, setting up some Legacy level combo. What does a Trinket Mage toolbox actually do in this deck? I don't need cards a the cost of creatures, I'd rather just have more creatures.
@ nekorin: I have been wholly unimpressed with Primal Surge for that exact reason. You can't have any non-permanents in your library when it goes off.
I second Fierce Empath. I play him in most green decks cause even if there are not that many targets he's usually worth it. But in no other deck he's as good as in this one. At cmc3 he's an easy early +1/+1 counter for Animar but most of the time you cast him for G which makes the fatty you get 1 less to cast and there are a lot of really strong options you have.
Need to refill your hand? get Zegana, need a fast board position? get Maelstrom Wanderer, need to make your army of utility creatures really dangerous? get Craterhoof Behemoth?, need removal? get Duplicant, and so on...
This deck has cmc6+ creatures that can answer nearly every situation it would be a shame not to run the one card that can get them
Also before including Primordial Sage rather play the Empath because he can get you Soul of the Harvest anyway.
I used Winding Canyons for a while but cut it for more colored sources. Now that the manabase is stronger I'm thinking of putting it back in. It's nice especially in big multiplayer rounds. The coolest thing I've done so far with it was flashing a Phantasmal Image, copying my Draining Whelk countering someones Acadamy Rector :D.
I've seen Warp World being discussed some time ago for Animar somewhere. What do you think of it?
In my latest round of playtesting I managed to achieve four turn 5 infinite combo wins, with the only possible way to break the combo being instant speed destruction or a counter spell (almost all the infinite combos run at instant speed). Because combo seems so strong, I'm looking to push the deck more in that direction. That means additional counter spells and redundant combo pieces. It also means more acceleration and tutoring as ways to set up the combo and rebuild if you lose the combo.
-1 Gyre Sage: This thing is great, but requires set up. I needed room for more control and combo, so even powerhouses like this got cut. Depending on how the deck fares moving forward, this may get readded.
-1 Indrik Stomphowler: With the addition of two more counter creatures, this card's value dropped dramatically. Took out for space and a lower curve.
-1 Consecrated Sphinx: This is a very questionable choice, but I think it's the right one. This typically draws a bunch when I don't need it or doesn't draw a thing. Heartwood Storyteller has shown to be much more consistent. Plus this costs 6.
-1 Gruul Ragebeast: A great card which gives me absolute board control, at the cost of being able to play cheap creatures. This also costs 7.
-1 Fires of Yavimaya: Haste is critically important, but the combos don't like noncreatures. I took this out in favour of Urabrask, who I think will do a much better job at a conditional 2 mana.
-1 Dryad Arbor: I'll admit I was excited to play with this card, especially with Green Sun's. However I have found it to be a very lackluster card, bad as a creature and bad as a land. With two green 1-drops and four at 2, I felt comfortable cutting this card.
-1 Forest: It's a basic, what more can I say. I think the only thing I can say about this is that I think I need to rebalance my basics. This deck needs green from turn 1, all three by turn 2 or 3, and double blue on turn 4. 2-2-5 Islands-Mountains-Forests or 3-2-5 are my current ideas.
+1 Mystic Snake: A creature counter for 3. What more do I need?
+1 Venser, Shaper Savant: How about a creature counter at 2! With a bigger butt and additional bounce application! While this card is effectively Remand (and Bounce) on a stick as opposed to Counterspell, it makes up with additional utility and effectively having a cantrip. Did I mention this costs 2? (Writing this review of the card makes me like it even more.)
+1 Urabrask the Hidden: This grants everything haste, wrecks Kaalia, and conditionally costs 2. Seems good as a replacement for Fires of Yavimaya.
+1 Great Whale: A second, slightly more expensive (read, BIGGER) Peregrine Drake seems fine. With the deck's new combo direction this card will do some work.
+1 Equilibrium: Along with Cloudstone Curio, this is the Combobreaker. With this on the board I basically go infinite.
+1 Reflecting Pool: Almost as good as Command Tower. 'Nuff said.
+1 Winding Canyons: Along with a better Combo Phase, I've also tried this deck to have a better Instant Phase (opponent's end step). This accomplishes that goal almost as good as Alchemist's Refuge.
So I have been doing a lot of work on this deck in the past few weeks, most notably testing alternative optimal builds. I've paid particular attention to the mana base and the combo-control elements of the deck. I've also decided to separate and produce a second list to represent an absolute optimal build of the deck, including hard to get cards such as Imperial Recruiter and Dual Lands which are too good for regular casual play. I recommend using proxies if you want to experience Animar in his full, combo-tastic glory.
Now without further ado, here's today's update explanations:
-3 Izzet, Simic and Gruul Guildgate: These are great budget cards, good in most EDH decks. I recommend running these cards if you don't need the slots for basics. However Animar is typically a deck which likes basics and playing untapped lands.
-1 Kazandu Refuge: The Refuges are basically extra Guildgates with up side. Run these if you would run the Guildgates, otherwise there are better duals.
