Animar, Soul of ElementsAnimar, Soul of Elements | Art by: Filip Burburan

Hello everyone! I’m Levi from The Thought Vessel, and this is Hidden Gems, the series on EDHREC that looks at commanders from around the format and the cards that are flying under the radar for their decks that need a little love.

For a card to qualify as a Hidden Gem, it has to appear in 15% or fewer decks for a commander. This week we are looking at a classic commander of the format that has been around since Commander 2011 and is still in the top 40 to this day.

This commander has the versatility to be played as a bracket one deck or a cEDH bracket five deck. The commander I am talking about, of course, is Animar, Soul of ElementsAnimar, Soul of Elements.

So what does it do to stay so beloved for so long in a world that is constantly looking for the next big thing? Let’s take a look!

The Commander

Animar, Soul of ElementsAnimar, Soul of Elements is a 1/1 Elemental for that has protection from white and black.

This is a very underrated part of the card, as it keeps our commander safe from popular removal spells like Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares and Deadly RollickDeadly Rollick. But the protection isn’t typically why Animar is played.

Every time we cast a creature spell, Animar gets a +1/+1 counter. Our creature spells in return cost one less for each +1/+1 counter on Animar.

This allows us to either play a +1/+1 counter strategy like with Hydras, Combo with Ancestral StatueAncestral Statue, or my personal favorite, Stompy with all of our favorite high mana value creatures like Dragons and Eldrazi.

These decks definitely take on their own feel, as the options for cards are practically limitless, but there are some cards that I was surprised to see weren’t being added very much at all. We will get into our list, but first we have an honorable mention.

Honorable Mention. Wave GoodbyeWave Goodbye (8.8%)

Our honorable mention is Wave GoodbyeWave Goodbye. This is going to have varying degrees of success depending on what kind of build we ultimately decide on, as Wave Goodbye returns every creature without a +1/+1 counter on it to its owner’s hand.

It is effectively blue’s version of Damning VerdictDamning Verdict. Worst case scenario, we bounce all of our own creatures except Animar and cast them again.

If we’re playing a deck like the Hydra build I mentioned earlier, this could serve as a win condition by clearing out all the blockers in our way.

I wanted to mention it because I think it can be really strong, but context really matters on this one. But with our honorable mention out of the way, we move onto our list starting with number ten.

Ten Underplayed Cards for Animar, Soul of Elements

10.Tishana, Voice of ThunderTishana, Voice of Thunder (8.0%)

Animar is a creature heavy deck. No matter how we want to build it, this Elemental loves its friends. This can make Animar massive in a hurry and our spells that much cheaper.

With all of our spells cheaper, it can be pretty easy to run out of cards. Tishana, Voice of ThunderTishana, Voice of Thunder can help with that. When Tishana enters, we draw a card for each creature in play.

This includes tokens too, so if we are playing something like Avenger of ZendikarAvenger of Zendikar, this could be a huge boost of card draw. It also says we have no maximum hand size and has power and toughness equal to our hand size.

We can keep cards back and use our creature as a beater or simply develop our board. Having the option to choose is great either way.

9. Chandra's IgnitionChandra's Ignition (7.8%)

Some commanders have a major problem if they are not able to win the game through combat damage. It could be shut down by a creature like Spore FrogSpore Frog, or even a wall of pillows like with Sphere of SafetySphere of Safety. Either way, we want to have something in our deck to deal with this potential problem. Chandra's IgnitionChandra's Ignition is a very natural fit here.

For , we can have any target creature we control deal damage equal to its power to each other creature and each opponent. We can put this on our biggest creature for a sweep or a smaller creature to clear out blockers.

There are games in which Animar will simply get big enough that this is a lethal amount of damage for everyone and the game will immediately be over. If you really want to have fun, find a way to give Animar lifelink prior to casting it to launch your life total into triple digits.

8. Genesis HydraGenesis Hydra (7.4%)

Some people might call Genesis HydraGenesis Hydra a win more card for Animar, and they would be correct. But in a Stompy build for casual Commander, what’s a game without a little razzle dazzle? Genesis Hydra cost .

