A Better Anafenza, the Foremost

Commander / EDH BGW (Abzan, Junk) Combo Competitive Infinite Combo Reanimator Stax

DragonLordJippy

Land (30)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Bayou
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Bountiful Promenade
• 1x Brushland
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dryad Arbor
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Forbidden Orchard
• 1x Gaea's Cradle
• 1x Gemstone Mine
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Llanowar Wastes
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Savannah
• 1x Scrubland
• 1x Tarnished Citadel
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Artifact (5)

• 1x Lion's Eye Diamond
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Tome of Legends

Creature (27)

• 1x Archon of Valor's Reach
• 1x Avacyn's Pilgrim
• 1x Aven Mindcensor
• 1x Bane of Progress
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Collector Ouphe
• 1x Dark Confidant
• 1x Deathrite Shaman
• 1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Elves of Deep Shadow
• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Ethersworn Canonist
• 1x Fauna Shaman
• 1x Fyndhorn Elves
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Kataki, War's Wage
• 1x Leonin Relic-Warder
• 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Loyal Retainers
• 1x Ohran Frostfang
• 1x Razaketh, the Foulblooded
• 1x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
• 1x Tymna the Weaver

Enchantment (10)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Carpet of Flowers
• 1x Dance of the Dead
• 1x Dark Tutelage
• 1x Deafening Silence
• 1x Leyline of the Void
• 1x Living Plane
• 1x Necromancy
• 1x Survival of the Fittest
• 1x Sylvan Library

Commander (1)

Instant (15)

• 1x Abrupt Decay
• 1x Assassin's Trophy
• 1x Crop Rotation
• 1x Eladamri's Call
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Force of Vigor
• 1x Nature's Claim
• 1x Noxious Revival
• 1x Pull from Eternity
• 1x Silence
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Veil of Summer
• 1x Worldly Tutor

Sorcery (12)

• 1x Bitter Ordeal
• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Eldritch Evolution
• 1x Finale of Devastation
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Imperial Seal
• 1x Life / Death
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Sylvan Tutor
• 1x Toxic Deluge

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Sideboard

Artifact (2)

• 1x Null Rod
• 1x Thorn of Amethyst

Creature (1)

• 1x Oakhame Adversary

Instant (1)

• 1x Plunge into Darkness

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Join the team over on The 99 as we discuss the deck. Let's make a better Anafenza, the Foremost!

A Better Anafenza, the Foremost | The Razaketh Reanimator Loop

The Fenza Game Plan!

1. Grind
2. Bury
3. Reanimate

"A Better Anafenza, the Foremost" is a Stax forward approach to Fenza that utilizes Razaketh, the Foulblooded reanimation loops to win out over the board. That is if the game hasn't devolved into a slug fest, which Fenza comes prepared for. It's a package similar to several reanimator strategies that leverage the bare minimum to get the job done. We're going to cover the combo lines shortly, but let's start by discussing the types of Stax elements we'll be using to grind out the game.

Get Your Grind On

Fenza has a few tricks up her sleeve being in Abzan that allow us to not only stall but - in some cases - hard lock the board. The Deck can quickly work into a combo state, but it's better to remain passive early game, building upon Stax elements and overall board presence, to push a win mid-to-late game.

Archon of Valor's Reach: perhaps the most underrated Card in this list. When Archon hits the Battlefield 99% of the time you will say "Instant". Why is that? Our combo relies on Animate Auras (Enchants) and either a Creature or Sorcery to finish off our Opponents. None of our game is dependent on Instants. However, various other strategies in cEDH rely heavily on Instants. Let alone the fact that almost all removal found in cEDH is Instant based. One of the (increasingly rarer) pieces of removal is Toxic Deluge, which can shut Archon down, but otherwise we'll be protected from counter magic and removal on our Turn when we're looking to combo out.

Bane of Progress: not too typical in cEDH play, but highly worth it provided the board state gets out of hand. Abzan has no problems powering out a 6cmc "Destroyer of Stuff," especially in a list that utilizes Gaea's Cradle and 28 Creatures. However, most notable about this bomb is the fact that you can Necromancy or otherwise pull him from the Grave to explode everything again! With the variety of value Artifacts & Enchantments, Bane puts us ahead and leaves everyone else behind.

