Overview:

This K'rrik deck focuses on life payment synergies, sacrifice outlets, and recursive creatures to generate value while draining opponents. The primary win conditions involve life loss through Gray Merchant of Asphodel, The Meathook Massacre, and Blood Artist, supported by sacrifice engines like Ashnod's Altar and Viscera Seer. While it has combo potential with recursive creatures and token generators, it lacks deterministic infinite wincons, relying instead on incremental advantage.

Primer:

Core Strategy:
This deck leverages K'rrik's life-to-mana conversion to deploy high-impact black permanents early while fueling sacrifice/reanimation loops. Key lines involve:

1. Sacrifice Value Chains: Use Reassembling Skeleton/Cult Conscript with Pawn of Ulamog or Pitiless Plunderer to generate mana/treasure while triggering death effects.
2. Life Drain Payoffs: Amplify Gray Merchant of Asphodel ETBs with K'rrik's devotion and recur it via Chainer, Dementia Master.
3. Card Advantage Engines: Exploit Asmodeus the Archfiend and Phyrexian Arena for draw, offsetting life costs via lifelink from K'rrik.

Mulligan Priorities:

• 3 lands (prioritize Command Tower/Barad-dûr)
• 1-2 early enablers (Viscera Seer, Village Rites)
• At least 1 recursion/sacrifice outlet

Key Tips:

• Use K'rrik's lifelink to offset Font of Agonies activation costs.
• Save Feign Death effects for Gray Merchant or Butcher of Malakir triggers.
• Necrotic Ooze can steal activated abilities from graveyards (e.g., Skirge Familiar's discard-for-mana).

Avoid Traps:

• Overcommitting to the board without sac outlets.
• Casting Gray Merchant without sufficient devotion.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace) shuts down recursion engines.
• No protection for K'rrik beyond Lightning Greaves.

Moderate:

• Slow recovery from board wipes.
• Limited answers to enchantments (only Feed the Swarm).

Minor:

• Life total management risks against aggressive decks.

Most Important Cards:

• Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• Ashnod's Altar
• The Meathook Massacre
• Pitiless Plunderer
• Phyrexian Arena
• Midnight Reaper
• Viscera Seer
• Blood Artist
• Butcher of Malakir
• Victimize

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Capable of T5-6 Gray Merchant spikes but lacks turbo mana for earlier wins.

Resilience: 6/10

• Recursive creatures mitigate removal, but graveyard reliance creates vulnerability.

Consistency: 5/10

• Limited tutors (Diabolic Tutor, Demonic Collusion) and situational draw.

Interaction: 4/10

• Spot removal (Infernal Grasp, Go for the Throat) but minimal stack interaction.

Rating Justification:

The deck sits between Focused Casual (4.5) and Optimized Casual (5.5). It has clear synergies and multiple value engines but lacks:

• Fast mana to accelerate beyond T5 wins
• Redundant combo lines
• Free interaction/protection
  It outperforms precons through recursive threats but folds to tuned combo decks.

Power level: 4.5 - 5.5