-1 Skaarg the Ragepits: Animar is also a deck which likes coloured mana, meaning you absolutely need to limit the number of nonbasics which tap for colourless. However this is definitely a card to consider as it does just win games. However Kessig Wolf Run does the exact same thing better. Considering the deck typically wins with combo, not aggro, this is a pretty safe cut.
-1 Creeping Corrosion: This usually wants to go off turn 4 or 5, clearing your opponents' signets and other utility artifacts. However Animar usually wants to start casting loads of creatures at that point. Spot removal is fine for most of what you want to be doing, I think this is probably a safe cut.
-1 Man-o'-War: Most players really like this, I think it's just fine. More often than not tempo removal isn't very good in EDH unless it is played at instant speed or en-masse. Man-o'-War just wasn't as good as I hoped it would be, rarely ever resulting in the blowout bounces you can get in faster formats. However I persisted with the card, not only because it accelerates the combo. However with both Cloudstone Curio and Equilibrium, this no longer really had a place. An additional consideration was the inclusion of Yeva and a desire to maximize her ability by making the deck as green and creature-y as possible.
+3 Shivan Reef, Yavimaya Coast, Karplusan Forest: Pain lands are really good in EDH. They etb untaped, allowing you to make full use of your first few turns' mana. I'm honestly surprised I missed these for as long as I did.
+1 Rootbound Crag: The check lands are great for consistently getting a turn 3 Animar. They're not as good in EDH as you can't run full 4-sets of shocks and fetches, but still worth running.
+1 Copperline Gorge: More often than not this is just a Guildgate, however the potential to enter untaped in the first 3 turns makes this worth including. My biggest complaint is probably that this is Gruul not Simic.
+1 Yeva, Nature's Herald: Giving pretty much all the creatures in the deck flash seems really strong, plus a reasonably sized body. Being able to play your deck at instant speed is very strong, this adds redundancy to cards such as Winding Canyons and Alchemist's Refuge.
+1 Ruric That, the Unbowed: No matter what, they're taking 6. This smashes face, messes with ever-present blue, and blocks everything under the sun. All for the low, low price of 2 (6) mana.
In the past few weeks I've been doing general waves of changes and edits to my decks as I concentrate the general value of my collection in build up to Modern Masters. Now that the set is out I have started acquiring new cards and I feel now is as good as any to post all my recent edits.
+1 Quirion Dryad: I've only played with this twice, but both times it's been stellar as a beat stick. This is effectively a second Animar for damage purposes, growing incredibly quickly and beating much face.
+1 Trygon Predator: Taking out all the spell-based artifact/enchantment removal meant that I needed some more creature-based artifact/enchantment removal. Although I haven't fully tested it, this card seemed like a good choice.
+1 Manic Vandal: ETB effects are really good in Animar, this basically acts as a replacement for Ancient Grudge. While Ancient Grudge is no doubt "better" it isn't a creature.
+1 Fierce Empath: This searches for a not insignificant percentage of my deck. While better exists, this is good enough.
+1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir: This grants all my creatures (not just the green ones), all important flash. However this comes at the cost of triple-U. However flash is just that good, you don't even need to factor in the second ability screwing over your opponents' instant phases.
+1 Plasm Capture: An additional counterspell is never bad, especially Mana Drain.
I am back! In anticipation of a wave of new changes following the release of Commander 2.0 I have decided to fully update this page, so as to reflect the actual state of the deck.
I've been considering building an Animar deck for play strictly on MTGO. I'm learning that the meta online is absolutely shameless and you have to be playing a strong deck or you'll just get walked all over! How does this deck play out? Are you just playing tons of creatures for value pumping Animar and making following creatures cheaper?
This deck is quite aggressive, often winning via combo early. A key element of the strategy is getting Animar on the board as early as possible, followed by quickly pounding out as many cost effective creatures as possible. This is one place where I differ a lot from Gelf in that I value creatures which tap for mana quite highly. A turn 1 Birds of Paradise equals a turn 2 Animar, which means an amazing turn 3. Bloom Tender is a hidden gem, as it taps for 3 mana with Animar on the table. Plus Pestermite and Cloudstone Curio (plus another creature which costs 2 or less) that equals infinite mana. It's interactions like that which I have tried to maximize. Of course the deck isn't optimal; the mana base could do with some work, cards like Imperial Recruiter are essential for a truly competitive build, etc. It is very much up to your discretion how you want to build the deck, but I would advise not focusing too hard on combo. Torpor Orb is a terrible little piece of s*** which absolutely wrecks the deck, hence the need for Ancient Grudge and co. This version of the deck has problems with the numerous graveyard combo decks in EDH, in that there are very few ways to keep up past the early game. It is also worth noting that the deck is particularly vulnerable to spot removal, especially of Animar in the early game.
Updated the list. This covers most, but not all of the changes that occurred during Theros block. I haven't played the deck a lot in the past few months as I have been at school, but I've been trying to keep it as up to date as possible. No doubt there will be another big update in the summer when Conspiracy comes out.
