Overview:

This Dimir Assassin tribal deck leverages Ezio Auditore da Firenze's freerunning mechanic to cast Assassins at reduced costs after dealing combat damage. The primary strategy involves deploying evasive Assassins to enable freerunning, generate value through combat damage triggers (draw, tokens, recursion), and win via incremental damage, commander damage, or Sorin Markov/Ezio's life-total manipulation combo. Ezio serves as both an enabler (freerunning cost reduction) and a finisher (insta-kill ability), but the deck relies heavily on maintaining Assassin board presence.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Evasion & Setup (Turns 1-4): Play low-cost Assassins like Desmond Miles, Assassin Initiate, or Hookblade Veteran with evasion (flying, menace, unblockable). Use Propaganda for defense and Sol Ring/Arcane Signet for ramp. Prioritize connecting combat damage to enable freerunning.
2. Mid-Game Value & Freerunning (Turns 4-7): Cast discounted Assassins like Brotherhood Ambushers or Merciless Harlequin using freerunning. Deploy key engines: Rooftop Bypass (token generation), Ezio, Blade of Vengeance (card draw), Lydia Frye (surveil), and Roshan, Hidden Magister (face-up synergy). Protect Ezio with equipment like Assassin Gauntlet or Helm of the Host.
3. Win Condition Execution (Turns 7+):
   • Combat/Commander Damage: Overwhelm with Assassin tokens and buffs (Barrensteppe Siege, Poison-Blade Mentor). Use Rogue's Passage to make Ezio unblockable for lethal commander damage or enable his insta-kill.
   • Life Total Manipulation: Use Sorin Markov's -3 to set an opponent to 10 life, then activate Ezio's ability ({W}{U}{B}{R}{G}) to kill them. Recur Sorin with Restart Sequence if needed.
   • Helm of the Host: Equip to Ezio to create non-legendary copies, enabling multiple combat damage triggers and freerunning discounts per turn.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands (including color sources) and at least 1-2 early Assassins with evasion.
• Prioritize hands containing freerunning enablers (e.g., Hookblade Veteran, Departed Deckhand) or key engines (Rooftop Bypass, Ezio, Blade of Vengeance).
• Include interaction (Negate, Diabolic Edict) or ramp (Sol Ring) if available.
• Avoid hands lacking early creatures, freerunning enablers, or sufficient mana.

Key Tips:

• Maximize Freerunning: Sequence attacks to ensure combat damage triggers before casting Assassins. Use Departed Deckhand's ability to grant unblockability to key attackers.
• Protect Ezio: Equip Assassin Gauntlet or Helm of the Host early. Save counterspells (Negate, Cancel) for removal targeting Ezio or key engines.
• Leverage Face-Down Synergy: Roshan, Hidden Magister turns all creatures into Assassins and provides card draw when flipping face-down cards like Ruthless Ripper or Arno Dorian.
• Combo Setup: Use tutors (Diabolic Intent, Demonic Bargain) to find Sorin Markov or Helm of the Host. Reduce opponents to 10 life with combat damage before activating Sorin's -3 into Ezio's ability.
• Recursion & Value: Recur key Assassins or Sorin with Restart Sequence or The Revelations of Ezio (Saga III). Use Siren's Ruse to protect creatures and draw with Pirates.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Severe vulnerability to board wipes: Lacks mass recursion or protection (e.g., Heroic Intervention). Wipes cripple the Assassin-dependent strategy and freerunning engine.
• Graveyard hate disrupts recursion: Restart Sequence, The Revelations of Ezio, and freerunning from the graveyard (via Roshan) are disabled by common hate like Rest in Peace.
• Mana base fragility: Heavy reliance on tapped lands (e.g., Submerged Boneyard, Scoured Barrens) slows early plays, delaying critical combat damage triggers.

Moderate

• Targeted removal on key engines: Losing Ezio, Blade of Vengeance, Rooftop Bypass, or Roshan, Hidden Magister significantly reduces value generation.
• Limited stack interaction: Counterspells are inefficient (Cancel, Bone to Ash) and lack versatility against resolved threats outside of spot removal.
• Anti-evasion effects: Crawlspace or Silent Arbiter nullifies the deck's primary combat damage strategy.

Minor

• Life-total combo fragility: Sorin Markov is vulnerable to removal, and the combo requires significant mana ({W}{U}{B}{R}{G} + Sorin's -3) and setup.
• Artifact/Enchantment reliance: Key pieces like Helm of the Host and Propaganda are susceptible to targeted removal.

Most Important Cards:

• Ezio, Blade of Vengeance (Primary card draw engine)
• Helm of the Host (Win condition via Ezio cloning/combo enabler)
• Rooftop Bypass (Token generation and board presence)
• Sorin Markov (Combo piece for Ezio's insta-kill)
• Roshan, Hidden Magister (Synergy enabler, card draw, tribal consistency)
• Diabolic Intent (Tutor for win conditions/key pieces)
• Rogue's Passage (Ensures combat damage/unblockable for Ezio)
• Restart Sequence (Recurs key Assassins/Sorin)
• Propaganda (Essential defense for slow setup)
• Barrensteppe Siege (Buff for Assassin tokens/board control)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Wins primarily via combat around turns 9-11. The Sorin/Ezio combo requires significant setup and mana, rarely winning before turn 8 even optimally.

Resilience: 4/10

• Weak recovery from board wipes; relies on limited recursion. Some protection for Ezio via equipment, but minimal safeguards for other engines. Freerunning provides redundancy only if combat damage connects.

Consistency: 6/10

• Multiple Assassins enable freerunning, and tutors (Diabolic Intent, Demonic Bargain) can find key pieces. Card draw (Ezio, Blade of Vengeance, Merciless Harlequin) and surveil (Lydia Frye) help dig, but tapped lands hinder early consistency.

Interaction: 4/10

• Spot removal (Murder, Chain Assassination) and counterspells (Negate, Cancel) are present but inefficient and lack versatility. No board wipes or graveyard interaction.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at a Casual/Focused Casual level, aiming for wins via combat or a slow, fragile combo around turns 9-11. While tutors and card draw provide some consistency, its critical vulnerability to board wipes and slow mana base prevent faster execution. Resilience is low due to poor recovery options.

Power level: 4.0 - 4.5