Under the Radar - Aragorn, Company Leader

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Indominus Rex, Alpha" href="#" target="_blank">Indominus Rex, Alpha</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by</span> <a href="https://www.artstation.com/soulsurvivor"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Miro Petrov</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">)</span></h6>
<h1><span style="font-weight: 400;">Keyword: Reanimator</span></h1>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Have you ever made a Commander bucket list? Welcome to </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Achievement Unlocked</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, where we take a look at the cool and unique things you can do in this format other than just winning.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reanimation is one of <em>Magic</em>'s most powerful strategies. From reanimating <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Griselbrand" href="#" target="_blank">Griselbrand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to more recently reanimating <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archon of Cruelty" href="#" target="_blank">Archon of Cruelty</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Constructed formats have often had this deck either as an integral part of their metagame or at least lingering on the fringes of playability.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Griselbrand"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archon of Cruelty"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Commander, however, provides a unique challenge to the archetype. Often one bomb creature will not be enough to take down three opponents. For that reason, reanimation decks have never really piqued my interest. However, that all changed when I saw a certain dino in one of <em>Magic</em>'s newest releases.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Indominus Rex, Alpha" href="#" target="_blank">Indominus Rex, Alpha</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does a few things I really love. First, it's an enabler for the deck while also being a somewhat formidable threat in itself. It also draws cards to help us find the spells to take advantage of the creatures we dump into the graveyard. Finally, it's in the most important colors for the archetype and gives us access to the full Sultai suite of cards. Let's take a look at what reanimation can look like in Commander.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Indominus Rex, Alpha"></div></div>
<hr />
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Life Finds a Way</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What makes Indominus unique? For one, we want our reanimation targets to have keywords. Some of the top cards that appear in decks so far are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Venomthrope" href="#" target="_blank">Venomthrope</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (87%) and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nighthawk Scavenger" href="#" target="_blank">Nighthawk Scavenger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (79%). I can see the vision with these cards as they have a lot of keywords. However, if our primary strategy focuses on reanimation rather than finishing the game with our commander, then we want some creatures that pack a bigger punch when being reanimated. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Triplicate Titan" href="#" target="_blank">Triplicate Titan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has many of the same keywords but is formidable enough on its own to present a threat.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Venomthrope"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nighthawk Scavenger"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Triplicate Titan"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To better find cards that fit this strategy, I looked to EDHREC's filters. In this case, only six decks are showing as as a reanimator theme, which is not a big enough sample size to have confidence in the data. That didn't discourage me, though. Instead, I filtered for all decks that include a key card to the strategy that I want to make work. 641 decks include the card <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Living Death" href="#" target="_blank">Living Death</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> which is one of if not the best win condition in our deck. This gives us way more data to work with, so let's break it down.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Living Death"></div></div>
<hr />
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">You Didn't Ask for Reality; You Asked for More Teeth</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What creatures best fit this strategy? 93% of these decks are on the right path with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scavenged Brawler" href="#" target="_blank">Scavenged Brawler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This is a threat that can stabilize your board and push through damage. Importantly, it has FOUR keywords and even has an ability from the graveyard if you don't have the spells to recur it. It doesn't look like the traditional reanimator threat, but it plays into exactly what our deck wants to do. It's important to note that we're looking to play a grindy game and reanimate multiple threats. For that reason, it's an extra plus to have creatures that aren't embarrassing if we have to cast from our hand, and they'll never rot in our hand unable to cast them. This playstyle is very different to reanimator in other formats, but it gives us the flexibility to play the long game and not run out of gas too quickly.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scavenged Brawler"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elder Gargaroth" href="#" target="_blank">Elder Gargaroth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> fulfills a similar role as a creature that can really fit in any green Commander deck, but it excels here, especially with the keywords it grants. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wurmcoil Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Wurmcoil Engine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> plays in a similar space as a midrange threat with keywords that isn't a problem to cast.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elder Gargaroth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wurmcoil Engine"></div></div>
