Sword of the Animist

Legendary Artifact — Equipment

Equipped creature gets +1/+1.

Whenever equipped creature attacks, you may search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library.

Equip (: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery. This card enters the battlefield unattached and stays on the battlefield if the creature this card is attached to leaves the battlefield.)

Discussion (51)

Ector on Galea, the Equipmonger

8 hours ago

The Ramp, the Lands and Topdeck Manipulation

The major goal of every good Galea deck is the right method of ramp and topdeck manipulation. Every time you see a card that Galea cannot play, you should have a way to change the situation somehow. And there are two primary ways to achieve that:

1. Direct manipulation. Scroll Rack , Sylvan Library , Soldevi Excavations , Vantress Gargoyle and Jace, the Mind Sculptor directly manipulate with your topdeck, allowing you to gain card advantage. Let's look at Scroll Rack for example. If you have say three Auras/Enchantments in your hand that you can play this turn, and your topdeck isn't Aura or Equipment. You just draw three cards, put your Auras/Equipments on topdeck and play all them, actually drawing three cards for 1 mana!

2. Fetching lands. As long as Galea cannot play lands from top of your library, you should fetch lands as much as you can. This reduces the number of lands in your library (and the chance to see a land on your topdeck), and allows you to shuffle your library. We have six lands that fetch the other lands, and one of them ( Thawing Glaciers ) can fetch multiple times. We also have Sword of the Animist and Elvish Reclaimer that fetch lands repeatedly, and Expedition Map .

The Ramp strategy of this deck uses "the best of all worlds" principle: the best creatures, the best artifacts and the best Aura ( Wild Growth ). Most of the Ramp cards cost 1 mana, but there are few 0-cost and 2-cost cards. Why don't I use more Auras? Because creatures and artifacts are more efficient, and I need Ramp prior to playing Galea. Why do I use mana dorks? There are two reasons: I need early targets for my Equipment, and I want to sacrifice them later to Skullclamp .

This deck has three ways of fetching NON-basic lands: Elvish Reclaimer , Expedition Map and Tolaria West - and if you have Academy Ruins , you can recycle Expedition Map to fetch more lands. One of the best targets for the fetching is Urza's Saga , which can create a giant token and fetch Skullclamp or Expedition Map . Another very important target is Glacial Chasm , which can allow you to survive and grab victory even in a grave sutuation. Of course, Academy Ruins and Hall of Heliod's Generosity are also the popular fetch targets.

The Aura Selection

Most Auras in this deck steal or spoil enemy creatures (especially Commanders). It's hard to win when your Commander is stolen or converted to Insect :) There are only two Auras that should be played on your creatures: Mantle of the Ancients and Unquestioned Authority . Most of the time they are played via Sovereigns of Lost Alara : you attack, then fetch one of them from your deck, and, in case of the Mantle, also play all Equips from your graveyard.

The Hidden Gems

Conqueror's Flail prohibits opponents from playing spells during your turn. This allows you to play all your stuff without pesky counterspells and attack safely. It's very important for this deck.

Moonsilver Spear and Seraphic Greatsword create 4/4 flying Angels. If you have both, you can create enough blockers that can eventually kill somebody.

Dowsing Dagger  ^Flip should be transformed into a land that provides three mana of any color. It's a great Ramp, especially if you consider that Sword of Feast and Famine and Treachery untap your lands. With a bit of luck, you can even create two Construct tokens with Urza's Saga !

Fractal Harness is the easiest way of creating an enormous creature. It will grow very fast, and Belt of Giant Strength may give it +10/+10! If you get both in play, follow the "Trident Punch" path and look for Surestrike Trident .

Umbral Mantle doesn't have a lot of good targets in this deck: there are no creatures with powerful "Tap:" abilities. But you can steal them! :) Talking seriously, the Mantle is used to untap our Ultron after attacking. I am not a big fan of using Galea for this purpose: it's better not to put all the eggs into one basket. Plus, the Mantle makes a great combo with Surestrike Trident .

Shimmer Dragon is really great for this deck. It flies and almost always has Hexproof. It provides insane amount of cards. And it is much better material for Ultron than Galea IMHO. Most of the time you would need just one Scytheclaw or Kaldra Compleat on it to deal very serious damage.

