Overview:

This Kotis, Sibsig Champion deck is a Sultai graveyard recursion strategy focused on self-mill, creature revival, and incremental value from cards leaving/entering the graveyard. It aims to win through midrange value accumulation using large recursive threats like Avenger of Zendikar and Lord of Extinction, with Kotis serving as both an engine and a growing aerial threat. While lacking infinite combos, it leverages persistent recursion effects and zombie token generation to overwhelm opponents.

Primer:

Core Strategy: The deck operates in three phases:

1. Graveyard Setup: Use self-mill engines like Hedron Crab and Stitcher's Supplier combined with land ramp (Cultivate, Rampant Growth) to fill the yard while developing mana.
2. Recurrence Engine: Activate Kotis's ability to cast creatures from graveyard while synergizing with payoffs like River Kelpie (card draw) and Teval, the Balanced Scale (zombie generation). Backup recursion via Meren of Clan Nel Toth and Living Death provides redundancy.
3. Closing Power: Deploy massive threats like Colossal Grave-Reaver and Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar, amplified by +1/+1 counters on Kotis. Consuming Aberration and zombie swarms from Welcome the Dead provide alternative pressure.

Mulligan Priorities:

• 3 lands with at least two colors
• Early mill/ramp (Satyr Wayfinder > Sol Ring)
• At least one graveyard interaction card (Phyrexian Reclamation, Grapple with the Past) Avoid hands without graveyard enablers or color fixing.

Key Tips:

• Sequence mill before land drops to maximize Hedron Crab triggers
• Use Command Beacon to protect Kotis from tax increases
• Save Necromantic Selection for opponent's end step before your turn
• Conduit of Worlds enables land recursion to fuel Multani

Avoid Traps:

• Overcommitting creatures before Living Death turns
• Wasting exile removal on non-critical threats
• Casting Kotis without immediate graveyard fuel

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) completely disables strategy

Moderate:

• Slow against fast combo decks (limited interaction)
• Vulnerable to repeated board wipes
• Limited stack interaction (only 4 instant-speed answers)

Minor:

• Tapped lands slow early development
• Some high-CMC cards risk being stranded

Most Important Cards:

• Living Death
• Meren of Clan Nel Toth
• Phyrexian Reclamation
• Stitcher's Supplier
• Avenger of Zendikar
• Lord of Extinction
• Necromantic Selection
• Conduit of Worlds
• Victimize
• Hedron Crab

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Earliest realistic win: T7-8 through zombie swarm or Kotis beats
• Requires multiple setup turns for graveyard fueling

Resilience: 6/10

• Strong recursion engines (5+ graveyard retrievers)
• Vulnerable to graveyard exile but has some redundancy
• Can recover from 1-2 wipes with Command Beacon/Conduit

Consistency: 6/10

• 8 dedicated mill effects + 5 tutors
• Multiple overlapping recursion engines
• Lacks fast mana beyond Sol Ring

Interaction: 4/10

• 6 targeted removals (Putrefy, Noxious Gearhulk)
• No counterspells or protection
• Reactive answers are sorcery-speed

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between "Focused Casual" and "Optimized Casual" on the rubric. It has clear synergistic lines and multiple paths to victory but lacks: 1) Turbo-speed graveyard filling, 2) Combo finishers, and 3) Free interaction seen in higher tiers. Comparable to a strong precon (5.0) but with better synergy than typical precons. Struggles against T6-7 cEDH decks but can dominate casual battlecruiser games.

Power level: 4.5 - 5.0