<hr />
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tying the Room Together</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This commander costs just five mana, but with the colored-pips required to cast it it's important that we set up our mana in this deck and even ramp out our commander early if possible. Luckily, we're in green, so we can rely on the tried-and-true green land ramp. In general I prefer the two-mana spells, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Farseek" href="#" target="_blank">Farseek</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nature&#039;s Lore" href="#" target="_blank">Nature&#039;s Lore</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but when you have a five-mana commander with such color-intensive mana costs, I think <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cultivate" href="#" target="_blank">Cultivate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Harrow" href="#" target="_blank">Harrow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can fit in this deck as well. </span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Farseek"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nature&#039;s Lore"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Harrow"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mana dorks can be underwhelming in Commander, but there are a few great options here. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Leyline Prowler" href="#" target="_blank">Leyline Prowler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Birds of Paradise" href="#" target="_blank">Birds of Paradise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are both mana dorks that can also contribute to our commander's keywords once they would otherwise be less useful late in the game.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Leyline Prowler"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Birds of Paradise"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reanimation spells are plentiful, and the best bang for our buck is cards that can reanimate two creatures at once, like the aforementioned <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Living Death" href="#" target="_blank">Living Death</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reanimate" href="#" target="_blank">Reanimate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is good, but in this deck I think <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Victimize" href="#" target="_blank">Victimize</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is even better. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rise of the Dark Realms" href="#" target="_blank">Rise of the Dark Realms</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will end the game in almost any situation, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Virtue of Persistence" href="#" target="_blank">Virtue of Persistence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives us early game removal that doubles as repeated reanimation later in the game.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Victimize"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rise of the Dark Realms"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Virtue of Persistence"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of my favorite parts of Commander deckbuilding are finding hidden gems that excel specifically with what our deck is trying to do, but wouldn't see play in the average deck. One standout here is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archfiend of Ifnir" href="#" target="_blank">Archfiend of Ifnir</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This plays naturally into our reanimation plan by putting itself in the graveyard if we need, but when set up correctly this card can become an asymmetrical board wipe. Similarly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shadow of the Grave" href="#" target="_blank">Shadow of the Grave</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can leverage our commander for even more card draw and can combine with blink effects such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghostly Flicker" href="#" target="_blank">Ghostly Flicker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to help us stick even more cards in our graveyard.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archfiend of Ifnir"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shadow of the Grave"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This commander also plays in a space that recently the game has been exploring more in the keywords-matter theme. Because of the density of creatures we are running with keywords, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Selective Adaptation" href="#" target="_blank">Selective Adaptation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can serve as an alternate win condition and another way to cheat out multiple creatures. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Majestic Myriarch" href="#" target="_blank">Majestic Myriarch</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> also packs significantly more punch when combined with all these other creatures. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soulflayer" href="#" target="_blank">Soulflayer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a little counterintuitive as it exiles cards from our graveyard, but I feel it is efficient enough that we can leverage it as an additional way to get a big hitter for cheap.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Selective Adaptation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Majestic Myriarch"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soulflayer"></div></div>
