Overview:

This Reyhan/Ishai deck is a synergistic +1/+1 counters strategy with explosive growth potential and multiple combo lines. While lacking cEDH-level speed, it features strong redundancy in counter manipulation and protection, operating as a focused midrange build with stax resistance and multiple win paths.

Primer:

Core Strategy: Build an overwhelming board of modified creatures through counter synergies, using Reyhan's death resilience and Ishai's passive growth. Win via combat (evasion enablers like Herald of Secret Streams), infinite turns (Sage of Hours), or direct damage (Walking Ballista). Three-phase plan:

1. Counter Generation (Turns 1-4): Deploy accelerants (Incubation Druid, Rishkar) and counter engines (Brokers Ascendancy, Forgotten Ancient). Protect with Lightning Greaves.
2. Synergy Amplification (Turns 5-7): Resolve doublers (Doubling Season, Branching Evolution) and value engines (The Great Henge). Use Bioshift and Ozolith to redistribute counters.
3. Win Conversion: Either alpha strike with unblockable creatures, chain extra turns via Sage of Hours, or Ballista ping with counter stockpiles.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3 lands + 2 accelerants/card engines
• Prioritize T2-3 plays enabling T4 commander deployment
• Reject hands lacking counter generation or protection

Key Tips:

• Use Reyhan's trigger politically - move counters pre-removal
• Time Deepglow Skate after counter doublers for exponential growth
• Isochron Scepter imprinting Bioshift enables surprise lethal

Avoid Traps:

• Overextending before establishing counter protection
• Wasting tutors on non-combo pieces in high-interaction pods
• Keeping Ishai unprotected against spell-heavy opponents

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Solemnity/The One Ring shuts off counter strategies
• No graveyard recursion for key enchantments

Moderate:

• Board wipes requiring multiple protection spells
• Limited instant-speed interaction for resolved threats

Minor:

• Color-intensive mana base weak to Blood Moon
• Slow starts against hyper-aggressive decks

Most Important Cards:

• Doubling Season
• Sage of Hours
• The Ozolith
• Deepglow Skate
• Branching Evolution
• Walking Ballista
• Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider
• Simic Ascendancy
• Defense of the Heart
• Kami of Whispered Hopes

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10
T5-6 deterministic wins via Sage of Hours combo or Ballista. T4 possible with perfect ramp into Defense of the Heart fetching doublers.

Resilience: 6/10
Multiple counter redistribution effects and protection spells (Heroic Intervention, Teferi's Protection). Struggles against layered stax.

Consistency: 7/10
10 tutors for combo pieces + 15+ card draw engines. Demonic Tutor and Enlightened Tutor provide critical redundancy.

Interaction: 6/10
Mix of free (Force of Will) and efficient interaction (Swords to Plowshares). Lacks stack control for back-to-back threats.

Rating Justification:

Outperforms optimized casual (5.5) through combo potential and free interaction, but lacks cEDH speed/tutors. Comparable to focused T7-8 decks with stax resistance (6.0-6.5). Falls short of optimized (7.0+) due to mana curve and finite protection.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5