Command Zone OG's #4: RUG LYFE

Welcome to our fourth installment of Command Zone OG's, the place TGZ takes the pulse on the EDH trends on the internet, and brings it to your attention.

ON THE RISE

Finally, it seems, the Internet is catching up with the aggressive nature of this deck.

In the past year, Animar decks have been gaining steady ground, and I can definitely understand why. In 1v1, there are very few consistent strategies that can beat it, outside of some of the "Top Tier" UR decks. Edric is banned in the silly French formats, and this is the next best thing. Though it doesn't draw you into counterspells, here's a nice little combo with Man-o'-War and Phyrexian Metamorph if you can afford the Imperial Recruiter to go along with it.

This deck has a lot of trouble beating Wraths, but it does make a majority of your opponent's best single removal useless. Animar's a deck that wants to play aggressive, and makes a case for being the best aggressive deck, as well as a very powerful Tier 2 deck. 

In multiplayer, beware though- you are the innate threat. So just don't die. 

ALWAYS AROUND(?)

Riku isn't a deck in my metagame, or "a deck," as in something I believe that's worth playing- yet it still seems to linger and get people excited to talk about. 

I consider it very overrated, especially when you compare it to the value oozing out of Animar and the next card we're going to talk about, Maelstrom Wanderer.

Allegedly, Riku is supposed to be a competitive "Toolbox" deck predicated on doing a lot of Kiki-Jiki/Pestermite style cards with Tooth and Nail as security. Clearly, this is just shenanigans, because this is something the better decks in the format already do, and they can do it in a more concentrated, less diluted way.

This deck needs a bunch of mana to get online, and while it has green, that doesn't mean we can actualize its dream. Once Riku is gone, your little 2/2 Dudes (cause he's two creatures, I think) cost 7 to play again. Hence, why I think the fact that Riku being a playable deck, even in more casual multiplayer environments, is as mythic as the card itself.

UNDER THE RADAR(?)

Relative to RUG Legends, I do feel that Wanderer is slighted due to mana cost.

Still, if people haven't played this, or played against this deck, they need to know that the deck is a total house. Unlike Riku, Wanderer's need for land is aligned with the strategy that you're going to get big and play big stuff, whether it's off a Cascade trigger, or out of your hand, it doesn't matter.

Additionally, Wanderer is a 3-turn clock by itself, which forces trades, thereby allowing you to keep casting him.

While Wanderer is a key part of what I do in Animar, GG plays a deck designed around Wanderer, and it's pretty good.

Recently, one surfaced in my new playgroup, and it's doing some serious face-beating with any and all Storm spells he could find.

From what I can tell, Wanderer and Animar do a pretty good job of straddling the fun/power balance. Though certainly not fair in design, they are aggressive, and have provided the metagame with some serious threat power in the RUG wedge. In my opinion, it's just what they needed to really "tie the room together."

Until next time, don't let thugs or school bullies put your head in a toilet, or nihilists unleash a marmot unsuspectingly at bath time.

-UL

The Stack #33- Our Next Decks

It's Saturday Zoners, and the scent of new brews is in the air.

Commander 2013 has hit the proverbial "newsstands," and we're wafting a little bit of that creativity as part of this week's Stack.

We all have decks we want to build. It's the constant evolving process of Commander, sleeving and re-sleeving, cutting and tuning.

Today, VJ, GG, JC, and I have picked out some Commanders that we'd like to build around. Maybe it's a serious desire, maybe it's not. That's the process.


VENSER'S JOURNALIST'S PICK



Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
I've always wanted a mostly artifact-based deck, but more than that, I've wanted one that stresses control. I feel like this has a lot of potential to lay down a strict law and impose it like a well-oiled doomsday machine. I have a keen fascination with all of the Esper cards from the Alara block. They all seem to have great synergy and I love decks that make themselves better. It was either this or Sharuum; but, I think I've given my fair share of praise to the sphinx creature type in general.

Besides the fact that I do not own a Sen Triplets, the one thing that has kept me from building a deck around this card is the fact that it seems like one of those commanders that will never stay on the field more than one turn.

