Animar, Soul of Elements

Legendary Creature — Elemental

Protection from white and from black ((Remember the acronym debt.) This can't be damaged, enchanted, equipped, blocked or targeted by anything white or anything black. Anything white or anything black attached to this immediately falls off.)

Whenever you cast a creature spell, put a +1/+1 counter on this.

Creature spells you cast cost {1} less to cast for each +1/+1 counter on this.

Combos

• Ancestral Statue + Animar, Soul of Elements
• Animar, Soul of Elements + Relic of Legends
• Ancestral Statue + Animar, Soul of Elements + Witty Roastmaster

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (46)

hyalopterouslemur on Beta Brackets Update Today

2 days ago

DemonDragonJ: Yeah, my loathing of five-color goodstuff mostly comes from how this is supposed to be the color-restricted format: I have a Ghave, Guru of Spores deck, but if I want to make a Rith, the Awakener or Marath, Will of the Wild *f-etch* deck, I have to lose the black cards (and probably the entire Aristocrats theme). So, no more Grave Pact or Dictate of Erebos. No more Pitiless Plunderer. No more Diabolic Intent. No more Blood Artist or Bastion of Remembrance. I do gain red, though, so say hello to Purphoros, God of the Forge. Rhys the Redeemed or Nemata, Primeval Warden would be even more restricted, as token decks go.

My removal also suffers, since red removal is surprisingly bad in this format. (Seriously, I'd argue white has the best removal, followed closely by black. Green's a distant third, and red and blue are tied for fourth: Red has more removal, blue has better removal.)

And it happens between Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, Betor, Ancestor's Voice, Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim, Beledros Witherbloom, and Licia, Sanguine Tribune too. All are lifegain, but only Oloro can use Absorb and Drogskol Reaver. Only Licia can use Lightning Helix and Searing Meditation. Only Betor can use Beledros Witherbloom. Ayli and Witherbloom are even more restricted, especially since Witherbloom can't use the color that's best at lifegain.

But that's the whole point. When I choose a Commander, I make a lot of choices regarding deck construction. I can't say "Cathars' Crusade would be good in my Animar, Soul of Elements deck." because, well, it wouldn't; it would be illegal. That forces me to pick, I don't know, Ivy Lane Denizen or Forgotten Ancient instead. Corpsejack Menace? You mean Branching Evolution? (Aside from the name, why is Corpsejack Menace {B} anyway? I actually wouldn't mind if it were {G}{U} just because that's Simic's thing.) And so on down the line.

Five-color goodstuff opts to ignore all of this. And right now, there are more five-color decks in EDH than in Legacy.

Eh, I can always just hate them out with Primal Order.

That's my rant about how too much five-color goodstuff is bad for the game.

Anyway, I play Aura Shards and Seedborn Muse in a lot of decks too. Aura Shards is really oppressive in a token build, or even a reanimator build. Seedborn Muse is interesting because she's either overpowered (anything {G}{U}, token builds, Yeva, Nature's Herald) or just a fancy Village Bell-Ringer without the Splinter Twin combo. I have to go through my decks now and see which ones have four or more game changers.

greyninja on Animar enthusiasts!

1 week ago

Last night the three new cards that I put into my Animar deck were:

• Shocking Sharpshooter
  
• Transit Mage
  
• Outcaster Trailblazer
  

I took out Elvish Visionary and finallyy took out two banned cards Mana Crypt and Dockside Extortionist which feels bad.

I figure that Elvish Visionary is trying to find cards like Shocking Sharpshooter anyway so I might as well run that in its place, and Outcaster Trailblazer can pay for itself once you're in a Cloudstone Curio or Hullbreaker Horror loop with Animar, Soul of Elements in play

greyninja on Animar enthusiasts!

1 week ago

First off, we have a new Animar art!

Second, we have new cards! Like Shocking Sharpshooter!

I seem to find three versions of Animar, Soul of Elements decks:
- Super low to the ground and efficient game plan; near cEDH level
- Efficient and fun with combos; mid tier
- Big Timmy creatures and/or hydras; more casual

I was working on my deck last night and wanted to start a thread to discuss the new variables, like Transit Mage which can go and get Ancestral Statue!

What other newer cards are you adding to your Animar decks? What is old news and being removed from the 99? Let's discuss!

Kazierts on How Good is Atalan Jackal?

3 months ago

Here's actually something I disagree with wallisface. I don't think Wood Elves is much worse than Cultivate nor is marginally better than Atalan Jackal.

