Reanimator V.S. Dredge
Deck Help forum
Posted on Dec. 21, 2016, 10:39 p.m. by Cardsofchaos00
I have been inspired by an acquaintance of mine to make a graveyard deck. On this basis he told 2; Dredge and Reanimator. As well as the following I'm very indecisive and would like to know if there is a way to combine the 2. Mainly due to that, I do not like Reanimator all that much because it's focused around a small amount of big creatures uuing several spells such as Reanimate and Animate Dead to bring them back multiple times. Whereas Dredge focuses around using the mechanic Dredge to fill up the GY as fast as possible to swarm your opposition with cards such as Vengevine, Narcomoeba, and Bloodghast. However I do not mind the endless Dredge but I do mind the fact that no matter what deck I face there is no type of toolbox strategy to answer the deck. What I am asking here us which one of the 2 is better, and if they are both equal then is there a way to combine them. I do play casual and I have no budget. I also have some of the cards that I may need as do some if my friends.
Cardsofchaos00 says... #3
May I ask why you like Reanimator than Dredge, is it due to grave hate, easier to run or more consistent. I have no idea on a deck of supremacy. However I was thinking of using Golgari Grave troll with some reanimation to bring back powerful creatures such as Lord of Extinction due to large multiplayer games or other cards that may be gteat to cheat into the game. But I have limited card knowledge in GY advantage. Thank you however for replying to the thread it's appreciated.
December 21, 2016 11:12 p.m.
Cardsofchaos00 says... #5
Hmmmm an interesting deck JohannKlink, I like the concept of it especially since it's budget I'm afraid of what it would become with expensive upgrades.... but I'm wondering if you with no budget would add in other cards for reanimation rather than the Chant.
December 21, 2016 11:50 p.m.
jethstriker says... #6
If you don't like the traditional reanimator, there is another variant of reanimator that you may want to consider. It's what I think they call Tin Fins or instant reanimator. Instead of using Reanimate it uses Shallow Grave and Goryo's Vengeance to bring back Griselbrand, attack with the hasted demon, then draw a bunch of cards, which will hopefully draw you into Fury of the Horde to do it again. Or you can target Emrakul, the Aeons Torn to destroy your opponent with the hasted Eldrazi. The combo is much faster but more fragile than the traditional reanimator build.
On the topic itself, what I can say is among the two, Dredge is the more vulnerable to graveyard hate, while Reanimator has a much harder match up against heavy control decks, which Dredge just ignores. Another thing is Dredge has that bad reputation, if that concerns you.
December 22, 2016 12:26 a.m.
Cardsofchaos00 says... #7
No its not the bad reputation as the friend who inspired me uses dredge but he is at college and we can't play together anymore so I would liked to take his place as the dredger of the group. I have always loved graveyard decks but I am trying to figure out on how to basically using the graveyard to where it is my had with out a RiP just blowing it to oblivion or the spell heavy reanimator. On top of that I have heard of Tinfins before but I don't wish to simply rely on 1 creature to win. I am trying to make the best graveyard deck possible. I am rejoicing over how many people are helping me with this deck. Thank you all and these ideas are wonderful.
December 22, 2016 1:02 a.m.
Cardsofchaos00 says... #8
Even though I won't be able to play this at a tournament I would still like to kind some butt at the kitchen table. But possibly Splinterfright, Ghoultree, Animate Dead, Lord of Extinction. My group said that my friends dredge deck was unbeatable however I knew it was it was just no one ran grave hate except for 2 Ghastly Conscription nothing else is used that targets the grave. But possibly a high creature count with some reanimating deck can work.
December 22, 2016 1:32 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #9
Reanimator is a more flexible deck. The deck I am thinking of specifically is my buddy's Reanimator? I Hardly Know Her! deck. Once you stick a Griselbrand or get an Entomb you can pretty much just find the creature you need for the specific match-up. Your opponent running a lot of creatures with low toughness? Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is your girl. A mono-colored or heavily one color skewed deck got you down? Iona, Shield of Emeria will make sure they can't cast spells. Your opponent actually having a hand proving problematic? Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur will put an end to that.
December 22, 2016 6:03 a.m.
I ran both a reanimator deck and an dredge deck. I too love graveyard strategies and like both decks strategies, however dredge as more restrict plan. If you go to legacy, it rellies in the tokes from Bridge from Below, Ichorid or, in same cases, Dread Return, so after your opponent figure the strategy out, it's kinda easy to stop the deck. For reanimator, you have a vast choices of big guys to use in specific cases, like Iona, or Griselbrand, or even Blazing Archon. So, I do prefer the reanimator. I find it less explosive than dredge, but more solid.
December 22, 2016 6:40 a.m.
Cardsofchaos00 says... #12
Well I do play casual but thank you for the helpful insight luisserpa and Gidgetimer. However I am finding my meta perfect for each deck because no one not even the strongest player runs a sideboard or grave hate. Thank you all for the help. However I only have 1 question. Why run Griselbrand with the life loss and everything that could make you lose the game to burn or control.
December 22, 2016 10:32 a.m.
TheHelvault says... #13
I definitely prefer Reanimator over dredge. Dredge has some interesting combos and synergy, and it can be a very good deck, and it's a decent matchup for a lot of decks.
