[Deck]BUx Reanimator

[bobomb]

I played the same exact 76 as in my last post.

Thanks for the report.

No issues with running 61 cards maindeck? I guess with all the tutors and hand sculpting it allows for better consistency.

[owerbart]

Thanks for the report.

No issues with running 61 cards maindeck? I guess with all the tutors and hand sculpting it allows for better consistency.

Hi bobomb, usually when I play online a i trim the second swamp to present 60, i like going to 14 lands. But in the paper meta, at least where I live, having thr 15th land is a huge help due to all the waste and moon decks. But to be honest mathemathically speaking, i'd rather play 61 cards and beong able to play all my games than getting mana screwed.

[bobomb]

Hi bobomb, usually when I play online a i trim the second swamp to present 60, i like going to 14 lands. But in the paper meta, at least where I live, having thr 15th land is a huge help due to all the waste and moon decks. But to be honest mathemathically speaking, i'd rather play 61 cards and beong able to play all my games than getting mana screwed.

Ah that makes sense. I run 15 lands in my list and have been comfortable with that number.

Reanimator:

Creatures: 7
4 Griselbrand
1 Elesh Norn
1 Tidespout Tyrant
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria

Spells: 39
4 Lotus Petal
4 Brainstorm
3 Ponder
4 Force of Will
3 Daze
4 Careful Study
4 Entomb
4 Reanimate
4 Exhume
2 Thoughtseize
2 Collective Brutality

Land: 15
1 Island
2 Swamp
4 Polluted Delta
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Verdant Catacombs
2 Underground Sea
1 Bayou
1 Tropical Island


I might try 61 - adding a Show and Tell to the main.

[RNGesus]

A tad late, but Andrea Mengucci took a UB reanimator deck for a spin: https://www.channelfireball.com/vide...cy-reanimator/

He even more recently tried out RB reanimator: https://www.channelfireball.com/vide...br-reanimator/

[bobomb]

I'm sure this has been discussed in the past, but what is the consensus on running Misdirection out of the sideboard when on the draw as a Daze replacement?

Daze gets weaker when you're on the draw and typically you will be seeing surgical extraction and/or counter magic to disrupt your combo post board. Misdirection can act as a pseudo Fow in this case... whereas Daze would likely just have it's cost paid.

If you're likely to be facing permanent based disruption (RiP, Cage, LoTV), then obviously there are better options, but I'll be testing 3 misdirection (I run 3 Daze in the main) in my sideboard in addition to my 2 abrupt decay, 1 golgari charm split for a bit to see how it goes.

SB:
2 Show and Tell (2 in main now)
2 City of Traitors
1 Massacre
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Golgari Charm
1 Pithing Needle
1 Grave Titan
1 Inkwell Leviathan
3 Misdirection
1 Carpet of Flowers

[Sergei_Simonov]

So the newland spoiled in Hour of Devastation- reuseable grave hate on a land-- this a credible threat to UB? We are just slow enough to het caught in that, especially from decks like D&T or Eldrazi. This something that can find a home there that we will need to be on the lookout for?

[bobomb]

So the newland spoiled in Hour of Devastation- reuseable grave hate on a land-- this a credible threat to UB? We are just slow enough to het caught in that, especially from decks like D&T or Eldrazi. This something that can find a home there that we will need to be on the lookout for?

We still have some answers in our 75, notably Tidespout Tyrant and Pithing Needle.

Also, it's pretty slow. We're still faster.

[owerbart]

So the newland spoiled in Hour of Devastation- reuseable grave hate on a land-- this a credible threat to UB? We are just slow enough to het caught in that, especially from decks like D&T or Eldrazi. This something that can find a home there that we will need to be on the lookout for?

It looks too slow.

@bobomb how do you feel having both collective and show and tell in your MD? I always felt that having both of them together could make a bit of a nuance.

Since my meta is becoming lighter on hardlocks like LOTV, cotv and that stuff, i feel like cutting the white, add a 3rd decay and exchange the tundra for my trop. (gonna keep the teferi's realm just in case)

EDIT/Sidenote: Also as people are getting more lenient on stack-based interactions (faerie macabre, counterspells, surgical/extirpate) I feel I would also like to get a 5th discard spell (duress) in my sideboard to fight with, specially since decks with bolt are seeing a decrease in favor of Fatal Push (which means Thoughtseize would get a bit better). Having two duals for just a 3rd sideboard color is gonna make the manabase a little less akward.

[bobomb]

@bobomb how do you feel having both collective and show and tell in your MD? I always felt that having both of them together could make a bit of a nuance.

I actually moved all my show and tells to the SB after playing in a tournament last Thursday - and am now running 1 Collective Brutality main.

