Animar is a cheap mini Commander with a huge potential. He comes out fast and only gets stronger. His secondary ability is even better. For every +1/+1 Counter on Animar (they do not have to come from your creature summons) the cost to cast a creature for you goes down by 1 colorless. Animar cannot eliminate colored mana requirements, but he can make artifact and colorless creatures free. This INCLUDES Morphers. Therefore, the most expensive a creature can be in this deck, if Animar has 11 counters on him, is 3 mana. Not bad? I think it is great.
Also, it maybe annoying to people if you usue typical Kiki/Pester Combos, but they make for an excellent distraction. Once you hit the requisite mana, your opponents will freak out and begin to focus soley on ending those insta win combos. This means you can easily go infinite on other, less threatening combos while they hold that force of will/pact for Tooth and Nail.
This deck is a champ Multi-player deck. It can hold its own in Duels, but needs a little luck on the opening hand.
I made this deck on a shoestring budget ($160 total cost) so that is why there are no crazy lands in here.
Who Plays this deck?
-People who love combos
-People who like big creatures
-People who do not like Black or white
-Cool Kids
Who does not like this deck?
-Aggro rushers
-Instant control decks
-Duelers
-People scared of Bribery
As you can see, I have removed the KikiJiki nonsense which so so so many players hate to play against. And I can understand that because any red blue deck can use that for a quick outo win, no matter the commander. In its place I have put in cards that are more bounce friendly and ALuren friendly. I also added back Lurking Predators, which I may add to the main deck, depending on whether or not the Kiki Jiki Combo keeps frustrating too many of my playgroup. I also added the Green Scry Card, Cream of the Crop, an excellent way to Scry every time a creature is played. If the creature has power 2 or more, then you are set! At the very leaset, if you do not like the card on top, you can send it to the bottom is the creature is a 1/x.
A Big danger is still Bribery. So I have chosen to still not include Jin-Gitaxsis or Vorinclex, though I may add the latter in just in case my mana base needs more fixing in the middle game.
Enchantments
1x Greater Good Card Advantage
1x Equilibrium Bounce Function
1x Aluren Makes cheap/ALL creatures free (e.g.Man o war)
1x Splinter Twin Hysterical alternative to Kiki Jiki
1x Warstorm Surge Win Condition with bounce ring
9 Free Creatures? Whoa... But how do you use them? Read on.
And Now my explanations for why this deck is Different from the 10-12 other Animar Decks: Storm.
I do not know for sure, but I have not really seen any decks that use animar use the Storm mechanic. When you go into an infinite mana combo, you need to have something to make it all worthwhile. However, if you just managed to get the combo off and you have 2 cards in hand, would it not be nice to have more than just 2 win conditions in your Library to use that infinite mana combo? You see, the infinite mana combos in this deck rely on casting spells over and over again, thus driving up your storm count again....and again.... and again. Suddenly, Grapeshot looks really, really good. It does not just do 1 damage, but can do as much as you need whether it be 40 or 4000.
Mind's Desire is also suddenly awesome. You can burn right through your top 50 cards and play all the spells for free, if you want. This is almost ALWAYS and auto win. Temporal Fissure: Goodbye enemy board. Try winning when your hand is 20+ cards and you have no board. This one is also useful in smaller quantities; returning 5-10 cards from the enemy side is still pretty darn good. Heck, bounce their three blue sources and play another bomb with no fear of countering!
Of Course, there is always Fireball and Comet Storm but you do not have to wholly depend on them.
Not the most fun way to win, but very very effective. People will usually kill pestermite if they find him, but they will miss Deceiver Exarch (Well at least until he destroys them )
I also added Splinter Twin which yu can put on either Pestermite or Deceiver Exarch to auto win as well.
Combo Action
Cloudstone Curio is excellent for 90% of the creatures in this deck (aka non-artifact critters). This is how it works:
When it is on the field, you can bounce your own cards up IF YOU WANT. Say you have a Brutalizer Exarch on the field with Animar (+3 counters or so). You cast Coiling Oracle which resolves. When it resolves, you can return the Exarch to your hand. Then you can play the Exarch for 1 cheaper (minimum of G) at which point you can bounce the Oracle back again (etc...etc...etc...).
This is a very powerful combo card. Get it with Fabricate .So what do you do if it is destroyed?
Enter Tidespout Tyrantwho does the exact same thing, but better. His down side is that he cannot be cast early on because of his high mana cost. Of course, he is even better than cloudstone since he can wipe the OPPONENT's side too! Double whammy.
Of course, there is always Equilibrium which is only limited by your mana, which may not be very considerable.
General's Strength
So say they get rid of ALL of these, especially the latter 3. What then? USE Animar, Soul of Elements as much as you can especially early on in the game. He is immune to White and Black spot removal which accounts for 90% of the removal in this game. He is weak to sweepers, but most opponents will not bother to use them until it is too late. Even then, Animar has a cheap initial cost, so he will not be that hard to recast. I thought about including Rancor but it is just 1 card and not really good enough to justify in this deck. Still, there are various cards that will help Animar Pummel his way through:
1) Deepchannel Mentor makes Blue Creatures Unblockable
2) Triumph of the Hordes makes it too easy
3) Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep will keep deathtouchers off your back if you have to deal with any.
