Well, Hardened Scales gives you the effect for just 1 mana right off the bat. Pir, Imaginative Rascal requires you to jump a couple hoops to get the same effect for the same cost, but comes with the benefits for being a creature you can tutor up and putting a counter on Animar when you cast it.

I guess a big question to address is if the effect is one worth using a tutor on to begin with? Pir doesn't have the early game speed and mana efficiency that Hardened Scales does, but I think that it might be a little better later in the game if the board has been wiped and you are in recovery mode.

That being said, I personally don't run Hardened Scales. It has its moments where it shines, but in the early game I find it doesn't offer that much more speed for its mana invenstment than if it had just been a 1 CMC creature, particularly a mana dork, instead. If WotC would print another 1 CMC version of Bond Beetle I would take that over a Hardened Scales type effect any day.

I'd play like 6 Bond Beetles if i could. its the best turn three play in the deck except maybe Survival.

I wonder if WotC card designers have to write their favorite decks to play on some sort of company profile so that the cards they make can be screened for bias?

"Come on, it's just another 0/1 for one mana that can be a 1/2. We'll make it a merfolk, since a beetle wouldn't quite fit this set's theme. No big deal, right? I'm sure that we can slot it into this set. MaRo loves token themes, right? What could it hurt?"

Animar gets something solid almost every set tho, so i think someones looking out for us! though that may be more as a result of the deck being a great home for low-cmc green and blue utility creatures.

Has anyone tried using Bane of Progress in competitive pods? it's always struck me as a bit slow and grindy, but the more games I play the more I think it would be such a massive blowout that it could basically end the game.

I'll probably try a few few games with it replacing Phyrexian Metamorph, which has always been neat but pretty conditional and not proactive.

I actually have tried it, It only works in a meta that is very prone to using artifact mana over dorks though. It doesn't have to go against breya or teferi to gain value (not like it hurts or anything), but I have found it just a little lacking since I go against Tana/Tymna Blood Pod and Food Chain Tazri so it doesn't work too often.

You should run it with Mycosynth Lattice in a super casual game. Can't hurt to destroy all permanents.

I tested it against my meta which is heavy artifact oriented, but when I manage to have the mana and counters on Animar to cast it, the game is ended quiclky by a combo. I think it is pretty useful as a toolkit, but slow. When you have the chance to cast it, the artifacts had done their jobs already.

This is what I was afraid of, and why I cut it back in the day. Its a blowout, but its too bulky to be easy to use. I'll def test it out and see if anything has changed.

Believe or not I found Manglehorn more useful. It enters on turn 2 distroying the most annoying artifact, then artifacts enter the battlefield tapped, slowing down some decks. Of course it depends on the meta your are dealing with. In sum I like both but I prefer a counterspell in hand to disrupt a win con. BTW, did you test dark-dweller oracle? I am looking forward for your thoughts and experiences with it.

Dark-Dweller Oracle is truely a great card for the deck, it is easier to tutor up than Skullclamp, and can sacrifice more creatures. I would rather it than clamp in my deck.

Re. Manglehorn: arguably better in the deck than Rec Sage and maybe Bane, but I found the ETB tapped effect to be pretty mediocre in my testing. It usually comes down a turn or two after Animar, at which point most of the best ramp rocks have already come into play, making Mangle a lot less relevant. that's part of the reason I like Caterpillar for this slot (besides killing Torp); it comes down faster, fires off at instant speed, and can be used more proactively. Ultimately, Mangle and rec sage probably deserve the spot more than Bane, but i'm definitely tempted to play it as a way to take someone out of the game, buying me more time to win.

Oracle is a fantastic card for the deck, and i recommend adding it immediately! it usually draws 3-4 cards on ETB, with more on the next couple turns. 1 mana to draw 1 card is a fantastic rate, especially in a deck without black. But I disagree that it's better than Clamp; Clamp just sees more cards on average, which is a major benefit. further, i wouldn't tutor for Oracle, bc his function is generally to dig for key pieces, which most of our tutors can do much better.

