Name is "Cucaracha_Gigante" on Magic Online. I decided to return to Reanimator in December 2016, mainly because of the nostalgia of playing the deck during the Onslaught Era, which was my sophomore year in high school. Now, this has become my favorite MTG deck. Beyond its nostalgic value, the most obvious benefit of playing Reanimator; less mental fatigue, the matches run short, therefore, you have more down-time between rounds for snacks, stuff, and things!
Please feel free to leave any feedback or questions. Thank you!
SIDEBOARD PLAN
ELDRAZI / STOMPY VARIANTS
Out: -4 Faithless Looting, -4 Entomb, -4 Exhume, -1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite.
In: +4 Show and Tell, +2 Grave Titan, +2 Ratchet Bomb, +3 Collective Brutality, +2 Inkwell Leviathan.This is probably the most difficult match up for BR Reanimator. Because this is a blue-splash, it is susceptible to Leyline of the Void. This is also where the "Show and Tell / hardcast Grave Titan strategies become effective. Along with the strategy of discarding your opponents creatures and stealing them with Animate Dead and Reanimate. Playing this match requires a flexible mindset, sort of like an improvisational act. The ideal line here is probably "Show and Tell" into a "Grave Titan" or "Inkwell Leviathan", because they are probably playing "Karakas".
DEATH & TAXES / MAVERICK
Out: -4 Exhume, -1 Griselbrand,, -4 Entomb, -4 Faithless Looting.
In: +4 Show and Tell, +3 Collective Brutality, +1 Inkwell Leviathan, +2 Ratchet Bomb, +1 Pyroclasm, +2 Grave Titan. This is another difficult match up because main deck; Thalia, Swords, Karakas, and Wasteland, all individually f*ck your day up. Containment Priest, Rest in Peace, Path to Exile, and god only knows what. Obviously, go for the fast combo, because you probably do not want to try them in the long game, as their top decks are much more powerful. But you can win late by stripping their hand with the 11 discard spells (post board) and/or clearing the board with Ratchet Bomb and Pyroclasm. If they have any sense, the D&T player will not play Containment Priest until absolutely necessary, so you are probably going to have to force the issue by Thoughtseize-ing or Unmask-ing them, then you will need to kill the Containment Priest, and hopefully, combo-off. But again, you don't want to go to the late game.
DELVER GRIXIS/BUG/UR/RUG - LEOVOLD / CZECH PILE/ BUG CONTROL/ 4C CONTROL
Out: -4 Faithless Looting, -4 Entomb, -1 Tidespout Tyrant, -1 Griselbrand, -2 Animate Dead (-4 Animate Dead vs BUG DELVER/ CONTROL), -2 Reanimate.
(-1 Chancellor on the draw)
In: +4 Show and Tell, +3 Collective Brutality, +2 Grave Titan, +2 Inkwell Leviathan, +1 Pyroclasm, +2 Rachet Bomb,(+1 Iona, Shield of Emeria on the draw)ODDS: the RUG and UR Delver match ups are fairly good (66%, no DRS!), the Grixis Delver match up is about even (50%-ish), and the BUG Delver/Czech Pile match ups are fairly bad (40-45%) Both Reanimator and Delver archetypes are unique in their ability to win games definitively. Your plan is to use these 11 discard spells to strip them any DRS, Force of Will, Daze, Wasteland, Spell Pierce, Spell Snare, Diabolic Edicts, and Surgicals. But they will always use the Surgical before you can strip it, so be careful of which cards you decide to bin. You do not want to lose a vital combo piece. Edicts are also effective, but they are not considered an ideal solution. Grave Titan are better than Inkwell Leviathan and Griselbrand for that very reason.
Ratchet Bomb, Pyroclasm, and Collective Brutality, shine against these Blue Control and Tempo decks. They are particularly good against Czech Pile, as Baleful and DRS are the largest hurdles to victory.
MIRACLES
Out: -4 Animate Dead, -1 Griselbrand, -1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, -1 Tidespout Tyrant. (-1 Entomb on the play, -2 on the draw). (-3 Faithless Looting on the play, -4 on the draw)
In: +4 Show and Tell, +3 Collective Brutality, +2 Grave Titan, +2 Inkwell Leviathan. (+2 Rachet Bomb on the draw).This is probably the 3rd-4th worst match up of RB Reanimator. You want Grave Titan and Inkwell Leviathan to get there before Terminus can get there.
ELVES
Out: -1 Griselbrand, -1 Tidespout Tyrant, -4 Faithless Looting, -4 Animate Dead, -2 Entomb.
In: +4 Show and Tell, +1 Iona, Shield of Emeria, +1 Grave Titan, +3 Collective Brutality, +2 Ratchet Bomb, +1 Pyroclasm.Elesh Norn and Iona make this a favorable match up. Just make sure to strip their hand. Remove the following threats from their hand; Green Sun's Zenith, Natural Order, Scavenging Ooze, Diabolic Edict, and Glimpse of Nature.
SNEAK AND SHOW
Out: -3 Faithless Looting, -2 Exhume, -1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, -1 Griselbrand.
In: +3 Collective Brutality, +2 Grave Titan, +2 Inkwell Leviathan.
This is the one match up where boarding in Show and Tell is actively bad. This is famously a bad match up for Sneak and Show. They are going for Show and Tell into Omniscience, or Sneak Attack into Spaghetti monster or Griselbrand. Tidespout can do work in this match up.
LANDS
Out: -1 Griselbrand, -1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, -4 Animate Dead, -2 Entomb, -2 Faithless Looting.
In: +4 Show and Tell, +2 Grave Titan, +2 Inkwell Leviathan, +2 Ratchet Bomb.Grave Titan makes your opponent go for a Tabernacle instead of a Karakas or Wasteland /Ghost Quarter. it's a bad match up. Maze of Ith cannot target Inkwell Leviathan, and Grave Titan still produces zombie tokens!
STORM
Out: -1 Tidespout Tyrant, -1 Griselbrand, -1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, -4 Animate Dead, -3 Faithless Looting.
In: +4 Show and Tell, +1 Iona, Shield of Emeria, +2 Inkwell Leviathan, +3 Collective Brutality.You have an extremely effective discard package against them, to the point where the deck cannot function. A favorable match up.
MIRROR
I don't usually run graveyard hate. I do not think it is necessary to win in the mirror. The key to winning the mirror is simply drawing a better hand than your opponent. The average BR Reanimator deck in the current meta is discard-heavy, at around 10 discard spells. So, even if you draw a piece of graveyard hate, there is a good chance you will have it taken away with a Thoughtseize, Unmask, or Collective Brutality. From my experience, the most common line to victory in the mirror is; Thoughtseize /Unmask your opponent making them discard a threat, and Reanimate /Animate Dead their creature.
A good rule to follow; do not bin /discard creatures unless you are going to reanimate them right away. Nothing hurts more than losing to your own creatures.