4) Forgotten Ancient will add Counters to animar, making the other creatures cheaper and Animar far more powerful. Just let the counters build up to 3-5 on the Ancient before moving them onto Animar during the upkeep.
Of course, if they are about to kill your precious Animar who has accumulated a huge counter stack, then there are options: Greater Good helps alot when your opponents start bringing out their sweepers. Just make sure you have Reliquary Tower or Venser's Journal to make life easy on you.
EDIT: I have also added 2 lands that can give Animar Trample. This is huge. Now, there are 4 cards int he deck that can clear the way for Animar to attach an opponent without having to really work about being blocked. Kessig Wolf Run and Skarrg, the Rage Pits are excellent ways to enable the destruction of your opponents.
Infinite Mana Tactics
Comet Storm and Fireball. Self explanatory and quite effective. I chose not to use the Flashback card that just came out in Innistrad because it is limited to just one target.
Another fun tactic with infinite Mana (using Palinchron or the Priest of Urabrask or the Grinning Ingus) is to use Memnarch and simply take over their entire board. Nobody really runs Creeping Corrosion but if they do, they will simply be taking out their entire board anyways and not yours.
In the Variant, there are 1 more such cards that can help you go infinite. Cloud of Faeries is the same as Palinchron but for 2 lands and not 7. To go infinite, you will still need either Aluren and equilibrium or Cloudstone Curio/Tidespout.
Morph
Akroma is a morph creature as well but does not really have many benefits form being one. I have her there because she can be cast for free. However, It is important to note that the flip cost is NOT affected by Animar. This is why there are only 3 morphers in the deck. I am a fan of cheap summons, but I would prefer to have summons that do something when they enter rather than rely on having a ton of mana to keep flipping them.
A mean Morph combo I put in was Brine Elemental + Vesuvan Shapeshifter which eliminates the opponents' untap steps. Even better, the effect IS cumulative (check the ruling if you are not convinced) so if you flip the Vesuvan into a Brine Elemental just after flipping it the original Brine Elemental, then the opponent misses 2 untap steps (aka 2 turns!). This is DEADLY after they have tapped out, so make sure to wait until that happens before hitting them with Brine.
Answers
Still have trouble? Need to get those pesky cards off the enemy board? Introducing, creature based spot removal!
[IMG]http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=4747&type=card[IMG]
It just occured to me that I had not explained how to play Aluren. Aluren is a beastly enchantment that, if played incorrectly, with destroy you. However, if you hold off and play it at the right moment, then it can be an auto win. What do I mean? Well for starters let's take a look at Aluren. Casting cost total is converted Mana cost. Because Animar does NOT affect the Converted mana cost, Aluren will work with the cheap creatures. See how Aluren is amazing? Creatures like Man O war are now free! Animar is FREE to cast, every single time the first time only (Finally found the ruling).
These are the 10 cards that are free to cast with Aluren on the field:
Of course, the danger is that this card goes both ways. The opponent can also cast their cheap creatures whenever they want. However, there is a way around this problem. Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir can prevent your opponents from casting on your turn or as instants during their own turns. I think... I honestly do not know who wins if both Aluren and Teferi are on the field. I think it is whomever came second.
[IMG]http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=121271&type=card[IMG]
Finally, the Mana Ramp should be obvious. However, always examine the possibility of bouncing the ramp creatures to get rid of the lands in your deck.
Ideal first turns
Turn 1: Tapped lands
Turn 2: More Tapped Lands and Mana Artifact
Turn 3: Animar summon
Turn 4: Cloudstone or a mana creature.
Strengths
-Tons of combos
-Powerful General
-Unassuming at first
-Best Middle game ever
-Too many combos to properly be controled.
Weaknesses
-Bribery can just go die (bye bye Ulamog, also this is why I do not use Jin-Gitaxis for now)
-Sweepers
-Early Game decks (aka people who do not like having fun)
-This deck has no real wraths. Could be a problem.
-I may have too little protection for Animar. Suggestions? or is he good enough?
Change Log:
Oct 13, 2011:
-1 Mountain
-1 Island
-1 Lurking Predators (though I will try to find its way back in)
+1 Man-o'-War (Bounces itself for free for tons of counters on Animar)
+1 City of Brass (Because it is just too good to pass up)
+1 Grinning Ingus (Priest of Urabrask, but better)
Nov 27, 2011
-2 Forest
-1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
+1 Primordial Sage (Though I might add Azuza back sometime or another ramp creature.)
+1 Kessig Wolf Run
+1 Skarrg, the Rage Pits (for trample effects for animar)
Cards I am considering but have not included yet:
Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur Bribery Target... Rancor Animar SMASH Cloud of Faeries Redundancy with Palinchron, and cycling! Fierce Empath 100% considering this. This NEEDS to be in the deck Survival of the Fittest Unfair/unfun/expensive Defense of the Heart Perhaps this is a little TOO unfair/unfun... also super expensive Kozilek, Butcher of Truth Draw 4, for free possibly? Will try to find its way in but there is still an issue regarding Bribery Trinket Mage To get my Top or Sol ring. Worth it? Fabricate Redundancy? Earthcraft Squirrel Nest This plus Earthcraft is an automatic win. Momir Vig, Simic Visionary issue with this guy is this: I have only one Blue/Green Creature and it is my general. How useful can he be? Primordial Sage could be insanely good. STRONGLY CONSIDERING THIS Shrieking Drake Cheap, redundancy with Man-o'-War, synergy with ALuren *High Priority* Crystal Shard and Erratic Portal have the same mechanic. Are they justifiable? They only work once per turn! Wild Pair looks really good too! But I just need suggestions on what to remove! Cream of the Crop Scry X. Seems really really good...
