Overview:

Meria, Scholar of Antiquity pilots an artifact-stax deck leveraging low-cost artifacts to fuel her mana/card advantage engine. The strategy combines resource denial (Winter Orb, Static Orb), artifact synergy payoffs (Hellkite Tyrant, Ghirapur Aether Grid), and stax-powered attrition wins. While lacking infinite combos, it can lock opponents out of meaningful gameplay by T5-7 through overlapping stax pieces and artifact synergies.

Primer:

Core Strategy:
Deploy cheap artifacts (Ornithopter, Memnite) to activate Meria's mana generation and impulse draw. Use cost reducers (Foundry Inspector, Cloud Key) to flood the board with artifacts, enabling stax locks (Winter Orb + Unwinding Clock) and wincons like Hellkite Tyrant/Mycosynth Lattice. Key phases:

1. Early Setup (T1-3): Play 0-2 mana artifacts to fuel Meria, establish cost reduction, and deploy early stax (Sphere of Resistance).
2. Midgame Lock (T4-6): Assemble overlapping stax (Static Orb + Trinisphere) while developing value engines (Mystic Forge, Unwinding Clock).
3. Closing: Overwhelm with artifact synergies (Reckless Fireweaver pings), steal permanents via Hellkite Tyrant, or lock opponents out completely with Karn + Mycosynth Lattice.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2+ early artifacts and at least 2 lands.
• Prioritize cost reducers over high-CMC stax in opening hands.
• Avoid hands without colored mana sources or artifact density.

Key Tips:

• Use Meria's impulse draw to bypass stax-induced card disadvantage.
• Time Winter Orb/Static Orb deployment after establishing artifact untappers (Unwinding Clock).
• Karn fetches Mycosynth Lattice from sideboard for hard locks.
• Hellkite Tyrant becomes a 1-card wincon with 20+ artifacts.

Avoid Traps:

• Overextending into mass artifact removal without recursion.
• Casting high-CMC stax pieces before establishing mana base.
• Forgetting Meria's green mana generation enables color-intensive spells.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Foldsto early artifact wipes (Vandalblast, Bane of Progress)
• No wincon redundancy if Hellkite Tyrant/Mycosynth are exiled

Moderate:

• Vulnerable to land hate (Blood Moon affects 14 nonbasics)
• Slow recovery from commander tax on Meria

Minor:

• Limited stack interaction (only Tibalt's Trickery/Endurance)

Most Important Cards:

• Winter Orb
• Mycosynth Lattice
• Hellkite Tyrant
• Unwinding Clock
• Trinisphere
• Karn, the Great Creator
• Foundry Inspector
• Static Orb
• Mystic Forge
• Sphere of Resistance

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10
Can establish soft locks by T4 (Winter Orb + artifact untappers) but lacks T3 kills. Primary wincons require 6+ mana (Hellkite Tyrant) or incremental damage.

Resilience: 5/10
Moderate recursion (Buried Ruin, Pia's Revolution) but overrelies on artifacts remaining on board. Dies to T3 Austere Command with limited recovery.

Consistency: 7/10
12 cost reducers/ramp artifacts and 4 tutors (Inventors' Fair, Reckless Handling) enable reliable stax deployment. Meria's impulse draw mitigates stax symmetry.

Interaction: 4/10
Limited removal (Abrade, Beast Within) and only 2 counterspells. Relies on stax to preempt threats rather than answer them.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at high-casual/low-optimized levels (5.5-6.0):

• Faster than precon-level decks with T5-7 locks
• Less resilient than cEDH stax with critical vulnerabilities
• Matches "Focused" tier (T7-8 wins) but lacks free interaction
• Outpaces 5.0 decks via stax but can't race true combo

Power level: 5.5 - 6.0