Overview:

This mono-black deck helmed by Maha, Its Feathers Night focuses on a -1/-1 counter synergy and global toughness reduction strategy. Maha's ability to set opponents' creatures to base toughness 1 amplifies the effectiveness of cards like Night of Souls' Betrayal and Kaervek, the Spiteful, enabling mass creature elimination. The deck aims to control the board through attrition, drain effects, and reanimation of weakened creatures via Necroskitter or Gisa, Glorious Resurrector, while leveraging black's mana-doubling staples (Cabal Coffers, Crypt Ghast) to fuel finishers like Massacre Wurm or a Tree of Perdition life-swap combo. Maha acts as both an enabler (softening threats) and a trampling finisher, though the deck can function without it.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Deploy mana accelerants (Sol Ring, Crypt Ghast, Jet Medallion), establish card advantage engines (Necropotence, Phyrexian Arena), and drop early control tools (Caltrops, Pestilence).
2. Midgame Domination (Turns 5-7): Resolve key toughness reducers (Night of Souls' Betrayal, Kaervek, the Spiteful) or Grave Pact to lock the board. Use Toxic Deluge/Massacre to clear threats while enabling Necroskitter steals. Activate Cabal Coffers/Nirkana Revenant for explosive mana.
3. Win Conditions:
   • Combat: Swing with Maha (6/5 trample) or stolen creatures enhanced by Eternal Thirst/Slaughter Specialist.
   • Life Manipulation: Tree of Perdition + toughness reducers (e.g., Night of Souls' Betrayal sets opponents' life to 1) or Consuming Corruption for lethal.
   • Attrition: Massacre Wurm/Plague Spitter pings combined with Dread Presence drain.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3+ lands, including at least one Swamp.
• Prioritize early ramp (Sol Ring, Charcoal Diamond) or a critical mass of 3-4 CMC control pieces (Morbid Opportunist, Night Clubber).
• Avoid hands without removal or mana acceleration.

Key Tips:

• Use Helm of Awakening to discount Maha's ward cost and enable faster plays.
• Contamination locks opponents out of colored mana once your Swamp-based ramp is established.
• Sacrifice Maha to Grave Pact triggers (via Feign Death recursion) to maintain board control.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Commander Dependency: Maha's toughness reduction is pivotal; repeated removal forces costly recasts (ward: discard).
• Artifact/Enchantment Overload: Key pieces (Night of Souls' Betrayal, Cabal Coffers) are vulnerable to Boseiju, Who Endures-style effects.

Moderate

• Slow Start: High CMC density (e.g., Avatar of Woe, Caged Sun) risks being outpaced by aggressive decks.
• Graveyard Reliance: Gisa, Glorious Resurrector/Oversold Cemetery fold to Rest in Peace.

Minor

• Life Loss: Necropotence, Black Market Connections, and Consuming Corruption strain life totals.
• Flyer Weakness: Limited reach to block aerial threats if Maha, Its Feathers Night is unavailable.

Most Important Cards:

• Night of Souls' Betrayal (Global -1/-1 enabling Maha's strategy)
• Cabal Coffers (Mana scaling for late-game dominance)
• Necropotence (Unmatched card advantage engine)
• Massacre Wurm (Board control + life drain)
• Tree of Perdition (Life-swap combo enabler)
• Grave Pact (Creature lockdown)
• Toxic Deluge (Flexible board wipe)
• Crypt Ghast (Mana doubling)
• Necroskitter (Creature theft synergy)
• Contamination (Mana denial stax)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Threatens wins via attrition or Tree of Perdition around T8-10, but requires significant setup.

Resilience: 6/10

• Recursion (Feign Death, Oversold Cemetery) and protection (Lightning Greaves) mitigate losses, but commander reliance is a liability.

Consistency: 5/10

• Limited tutors outside Liliana of the Dark Realms; relies on draw engines to find key pieces.

Interaction: 7/10

• Strong removal suite (Feed the Swarm, Withering Boon, Tragic Slip) and stax elements (Contamination).

Rating Justification:

This deck executes a focused attrition strategy with potent late-game locks and combos, typically threatening wins around T8-10. While resilient against creature strategies, its dependency on Maha and slow setup cap its ceiling.

Power level: 5.0 - 5.5