Johnny Confidant- THUMBS DOWN
At one point I sought after this card to build around because I wanted to play everything. I wanted to play multiple hands and utilize what I can to gain any advantage I could. This was during the early days of my EDH play and needless to say I was naive. I learned her secret to beating the color restrictions and figured that if i wanted to play anything, I should just play a five color deck.

The second thing about her is she's Boring. By which I mean she makes the game longer, plays the same two color changing permanents, and just gets all nosy in other peoples decks. Long games are fun if everyone is playing spells, not if one person is playing 25 min turns that just ruin everyone else's game.

Uncle Landdrops-  NOT SURE
I think the Triplets are a cool card with unrealistic aspirations. As Mob Boss Carmine Falcone tells Bruce Wayne: You always fear what you don't understand. This is the fundamental rule that applies to Legendary Creatures that have blocks of text and more specifically, involving taking things that don't belong to them. If Triplets is meant to be used as a removal target, you're paying too much. If this is meant as the primary component to deck strategy, it's going to get killed. I'm not personally a fan of cards that split this way. My particular instincts and playstyles don't tingle, so I don't imagine I'll want to play this card any time soon. That doesn't mean it's bad. I find it to be a trap card that forces design around GoodStuffs decks, of which most know I'm not a fan.

Grandpa Growth- THUMBS UP
This is a fine tier two control deck. I have played with and against ti a fair amount. The real advantage to me is the information advantage it gives you. Picking choice cards out of an opponent's hand is nice, but knowing what they are working with at all points is usually enough to win on its own.

I don't know if all this criticism is totally fair. Every control deck makes the game go longer, that is the point: leveraging time into the ability to make high impact plays later. I don't see how that makes every game one-sided or leads to people playing at what I would consider an unreasonably slow pace. Those sound like problems with the player not the deck.

GRANDPA GROWTH'S PICK


Grandpa Growth- THUMBS UP
I know it is lame to pick something from the Commander set, but I never bought one...weird, I know. I wrote this guy off for a long time because I was undervaluing two key aspects of the deck: Prot Black and White is kind of a big game and gives you a little bit of a delay while your opponent tries to come up with an answer (if they have one at all). Secondly, you can actually kill in this small window. The velocity of this deck is kind of incredible. It is capable of some very impressive (for a tier two deck) nut draws. It reminds me a lot of affinity. Each thing makes your next thing cheaper. You even have Mulldrifter as your Thoughtcast! And I am down with any deck that includes my boy Mulldrifter.

UL showcased this deck when he came to visit last Spring and I was impressed. I already have a similar Maelstrom Wanderer deck. You know: high threat density, very few off-theme cards, but if I ever ditch him, then I will be stealing this tech...which is actually publicly available so it isn't really theft or technology.

Johnny Confidant- THUMBS UP
Biased due to the fact that I run a fun and fairly strong Animar deck. I did the same thing when my Girlfriend bought me the Mirror Mastery deck from commander, looking at the three suggested generals I choose Riku due to a friend having a decklist to draw insperation from.

After about a year later of having deckbuilding issues i came back to Animar with great success, a lot of time and consideration went into focusing and "perfecting" the current list I have now as well as numerous assistance from UL, my Riku friend and many others on forums and Magic sites. Probably the most fun I have in any multiplayer game is playing with Animar.

Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
Like GG, I've never bought a Commander set either. I have seen my fair share played by others, however, and this commander is particularly nasty. The fact that it is protected from the majority of removal spells makes it a pain to deal with once people are popping out creatures for 6 less mana.

It's definitely big and stompy, and anyone playing it is bound to have a horde of cheap chumps to bring out big bruisers earlier than usual. If this card has taught me anything, it is the value of the card Unsummon, and others like it.

Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS UP
Well, we all know how I feel about this card. It's a house. One of my favorite qualities of this deck is the fact that there's so many different cards that can be played in it, and for the most part, it doesn't hinder the deck's knack for beating down. I've probably played 100 or so different creatures in this deck, and I'm constantly rotating cards. Unpredictability is one of the most underrated qualities in a Commander deck- even when you know what's coming.