I love Reanimator because of how fast, consistent, and powerful it can be. Swinging with a couple Vengevine's and Narcomoeba's might look cool, but going off turn 1 reanimating Griselbrand and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is just brutal. Have an Exhume instead of a Shallow Grave? Reanimate It That Betrays and lock your opponent out of the game. Feeling naughty? reanimate Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger and plow through their library. Reanimator is a powerful deck, and it's extremely customizable. You can run Mono-Black, Black-White, Black-Green, Abzan, Esper, you name it! Reanimator can be run in your favorite colors.
Below is my Reanimator deck, relatively budget friendly ($500). It's consistent, and designed to win turn 2 with any hand that can put Griselbrand in the graveyard.
Grizzly Bear Reanimator
Legacy
SCORE: 6 | 15 COMMENTS | 1408 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER
I hope you enjoy!
December 22, 2016 10:54 a.m.
You're welcome, I'm glad I could help, and if you play casual, then my opinion stays the same, I prefer Reanimator over dredge, despite thte fact that I love dredge. As for the Griselbrand, I can undestand your doubt. It's true that you lose life, but you dig your library for more 7 cards, which can be the final pieces to win the game, plus, the guy has lifelink, which is insane, you pratically buy 7 seven cards for free. I can't tell you enough how many times that ability saved me. He's strong sure, but besides that, he doesn't have a finishing ability like It That Betrays, so the card draw let you dig for that, or you can just get the lifelink, which is always nice.
December 22, 2016 11:24 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #15
Griselbrand fuels his own card draw most of the time by swinging and gaining you 7 life. Even if you are not swinging, life is a resource and 7 life for 7 cards at instant speed is a great trade. If you are worried about your life total you can not activate his ability and a 7/7 flying lifelink is still a good enough target to reanimate most of the time. In UB reanimator you are also drawing in to counter spells so you are unconcerned about what they are doing most of the time.
The mantra you need to learn to live by if you want to run a hyper aggressive Reanimator deck is "one isn't zero" a win at 1 life is just as much a win as one at 20 life.
December 22, 2016 11:32 a.m.
Cardsofchaos00 says... #16
Hmmm I see where yoy guys are coming from. Then I shall start working on reanimator ASAP. And also from an earlier comment jethstriker in which dredge is more common to grave hate. So this is perfect for my meta as no one runs it but when they see that they do the deck will already be ahead of them. And sorry it may sound stupid but I didn't see the lifelink on Griselbrand, but now I see why it's practically a staple in Reanimator. To me however a turn 2 Ulamog is just cruel to your opposition. However it sounds fun. What are some targets you guys might suggest to reanimate. I'm actually surprised that there are 1 alot of people love this type of deck and 2 that there are are alot of helpful people. Thanks guys.
December 22, 2016 12:13 p.m.
Cardsofchaos00 says... #17
TheHelvault...this deck is pure evil my friend, I especially like how yoy added in the children to protect yourself from aggro and burn.
December 22, 2016 12:20 p.m.
You're welcome. As for targets, the staples are Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, to clear the board if your opponent is running small creatures, like Mother of Runes, Delver of Secrets Flip, Young Pyromancer, etc, Iona, Shield of Emeria, specially good against mono decks. I also like Blazing Archon against heavy creature decks to stop their attacks.
December 22, 2016 12:21 p.m.
Cardsofchaos00 says... #19
Thanks and ya that just basically knocks dredge out of what it does aggro. However what would you think adding in Sheoldred, Whispering One. And mt friend who inspired me actually it seems that he was leaning towards Reanimator than dredge but he couldn't let the grave troll go. Ironically no one in our playgroup could beat him. But my friends usually use big creatures in the long run so I was just thinking of Sheoldred to make them go bye-bye. Thanks for the staples it helps alot.
December 22, 2016 12:57 p.m.
jethstriker says... #20
Sheoldred is fine if your playing casual. However, if you do want to take the deck to a higher level, Sheoldred is, despite her abilities, ironically bad for a reanimator. The strategy of reanimator is to select the best creature from your deck best suited to fight your opponent's strategy and to ride that lone creature to victory, not by swarming the battlefield with fatties. Sheoldred is considered a "win more" card in reanimator.
The most common targets are:
Griselbrand, Iona, Shield of Emeria, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Inkwell Leviathan, Empyrial Archangel, Blazing Archon, Ashen Rider, Grave Titan, Tidespout Tyrant, Sire Of Insanity.
December 23, 2016 1:35 a.m.
Just like jethstriker said, he's good, but more in casual groups. I really like the card and if you're playing casual it's great, or even in multiplayer.
December 23, 2016 10:12 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #22
The list of common targets jethstriker gave us pretty comprehensive. The only one I would add is Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur as he is great against traditional control decks that want to win off of card advantage and counter spells.
December 23, 2016 11:17 a.m.
Cardsofchaos00 says... #23
I thank you for all of the help you guys have given me. However the only reason I asked about Sheoldred was because, I not only play casual but we also play multiplayer alot. Reasoning for this actually came off as using Sheoldred for removal since my playgroup loves casting indestructible creatures. But thanks for the list now I know what cards to get. On a side note if you guys need anything give me a buzz, I very helpful on ruling of the cards if anything happens to pop up.
December 23, 2016 2:38 p.m.
You're welcome, I'm glad I could help. Thank you, I'll keep in mind that. Good luck with your deck and I hope you can get good results with it.
December 23, 2016 3:55 p.m.
Cardsofchaos00 says... #25
I shall try. I'll also give special thanks to all who have commented on this thread as they have had an impact on the decks creation.
Gidgetimer says... #2
I personally like UB Reanimator better than dredge. You can change reanimator to better accommodate what your opponent is doing.
December 21, 2016 10:52 p.m.