Overview:

This Sultai (BUG) deck leverages Felix Five-Boots to amplify triggered abilities from permanents whenever creatures deal combat damage to players. The primary strategy revolves around deploying evasive creatures (often unblockable Rogues) to reliably trigger abilities like card draw (e.g., Curiosity, Toski, Bearer of Secrets), discard (e.g., Larceny, Specter's Shroud), and value engines (e.g., Grim Hireling, Waste Not). Felix acts as the core engine multiplier, doubling these triggers to generate overwhelming card advantage, mana (Treasures), and disruption. Secondary win conditions include reanimating threats (e.g., Ancient Brass Dragon, Reanimate), leveraging discard payoffs (e.g., Liliana's Caress), and stealing/casting opponents' spells (e.g., Wrexial, the Risen Deep, Deluxe Dragster). The deck is vulnerable to commander removal but includes protection and recursion to mitigate this.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Play evasive 1-drops (e.g., Changeling Outcast, Mist-Cloaked Herald), ramp (e.g., Sol Ring, signets), or disruption (e.g., Narset, Parter of Veils). Prioritize fixing mana for Felix’s {2}{B}{G}{U} cost.
2. Deploy Engines (Turns 3-5): Cast Felix, then attach key enchantments like Curiosity or Specter's Shroud to unblockable creatures. Drop value pieces like Toski, Bearer of Secrets, Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar, or Waste Not. Use counters/removal (e.g., Fierce Guardianship, Assassin's Trophy) to protect the board.
3. Amplify Triggers (Turns 5+): Attack with evasive creatures to double-draw, double-discard, or generate excessive Treasures. Leverage Felix’s doubling with:
   • Card Draw: Coastal Piracy, Reconnaissance Mission, Ohran Frostfang (each hit draws 2+ cards).
   • Discard: Larceny (opponent discards 2 per hit), Grim Hireling (4 Treasures per hit).
   • Spell Theft: Encode cipher spells (Mental Vapors, Undercity Plague) on unblockable creatures for repeated casting.
4. Win Condition Execution:
   • Combat/Value Overload: Draw into overwhelming board presence or use Sheoldred, the Apocalypse to drain life from draw triggers.
   • Discard Synergy: Pair wheel effects (Windfall, Dark Deal) with Waste Not, Liliana's Caress, and The Raven Man for tokens, mana, and damage.
   • Reanimation/Steal: Reanimate bombs (Ancient Brass Dragon) or cast opponents’ spells via Wrexial, the Risen Deep/Deluxe Dragster.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands (including color sources), 1-2 evasive creatures, and ramp/interaction.
• Prioritize hands containing Felix, an early engine (e.g., Curiosity), or a tutor (Demonic Tutor).
• Avoid hands lacking early plays, color fixing, or damage triggers.

Key Tips:

• Protect Felix: Use Lightning Greaves, Heroic Intervention, or counterspells to safeguard your commander—his doubling effect is critical.
• Maximize Triggers: Prioritize attaching Curiosity/Specter's Shroud to unblockable creatures. Toski ensures draws even if blocked.
• Disrupt Opponents: Time wheel effects (Windfall) when Waste Not/Notion Thief are active. Use Opposition Agent to hijack tutors.
• Leverage Recursion: Recur key pieces with Reanimate or Bala Ged Recovery (not listed but implied in Sultai).

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Board Wipes: Mass removal (e.g., Wrath of God) cripples the evasive creature base and resets Felix’s cost. Limited recovery outside recursion.
• Commander Reliance: Removing Felix neuters the deck’s doubling effect, slowing it significantly despite alternative engines.
• Graveyard Hate: Rest in Peace/Leyline of the Void disrupt reanimation, cipher recursion, and Waste Not.

Moderate

• Anti-Evasion Effects: Propaganda/Crawlspace limit combat damage triggers. Torpor Orb shuts off ETB theft (Wrexial, Deluxe Dragster).
• Discard Resistance: Decks with madness, graveyard synergy, or Leyline of Sanctity mitigate discard payoffs.

Minor

• Artifact/Enchantment Removal: Targets key equipment (Sword of Feast and Famine) or engines (Waste Not), but the deck has counterspells.
• Stack Interaction: Struggles against uncounterable spells or multiple threats per turn due to limited counters.

Most Important Cards:

• Felix Five-Boots (Core engine: doubles damage triggers)
• Toski, Bearer of Secrets (Unblockable card draw engine)
• Waste Not (Discard payoff: generates mana, tokens, and cards)
• Curiosity (Low-cost draw engine on evasive creatures)
• Demonic Tutor (Finds key pieces: engines, protection, or win-cons)
• Cyclonic Rift (Board reset enabling alpha strikes)
• Grim Hireling (Treasure generation for ramp/interaction)
• Sheoldred, the Apocalypse (Life drain from draw triggers)
• Fierce Guardianship (Free counter protecting Felix/engines)
• Opposition Agent (Disrupts tutors and steals resources)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can deploy threats by turn 4-5 and win via combat/discard synergies by turns 7-8, but lacks fast mana for explosive starts.

Resilience: 6/10

• Features protection (counters, hexproof), recursion, and multiple engines, but relies heavily on board presence and Felix.

Consistency: 7/10

• High density of evasive creatures, tutors, and card draw ensures reliable access to damage triggers and payoffs.

Interaction: 7/10

• Robust suite of counterspells, targeted removal, and disruptive creatures (e.g., Opposition Agent, Notion Thief) handles most threats.

Rating Justification:

The deck consistently threatens wins by turns 7-8 through amplified combat triggers and discard synergies, supported by strong interaction and tutors. However, its reliance on Felix and vulnerability to board wipes caps its resilience below optimized tiers.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5