So what do you do as far as protecting Animar? Seems like if you are the target (meta dependent obviously), Animar won't survive even if cast on turn 2, which then slows you down in the long run. Or do you basically wait to amass enough dorks/mana to go off on a turn down the line?

Waiting is avalid option, but not my preferred approach, since the deck gets worse the longer the games go, relative to grindier opponents.

The best protection in the deck is Glen Elandra, who is often my first tutor target in a dangerous or unknown meta. Depending on the hate (assessed by seeing the opponents commanders and colors) I sometimes grab Skite preferentially to absorb point-removal. I also have access to broad-spectrum removal from Ulamog, Slime and Brutalizer, plus Gilded Drake can steal probelm commanders i dont want being re-cast. Failing all this, the least consistent form of protection is Force and Pact, but they arent easy to tutor and id rather save them for protecting a win.

What kind of hate do you see in your meta? there are a few flex spots you can use to make the deck a lot more suited to its environment.

Why do you run Crop Rotation? Seems like a a horrible tutor!

Crop is the worst tutor in the deck, no doubt about it. BUT it has avery specific purpose: Cradle or Cav. The former is a super useful piece against mana denial decks and for earyl ramp in general, and the latter is one of the best possible ways to make it through Counter-heavy matches, which can be some of our worst.

So no, its not a great topdeck sometimes, but when we need it, we REALLY need it. plus, its a techy out to Song of the Dryads ;)

Why not run stratus dancer? Is it too slow?

Pretty much. I'm just not a fan of holding up 2 for a counter. Big tempo loss. I'd rather use Glen then Den Pro for an extra morph/recursion

I am currently running Rashmi, and as you have mentioned, cascade isn't very good in this deck. So I am looking for another cantrip creature. As of right now Masked Admirers, Nimble Innovator, and Shaman of Spring stand out. On other hand I could just add another bounce creature like Quickling

Try Foul Emissary or Whirlpool Riders/Warrior. They're solid.

Oh, and Faerie Imposter is the next best bouncer

i have looked at the Whirpool guys, the issue is usually my hand is usually gassed out. I will probably give the rider a chance since he can be skullclamped.

i tested him for a while and came to the same conclusion. both the Evoke guys are a lot better. Still worth it if you need a slot to fill, maybe.

I personally love using Myojin of Infinite Rage in Animar especially with a fair number of mana dorks out. It makes it harder for your opponent to kill Animar and you still get to cast all the creatures you want to crush your opponent, hes also a 7/4 indestructible which is nice.

a 10-drop with RRR in the cost? That sounds like a lot of work just to nuke lands. if i've got a big Animar and a developed board, i'm just going to get a wincon every time. The biggest issue is that I'm definitively not playing a "cast big guys" kind of deck. the goal isnt to make Gods and Preators and stuff affordable, it's to get statue and blink it a ton, since infinite ballista/purph damage is just plain better than a fatty or two coming down ahead of curve. with that in mind, I like my interactive cards to be cheap and efficient, especially since they tend to be most crucial when im in a bad spot.

Hey man really like the deck. I Understand why Hoverguard is in here, either to bounce your guys to keep casting for animar or access an etb effect you need. It also bounces their creatures if you need to get in some damage, but im having a hard time with the 8 cmc mana cost for an ability like that. Can you explain a bit further why he is worth it. Also in my cEDH Ancestral Animar im running 35 lands, what made you decide that 30 lands was the right number? Thanks in advance

Hovweguard does all the things you say, which is great, but not worth a slot on its own. It's really there for the table-killing Recruiter line I buried in accordion formatting in my primer. You can use it to infinitely recycle Peregrine Drake for mana then Recruiter and Empath for tutors and play pour the deck. Not a fast way to win (needs 5 lands) but hen games are going long or I'm stuck topdecking, I like having a one-card-finisher. Hoverguard was the best way to add that without playing any really marginal cards.

30 lands works. I had it on 32 for a while but kept adding dorks. Recently I shaved two more lands and I've been loving the speed boost that comes from higher creature density. The deck typically functions on 4-5 mana, and a substantial portion of that can easily come from dorks. I often win with just 2-3 real lands out. Artifacts and land-enchants only make this easier. Depending on your build, it's worth testing.

