Overview:

This Golgari graveyard deck leverages Winter, Cynical Opportunist to enable a self-mill and delirium strategy, aiming to cheat out high-impact permanents via Winter’s end-step trigger. The deck focuses on filling the graveyard with diverse card types to activate delirium, then reanimating threats like Archon of Cruelty, Avenger of Zendikar, and Lord of Extinction. Winter acts as the linchpin, providing recurring reanimation, while secondary engines like Old Stickfingers, Syr Konrad, the Grim, and Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord offer redundancy and alternative win angles through graveyard synergy.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4):
   • Mill aggressively with Stitcher's Supplier, Satyr Wayfinder, Grisly Salvage, and Nyx Weaver.
   • Ramp with Sol Ring, Sakura-Tribe Elder, and Culling Ritual (which also clears small threats).
   • Cast Winter by turn 4 to begin exiling 4+ card types from the graveyard.

2. Mid-Game Value (Turns 5-7):

   • Activate Winter’s delirium trigger to cheat out bombs like Archon of Cruelty or Massacre Wurm.
   • Use Buried Alive and Reanimate/Dread Return for targeted reanimation.
   • Leverage Syr Konrad, the Grim for incremental damage and Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord for explosive life loss.

3. Win Conditions (Turns 7-10+):

   • Overwhelm with reanimated threats (e.g., Giant Adephage tokens, Avenger of Zendikar plants).
   • Drain opponents via Syr Konrad triggers or Lotleth Giant’s undergrowth.
   • Use Lord of Extinction + Jarad’s sacrifice ability for a one-shot kill.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Prioritize hands with early mill (Stitcher's Supplier, Grisly Salvage), ramp (Sol Ring, Sakura-Tribe Elder), and a path to cast Winter.
• Avoid hands lacking graveyard setup or with only high-CMC cards.

Key Tips:

• Time Winter’s attack triggers to mill strategically, avoiding over-milling key combo pieces.
• Use Nesting Grounds to remove finality counters from reanimated permanents.
• Shigeki, Jukai Visionary and Eternal Witness provide recursion if Winter is disrupted.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Graveyard hate (e.g., Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) completely shuts down the deck’s engine.
• Commander dependency: Winter’s removal stalls the primary reanimation plan.

Moderate

• Board wipes reset progress, and the deck lacks mass recursion outside Deadbridge Chant.
• Slow setup: Without early mill/ramp, the deck struggles to pressure opponents before T7+.

Minor

• Limited stack interaction (only Putrefy, Haywire Mite, and situational removal).
• Vulnerability to artifact/enchantment removal targeting key pieces like Whip of Erebos.

Most Important Cards:

• Winter, Cynical Opportunist (Primary reanimation engine)
• Archon of Cruelty (Recurring value and life drain)
• Buried Alive (Tutors win conditions into the graveyard)
• Syr Konrad, the Grim (Passive damage and graveyard synergy)
• Lord of Extinction (Massive threat + Jarad combo piece)
• Culling Ritual (Ramp and board control)
• Old Stickfingers (Self-mill and graveyard setup)
• Reanimate (Efficient reanimation)
• Avenger of Zendikar (Board flood and landfall synergy)
• Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Alternate win condition)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Threatens wins via reanimation or combat around T7-10, but lacks fast mana or compact combos to accelerate.

Resilience: 4/10

• Graveyard reliance makes it fragile to hate, though Shigeki and Eternal Witness offer limited recovery.

Consistency: 6/10

• Strong self-mill and tutors (Buried Alive, Grisly Salvage) ensure graveyard setup, but no redundancy for Winter’s ability.

Interaction: 5/10

• Targeted removal (Putrefy, Culling Ritual) and some board wipes, but minimal stack interaction or protection.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates as a focused graveyard strategy with a T7-10 win clock, leveraging consistent self-mill and reanimation. However, its critical vulnerability to graveyard hate and reliance on Winter’s survival cap its resilience, placing it in the optimized casual tier.

Power level: 5.0 - 5.5