Welcome back friends! We’re here with another Bloomburrow precon guide on EDHREC, and today we’re upgrading Animated Army, the Gruul deck that turns enchantments and artifacts into creatures. In case you missed it, go check out my review of the deck, where we looked at what’s in the deck and how to play it.

This precon got one of my highest scores, due to its uniqueness, power level, and the amount of fun it is to play. But can we make this great deck even better?

Let’s tune up.

What’s in the Original Deck?

Animated Army is a red and green deck led by Bello, Bard of the BramblesBello, Bard of the Brambles, a 3/3 Raccoon Bard that turns all of our non-Aura enchantments and non-Equipment artifacts into 4/4 Elementals on our turn if those permanents have mana value (MV) of four or higher. The Elementals also get haste and indestructible, and on other players’ turns they cease to be creatures.

The backup commander is Wildsear, Scouring MawWildsear, Scouring Maw, a 6/6 Elemental Wolf with trample that gives enchantment spells we cast from our hand cascade.

Here’s the original deck list:

What Budget Cards Can We Add to Animated Army?

We like to break these upgrades up into two parts, one for budget cards (less than $5 each) and one for non-budget ($5 or more).

The biggest thing the deck needed was protection for our creatures. We’re gonna throw in the obvious Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots to help keep Bello on the board, but we’ll also add an enchantment that’s just perfect for the deck, AsceticismAsceticism. This not only gives our creatures hexproof, it not only lets us regenerate our creatures, it also becomes a 4/4 creature on our turn. This is probably the most important addition to the deck.

As an aggro deck, it feels like beefing up our creatures is always the way to go. The precon already came with good cards like Unnatural GrowthUnnatural Growth and Berserkers’ OnslaughtBerserkers’ Onslaught, but I think we can go further. Sight of the ScalelordsSight of the Scalelords is probably a card you haven’t seen in many Commander decks (it’s currently only in 6,193 decks), but it’s likely to find a home in many Bello decks. It’s a five-mana enchantment, so it’ll be a creature on our turns, and it gives our creatures with toughness four or greater +2/+2 and vigilance. Since our whole animated army will have toughness four or greater, turning them all into 6/6s seems like a great idea.

We’ve also got Gruul War PlowGruul War Plow to give our creatures trample, and Gruul War ChantGruul War Chant to give our attackers +1/+0 and menace. Anything that helps us connect with opponents’ life totals. And for an enchantment with various effects, we’ll add Glorious SunriseGlorious Sunrise. This one can give our creatures +1/+1 and trample, but its other modes might come in handy as well.

To put even more pressure on our opponents, we’ll add Fiery EmancipationFiery Emancipation to triple our damage, and BedlamBedlam to completely take blocking out of the equation.

I also wanted a little more card draw in the deck, so we’ll throw in Symmetry MatrixSymmetry Matrix, Return of the WildspeakerReturn of the Wildspeaker, which doubles as a finisher, and Mind’s EyeMind’s Eye.

Our last budget upgrade is Molten EchoesMolten Echoes. When this enchantment enters we’ll choose Elemental. Then all of our 4+MV enchantments and artifacts will come into play with a token copy. Just imagine having this on board and dropping an Unnatural GrowthUnnatural Growth, or even a Rolling HamsphereRolling Hamsphere (you won’t lose the extra Hamster tokens!).

These ones are getting trashed: Alchemist’s TalentAlchemist’s Talent, Brightcap BadgerBrightcap Badger, Burnished HartBurnished Hart, Etali, Primal StormEtali, Primal Storm, Evolving WildsEvolving Wilds, Grothama, All-DevouringGrothama, All-Devouring, Kodama of the East TreeKodama of the East Tree, Llanowar LoamspeakerLlanowar Loamspeaker, Prosperous BanditProsperous Bandit, Rain of RichesRain of Riches, Rampaging BalothsRampaging Baloths, Tendershoot DryadTendershoot Dryad

Here’s our budget upgraded list:

And a couple more interesting cards to consider: Dual NatureDual Nature, Nature’s WrathNature’s Wrath, Creeping RenaissanceCreeping Renaissance

What Non-Budget Cards Can We Add to Animated Army?

First up in our expensive card upgrades, let’s add the biggest baddest anthem effect there is, Akroma’s MemorialAkroma’s Memorial. Our animated creatures already have indestructible and haste, why not throw in flying, vigilance, trample and pro black and red? Oh, and the Memorial also becomes a creature. What’s not to love?

For a bit more card advantage, we’ll add in Chimil, the Inner SunChimil, the Inner Sun, which not only gets us a free spell every turn with its discover effect, it also shuts down pesky blue players trying to stop our fun. We’ve also got Guardian ProjectGuardian Project, which will trigger off of our animated creatures since they enter as creatures, and The Great HengeThe Great Henge for the card draw and some extra mana.

We’ve also got Nautiloid ShipNautiloid Ship for shutting down the reanimator decks, and stealing from them as well. Nylea, God of the HuntNylea, God of the Hunt is also here to provide trample and a pump effect. The rules interaction here, with regards to whether or not Nylea is a creature, is a bit tricky, so I'm gonna break this down with help from my judge friend Alex. 

If Nylea were on the battlefield first and then Bello entered later, Bello's effect takes precedence. First, Nylea says she isn't a creature if your devotion to green is less than five. Then, Bello says on your turn she's a 4/4 Elemental creature. On your turn, Nylea would be a 4/4 legendary enchantment creature --- Elemental God with indestructible, haste, and "whenever this creature deals..." This is regardless of your devotion to green. If it's not currently your turn, Nylea will be either a creature or not depending on your devotion.

If Bello were on the battlefield first and then Nylea entered later, Nylea's effect takes precedence. First, Bello says Nylea is a creature on your turn. Then, Nylea says she isn't a creature unless your devotion to green is five or more. If your devotion to green is five or more, Nylea is a creature. If it's your turn, she's a 4/4 with extras from Bello.

Got all that? Good. Moving on.

Our last non-budget additions are Mana EchoesMana Echoes, which will give us a bunch of colorless mana when we drop animated Elementals on our turn, and Heroic InterventionHeroic Intervention to protect our board.

These cards are getting dropped: Esika’s ChariotEsika’s Chariot, Greater GoodGreater Good, Grumgully, the GenerousGrumgully, the Generous, Gruul War PlowGruul War Plow, HarmonizeHarmonize, Primeval BountyPrimeval Bounty, Teapot SlingerTeapot Slinger, Terramorphic ExpanseTerramorphic Expanse

And here’s our non-budget upgraded list:

A couple more cards to ponder: Portal to PhyrexiaPortal to Phyrexia, Vedalken OrreryVedalken Orrery

Animation Nation

Alright friends, that’s it for our Upgrade Guide for Animated Army. We cut out a lot of the token stuff from the original list that was just slowing us down, and added several anthem effects and a lot more card draw to keep things moving.

So what do you think? Did we make this deck better? Any cards we missed? Let me know in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter. And keep checking back for more precon goodness, right here on EDHREC.

More Precon Fun:

Peace Offering Upgrade Guide - Bloomburrow

Squirreled Away Upgrade Guide - Bloomburrow

Counterpunch - Ghave Precon Upgrade

Andy Zupke

Andy's been playing Magic on and off since Fallen Empires. He loves to travel, drink, eat, and spend time with family and friends.