Clamp is better on the field, Oracle in the deck, the fact I can't easily tutor Skullclamp (You have to go through Trinket Mage) and I think that it why I like Oracle more.

Unrelated question, would you rather a good colorless card, something like a new Spellskite or Phyrexian Revoker, a new Bond Beetle, a new Birds of Paradise, or a new Mulldrifter type card?

@JMCraig When you say that the Oracle nets you 3-4 cards the turn it enters, is that just cards being filtered off the top of your library or is that the count of cards that you are also casting from exile that turn?

@SynergyBuild I think that, for me, it's a tough call between a new Bond Beetle or a new Mulldrifter (assuming the new Mulldrifter could also be cast for 3-4 mana without Animar's reduction). But considering that we have just been given Dark-Dweller Oracle for more draw power, I think that I lean more towards another Bond Beetle to help increase the chances of more explosive turn 3 plays.

Synergy: your point about Clamp is a good one, but I still wouldn't recommend tutoring up Oracle. It's role is digging for cards, and thats what your tutors do more directly. Unless the tutor is really narrow and there's no good chain available (I built the deck to make sure there is!!) then I'd recommend just going for your wincon.

Saber: the 3-4 number is a combination of both. And more to the point, exiling a card you don't want to/can't cast with Oracle is basically the same as drawing a useless card; in other words, "seeing" the cards is the main thing, not drawing. So when I cast the Oracle then feed it three or four useless guys, it's equivalent to drawing 3-4 cards in most circumstances, even if I let the useless cards stay in exile. Topdeck tutors and "free" cards like Skite/Statue/Ballista are situational, but very accessible ways to abuse the effect.

What effect do I want most?

• a good colorless card: colorless is just a bonus, honestly. Cheap is almost as good as free, and most of our casts are for 1 mana. this is why i play so few morphs, Skirk Prospectors, and artifact creatures, even if they are "free". Revoker is the closest thing I play to a mediocre card that earned its spot for costing nothing, and it's a really strong piece of hate. So a new one would have to have a great effect, like Skite, Ballista, or Statue obviously. Interestingly, this is why Phyrexian Metamorph is feeling unnecessary to me lately.
• a new Bond Beetle: love this guy, and he's a great play right after Animar, but having a second one wouldn't change the deck qualitatively, only speed it up a bit.
• a new Birds of Paradise: Always a great pick. We have a lot of dorks, but a functional reprint of Birds would easily tie for our second best one. It'd have to be 1 CMC and make any color though. again, like beetle, this adds a little speed at best, so it's not my top pick.
• a new Mulldrifter type card: this is my pick. One thing Animar lacks compared to a lot of "real" storm decks is good cantrip effects. Finding 2CMC "draw 1" creatures and 3CMC "draw one with selection" is weirdly difficult, especially when ruling out the looter effects, which are just bad. I've been trying to patch this up lately by replacing some mediocre, redundant ramp with extra draw and tutors, but another Mulldrifter or even another Sea Gate Oracle would be a really nice effect for the deck. in other words, we have a lot of good ramp already, but not as much good draw as I wish we did.

As always, Saber makes a good point, and I always trust an Animar player who loves the Beetle, so I would happily take either!

I was very close to picking another Mulldrifter, but there are a number of things that would make me possibly not choose it. Mulldrifter's biggest draw is its Evoke cost that turns it into a Divination that Animar can make even cheaper. If we are just talking about a 5 CMC creature that draws two cards like Cloudblazer then I may hesitate, particularly if it requires two colored mana like Cloudblazer does. At 4 CMC I would be more inclined to included it, but once again I would cringe a little if it required two colored mana (which it probably would at that cost). The double colored mana can be a pain to juggle if you are trying to combo out early. However, if the card said something like "When ~ enters the battlefield, you may return another creature you control to its owner's hand. If you do, draw two cards." I would definitely be looking at putting it in the deck, even if it did have a 5 CMC and required two colored mana.

