Animar, Sec

Commander / EDH* Combo Competitive Counters Eldrazi RUG (Temur) Theme/Gimmick

dragon541

Creature (50)

• 1x Ancestral Statue
• 1x Artisan of Kozilek
• 1x Beast Whisperer
• 1x Beastcaller Savant
• 1x Bloodbraid Elf
• 1x Deceiver Exarch
• 1x Dream Stalker
• 1x Duplicant
• 1x Elvish Visionary
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Fierce Empath
• 1x Gemhide Sliver
• 1x Guardians of Koilos
• 1x Harvester Druid
• 1x It That Betrays
• 1x Ixidron
• 1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Maelstrom Wanderer
• 1x Man-o'-War
• 1x Meteor Golem
• 1x Mina and Denn, Wildborn
• 1x Mulldrifter
• 1x Myr Battlesphere
• 1x Oblivion Sower
• 1x Palinchron
• 1x Peregrine Drake
• 1x Pestermite
• 1x Prime Speaker Zegana
• 1x Primordial Sage
• 1x Prowling Serpopard
• 1x Purphoros, God of the Forge
• 1x Rattleclaw Mystic
• 1x Reclamation Sage
• 1x Shaman of the Great Hunt
• 1x Siren Stormtamer
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Somberwald Sage
• 1x Soul of the Harvest
• 1x Surrak Dragonclaw
• 1x Sylvan Caryatid
• 1x Thought-Knot Seer
• 1x Trinket Mage
• 1x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
• 1x Ulvenwald Hydra
• 1x Vizier of the Menagerie
• 1x Wall of Blossoms
• 1x Whisperer of the Wilds
• 1x Wurmcoil Engine
• 1x Xenagos, God of Revels

Land (31)

• 1x Alchemist's Refuge
• 1x Botanical Sanctum
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Cascade Bluffs
• 1x Cinder Glade
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Flooded Grove
• 4x Forest
• 1x Gruul Turf
• 1x Halimar Depths
• 1x Hinterland Harbor
• 2x Island
• 1x Izzet Boilerworks
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Mossfire Valley
• 2x Mountain
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Rootbound Crag
• 1x Shivan Reef
• 1x Simic Growth Chamber
• 1x Spire Garden
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Thran Quarry
• 1x Winding Canyons
• 1x Yavimaya Coast

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Disaster Radius

Commander (1)

Artifact (9)

• 1x Cloudstone Curio
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Mox Amber
• 1x Panharmonicon
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Sword of Vengeance
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

Instant (5)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Dispel
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Nature's Claim

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Hardened Scales
• 1x Impact Tremors
• 1x Mana Reflection

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An upvote would be appreciated

Design Thoughts

I got the original idea for this deck from Who needs Profit of Kruphix anyway?

The core effect of Animar is to play creatures, which grows Animar. As Animar grows, he helps play/pay more (and more expensive) creatures. However, he only decreases colorless costs, only cares about creatures, and only cares about casting creatures. Animar is cheap to cast and protects himself from most removal (due to his protection from Black and White). Because of this, we can assume that he can get out early and be on the battlefield long enough for to provide benefit.

Since Animar reduces the colorless component of creature costs, the biggest benefit comes from colorless creatures. As with any unlimited cost reduction effect, we should look for ways to break the free case. The obvious one here is to bounce and recast colorless creatures for free. Since we're playing all of these (hopefully free) creatures, Animar will grow quickly. Giving Animar good evasion will give us to a win on commander damage quickly or create situations that kill our opponents through mill, pings on their life totals, etc.

To best abuse Animar, we want: As many creatures across a range of mid to high colorless costs as possible, as many of those creatures in our hand as possible, as many +1/+1 counters on Animar as soon as possible, and a means to make Animar unblockable.

The easiest way to break Animar is to create an engine that casts colorless creatures and bounces them to your hand as many times as possible during a turn. To do this we will rely on ETB/LTB effects on those creatures and cards that care about creatures entering and leaving the battlefield. Additionally, we'll want cards that care about +1/+1 counters on a creature.

I give you my take of Animar Sec

Changes

Changes - Mar. 2, 2019

Out: Traveler's Cloak , Ancient Ziggurat , Ancient Tomb , and City of Brass

In: Mossfire Valley , Alchemist's Refuge , It That Betrays , and Gemhide Sliver

Changes - Feb. 24, 2019

Out: Ancient Animus , Cascading Cataracts , Conjurer's Closet , Coral Atoll , Darksteel Citadel , Dormant Volcano , Gitaxian Probe , Jungle Basin , Swan Song

in: Ancient Tomb , Bloodbraid Elf , Cascade Bluffs , City of Brass , Flooded Grove , Mana Confluence , Sword of Vengeance , Trinket Mage , Whispersilk Cloak

Changes - Feb. 23, 2019

Out: City of Brass , Frontier Bivouac , Swiftwater Cliffs , Rugged Highlands , Lumbering Falls , Temple of Epiphany , Temple of Abandon , Temple of Mystery , Planar Bridge

In: Swiftfoot Boots , Gruul Turf , Izzet Boilerworks , Simic Growth Chamber , Dormant Volcano , Jungle Basin , Coral Atoll , Darksteel Citadel , Cascading Cataracts

Changes — Feb. 22, 2019

Out: Den Protector , Elvish Mystic , Reliquary Tower , Sheltered Thicket , Utopia Sprawl

In: Cinder Glade , Rogue's Passage , Shivan Reef , Steam Vents , and Planar Bridge

Changes — Feb. 17, 2019

Out: Wood Elves , Bond Beetle , Cloud of Faeries , Coiling Oracle , Sakura-Tribe Elder , Trinket Mage , Wild Cantor , Yavimaya Elder , Green Sun's Zenith , Lotus Petal , Ancient Ziggurat , Exotic Orchard , Shivan Reef , Vivid Crag , Vivid Creek , Tinder Wall , and Wall of Roots

In: Duplicant , Guardians of Koilos , Harvester Druid , Ixidron , Maelstrom Wanderer , Myr Battlesphere , Thought-Knot Seer , Brainstorm , Disaster Radius , Impact Tremors , Mana Reflection , Traveler's Cloak , Conjurer's Closet , Gilded Lotus , Reliquary Tower , Stomping grounds, and Winding Canyons

Combos

Animar, Soul of Elements + Ancestral Statue

Animar, Soul of Elements + Ancestral Statue + Purphoros, God of the Forge

Animar, Soul of Elements + Cloudstone Curio + Any 2 Eldrazi Creatures

Animar, Soul of Elements + Cloudstone Curio + Purphoros, God of the Forge + Any 2 Eldrazi Creatures

Animar, Soul of Elements + Cloudstone Curio + Peregrine Drake + Any other creature

Animar, Soul of Elements + Palinchron + Purphoros, God of the Forge

Date added	5 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	13 - 0 Mythic Rares 42 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 20 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.87
Tokens	Copy Clone, Morph 2/2 C, Myr 1/1 C, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Deathtouch, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Lifelink
Folders	Animar