COUNTER INTELLIGENCE - BY ANIMAR - [COMMANDER]
Commander / EDH
SCORE: 3 | 392 VIEWS | IN 2 FOLDERS
Version 4.0 —Aug. 31, 2016
-1 Experiment One >>>> +1 Ulvenwald Tracker
-1 Bloom Tender >>>> +1 Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
-1 Zameck Guildmage >>>> +1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
-1 Asceticism >>>> +1 Defense of the Heart
-1 Hamletback Goliath >>>> +1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
-1 Ivy Lane Denizen >>>> +1 Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
-1 Phyrexian Revoker >>>> +1 Fauna Shaman
-1 Predatory Hunger >>>> +1 Drumhunter
-1 Cloudfin Raptor >>>> +1 Fierce Empath
-1 Equilibrium >>>> +1 Nullmage Shepherd
-1 Spinerock Knoll >>>> +1 Temple of Epiphany
-1 Novijen, Heart of Progress >>>> +1 Swiftwater Cliffs
-1 Mosswort Bridge >>>> +1 Rhystic Cave
Alright, well after more playtesting version 4 of COUNTER INTELLIGENCE is up. So here is the explanation regarding the changes.
- Experiment One is a great evolving 1 drop. However with this deck running so many dual lands that come into play tapped, turn 1 and turn 2 with this deck is usually a no cast washout anyways. Even when I do have 1 or 2 drop creatures, I end up holding onto them till I cast Animar anyways, in order to ramp his counter count. So instead I replaced it with Ulvenwald Tracker in order to give me some deck appropriate creature removal. Since I'm usually dominating the big creatures department, getting repeatable fight on a creature is very useful.
- Bloom Tender. Great mana ramp in this deck because if Animar is out it can produce 3 mana. With card slots being at a premium though, Selvala is just better. It can produce significantly more mana depending on the board state, and can even provide card advantage that I am likely to be the only one who gets any advantage from.
- Zameck Guildmage got the big ugly axe because after so much playtesting I have discovered that I never have mana to spend on activated abilities because I am always spending it all on creatures. So instead I switched in Edric which is only 1 colorless more, or the same cost with animar +1 on the board, and it can provide card advantage anytime one of my creatures hits, and gives my opponents a reason to attack eachother instead of attacking me.
- Asceticism is good, but being able to tutor up and play two creatures for free is just better. Especially when one of them can be Archetype of Endurance which gives mass hexproof just like Asceticism.
- Hamletback Goliath. I LOVE this card, but in this deck it is just a ridiculous amount of win more. What I really needed was more answer to troublesome creatures which Ulamog can absolutely provide. Especially with the increased amount of creature tutors and draw advantage the deck has now.
- Ivy Lane Denizen is cool for sure. Even if you just stack more counters onto Animar. However Momir Vig is creature tutor gold in this deck. Or if im playing blue creatures its just more card advantage. I think the call is easy.
- Phyrexian Revoker. The ol Commander activation ability shut down. Pretty cool but if I can use Fauna Shaman to tutor up and Ulamog and trash that Commander and then proceed to annihilate my enemies board. Well that just wins. That's just one example of the plethora of situational answers that Fauna Shaman could bring into play.
- Predatory Hunger. Great, Especially in multiplayer. This was a hard cut. But its low cmc is no help because its only really worth putting on animar if you are going for maximum effect. Drumhunter provides additional consistent draw and even some colorless mana ramp should I need it for some reason.
- Cloudfin Raptor. Flying, Evolve. Seems like a fantastic fit and honestly it can be. Especially if you have it the turn after playing Animar it can help ramp him up fast. However most recently what I discovered is that what I really need is more Creature Tutor to bring up situational answers when I need them. Fierce Empath helps with that.
- Equilibrium. Fantastic card in a creature heavy deck like this, but honestly, I just never end up using it actual play. Either because of a lack of early blue mana, or because I am too busy spamming out creatures. Cutting this was a very hard decision but what I really needed was more slots dedicated to situation answers. So in comes Nullmage Shepherd. Repeatable disenchant to take care of those troublesome artifacts and enchantments. In a deck like this one that has so many creatures there is no lack of ones to tap and with the additional creature tutors I have added in it becomes more likely that I can get it when I need it.
- Spinerock Knoll and Mosswort Bridge. I foolishly read these Hideaway lands incorrectly and forgot that they come into play tapped. In play the color I have been most lacking in is blue so, here comes more blue dual lands.
- Novijen. Seems again like a natural fit, but colorless mana in this deck is usually outright useless and I never have the extra mana to use its secondary ability anyways. Rhystic cave doesn't come into play tapped and can make mana of any color. Of course if my opponent has saved some of their mana they can pay to shut it down temporarily. Still, I think its a solid tradeoff.