1) Time Spiral is the best of those three cards, absolutely worth considering. I personally don't play it because I prefer infinite creature loops, but in a straightforward deck yes please. I've seen Myojin and Regal Force on lists before, but they're just too expensive. Even if you have a bunch of counters on Animar they still cost CCC, which is probably going to be all of your mana of that colour.
2) Reclamation Sage is an auto-include as a direct upgrade to Acidic Slime. Cheaper is better 90% of the time, especially in a combo deck like Animar.
3) I think Nullstone Gargoyle isn't worth the paper it's printed on. I have never had a game where it would've done anything. If you have 6+ counters on Animar (enough to make Nullstone Gargoyle an attractive play), why not just win instead?
4) Fauna Shaman is better, but I'm light on tutors. Every point of mana is precious in Animar and I don't want to be wasting time and mana to get that exact card I want. Mulligans are free, and as long as you can consistently cast things that affect the board then I don't have a problem with having exactly what I need. That being said Fauna Shaman serves a great dual purpose. You can cast it early to keep the Animar chain going, or you can hold it back till later to fill your hand with answers and engines.
PS: Sorry it took so long to respond to your post.
I've added a new section to the main decklist, explaining how I organize my lists.
On Organization
For those of you who pay particular attention you may notice that my deck is organized in a very particular way. I follow a strict hierarchal system which takes into account card type, converted mana cost, colour, and relative strength, in that order. All of my decks follow this organization pattern and I find it a highly effective tool for gauging the relative mana curve of my deck while also being easy to read. It also makes finding a particular card in the list easy, while at the same time showing similar cards to either side.
1) Card Type: I use the traditional split between Creatures, Spells, and Lands. Typically this comes out to about a third each way (less so in Animar). If my deck were in a stack, sorted, I would have all the creatures organized on top of all the lands, on top of all the spells. I find this is a very easy way to show the deck and gauge relative creature/land/spell count.
2) Converted Mana Cost: Next to card type, cost is probably the most important part of a card. While organizing by actual cost would be a lesson in anal retentiveness, cmc is perfectly fine. With Animar in particular it is important to keep in mind coloured costs as they are the true limiting factor when playing the deck.
3) Colour: Colour is the third obvious sorting method and combined with cmc and true cost can tell us a lot about how the deck will play and how to structure the mana base. I strictly respect Wizards’ organization of the colour pie (for Animar as of Khans it is GUR), placing multi-coloured first (M, in no particular internal colour order) and colourless (artifacts and such, A) last.
4) Relative Strength: This is a fairly subjective area, requiring an understanding of the way the deck plays and what cards will be more useful when. This area is most definitely subject to change as my thinking and understanding of the deck change. Note that this area is relative strength within the deck, not in a complete vacuum. As such it’s possible to rank Bloom Tender above Fauna Shaman, even though the later has shown to be the stronger card.
You can tell a lot by how someone organizes their deck, by purpose (is Man-o’-War removal or a combo piece?), by power level (Bloom Tender vs Fauna Shaman), by some other system (A-Z, true cost, set, etc).
Hi Jaxck,
I see that Arbor Elf is in your decklist.
I think that its main purpose is to get a round 2 Animar into battlefield.
Am I right?
In that case, did it happen almost frequently or was it a remote possibility (e.g. it happened just once in 20 matches in which you played it your first turn)?
I'm asking this to you because I think that it could be an interesting card, but I'd like to understand well its place into the deck before trying it.
Thank you in advance for your answer.
Hey Jeravol, sorry for missing your comment. Arbor Elf is in there to enable turn 2 Animar yes. Arbor Elf is better than Llanowar Elves due to his ability to tap for blue or red later on in the game when you need those colours more.
Np Jaxck, and thank you for the answer.
I was looking for cards to enable a turn two Animar. Arbor Elf is very good for that and I agree that later in the game is very useful with Breeding Pool and Stomping Ground, but I was trying with Wild Cantor: it can enable a turn 2 Animar also with basic lands (e.g. with 1 Mountain and 1 Island).
What do you think about this card?
I see that the bad thing of Wild Cantor is that it has to be sacrified, so it isn't so good with Cloudstone Curio or Birthing Pod, but if its main purpose is Animar acceleration it shouldn't be so bad...
@ Seravol: Wild Cantor is certainly an interesting card, but I would rather have a more permanent piece of acceleration. That being said, Wild Cantor is certainly worth trying out. I don't currently interact too much with the graveyard, but I could see the inclusion of strong sac effects such as Wild Cantor changing all that. To be honest I've fallen out of favour with Arbor Elf since the printing of Rattleclaw Mystic, as it really isn't super consistent. There are only six Forests in the whole deck, which really isn't enough.
Here is the second draft of the Animar Artifacts deck I posted in Gelf's thread a couple days ago:
what tricks do you usually do with coral trickster, just mana?
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
URGANIMARURG In the folklore of its plane, the Animar is the ultimate source of all life—the seed from which all creation grows. In the presence of Animar, crops blossom and herds thrive, and the wake of its wanderings determines the course of the seasons.