Fierce Guardianship means that you always might have a counterspell :)

Thassa, God of the Sea is very helpful for two reasons: it can make your creature unblockable (even a tiny Elf with the Scytheclaw becomes a very dangerous threat!) and it provides a free Scry 1 every turn (see above on topdeck manipulation). Still, you have a chance of turning her into creature, since there are several permanents with UU in their casting cost. Having an indestructible creature is always nice!

dpolatchek01 on Anowon, the Ruin Guy

3 weeks ago

Underground River is something I will definitely add. I've just been led to believe (perhaps brainwashed) that artifacts to play your commander earlier are a must. I'm not sure how you generally feel about that. Darksteel Forge is undoubtedly a great card it just feels like I'll be dead 10x over before I get to cast it most of the time. I agree 100% about the equipments. I had been running Whispersilk Cloak but what I got to thinking was that there were so many unblockable dudes already that I could get away with putting something like Sword of the Animist on an unblockable nerd and be able to get that extra land no matter what. I was thinking maybe Sword of Body and Mind would be another one to add? Bitterblossom is my #1 most desired card for this deck for sure. Im hoping to maybe be able to trade for it or something haha bc 50$ is a lot for one card for me. I generally won't buy a card if its above 20. Stuff like Force of Negation I just got lucky and opened up. I understand that dimir rogues may not be the best against aggro and Voltron. The people I play with are super lame. The only deck I have that's good against what they play is my Sacrifice deck with Yawgmoth, Thran Physician . It annihilates all the 1/1s so of course I'm not allowed to play it -.-

brianizbrewtal on Anowon, the Ruin Guy

3 weeks ago

Alright, so since we've last chatted about my Anowon deck, I've overhauled it and even won a game with it! If you haven't had too many troubles with land drops then keep it, or else bump it up one or two more. Idk your budget so I'll just mention what I think works well so you can lmk otherwise. I'd switch out Talisman of Dominance for an Underground River . Def take out Mesmeric Orb as you don't want to be feeding your graveyard so your meta doesn't take advantage of that. Skyclave Relic can be replaced with Commander's Sphere . Costs the same, but it'll draw you a card once you're caught up on mana. Sword of Hearth and Home is the new Sword of the Animist and oh man is it good. The blink plus the untapped land, chefs kiss. Even though Anowon helps mill, I think the main focus is not to do so much milling and get your attacks in with the side effect being mill. Ironically enough, I won by decking someone after I used Zareth San, the Trickster to steal some crazy aura that buffed up my faerie rogue up by +20/+20 to KO the person before lol. If you take a look a mine, my theme seems to be "copying". I want to keep copying that next thing that'll push me forward. Does your group have a more cEDH or just high powered vibe? Cause that'll change what I might recommend. Arcane Denial is already better than Counterspell bc counterspell is just a 1 for 1. Replace with Pact of Negation , Fierce Guardianship or if your group plays a lot of 1 drops, then Mental Misstep as that'll bring the salt. Keep a counter in hand just for that Rise of the Dark Realms ! Your removal could also use a boost. I would take out Go for the Throat and Hagra Mauling  ^Flip and throw in Murderous Rider . You could also see the removal I'm running and possibly switch the mentioned cards for those. You could possibly even add Hero's Downfall but M.Rider is the better version of that card. Board wipes are good, but why crux though? I can understand if that's just what you have, then do it up. If you can, replace with Damnation or just cut it as you already have Toxic Deluge which is pretty much the best board wipe. Kudos! Windfall can take a hike, unless you're going to add Hullbreacher or Narset, Parter of Veils . If you're trying to be oppressive that is LOL. You have decent draw already and you wouldn't want to feed your opponent that Realms! If you need to replace then add Midnight Clock (might get destroyed) or Into the Story .
As far as creatures go, make them unblockable with Whispersilk Cloak like you mentioned a while ago. It works wonders. Look at my list and see what I'm running, bc there are so many options. I highly recommend Dauthi Voidwalker . If you're able to put a void counter on "rise" after milling everyone out a bunch, you can sac DV and use it against the card's owner and make them suffer! Because that's what Commander is all about, right? If you have any more questions feel free to ask! I'm always down to help and welcome all the advice people give me as well. Wreck your playgroup next time you get together!

armistan on Aurelia Angels Tribal

1 month ago

jakeyuki12 thanks for the suggestions! You are absolutely right on the Mana Crypt , I will definitely swap the Mox Diamond for it when I get one.

