Overview:

A mono-black life payment strategy deck helmed by Vilis, Broker of Blood that aims to leverage life loss for card advantage and eventual victory through various life manipulation effects and powerful artifacts.

Primer:

The deck operates on a life-manipulation engine centered around Vilis, Broker of Blood's ability to draw cards whenever life is lost. The strategy involves setting up a robust mana base through artifacts and land-based acceleration, then deploying Vilis to begin converting life into card advantage. Key pieces like K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth and Bolas's Citadel enable massive card draw and spell casting while managing life totals.

The win conditions are diverse, including direct damage through life loss effects (Sanguine Bond, Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose), sudden life total manipulation (Repay in Kind), or overwhelming card advantage leading to resource superiority. The deck includes several protection pieces and can recover from setbacks through its strong card draw engine and artifact-based ramp package.

Weaknesses:

• Heavy reliance on the commander for card advantage makes the deck vulnerable to repeated removal
• Significant life payment costs can leave the player exposed to aggressive strategies
• Limited interaction with enchantments outside of Feed the Swarm
• Vulnerable to graveyard hate and artifact removal

Most Important Cards:

1. K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
2. Bolas's Citadel
3. Cabal Coffers
4. Sanguine Bond
5. Wound Reflection
6. Crypt Ghast
7. Whip of Erebos
8. Soul Conduit
9. Repay in Kind
10. Toxic Deluge

Attribute Ratings:

• Speed: 6/10
• Resilience: 7/10
• Consistency: 7/10
• Interaction: 6/10

Rating Justification:

This deck sits comfortably in the 6.0-6.5 range due to its ability to consistently execute its strategy around turns 7-8 while maintaining interaction through removal and life manipulation effects. While it includes powerful cards and synergies, it lacks the explosive fast mana and consistent early game threats of higher-powered decks. The deck's reliance on its commander and vulnerability to certain forms of interaction prevents it from reaching higher power levels.

Final power level rating: 6.0 - 6.5

The deck demonstrates a focused strategy with strong synergies and the ability to recover from setbacks, but its speed and interaction suite place it below the truly competitive threshold. It can present serious threats and generate significant advantage, but typically needs several turns to establish its engine and close out games.