My deck looks like this now:


4 chancellor of the annex
3 griselbrand
1 elesh norn
1 tidespout tyrant

4 lotus petal
4 entomb
4 reanimate
4 exhume
4 brainstorm
4 careful study
4 force of will
3 daze
1 lim-dul's vault
2 ponder
1 collective brutality
2 thoughtseize

4 underground sea
1 island
1 swamp
4 polluted delta
2 misty rainforest
2 verdant catacombs

sideboard:
1 inkwell leviathan
1 grave titan
1 iona, shield of emeria
4 show and tell
1 pithing needle
2 abrupt decay
2 echoing truth
1 golgari charm
1 massacre
1 bayou


Some of the changes:

Chancellor of the Annex - I really like him. More creatures in the main makes careful study better. He will steal back the play when you're on the draw. He's a decent hatebear on a bigger body when he's on the field. I've won lots of games where he has been my only creature reanimated.

Moved Iona to the sideboard - I felt she was kind of "win more" against decks that are already favorable matchups: Elves and Storm. Though she does have game against Omnitell, but I have yet to see it in my meta.

All UB mana base: 4 Underground Sea is the way to go in the main deck. I've had too many unkeepable hands because my only land was a Bayou and I needed to Careful Study or a Tropical Island when I need to Reanimate. Bringing in a Bayou with Abrupt Decay from the sideboard seems to be a better fit.

[crowe_1]

^
Maybe I'm math failing but I count 59 cards main.

EDIT: I just threw in an extra Daze but after goldfishing a bit I've found this to be the first U/B list I actually like running Chancellor in. Without the S&T main I feel like DRS might be more problematic, though if you're on the play with Chancellor I suppose DRS isn't activating until after your turn 3 anyway. Might give it a go in paper.

[bobomb]

^
Maybe I'm math failing but I count 59 cards main.

EDIT: I just threw in an extra Daze but after goldfishing a bit I've found this to be the first U/B list I actually like running Chancellor in. Without the S&T main I feel like DRS might be more problematic, though if you're on the play with Chancellor I suppose DRS isn't activating until after your turn 3 anyway. Might give it a go in paper.

Thanks for catching that. I'm running a Lim-Dul's Vault in the main as well. Although it might become a 3rd ponder, and Collective Brutality might become a 3rd Thoughtseize... I'm always tinkering.

One problem with Chancellor is it reveals your game plan. So if you're on the play, and you reveal Chancellor, you want to be sure you hand is faster that DRS's summoning sickness. But yes, it does buy you an extra turn.

[crowe_1]

Unfortunately the Exile zone is currently considered a game zone and not "removed from the game" anymore. You can't wish for exiled cards as you could when the Wishes were printed.

[bobomb]

Unfortunately the Exile zone is currently considered a game zone and not "removed from the game" anymore. You can't wish for exiled cards as you could when the Wishes were printed.

Oh... well there goes that then :)

[atlain2]

Hi- First-time poster here. I finished building UB Reanimator about a year ago. I don't get to play too often, so I'd like some advice on card selection for the deck, specifically regarding what creatures to include.
Currently, I have 8 creatures MB:
3 Griselbrand
4 Chancellor of the Annex
1 Elesh Norn
I chose the Chancellors b/c the local meta includes several fast combo decks (belcher, RB reanimator, Sneak and Show). I know their inclusion in UB Reanimator is somewhat unorthodox, but the extra defensive protection on T1 has won me several games, though I admit they're subpar reanimation targets vs some decks. I chose Elesh over Iona b/c there are several small creature decks (Elves, D&T, delver) in the local meta as well.

I currently have the following creatures in the SB:
1 Tidespout Tyrant- considered a standard, though I've never gotten to use it
1 Blazing Archon- b/c there is 1 eldrazi deck and several Emrakul-based decks locally
1 Iona- standard
1 Grave Titan- pretty standard vs Liliana decks and D&T TMK
1 Ashen Rider- seems good vs problematic permanents that UB may have trouble otherwise removing

While I like this lineup, I feel as if I've got too many creatures clogging up SB slots that could be better used for other things (SB is listed below; e.g., I have zero graveyard hate). I can't, however, decide which creatures to keep and which to trim, due to a combination of inexperience, wanting to play a lot of Timmy cards, and also liking toolbox options in my SB strategy. But perhaps some of these fatties overlap too much in application and I only need one or the other, or maybe there's a non-creature SB option that could replace one of them and also be more useful versus a wider range of opponents. Any constructive advice would be appreciated. The rest of my deck list is below for reference.
Thanks!

