Overview:

Queza, Augur of Agonies is a lifegain/drain deck leveraging card draw triggers to whittle opponents down. The deck combines incremental drain effects with potent combo finishes like Exquisite Blood/Sanguine Bond and Curiosity loops. It features strong control elements through stax enchantments, free interaction, and tutor density to assemble wins through combat damage or infinite lifedrain combos.

Primer:

Core Strategy:
This deck aims to control the board with tax/stax effects (Sphere of Safety, Curse of Exhaustion) while building towards:

1. Infinite lifedrain via Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond/Queza triggers
2. Draw-engine kills using Necropotence/Bolas's Citadel to fuel massive Queza pings
3. Aura-based value engines (Helm of the Ghastlord on Queza)
   Key phases:

• Early Game: Deploy mana rocks, tax effects, and protection (Grand Abolisher, Teferi's Protection)
• Mid Game: Tutor combo pieces or lock components while pressuring life totals via incidental draw
• End Game: Close with infinite combos or overwhelming card advantage

Mulligan Priorities:

• 3 lands including at least 2 colors
• 1-2 ramp pieces (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet)
• Either a tutor or early interaction
  Avoid hands lacking colored mana or board presence

Key Tips:

• Use Scheming Symmetry politically while fetching combo pieces
• Enchanted Evening turns all removal into enchantment interaction
• Delney, Streetwise Lookout doubles triggers from low-power engines like Esper Sentinel
• Phase out permanents pre-wipe with Clever Concealment

Avoid Traps:

• Overcommitting creatures to board before establishing protection
• Casting Exquisite Blood without backup in counterspell-heavy metas
• Letting Necropotence resolve without sufficient life cushion

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• No graveyard recursion for exiled combo pieces
• Relies on 4+ mana enchantments vulnerable to Bane of Progress

Moderate:

• Slow to rebuild after Farewell-style exiles
• Limited creature-based wincons if combos are disrupted

Minor:

• Lifegain synergies mitigated by Tainted Remedy-style effects

Most Important Cards:

• Exquisite Blood
• Sanguine Bond
• Necropotence
• Enlightened Tutor
• Mystical Tutor
• Teferi's Protection
• Bolas's Citadel
• Curiosity
• Grand Abolisher
• Esper Sentinel

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10
Can assemble T5-6 kills with optimal draws (T2 Dark Ritual into T3 Necropotence). Average goldfish win ~T7-8.

Resilience: 6/10
12+ protection spells and tax effects, but combos require multiple vulnerable permanents. Struggles against focused enchantment hate.

Consistency: 8/10
9 tutors + 15+ draw engines ensure regular access to key pieces. Lim-Dûl's Vault provides near-deterministic combo assembly.

Interaction: 7/10
14 targeted removal/counters (4 free), 5 board wipes. Lacks stack control for back-to-back threats.

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between "Optimized" (6.5) and "Focused Competitive" (7.0) on the rubric. It outpaces casual decks with T5-7 combo potential but lacks:

• cEDH-level fast mana density
• 0-mana interaction for T3 wins
• Multiple redundant combo lines

Power level: 6.5 - 7.0