Eidolon of Rhetoric/Ethersworn Canonist/Deafening Silence: we want the games to progress slowly. These Cards accomplish just that. As our main combo relies on both Razaketh, the Foulblooded and Leonin Relic-Warder, we're able to decommission any of these Cards provided we're looking to combo out. Better yet, someone will be forced into using resources to remove these as rarely any combo (outside Flash/Hulk) wins with just one Card. These are great ways to stall the board and work alongside our "Creatures Matter" package.

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite: more often than not, this Deck causes the board to devolve into a beatdown plan. As such, we are always the best equipped for this. Anafenza buffing everything as she swings and the sheer number of Creature based utilities allow for Elesh to help us close out games with Damage (crazy, I know!). More of the meta is switching towards Creature based solutions and Elesh helps to shut them down. With Survival of the Fittest or Fauna Shaman and Elesh in hand, we can easily set her up by Tutoring for Loyal Retainers to cheat her onto the Battlefield. Once there, we can hard lock Opponents out of the game with the effect of Living Plane (provided they don't have copious amounts of Artifact based Mana). Elesh isn't the only Card to abuse this Enchantment either...

Linvala, Keeper of Silence: if you're in White and care about playing Stax... This is the one Card you should play. Not only does it shut down various Creature based win conditions, alongside Living Plane we cut off any Dork or Land based Mana our Opponents are using. However, Linvala alone is a huge enough threat to the board as it will require an answer regardless of her ability to work in tandem with other Stax elements we play. Also note, Loyal Retainers can grab her too.

Kataki, War's Wage: so many Legendary's to pull from and here's another! We've shut down their Lands and Dorks, so why not deprive them of their Artifacts? Kataki helps slow the progress of Artifact ramp lists by giving them an Upkeep Cost. It's essentially Tabernacle of Pendrell Vale, but for Artifacts. We run the bare minimum of Artifact ramp in this list because we're not reliant on it like so many others. With this benefit, we can punish those Artifact reliant lists with Kataki.

Leyline of the Void: is it enough to exile only their Creatures? No! Of course not. That's why we run this. 1. We won't always have Anafenza out and, 2. Fenza only cares about Creature strategies. Leyline of the Void dismisses any strategies that utilize the Graveyard that our Opponents might have. The operative word here being Opponents. It costs more than Rest in Peace with good reason. Oh, that is unless you start with it.

Living Plane: Outside of the aforementioned combos with Elesh Norn and Linvala, Living Plane serves a secondary purpose in making all our Lands Creatures. How is this beneficial? We need a certain threshold of Creatures to get the ball rolling with our reanimate strategy using Razaketh as he requires offerings for his Tutoring. If you're lacking the Creatures sufficient to Tutor with and combo out, this is the best way to get there (outside of Life / Death).

This is obviously only a smattering of the Stax this Deck runs. It can be modified to run more or less depending on the speed with which you'd like the games to go. We also run a multitude of Draw utilities to help us keep the ball rolling, everything from Dark Tutelage and Dark Confidant to Ohran Frostfang (a complete bomb that needs to be experienced). So, how does the Deck play with Razaketh...

Ending the Game

If you're anything like me - a filthy combo'ing no-time-to-durdle Player - you'll want some sweet, sweet combo action to finish off that delicious appetizer and main course of Stax delicacy you just served up. Here's how we end the game:

Razaketh, the Foulblooded + One Creature + Three Lands = Death by Blood Artist or Draw Step demise via Bitter Ordeal

This is of course a simplified version of a much more complicated reanimation loop. However, with the aforementioned all your dreams can come true. With more resources - be it Creatures, Lands or Artifact Mana - we can accomplish even more, but at it's core the Deck only requires the the stated resources. Here's how it all shakes out...