Filter Lands are on my short list. They are not very expensive and would definitely help the mana base.
Please, I want want want suggestions and help to make this deck better. I put alot of work into this.
It just occured to me that I had not explained how to play Aluren. Aluren is a beastly enchantment that, if played incorrectly, with destroy you. However, if you hold off and play it at the right moment, then it can be an auto win. What do I mean? Well for starters let's take a look at Aluren. Casting cost total is converted Mana cost. Because Animar does NOT affect the Converted mana cost, Aluren will work with the cheap creatures. See how Aluren is amazing? Creatures like Man O war are now free! Animar is FREE to cast, every single time.
Quoting your Aluren paragraph and bolding a part that needs fixing. Cost increasing effects still apply to Aluren; while you can continue to play Animar at instant speed without paying his manacost, the 'General Tax' will still apply. For Example, if Animar has died once and been moved to the Comand Zone, you would be able to play him on your opponent's end step for 2.
Also, Grinning Ignus does not make an infinite combo alone. He'll cost R to play, R to bounce, and return 2R. Note that you will run into a problem with required colored mana. It does still generate a gain for as many as you can pump through red. With RRRR on the table, you would get 6R, or 6 with ignus in play; as well as a whole bunch of counters on Animar.
If you like the Aluren combos, Horned Kavu and Shrieking Drake both work to up the counters on Animar (and can do so alone as well...). If you can work some Trample equipment or creatures that give trample, you could threaten general damage with Animar as well.
To play off of Cloudstone Curio combos, can I recommend Equilibrium? It has a bit of a mana cost to it, but it'll serve as a backup copy, and can also bounce your opponents' side.
Might I also recommend Kavu Lair as a synergistic way to draw cards off of your fatties?
Phantasmal Image, aside from being a great card on it's own, can also go infinite with Palinchron in a pinch if need be. A bit more convoluted, but also gives infinite mana with Cloudstone Curio and Cloud of Faeries, who are simply great curio abusers on their own. Earthcraft can also go infinite with curio, so long as your creatures only have one colored mana in their cost: Ex: play R. Bounce" target="blank">Flametongue Kavu for R. Bounce Wood Elves. Use Earthcraft to tap the Kavu to untap a forest. Cast the Wood Elves for G. Bounce the Kavu. Use Earthcraft to tap the elves to untap a mountain... etc.
Quoting your Aluren paragraph and bolding a part that needs fixing. Cost increasing effects still apply to Aluren; while you can continue to play Animar at instant speed without paying his manacost, the 'General Tax' will still apply. For Example, if Animar has died once and been moved to the Comand Zone, you would be able to play him on your opponent's end step for .
Also, Grinning Ignus does not make an infinite combo alone. He'll cost to play, to bounce, and return . Note that you will run into a problem with required colored mana. It does still generate a gain for as many as you can pump through red. With on the table, you would get , or with ignus in play; as well as a whole bunch of counters on Animar.
If you like the Aluren combos, Horned Kavu and Shrieking Drake both work to up the counters on Animar (and can do so alone as well...). If you can work some Trample equipment or creatures that give trample, you could threaten general damage with Animar as well.
To play off of Cloudstone Curio combos, can I recommend Equilibrium? It has a bit of a mana cost to it, but it'll serve as a backup copy, and can also bounce your opponents' side.
Might I also recommend Kavu Lair as a synergistic way to draw cards off of your fatties?
Phantasmal Image, aside from being a great card on it's own, can also go infinite with Palinchron in a pinch if need be. A bit more convoluted, but also gives infinite mana with Cloudstone Curio and Cloud of Faeries, who are simply great curio abusers on their own. Earthcraft can also go infinite with curio, so long as your creatures only have one colored mana in their cost: Ex: play [c]Flametongue Kavu for . Bounce Wood Elves. Use Earthcraft to tap the Kavu to untap a forest. Cast the Wood Elves for . Bounce the Kavu. Use Earthcraft to tap the elves to untap a mountain... etc.
Adding in a Crystal Shard and/or an erratic portal can help get re-use of your ETB guys, and can be devastating with a living counterspell on the board, like Draining Whelk or Glen Elendra Archmage.
The assumption that this deck operates under is that Animar will be on the field as much as possible. Grinning Ingus therefore will go infinite if Animar is on the field at all.
I really really like Shrieking Drake! I think that I will try to fit him into the deck since he also works with Aluren.
