I prefer using creature-based counterpsells bc they're a lot easier to tutor so we get more work out of fewer slots. I'd have to run like 5 instants to get the same quality of protection i do from something like Glen or even Stormtamer. Unless theyre free of course, like Force/Pact/Misstep.

Hi JMCraig. I'm trying to see the relevance of the mox amber. I would think replacing lotus cobra would be good yes, but the mox amber doesn't help where the other rocks do which is giving Animar the ability to be cast on turn two. Will it be good enough post animar compared to lotus cobra's potential 2 or 3 mana and giving Animar an additional counter? I love the edition of safekeeper by the way! It is definitely something I will be trying in my own list.

My goal lately has been to move away from ramp that doesn't also advance or protect our real gameplan, typically by casting a turn-2 Animar. Animar is a cool deck bc every one of his creatures is ramp as well as whatever else it is, so playing stuff just for ramp is inherently weak. For example, Somberwald Sage or Cobra can both crank out 2+ mana every turn, but by the time they're relevant Animar already has enough counters and its time to win. By comparison, something like Caustic Caterpillar ramps 1 counter for 1 G, which is always relevant when it matters (0-4 counters), and kills artifacts as a bonus. In other words, a new piece of ramp that doesnt cast Animar early has to be really unique.

Mox Amber fills the important role of letting you cast something on the same turn as Animar. Safekeeper in particular is a fantastic choice, and Bond beetle is a personal favorite as well. Generally, if you have an extra counter and an extra mana going into turn 3, youll be a lot more likely to combo off than if you had no counters and, say, Cobra in hand. So its not so much post-animar as it concurrent with Animar, which can be an important distinction.

Animar has always needed an extra turn after casting to tutor Statue and build a counter or two and Amber dramatically accelerates that timeline.

I see your point, thanks for clarifying! I won't be getting a foil anytime soon but amber will definitely be going in! Animar has been falling short in my meta lately due to the high amount of Thrasios/Tymna and Gitrog dredge, they tend to be faster than me and Animar gets dealt with very quickly, maybe safekeeper and amber with give us a bit of an edge!

Hmm, thats def a fast meta. you're better off playing lite control and not racing those decks; they're definitely more likely to win a fast game. I'd focus on setting up Glen/Revoker/Ooze early and winning once you shut them down. No need to play full control, but since you can't outrun them you shouldn't try to.

How much do we actually like mox amber? This really only function once animar is out and this could slow down us playing him on time since we already run only a few lands and some other ramp. I like the the card more than some of the other dorks maybe but I was wondering what your thoughts on it only giving mana once a legendary is out are?

Upfront it seems really good. With being a another way to power out Animar it warrants to be tested.

As for the spot to cut, Possibly removing a dork(maybe an elf since they only cast green). If I still have trophy mage I'll put it there.

Personally, I'm not sold on it. Non creature ramp that only applies to Animar. It's too linear for me.

I think that Mox Amber has a place in Animar's 99. While it's true that it doesn't help ramp Animar out turn 2, and it probably won't help get Animar out again if he dies (we do have Purphoros for it to work with on the odd occasion), it does allow the deck to make a couple of important plays.

Turn One dork into Turn Two Animar + mox + dork means you are likely to have 6 available mana and one Animar counter on Turn Three. That's enough mana to let you combo off with Ancestral Statue without committing any other cards. I think that any card that can open up a possible Turn Three combo for Animar is important to consider given that the competitive environment is continually getting faster.

Another important play it offers is being able to play both Animar and Sylvan Safekeeper on Turn Two, which would greatly improve the chances of Animar sticking around on turns Three and Four to eventually combo out.

I've always been biased against the other moxes that Animar runs because my luck with lands often makes Mox Diamond sketchy for me and I hate having to throw away any of my other spells to imprint on Chrome Mox. At least Mox Amber's restriction doesn't require an extra resource from hand and is limited only by whether or not I have Animar out, which I will almost always want anyway.

I don't think that I agree with JMCraig's opinion of taking out Lotus Cobra for the Mox though. Just like how I support the Mox for enabling a possible Turn Three infinite Ancestral Statue, it's possible for the Cobra to let you do the same thing. (Turn One dork. Turn Two Animar. Turn Three one-drop + Lotus Cobra + drop and crack fetch should give you the mana and counters you need to combo off with Statue.) As this deck continues to focus down on the Statue combo line, I think it would be a mistake to take out cards that allow the combo to occur as quickly as possible.

I agree with AlarmedNine and Saber, as usual. Mox needs a spot in the deck.

That's a good point about Cobra though. I just always found him extra bulky more often than useful, but I'll have to think carefully. The other best cut would probably be Wood Elves, which is just kinda slow for what it does, but I do like that card a lot.