You got me thinking and besides the wheels I really don't have any card advantage except Hedron Archive and Sword of the Animist . I will be adding Esper Sentinel and Mila, Crafty Companion  ^Flip.

I'm also considering Sword of Fire and Ice and Faithless Looting for some more draw. I also considered Browbeat but I'm afraid people would rather take 5 damage than let me draw three cards.

Epicurus on BLRM (Bureau of Land and Resource Management)

1 month ago

1empyrean Thank you!

Of the 4 suggestions, Esper Sentinel is the one I would turn down. He seems like he'd fit the theme very well at first, but I really have very little to boost his power (really, nothing except for Sword of the Animist and Bloodforged Battle-Axe ). I had already considered it.

The other 3 suggestions are spot on. I'm going to add Urza's Saga ASAP. The other two are very interesting, and possibly absolutely awesome for this deck, and definitely worth playtesting.

Great suggestions!

monkeyofficeboy on Alesha, No Idea

1 month ago

Quick One

Also realised that I preferred Sword of the Animist to Panharmonicon so made that swap too!

FoxandtheVoid on Norin, Agent of Chaos

1 month ago

Profet93

Thank you so much for your interest in my deck and this thorough suggestion list and comment. So starting off with the draw you suggested, I kinda missed War Room , I am currently making up a list of things I want to change and I'm slightly changing up the pacing and direction and will be adding more draw. So War Room will definitely be one on the list. Tome of Legends is on my list already so thank you for confirmation on a good draw, especially with Norin popping in and out every turn. I don't know why but Endless Atlas doesn't feel too good to me, maybe if it were 1 mana I'd probably throw that in too but as is I'll pass. Humble Defector my current meta isn't super into playing nice politics so I haven't considered this, also the lack of abusable ETB makes me lean against it. I'll probably talk more on my meta at the end of the comment. As for Ignite the Future and Light Up the Stage they have been kinda on a watchlist, the list I'm working on is gonna look to make big plays with a handful of x cost spells so the flashback with Ignite the Future is less spicy in that sense but still a card I'm looking into playtesting a bit.

Moving on to the Ramp suggestions Curse of Opulence seems nice and I will definitely consider it as I change Norin up to keep it feeling a bit more fresh. Dockside Extortionist I haven't picked up yet because I support my LGS as much as possible and they ones I frequent the most haven't had any in stock when I've been there, and the one time they did - money was a factor. As for the crypt and the gauntlet, I have been playing magic for 20 some years now so many of the pricey cards weren't so pricey when I got them and also have had a healthy local trading market. Yes Myriad Landscape is too slow for my liking. You are correct in your assumption that I am not running Ruby Medallion because of the high amount of artifacts I'm running. It will likely be reconsidered. Sword of the Animist seems kinda good on paper, but my meta likes to do lots of spell casting on other peoples turns so I feel bad spending 2 to equip only to have someone cast a spell and make Norin go away. Oh, and as for Gauntlet of Power and Caged Sun both are going in with my next big change so stay tuned lol.

Utility & Misc. Chandra, Torch of Defiance is good, I'll consider it but not sure where to fit it in, also she will never live to see her -7 in my meta. Dualcaster Mage wasn't considered because I'm only running 9 sorcery and 1 instant and most of them not super great to duplicate, my new list may change this so I may come back and reconsider. Sunbird's Invocation seems perfect for the new list I'm cooking up, thank you! I will definitely play test that. Blast Zone just seems meh, I don't like the XX cost, I haven't found too many enchantments I've wanted to remove and when I do I make them artifacts and destroy them or take them. Flametongue Kavu and Inferno Titan just seem too expensive for what they do, the Kavu being limited to creatures is a bummer imo. Terror of the Peaks should go on to replace Warstorm Surge I'll have to look into that. And lastly Zealous Conscripts used to be in the deck along with a Goblin Recruiter and Moggcatcher and every game was basically the same, tutor for kiki and either gamble or wheel into zealous it felt boring and I didn't enjoy playing it. Might make a return one day in the right meta.