As for Aluern, as I understand it, when my General dies, he gains an additional cost of 2 but this does NOT change his CMC. If that is true, then Aluren allows him to be cast for free (Updated text of Aluren). However, I cannot find a ruling that is decisive on this issue. Additional costs, as I understand them, are not part of the CMC. The CMC is what is printed on the card, according to the official rules. You are correct, Aluren would only work the first time on Animar. I have changed it to reflect the reality. Still, pretty good if you get Aluren out on turn 3 or 4
Equilibrium has been and will always be in the deck list. You must have missed it because it is simply too freaking good to pass up!
Kavu Lair helps my opponents a bit too much, so instead, I am looking at putting in Primordial Sage since it is much much more versatile and useful in this particular deck.
Personally, I do not see the value of Phantasmal Image in this particular deck (It is a great card in many others) since I will not be able to target him for bounces unless he is Palinchron. Which is a bit too narrow for the deck.
As for Crystal Shard and Erratic Portal, I find myself leaning towards the latter since it is cheaper once on the board. Then again, the SHard only needs one U (But most of my creatures need the Blue mana, so it is a tough choice). However, what do I take out? Perhaps the Battlesphere? The only problem with these artifacts is that they can only bounce once. Though, I bet they would be annoying for my opponents during their end steps.
Cloud of Faeries would need to be tested. I will purchase it and test it in Lieu of the Phyrexian Ingester but I left it out originally because it seems like it might be limited. But we shall see. I will throw it on the list of maybes
All around good suggestions. But
I have an Animar deck that plays similar to yours. One thing I have noticed while playing mine is that Aluren/Cloudstone Curio do not make an appearance ever game. Also, I might suggest upping your 3 CMC dudes to ensure bouncing shenanigans. Here are a couple suggestions that I have had success with.
Evacuation - some sort of board wipe is great and if you can abuse EtB effects/Aluren, all the better Plaxcaster Frogling - The graft allows for a free counter on Animar from the command zone as well as being able to shroud anything with counters (Forgotten Ancient, Oran-Rief, the Vastwood) Trygon Predator - can come down early and eats those annoying Sol Rings or Lightning Greaves Glamerdye - super secret tech that allows you to change Animar's protection, even from the grave! Can also turn off silly swords.
Hmm,Phantasmal Image might be good as removal but if not, then he cannot be bounced... this is kind of a big deal. Sure he works with Aluren, but I will just have to test him out to see if he might work. What would I remove?
Evacuation MAY have potential. I might be able to squeeze it in instead of Splinter Twin (which is in there for those silly auto win combos.)
Glammerdye simply will not work in the deck. It is too bad because it is such a hysterical card.
The Predator and the Frogling are okay, but I am not sure what I would remove for them. I would need to test them out to see how well they work. I would hate to see them late game... Now early game, they might be decent. I have removal which middle to late game is going to cost only 1 to play which better then the Trygon. Hmmm. I will just have to play test them.
Anyone reading this thread, can you give me any advice on the side board/cards I am considering? Are there any cards you think just ought to go?
Right now I am considering the elimination of the Pestermite/Deceiver combo, as they can really be replaced by more fun cards rather then silly auto wins. I mean, winning via grapeshot is far more funny then Tooth and Nailing them with KIKI.
Why You use Animar
Also, it maybe annoying to people if you usue typical Kiki/Pester Combos, but they make for an excellent distraction. Once you hit the requisite mana, your opponents will freak out and begin to focus soley on ending those insta win combos. This means you can easily go infinite on other, less threatening combos while they hold that force of will/pact for Tooth and Nail.
This deck is a champ Multi-player deck. It can hold its own in Duels, but needs a little luck on the opening hand.
I made this deck on a shoestring budget ($160 total cost) so that is why there are no crazy lands in here.
Who Plays this deck?
-People who like big creatures
-People who do not like Black or white
-Cool Kids
Who does not like this deck?
-Instant control decks
-Duelers
-People scared of Bribery
Here is the Deck List by Card Type:
1x Animar, Soul of Elements
Artifacts
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Darksteel Citadel
1x Cloudstone Curio
1x Mimic Vat
1x Venser's Journal
1x Sol Ring
Creatures
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Pierce Strider
1x Myr Battlesphere
1x Memnarch
1x Duplicant
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1x Primordial Sage
1x Tidespout Tyrant
1x Coiling Oracle
1x Draining Whelk
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1x Vesuvan Shapeshifter
1x Voidmage Husher
1x Avalanche Riders
1x Mystic Snake
1x Forgotten Ancient
1x Palinchron
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
1x Pestermite
1x Deepchannel Mentor
1x Farhaven Elf
1x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Avenger of Zendikar
1x Terastodon
