Overview:

This UB Rat tribal/exile control deck leverages Vren's ability to generate an army of growing Rat tokens by forcing opponent creature deaths. It combines sacrifice effects, board wipes, and Rat synergies to overwhelm through exponential token growth, supported by card draw from tribal payoffs. While focused, it lacks combo finishers and relies heavily on commander presence.

Primer:

Core Strategy:
The deck aims to control the board through forced sacrifices (Plaguecrafter, Extract a Confession) and asymmetrical wipes (Malicious Eclipse, Blood on the Snow), exiling opponents' creatures via Vren to generate Rat tokens. These tokens scale exponentially with tribal boosters like Metallic Mimic and Banner of Kinship, while card engines like Kindred Discovery and Bident of Thassa maintain momentum. Key turns involve establishing Vren, clearing opposing boards, then swinging with a lethal Rat army.

Mulligan Priorities:

• 3 lands (UB sources preferred)
• 1-2 early interaction/sacrifice effects (Bone Splinters, Reave Soul)
• Tribal enablers (Karumonix, Metallic Mimic) or card draw
  Reject hands without early plays or color fixing.

Key Tips:

• Time wipes post-Vren deployment for maximum token generation
• Use Shore Up/Bladed Battle-Fan to protect Vren during critical turns
• Consuming Tide resets opponents while preserving your scaled Rat army
• Zulaport Cutthroat converts token deaths into reach

Avoid Traps:

• Overextending Rats before establishing anthem effects
• Wasting exile removal on non-threatening creatures
• Letting Vren stay removed - prioritize recursion like Raise the Draugr

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Heavy commander reliance (3+ removals cripple strategy)
• No infinite/mana-cheat wincons

Moderate:

• Vulnerable to enchantment-based stax (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void)
• Limited graveyard recursion for key pieces

Minor:

• Basic-heavy mana base weak to Blood Moon
• Slow rebuild after board wipes

Most Important Cards:

• Kindred Discovery
• Metallic Mimic
• Bident of Thassa
• Malicious Eclipse
• Blood on the Snow
• Karumonix, the Rat King
• Plaguecrafter
• Zulaport Cutthroat
• Consuming Tide
• Dimir Signet

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 4/10

• No fast mana/cheats. Requires T4 Vren + T5+ board setup. Realistic T8-10 wins.

Resilience: 5/10

• Moderate protection (4 counterspells, 2 hexproof sources). Fold to repeated Vren removal.

Consistency: 6/10

• 3 Rat tutors (Karumonix, Mudflat Village, Banner of Kinship), strong draw engines.

Interaction: 6/10

• 7 targeted removals, 3 board wipes, 4 counters. Lacks free interaction.

Rating Justification:

The deck operates at upgraded precon levels (rubric 4.0) with its focused tribal plan and moderate interaction, but lacks the speed (T8-10 wins) and redundancy of 5.0 decks. While stronger than casual builds in draw power, its commander dependency and absence of combos cap it at 4.0-4.5.

Power level: 4.0 - 4.5