As for your synergy suggestion, I would add it but my new list is actually going to omit Mind's Eye.

Now for my meta... well I currently find myself in limbo as just a few weeks ago my group had a bit of a falling out. Basically, one of my friends became the direct boss of others in the group and he had to let one of them go from the company during covid lockdowns and it just created a lot of bad blood. Drama aside, we had some people showing up with cEDH decks when others were playing intentionally suboptimal decks and only one other person would play nice politics with me so it was kind of difficult at times. Ridiculous amounts of removal, both targeted and mass, so I typically felt somewhat okay running a bit light on that. Also with reds artifact hate and the ability to turn things into artifacts I never really felt disadvantaged.

As I said a few times I am making some changes and I'll be adding things like Firecat Blitz and Tempt with Vengeance to dump a mass amount of creatures in at once for those warstorm/pandemonium effects. I am currently focusing primarily on a new Alesha, Who Smiles at Death deck that you may enjoy, I hope to get it up and made public in the next two or three days. And if you enjoyed this Norin deck for it's low cmc curve you may enjoy the Alesha deck because it's even lower!

Thank you again for taking interest and thanks for the upvote. All of these suggestions are appreciated. :) I hope you have a great weekend.

Profet93 on Norin, Agent of Chaos

1 month ago

FoxandtheVoid

I like your deck and it's avg cmc. How do you deal with the lack of card draw red has? I see you have some wheels, but without a reliable way to tutor for them or draw into them, wouldn't it be best to add more general card draw to help ensure you don't run out of gas. Have you considered the following....

Draw

War Room - Draw

Tome of Legends / Endless Atlas - Draw

Humble Defector - Draw + Politics. I use homeward path in my build for this slight synergy and politics with confusion in the ranks. Not needed but fun. Also noteworthy is homeward path's ability to mess with opposing GY shenanigans should they attempt to reanimate ours/other creatures

Ignite the Future / Light Up the Stage - "Draw" that works well with top. Flashback on ignite has won me 3 games that I can remember, although my avg cmc is slightly higher.

Ramp

Per your description, I think running caged sun and gauntlet of power would be helpful as refilling our hands is only as useful as we can drop stuff down. Again, your cmc is slightly lower so perhaps only gauntlet of power is needed

Curse of Opulence - T1 Norin, T2 Curse. T3 Profit + Politics

Dockside Extortionist - Speaking of treasure, is he not included due to price? I see you have gauntlet of might and mana crypt so I'm unsure if you have budget restrictions

Myriad Landscape - Or is it too slow?

Ruby Medallion - Are you not running this due to it's inability to ramp artifacts? I find it useful nevertheless, especially when trying to dump your hand, I think its potential use outweighs the lack of artifact ramp.

Sword of the Animist - T1 Norin, T2 Sword, T3 Norin grabs the sword, swings at the enemy, runs away back to safety while grabbing a land. I like land ramp due to it being less susceptible to removal and fueling valakut.

Utility + Misc

Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Ramp, removal, draw and wincon all in 1

Dualcaster Mage - Value + combo with heat shimmer or twinflame should you wish to go that route. Each of those cards fuels ETB synergies as well.

Sunbird's Invocation - Expensive to cast but THE VALUE if it sticks. Hit or miss with many players, but has won me too many games to count. Perhaps my meta might be a bit more relaxed than yours though

Blast Zone - See no way for you to interact with enchantments. This might help should you wish. Nice with crucible

Flametongue Kavu - Removes most creatures, although it kills itself if its the only targettable creature on board

Inferno Titan - Burn, baby burn!

Terror of the Peaks - Burn baby burn part 2!

Zealous Conscripts - ETB value + Combo with Kiki-Jiki

A synergy to put in your description is Honor Shaku + Norin + Mind's eye = Draw during each opponent's draw step by tapping norin to fuel honor and honor to fuel mind's eye

Looking forward to your response to each suggestion. +1, nice deck. Would love to know more about your meta as well.