Overview:

This Animar, Soul of Elements deck leverages cost-reduction synergy to cheat out massive creatures and execute infinite combos. The strategy revolves around rapidly stacking +1/+1 counters on Animar via low-cost creatures, enabling explosive plays like free Eldrazi titans or the Ancestral Statue infinite loop. Secondary themes include +1/+1 counter proliferation, Eldrazi annihilation triggers, and alternate win conditions like Simic Ascendancy or All Will Be One. Animar is the linchpin, enabling both mana cheating and combo execution, but the deck includes redundancy through Kodama of the East Tree and Cloudstone Curio synergies.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Acceleration (Turns 1-3): Deploy mana dorks (Birds of Paradise, Elvish Mystic), artifact ramp (Mox Diamond, Chrome Mox), and protection (Lightning Greaves). Cast Animar by turn 2-3 using fast mana.
2. Counter Stacking (Turns 2-4): Play cheap creatures like Shrieking Drake or Spellseeker to grow Animar. Use Doubling Season or Branching Evolution to amplify counters.
3. Combo/Threat Deployment (Turns 3-5):
   • Infinite Combos: Ancestral Statue + Animar (infinite counters) + Walking Ballista/All Will Be One for lethal.
   • Eldrazi Overload: Cast Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre or Kozilek, Butcher of Truth for free with a powered-up Animar.
   • Value Engines: Temur Ascendancy for haste/draw or The Great Henge for sustained advantage.
4. Win Consolidation: Use Herald of Secret Streams for unblockable lethal, Simic Ascendancy counter triggers, or Hullbreaker Horror for lockdown.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with Animar + 1-2 mana accelerants (dorks, Moxen).
• Prioritize protection (Greaves, Veil of Summer) in interactive metas.
• Avoid hands without early creatures or Animar enablers.

Key Tips:

• Use Cloudstone Curio with 0-1 CMC creatures (e.g., Shrieking Drake) to infinitely bounce/recast them, generating infinite Animar counters.
• Survival of the Fittest tutors combo pieces like Ancestral Statue while filling the graveyard for recursion.
• Kodama of the East Tree enables free permanent drops when pairing with bounce effects.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Animar Removal: Repeated removal of Animar cripples the deck's cost reduction engine.
• Torpor Orb Effects: Disable ETB synergies (Eldrazi cast triggers, Reclamation Sage, Spellseeker).
• Cursed Totem/Linvala: Shut down mana dorks, Kami of Whispered Hopes, and Animar's counter generation.

Moderate

• Graveyard Hate: Disrupts Survival of the Fittest, Eternal Witness (implied), and Eldrazi recursion.
• Mass Artifact/Enchantment Removal: Targets key pieces like Doubling Season, Cloudstone Curio, and The Great Henge.

Minor

• Stack Interaction: Limited protection beyond free counterspells (Fierce Guardianship, Force of Will).
• Slow Starts: Clunky hands without early creatures struggle against fast combo decks.

Most Important Cards:

• Animar, Soul of Elements (Cost reduction engine/combo piece)
• Ancestral Statue (Infinite combo enabler)
• Cloudstone Curio (Infinite loops with low-CMC creatures)
• Doubling Season (Accelerates counter strategies)
• Survival of the Fittest (Tutor + graveyard setup)
• Walking Ballista (Primary combo finisher)
• All Will Be One (Alternate combo finisher)
• Force of Will (Critical free interaction)
• Kodama of the East Tree (Value engine/combo amplifier)
• Hullbreaker Horror (Late-game control/soft lock)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 8/10

• Capable of T3-4 infinite combos with ideal draws (Animar + Ancestral Statue + mana accelerants). Eldrazi titans threaten T5-6 annihilation triggers.

Resilience: 6/10

• Free counterspells and protection (Greaves, Sylvan Safekeeper) defend key pieces, but heavy removal on Animar or combo disruptors can stall the deck.

Consistency: 7/10

• Multiple tutors (Worldly Tutor, Green Sun's Zenith) and card draw (Rhystic Study, Temur Ascendancy) find combo pieces, but relies heavily on Animar sticking.

Interaction: 7/10

• Robust suite of free counterspells (Force of Negation, Fierce Guardianship) and targeted removal (Nature's Claim, Cyclonic Rift), but light on board wipes.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at cEDH-adjacent speeds with T3-4 win potential via Animar combos but lacks the redundancy and compactness of top-tier lists. While interaction and tutors are strong, reliance on Animar’s survival and vulnerability to specific hate caps its ceiling.

Power level: 7.5 - 8.0