I'm back to animar after spending some time with prossh/meren and i had a few questions about the way your newer cards were running. How did trophy mage work out? I found it to be a subpar draw. I don't have any targets for the recast though. what do you normally go for with woodland bellower? are you making any cool infinite survival of the fittest chains or is it pretty much a vanilla tutor in this build?
I've been playing this deck weekly again at my local card shop. usually 8-16 players. wizards B&R and i've done fantastic. winning two events and top fouring in every one. tishana, voice of thunder is seriously the best draw spell ever.there is no reason to play prime speaker zegana over this and it takes soooo much pressure off of skullclamp and further reduces the need to include artisan of kozilek. it makes summoner's pact an auto include and gives players in my meta(no prime time) a good mid combo fierce empath target. It usually draws for 7 and if you hit a bounce/clone its pretty much over. it does make you want more access to large mid combo ramp like craddle, earthcraft and peregrine drake. rishkar, peema renegade has done well here. costing G it usually produces me GG but has produced GGG mid combo. I'm surprised there isn't more discussion over prosperous pirates. it seems to net excess mana like a rattleclaw mystic or cloud of fairies its just a tad higher up the curve. and did anyone ever mention Mausoleum wanderer here? goes great with chord of calling, bond beetle, artic merfolk, pendlehaven and lots of other Animar utility.
Thoughts on Walking Ballista? Another easy win con, tutorable with Imperial Recruiter or any other creature/artifact tutor. Provides a way to ping creatures if you aren't comboing off and need to answer a creature.
Walking ballista is replacing cloud of faeries for me. I love that it wins from the hand or the table with infinite mana and even though it only wins from the hand with infinite Animar it is still easily bouncable in an Animar build. Of course the true topic is, does Animar need win cons once he's infinite? well, whether he does or doesn't, I say walking ballista has better synergy than craterhoof behemoth or kessig wolf run. Not to mention it's a great early-mid game control option that doesn't break synergy with most animar play styles.
trophy mage could be a great reason to finally consider crucible of worlds as an answer to LD and mass LD and as an accelerant in a deck that runs 9 fetches and can easily miss land drops.
@trmptdrummernature's resurgence draws for your opponent as well, but it will probably net more cards, and for less, in a post wrath scenario
@Agentwise yes you build up a pool of infinite mana by return/casting peregrine drake, cast the hoverguard enough times to retun all their creatures, cast him repeatedly targeting himself till animar has infinite counters, then swing for the win. or use your mana/bounce engine to cast empath/recruiter for a better win condition that circumvents any opposition your opponent may have in place
I have tested alter ego and decided I prefer clones with a lone colored mana cost when available. Dacks duplicate is worth it to me personally, but not alter ego. I have had it resolve with free counters and it be a non issue because I was steam rolling my opponent. but there was also a moment where I couldn't cast it and the other card I needed to. It's still sleeved up but I'm going with gigantoplam in the long run
On the topic of seasons past, i'm not sure I can be excited about a 6 mana sorcery. However, it is an amazing 6 mana sorcery. definitely on that list with cards like all sun's dawn, mangara's tome, grinning totem, cintanual flute that i really wish i had a place for in edh, but i really just don't. makes me wish people i knew still played 5-color. or hi-5 better yet.
on the hoverguard sweepers topic. I once replaced palinchron with this guy for a couple of months. he sounds amazing with animar, a reusable bounce engine that stays in the hand, or a combo piece. the problem is at a whopping 8 mana he's is a 100% dead draw if you're not already winning and kiri-onna is cheaper to hard cast while still possesing the best facet of hoverguard's utility. the ability to interact with your opponents board. kiri fits into the imperial recruiter chain and still removes the same amount of permanents. kiri-onna costs 2 counter 4 life and RRUUU whereas the way I played hoverguard sweeper cost 4 counters 2 life and RRUUU. It just really wasn't the best choice in any scenario. unless i was doing it incorrectly. Not to mention you usually have to burn a set up tutor to search for the sweepers or pay a G to incorporate fierce empath into the chain.