If we're talking about raw ramp, then yes, Cultivate is better because it can also set up future ramp such as Explore and Growth Spiral, but Wood Elves can get nonbasic lands such as Indatha Triome. I'm not saying it's an auto-include if you have nonbasic forest, but it's something I'd consider.

About Atalan Jackal, just look at its EDHrec page. You'll see roughly 4 types of commanders that play it.

• Warhammer commanders - I imagine this is because it comes in the precons.
• Haste commanders - Ognis, the Dragon's Lash, Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes, Deathleaper, Terror Weapon and Samut, Vizier of Naktamun.
• Combat commanders - Anzrag, the Quake-Mole, Mr. Orfeo, the Boulder and General Marhault Elsdragon.
• Very creature focused decks - Animar, Soul of Elements, Nikya of the Old Ways and Ruric Thar, the Unbowed.

These aren't the only commanders that run this card, but the ones that play it the most. They don't run Atalan Jackal because it's good, but because it actually synergises with the overall strategy. It doesn't enable the strategy, it is part of the strategy.

Kazierts on Elemental Storm

3 months ago

Before I make any proper recommendations, you should stop worrying so much about the average CMC. Yes, having a lower curve is better (usually), but you take note of every little change, and that's not gonna help you build a better deck.

Onto the recommendations themselves:

• Trailtracker Scout - Ramps you while providing recursion. The more copies, the more cards you get back from the graveyard.

• Marauding Raptor - This one depends a lot. You can think of it as a mini Animar, Soul of Elements, but you have you be careful when casting X/2s.

• Dryad of the Ilysian Grove - 100% better than Chromatic Lantern. The lantern is better suited for 4 and 5 color decks.

• Armored Scrapgorger and Intrepid Paleontologist - Ramp and graveyard hate.

• Terror of the Peaks - I can't think of many wincons from the top of my head right now, but I for sure know Terror of the Peaks should be one. Rage Reflection feels too out of place here.

• Harmonic Prodigy - This allows Riku to copy things twice.

• Please remove Ionize. This isn't the deck that's going to take advantage from it. 3 colored pips in addition to counterspells not being good copy targets should make this an instant cut.

Kazierts on Should I Keep the Mana …

3 months ago

Short answer, yes. If your deck is based around creatures, instants and sorceries then having more of those is always preferable. Also, interacting wih lands is always harder, so your mana would be safer.

Long answer, you need a lot more ramp just in general. Even with Animar, Soul of Elements's discount, Riku is a very mana hungry commander. If you pair that up with Bramble Sovereign's ability, then nothing will cost less than X{1}{G}{G}{U}. I usually exaggerate with ramp in my decks, but you probably should have at least 15 ramp cards.

There's some other stuff I'd like to recommend, but I'll say that on your deck's page.

hybridv21 on Magus X

4 months ago

Considerations: Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner Tribute to the World Tree Invigorating Hot Spring Rhythm of the Wild Garruk's Uprising Temur Ascendancy The Swarmlord Birds of Paradise The Goose Mother Animar, Soul of Elements Voracious Hydra

hyalopterouslemur on Rules Committee Gives Up Managing …

6 months ago

I miss the way they did precons. In the original precons, all the psychographs were represented. (Johnny would have a field day with all but the Mardu deck.) Here's how they stacked up:

Kaalia of the Vast Timmy and Spike

Tariel, Reckoner of Souls Timmy

Basandra, Battle Seraph Spike

Riku of Two Reflections Timmy and Johnny

Animar, Soul of Elements Timmy and Spike

Edric, Spymaster of Trest Spike

Ghave, Guru of Spores All three (Johnny likes the "combos with anything" nature of Ghave; Spike likes the sac outlet and the fact that you can use any +1/+1 counter for Ghave's abilities; Timmy likes an army of mushroom people.)

Karador, Ghost Chieftain Spike

Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter Spike

Zedruu the Greathearted *f-etch* Johnny

Ruhan of the Fomori Spike

Nin, the Pain Artist Johnny and Spike

The Mimeoplasm Johnny and Spike

Damia, Sage of Stone Spike

Skullbriar, the Walking Grave Timmy and Spike

Not that it was all Timmy and Johnny; the first precons did include a reprint of Skullclamp after all.

Look at the last precons? All eight of the new legends were designed for Spike. Where's the room for creativity on the part of players?

I admit that some of the changes to EDH have been fine. (I joke that nobody used instants before 2014. Which is somewhat true, people were more concerned with card advantage with their answers than they were with actual, you know, answers.) But I would like some legends to be designed for Johnny or Timmy.