Overview:

This Lazav, Dimir Mastermind deck focuses on milling opponents and stealing their threats via graveyard recursion and clone effects. The primary win conditions are overwhelming the board with stolen creatures and incremental mill damage via cards like Syr Konrad, the Grim. While it has interaction and value engines, it lacks fast infinite combos or stax locks, relying on mid-game attrition.

Primer:

Core Strategy: The deck aims to fill opponents' graveyards through forced mill (Maddening Cacophony, Dreamborn Muse) while using Lazav and reanimation spells (Breach the Multiverse, Extract from Darkness) to copy/steal key creatures. Secondary themes include hand disruption (Cunning Lethemancer) and political control (Reins of Power). Syr Konrad provides incremental damage to close games.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with early mill enablers (Curse of the Bloody Tome) or value creatures (Baleful Strix).
• Ensure 3+ lands with color fixing (Command Tower, Fetid Pools).
• Prioritize interaction (Drown in the Loch) in removal-heavy metas.

Key Tips:

• Time Lazav’s transformations to copy high-impact creatures post-removal.
• Use Scheming Symmetry politically while holding Notion Thief to punish draws.
• Memory Plunder can steal game-winning sorceries from opponents' yards.

Avoid Traps:

• Overcommitting to mill without Syr Konrad/Rise of the Dark Realms.
• Holding Bribery too long – target green decks early for fatties.
• Wasting counterspells on non-critical threats; save for graveyard hate or combo pieces.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Foldsto graveyard hate (Rest in Peace neuters Lazav/Syr Konrad).
• No fast wincons – struggles against combo decks.

Moderate:

• Limited board wipes (only Make an Example, Curtains' Call).
• Slow recovery from early aggression.

Minor:

• Hexproof on Lazav mitigates targeted removal.

Most Important Cards:

• Breach the Multiverse
• Bribery
• Syr Konrad, the Grim
• Notion Thief
• Rise of the Dark Realms
• Memory Plunder
• Drown in the Loch
• Maddening Cacophony
• Mystic Remora
• Scheming Symmetry

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Earliest mill win: T7-8 with kicked Maddening Cacophony + Syr Konrad triggers. Theft effects accelerate clock but require setup.

Resilience: 6/10

• Hexproof commander and counterspells (An Offer You Can't Refuse) protect key plays. Weak to mass graveyard exile.

Consistency: 5/10

• Limited tutors (Scheming Symmetry, Extract), but card draw (Windfall, Morbid Opportunist) fuels mid-game.

Interaction: 7/10

• Efficient removal (Cut Down, Go for the Throat) and versatile counters (Drown in the Loch). Lacks free spells for cEDH-level threats.

Rating Justification:

The deck operates at a 5.0 power level ("Optimized Casual") per the rubric:

• Speed: Matches T8-10 combat/value wins via stolen threats.
• Resilience: Better-than-precon recovery but folds to dedicated graveyard hate.
• Synergy: Focused mill/theft plan without high-risk combos.
• Meta Fit: Struggles against T5-6 combo decks but pressures battlecruiser metas effectively.

Power level: 4.5 - 5.0