It's been nice to have such a place and such an active group of people willing to discuss animar builds from so many different build perspectives. GELF your animar primer will always contribute to, "what animar is" because any kid who ever searches the internet for help building an animar deck will inevitably be led here. and 60+ pages is practically a book lol
prime speaker zegana and sphinx of utthun can close games when they draw into clones. that's why its important to play peregrine drake and imperial recruiter to find the deck. use the bounce guys you draw to keep recasting the drake. before you know it you've vomited out you're entire drake off of one zegana or sphinx. I've been playing prossh more than animar lately, but everytime animar turns into a late game it seems that mystic remora steels the show on card draw
I've played myojin before. It's a nasty natural order target. 4 green mana EOT instant wins with kiki jiki and co. it sets up super well with worldly/sylvan tutor, its a great board target for living wish,and you can usually bounce it back draw some cards and cast it again. it's nutso for being mono green , the same color as cheap ramp, but without prime time you have to have animar out to cast him so i quit playing him. i removed summoners pact and prophet of kruphix for a snap and a willbender in my list. but myojin/natural order would have been another real threat and a flash option. my target pool just isnt large enough to support natural order, and myojin is a bad draw, i dont play many draw fixers and will bender can steal games and i lowered my curve significantly. nothing replaces prophet of kruphix. its making me play prossh more than animar. i loved prophet. we'll never be allowed to have a way to abuse the turn system efficiently with a creature. emakrul and prophet get nixed but mindslaver and the super recurred time warp spells are legit. seems like combo on a stick biggest matchup isn't control, its the banned list. being RUG combo, animar will always feel the brunt of this and never be able to truly stretch his legs and run free. just think of how ferocious he would be without a ban list...fast bond , trinket mage for a lotus, auto win protean hulk, painter servant is even banned in my meta. technically prophet didn't even get banned here but people are still throwing a fit when you play it. myojin of lifes web is similar to prophet in regards to being a milestone. once it resolves you have a solid defendable point to build from. it's definately a palinchron alternative as it makes it easier to get back on without animar late game. it can be a tricky match up for blue if you keep reactive mana open on the cast. once it resolves and they read it bounce doesn't seem like an answer, lol.
The best response to a player who tapped out for blood moon is probably worldly tutor for kiki jiki :), (And it will re-instill your faith in manamorphose!) seriously though. Playing against red is different. Fetching for basics, not playing animar til turn 5+, casting lots of tutors for earthcraft/phyrexian revoker. All of these things usually being good plays vs heavy red.
Good torpor orb answers like caustic caterpilar and sylvok replica usually pull lots of utility against heavy red themes. 5. 1-2 mana counterspells is usually what I play but right now i'm only running 4. (removed muddle the mixture for chain of vapor), however, i do try and play at. least 10 1-2 mana answers so i'm always interacting with my opponents board in the early turns. animar cant fit the 8+ counterspells needed to see one by turn 3 and do what it does best. animar has to use cards like man o war for utility roles to handle things like meddling mage. save those valuable counterspells for pushing through a win, or not dying. i've had great success with stubborn denial and swan song but flusterstorm and mana drain have been just as amazing. my particular animar didn't support f.o.w. very well. I was already burning through resources at an alarming rate.
I think the real decision on gigantoplasm (for myself) will be in opposition of phantasmal image. One has good early game synergies with other 1-3 CMC creatures whereas the other provides late game utility in the form of a mana sink/ win con. Suddenly your opponents infect, trample, horsemanship, indestructible guy is being blocked by a larger version of himself and you have the offensive presence. Interestingly the utility this clone provides isn't redundant to other clone utility such as vesuvan shapeshifters reusability, the haste of dack's duplicate, clever impersonators artifact clause, or sakshimas ability to become a second animar. I run 4 clones personally but there increasing standards of utility push me to consider working in more over bounce agents. The 3U cost redundancy on clone is something animar has been positioned to benefit from for some time. The fact I can clone your 2 power infect guy and pump for the win is icing on the cake.
