“This World Is Changing… We Decide Into What.”
Art:Animar, Soul of Elements
by Filip Burburan
Table of Contents
Todays Featured Commander Is:
Animar is a commander classic and back and better than ever in a CEDH shell! Animar is a discount machine and while we are not all in on this gameplan, typically focusing more on stopping our opponents while we set up a win! But this by no means that Animar isn’t an absolute beast, while more of an elemental but they are pretty strong. Without further adieu lets get it!
The Deck:
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Animar, Soul of Elements Creature Combo CEDH!
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Why Animar, Soul of Elements?
The main reason that we chose Animar is how well they interact with our creatures and we will never complain about a mana discount! Animar can come down early and also be a strong force in games that end up becoming grindy and go down to attacking / blocking which is rare but still a important thing to consider.
Deck Overview:
This section contains information about cards in the deck and how they function within the deck! As well as highlighting some of my favorite cards in the deck!
Creatures:
We are a creature deck, so lets talk about some creatures! Our early game consists of ramp like Bloom Tender
, Birds of Paradise
and Arbor Elf
! A couple other pieces of fast mana are Simian Spirit Guide
, Elvish Spirit Guide
and Tinder Wall
which can be a great way to get some extra mana! With these we can get Animar out there and once that happens we can get really crazy! Some of the best cards to discount with Animar are Consecrated Sphinx
and Bane of Progress
which are already pretty strong, but get absolutely crazy when they only cost GG or UU! A card that doesnt get enough CEDH love is Llawan, Cephalid Empress
which can be an absolute hose against a lot of the most powerful decks in the format! Walking Ballista
is another strong outlet for our infinite mana combo!
Instants:
We are in blue so of course we have an absolute ton of counterspells with some of the best being Swan Song
, An Offer You Can't Refuse
and Force of Will
we have a ton more as well! Since we are a slower deck we can use our counterspells to stunt our opponents as we begin to setup! Inevitably our stuff will get countered as well so Noxious Revival
is a strong and cheap way to save a card from graveyard hate or just recur a key piece! Since we cant play Demonic Tutor
we are packing Mystical Tutor
and Worldly Tutor
which are strong and cheap ways to begin to setup our combo!
Sorceries:
Our sorcery package is small in comparison to our instant package but still has a big impact, Wheel of Fortune
and Jeska's Will
are both great spells and are also combo pieces, just strong cards for the deck! Eldritch Evolution
is a strong and cheap way to get a key creature from our deck! Neoform
is another strong creature that we can grab Barrin, Master Wizard
or Dockside Extortionist
! Finale of Devastation
is our game-ender once we make infinite mana!
Artifacts:
Not too much to say about our artifact package it is all mana ramp! Lotus Petal
can help a ton with casting Animar early! Mana Crypt
and Mox Diamond
are great cheap rocks that help us cast more stuff more often! Lion's Eye Diamond
is pretty much solely a combo piece and I typically hold it unless desperate.
Enchantments:
Rhystic Study
and Mystic Remora
are absolute auto-includes in really any blue deck and this card makes our game so much easier! Underworld Breach
is solely a combo piece for the deck and should be held until ready to use! Carpet of Flowers
is a card we can easily take out if it is not strong in our meta, I found that it was really prevalent in mine so it was a must for my list!
Land Base:
We have a classic CEDH land base, which just basically means it is juiced to the max! We of course have the original duals like Taiga
and Tropical Island
as well as shocks like Breeding Pool
and Steam Vents
we are able to generate all of the mana we need. Combine that with fetches like Misty Rainforest
and Wooded Foothills
and we are quick and efficient in the mana department!
Strengths of the Deck:
- Decent amount of combo lines we can pull out quickly
- Strong creature package that helps us grind out if needed
- Animar is a discount machine with almost no effort
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- Weak to Stax
- Weak to creature hate
- Not having access to Praetor's Grasp
or Demonic Consultation makes the deck weaker
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
This is CEDH so of course we have a bunch of combos to end the game, below are all of the combos in the deck explained!
Dockside Extortionist + Barrin, Master Wizard
Requires:
Dockside Extortionist in hand. Barrin on the battlefield. Your opponents control at least six artifacts and/or enchantments. 1R available.
Steps:
- Cast Dockside Extortionist by paying 1R.
- Dockside Extortionist enters the battlefield, creating at least six Treasure tokens.
- Activate four Treasure tokens by tapping and sacrificing those, adding R and three mana of any color.
- Activate Barrin by paying 2 and sacrificing a Treasure token, returning Dockside Extortionist to hand.
- Repeat.
Results:
Infinite ETB. Infinite colored mana. Infinite storm count. Infinite sacrifice triggers. Infinite Treasure tokens.
Underworld Breach + Lion's Eye Diamond + Wheel of Fortune
Requires:
Wheel of Fortune in your graveyard. All permanents on the battlefield. You have at least six other cards in hand and/or graveyard.
Steps:
- Activate Lion’s Eye Diamond by discarding your hand and sacrificing it, adding RRR.
- Cast Wheel of Fortune from your graveyard for its escape cost by paying 2R and exiling 3 cards from your graveyard.
- Resolve Wheel of Fortune, causing each player to discard their hand and draw seven cards.
- Cast Lion’s Eye Diamond from your graveyard for its escape cost by exiling 3 cards from your graveyard.
- Repeat.
Results:
Infinite looting. Infinite draw triggers. Infinite looting for opponents. Near-infinite storm count.
Underworld Breach + Lion's Eye Diamond + Jeska's Will
Requires:
Underworld Breach on the battlefield. All other cards in your graveyard. You have at least six additional cards in your graveyard, plus an additional six cards between your hand and/or graveyard. An opponent has at least six cards in hand. 2R available.
Steps:
- Cast Jeska’s Will from your graveyard for its escape cost by paying 2R and exiling three other cards from your graveyard, adding at least six R.
- Cast Wheel of Fortune from your graveyard for its escape cost by paying 2R and exiling three other cards from your graveyard, causing each player to discard their hand and draw seven cards.
- Repeat.
Results:
Infinite looting for all players. Infinite draw triggers for all players. Near-infinite storm count. Near-infinite magecraft triggers.
Underworld Breach + Lion's Eye Diamond + Brain Freeze
Requires:
Brain Freeze in your graveyard. All permanents on the battlefield. You have at least six other cards in hand and/or graveyard.
Steps:
- Activate Lion’s Eye Diamond by discarding your hand and sacrificing it, adding UUU.
- Cast Lion’s Eye Diamond from your graveyard for its escape cost by exiling three cards besides Brain Freeze from your graveyard.
- Cast Brain Freeze from your graveyard for its escape cost by paying 1U and exiling three cards from your graveyard.
- Brain Freeze’s storm ability triggers, creating at least one copy of Brain Freeze targeting yourself, and any remaining copies targeting an opponent.
- Resolve each Brain Freeze, causing yourself to mill six cards and, if applicable, an opponent to mill three cards for each Brain Freeze remaining.
- Repeat.
Results:
Infinite self-mill. Near-infinite colored mana. Near-infinite storm count. Near-infinite magecraft triggers. Near-infinite mill.
Conclusion:
Animar may not be a tier 1 CEDH deck but is still a very powerful commander, while we do lose some steam by not having access to black there are a lot of being in Temur, Animar is a really fun and interesting take on CEDH and is just a blast and one of my favorite decks to date. Thanks for reading to the end and for all of your support!