JOHNNY CONFIDANT'S PICK

Johnny Confidant- THUMBS UP
Why Rakka Mar when there are many other powerful Mono-red Generals? It appeals to the Johnny in me far more than any other Legendary has. Mono red has so little appearence outside of Norin or Kiki-Jiki that bringing in a new red general could be fun and interesting.

I have been working on attempting a combo with her involving  Thornbite Staff (to untap her), sac and damage outlet, or a sac for mana and ETB damage combo. With new cards like Porphoros I can add another combo but with any combo deck people learn your pathway and shut you down.

I might be playing the Try-Hard route but i feel that Rakka Mar has some strong potential. She may not ever make the Tier list but her interesting ability and being virtually unplayed can give me an edge to sneak in with win cons while appearing less threatening.

Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS DOWN
I've played against a Rakka deck before. It wasn't tuned, and was taken apart shortly after, but I'm not sold, even in the more ideal situations.

Grandpa Growth - THUMBS DOWN
I always have this weird itch to try and make mono Red work in Commander. There is a simpler part of my mind that doesn't care about logic, or strategy or value. This silly alter ego wants to squeeze blood out of square shaped stones while pounding them into round holes. This little girl has been a part of many of those brews, but it's not the card I would want for my commander. Haste is very powerful, but the tokens alone aren't enough unless you are doing something cheeky with them. I am familiar with several of the Red combos, but I have never been impressed with them. Having more than two working parts without a reliable way to tutor for them doesn't really constitute a win condition in my mind.

Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
Despite the fact that I wholly agree with GG about this card, it's seemingly non-general composure, and red combos in general, I think that Johnny might be on to something here. For me, this card reeks of mayhem and a total troll mentality. It is a creature with haste that makes creatures with haste. Red mayhem could ensue, and although I don't really play enough red to name off all the silly cards that cause board-wide disruption, I see a Warp World and a Scrambleverse in this deck build.

Not that there will be a theme consistent with the flavor of the general, nor will the general necessarily play a huge part in the chaotic combo. But I do like this general based off the sheer will it takes to make this lowly card one's commander.


UNCLE LANDDROPS' PICK 

Uncle Landdrops-  THUMBS UP
I'm a toolbag because I'm going super-trendy, but whatever.

This is not a deck I'm probably going to make, but more than likely will be consulting for at least one design, maybe more.

There will be many ideas for how to build around Sydri. I'm partial to the idea of going creatureless. Definitely one of the coolest concepts for this kind of archetype, and I'm excited to be helping to craft this deck.

Johnny Confidant- THUMBS UP
She's Brutal, the potential, the ideas just flew through me with this girl. Strong potential for competitive decklists, while also flexible enough to have a lot of fun with non-artifacts in a more casual environment.

I think she is going to be all over the internet in the coming months with all kinds of wacky decklists and I can't wait to be a part of it!

Grandpa Growth- THUMBS DOWN
Trendy indeed. It is unclear to me why people think this card is good. Fun, sure. I don't know what this 'fun' you speak of is, but a lot of people seem to be having it. Is this better than Karn in Commander? Maybe? Probably? Does that matter at all? If you are more relevant than something that is irrelevant, does that make you relevant?

As a gimmick deck, this has got to be one of the least powerful options available. This is just so...fair. This is worse than a generic Esper control deck precisely because people will WANT to build around it. They will include all kinds of nonsense to 'fit the theme'. They will cut quality threats, counters, and disruption in order to play more weird stuff like Teferi's Puzzle Box or Portcullis. The only strategy variant that I can see being useful is prison/lock. Who doesn't want to get beaten to death by a Winter Orb. Isn't that what fun is all about?

Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
This card does a couple things. First, it makes Karn, Silver Golem look like a schmuck (which he is for the most part). Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, this has "gizmo" deck written all over it. What more could you want than a deck full of silly rocks that come to life and have Deathtouch and Lifelink? So long, Vault of the Archangel. If there's a creature that can do it cheaper, you bet I'd rather have that than a silly land.