Edit: some relevant interactions for gigantoplasm beyond infinite mana, or your new bloom tender surviving pyroclasm and toxic deluge type effects are synergies with prime speaker zegana, ulvenwald tracker, and stubborn denial
tishana, voice of thunder is seriously the best draw spell ever.there is no reason to play prime speaker zegana over this and it takes soooo much pressure off of skullclamp and further reduces the need to include artisan of kozilek. it makes summoner's pact an auto include and gives players in my meta(no prime time) a good mid combo fierce empath target. It usually draws for 7 and if you hit a bounce/clone its pretty much over. it does make you want more access to large mid combo ramp like craddle, earthcraft and peregrine drake. rishkar, peema renegade has done well here. costing G it usually produces me GG but has produced GGG mid combo. I'm surprised there isn't more discussion over prosperous pirates. it seems to net excess mana like a rattleclaw mystic or cloud of fairies its just a tad higher up the curve. and did anyone ever mention Mausoleum wanderer here? goes great with chord of calling, bond beetle, artic merfolk, pendlehaven and lots of other Animar utility.
Walking ballista is replacing cloud of faeries for me. I love that it wins from the hand or the table with infinite mana and even though it only wins from the hand with infinite Animar it is still easily bouncable in an Animar build. Of course the true topic is, does Animar need win cons once he's infinite? well, whether he does or doesn't, I say walking ballista has better synergy than craterhoof behemoth or kessig wolf run. Not to mention it's a great early-mid game control option that doesn't break synergy with most animar play styles.
@Agentwise yes you build up a pool of infinite mana by return/casting peregrine drake, cast the hoverguard enough times to retun all their creatures, cast him repeatedly targeting himself till animar has infinite counters, then swing for the win. or use your mana/bounce engine to cast empath/recruiter for a better win condition that circumvents any opposition your opponent may have in place
on the hoverguard sweepers topic. I once replaced palinchron with this guy for a couple of months. he sounds amazing with animar, a reusable bounce engine that stays in the hand, or a combo piece. the problem is at a whopping 8 mana he's is a 100% dead draw if you're not already winning and kiri-onna is cheaper to hard cast while still possesing the best facet of hoverguard's utility. the ability to interact with your opponents board. kiri fits into the imperial recruiter chain and still removes the same amount of permanents. kiri-onna costs 2 counter 4 life and RRUUU whereas the way I played hoverguard sweeper cost 4 counters 2 life and RRUUU. It just really wasn't the best choice in any scenario. unless i was doing it incorrectly. Not to mention you usually have to burn a set up tutor to search for the sweepers or pay a G to incorporate fierce empath into the chain.
prime speaker zegana and sphinx of utthun can close games when they draw into clones. that's why its important to play peregrine drake and imperial recruiter to find the deck. use the bounce guys you draw to keep recasting the drake. before you know it you've vomited out you're entire drake off of one zegana or sphinx. I've been playing prossh more than animar lately, but everytime animar turns into a late game it seems that mystic remora steels the show on card draw
Good torpor orb answers like caustic caterpilar and sylvok replica usually pull lots of utility against heavy red themes. 5. 1-2 mana counterspells is usually what I play but right now i'm only running 4. (removed muddle the mixture for chain of vapor), however, i do try and play at. least 10 1-2 mana answers so i'm always interacting with my opponents board in the early turns. animar cant fit the 8+ counterspells needed to see one by turn 3 and do what it does best. animar has to use cards like man o war for utility roles to handle things like meddling mage. save those valuable counterspells for pushing through a win, or not dying. i've had great success with stubborn denial and swan song but flusterstorm and mana drain have been just as amazing. my particular animar didn't support f.o.w. very well. I was already burning through resources at an alarming rate.
Edit: some relevant interactions for gigantoplasm beyond infinite mana, or your new bloom tender surviving pyroclasm and toxic deluge type effects are synergies with prime speaker zegana, ulvenwald tracker, and stubborn denial