1x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1x Fauna Shaman
1x Brine Elemental
1x Wood Elves
1x Deceiver Exarch
1x Phyrexian Ingester
1x Priest of Urabrask
1x Urabrask the Hidden
1x Brutalizer Exarch
1x Mulldrifter
1x Akroma, Angel of Fury
1x Deadwood Treefolk
1x Eternal Witness
1x Acidic Slime
1x Primeval Titan
1x Man-o'-War
1x Grinning Ingus
1x Greater Good
1x Equilibrium
1x Aluren
1x Splinter Twin
1x Warstorm Surge
Sorceries and Instants
1x Tooth and Nail
1x Grapeshot
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Mind's Desire
1x Temporal Fissure
1x Fabricate
1x Beast Within
1x Triumph of the Hordes
1x Comet Storm
1x Fireball
Land
1xSkarrg, the Rage Pits
1xKessig Wolf Run
1x Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1x Strip Mine
1x City of Brass
1x Yavimaya Hollow
1x Winding Canyons
1x Jungle Shrine
1x Ancient Ziggurat
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Copperline Gorge
1x Command Tower
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Kazandu Refuge
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Vivid Crag
1x Vivid Creek
1x Vivid Grove
1x Rootbound Crag
1x City of Brass
9x Island
2x Mountain
6x Forest
Total: 100
Sideboard
Total: 7
Variant Deck: the More Fun, less degenerate Deck
1x Animar, Soul of Elements
Artifacts
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Darksteel Citadel
1x Cloudstone Curio
1x Venser's Journal
Creatures
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Pierce Strider
1x Myr Battlesphere
1x Memnarch
1x Duplicant
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1x Primordial Sage
1x Tidespout Tyrant
1x Coiling Oracle
1x Draining Whelk
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1x Vesuvan Shapeshifter
1x Voidmage Husher
1x Avalanche Riders
1x Mystic Snake
1x Forgotten Ancient
1x Palinchron
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
1x Shrieking Drake
1x Deepchannel Mentor
1x Farhaven Elf
1x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Avenger of Zendikar
1x Terastodon
1x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1x Fauna Shaman
1x Plaxcaster Frogling
1x Fierce Empath
1x Cloud of Faeries
1x Phyrexian Ingester
1x Priest of Urabrask
1x Urabrask the Hidden
1x Brutalizer Exarch
1x Mulldrifter
1x Akroma, Angel of Fury
1x Deadwood Treefolk
1x Eternal Witness
1x Acidic Slime
1x Primeval Titan
1x Man-o'-War
1x Trygon Predator
1x Greater Good
1x Equilibrium
1x Aluren
1x Rancor
1x Warstorm Surge
1x Cream of the Crop
1x Lurking Predators
Sorceries and Instants
1x Tooth and Nail
1x Grapeshot
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Mind's Desire
1x Temporal Fissure
1x Fabricate
1x Triumph of the Hordes
1x Comet Storm
1x Fireball
1x Chaos Warp
Land
1xSkarrg, the Rage Pits
1xKessig Wolf Run
1x Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1x Strip Mine
1x City of Brass
1x Yavimaya Hollow
1x Winding Canyons
1x Jungle Shrine
1x Ancient Ziggurat
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Copperline Gorge
1x Command Tower
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Kazandu Refuge
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Vivid Crag
1x Vivid Creek
1x Vivid Grove
1x Rootbound Crag
1x City of Brass
9x Island
2x Mountain
6x Forest
Total: 100
As you can see, I have removed the KikiJiki nonsense which so so so many players hate to play against. And I can understand that because any red blue deck can use that for a quick outo win, no matter the commander. In its place I have put in cards that are more bounce friendly and ALuren friendly. I also added back Lurking Predators, which I may add to the main deck, depending on whether or not the Kiki Jiki Combo keeps frustrating too many of my playgroup. I also added the Green Scry Card, Cream of the Crop, an excellent way to Scry every time a creature is played. If the creature has power 2 or more, then you are set! At the very leaset, if you do not like the card on top, you can send it to the bottom is the creature is a 1/x.
A Big danger is still Bribery. So I have chosen to still not include Jin-Gitaxsis or Vorinclex, though I may add the latter in just in case my mana base needs more fixing in the middle game.
Deck List with Brief Explanations
Artifacts
1x Sensei's Divining Top Awesome
1x Darksteel Citadel Just in case
1x Cloudstone Curio C-C-C-C-Cooooomboooo
1x Mimic Vat In case you cannot get enough of that EtB effect
1x Venser's Journal Life gain? Infinite Cards in Hand? Okay!
1x Sol Ring +2 Mana FTW
Creatures
1x Solemn Simulacrum Land Advantage/ Card Advantage
1x Pierce Strider Infinite DMG (or at least a lot)
1x Myr Battlesphere Myr Overflow
1x Memnarch Take opponent's Board forever
1x Duplicant Removal
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker WIN
1x Primordial Sage Card Advantage
1x Tidespout Tyrant BOUNCE
1x Coiling Oracle Land Advantage/ Card Advantage
1x Draining Whelk Counter into a Beater
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir Slows opponents Down/ FLASH
1x Vesuvan Shapeshifter Sir Morph Alot/ Legendary Removal
1x Voidmage Husher Stifle in a Creature
1x Avalanche Riders Land Dstruction
1x Mystic Snake Counter
1x Forgotten Ancient Counters on Animar/ Beater
1x Palinchron Infinite Mana
1x Venser, Shaper Savant Bounce!
1x Pestermite Win Condition
1x Deepchannel Mentor Unblockable General
1x Farhaven Elf Land Advantage
1x Glen Elendra Archmage Counters
1x Avenger of Zendikar Beater with Friends
1x Terastodon Non-Creature Removal
1x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre Spot Removal!
