Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Animal Friend: Beasts, Auras, and the Thrill of the Attack

Green magic has a way of turning a quiet board into a buzzing menagerie, and Animal Friend is a perfect example of that spark. This rare Enchantment — Aura from the Fallout Commander set costs {1}{G} to cast, yet its real payoff appears the moment you swing. Enchant a creature, and that recipient becomes a little factory for furry payoffs: whenever the enchanted creature attacks, you create a 1/1 green Squirrel creature token. But there’s a twist that gives green a taste of exponential value: you put a +1/+1 counter on that token for each Aura and Equipment attached to the enchanted creature, aside from Animal Friend itself. 🧙‍♂️🔥

That line of text invites a very deliberate deck-building approach. It’s not just about slapping a few enchantments on a random beater; it’s about curating a ritual of buffs that feels almost tactile in its tension. You attach Auras and Equipment to the enchanted creature to juice the Squirrel token after it attacks. The more you stack, the bigger your token becomes, and suddenly a single swing can yield a towering 7/7, 8/8, or larger threat—depending on how many Auras and Equipment you’ve managed to anchor to that one creature. It’s a classic Green dynamic: invest early, snowball late, and watch the board convert tiny critters into glittering, counter-bearing momentum. It’s a deckbuilding puzzle with a furry, card-drawing bow. 🎨🎲

“I scratch their back, they scratch you.” — Animal Friend’s flavor text, a wink at a mechanic that rewards back-rubbing synergy with your own buffs.

Flavor aside, the practical play patterns are what make Animal Friend sing in Commander circles. The card thrives in decks that lean into Aura-heavy or Equipment-heavy strategies, where one lucky beater becomes the nucleus of a growing army. The enchantment itself is fairly affordable to cast, so you can set up the engine early and still have room to weave in other themes—beast-tokens, stall-breaking combat steps, or value-rich side quests. The Fallout set’s vibe—a post-apocalyptic, treasure-hunting flavor—lands nicely with the idea of scavenging for Auras and weapons to empower a single creature and unlock a swarm of squirrels through a timely attack. 🧙‍♂️⚔️

Choosing a Commander for Beastly Synergy

In the Commander format, you’ll find green-worthy generals who excel when your board is a tapestry of growth, tokens, and equipment. Animal Friend plays best when you’re leaning into a “auras and artifacts matter” philosophy, and a popular green commander that supports that path will help you unleash the ash of value. Think of generals that enable or enable through token production, or those that make it easy to attach Auras and Equipment to a single creature. The synergy isn’t about a single perfect pairing; it’s about creating a feedback loop where your enchanted creature crime-loves-a-pile of buffs, and the squirrel tokens compound your battlefield presence after every successful attack. 🧙‍♂️🔥

To maximize Animal Friend’s potential, pair it with a lead who can tutor or deploy Auras and Equipment reliably, while also contributing to a resilient combat plan. Attach cheap, efficient auras like Ethereal Armor or Draft-based auras that grant evasion or pluses to power; then complement with robust Equipment that stays on the board and keeps pumping the enchanted creature’s base stats. The result? A single enchanted creature can become a token-producing workhorse with a formidable presence, and that presence grows with each combat step. It’s the kind of engine that feels deliciously retro in spirit—classic green ramp meets modern value. 🧡🧡

Beyond the numbers, Animal Friend invites playful decision points. Do you load up the enchanted creature with a fortress of Auras to push a massive token on a single swing? Or do you diversify by spreading some Equipment around to create multiple, smaller but still meaningful tokens? Either path rewards careful sequencing and smart protection. Remember to shield the enchanted creature with removal-proofing where possible, because removing the aura can stall your token factory just when you want to push through the next round of damage. Balancing aggression and sustainability is the name of the game, and Animal Friend hands you one very cute lever to pull to swing momentum in your favor. 🧙‍♂️💎

Artful trickery and practical play intertwine here. The card’s flavor text hints at a quirky, symbiotic world where creatures and their caretakers cooperate in battle. In real gameplay, that translates to a fun, interactive experience: you orchestrate a sequence where your aura-empowered beater attacks, you drop a single Squirrel, and you watch its power curve climb via the attached Auras and Equipment. The token remains a tangible, incremental payoff—clear, visible, and satisfying on the battlefield. It’s a small enchantment with outsized storytelling and a surprisingly satisfying tempo on the table. 🧙‍♂️🎨

Practical Deck-Building Tips

• Load a core of Auras and Equipment that you actually want attached to your enchanted creature. Start with affordable, evergreen picks and sprinkle in some specialty cards that grant haste or evasion to your beater. The more you can attach without competing with other game plans, the more tokens you’ll generate during each attack step. ⚔️
• Consider protection strategies for the enchanted creature. Counterspells, removal, or a backup plan to keep Animal Friend on the battlefield will translate into consistent token generation rather than episodic value bursts. A little resilience goes a long way when you’re betting on an aura engine. 🔒
• Synergize with token themes beyond Squirrels. If your deck already laboratories of token generation (Elvish banners, contract with the Squirrel-type,” or even other creature tokens), Animal Friend provides a complementary engine that converts combat into additional bodies on the ground. The interrupts get louder as your board grows. 🧙‍♂️🧩
• Remember the math: the Squirrel token starts as 1/1, and you add +1/+1 counters equal to the number of Auras and Equipment attached to the enchanted creature. A well-timed aura stack can turn a modest 2/2 into a fearsome behemoth with an army hot on its heels. Plan your buff sequence with care. 💡

As you experiment with Animal Friend, you’ll likely discover that the joy of green’s aura-driven play becomes a little ritual all its own. You build, you buff, you swing, and you watch a single enchanted creature spark a torrent of Squirrels that can overwhelm opponents with a blend of cute aesthetics and serious battlefield presence. And if you’re new to the Fallout Commander universe, this card is a neat lens into how Wizards of the Coast continues to weave flavor into utility—so your board feels both strategic and delightfully, furiously thematic. 🧙‍♂️🔥

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