Art by Filip Burburan
Commander deckGRU
Animar, Soul of Elements
Cast low-cost creatures to rapidly stack +1/+1 counters on Animar, enabling discounts that cheat massive Eldrazi and infinite bounce combos like Ancestral Statue into play.
Asked for“Animar, Soul of Elements commander deck”
Deck anatomy
What this list actually runs on: how cheaply it casts things, and whether it has enough ramp, card draw and interaction to keep up at the table. Each block is one card — hover for its name.
Mana curve · 62 nonland cards
The working parts
Counted from Scryfall’s community card tags, not from the builder’s own labels. A card that does two jobs counts twice, so these add up to more than the deck. The hatched band is a common rule of thumb, not a law — combo decks run leaner, battlecruiser decks heavier.
Colored mana symbols
Commander
1Animar, Soul of Elements
GURLegendary Creature — Elemental
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10
Birds of Paradise
GCreature — Bird
One-drop creature fixing that helps cast Animar on turn two
Llanowar Elves
GCreature — Elf Druid
Cheap mana dork that accelerates into Animar
Elvish Mystic
GCreature — Elf Druid
Early ramp creature that also adds a counter to Animar later
Bloom Tender
1GCreature — Elf Druid
Taps for up to three mana once Animar is on the battlefield
Farhaven Elf
2GCreature — Elf Druid
Creature-based land ramp that triggers Animar
Wood Elves
2GCreature — Elf Scout
Fetches untapped forests and reduces future creature costs
Solemn Simulacrum
4Artifact Creature — Golem
Often cast for free with Animar counters, fetching a land and drawing on death
Arcane Signet
2Artifact
Efficient two-mana rock that fixes all three Temur colors
Card Draw
10
Beast Whisperer
2GGCreature — Elf Druid
Turns every creature cast into a card draw engine
Soul of the Harvest
4GGCreature — Elemental
Draws cards on nontoken creature entry and becomes very cheap with Animar
Primordial Sage
4GGCreature — Spirit
Triggers on creature cast to keep the chain of spells going
Mulldrifter
4UCreature — Elemental
Can be evoked cheaply or hardcast for nearly free to draw two cards
Guardian Project
3GEnchantment
Non-creature enchantment that consistently draws off each unique creature cast
The Great Henge
7GGLegendary Artifact
Cast cheaply off Animar's power to draw cards, add mana, and buff creatures
Fathom Mage
2GUCreature — Human Wizard
Evolves and draws cards as Animar enables larger creatures
Coiling Oracle
GUCreature — Snake Elf Druid
Cheap two-drop creature that either ramps a land or draws a card
Rishkar's Expertise
4GGSorcery
Draws cards equal to Animar's massive power and casts a free spell
Garruk's Uprising
2GEnchantment
Draws on big creature entry and gives the team trample
Removal
9
Reclamation Sage
2GCreature — Elf Shaman
Low-cost creature answer to problematic artifacts and enchantments
Acidic Slime
3GGCreature — Ooze
Flexible creature removal for artifacts, enchantments, or nonbasic lands
Venser, Shaper Savant
2UULegendary Creature — Human Wizard
Flash bounce creature that delays spells or problematic permanents
Aethersnipe
5UCreature — Elemental
Can be evoked early or cast for cheap late to bounce any nonland permanent
Bane of Progress
4GGCreature — Elemental
Wipes opposing artifacts and enchantments while growing into a massive threat
Terastodon
6GGCreature — Elephant
Destroys three noncreature permanents upon entering the battlefield
Threats/Wincons
25
Ancestral Statue
4Artifact Creature — Golem
Instantly achieves infinite +1/+1 counters on Animar once Animar has 4 counters
Shrieking Drake
UCreature — Drake
Bounces itself for a single blue mana to easily pump Animar
Peregrine Drake
4UCreature — Drake
Untaps five lands on entry and enables infinite mana loops
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
10Legendary Creature — Eldrazi
Massive Eldrazi often cast for only four colored mana, drawing four cards
Kozilek, the Great Distortion
8CCLegendary Creature — Eldrazi
Refills hand to seven cards and provides repeatable countermagic
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
10Legendary Creature — Eldrazi
Exiles two permanents on cast and quickly mills opponents out
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
11Legendary Creature — Eldrazi
Destroys a permanent on cast and attacks with indestructible annihilator 4
Void Winnower
9Creature — Eldrazi
Locks opponents out of even-mana spells and blocks
Artisan of Kozilek
9Creature — Eldrazi
Reanimates a fallen creature on cast and provides a huge annihilator body
Maelstrom Wanderer
5GURLegendary Creature — Elemental
Gives the whole team haste and cascades twice into more value
Craterhoof Behemoth
5GGGCreature — Beast
Overwhelming team buff that closes out games in a single attack step
Surrak Dragonclaw
2GURLegendary Creature — Human Warrior
Protects your creature spells from counterspells and gives trample
Purphoros, God of the Forge
3RLegendary Enchantment Creature — God
Burns every opponent for two whenever any creature enters the battlefield
Terror of the Peaks
3RRCreature — Dragon
Fires creature-sized direct damage at any target on ETB
Consecrated Sphinx
4UUCreature — Sphinx
Punishes opponent draw steps with massive card advantage
Hullbreaker Horror
5UUCreature — Kraken Horror
Turns every creature cast into repeated bounce effects
Roaming Throne
4Artifact Creature — Golem
Doubles Animar's counter accumulation and triggers of other Elementals
End-Raze Forerunners
5GGGCreature — Boar
Budget-friendly creature finisher that buffs the team with vigilance and trample
Glen Elendra Archmage
3UCreature — Faerie Wizard
Repeatable creature-based noncreature counterspell via persist
Wandering Archaic // Explore the Vastlands
5Creature — Avatar // Sorcery
Taxing threat that copies opponent spells unless they pay extra
Phyrexian Metamorph
3UPArtifact Creature — Phyrexian Shapeshifter
Extremely versatile clone that can be cast for almost nothing
Clever Impersonator
2UUCreature — Shapeshifter
Can copy any nonland permanent on the board
Hydroid Krasis
XGUCreature — Jellyfish Hydra Beast
Can be cast using excess colored mana to draw cards, gain life, and fly
Walking Ballista
XXArtifact Creature — Construct
Colorless win condition that can be cast for infinite counters and gun down the table
Defiler of Vigor
3GGCreature — Phyrexian Wurm
Allows green mana to be paid with life and distributes +1/+1 counters
Utility
8
Cloudstone Curio
3Artifact
Enables endless bounce loops with cheap creatures to rapidly grow Animar
Temur Sabertooth
2GGCreature — Cat
Repeatable self-bounce outlet that protects creatures and resets ETBs
Fierce Guardianship
2UInstant
Free interaction that protects Animar from board wipes or targeted removal
Rhythm of the Wild
1RGEnchantment
Makes creature spells uncounterable and gives incoming creatures haste or counters
Heroic Intervention
1GInstant
Grants hexproof and indestructible to the entire board against removal
Imperial Recruiter
2RCreature — Human Advisor
Tutors up essential combo pieces like Shrieking Drake or Ancestral Statue
Fierce Empath
2GCreature — Elf
Tutors high-cost powerhouse threats directly to hand
Fauna Shaman
1GCreature — Elf Shaman
Creature-based Survival of the Fittest on a stick to fetch needed pieces