1x Fauna Shaman Creature Exchange
1x Brine Elemental Kill Opponent's Untaps
1x Wood Elves Land Advantage
1x Deceiver Exarch Tap/Untap/ Win
1x Phyrexian Ingester Removal
1x Priest of Urabrask Infinite Mana
1x Urabrask the Hidden Haste/Slow Opponent Down
1x Brutalizer Exarch Spot Removal
1x Mulldrifter Card Advantage
1x Akroma, Angel of Fury Morph + Beater
1x Deadwood Treefolk Recursion
1x Eternal Witness Recursion
1x Acidic Slime Removal + Deathtouch
1x Primeval Titan Land Advantage
1x Man-o'-War It can bounce itself.
1x Grinning Ingus Infinite Mana plus it bounces itself
Enchantments
1x Greater Good Card Advantage
1x Equilibrium Bounce Function
1x Aluren Makes cheap/ALL creatures free (e.g.Man o war)
1x Splinter Twin Hysterical alternative to Kiki Jiki
1x Warstorm Surge Win Condition with bounce ring
Sorceries and Instants
1x Tooth and Nail Win Condition-Kiki Jiki Pestermite
1x Grapeshot Win Condition-Storm
1x Mystical Tutor Get Win Condition
1x Mind's Desire Cast your Deck-Storm
1x Temporal Fissure Wipe Opponent's Board-Storm
1x Fabricate Get Cloudstone Curio
1x Beast Within Permanent Removal
1x Triumph of the Hordes Win Condition
1x Comet Storm Win Condition
1x Fireball Win Condition
1x Pierce Strider 0
1x Myr Battlesphere 0
1x Memnarch 0
1x Duplicant 0
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker RRR
1x Azusa, Lost but Seeking G
1x Tidespout Tyrant UUU
1x Coiling Oracle GU
1x Draining Whelk UU
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir UUU
1x Vesuvan Shapeshifter UU or 0
1x Voidmage Husher U
1x Avalanche Riders R
1x Mystic Snake GUU
1x Forgotten Ancient G
1x Palinchron UU
1x Venser, Shaper Savant UU
1x Pestermite U
1x Deepchannel Mentor U
1x Farhaven Elf G
1x Glen Elendra Archmage U
1x Avenger of Zendikar GG
1x Terastodon GG
1x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre 0! (Free? ZOMG)
1x Fauna Shaman G
1x Brine Elemental UU or 0
1x Wood Elves G
1x Deceiver Exarch U
1x Phyrexian Ingester U
1x Priest of Urabrask R
1x Urabrask the Hidden RR
1x Brutalizer Exarch G
1x Mulldrifter U
1x Akroma, Angel of Fury RRR or 0
1x Deadwood Treefolk G
1x Eternal Witness GG
1x Acidic Slime GG
1x Primeval Titan GG
1x Man-o'-War U
1x Grinning Ingus R
9 Free Creatures? Whoa... But how do you use them? Read on.
And Now my explanations for why this deck is Different from the 10-12 other Animar Decks: Storm.
Mind's Desire is also suddenly awesome. You can burn right through your top 50 cards and play all the spells for free, if you want. This is almost ALWAYS and auto win.
Temporal Fissure: Goodbye enemy board. Try winning when your hand is 20+ cards and you have no board. This one is also useful in smaller quantities; returning 5-10 cards from the enemy side is still pretty darn good. Heck, bounce their three blue sources and play another bomb with no fear of countering!
Of Course, there is always Fireball and Comet Storm but you do not have to wholly depend on them.
Traditional Win tactics:
Kiki Jiki + Deceiver Exarch
Not the most fun way to win, but very very effective. People will usually kill pestermite if they find him, but they will miss Deceiver Exarch (Well at least until he destroys them
I also added Splinter Twin which yu can put on either Pestermite or Deceiver Exarch to auto win as well.
Enter Tidespout Tyrant who does the exact same thing, but better. His down side is that he cannot be cast early on because of his high mana cost. Of course, he is even better than cloudstone since he can wipe the OPPONENT's side too! Double whammy.
Of course, there is always Equilibrium which is only limited by your mana, which may not be very considerable.
General's Strength
2) Triumph of the Hordes makes it too easy
3) Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep will keep deathtouchers off your back if you have to deal with any.
4) Forgotten Ancient will add Counters to animar, making the other creatures cheaper and Animar far more powerful. Just let the counters build up to 3-5 on the Ancient before moving them onto Animar during the upkeep.
Of course, if they are about to kill your precious Animar who has accumulated a huge counter stack, then there are options: Greater Good helps alot when your opponents start bringing out their sweepers. Just make sure you have Reliquary Tower or Venser's Journal to make life easy on you.
EDIT: I have also added 2 lands that can give Animar Trample. This is huge. Now, there are 4 cards int he deck that can clear the way for Animar to attach an opponent without having to really work about being blocked. Kessig Wolf Run and Skarrg, the Rage Pits are excellent ways to enable the destruction of your opponents.
Infinite Mana Tactics
Another fun tactic with infinite Mana (using Palinchron or the Priest of Urabrask or the Grinning Ingus) is to use Memnarch and simply take over their entire board. Nobody really runs Creeping Corrosion but if they do, they will simply be taking out their entire board anyways and not yours.