For the value of X, we reveal that many cards from out library and put one into play mana value X or less. It’s a great way to sink all the extra mana and cost reduction into making a massive Hydra, as well as getting a free permanent from the revealed cards. With the right card cheated into play, it’s very possible to win the game from that alone.

7. Evendo, Waking HavenEvendo, Waking Haven (6.8%)

Animar can reduce the cost of creatures significantly, but having excess levels of mana never hurt anyone. Evendo, Waking HavenEvendo, Waking Haven is a Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle with extra steps. Fortunately, with our creatures being as big as they are, it really doesn’t take a lot to get enough charge counters onto Evendo to unlock its ability.

This can help cover the mana value for our key noncreature spells like Greater GoodGreater Good or Finale of DevastationFinale of Devastation.

6. Herd HeirloomHerd Heirloom (6.0%)

I love Herd HeirloomHerd Heirloom. It’s an unsung hero in decks that are set up to take advantage of it. Having a mana rock for two mana in the early game for ramp that can become card advantage in the middle and later parts of the game to keep our hand full is always helpful.

There really isn’t a turn in a game of Commander where I would be disappointed in drawing it. Even if it isn’t flashy, these are the kinds of cards we want to be putting in our decks.

5. EquilibriumEquilibrium (5.5%)

With EquilibriumEquilibrium in play, we can use this card both offensively and economically. Every time we cast a creature spell, we can pay one mana to bounce a creature back to its owner’s hand. If we are playing cards like Ulamog, the Infinite GyreUlamog, the Infinite Gyre or NulldrifterNulldrifter, we can reuse their effects over and over again.

If we don’t need those effects, we can bounce an opponent’s creature every time we cast a creature. This level of tempo can really bring the game to a standstill, as blocking becomes very difficult. 

4. Steel HellkiteSteel Hellkite (4.4%)

I’ve spoken about this card before, as I am a big fan of this creature even though it's not a modern pick. There are games where Steel HellkiteSteel Hellkite will be a free cast since there is no colored mana requirement.

When it connects for combat damage, we can destroy every nonland permanent with a mana value the defending player controls.

If we pick zero, we can clear every token in play. No matter what we pick, we’ll typically remove at least one very good target.

3. Transcendent DragonTranscendent Dragon (1.7%)

At , this is a solid counterspell, as it gives us the chance to take a spell from an opponent and give it to ourselves. When we only have to pay two blue mana thanks to Animar, this becomes significantly better.

We get a 4/3 flyer and the ability to cast whatever creature or spell we just countered at the same time. Imagine pulling an uno reverse card on a Cyclonic RiftCyclonic Rift or a haymaker like Hullbreaker HorrorHullbreaker Horror. The chance of that happening one time is enough for me to add it to Animar.

2. Sunbird's InvocationSunbird's Invocation (1.2%)

Since we have a deck that is going to have a high mana curve, we might as well take advantage of it. Every spell we cast from our hand lets us reveal the top X cards of our library and cast a spell with mana value X or less, where X is the mana value of the spell.

This lets us double up our spells and flood the board with threats. Any creature we cast this way will also put a +1/+1 counter on Animar, speeding up our buildup.

These are the type of effects that can really make Animar a powerhouse since we can usually put out more threats than our opponents can use their removal on.

1. The Earth KingThe Earth King (0.6%)

Finally at number one on our list, we have The Earth KingThe Earth King. With our Stompy build, the odds of a creature we control having four power or greater to trigger The Earth King are very high. Every time we attack with a creature with power four or greater, he can put a basic land from our deck into play.

This can let us get every basic land out of our deck in only a couple of turns, increasing our chances of drawing into nonland cards to keep the pressure on. We also have the added bonus of having enough mana to cast every spell in our hand every single turn.

Wrapping Up

Animar embodies the old school minimalistic approach to design for Commander cards that lets players take their brews in a variety of different directions. This list is focused more on cards that will be helpful in as many of those different strategies as possible, but this is far from the bottom of the gem mine.

There are plenty of cards out there that are amazing for Animar that we didn’t cover today. If you have an Animar deck with a hidden gem you adore, share it in the comments below. We’re here for good vibes and great cards. Until next time, happy brewing!