Trickster is great early for the extra mana (I'm a huge fan of Karoos) or for messing with your opponents. You can shut down powerful manafacts with untap costs, prevent a critical early burst of damage, gain extra mana, Trickster has a lot going for it. Late game it becomes a free creature, unlike a lot of similar cards which cost more. The types are also mildly relevant now that Grave Sifter exists.
-1 Arbor Elf: With only half a dozen Forests, this just doesn't hit often enough.
-1 Phantasmal Image: The primary utility of this creature was as a cheap way to kill commanders. With that gone it's just another dude. I still need to run the numbers, but it might be worth including if there are enough creatures which having two of on the board is ideal.
-1 Willbender: Stratus Dancer is effectively a direct upgrade. This shares a slot with Coral Trickster, and I prefer the Trickster.
-1 Genesis Hydra: This is a very, very good card in Animar. It does everything that you want at an extremely affordable price. However it is extremely anti-synergistic with Cascade (as are all Hydras) and Cascade is simply better.
-1 Deceiver Exarch: This was originally included as redundancy for Pestermite. However Coral Trickster is just better, and allows me to concentrate slots.
-1 Kruphix, God of Horizons: This is a strong card. However it is suboptimal in Animar and I'd rather just focus on winning.
-1 Artisan of Kozilek: The Eldrazi are just too expensive to justify, even with relevant abilities. It is rare that you can generate enough mana (including Animar's free mana) to reliably hit this and do something else on your turn.
-1 Bane of Progress: This is a surprisingly dead card considering how many essential artifacts there are in the deck.
-1 Fire-Lit Thicket: This is a debatable choice. I need to be running at least 2 Mountains, but I'm still not sure which are the four best dual cycles to run.
-1 Grove of the Burnwillows: It's amazing how much 1 life matters in EDH.
-1 Mosswort Bridge: My cards are already cheap, I'd rather get a bunch of free power.
+1 Stratus Dancer: Direct upgrade to Willbender.
+1 Den Protector: Direct upgrade to Artisan of Kozilek.
+1 Shaman of the Great Hunt: I've had a lot of success with this guy. He makes every single creature on your side of the field into threats extremely quickly, not to mention he can almost always be a free Divination or Harmonize every turn.
+1 Ancestral Statue: I shouldn't have to explain this card.
+1 Lodestone Golem: This is an extremely potent control card which, as a creature, still progresses us towards victory. It is very easy to bounce this guy to cast our spells and keep him on the field on our opponents' turns.
+1 Primordial Sage: Redundancy on Soul of the Harvest. This or Soul plus any of the numerous 0-mana bounce engines in the deck turns into a lot of cards very quickly.
+1 Grave Sifter: This should net you at least two, if not three, cards from your graveyard every time you cast it.
+1 Beastcaller Savant: This turns many of the 1-mana bounce engines into 0-mana engines.
+1 Cinder Glade: This is effectively a dual land which enters the battlefield tapped. There is nothing wrong with that.
+1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood. This spreads our opponents' kill spells and can translate into a lot of power over the course of the game. It combos beautifully with Shaman of the Great Hunt.
+1 Mountain: All tri-colour EDH decks should have a minimum of 8 basics, with at least 2 of each type.
Explanations:
-2 Terramorphic Expanse and Evolving Wilds: The basic fetches are great cards, but I needed landslots for other uses. With three real fetches now, I think their loss is fine.
-3 Izzet, Simic, Gruul Signets: The Signets are great cards, but at this point I don't think the deck needs them.
-1 Ondu Giant: Redundancy is great, especially on such a useful ability. However I have three other cards with the same or similar ETBs and ramp's value goes down dramatically once you pass 2 mana.
-1 Forgotten Ancient: The king of +1/+1 counters, really only Animar is better. However I've been pushing the deck to be more and more competitive, meaning some stuff has to go. This was really just too slow.
-1 Darksteel Colossus: Big Daddy colorless is awesome, but too damn expensive.
-1 Phyrexian Ingester: Duplicant is a great card, however this version often sits dead in my hand. I opted to take it out in favour of a more aggressive draw.
+1 Wooded Foothills: A case of "strictly better" with the basic fetches.
+1 Alchemist's Refuge: This turns every card into a combat trick, allowing me to compete in the Instant Phase (otherwise known as your opponent's end step).
+1 Arbor Elf: Turn 2 Animar is amazing, this is the only other 1-cmc mana dork that can do it.
+1 Phantasmal Image: This is one of the best blue utility creatures ever printed, and the second best clone behind Phyrexian Metamorph. An easy shoe in for the deck.
+1 Imperial Recruiter: This fetches almost a third of the deck. Plus it's a creature.
+1 Heartwood Storyteller: A cheaper Consecrated Sphinx that is also very controlling.
+1 Cloudstone Curio - Combo machine with Animar and just about any creature with an ETB effect.
+1 Voidmage Husher: Stifle on a stick that resets itself. Seems good.
+1 Chord of Calling: Another card which utilizes the Instant Phase, this time as Wargate.
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.