Last Words On Animar

I solemnly swear this will be my last hurrah.

In my final Animar piece, I want to talk about building your own successful Animar deck, name some of my disappointing adds/future cuts, and show you some of the cool digital renders/proxies I've put in to replace some of the not-so-aesthetic art.

So we're gonna go a little all over the place. But in a good way I hope.

The cards that have disappointed me have a sort of interesting theme, because it's honestly not what the card does for the deck per se, but how I'm playing them in the deck. Often, this is particularly more important.

So really, I've got no hard feelings, no bad blood- I'll just have to find slots for them in other decks.

The first of these cards is Taurean Mauler. I was looking for a 3-cost red creature that would be useful, and I thought "Hey! There's no better creature than Mr. Mauler! He gets bigger like Animar, and I can cast him on the cheap."

What I didn't realize is that in multiplayer, when I have so many guys out on the battlefield, following Mauler triggers are kinda difficult. It's not that I'm incapable of doing this, I just feel like Mauler might as well be Rhystic Study, considering how many times I have to announce the triggers on his ability. And we all know that if a new Magic-related serial killer were to somehow emerge in our midsts, people who are constantly asking about their Rhystic Study trigger would be a good Boondock-Saints-Style M.O.

So adios, Taurean Mauler! You're awesome- just not in a deck where I have to deal with a bunch of other triggers, and I've got miles to go before I sleep.

The next card I've been pretty disappointed with is Sarkhan Vol. Having haste, though relevant, often just feels disappointing because I have to actually pay its mana cost in a deck where I don't do this unless I'm ready to cast a Genesis Wave or one of the other two "Win Target Game" sorceries I have in the deck.


I have yet to find him relevant in most decks, which is a tragedy- cause everyone at the table likes Sarkhan and wants to see him spitting out dragons. He's like elusive Dratini in the Safari Zone, for you uber-nerds who like Pokemon namedrops.

Cascade into Sarkhan hasn't been so bad- however, if I can get another dude in here, it'll probably just be better.

Garruk's Packleader has been another card with underwhelming tendencies. I think maybe it goes better in that Mayael the Anima deck where all you're drawing is 5+ power dudes, and maybe that's really is only home. Cause with all my goofy utility dorks, I have to scheme how I'm going to cast and draw, and it disrupts the natural flow of this deck, trying to make relevant-but-not decisions about adding value. Again, more semantics- but if you're not conforming your deck to your specifications, it isn't gonna drive quite right.

PROXY SPOILZ! I LOVADUH RHINO ON FIRE!

The last card I've been disappointed with is Maelstrom Wanderer. Not because he isn't awesome. He's the Fires of Yavimaya that I really needed in this deck, and Cascading twice is relevant.

The trouble is that I have wayy too many little guys to play that often, I'm casting Wanderer for less than 8 to get only 10-12 mana worth of creatures or spells. It's not exactly ideal unless I'm hitting at least one 6 cost dude- or something that the Metal Minotaur can't cast. So I think I'm going to end up cutting it. My butler Alfred told me there might be a day where I would have to cut Wanderer. Today he gets to say I told you so, even though he probably doesn't want to.

Now there are many other ways to play Animar than with just cascade and cheap dudes.

Obviously, the better versions will be playing dudes.

To me, the best incarnations of Animar involve dudes with midrange costs and a good curve, similar to the way someone might construct a deck with Birthing Pod.

The big difference though is that you're looking for dudes with single-colored mana costs. Multicolored creatures are also fairly optimal, as are Artifact dudes and Eldrazi.

These are good places to start in any generic Animar build.

The next step is mechanics. I like Cascade. With 50+ dudes, the odds of hitting something unfortunate is pretty slim.

However, Cascade isn't the only decent mechanic here.

Graft and the the new Evolve seem very good with Animar. Outside of Cytoplast Manipulator and Llanowar Reborn, you might play Sporeback Troll- but that's about it.

As far as Evolve is concerned, I'm testing Fathom Mage in this deck, but I haven't drawn it, so it's just been another card at this point. I do think it'll be better than Packleader though.

