Overview:

This Naya (RGW) Equipment Voltron deck leverages Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER as its central card advantage engine and win condition. The strategy focuses on deploying Equipment efficiently via cards like Sigarda's Aid, Puresteel Paladin, and tutors (Stonehewer Giant, Steelshaper's Gift), attaching them to Cloud or other creatures to trigger his attack trigger. Drawing multiple cards per turn fuels the game plan, while Treasures generated by Cloud (when power ≥7) or cards like Professional Face-Breaker accelerate mana. Secondary threats like Sephiroth, Fallen Hero and Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms provide redundancy. Cloud is essential as the primary draw engine and a potent attacker; his 4 CMC is reasonable, but recasting after removal can be costly without Treasures.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Setup (Turns 1-3): Play mana sources (dorks, rocks, land ramp like Rampant Growth). Prioritize enablers like Sigarda's Aid, Puresteel Paladin, or Weapons Vendor. Deploy cheap Equipment (Basilisk Collar, Beamtown Beatstick) or value creatures (Esper Sentinel, Kodama of the West Tree).
2. Deploy Commander & Equip (Turns 3-5): Cast Cloud, ideally attaching Equipment immediately via ETB trigger or enablers. Protect him with Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, or Protection Magic. Attack ASAP to start drawing cards. Use tutors to find key Equipment like Embercleave, Blackblade Reforged, or The Masamune.
3. Overwhelm & Win (Turns 5-8): Leverage Cloud's draw to flood the board. Equip Cloud to reach 7+ power for Treasure generation. Win via:
   • Commander Damage: Boost Cloud's power significantly (Blackblade Reforged, Wrecking Ball Arm, Tifa's Limit Break) and grant evasion (Rogue's Passage). 21 commander damage is achievable quickly.
   • Combat Overkill: Use mass buffs (Sephiroth, Fallen Hero, Windcrag Siege (Mardu mode), Tifa's Limit Break) on modified creatures. Craterhoof Behemoth-like effects are absent, relying on raw power/trample.
   • Value Advantage: Sustain card draw (Cloud, Greater Good, Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar) and mana (Treasures) to out-resource opponents.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Essential: 3 lands (including R/G/W sources), 1-2 early plays (ramp, Sigarda's Aid, Puresteel Paladin, cheap Equipment).
• Strong: Cloud + protection (Greaves), tutor (Stonehewer Giant, Steelshaper's Gift), card advantage engine (Esper Sentinel).
• Avoid: Hands lacking ramp/enablers, hands clogged with high-cost Equipment/creatures without setup, no colored sources.

Key Tips:

• Maximize Cloud Triggers: Attack every turn possible. Prioritize equipping multiple creatures before combat (via Sigarda's Aid, Raubahn, Bull of Ala Migho, Weapons Vendor) to maximize card draw.
• Protect Cloud: Hexproof/Shroud (Greaves/Boots) is critical. Hold protection spells (Flawless Maneuver, Ultimate Magic: Holy, Restoration Magic) if removal is expected.
• Leverage Treasures: Use Treasures from Cloud/Professional Face-Breaker/Captain Lannery Storm for commander tax, casting big spells (Gilgamesh, Aettir and Priwen), or activating Professional Face-Breaker's impulse draw.
• Recursion is Key: Use Red XIII, Proud Warrior and Sephiroth, Fallen Hero's Reunion ability to recur vital Equipment or threats from the graveyard.
• Exploit Synergies: Kodama of the West Tree provides ramp and evasion. Professor Hojo reduces equip costs significantly. Giott, King of the Dwarves offers card filtering.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Extreme Vulnerability to Board Wipes: Lacks mass recursion. Losing equipped creatures and Cloud simultaneously is devastating and hard to recover from.
• Artifact/Equipment Hate: Vandalblast, Bane of Progress, or Collector Ouphe cripple the core strategy by removing key Equipment and enablers.
• Commander Reliance: Cloud is the primary card draw. Repeated removal or Darksteel Mutation effects severely hamper the deck's engine.

Moderate

• Graveyard Hate: Disrupts Sephiroth, Fallen Hero's Reunion, Red XIII, Proud Warrior, and Laughing Mad flashback.
• Stack Interaction: Limited counterspells make resolving key spells (Cloud, big Equipment) vulnerable to counters. Relies on protection spells reactively.
• Evasive Threats: Struggles against flying/swarm boards without consistent trample sources beyond Kodama of the West Tree/Embercleave.

Minor

• Mana Base Inconsistency: Reliance on taplands (Jungle Shrine, Path of Ancestry) and painlands can slow early turns or cost life against aggro.
• Non-Bos: Windcrag Siege's Mardu mode conflicts with Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar's "opponents can't cast spells during your turn" ability.

Most Important Cards:

• Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER (Primary draw engine, win condition)
• Puresteel Paladin (Card draw on Equipment ETB, free equips)
• Sigarda's Aid (Flash equipping, free attach on ETB)
• Stonehewer Giant (Tutor and attach any Equipment)
• Blackblade Reforged (Massive power boost for Cloud/Commander Damage)
• Embercleave (Power boost, Double Strike, Trample, often cheap)
• Professional Face-Breaker (Treasure generation, card advantage)
• Lightning Greaves (Critical protection & haste for Cloud)
• Greater Good (Powerful card draw, sac outlet for big creatures)
• Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms (Cheats multiple Equipment into play)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Capable of threatening lethal commander damage or a dominant board state by turns 5-7 with optimal draws (ramp -> Cloud -> key Equipment), but lacks truly explosive T3-4 wins and relies on combat.

Resilience: 5/10

• Has protection spells (Flawless Maneuver, Greaves) and some recursion (Red XIII, Sephiroth), but is critically vulnerable to board wipes and relies heavily on Cloud staying alive. Recovery from major setbacks is slow.

Consistency: 7/10

• Strong tutor density (Stonehewer Giant, Steelshaper's Gift, Gilgamesh), card draw engines (Cloud, Puresteel, Greater Good), and functional redundancy in Equipment/enablers ensure the core plan is reliably assembled.

Interaction: 5/10

• Runs efficient targeted removal (Swords, Path, Stroke of Midnight) and protection, but lacks countermagic and has minimal stack interaction. Focuses on protecting its own plan rather than broadly disrupting opponents.

Rating Justification:

The deck demonstrates Focused power (Tier 6.0) with its efficient Equipment synergy, strong tutors, and potential for T5-7 wins via commander damage or combat. However, its critical vulnerability to board wipes and heavy reliance on Cloud for card advantage prevent it from reaching higher optimization tiers (7.0+), capping its resilience and speed ceiling.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5