<hr />
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Winning the Game</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The main gameplan here is to reanimate many creatures at once, but there are a few creatures here that can win the game on their own. The best part is that they are also full of keywords for our commander. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Craterhoof Behemoth" href="#" target="_blank">Craterhoof Behemoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is maybe a cheat here, but it does have haste, so I don't feel too bad stating the obvious that it is a potential win condition here. However, with even more keywords and a much lower pricetag, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="End-Raze Forerunners" href="#" target="_blank">End-Raze Forerunners</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does a pretty solid impression.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Craterhoof Behemoth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="End-Raze Forerunners"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It's important not to count out commander damage either, although it's not the deck's main gameplan. This commander can quickly turn into a clock for our opponents especially when double strike is paired with some sport of evasion and even haste. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Luxior, Giada&#039;s Gift" href="#" target="_blank">Luxior, Giada&#039;s Gift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes this line of play even more aggressive and deadly. The best part of this commander is that it's an enabler that our opponents can't just ignore once it is in play. If they do kill it, we can recast it to refuel and go again.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Luxior, Giada&#039;s Gift"></div></div>
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<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Conclusion</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This deck was a lot of fun to think about and build. Have you built reanimator in Commander? Who was your commander and how did you adapt your gameplan to a multiplayer environment? Let me know in the comments below!</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Welcome to EDHREC Park!" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards=""></span></div>
<p>[Commander]</p>
<p>*1 Indominus Rex, Alpha</p>
<p>[/Commander]</p>
<p>[Creatures]</p>
<p>*1 Questing Beast</p>
<p>*1 Nightveil Predator</p>
<p>*1 End-Raze Forerunners</p>
<p>*1 Mirri the Cursed</p>
<p>*1 Rhonas the Indomitable</p>
<p>*1 Scavenged Brawler</p>
<p>*1 Elder Gargaroth</p>
<p>*1 Kefnet the Mindful</p>
<p>*1 Leyline Prowler</p>
<p>*1 Birds of Paradise</p>
<p>*1 Glissa Sunslayer</p>
<p>*1 Soulflayer</p>
<p>*1 Majestic Myriarch</p>
<p>*1 Triplicate Titan</p>
<p>*1 Carnage Tyrant</p>
<p>*1 Nullpriset of Oblivion</p>
<p>*1 Archfiend of Ifnir</p>
<p>*1 Stonehoof Chieftain</p>
<p>*1 Spark Double</p>
<p>*1 Likeness Looter</p>
<p>*1 Wurmcoil Engine</p>
<p>*1 Titan of Industry</p>
<p>*1 Slippery Bogbonder</p>
<p>*1 Ornithopter of Paradise</p>
<p>*1 Tyrranax Rex</p>
<p>*1 Drana, Liberator of Malakir</p>
<p>*1 Topiary Stomper</p>
<p>*1 Silumgar, the Drifting Death</p>
<p>[/Creatures]</p>
<p>[Instants]</p>
<p>*1 Harrow</p>
<p>*1 Beast Within</p>
<p>*1 Assassin's Trophy</p>
<p>*1 Cyclonic Rift</p>
<p>*1 Heroic Intervention</p>
<p>*1 Shadow of the Grave</p>
<p>*1 Fierce Guardianship</p>
<p>*1 An Offer You Can't Refuse</p>
<p>*1 Swan Song</p>
<p>*1 Malakir Rebirth</p>
<p>*1 Ghostly Flicker</p>
<p>*1 Pongify</p>
<p>*1 Rapid Hybridization</p>
<p>[/Instants]</p>
<p>[Enchantments]</p>
<p>*1 Animate Dead</p>
<p>*1 Virtue of Persistence</p>
<p>[/Enchantments]</p>
<p>[Artifacts]</p>
<p>*1 Sol Ring</p>
<p>*1 Arcane Signet</p>
<p>*1 The Ozilith</p>
<p>*1 Luxior, Giada's Gift</p>
<p>[/Artifacts]</p>
<p>[Sorceries]</p>
<p>*1 Farseek</p>
<p>*1 Nature's Lore</p>
<p>*1 Three Visits</p>
<p>*1 Rampant Growth</p>
<p>*1 Cultivate</p>
<p>*1 Kodama's Reach</p>
<p>*1 Victimize</p>
<p>*1 Toxic Deluge</p>
<p>*1 Rise of the Dark Realms</p>
<p>*1 Selective Adaptation</p>
<p>*1 Demonic Tutor</p>
<p>*1 Damnation</p>
<p>*1 Living Death</p>
<p>*1 Persist</p>
<p>*1 Reanimate</p>
<p>*1 Mythos of Brokkos</p>
<p>[/Sorceries]</p>
<p>[Lands]</p>
<p>*1 Command Tower</p>
<p>*1 Zagoth Triome</p>
<p>*1 Overgrown Tomb</p>
<p>*1 Watery Grave</p>
<p>*1 Breeding Pool</p>
<p>*1 Undergrowth Stadium</p>
<p>*1 Rejuvenating Springs</p>
<p>*1 Morphic Pool</p>
<p>*1 Verdant Catacombs</p>
<p>*1 Misty Rainforest</p>
<p>*1 Polluted Delta</p>
<p>*1 Exotic Orchard</p>
<p>*1 Dreamroot Cascade</p>
<p>*1 Deathcap Glade</p>
<p>*1 Shipwreck Marsh</p>
<p>*1 Myriad Landscape</p>
<p>*1 Yavimaya Coast</p>
<p>*1 Llanowar Wastes</p>
<p>*1 Underground River</p>
<p>*7 Forests</p>
<p>*5 Islands</p>
<p>*5 Swamps</p>
<p>[/Lands]</p>
<p>[/Deck]</p>

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scavenged brawler

Under the Radar - Aragorn, Company Leader

Achievement Unlocked: Building Reanimation in Multiplayer