In the Variant, there are 1 more such cards that can help you go infinite. Cloud of Faeries is the same as Palinchron but for 2 lands and not 7. To go infinite, you will still need either Aluren and equilibrium or Cloudstone Curio/Tidespout.
A mean Morph combo I put in was Brine Elemental + Vesuvan Shapeshifter which eliminates the opponents' untap steps. Even better, the effect IS cumulative (check the ruling if you are not convinced) so if you flip the Vesuvan into a Brine Elemental just after flipping it the original Brine Elemental, then the opponent misses 2 untap steps (aka 2 turns!). This is DEADLY after they have tapped out, so make sure to wait until that happens before hitting them with Brine.
Still have trouble? Need to get those pesky cards off the enemy board? Introducing, creature based spot removal!
2) Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre (ANYTHING w/o Hexproof or Shourd)
3) Brutalizer Exarch (Permanents-see Ulamog)
4) Phyrexian Ingester (Non-Token Creature RFG)
5) Acidic Slime (Artifact, Enchantment or Land)
6) Avalanche Riders (Lands!)
7) Duplicant (Non Token Creature RFG)
Also, if you are lucky, you will have either Warstom Surge, or Equilibrium as well to get rid of the enemy. The former is hugely threatening when you can cast say, Ulamog for free.
I included Beast Within as well for Planeswalkers
Need to counter opponent's game changers? We can handle those too!
2) Mystic Snake Nice critter for clean counter
3) Venser, Shaper Savant Bounce the spell off the stack: LOL
4) Glen Elendra Archmage (Non-creatures spells x2)
5) Voidmage Husher (Activated Abilities, similar to stifle)
ALUREN
It just occured to me that I had not explained how to play Aluren. Aluren is a beastly enchantment that, if played incorrectly, with destroy you. However, if you hold off and play it at the right moment, then it can be an auto win. What do I mean? Well for starters let's take a look at Aluren. Casting cost total is converted Mana cost. Because Animar does NOT affect the Converted mana cost, Aluren will work with the cheap creatures. See how Aluren is amazing? Creatures like Man O war are now free! Animar is FREE to cast,
every single timethe first time only (Finally found the ruling).These are the 10 cards that are free to cast with Aluren on the field:
Animar, Sould of Elements
Man-o'-War
Coiling Oracle
Pestermite
Farhaven Elf
Fauna Shaman
Wood Elves
Priest of Urabrask
Of course, the danger is that this card goes both ways. The opponent can also cast their cheap creatures whenever they want. However, there is a way around this problem. Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir can prevent your opponents from casting on your turn or as instants during their own turns. I think... I honestly do not know who wins if both Aluren and Teferi are on the field. I think it is whomever came second.
[IMG]http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=121271&type=card[IMG]
Finally, the Mana Ramp should be obvious. However, always examine the possibility of bouncing the ramp creatures to get rid of the lands in your deck.
Ideal first turns
Turn 1: Tapped lands
Turn 2: More Tapped Lands and Mana Artifact
Turn 3: Animar summon
Turn 4: Cloudstone or a mana creature.
Strengths
-Powerful General
-Unassuming at first
-Best Middle game ever
-Too many combos to properly be controled.
-Sweepers
-Early Game decks (aka people who do not like having fun)
-This deck has no real wraths. Could be a problem.
-I may have too little protection for Animar. Suggestions? or is he good enough?
Oct 13, 2011:
-1 Mountain
-1 Island
-1 Lurking Predators (though I will try to find its way back in)
+1 Man-o'-War (Bounces itself for free for tons of counters on Animar)
+1 City of Brass (Because it is just too good to pass up)
+1 Grinning Ingus (Priest of Urabrask, but better)
-2 Forest
-1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
+1 Primordial Sage (Though I might add Azuza back sometime or another ramp creature.)
+1 Kessig Wolf Run
+1 Skarrg, the Rage Pits (for trample effects for animar)
Cards I am considering but have not included yet:
Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur Bribery Target...
Rancor Animar SMASH
Cloud of Faeries Redundancy with Palinchron, and cycling!
Fierce Empath 100% considering this. This NEEDS to be in the deck
Survival of the Fittest Unfair/unfun/expensive
Defense of the Heart Perhaps this is a little TOO unfair/unfun... also super expensive
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth Draw 4, for free possibly? Will try to find its way in but there is still an issue regarding Bribery
Trinket Mage To get my Top or Sol ring. Worth it? Fabricate Redundancy?
Earthcraft
Squirrel Nest This plus Earthcraft is an automatic win.
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary issue with this guy is this: I have only one Blue/Green Creature and it is my general. How useful can he be?
Primordial Sage could be insanely good. STRONGLY CONSIDERING THIS
Shrieking Drake Cheap, redundancy with Man-o'-War, synergy with ALuren *High Priority*
Crystal Shard and Erratic Portal have the same mechanic. Are they justifiable? They only work once per turn!
Wild Pair looks really good too! But I just need suggestions on what to remove!
Cream of the Crop Scry X. Seems really really good...
Filter Lands are on my short list. They are not very expensive and would definitely help the mana base.
Please, I want want want suggestions and help to make this deck better. I put alot of work into this.