Again I fully support those changes. I considered Heartwood Storyteller before and now I'm considering him again. My concern is, that while we probably draw the most cards, our opponents can also draw quite a lot and I don't know if it's a good idea to help them find their sweeps and other answers to our explosive gameplan. So some feedback how much of an issue that is would be great. What I like about it, is that he draws cards after after our end step (a.k.a. after we have to discard) thus allowing to untap with a full grip of cards.
I find Winding Canyons a tad better than Alchemists Refuge. While you have have the minor drawback of only being able to flash creatures (your list has only four cards that suffer from that restriction) it activates with colorless mana.
I'm currently trying Nin, the Pain Artist as a low curve carddraw option that is also good in lategame. While it's nice to be able to draw lots of cards at instant speed it could be bothersome to have to untap with her plus she eats up a lot of mana.
On the plus side she's also a pseudo sac outlet and, if you are really desperate for somthing to die, removal.
What do you think?
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
One funny situation is during one particular match I had my opponents let me resolve the surge. I flipped through my deck expecting a win but it was stopped short of 10cards due to GSZ. What killed me is the Regal Force that was revealed with Laboratory Maniac in the remaining 10 card library. So much of an instant win card lol.
WUBRG Reaper King - Elf Tribal WUBRG | Tribal Fun
WRG Gishath, Sun's Avatar - Dinosaur Tribal WRG | Rawr!!!
WUG Derevi, Empyrial Tactician - Enchantress Tactics WUG | Enchantments Focused
GBG The Gitrog Monster - Land Shenanigans GBG | Lands/Mill Focused
WBW Kambal, Consul of Life Allocation Matters WBW | Life Gain/Loss focused
UBR Kess, Dissident Mage of the Lotus UBR | Spellslinger
BGB Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons - Counters & Tokens BGB | -1/-1 counters focused
@ Leroy: Glimpse of Nature is great, will probably go in now that the Cloudstone Curio combo is in. Soul of the Harvest is already in the deck, I like it for being a big creature on top of the ability. Primordial Sage is a card I've considered, it may go in for Consecrated Sphinx depending on how combo heavy I make the deck. I don't see how Earthcraft is obvious, it's not super high quality acceleration. I've already stated my opinion on the Eldrazi titans, I don't like them. Fierce Empath is only okay, it fetches very few creatures. However A more combo heavy deck would certainly make use of it as an additional tutor. And this combo oriented deck is where the bounce creatures have their home. Cantrip creatures are excellent, but I'm not sure how many slots I want to devote to them. Tutors are cool, but their spells. Wirewood Symbiote is cool, setting up some Legacy level combo. What does a Trinket Mage toolbox actually do in this deck? I don't need cards a the cost of creatures, I'd rather just have more creatures.
@ nekorin: I have been wholly unimpressed with Primal Surge for that exact reason. You can't have any non-permanents in your library when it goes off.
GWU Rafiq
RWB Zurgo
WBG Ghave
WUB Oloro
WBR Kaalia (Archived)
My Blog, currently working on series about my custom set Cazia.
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I second Fierce Empath. I play him in most green decks cause even if there are not that many targets he's usually worth it. But in no other deck he's as good as in this one. At cmc3 he's an easy early +1/+1 counter for Animar but most of the time you cast him for G which makes the fatty you get 1 less to cast and there are a lot of really strong options you have.
Need to refill your hand? get Zegana, need a fast board position? get Maelstrom Wanderer, need to make your army of utility creatures really dangerous? get Craterhoof Behemoth?, need removal? get Duplicant, and so on...
This deck has cmc6+ creatures that can answer nearly every situation it would be a shame not to run the one card that can get them
Also before including Primordial Sage rather play the Empath because he can get you Soul of the Harvest anyway.
I used Winding Canyons for a while but cut it for more colored sources. Now that the manabase is stronger I'm thinking of putting it back in. It's nice especially in big multiplayer rounds. The coolest thing I've done so far with it was flashing a Phantasmal Image, copying my Draining Whelk countering someones Acadamy Rector :D.
I've seen Warp World being discussed some time ago for Animar somewhere. What do you think of it?
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
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My Blog, currently working on series about my custom set Cazia.
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-1 Gyre Sage: This thing is great, but requires set up. I needed room for more control and combo, so even powerhouses like this got cut. Depending on how the deck fares moving forward, this may get readded.
-1 Indrik Stomphowler: With the addition of two more counter creatures, this card's value dropped dramatically. Took out for space and a lower curve.
-1 Consecrated Sphinx: This is a very questionable choice, but I think it's the right one. This typically draws a bunch when I don't need it or doesn't draw a thing. Heartwood Storyteller has shown to be much more consistent. Plus this costs 6.
-1 Gruul Ragebeast: A great card which gives me absolute board control, at the cost of being able to play cheap creatures. This also costs 7.
-1 Fires of Yavimaya: Haste is critically important, but the combos don't like noncreatures. I took this out in favour of Urabrask, who I think will do a much better job at a conditional 2 mana.
