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Who needs Profit of Kruphix anyway? (cEDH)

Commander / EDH Competitive Infinite Combo Multiplayer RUG (Temur)

bigdaddymauRice

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Land (31)

KiriLoop (4)

SeekerCombo (4)

Ramp (24)

Draw (12)

Commander (1)

Commander: Animar, Soul of Elements

Control (15)

Tutor (9)

"Behold blessed perfection" - Sheoldred, Whispering One

Hi there, thanks for taking the time out of your day to look at what I deem to be the strongest format for Animar at this current time. Throughout releases, I fine tune my deck to suit the current meta, so bare in mind a lot of the cards may alter overtime throughout this deck, and thus the primer may slowly begin to become outdated. I will try my best to keep the primer fully updated and maintained.

Animar is possibly my favourite commander in the game currently, and what I believe to be one of the strongest. I started off using Surrak Dragonclaw as my commander, and picked up a copy of Animar at Grand Prix Birmingham in May 2018. Since then I have slowly been upgrading this deck over the course of the year and hopefully sometime over the next year I will have developed a strong Animar deck that is able to play in competitive.

One thing to note about the following primer is that: A LOT OF THIS IS MY OPINION. Your own opinion may differ to mine and you may be biased towards other metas. That's fine. But what you have to bare in mind is that I am a one-trick Animar player, so my opinion will obviously fall in favour of Animar.

If you would like some extra information, or would like to discuss your list and compare, please join the Animar Discord Server! https://discord.gg/cwZNzkx

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"A passionate recruiter will win a war before the first arrow flies" - Imperial Recruiter

There's so much variety within the cEDH scene these days, so why would you feel inclined to select Animar as your commander? Well, if you are anything like me, you get enjoyment from watching your opponents slowly sit back in their chairs, arms folded, whilst you go ham on the board. The satisfaction of winning a cEDH game with a combo that many opponents have not seen, and the sheer complication that is behind the combo is what compels me to use Animar as my commander. If you are looking for a deck that is not restricted to one wincondition, and has many varieties, Animar is the commander for you. Whether you want to go for a complicated wincon like the Kiri-Onna Loop described below, or you want to play it simple, and destroy your opponents board with an Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger & Cloudstone Curio Eldrazi combo, or whether you prefer the morph mechanic, staying hidden and appearing at the appropriate time to drive your opponents crazy.

Animar is also one of the strongest budget commanders. Many of the "staples" in the Animar meta can be easily picked up for a small price, such as Ancestral Statue and Spellseeker . Another key point is that Animar is only three colours, meaning that for cEDH, you only have to invest into three dual lands as an oppose to eight or even all ten. The deck is also easily up-gradable, as many of the cheaper creatures can be swapped out for the more expensive utility creatures, such as Bloom Tender or Consecrated Sphinx , which will simply enable a faster play style and quicker win-con.

All-in-all, Animar is an all-in-one package, casual or competitive. He can easily be moulded into a budget deck, or can be played in tribal decks for an alternative style of play.

(Also, I dislike white, so I was narrowed down to four colours anyway.)

"They come because I call, they stay because I listen" - Beastcaller Savant

Pros

  • Potential turn 3 win with a good starting hand
  • Commander colours include two of the strongest cEDH colours, green & blue, introducing control along side ramp
  • Can easily be played in a competitive environment under budget conditions
  • Three colours, so 9 of the fetches can be manipulated to our advantage when playing
  • Features simple mechanics, such as the Seeker/Harvest line
  • A strong T2 commander, enabling competitive play
  • Animar's passive ability, protection from black and white reduces removal risk when playing
  • Lines are highly adaptive

Cons

  • Many of the cards do not overlap with other deck lists
  • Highly dependent on the commander
  • Lines can become increasingly complex, especially when adapting to sudden change in play
  • Not as fast as T1 decks
  • Wrath effects can be devastating, and can easily flip the game against you in a turn

"I have a plan. Actually, I have three" - Brainstorm

Wincon: Winning the game within one turn, and not relying on any following turns to complete a combo.

The main difference between a combo and a wincon, is a wincon is restricted to a 1-turn play, and will allow me to win within that turn, whereas a combo does not need to be restricted to one turn, and also does not win me the game. An example of a standard combo within this deck would be Wild Cantor + Lotus Petal + Tinder Wall + Forest , for turn 1 Animar.

Within my deck, I tried to restrict the deck to just two main wincons, that can be either ignited by Imperial Recruiter or Spellseeker . This gives me the maximum efficiency with my deck and also gives me the use of draw cards and/or additional control over alternative wincons.

