Overview:

This Bruna, the Fading Light deck is a mono-white Angel tribal build focused on lifegain synergies and incremental value through recursive threats. The strategy revolves around deploying high-cost Angels with cost reducers like Giada, Font of Hope and Urza's Incubator, leveraging lifegain payoffs like Archangel of Thune and Righteous Valkyrie, and attempting to meld Bruna with Gisela, the Broken Blade for a late-game finisher. While lacking infinite combos, it aims to overwhelm opponents through board presence and synergistic triggers.

Primer:

Core Strategy: The deck seeks to establish an Angel army through cost reduction and recursion while generating value from lifegain triggers. Key phases include:

1. Early Setup: Use mana rocks (Sol Ring, Marble Diamond) and land-based ramp (Sword of the Animist) to accelerate into Angels. Starnheim Aspirant and Pearl Medallion help reduce casting costs.
2. Midgame Value: Deploy Angels with lifegain synergies (Bishop of Wings, Shattered Angel) and recursion tools (Emeria Shepherd, Bruna's ETB). Vanquisher's Banner and Well of Lost Dreams provide card advantage.
3. Late-Game Closers: Activate meld with Gisela for Brisela, use Angel of Destiny's alt-win condition, or overwhelm with flying threats boosted by Archangel of Thune counters.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3+ lands and at least one ramp piece (Sol Ring, Mind Stone).
• Prioritize cost reducers (Giada, Urza's Incubator) over high-CMC Angels.
• Avoid hands without early plays or lifegain enablers.

Key Tips:

• Protect key Angels with Swiftfoot Boots/Commander's Plate.
• Time Bruna casts to recur critical Angels like Emeria Shepherd.
• Use Seraph Sanctuary and Griffin Aerie to maximize lifegain triggers.

Avoid Traps:

• Overcommitting to the board before wipe protection (only Kindred Boon provides indestructible).
• Holding back Gisela without a plan to protect the meld.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• No protection against mass exile/Farewell-style wipes
• Relies on combat damage without alternate wincons

Moderate:

• Limited interaction (only 4 targeted removal spells)
• Slow recovery from early commander removal

Minor:

• Vulnerable to Blood Moon-like effects (minimal non-Plains lands)

Most Important Cards:

• Giada, Font of Hope
• Urza's Incubator
• Vanquisher's Banner
• Archangel of Thune
• Emeria Shepherd
• Righteous Valkyrie
• Angel of Destiny
• Bishop of Wings
• Starnheim Aspirant
• Pearl Medallion

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 4/10

• Requires 5+ turns to deploy meaningful threats. Fastest potential win (Angel beatdown) around T9-10.

Resilience: 3/10

• Limited protection for key pieces. Folds to 2+ removals on cost reducers/engine cards.

Consistency: 5/10

• Moderate tutor density (Search for Glory, Thalia's Lancers) but lacks redundancy for critical synergies.

Interaction: 3/10

• Only 4 targeted removals (Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares etc.) and 2 board wipes. No counterspells.

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between "Casual/Precon" (4.0) and "Focused Casual" (4.5) on the rubric. It has clear combat-focused wincons and some synergy optimization but lacks the speed (T9-11 wins vs T8-10 benchmark for 5.0) and interaction density of higher tiers. The absence of infinite combos and reliance on slow value accumulation place it below optimized casual builds.

Power level: 4.0 - 4.5