-1 Dryad Arbor: I'll admit I was excited to play with this card, especially with Green Sun's. However I have found it to be a very lackluster card, bad as a creature and bad as a land. With two green 1-drops and four at 2, I felt comfortable cutting this card.
-1 Forest: It's a basic, what more can I say. I think the only thing I can say about this is that I think I need to rebalance my basics. This deck needs green from turn 1, all three by turn 2 or 3, and double blue on turn 4. 2-2-5 Islands-Mountains-Forests or 3-2-5 are my current ideas.
+1 Mystic Snake: A creature counter for 3. What more do I need?
+1 Venser, Shaper Savant: How about a creature counter at 2! With a bigger butt and additional bounce application! While this card is effectively Remand (and Bounce) on a stick as opposed to Counterspell, it makes up with additional utility and effectively having a cantrip. Did I mention this costs 2? (Writing this review of the card makes me like it even more.)
+1 Urabrask the Hidden: This grants everything haste, wrecks Kaalia, and conditionally costs 2. Seems good as a replacement for Fires of Yavimaya.
+1 Great Whale: A second, slightly more expensive (read, BIGGER) Peregrine Drake seems fine. With the deck's new combo direction this card will do some work.
+1 Equilibrium: Along with Cloudstone Curio, this is the Combobreaker. With this on the board I basically go infinite.
+1 Reflecting Pool: Almost as good as Command Tower. 'Nuff said.
+1 Winding Canyons: Along with a better Combo Phase, I've also tried this deck to have a better Instant Phase (opponent's end step). This accomplishes that goal almost as good as Alchemist's Refuge.
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Now without further ado, here's today's update explanations:
-3 Izzet, Simic and Gruul Guildgate: These are great budget cards, good in most EDH decks. I recommend running these cards if you don't need the slots for basics. However Animar is typically a deck which likes basics and playing untapped lands.
-1 Kazandu Refuge: The Refuges are basically extra Guildgates with up side. Run these if you would run the Guildgates, otherwise there are better duals.
-1 Skaarg the Ragepits: Animar is also a deck which likes coloured mana, meaning you absolutely need to limit the number of nonbasics which tap for colourless. However this is definitely a card to consider as it does just win games. However Kessig Wolf Run does the exact same thing better. Considering the deck typically wins with combo, not aggro, this is a pretty safe cut.
-1 Creeping Corrosion: This usually wants to go off turn 4 or 5, clearing your opponents' signets and other utility artifacts. However Animar usually wants to start casting loads of creatures at that point. Spot removal is fine for most of what you want to be doing, I think this is probably a safe cut.
-1 Man-o'-War: Most players really like this, I think it's just fine. More often than not tempo removal isn't very good in EDH unless it is played at instant speed or en-masse. Man-o'-War just wasn't as good as I hoped it would be, rarely ever resulting in the blowout bounces you can get in faster formats. However I persisted with the card, not only because it accelerates the combo. However with both Cloudstone Curio and Equilibrium, this no longer really had a place. An additional consideration was the inclusion of Yeva and a desire to maximize her ability by making the deck as green and creature-y as possible.
+3 Shivan Reef, Yavimaya Coast, Karplusan Forest: Pain lands are really good in EDH. They etb untaped, allowing you to make full use of your first few turns' mana. I'm honestly surprised I missed these for as long as I did.
+1 Rootbound Crag: The check lands are great for consistently getting a turn 3 Animar. They're not as good in EDH as you can't run full 4-sets of shocks and fetches, but still worth running.
+1 Copperline Gorge: More often than not this is just a Guildgate, however the potential to enter untaped in the first 3 turns makes this worth including. My biggest complaint is probably that this is Gruul not Simic.
+1 Yeva, Nature's Herald: Giving pretty much all the creatures in the deck flash seems really strong, plus a reasonably sized body. Being able to play your deck at instant speed is very strong, this adds redundancy to cards such as Winding Canyons and Alchemist's Refuge.
+1 Ruric That, the Unbowed: No matter what, they're taking 6. This smashes face, messes with ever-present blue, and blocks everything under the sun. All for the low, low price of 2 (6) mana.
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Todays update explanations: INCOMPLETE, EDIT PENDING
+1 Quirion Dryad: I've only played with this twice, but both times it's been stellar as a beat stick. This is effectively a second Animar for damage purposes, growing incredibly quickly and beating much face.
+1 Trygon Predator: Taking out all the spell-based artifact/enchantment removal meant that I needed some more creature-based artifact/enchantment removal. Although I haven't fully tested it, this card seemed like a good choice.
+1 Manic Vandal: ETB effects are really good in Animar, this basically acts as a replacement for Ancient Grudge. While Ancient Grudge is no doubt "better" it isn't a creature.
+1 Fierce Empath: This searches for a not insignificant percentage of my deck. While better exists, this is good enough.
+1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir: This grants all my creatures (not just the green ones), all important flash. However this comes at the cost of triple-U. However flash is just that good, you don't even need to factor in the second ability screwing over your opponents' instant phases.
+1 Plasm Capture: An additional counterspell is never bad, especially Mana Drain.