Bitter Ordeal Line of Play

1. Bury Razaketh - via Entomb, Buried Alive (along with Leonin Relic-Warder & Eternal Witness), Fauna Shaman, Survival of the Fittest or Lion's Eye Diamond (Activate for 3 Green Mana/must have Loyal Retainers out) (Cost: B-2B or G-1GG)
2. Reanimate Razaketh - via Animate Aura, Loyal Retainers or Reanimate itself (Cost: B-BBB or 2W)
3. Activate Razaketh's Ability - Tutor for Life / Death (Cost: 2 Life)
4. Cast Life / Death - Elect to Cast Life and make all Lands 1/1 Creatures (Cost: G)
5. Activate Razaketh's Ability - Tutor for Leonin Relic-Warder (Cost: 2 Life/1 Land)
6. Activate Razaketh's Ability - Tutor for Lion's Eye Diamond (Cost: 2 Life/1 Land)
7. Cast Lion's Eye Diamond - Activate for 3 Green Mana
8. Activate Razaketh's Ability - Tutor for Eternal Witness (Cost: 2 Life/1 Land)
9. Cast Eternal Witness - Retrieve Lion's Eye Diamond (Cost: 1GG)
10. Cast Lion's Eye Diamond - Activate for 3 Black Mana
11. Activate Razaketh's Ability - Tutor for Animate Dead/Dance of the Dead/Necromancy (Cost: 2 Life)
12. Cast Animate Dead/Dance of the Dead/Necromancy Targeting Leonin Relic-Warder - Have Leonin Target the Animate Aura and begin looping Leonin until infinity and beyond (Cost: 1B-2B)
13. End Leonin Loop Targeting Eternal Witness - Retrieve Lion's Eye Diamond
14. Cast Lion's Eye Diamond - Activate for 3 Black Mana
15. Activate Razaketh's Ability - Tutor for Bitter Ordeal (Cost: 2 Life)
16. Cast Bitter Ordeal - Opponents Lose at Draw Step

Blood Artist Line of Play

1. Follow Steps 1 through 11 of the previous Play Line
2. Cast Animate Dead/Dance of the Dead/Necromancy Targeting Leonin Relic-Warder - Have Leonin Target the Animate Aura (Cost: 1B-2B)
3. With Animate Dead/Dance of the Dead/Necromancy's Delayed Trigger on the Stack, Sacrifice Leonin Relic-Warder to Razaketh's Ability
4. Activate Razaketh's Ability - Tutor for Blood Artist (Cost: 2 Life)
5. Animate Dead/Dance of the Dead/Necromancy reenters the Battlefield Targeting Leonin Relic-Warder - Repeat Steps 2 through 4, Tutoring for Mana Crypt, Mox Diamond & Any Land (Cost: 6 Life)
6. End the Leonin Loop by Targeting Eternal Witness - Retrieve Lion's Eye Diamond
7. Cast Mana Crypt & Mox Diamond
8. Cast Blood Artist (Cost: 1B)
9. Cast Lion's Eye Diamond - Activate for 3 Black Mana
10. Activate Razaketh's Ability (Sacrificing Eternal Witness) - Tutor for remaining Animate Aura (Cost: 2 Life)
11. Cast Animate Aura Targeting Leonin Relic-Warder to begin Leonin Loop - Opponents Lose to Life Loss

These particular play lines reference what would be the fastest possible method of accomplishing a win with limited resources by Turn 3. Of course, depending on the board state, various elements of the play lines can change. Say if we had more Creatures, Life / Death’s Life would become unnecessary and could be used for Death to reanimate during play lines; or if any additional Fast Mana is out before the combo lines begin, we wouldn't have to Tutor or it during the Blood Artist line. The combo lines change, but only in that more steps are taken away. It's also important to note that Step 7 and onward assumes that all Mana was spent during setup, so that functionally everything is reliant solely on Lion's Eye Diamond's Mana production (outside of the Blood Artist line). This is a risky way to play this list and I would encourage you have Silence or Grand Abolisher at the ready before committing to either play line.

Here's what I recommend: play to damage out the board. Aim for a Turn 2 Anafenza and just bash people in with an increasingly powerful army of Dorks and Hatebears. If the Cards align and you have a method of approach for the reanimation loops that this Deck houses to go off, do it. Never try to be the first person to combo out with an all in strategy, because the backfire can set you back too far. Particularly when the play lines here include the likes of Lion's Eye Diamond and self-Sacrificing with Razaketh, the Foulblooded. Most of the time I aim to set up an army of Hatebears with Fenza and Elesh Norn at the helm, whittling away at my Opponents removal until the time is right to press the core strategy... If that time doesn't come, Anafenza, the Foremost is still sure to have the biggest army.

Top Ranked	Achieved #22 position overall 4 years ago Achieved #15 position in Commander / EDH 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH BGW (Abzan, Junk) 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Reanimator 4 years ago
Date added	5 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 0 Mythic Rares 64 - 3 Rares 18 - 1 Uncommons 5 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.17
Tokens	Spirit 1/1 C
Folders	cEDH, Commander decks, cedh stuff