Anafenza, A Different Type of Solider
Tonight we take a look at one more legendary creature from the newly minted Khans of Trakir. Where does this one rank in comparison to other heavy hitters like [card]Zurgo Helmsmasher[/card] and [card]Narset, Enlightened Master[/card]?
[card]Anafenza, the Foremost[/card], is a 4/4 Legendary Human Solider for the low low cost of three mana. Everything about me whats to call her the new Junk general. but we all know the proper term is Abzam. Along side her 4/4 body she packs a couple of interesting abilities. Whenever Anafenza the Foremost attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on another target tapped creature you control. Putting a counter on only one other creature that also has to be tapped isn’t the splashiest ability ever but there are always ways to abuse that in EDH. Her second ability is where she really shines, especially if your meta is populated by abusive graveyard powered decks like [card]Karador, Ghost Chieftain[/card]. If a creature card would be put into an opponent’s graveyard from anywhere, exile it instead. That’s spicy indeed.
Let’s take a look at the first ability. White and green are no strangers to +1/+1 counters. Green especially gets the edge here when you consider abilities like Evolve & Graft. Anafenza is going to want to get into the red zone like any good solider and graft and evolve will help you get the counters flowing. Graft might be your best choice to pair with Anafenza as many of the utility creatures pack other solid abilities that you can take advantage of when you pump your creatures up with Ana. [card]Sporeback Troll[/card], [card]Simic Basilisk[/card] and [card]Aquastrand Spider[/card] will all give very relevant abilities to any other creatures you can get counters on to. [card]Cytoplast Root-Kin[/card] is the big daddy of graft creatures that will make any other creatures with counters on them bigger when he enters the battlefield and then those counters can be transferred to the Rootkin in a pinch to make for a big hit or a kill in blocking.
Graft can give Anafenza’s army some utility, but it’s slow to get going, & there are only so many counters to go around without access to blue & cards like [card]Deadeye Navigator[/card] to keep blinking your grafters.
Sound the bell for [card]Cathars’ Crusade[/card]. Take up arms with [card]Archangel of Thune[/card] and make sure to proliferate. Getting counters on as many creatures as possible will not only make your forces hit harder, but will give plenty of targets for Anafenza and make difficult blocks for opponents.[card]Ajani Steadfast[/card]‘s -2 will put counters on your guys in a pinch and runs double duty if you also happen to be running planeswalkers. Same goes for [card]Ajani Goldmane[/card], although his ability gives vigilance which won’t help give targets to hit with Ana. While we are talking about Ajani, how could I not mention [card]Ajani, Mentor of Heroes[/card], which as of this writing is more reasonable priced than it has been of late and can distribute counters as well. Oh, and let’s not forget Gain 100 Life.
Coming to the battle with Anafenza is [card]Abzan Ascendancy[/card] which fits right in, putting a +1/+1 counter on each creature when it enters the field, and acts as a brilliant recovery against board wipes by bringing all your nontoken creatures back as 1/1 spirits with evasion. Not to shabby. If you prefer a token army to the real thing, the Ascendancy can be huge. White gives plenty of options to tutor it up when your army hits critical mass, and dropping it at the right time with enough bodies in play could push you over the edge.
Tokens give you bodies, but I think there are just to many quality creatures that love counters to not use them. [card]Fertilid[/card], [card]Mindless Automaton[/card], [card]Mycoloth[/card], and especially [card]Champion of Lambholt[/card] are all stars. Anafenza also brings from Abzan utility with her in the form of [card]Abzan Falconer[/card] & [card]Abzan Battle Priest[/card]. I love these two creatures and they work amazingly with Anafenza and can put counters on creatures themselves with outlast.
[card]Hardened Scales[/card] is another Khans card that you probably hated to open in your box as it doesn’t have a lot of Standard or Modern uses, but it can really shine here. It works well, allowing Ana to put two counters on per trigger, but it also plays very well if you are playing (X) creatures in your build. [card]Hooded Hydra[/card], [card]Kalonian Hydra[/card], & [card]Genesis Hydra[/card] all get a little bit scarier with Hardened Sclaes in play. While we are talking about enchantments it might be worth trying out [card]Death’s Presence[/card] in a Anafenza build. If you can resolve a big threat that your opponents have to answer you can transfer counters equal to it’s power to another creature. This can help if you want to voltron up Ana to get to the magic 21 damage ASAP, or if you want to make a lowly [card]Reclamation Sage[/card] a beast. In G/B/W you have access to many powerful enchantments like Arena, [card]Doubling Season[/card], [card]Sylvan Library[/card], [card]Pernicious Deed[/card], & [card]Greater Good[/card]. Find slots for creature tutors like [card]Academy Rector[/card] or spells like [card]Enlightened Tutor[/card] or [card]Idyllic Tutor[/card] to get these bombs into your hand and battlefield.
Speaking of [card]Doubling Season[/card], [card]Corpsejack Menace[/card] doubles all your counters and has legs to boot. Oh yeah!
One last point I’ll make about Anafenza is her colours also give you access to some of the best removal in the format. You get great spot removal with [card]Mortify[/card] and [card]Putrefy[/card]. You get the big daddies of board wipes in [card]Wrath of God[/card], & [card]Damnation[/card], and because Anafenza creature exile ability only hits your opponents, cards like [card]Living Death[/card], and [card]Twilight’s Call[/card] just got bonkers.
I’ll be honest, I sort of dreaded writing this review. I love – love love – the the B/W/G colour combo and [card]Doran, the Siege Tower[/card] is a deck I have played for a long time to great enjoyment and my fair share of wins. I was very underwhelmed by [card]Anafenza, the Foremost[/card] when she was first spoiled, but getting down and dirty on Gatherer for this article has really changed my opinion. I think there is an interesting deck waiting to be built around her, where you want to not only get into the red zone early and often, but you get to use some underplayed cards in her colours that can really shine with a focus on +1/+1 counters. Anafenza might be a good choice for you if – like me – you think there is a lot of power in her colours, but don’t want to voltron up a tree, or play the king of combos with [card]Ghave, Guru of Spores[/card].
Maybe I’m just still stinging from a severe beat down I took from my buddy Pete’s [card]Karador, Ghost Chieftain[/card] deck last week. Maybe…