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WBR Kaalia (Archived)
My Blog, currently working on series about my custom set Cazia.
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GWU Rafiq
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WBR Kaalia (Archived)
My Blog, currently working on series about my custom set Cazia.
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23rd of May, 2014
GWU Rafiq
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There is a time you had given me a tip on my thread, and only now I see how good was your tip, cut Slithermuse and Somberwald Sage. Thanks
I have some questions:
1) Time Spiral vs Myojin of Seeing Winds vs Regal Force, which you think is best? What is the order of priority?
2) And you think Reclamation Sage will have a slot in this deck? Among it and Acidic Slime, which do you prefer?
3)What do you think of Nullstone Gargoyle? Believes it deserves a slot in this deck?
4)In your opinion, what is better in your deck: Fauna Shaman or Sylvan Tutor? Why ? (already run with Survival of the Fittest, Worldly Tutor and Imperial Recruiter)
Thank you very much!
1) Time Spiral is the best of those three cards, absolutely worth considering. I personally don't play it because I prefer infinite creature loops, but in a straightforward deck yes please. I've seen Myojin and Regal Force on lists before, but they're just too expensive. Even if you have a bunch of counters on Animar they still cost CCC, which is probably going to be all of your mana of that colour.
2) Reclamation Sage is an auto-include as a direct upgrade to Acidic Slime. Cheaper is better 90% of the time, especially in a combo deck like Animar.
3) I think Nullstone Gargoyle isn't worth the paper it's printed on. I have never had a game where it would've done anything. If you have 6+ counters on Animar (enough to make Nullstone Gargoyle an attractive play), why not just win instead?
4) Fauna Shaman is better, but I'm light on tutors. Every point of mana is precious in Animar and I don't want to be wasting time and mana to get that exact card I want. Mulligans are free, and as long as you can consistently cast things that affect the board then I don't have a problem with having exactly what I need. That being said Fauna Shaman serves a great dual purpose. You can cast it early to keep the Animar chain going, or you can hold it back till later to fill your hand with answers and engines.
PS: Sorry it took so long to respond to your post.
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1st of September, 2014
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On Organization
For those of you who pay particular attention you may notice that my deck is organized in a very particular way. I follow a strict hierarchal system which takes into account card type, converted mana cost, colour, and relative strength, in that order. All of my decks follow this organization pattern and I find it a highly effective tool for gauging the relative mana curve of my deck while also being easy to read. It also makes finding a particular card in the list easy, while at the same time showing similar cards to either side.
1) Card Type: I use the traditional split between Creatures, Spells, and Lands. Typically this comes out to about a third each way (less so in Animar). If my deck were in a stack, sorted, I would have all the creatures organized on top of all the lands, on top of all the spells. I find this is a very easy way to show the deck and gauge relative creature/land/spell count.
2) Converted Mana Cost: Next to card type, cost is probably the most important part of a card. While organizing by actual cost would be a lesson in anal retentiveness, cmc is perfectly fine. With Animar in particular it is important to keep in mind coloured costs as they are the true limiting factor when playing the deck.
3) Colour: Colour is the third obvious sorting method and combined with cmc and true cost can tell us a lot about how the deck will play and how to structure the mana base. I strictly respect Wizards’ organization of the colour pie (for Animar as of Khans it is GUR), placing multi-coloured first (M, in no particular internal colour order) and colourless (artifacts and such, A) last.
4) Relative Strength: This is a fairly subjective area, requiring an understanding of the way the deck plays and what cards will be more useful when. This area is most definitely subject to change as my thinking and understanding of the deck change. Note that this area is relative strength within the deck, not in a complete vacuum. As such it’s possible to rank Bloom Tender above Fauna Shaman, even though the later has shown to be the stronger card.
You can tell a lot by how someone organizes their deck, by purpose (is Man-o’-War removal or a combo piece?), by power level (Bloom Tender vs Fauna Shaman), by some other system (A-Z, true cost, set, etc).
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I see that Arbor Elf is in your decklist.
I think that its main purpose is to get a round 2 Animar into battlefield.
Am I right?
In that case, did it happen almost frequently or was it a remote possibility (e.g. it happened just once in 20 matches in which you played it your first turn)?
I'm asking this to you because I think that it could be an interesting card, but I'd like to understand well its place into the deck before trying it.
Thank you in advance for your answer.
Tiny - Yasova
More updates incoming to main post...
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I was looking for cards to enable a turn two Animar. Arbor Elf is very good for that and I agree that later in the game is very useful with Breeding Pool and Stomping Ground, but I was trying with Wild Cantor: it can enable a turn 2 Animar also with basic lands (e.g. with 1 Mountain and 1 Island).
What do you think about this card?
I see that the bad thing of Wild Cantor is that it has to be sacrified, so it isn't so good with Cloudstone Curio or Birthing Pod, but if its main purpose is Animar acceleration it shouldn't be so bad...
