Anafenza, the Enchantress Revamped (Primer)

Commander / EDH Doogie_Howser

SCORE: 8 | 11 COMMENTS | 2417 VIEWS | IN 3 FOLDERS


As someone who always runs Anafenza as Hatebears.dec, this is a refreshing sight. Maybe your meta is a little bluer than mine but I've never been impressed by Carpet of Flowers, I gravitate toward silver bullets like Leyline of Sanctity or Stony Silence seeing as you run no artifacts. Also, is Primal Surge worth the exclusion of other tutors besides Green Sun's Zenith?

March 27, 2016 11:16 a.m.

Doogie_Howser says... #2

Carpet of Flowers is definitely a meta call; my playgroup almost always has somebody playing blue, and Talrand is a pretty popular choice. However, the few times that it has been a dead draw has made me reconsider it. If I ever get my hands on a copy of Burgeoning, I'll likely swap it out.

I used to run tutors (worldly, demonic, etc.) in place of Primal Surge, and its a trade off. I've found that losing the tutors can really hurt early game if I don't have a draw effect, but so far its been worth it for Primal Surge. I can usually cast it turn 5-7, earliest turn 4, and most of the time resolving results in a win.

March 28, 2016 5:16 p.m.

Quicksilver says... #3

I run an Anafenza enchantment deck myself, I recommend Blessed Spirits and Deadbridge Chant. Deadbridge works as extra card advantage or a cheap way to get creatures on the field. Exploration is another effective way to get mana out quickly.

May 12, 2016 4:49 a.m.

Doogie_Howser says... #4

I actually run exploration, and its fantastic! Anything that gets Anafenza out turn 2 is great. What do you think of Blessed Spirits as compared to Celestial Ancient? Spirits comes out a bit earlier, but ancient hits all of your creatures.

May 12, 2016 6:01 p.m.

Quicksilver says... #5

I'd use Celestial Ancient. I only really use Blessed Spirits because my deck is spirit tribal.

May 12, 2016 11:23 p.m.

priomh says... #6

Great write-up, hadn't seen the Linvala/Doom Wake + Living Plane combo before. Have you ever tried Painful Quandary for some more control while waiting for a Parallax combo/Ancestral Mask beatdown?
Also, how have you found Herald of the Pantheon? I took it out of my deck in favor of generic enchantment ramp because I felt like it was a dead draw in late-game.

July 22, 2016 10:46 p.m.

Doogie_Howser says... #7

I actually haven't tried Painful Quandary, I was concerned that it might be too slow. How well does it work for you? As a fragile cost reducer, Herald of the Pantheon isn't all that great. Since I'm usually trying to cast multiple enchantments mid-game, though, he ends up saving me a lot of mana. Still, I do think about switching him out for an enchantment, since an enchantment would trigger a lot of my effects.

July 27, 2016 2:54 a.m.

priomh says... #8

So far Painful Quandary has been a bomb and I'd put it on tier with things that require removal. It plays more as an anti-combo/aggro card and it can get you the extra damage midrange needs in order to finish players off a turn earlier with the likes of Auratog or Ancestral Mask as most people will take 5 damage at least once. I play it largely because it can shut down synergies that play a lot of spells, bounce things and recast for ETB, elves, artifact storm, counter magic, etc. While Solitary Confinement will protect you, an opponent can power out a board state and eventually remove it, where Painful Quandary will normally require being removed beforehand. (Not suggesting taking out Solitary, which is normally better)

July 27, 2016 2:10 p.m. Edited.

TzickyT says... #9

how much wins can u gather with this deck .... i see its pretty solid on the big sides but wonder how good it is in actualy playing

December 5, 2016 11:12 a.m.

Doogie_Howser says... #10

Of all my decks, this is the one I have played the most often. I play at a shop without a very strict meta, and so I've tried to make it pretty flexible against every strategy. Its a pretty resilient deck, does well against fast combo if I can get the appropriate hate out. Also, people usually only pack one or two spells that deal with enchantments. It has limited interaction, so runs into issues with decks like Mizzix that really play off-board, and can get grinded out by decks like Meren if my hate cards get removed. Its not a top tier cEDH deck, but does pretty well against them. A surprising number of fast combos need the graveyard, which Anafenza hoses. Games I've played against 5-color hermit druid, Sharuum combo, Boonweaver Karador, have come down to whether or not I can keep Anafenza in play by limiting interaction. Other decks, like JVP High Tide, are very, very difficult to beat. I don't run into very many cEDH decks though. Mostly, I play against highly tuned decks. This version of the deck, which I've been running for about three months, wins a little more than half of the time.

December 6, 2016 2:09 a.m.

TzickyT says... #11

my anafenza that i had is more a Council deck but i was intrested in building a sigarda deck but i don't like to play sigarda tbh. so i was looking for an enchantment Anafenza deck. becous counsil is a bit to political at some points. would u put cards like krosan grip or path to exile in your deck if u had the space ?

December 6, 2016 9:14 a.m.

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