Hi there! Really like the decklist. I'm interested in your opinion about a few cards:

• Aluren - I already feel that this is not included due to the high mana cost, but it's just so strong with a number of creatures you play.
• Noxious Revival - This could be very useful both the turn before your combo and during your combo, if you have a draw ability. It's also useful against reanimator decks.
• Mental Misstep - Another free counterspell that counters stuff like Pyroblast/Red Elemental Blast, Pongify/Rapid Hydridization and similar spells that could be targeted at Animar. I feel really strongly about this one, since it is overwhelmingly amazing against basically every competitive EDH deck.

Kahno: On Aluren, there is a saying at my LGS, it is all fun and games till someone plays Reclamation Sage

As for the other two you'd have to get word from JMCraig

Hey guys!

Lauren is a really interesting card. I've tried builds that use it and I've tried sticking it into mine, but the end result has always been that the deck fundamentally changes. You end up building with Aluren in mind similarly to how you build with Ad Naus in mind. This can be powerful for sure, but it has some drawbacks (Rec sage! Or worse... Spirit of the Labyrinth and friends). And bc of the awkward CMC, it really breaks momentum when you want to start spamming cheap creatures with Animar on board (turn 3-4). Mainly though, Animar just isn't a deck that needs to be played at instant speed, nor that really needs it's stuff to be free. It's effectively all 1-drops anyway! In other words, aluren usually results in a funky lost turn early on, then makes Animar himself pretty irrelevant. It's a level of redundancy in cost-reduction that you don't need since Animar himself has to be there anyway. Now sure, you do get access to a few new combo lines, but we have a metric shit ton of those anyway! All in all, I found the card ver fun and powerful but kinda a distraction from the main plan.

Nox: what a fantastic card! I always like GY recursion in combo. Thing is, we have Den Pro (morph combo potential) and EWitt already on deck, so Nox starts to look less relevant (and slower, despite the instant speed). I can see the utility, but as a creature toolbox deck, I've never wanted for recursion with two sources and a myriad of tutors to get them.

Misstep: another fantastic card! I love the price too! But my feeling is that Counters in Animar serve a very narrow range of purposes: stopping status (no misstep) and forcing your game-ending creatures through (most 1CMC counters don't hit creatures!). In other words, misstep works best on the things I'm least worried about, like early game tempo plays and Dispel/Swans. Now perhaps I hsvent played enough Pyro/REB decks to be properly afraid, but the fact is, Misstep just never seemed to fit my needs (or my meta?).

Great suggestions! All very compelling cards that I will have to consider carefully.

Edit: "status" meant to be "wraths" above. In other words, stuff I use Glen to counter rather than Misstep.

I love your deck! A very clean cut full throttle combo style which seems super competitive. Keep it up!

I'd love it if you could look at my deck too, which is my favorite deck (Temur for life!) Mine is infinitely less competitive either due to budget constraints or choice, but I enjoy the craziness and consistency of it. Let me know what you think!

Once again, great deck! +1 from me

Rawr Rawr Animar

Thanks dude! Thats what i was going for :)

Have you thought about putting the new Vizier of the Menagerie in Animar?

Def trying this dude out. So far im cautiously optimistic but i dont like that he's 4CMC. I'd gladly have traded the mana fixing for one fewer CMC! Not 100% convinced yet but i like the guy!

Hello,

I totally love this deck, and the last pieces are already shipped. Any specific reason, you do not run Tolaria Vest? Grabs you Balista and even if you already played you can bounce it back to your hand with Curio on the field (so crop rotating into it is also an option). I feel it would give some extra versatility to combo off. Trophy Mage also could be and Enlightened Tutor for Cloudstone for a simple blue and is tutorable easily being a creature. The deck lacking her due to the single only one target?

Hi there! As you guessed, both those tutors are just really narrow. I like to be able to cheaply grab a wincon with each one, plus some draw and ideally interaction.

For example, Trinket gets me Ballista obviously, which can kill a creature or win the game. But it also grabs Clamp if I'm just looking for gas or a rock if I want a "free" spell and some ramp for next turn.

Similarly, Crop Rotation is prob the narrowest tutor in there, but it gets us Cradle or Cavern, the former of which is always welcome and the latter if which is a lifesaver in some matchups.

Both trophy and Tolaria are just a bit finicky for me. They have a good target or two each, but are otherwise pretty dead.