As Grandpa Growth mentioned in his Gatecrash review, Evolve overall should really help Animar in the same way he mentioned that this set helped Momir Vig become relevant.

Animar decks with only 25-30 dudes seem like they'd be okay- I just don't know why you'd want to waste time countering stuff or playing other things when you should just be focused on doing the one thing this deck does well. Beating down with Animar. The protection is just too relevant.

Of all the builds though, my favorite version of this deck that I've heard about is the "AniMorphs" deck, predicated on the combo of casting Morph creatures for 3 colorless.

I haven't seen this deck in action, but it seems awesome. Having to only cast 3 creatures before you start throwing down dudes for free seems relevant for sending Animar into the red zone.

Also, getting to keep your mana untapped seems really cool if you have cards in your hand and face-down dudes on the table.

I'm pretty up on this deck. It fits my "right card, right place" EDH deckbuilding mantra, and would inhibit an otherwise bizarre and unused Magic mechanic as a real thing.

Plus, any chance to use this Ixidor alter seems cool.




Speaking of alters, we're going to close with some of the stuff I've found on the MTG Salvation Digital Rendering thread and in other little proxy hovels.

Not necessarily a fan of the bordlessness, but black borders can be added. NBD.

Enjoy!

Peace, Love, Land Drops

-UL

Animar So Sexy Now.

The ongoing revision article saga continues.

In my Better Deckbuilding article, I actually had wanted to venture a little further into some of the cool things this deck does with creatures that normally seem fairly irrelevant in other decks. 

The first card that's been super-sick in this deck is Etherium Horn-Sorcerer. I talked about how cool he is when Animar's out and has counters. But what makes him great is that the deck can get him out in most games. Fierce Empath and a freshly added Treasure Mage allow me to get the 6-cost Artifact Minotaur Wizard into my hand and in play a lot.

I can also protect him from Wraths, which has been one of the huge weaknesses for this deck. So much that I'm considering an Eldrazi Monument.

One of the other unlikely unsung heroes has been Garruk's Horde. This card is bananas in this deck- especially with Oracle of Mul Day out at the same time. I can sift through the top of my library and and power up Animar, which I recently discovered is one of the biggest meta-threats in my playgroup because apparently everyone either plays black, white, or both at any given time.

Garruk's Horde on his own is a pretty sizeable dude and definitely value with Animar. I pretty much don't play him unless he costs 1GG or less. 

He honestly makes me wish Magus of the Future weren't triple U. In a deck of 53 dudes, It's not uncommon to see him power out 4 guys in a turn to get Animar to swing for a bunch. 

As far as Animar protection, now I don't have a lot for he/she/it, but the one thing I do have is pretty nifty tech- Elgaud Shieldmate.

This little blue creature is the cat's pajamas of hot tech. It's essentially a soulbonding Diplomatic Immunity, but better. Cause hexproof. It's pretty devastating when people can't Beast Within or Bolt Animar.

Honestly, I think that any blue deck trying to make get the most out of their dudes and counterspells should be finding a slot for the Shield Wench. She's really really good in Animar, and would probably be a lot better everywhere else.




There's a lot of goofy ramp dudes in this deck, but often I've found only two of them have been really relevant.

The first one is Birds of Paradise. If I get a Myr out before I cast Animar, one of the best ways to protect him is to start throwing counters on him. As Birds is the only 1-drop I felt was going to be any good in this deck, getting him out immediately after Animar has saved me from opponents who forget about their Staff of Nin for a second too long.

Even better though is Bloom Tender. This card is three extra mana on Turn 3, AFTER I cast Animar, which usually means I'm getting 1 or 2 more guys out if I'm lucky.

One of the big surprises has been Hunting Moa. The funny part is I had him as part of a goofy Skullbriar deck I built from my Dark Ages of Deckbuilding. However, this guy is pure, unadulterated Animar tech. In the span of two turns, the Bird Beast (his creature type was errated for MORE awesome tribal fun) nets Animar three counters, which is super sweet in most situations, whether you're getting in the red zone or looking for a topdeck answer. He's great to have in the late after you've cast Animar and a bunch of dead dudes are in the bin. I can't talk enough about how funny and cool this card is in the deck.

