Overview:

This mono-black deck leverages Vincent Valentine as a resilient commander in an aristocrats/sacrifice strategy. The core plan forces opponents to sacrifice creatures repeatedly using cards like Fleshbag Marauder, Grave Pact, and Braids, Arisen Nightmare, triggering Vincent's +1/+1 counter ability and draining life via Blood Artist effects. Vincent transforms into Galian Beast when attacking, gaining trample/lifelink and recurring itself upon death. The deck wins through attrition, commander damage with a massive Vincent, or life-drain synergies. Vincent acts as both payoff and engine, while cards like The Darkness Crystal and Sheoldred, Whispering One provide value from opponent deaths.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Deploy mana rocks (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Jet Medallion) and value engines like Ophiomancer or Morbid Opportunist. Cast early edicts (Innocent Blood, Demon's Disciple) to disrupt opponents and grow Vincent. Prioritize casting Vincent by turn 3-4.
2. Mid-Game Sacrifice Engine (Turns 4-7): Resolve key sacrifice outlets/enablers like Grave Pact, Braids, Arisen Nightmare, or The Meathook Massacre. Chain sacrifice effects (Plaguecrafter, Fleshbag Marauder) to grow Vincent rapidly and drain opponents. Use Reanimate/Will of the Abzan to recur key pieces.
3. Win Condition Execution (Turns 6-8+):
   • Commander Damage: Attack with a 10+ power Vincent/Galian Beast, using Rogue's Passage or Shizo, Death's Storehouse for evasion. Tarrian's Soulcleaver and The Ozolith amplify counters.
   • Life Drain: Leverage Blood Artist, The Meathook Massacre, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, and Zodiark, Umbral God to drain the table.
   • Overwhelm: Resolve Massacre Wurm or Archfiend of Depravity after multiple sacrifices to cripple opponents' boards.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands, including at least one black source.
• Prioritize early ramp (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Charcoal Diamond) or a turn 1-2 sacrifice effect (Innocent Blood).
• Look for Vincent + protection (Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots) or a key engine (Grave Pact, Black Market Connections).
• Avoid hands lacking early plays or sacrifice payoffs.

Key Tips:

• Protect Vincent: Equip Commander's Plate or Mithril Coat immediately to deter removal. Galian Beast's recursion mitigates commander tax.
• Sequence Sacrifices: Cast Vincent before sac effects to ensure he gets counters. Time Braids/edicts after opponents commit to boards.
• Maximize Value: Use The Darkness Crystal to exile opponents' dying creatures and reanimate them later. Black Market scales with creature deaths for explosive mana.
• Leverage Card Draw: Black Market Connections, Sign in Blood, and Morbid Opportunist refuel your hand. Sacrifice Vincent to Braids if needed to draw.
• Politics: Target opponents with fewer creatures/recursion with edicts. Use Imp's Mischief to redirect threats.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Board Wipes: Toxic Deluge and Damnation effects cripple creature-based engines and reset Vincent's counters. Limited recursion beyond Galian Beast.
• Enchantment Removal: Grave Pact, Black Market, and No Mercy are essential but vulnerable to Nature's Claim/Disenchant.
• Graveyard Hate: Rest in Peace/Leyline of the Void shuts off recursion (Reanimate, Sheoldred, Will of the Abzan).

Moderate

• Go-Wide Strategies: Tokens or decks that flood the board minimize edict impact and outpace life drain.
• Combo Decks: Limited stack interaction (only Imp's Mischief) struggles against fast non-creature wins.
• Artifact Hate: Destroys mana rocks and key equipment (Lightning Greaves, Tarrian's Soulcleaver).

Minor

• Life Total Pressure: Aggro decks can exploit the life loss from cards like Feed the Swarm or Black Market Connections.
• Tax Effects: Sphere of Resistance/Thalia, Guardian of Thraben slow down the deck's setup.

Most Important Cards:

• Grave Pact (Forces mass sacrifices, synergizes with Vincent)
• Braids, Arisen Nightmare (Sacrifice outlet, card draw, and life loss)
• The Meathook Massacre (Board control, life drain, and lifegain)
• Blood Artist (Primary life-drain payoff)
• Ophiomancer (Guaranteed sacrifice fodder every turn)
• Reanimate (Recurs key creatures like Gray Merchant or Archfiend)
• Black Market Connections (Card draw, tokens, and ramp)
• Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth + Cabal Coffers (Mana amplification for big spells)
• Demonic Tutor (Finds critical pieces)
• Gray Merchant of Asphodel (Game-ending life swing)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can threaten wins via commander damage or life drain around turns 6-8, but relies on setup and opponent boards. Fast mana enables explosive starts, but win conditions are incremental.

Resilience: 7/10

• Vincent's built-in recursion and protection equipment provide durability. Multiple sacrifice engines and card draw mitigate setbacks, but board wipes remain a critical weakness.

Consistency: 7/10

• High redundancy in sacrifice effects and drain payoffs. Tutors (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor) and card draw ensure access to key pieces, though reliant on opponents having creatures.

Interaction: 5/10

• Strong creature removal (Infernal Grasp, Go for the Throat, edicts) and board wipes (Toxic Deluge). Lacks stack interaction beyond Imp's Mischief and struggles with non-creature permanents.

Rating Justification:

This deck executes a focused aristocrats strategy with strong synergy, leveraging Vincent's resilience and sacrifice triggers to pressure opponents by turn 6-8. While consistent and resilient against targeted removal, its reliance on opponents' boards and vulnerability to wipes/hate caps its speed below optimized tiers.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5