MB
15 lands (no G; straight UB list)
8 creatures (see above)
4 petal
4 entomb
4 exhume
4 reanimate
1 show & tell (I like 1 MB out to Deathrite Shaman, and I can pitch it to FoW if unneeded)
4 brainstorm
2 ponder
4 careful study
2 thoughtsieze
1 collective brutality- odd MB choice but I wanted another piece of disruption, and so far it has been fantastic every time I've drawn it, but maybe that's just dumb luck.
4 FoW
3 daze

SB
5 fatties (see above)
2 show & tell
2 massacre
3 pithing needle
3 echoing truth

[crowe_1]

^
I'd say drop one Chancellor to put Tidespout in the main, then drop Blazing Archon from the side. Emrakul decks are generally favoured for you without it, and several of your creatures are good against Eldrazi anyway (Elesh, Grisel, even Grave Titan if you drop him early). Dropping Ashen Rider as well wouldn't be awful, but it is a good catch-all answer to problem permanents to back up Tidespout. I personally run Ashen and Archon as the only extra creatures in my board, but I have Iona, Titan, and Tyrant in the main with no Chancellors. If you run Chancellor in U/B, it will be at the cost of better bullets.

Also I'm not sure three Pithing Needles is necessary. I used to run three in the board and dropped one when I found that there was no deck I was ever bringing in three against. But to each their own. Hopefully that frees up some space for Surgicals or extra discard or something.

[Karhumies]

Since we are discussing Bu Chancellor builds, here is the list I have liked to run lately:

Mana (15)
Land (14)
1x Island
1x Marsh Flats
4x Polluted Delta
2x Swamp
2x Underground Sea
4x Verdant Catacombs
Artifact (1)
1x Chrome Mox

Sorcery (18)
4x Careful Study
4x Exhume
4x Reanimate
2x Thoughtseize
2x Unmask
2x Collective Brutality

Creature (11)
4x Chancellor of the Annex
1x Grave Titan
4x Griselbrand
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Tidespout Tyrant

Instant (12)
4x Brainstorm
4x Dark Ritual
4x Entomb

Enchantment (4)
4x Animate Dead

Sideboard (15)
2x Echoing Truth
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
4x Force of Will
2x Pithing Needle
4x Show and Tell
2x Surgical Extraction

Notes:
No L.Petal MD. Running B.Storm/D.Ritual in the L.Petal slot.
Fetches basics whenever possible
FoWs in the SB due to low pre-sb blue count
When SBing FoWs in, Unmasks go out

G1 we are essentially playing Br animator with tons of speed. G2-G3 we slow down into more typical Bu animator build.

For a DRS heavy meta, I would change the 2-2 CB-Unmask split into 4-0

If you need more lands, you can drop the Chrome Mox for a 15th land

[Cpt-Qc]

I really like your take on the BU fast build with a FoW sideboard plan. I'm gonna try adapting it to my liking and see how well I can do.

[Karhumies]

I really like your take on the BU fast build with a FoW sideboard plan. I'm gonna try adapting it to my liking and see how well I can do.

If you want 1-2 extra slots in the 75 (for daze/s.pierce/duress?), you can
- drop 1 exhume/animate dead in the md for a SnT to gain 1 sb slot
- move Iona from md into sb to gain 1 md slot
-drop the FoWs in the SB down to 3 to gain 1 sb slot

[Fox]

I'd be a little leery of Collective Brutality in the list you've provided. The card is great, but you've lost symmetry with Delver (Daze/FoW) which means your ability to play two decks has lessened. CB kills DRS/Delver/YP, but your ability to do a Delver impression and win by Reanimate targeting one of those is about comparable to B/R. You have selected 4 slots of playing their deck with Thoughtseize and Unmask, but discard slots that steal creatures should be on par with total copies of Reanimate and Animate Dead (more true in a post-board game). If you think an opponent is on Leyline post-board, Exhume is out and more creature discard is coming in; even if they aren't on Leyline, we should be looking for post-board wins without Exhume.

CB is a strong card, but you need that backup plan of playing their deck - a strategy that isn't really viable anymore by stealing x/1s or x/2s. Your total blue count is a possible 19, but realistically 13 in a combo matchup (where SnT and Echoing are often left out). I think you're reaching levels where you definitely need Gin-Gitaxias as Grisel #4 and an Inkwell somewhere in the 75.

[owerbart]

So after 4 years, I took a week off, and after goldfishing some hands I moved to a build without petals.
It feels nice to get much better cantrips since you can get more action cards. I brought my last list posted here with -4 petals, +1 fetch, +1 pithing needle, +1 hapless researcher, +1 animate dead.

R1 2-1 uw stoneblade
R2 2-0 grixis control
R3 2-1 Death and Taxes
R4 2-0 Painter
R5 1-2 UW stoneblade (i punted game 2 and then lost to a topdeck)

Overall the list felt extremely solid, with this new slow meta it has been nice to get a better endgame and moving up to 5 discards post board helps a lot against these blue-value control shells.

It took me 4 years but finally i joined @stryfo and @pirate king non-petal side, haha. Any other players on this idea? I know more of you guys are actually trying to move to the fastest side with Unmask, chancellor and even chrome mox. I just wanted to give my two cents that being on the slow side has been working very well for me lately.