Speaking of funny and cool- Llanowar Reborn. I finally got a chance to slam this land down last night, and people were like, "WTF is that?!?!?"

Believe me, so was I when I found it in my nonbasic binder last week. Cause I'm not quite sure where I got it from. Perhaps it was also old Skullbriar tech. That's the only reasonable explanation.

Anyway, this card is another pretty thrifty way to slam more counters on Animar, working best before he's cast or in the rebuild process. It's a uniquely optimal situation for the ridiculous flavor this land seems to have, but I like to be rewarded for playing lands in a deck where I'm supposed to be rewarded for playing creatures. That seems really good.

The last sweet card I'm going to talk about is Instigator Gang.

I was looking for something single red, and I'd actually forgotten I'd thrown this in on a recent order because Andy was pretty up on this card over at CommanderCast.

But I wanted to see for myself just exactly how thug this card was.

I wasn't really impressed in sample draws here at home. I figured that the only way it was gonna flip in my deck was if an opponent decided not to tap out. Cause I have to play guys every turn.

The Gang is one of those cards that you don't really recognize its value until it's in the game. In this deck with so many dudes, it's a killing blow. I even copied the gang with Metamorph to get an extra bonus.

Though definitely a downhill card, this card is pretty solid. I was considering taking it out of my deck, but I've since changed my position completely, since I don't have a whole of Overrunning going on, and I refuse to put other noncreature spells in here. This is the next-next best thing.

Alright, well, this article turned out to be a lot more than I thought. In the meantime I'm going to continue to make cuts and tune this deck a little bit more.

Next time, we'll talk about the cards I'm cutting and why. I think you'll probably be surprised.

Til then, Be Excellent To Each Other,

And Party On Dudes!

-UL

UL's Better Deckbuilding: Animar, Soul of Elements

Yo Zoners!

Last week, when I was busy not posting, I was actually building and testing a bunch of new stuff.

My new Animar deck is one of the new EDH decks I've decided to roll out here.

The inspiration was nonsense. Utter nonsense. And out of crack in the primordial blatherings of the Earth's Crust, my Animar deck got put together.

 We've got gimmicks, as always, and Animar's is pretty simple.

 No Frills, No Complications- Just Dudes.

Look Ma! NO INSTANTS! I can already imagine the angry stare I'm getting from Grandpa Growth, because he'll be very disappointed, but I can't win 'em all.

And like girls, Animar just wants to have fun. 

So with bad Cynid Lauper lyrics in our heads, let's pop the hood on this bad mamma-jamma.

Dudes
1    Acidic Slime
1    Archwing Dragon
1    Azure Mage
1    Birds of Paradise
1    Bloodbraid Elf
1    Bloom Tender
1    Brutalizer Exarch
1    Civic Wayfinder
1    Clone
1    Copper Myr
1    Deadeye Navigator
1    Duplicant
1    Elgaud Shieldmate
1    Elvish Visionary
1    Eternal Witness
1    Etherium-Horn Sorcerer
1    Farhaven Elf
1    Fathom Mage
1    Fertilid
1    Fierce Empath
1    Garruk's Horde
1    Garruk's Packleader
1    Indrik Stomphowler
1    Inferno Titan
1    Instigator Gang
1    Iron Myr
1    Krosan Tusker
1    Lotus Cobra
1    Mercurial Chemister
1    Merfolk Looter
1    Mold Shambler
1    Maelstrom Wanderer
1    Mulldrifter
1    Oracle of Mul Daya
1    Phyrexian Ingester
1    Phyrexian Metamorph
1    Pyreheart Wolf
1    Sakashima the Impostor
1    Sakura-Tribe Elder
1    Shardless Agent
1    Silver Myr
1    Solemn Simulacrum
1    Sphinx of Uthuun
1    Steel Hellkite
1    Sylvan Ranger
1    Sylvok Replica
1    Taurean Mauler
1    Thought Courier
1    Tidespout Tyrant
1    Trygon Predator
1    Voidmage Husher
1    Woodfall Primus

Obviously, we have a lot of different kinds of creatures in this deck, which makes this deck pretty hilarious. The thing I find funny is that I get to play mana dorks because they provide additional value with Animar in play, basically providing ramp and making creatures cheaper.