Kiri/Recruiter Line (, +2 on Animar)

Probably one of the more complicated combos in cEDH, the Kiri/Recruiter combo line will be the main wincon in the deck, as it only requires 4 mana to start, and 6 life, making it the cheapest wincon within the deck. With a decent mana base, and at least one or two mana dorks on the battlefield, this wincon can be executed on turn 3, but most of the time would be executed by turn 4, winning the game.

CARDS CURRENTLY ON THE BATTLEFIELD: Animar, Soul of Elements & Imperial Recruiter

Repeat steps 6 to 10, for infinite counters on Animar, then finally Phyrexian Metamorph copying Imperial Recruiter , tutoring for wincon, Walking Ballista

Seeker/Harvest Line (, +2 on Animar)

This line is much simpler than the Kiri/Recruiter line, and requires less than half the steps. It does however, require one more mana than the Kiri/Recruiter, which could be crucial in the early stages of the cEDH game. On the upside, this combo only needs 3 specific colours of mana (UGG), whereas the Kiri/Recruiter line requires 4 specific colours of mana (RUUU), making this combo easier to cast when using a restricted mana base.

On the downside, in some rare circumstances, this combo can fail, primarily due to the Weird Harvest stage of the combo, as this card allows opponents to tutor for creatures of their own, which could have a negative impact on our wincon. For example, if our opponents tutors for a card such as Merfolk Trickster , this can totally fail our wincon, and delay us by a turn. To counteract this, playing this combo at the right time is key, such as when our opponents have tapped out mana bases, or if we have control in our hand, such as Pact of Negation

"One beginning, many paths" - Vannifar

Ancient Ziggurat

Arid Mesa

Bloodstained Mire

Botanical Sanctum

Breeding Pool

City of Brass

Command Tower

Without a doubt, Command Tower is the strongest land in this deck. It provides us the freedom to get any mana colour that is needed, and comes into play untapped. Overall the perfect land for any commander deck and is especially the perfect turn 1 land.

City of Brass is most definitely one of the strongest lands in this deck. The fact that early game we can cast this, untapped, and find any colour of mana that we want, at the cost of only one life point, is very strong during the early game. Although the card may not be as strong during the late game, its power in the early turns can allow us to cast Animar by turn 2, or at most 3.

Exotic Orchard

Flooded Strand

Forest

Gaea's Cradle x3

Gemstone Mine x3

Hinterland Harbor

Island x1

Mana Confluence

Misty Rainforest

Mountain x1

Polluted Delta

Rootbound Crag

Scalding Tarn

Shivan Reef

Spire Garden

Steam Vents

Stomping Ground

Thran Quarry

Verdant Catacombs

card:Windswepth Heath

Wooded Foothills

Yavimaya Coast

Ancestral Statue

The golden pig for this deck, the perfect combo creator. This card alone allows Animar to ramp up to infinite potential, and become a major board threat to opponents. Also, Ancestral Statue allows us to manipulate different card effects, one of the best being Purphoros, God of the Forge . Overall, Ancestral Statue is most definitely one of the strongest cards in the deck, and allows Animar to unleash its full potential.

Artisan of Kozilek

Artisan of Kozilek has to be one of my favourite cards in this deck. The power in this card is incredible and the fact that a 10/9 can be paid for 0 mana using Animar's ability, while also returning a creature from the graveyard to the battlefield is incredibly strong. Not only this, but partnered with another Eldrazi creature, Cloudstone Curio can be triggered, so this card and another Eldrazi can be infinitly cost, thus allowing me to cast all the creatures from my graveyard, and also ramping up Animar.

Beast Whisperer

One of my favourite cards that came from Guilds of Ravnica and for a good reason. Although on paper this card may not look as strong as Primordial Sage , due to the ability to opt to not draw a card, it is still a great addition to the deck as it costs 2 less to cast, and can also be used along side of Primordial Sage . This card is also a great substitute for Elemental Bond as not only does it allow me to use a more improved version of Elemental Bond 's ability, but also allows me to ramp up Animar at the same time, as this comes into play.

Beastcaller Savant

Beastcaller Savant is a strong mana dork and provides great ramp for this deck, due to the fact that this mana dork comes with haste. Although the ability restricts us to using the mana for creatures only, this should not be an issue due to our deck consisting of mostly creatures. The cheap casting cost of onyl 2, potentially only one if Animar is in play, also allows us to further ramp us Animar, making our turns more fast paced and overall, more effective.

