Reanimator is the first deck that I had ever built and this one has certainly come a long way.
I think one of the reasons I love reanimator so much other than just the overall theme and flavor of the deck, is that I love big, powerful creatures that are super klunky and hard to get out normally; reanimator allows me to command such power of a ten mana Jin Gitaxias at a tiny cost of two mana. I get to actually play all of my favorite cards without constantly going into mana rescessions! :D
The goal of this deck is to dump and then reanimate Sheoldred, Whispering One as quickly as humanly possible, as she is your main threat and your go-to method of reanimating your dudes.
Your main cards for filling your graveyard with tasty treats are Buried Alive, Faithless Looting, and Careful Study.
Your main cards for bringing your dudes back are going to be Sheoldred, Whispering One, Exhume, Reanimate, and Animate Dead.
This deck has many different tools to choose from. A lot of these are self-explanitory to seasoned MTG players, but for newer players, here is a basic run down:
Sheoldred, Whispering One: The most important piece of the deck's consistent reanimation system; this isn't to say the deck doesn't work without it, but it works CONSIDERABLY better with Sheoldred in play. Each opponent having to sacrifice a creature can also be game-definining in the early game.
Jin Gitaxias, Core Augur: this card is probably the best card in the deck and is going to lay waste to any deck that either can't empty its hand very quickly or is not a madness deck (which encompasses a LOT of decks). In addition to absolutely demolishing your opponent's options, this card will draw you basically all of the cards you need to make your broken reanimator combos. Also keep in mind that discarding cards at the end of your turn, MOST of the time isn't a bad thing as long as you're smart about your choices, but in this deck it is actually profitable to discard your hand of extrenuous creatures that should be in the graveyard anyway.
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite: the cool thing about the Praetors is that they are all off-the-wall powerful and annoying to deal with (well... Except Urebrask, but we don't talk about him); Elesh Norn provides a massive buff to your army of already gigantic creatures, and decimates, often killing off, your opponents' boards.
It That Betrays: a card that works nicely with Sheoldred for a slow, but mean combo. Also works pretty well with some of the other cards in the deck.
Tyrant of Discord: Nice swarm deck you've got there. It were a shame of all of those creatures just... Disappeared. If your opponent has massed up a ton of cards on their board (preferably other than lands), Tyrant of Discord is one of the best go-to removal cards for this deck. Bonus if you have an It That Betrays, cause then you steal all of the stuff your opponent lost.
Ulamog Eldrazis: Annihilator is such a powerful ability that is devestating to any deck you go up against. Massing up a bunch of these guys all by themselves is already enough to win you the game even without Sheoldred.
Massacre Wurm: a much more reliable way to clear your opponents' boards and deal a bunch of damage than Tyrant of Discord; downside to it comparatively to Tyrant is that the creatures are not sacrificed, so you can't combo it with It That Betrays and it also only destroys creatures while Tyrant destroys EVERYTHING. Analyze the situation: if you need to get rid of a lot small creatures quickly and can't afford to screw up, Massacre wurm is much better, but if you can afford a slip up and/or need to clear more than just creatures and/or can profitably combo with It That Betrays, Tyrant is the choice.
Pelakka Wurm: Since Grislebrand isn't the easiest card to get one's hands on, Pelakka wurm acts as a reliable (and monetarily cheap) source for when you need a big threat on board AND more Life.
Kokusho, the evening Star: provides more healing and a lil burst AND has the added benefit of being ABSOLUTELY INSANE in multiplayer.
Platinum Angel: just a troll card that I really like. Throws a HUGE wrench in the plan of instant-win combo decks as well as decks that lack sufficient artifact creature removal.
OPENERS AND MULLIGANS:
In general, you don't want to have creatures in your hand, and if you do, you at least want a method to out them into the graveyard as quickly as possible.
Probably the best opening hand would include:
- at least 2 lands, including at least 1 basic swamp
-Dark Ritual (Even better with two)
-Buried Alive
-Either Reanimate/Animate Dead/Exhume
The dream combo is turn 1 swamp, into dark ritual, into another dark ritual, into Buried Alive (Sending Sheoldred, Jin Gitaxias, and Norn/Massacre wurm/tyrant of discord/It that Betrays), into Exhume Sheoldred.
Obviously that combo is not going to happen almost ever, but combos modeled similarly to that one over two turns are very similar in terms of power and quite possible to manage.
Beyond that, the rest of the game is very easy. By the time you get Jin Gitaxias, or get a Tyrant of Discord effect combo-ed with It That Betrays, it is very hard to lose.
This deck's biggest weakness is a slow start against a fast deck and especially dead draws. Another weakness could potentially be self-milling with gitaxias, but chances are if you've made it to that point with gitaxias you're a few moves off of winning the game. On the rare chance that this does happen, the Elixir of Immportality is an nice insurance.
This deck was never made with the intention of being very competitive (Although I would argue it has potential), so unless there is a suggession to improve the fun-ness of the deck or fix a MASSIVE problem that the deck has that I have overlooked, I porbably won't change it from this. Thanks for checking it out!