Overview:

This Animar, Soul of Elements deck focuses on +1/+1 counter synergies and Tyranid tribal mechanics to overwhelm opponents through creature-based value and scaled damage. The strategy leverages Animar's cost reduction to deploy high-impact creatures like Hierophant Bio-Titan and The Swarmlord, supported by counter doublers like Branching Evolution and Hardened Scales. Key win conditions include combat damage with evasive threats enabled by Herald of Secret Streams and incremental burn via All Will Be One. While the deck has strong synergy and scaling potential, it lacks infinite combos and relies heavily on maintaining board presence.

Primer:

Core Strategy:

1. Early Game: Ramp into Animar using 1-2 mana dorks/rocks (Sol Ring, Biophagus), then cast low-CMC creatures to build Animar's counters.
2. Mid Game: Deploy counter amplifiers (Kami of Whispered Hopes, Ozolith, the Shattered Spire) and card advantage engines (Garruk's Uprising, Temur Ascendancy).
3. Late Game: Cast X-cost Tyranids (Aberrant, Exocrine) with Animar discounts, triggering All Will Be One damage and Herald of Secret Streams evasion. Backup plans include Tooth and Nail for The Swarmlord/Old One Eye or Wave Goodbye board control.

Key Lines:

• Animar + Broodlord + All Will Be One: Cast Broodlord with X=5+ to distribute counters, triggering multiple damage instances.
• Magus Lucea Kane's copy ability with X-spells creates exponential value.
• Hormagaunt Horde recursion enables recurring board presence.

Mulligan Priorities:

1. 3 lands including green sources
2. Animar enablers (ramp/card draw)
3. At least one counter synergy piece (Duskshell Crawler, Forgotten Ancient)

Critical Sequencing:
Protect Animar with Guardian Augmenter hexproof and Swiftfoot Boots. Prioritize casting Branching Evolution before X-spells for maximum counter scaling. Use Mutational Advantage to protect key permanents during critical turns.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Heavy reliance on Animar (3+ removals cripples strategy)
• Limited board wipe recovery outside Inspiring Call

Moderate:

• Vulnerable to Cursed Totem/The Immortal Sun (shuts off counter synergies)
• Minimal graveyard interaction

Minor:

• Slow vs flying-heavy metas (only Zoanthrope provides reach)

Most Important Cards:

• All Will Be One
• Branching Evolution
• Herald of Secret Streams
• Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
• Hardened Scales
• The Swarmlord
• Magus Lucea Kane
• Broodlord
• Tooth and Nail
• Garruk's Uprising

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can deploy game-winning boards by T7-8 via Animar discounts and X-spells
• Hierophant Bio-Titan castable as early as T5 with optimal ramp

Resilience: 5/10

• 7 protection spells (Bolt Bend, Stubborn Denial)
• Weak to repeated board wipes and commander removal

Consistency: 7/10

• 8 tutors/card selection (Shared Summons, Vivien, Monsters' Advocate)
• Redundant counter engines (4 counter doublers)

Interaction: 5/10

• 10 targeted removals (Hull Breach, Archdruid's Charm)
• Limited stack interaction (only 3 counterspells)

Rating Justification:

This deck exceeds precon-level consistency with its tutor density and synergistic engine, approaching optimized casual (5.5) thresholds. However, its reliance on combat damage and lack of infinite combos prevent it from reaching high-power tiers. The turn 7-8 goldfish potential aligns with the 5.0-5.5 "Optimized Casual" range, while its vulnerability to interaction keeps it below focused (6.0) levels.

Power level: 5.0 - 5.5