I’m going to posit something that is likely crazy–Why does Reanimator need blue cards?
Sure, Brainstorm, Careful Study, and Ponder help sculpt your draws, but Careful Study has a direct parallel in Faithless Looting and an additional discard
outlet (that is uncounterable by the way) in Firestorm.
The real reason to play blue is for countermagic, both to protect your combo and to prevent them from comboing you before you can combo them. The funny
thing is that Reanimator is typically a turn faster than other combo decks, so how much does that countermagic actually matter? Certainly being able to
Force of Will your Reanimate through their Force of Will is important, but you’re likely still faster. We could also compensate for that by running discard
if we wanted to.
Additionally, the lack of countermagic and addition of threats (Reanimate effects), more mana acceleration, and Firestorms to kill Delver of Secrets makes
me very happy. Instead of durdling around a bunch, how about we just try to kill them?
Of course, losing Brainstorm comes with a certain cost, which is consistency. Cutting blue isn’t a strictly better option by any means, but it is
definitely worth looking into. After all, who doesn’t want to cast Stronghold Gambit?
Creatures (14)
- 4 Simian Spirit Guide
- 1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
- 1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
- 1 Grave Titan
- 4 Griselbrand
- 2 Sire of Insanity
- 1 Ashen Rider
Lands (12)
Spells (34)
