Overview:

This Orzhov deck helmed by Liesa, Shroud of Dusk focuses on incremental life drain and stax effects, leveraging opponents' spellcasting to whittle down life totals. The strategy combines aristocrats-style creature sacrifice (Zulaport Cutthroat, Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim), lifegain synergies (Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose, Sanguine Bond), and big mana finishers like Exsanguinate. Liesa serves as both a persistent damage engine and a resilient lifelink threat, while stax pieces like Blind Obedience and Archon of Emeria slow opponents. The deck can pivot between attrition-based wins and explosive turns with X-spells or Gray Merchant of Asphodel devotion plays.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Deploy stax/ramp (Authority of the Consuls, Orzhov Signet), life-drain enablers (Suture Priest), and value engines (Phyrexian Arena). Use K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth to cheat mana costs.
2. Midgame Pressure (Turns 5-7): Cast Liesa to amplify spell-tax damage. Activate combo lines using Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose + Exsanguinate or Sanguine Bond + Wound Reflection. Recur key pieces with Celestine, the Living Saint or Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord.
3. Endgame (Turns 8+): Close with Debt to the Deathless, Torment of Hailfire, or a fully powered Gray Merchant of Asphodel. Use Yawgmoth, Thran Physician to control boards while drawing into wincons.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands and early interaction/stax (Authority of the Consuls, Swords to Plowshares).
• Prioritize enablers like Elas il-Kor or Kambal, Consul of Allocation over high-CMC bombs.
• Avoid hands lacking black mana sources or early plays.

Key Tips:

• Use Tainted Remedy to turn opponents' lifegain into direct damage.
• Pair Pitiless Plunderer with sacrifice outlets for explosive mana.
• Wound Reflection doubles all life loss at end step - combine with Liesa's triggers or Kambal, Consul of Allocation for massive damage.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Heavy reliance on 4-5 key enchantments (Sanguine Bond, Wound Reflection) with limited protection.
• Struggles against fast combo decks due to slow setup and minimal stack interaction.

Moderate

• Vulnerable to mass enchantment removal (Cleansing Nova) wiping multiple wincons.
• Life payment from K'rrik/Liesa recasts can become dangerous against aggressive decks.

Minor

• Limited graveyard recursion for non-creature permanents.
• Some anti-synergy between lifegain triggers and Tainted Remedy.

Most Important Cards:

• Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose (Life-to-damage conversion engine)
• Sanguine Bond (Primary damage amplifier)
• Gray Merchant of Asphodel (Devition-based nuke)
• Yawgmoth, Thran Physician (Sac outlet, draw engine, board control)
• K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth (Mana cheat enabler)
• Exsanguinate (Scalable finisher)
• Wound Reflection (Damage doubler)
• Archon of Emeria (Stax piece)
• Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (Consistent life drain)
• Blind Obedience (Speed control + extort)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Can threaten wins via X-spells or combos around T8-10, but requires significant setup.

Resilience: 6/10

• Multiple recursion engines (Celestine, Sorin) but over-reliant on fragile enchantments.

Consistency: 6/10

• Moderate tutor density (Demonic Tutor missing) but strong card draw in black.

Interaction: 7/10

• Robust removal suite (Vindicate, Despark) but lacks counterspells for protection.

Rating Justification:

This deck demonstrates focused casual play with T8-10 win potential through scalable drain effects and stax disruption, but its reliance on unprotected enchantments and moderate speed cap its power. The balance between resilience and threat density aligns with upgraded precon+ levels.

Power level: 4.5 - 5.0