Birds of Paradise

Bond Beetle

This is a great card for this deck, and personally for me is one of my favourite. Not only is it a cheap one drop creature that can be used as a chunk blocker early game, but can also help us ramp Animar twice as fast, due to it allowing up to place two +1/+1 counters on Animar at the same time. This card also has great synergy with the deck, and partners great with Hardened Scales . This card can also be used in other combos, such as a Cloudstone Curio combo, where we can bring this card back to our hand and allow us to ramp up Animar with two counters at once. Overall a very strong, and cheap card.

Cloud of Faeries

Coiling Oracle

Coiling Oracle is one of the better ramp cards in the deck, as it allows us to either play a land at no extra costs, or allows us to draw a card for free for the cheap cost of a green and blue mana. A cheap card to ramp up Animar quickly, and also a good card for general card draw. Overall, just a strong and cost efficient early game card.

Den Protector

Den Protector is hands down one of the stronger morph creatures. The morph ability can be extremely powerful in any stage of the game and can be used to bring back any card from the graveyard. It sort of acts like more of a secretive Eternal Witness , not as strong as it has to be in play for the ability to take place, but it still gives me the power to recast any card from the graveyard, example being Cyclonic Rift . Also, being a morph creature, this card synergises really well with Animar, and can be cast for its morph cost at 0 mana cost Overall, a really strong card in any stage of the game.

Dream Stalker

The lesser powerful Ancestral Statue , Dream Stalker is still a very powerful card in any stage of the game and allows us to ramp up Animar, as long as we have the blue mana to cost it. This card also has great synergy with other cards in the deck, and can easily be used for an infinite combo, example Peregrine Drake and Cloudstone Curio . This card also synergises well with Vizier of the Menagerie , as the blue mana cost can be substituted for any colour mana, which will be more helpful for ramping Animar in the early game. Although this card may not be as strong as Ancestral Statue , it still serves a huge purpose in the deck and is a very strong card.

Elvish Mystic

Not much to say about Elvish Mystic , the card kind of explains itself. A one mana mana dork is a perfect card for this deck as it has great synergy with Animar, and can allow us to cast him turn 2 if Elvish Mystic is played turn 1. Overall a strong mana dork and a great card overall.

Elvish Visionary

Elvish Visionary is a strong card as it allows us to draw a card very early into the game, and can also be paid for just one mana cost (as long as Animar is in play with a +1/+1 counter), and can also be used to ramp up Animar. This card also has great synergy with any of the other draw creature cards in this deck ( Primordial Sage etc), allowing for double the card draw on battlefield entry. Overall a good card and a great card for any stage of the game.

Eternal Witness

Llanowar Elves

Man-o'-War

Meteor Golem

Mulldrifter

Oblivion Sower

Palinchron

Peregrine Drake

Prime Speaker Zegana

Primordial Sage

Prowling Serpopard

Purphoros, God of the Forge

Rattleclaw Mystic

Reclamation Sage

Sakura-Tribe Elder

Solemn Simulacrum

Sylvan Caryatid

Trinket Mage

Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

Vizier of the Menagerie

Wall of Blossoms

Ancient Animus

Brainstorm

Chord of Calling

Crop Rotation

Cyclonic Rift

Cyclonic Rift is IMO, the strongest removal spell in Commander format at the moment. Not only can it be used for just two mana and provide great early game support, but can also be used to easily take out an opponent later into the game. The ability to wipe all of my opponents boards with just 7 mana, is just insanely powerful in the later game when every player has 5+ cards on the battlefield. Although it may not kill them, it still returns them to my opponents hand, which provides me insight on what my opponents will play next turn, and may also force them to discard a card if they have 7+ cards in their hand. Overall a very strong card in this deck, and can easily be a wincon if cast at the right time.

Dispel

Force of Will

Mental Misstep

Mystical Tutor

Pact of Negation

Swan Song

Worldly Tutor

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Casual

92% Competitive

Revision 36 See all

(4 years ago)

+1 Flusterstorm main
-1 Man-o'-War main
-1 Snow-Covered Mountain main
+1 Waterlogged Grove main
Date added 6 years
Last updated 4 years
Legality

This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)

6 - 0 Mythic Rares

58 - 0 Rares

15 - 0 Uncommons

18 - 0 Commons
Cards 100
Avg. CMC 2.09
Tokens Bird 2/2 U, Morph 2/2 C, Treasure
Folders Current decks I play, Inspiration, immediate make, Dylan’s Deck, Animar
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