I ended up choosing the Bond Beetle for a couple of reasons. Bond Beetle is extremely economical for Animar, basically counting as two creatures for 1 mana in just one card. While the Beetle is lacking in terms of utility, having it in your opening hand is like starting with an extra card as far as Animar is concerned. The ability to go from 0 counters to 2 counters for just 1 mana is fantastic, because that lets you go straight to only having to pay 1 mana for one of your tutor creatures and leaves you with mana left for whatever you tutor for. Cast Spellshaper and you'll still have a mana for Worldly Tutor. Cast Imperial Recruiter and that one mana you have left is enough to let you go off with the Recruiter + Phyrexian Metamorph + Shrieking Drake combo. Cast Trinket Mage and you will be able to fetch and cast Skullclamp. And all of that is assuming that you missed your land drop for the turn. If you didn't miss a land drop you would also be able to attach the clamp to the Beetle to draw two cards right away.

Bond Beetle can also set Animar up to be able to win on turn 3, which I think is a really important benchmark for Animar given how fast other decks in the format are. Turn 2 Animar + a Mox/Lotus Petal into Bond Beetle will set you up with all the mana and counters you should need to potentially go off the following turn.

So yeah, Bond Beetle is lacking in overall utility and Animar is always hungry for new cantrip creatures, but I would really like at least one more functional reprint of Bond Beetle for the deck to up its chances of faster combo kills.

Oops, I meant Spellseeker in that previous post, not Spellshaper.

With a new artifact deck for C18, I wouldn't be surprised if Animar gets some friends in that, or any of the other lists!

I would like more draw effects like mulldrifter. I agree with JMcraig, the deck needs more draw toys. Besides, it could be great to have a new artifact tutor, like tinket mage but being able to tutor any artifact or a new artifact similar to Ancestral Statue. I know I am asking for too much but hey, I am playing Animar, and Animar is always hungry.

@SinergyBuild I'm looking forward to it

Saber: I'd only really prefer a draw creature to a beetle if it cost 2 and drew one on etb (AKA wall of roots/visionary) or if it cost 3 and drew 1 with some selection (AKA Sea Gate, Raven). Mulldrifter is in the unique position of costing 3 and giving us 2 draws, which is well above average, and would therefore def get my vote.

That said, your point about Beetle being effectively a free card is 100% true. I've been waiting for a functional reprint for a while, since cheap creatures with +1 counter synergy seems like something WOTC is pushing really hard. I though for sure we'd get one in Ixalan block, but the closest thing we got was a bunch of fish tribal stuff. so close!

Maybe the Simic will have some good stuff? they're a perfect oppertunity to print cheap UG creatures with spicy effects, and we get 3 whole sets! fingers crossed.

Simic does play around with +1/+1 counters, so it does seem like a decent opportunity for a card similar to Bond Beetle to be printed.

The flavor of the Simic Guild makes it my favorite, but in terms of cards and mechanics I have to admit that the guild is a bit narrow in its play options. It would be neat if the guild offered some less combat-based options to take advantage of, like creatures gaining more abilities and passive effects if they have a certain number of counters, or something along those lines.

Cards that get better if you control a creature with at least a certain amount of +1/+1 counters on it would have some good synergy with Animar.

Oh totally. I wasn't playing standard during RTR, but it's my impression that the guild didn't get much action. Still, it's probably the most synergistic theme/faction in the game with Animars game plan, so I'm hopeful. I would love some mechanic that gives you bonuses if you control X creatures with counters, or a creature with X counters.

Something like Simic-Delve would be so cool:

Simic Counterspell: UUUUU, costs U less for each counter on target creature

or just a straight counters-matter theme:

Simic Cantrip: U, draw one for each counter on a creature you control

Reminds me of Shared Discovery, actually. That card is actually dangerously close to playable. I'd run it before i'd run brainstorm, at least.

Well, I really hope you know about Armorcraft Judge.

Foul Emissary and Gurmag Drowner are both close to Raven Familiar.