Overview:

This Bant (GWU) deck helmed by Helga, Skittish Seer focuses on +1/+1 counter synergies and high-impact creature deployment. The strategy revolves around casting creatures with mana value 4+ to trigger Helga's card draw and life gain, while leveraging her mana-generation ability (scaling with her power) to fuel explosive plays. Key themes include counter doubling (Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider, Branching Evolution), creature-based ramp, and alternate win conditions like Simic Ascendancy and Twenty-Toed Toad. Helga serves as both an engine and enabler, though the deck contains multiple "hidden commanders" like Prime Speaker Vannifar and Chulane, Teller of Tales for redundancy.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Deploy mana dorks (Birds of Paradise, Faeburrow Elder) and counter enablers (Hardened Scales, The Ozolith). Use low-CMC creatures like Mother of Runes for protection.
2. Midgame Acceleration (Turns 4-6): Cast Helga alongside 4+ MV creatures (e.g., Master Biomancer, Archangel of Thune) to trigger her draw ability. Use Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx or Incubation Druid for explosive mana.
3. Win Condition Assembly:
   • Combat Overkill: Deploy Koma, World-Eater or Moonshaker Cavalry, amplified by counter doublers.
   • Combo: Chain Prime Speaker Vannifar activations into Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider or The Goose Mother.
   • Alternate Wins: Charge Simic Ascendancy via proliferating counters or build Twenty-Toed Toad to 20 counters/hand size.
4. Protection/Recovery: Use Teferi's Protection, Heroic Intervention, and Evolution Witness to preserve key pieces.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands, including a green source.
• Prioritize early ramp (e.g., Utopia Sprawl, Noble Hierarch) or a 4+ MV creature to trigger Helga.
• Include at least one protection piece (Mother of Runes, Swan Song) in interactive metas.

Key Tips:

• Use The Great Henge to offset high-CMC costs and maintain card flow.
• Alchemist's Refuge enables surprise Koma, World-Eater or Moonshaker Cavalry casts.
• Finale of Devastation can tutor Vorinclex for immediate counter doubling or serve as a finisher with X=10+.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Relies heavily on Helga’s presence for acceleration; repeated removal cripples mana generation.
• Cursed Totem/Linvala, Keeper of Silence shuts down dorks, Helga’s tap ability, and Vannifar.

Moderate

• Board wipes (e.g., Damning Verdict) disrupt counter synergies; recovery relies on limited recursion.
• Struggles against fast combo decks due to moderate interaction density.

Minor

• Deafening Silence and Stony Silence may hinder the deck’s own noncreature spells.
• High-CMC creature density risks "stompy" clunkiness if ramp is disrupted.

Most Important Cards:

• Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider (Doubles counters for explosive Ascendancy/combat wins)
• Prime Speaker Vannifar (Tutor chain into game-ending creatures)
• The Great Henge (Card draw, cost reduction, and counter generation)
• Simic Ascendancy (Alternate win condition with counter synergy)
• Finale of Devastation (Tutor + finisher in one)
• Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx (Mana explosion for high-CMC plays)
• Moonshaker Cavalry (Combat finisher with flying/trample)
• Teferi's Protection (Board wipe protection)
• Hardened Scales (Amplifies counter strategies)
• Koma, World-Eater (Self-replicating threat)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Capable of T6-7 wins via Vorinclex-enhanced Simic Ascendancy, Moonshaker Cavalry, or Vannifar chains, supported by explosive ramp.

Resilience: 5/10

• Multiple protection spells and recursion mitigate disruption, but overreliance on Helga and key permanents leaves vulnerabilities.

Consistency: 7/10

• Strong tutor suite (Finale, Prime Speaker Vannifar) and card draw (Helga, The Great Henge) ensure access to key pieces.

Interaction: 6/10

• Efficient removal (Swords to Plowshares, Bant Charm) and counterspells (Force of Will, Dovin's Veto), but lacks graveyard/artifact hate beyond Knight of Autumn.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at a 6.0 - 6.5 power level, capable of T6-7 wins through combat or combo with robust ramp and tutors. While interaction and resilience are above precon levels, its reliance on commander-centric strategies and vulnerability to stax keep it below cEDH viability.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5