A few of my favorites in the deck so far have been Tidespout Tyrant, Shardless Agent, Etherium Horn-Sorcerer, Voidmage Husher, and Archwing Dragon. With any one of these cards, you're getting a lot of value on the table, the most punishing being Tidespout.

Voidmage and Archwing are great because you can cast them and cast them to pump Animar, or you can use them to get utility or damage through the air.

And as a result of the number of dudes that are in this deck, Cascade becomes incredibly absurd. Etherium Horn-Sorcerer, once bounced and re-casted, can put up to 4 counters on Animar, making him basically 5 to bounce and cast.

Land
1    Ancient Ziggurat
1    Arid Mesa
1    Breeding Pool
1    Cascade Bluffs
1    Desolate Lighthouse
1    Evolving Wilds
1    Fire-Lit Thicket
1    Flooded Grove
7    Forest
1    Gemstone Caverns
1    Hinterland Harbor
8    Island
1    Llanowar Reborn
1    Misty Rainforest
7    Mountain
1    Rootbound Crag
1    Scalding Tarn
1    Steam Vents
1    Stomping Ground
1    Sulfur Falls
1    Terramorphic Expanse
1    Verdant Catacombs

Mana base is pretty simple here. Ancient Ziggy and Gemstone Caverns are about the only surprises, and I've already made my case for Gemstone. Ancient Ziggy's basically a Command Tower in this deck.

Artifact
1    Conjurer's Closet

So only one artifact. The fucking Closet. Cause we're real OGs here. I had Cloudstone Curio, but didn't like it because I have too many artifact dudes. 

Enchantment
1    Fires of Yavimaya

Fires could come out, but I've never really seen a better place for it to be, so it's here for now. Haste could be relevant in this deck at some point, and now that I have a Wanderer in the deck, I'm curious to see how good it is.

Sorcery
1    Genesis Wave
1    Praetor's Counsel
1    Primal Surge

So I've only got a couple non-permy spells here, but they're game-winners. Primal Surge is made possible my the 97% composition of permanents in this deck, and Praetor's Counsel lets me get back my Genesis Wave after I've cast it into oblivion. Super-sick.

Planeswalker
1    Sarkhan Vol

I've never really had decent success with this card, though I really like it. Again, it's like Fires of Yavimaya. I get haste, and that's relevant, maybe.


So the plan with this deck.

The way that I like to play it is pretty simple. You want to cast Animar Turn 3, so do what you gotta do. Sometimes that means casting an Iron Myr or a Birds of Paradise beforehand- but don't do that unless you have another little guy to cast once Animar's in play.

The key is value. The best opening hands have 3 different color lands (you know what I mean- I know all lands are colorless) and 4 dudes that are five CMC or less.

Eventually, you want to find some of the dudes I previously mentioned. The more dudes you can cast with Animar, the faster you can get through the deck.

Obviously, this deck doesn't like Wraths, but that's okay. it can rebuild. Unless you're playing a serious game, which I don't recommend with this deck, you still have Praetor's Counsel as an out, and Eternal Witness to get back G-Wave or a relevant utility guy.

Honestly though, with Gatecrash, this deck actually got quite a bit of power, and it might even be better than Vig, cause it's quicker.

Then again, Vig's probably playing a Counter or two.

All in all, this deck is still in progress, but it's already a lot more fleshed out than Hidetsugu, so I don't expect much change here.

As always, I'm sure there will be someone asking me why I'm not playing Avenger of Zendikar or Palinchron or whatever, but that's still a relevant question, so feel free to comment and ask me what's up. I'm good at getting back to people. And I don't bite.

Until then,
May the topdeck be ever in your favor.

-UL