Wood Elves does seem to be a reasonable cut, but I am biased. Mostly because it was one of the first i have a lot mileage with that card through my EDH history

And the Guay promo is gorgeous, of course.

Guay is bae

How do you feel about Sylvan Tutor? Is it good enough? It is sorcery speed and on top of library. Could something like Summoner's pact be more effectiv?

It's definitely good enough. The tutors I exclude are generally

• green-only (Pact, Natural Order)
• awkward/expensive to cast (Chord, Natural Order, T&N, Defense of the Heart)
• too narrow (Treasure/Trophy Mages, wishes)

Sylvan may be sorcery-speed and top-of-library only, but at 1CMC for any creature i don't mind waiting a turn at all. Plus I run a ton of Future Sight/cantrip/enchantress effects, so the top of the library is much more accessible that it seems.

Now, is is a $50 card? no fucking way! but it's definitely a great addition to the deck. It's basically an Imperial Seal, since what we want is almost always creatures.

I'm curious about how well Mox Amber has been working out in the deck. Has it been living up to your expectations?

It hasn't always enabled the Christmasland scenario of casting a good 1-drop right after Animar, but speeding up turn 3 has been a welcome addition, especially considering I don't have to sacrifice card advantage as with the other moxes. so its not really a game changer in every game, but it's definitely a useful card a lot of the time.

Craig, what changes have you done since March 31, 2018?I see mox anber has been added but you've not done a change log :'(

Yeah, not sure how to do that on Tappedout. The last major update was the lands rework, like so:

Cut:

• Earthcarft
• Rishkar, Peema Renegade
• 3 Pain Lands
• Forest
• Island

Add:

• Green Suns Zenith
• Sylvan Safekeeper
• Tarnished Citadel
• Exotic Orchard
• Thran Quarry
• Dryad Arbor
• Grove of the Burnwillows

I discuss these changes in the comments above, but the final conclusion I came to was that we don't really need the extra wincon given how great Statue is, and Earthcraft forces us to run some extra basics which hurt our ability to consistently get Animar down turn 2. Essentially, the amount of mana is never our problem, but the color can be, so maximizing Gold lands helps smooth the deck out. Furthermore, with all the unique and powerful combos around these days and increasingly efficient interaction, GSZ has begun to look a lot more relevant even if its primary purpose is still just fetching our tech pieces.

Since then, All I've done is swap out Cobra for the new Mox Amber.

Why would you run Trinket Mage over Trophy Mage? Trophy lets you tutor for Cloudstone in addition to the other artifacts that Trinket would tutor. Costs the same, same P/T......am I missing something?

@IamSpeeding I think you might be misreading Trophy Mage. Trophy Mage only tutors for artifacts that have an exact CMC of 3. So it can tutor for Cloudstone Curio, but it can't get any of the cheaper artifacts in the deck.

Regardless of the CMC3, Trophy Mage offers a tutor for one of the most important cards in the deck. JMCraigs Animar build doesn't revolve as much around Cloudstone Curio as Animar, Soul of Combos - Turn 3 Win does.

Personally, I'm cutting Dryad Arbor as it offers zero benefit for Animar.

I'm pretty sure that Trophy Mage doesn't make it into this build due to space reasons. Its only target is Cloudstone Curio, so there isn't much value in being able to bounce it a number of times. I think its potential card slot was given to Fabricate, which you have to pay the full 3 mana for but offers a far wider range of tutor targets. I would argue that Fabricate contributes more to deck consistency than Trophy Mage would, but I can certainly picture lines of play that would appreciate having the mage in the deck.

While this is only my subjective experience, I've found Walking Ballista to be a higher priority tutor target than Cloudstone Curio in most games. I don't see Cloudstone Curio that often because my usual lines of play and tutor chains completely bypass it. I would never take it out of the deck, but more often than not I find it to be a "Nice if I get it, but don't necessarily need it," card. It's generally a Plan C option for me.

Exactly. Curio is a fine midrangey card, but its combos are more expensive, harder to tutor/set up, and thus less consistent. i like the option of using curio to break through a grindy boardstate by bouncing removal, so i wont cut it, but Statue/Ballista is just a much more reliable wincon. So trophy isnt so much excluded for space as it is for lack of top-shelf targets.

So, I saw Animar a while ago and had an idea for a creature storm deck. Shortly after came upon this deck list and took inspiration from it. (most of the cards fit perfectly) but in a few cases I swapped some of my cards out, for more efficient 1-drops and either Tutors, or Pseudo tutors. My deck tops out at /roughly/ 3 mana and wins turn 4 consistently amongst 6+ players. I found with cards like Signal the clans, or means of evasion like Wind dancer, or Herald of secret streams it gives Animar more means to win if you get stopped as soon as you begin your Ancestral Statue bounce. This is by far my favorite, and most expensive deck being 1300$. I absolutely love this deck and if you have any questions, feel free to shoot them my way.