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StaffQuoting your Aluren paragraph and bolding a part that needs fixing. Cost increasing effects still apply to Aluren; while you can continue to play Animar at instant speed without paying his manacost, the 'General Tax' will still apply. For Example, if Animar has died once and been moved to the Comand Zone, you would be able to play him on your opponent's end step for 2.
Also, Grinning Ignus does not make an infinite combo alone. He'll cost R to play, R to bounce, and return 2R. Note that you will run into a problem with required colored mana. It does still generate a gain for as many as you can pump through red. With RRRR on the table, you would get 6R, or 6 with ignus in play; as well as a whole bunch of counters on Animar.
If you like the Aluren combos, Horned Kavu and Shrieking Drake both work to up the counters on Animar (and can do so alone as well...). If you can work some Trample equipment or creatures that give trample, you could threaten general damage with Animar as well.
To play off of Cloudstone Curio combos, can I recommend Equilibrium? It has a bit of a mana cost to it, but it'll serve as a backup copy, and can also bounce your opponents' side.
Might I also recommend Kavu Lair as a synergistic way to draw cards off of your fatties?
Phantasmal Image, aside from being a great card on it's own, can also go infinite with Palinchron in a pinch if need be. A bit more convoluted, but also gives infinite mana with Cloudstone Curio and Cloud of Faeries, who are simply great curio abusers on their own. Earthcraft can also go infinite with curio, so long as your creatures only have one colored mana in their cost: Ex: play R. Bounce" target="blank">Flametongue Kavu for R. Bounce Wood Elves. Use Earthcraft to tap the Kavu to untap a forest. Cast the Wood Elves for G. Bounce the Kavu. Use Earthcraft to tap the elves to untap a mountain... etc.
Adding in a Crystal Shard and/or an erratic portal can help get re-use of your ETB guys, and can be devastating with a living counterspell on the board, like Draining Whelk or Glen Elendra Archmage.
Retired EDH - Tibor and Lumia | [PR]Nemata |Ramirez dePietro | [C]Edric | Riku | Jenara | Lazav | Heliod | Daxos | Roon | Kozilek
The assumption that this deck operates under is that Animar will be on the field as much as possible. Grinning Ingus therefore will go infinite if Animar is on the field at all.
I really really like Shrieking Drake! I think that I will try to fit him into the deck since he also works with Aluren.
As for Aluern, as I understand it, when my General dies, he gains an additional cost of 2 but this does NOT change his CMC. If that is true, then Aluren allows him to be cast for free (Updated text of Aluren). However, I cannot find a ruling that is decisive on this issue. Additional costs, as I understand them, are not part of the CMC. The CMC is what is printed on the card, according to the official rules.You are correct, Aluren would only work the first time on Animar. I have changed it to reflect the reality. Still, pretty good if you get Aluren out on turn 3 or 4Equilibrium has been and will always be in the deck list. You must have missed it because it is simply too freaking good to pass up!
Kavu Lair helps my opponents a bit too much, so instead, I am looking at putting in Primordial Sage since it is much much more versatile and useful in this particular deck.
Personally, I do not see the value of Phantasmal Image in this particular deck (It is a great card in many others) since I will not be able to target him for bounces unless he is Palinchron. Which is a bit too narrow for the deck.
As for Crystal Shard and Erratic Portal, I find myself leaning towards the latter since it is cheaper once on the board. Then again, the SHard only needs one U (But most of my creatures need the Blue mana, so it is a tough choice). However, what do I take out? Perhaps the Battlesphere? The only problem with these artifacts is that they can only bounce once. Though, I bet they would be annoying for my opponents during their end steps.
Cloud of Faeries would need to be tested. I will purchase it and test it in Lieu of the Phyrexian Ingester but I left it out originally because it seems like it might be limited. But we shall see. I will throw it on the list of maybes
All around good suggestions. But
I found this decklist but I am unsure about including his tactics.
Opinions?http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=373514
Evacuation - some sort of board wipe is great and if you can abuse EtB effects/Aluren, all the better
Plaxcaster Frogling - The graft allows for a free counter on Animar from the command zone as well as being able to shroud anything with counters (Forgotten Ancient, Oran-Rief, the Vastwood)
Trygon Predator - can come down early and eats those annoying Sol Rings or Lightning Greaves
Glamerdye - super secret tech that allows you to change Animar's protection, even from the grave! Can also turn off silly swords.
Edit: Phantasmal Image - Commander Kill and Aluren-able
First posted EDH deck: Hakim, Beardmaster
Evacuation MAY have potential. I might be able to squeeze it in instead of Splinter Twin (which is in there for those silly auto win combos.)
Glammerdye simply will not work in the deck. It is too bad because it is such a hysterical card.
The Predator and the Frogling are okay, but I am not sure what I would remove for them. I would need to test them out to see how well they work. I would hate to see them late game... Now early game, they might be decent. I have removal which middle to late game is going to cost only 1 to play which better then the Trygon. Hmmm. I will just have to play test them.
Anyone reading this thread, can you give me any advice on the side board/cards I am considering? Are there any cards you think just ought to go?
Right now I am considering the elimination of the Pestermite/Deceiver combo, as they can really be replaced by more fun cards rather then silly auto wins. I mean, winning via grapeshot is far more funny then Tooth and Nailing them with KIKI.