Torsten, Founder of Blinknalia (EDH / Commander)

I overlooked this guy at first because of his mana cost but upon further consideration, the reanimator in me saw the true beauty of this silly-named value engine. Yes he costs seven mana out the gate but once you have him out it just gets easier to keep him out. The lines of play with this guy are just as silly as his name.

When he enters, you look at a whopping 7 cards off the top and keep all creatures and lands. This deck has 36 creatures so I am often drawing 4+ cards from this trigger. Once he's in play he's a big beater with 7 power/toughness, but let's be honest... we want him dead, don't we?... Because when he dies he gives us 7 1/1 Soldiers. Abuse accordingly.

Lines of play:

RAMP
-The faster he's out the sooner we profit. Cheap mana dorks make this happen fastest. Star card here is Citanul Hierophants, even great late game with all of our soldiers tokens.

BLINK
-Flickering this guy is insane value. Casting Ephemerate translates to "Pay 1 mana, draw 4+ cards" so running a few options for this is very important to protect Torsten while getting incredible card advantage at the same time. This deck is loaded with other creatures that want to be blinked as well if our guy isn't out yet or something. (Acidic Slime, Thorn Mammoth, Karmic Guide)

SACRIFICE
-This is my favorite strategy for this deck. With plenty of reanimation, you can reap the benefits of both of his effects and, with the right cards, do it every turn. For example, Worthy Cause (maybe my favorite card in the deck) allows you to gain life and sacrifice a creature at instant speed and it has buyback. If you have Gift of Immortality on Torsten, you can do this EVERY TURN so by the time it's your turn you may have an army of 30+ creatures and have gained 20+ life. Can't pay for Worthy Cause? Maybe you have Ashnod's Altar out and then it's free sacrifice for days. If Torsten does actually get killed then just keep him in the graveyard until you have slow reanimation like Karmic Guide and start it all again.

WINCON
-You could include Nim Deathmantle and it will go infinite with Ashnod's Altar and win with various combos.
-I wanted to keep infinites out and decided to win with combat damage. End-Raze Forerunners, Brave the Elements, Champion of Lambholt, and Elesh Norn are all great when you have dozens of creeps to swing with. Concordant Crossroads allows for explosive plays...

Cards not included that I want to try: Cathars Crusade, Kodama of the East Tree, Court of Bounty, Elvish Piper, Monster Manual, Altar of the Brood