Tiny - Yasova
Here is the second draft of the Animar Artifacts deck I posted in Gelf's thread a couple days ago:
Animar Artifacts (Second Draft)
1 Animar, Soul of Elements
Creatures: 53
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Bloom Tender
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Rattleclaw Mystic
1 Chief Engineer
1 Dream Stalker
1 Arcbound Ravager
1 Myr Retriever
1 Copper Myr
1 Silver Myr
1 Iron Myr
1 Shardless Agent
1 Eternal Witness
1 Wood Elves
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Fierce Empath
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Man-o'-War
1 Pestermite
1 Trinket Mage
1 Scarecrone
1 Shimmer Myr
1 Alloy Myr
1 Sylvok Replica
1 Master Biomancer
1 Fathom Mage
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Forgotten Ancient
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Vedalken Archmage
1 Faerie Mechanist
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Arcbound Reclaimer
1 Extruder
1 Arcbound Crusher
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Hooded Hydra
1 Mulldrifter
1 Peregrine Drake
1 Etherium-Horn Sorcerer
1 Soul of the Harvest
1 Draining Whelk
1 Workhorse
1 Duplicant
1 Triskelion
1 Palinchron
1 Great Whale
1 Myr Battlesphere
1 Maelstrom Wanderer
1 Artisan of Kozilek
Lands: 36
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Breeding Pool
1 Stomping Grounds
1 Steam Vents
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Temple of Abandon
1 Temple of Epiphany
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Flooded Grove
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Command Tower
1 Ancient Ziggarut
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Frontier Bivouac
1 Glimmervoid
1 Opal Palace
1 Tree of Tales
1 Seat of Synod
1 Great Furnace
1 Eye of Ugin
1 Winding Canyons
1 Buried Ruin
3 Forest
3 Island
1 Mountain
1 Hardened Scales
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Skullclamp
1 Blade of the Bloodchief
1 Genesis Chamber
1 Bow of Nylea
1 Equilibrium
1 Birthing Pod
1 Chord of Calling
1 Trading Post
Changelog (Animar Artifacts)
16th of October, 2014
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In the folklore of its plane, the Animar is the ultimate source of all life—the seed from which all creation grows. In the presence of Animar, crops blossom and herds thrive, and the wake of its wanderings determines the course of the seasons.
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13th of October, 2015
Explanations
-1 Arbor Elf: With only half a dozen Forests, this just doesn't hit often enough.
-1 Phantasmal Image: The primary utility of this creature was as a cheap way to kill commanders. With that gone it's just another dude. I still need to run the numbers, but it might be worth including if there are enough creatures which having two of on the board is ideal.
-1 Willbender: Stratus Dancer is effectively a direct upgrade. This shares a slot with Coral Trickster, and I prefer the Trickster.
-1 Genesis Hydra: This is a very, very good card in Animar. It does everything that you want at an extremely affordable price. However it is extremely anti-synergistic with Cascade (as are all Hydras) and Cascade is simply better.
-1 Deceiver Exarch: This was originally included as redundancy for Pestermite. However Coral Trickster is just better, and allows me to concentrate slots.
-1 Kruphix, God of Horizons: This is a strong card. However it is suboptimal in Animar and I'd rather just focus on winning.
-1 Artisan of Kozilek: The Eldrazi are just too expensive to justify, even with relevant abilities. It is rare that you can generate enough mana (including Animar's free mana) to reliably hit this and do something else on your turn.
-1 Bane of Progress: This is a surprisingly dead card considering how many essential artifacts there are in the deck.
-1 Fire-Lit Thicket: This is a debatable choice. I need to be running at least 2 Mountains, but I'm still not sure which are the four best dual cycles to run.
-1 Grove of the Burnwillows: It's amazing how much 1 life matters in EDH.
-1 Mosswort Bridge: My cards are already cheap, I'd rather get a bunch of free power.
+1 Stratus Dancer: Direct upgrade to Willbender.
+1 Den Protector: Direct upgrade to Artisan of Kozilek.
+1 Shaman of the Great Hunt: I've had a lot of success with this guy. He makes every single creature on your side of the field into threats extremely quickly, not to mention he can almost always be a free Divination or Harmonize every turn.
+1 Ancestral Statue: I shouldn't have to explain this card.
+1 Lodestone Golem: This is an extremely potent control card which, as a creature, still progresses us towards victory. It is very easy to bounce this guy to cast our spells and keep him on the field on our opponents' turns.
+1 Primordial Sage: Redundancy on Soul of the Harvest. This or Soul plus any of the numerous 0-mana bounce engines in the deck turns into a lot of cards very quickly.
+1 Grave Sifter: This should net you at least two, if not three, cards from your graveyard every time you cast it.
+1 Beastcaller Savant: This turns many of the 1-mana bounce engines into 0-mana engines.
+1 Cinder Glade: This is effectively a dual land which enters the battlefield tapped. There is nothing wrong with that.
+1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood. This spreads our opponents' kill spells and can translate into a lot of power over the course of the game. It combos beautifully with Shaman of the Great Hunt.
+1 Mountain: All tri-colour EDH decks should have a minimum of 8 basics, with at least 2 of each type.
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My Blog, currently working on series about my custom set Cazia.
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