Overview:

This Naya (RGW) deck leverages Tifa, Martial Artist as a powerful combat engine, focusing on cheating out high-power creatures (power 7+) to enable multiple combat phases. The primary strategy involves ramping into cheat effects like Elvish Piper, Sneak Attack, and Through the Breach to deploy massive threats early, then using Tifa to untap creatures and chain combats for overwhelming damage. Secondary value engines like The Great Henge and Tribute to the World Tree provide card advantage and scaling. Tifa is essential as the linchpin, enabling explosive turns; her recast cost ({1}{R}{G}{W}) is manageable but leaves the strategy vulnerable to repeated removal.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Prioritize mana dorks (Llanowar Elves, Delighted Halfling) and ramp (Ilysian Caryatid, Boreal Druid). Mulligan aggressively for these or cheat enablers (Sneak Attack, Monster Manual).
2. Deploy Threats (Turns 3-5): Cheat or cast high-power creatures (e.g., Ghalta and Mavren, Ancient Gold Dragon, Terastodon) using Elvish Piper, Ilharg, the Raze-Boar, or Selvala's Stampede. Terror of the Peaks provides immediate impact.
3. Activate Tifa & Combat Chains: Attack with a power 7+ creature to trigger Tifa's untap and extra combat phase. Use untapped creatures to swing again, potentially chaining infinite combats with sufficient power/damage triggers (e.g., Professional Face-Breaker for mana, Giant Adephage for tokens).
4. Finishers: Close with combat damage amplified by Pathbreaker Ibex effects, Terror of the Peaks triggers, or infinite combats enabled by Tifa + recurring attackers.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands (prioritize untapped sources) and at least one:
  • Early ramp/dork (e.g., Birds of Paradise, Avacyn's Pilgrim).
  • Cheat engine (Sneak Attack, Elvish Piper, Through the Breach).
  • High-impact 7+ power creature if cheat is present.
• Reject slow hands lacking ramp/cheat or with only high-CMC spells.

Key Tips:

• Protect Tifa: Use Boros Charm (indestructible), Collective Resistance (hexproof), or Swiftfoot Boots to safeguard her. Without Tifa, the deck loses its primary engine.
• Sequence Cheats: Prioritize haste-granting cheats (Sneak Attack, Ilharg) over Elvish Piper to enable immediate attacks. Through the Breach can surprise-kill with Terror of the Peaks.
• Leverage Draw Engines: Toski, Bearer of Secrets, Guardian Project, and Rishkar's Expertise refill your hand after deploying threats. Sacrifice cheated creatures (e.g., to Greater Good) before they exile.
• Combat Triggers: Professional Face-Breaker generates mana for additional spells mid-combat. Old Gnawbone fuels future turns.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Extreme vulnerability to board wipes (e.g., Damnation, Farewell). Despite Avacyn, Angel of Hope, most cheat effects sacrifice creatures, and recovery is slow without her.
• Commander reliance: Repeated Tifa removal cripples the deck's core engine, forcing inefficient recasts.
• Anti-cheat/ETB hate: Hushbringer, Torpor Orb nullifies Terror of the Peaks, Titan of Industry, and Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant.

Moderate

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) disrupts recursion like Kogla and Yidaro and Eternal Witness effects.
• Artifact/enchantment removal targets key engines (The Great Henge, Sneak Attack).
• Stax pieces (Rule of Law, Blind Obedience) limit multiple spells/combats per turn.

Minor

• Spot removal can disrupt early ramp/dorks but is less impactful late-game.
• Mana inconsistency due to taplands (e.g., Jetmir's Garden, Overgrown Farmland) slowing T1-3 plays.

Most Important Cards:

• Tifa, Martial Artist (Combat engine enabling extra phases)
• Sneak Attack (Primary cheat effect for hasty threats)
• Terror of the Peaks (Damage amplifier and removal)
• Elvish Piper (Secondary cheat for non-hasty threats)
• The Great Henge (Ramp, card draw, +1/+1 counters)
• Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant (Mass creature deployment)
• Ilharg, the Raze-Boar (Hasty cheat with recursion)
• Professional Face-Breaker (Mana generation during combat)
• Avacyn, Angel of Hope (Board wipe protection)
• Through the Breach (Instant-speed surprise cheat)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Capable of T4-5 wins via cheat effects (e.g., T3 Sneak Attack → T4 Terror + 7-power attacker → Tifa combats). Average goldfish win ~T6-7.

Resilience: 6/10

• Limited protection (Boros Charm, Collective Resistance) and recursion (Kogla and Yidaro). Recovers poorly from wipes without Avacyn.

Consistency: 7/10

• Strong ramp/dork density and multiple cheat engines, but lacks universal tutors. Card draw engines (Toski, Henge) mitigate this.

Interaction: 5/10

• Efficient targeted removal (Swords to Plowshares, Nature's Claim), but minimal stack interaction. Overload Winds of Abandon handles wide boards.

Rating Justification:

The deck achieves T5-6 wins consistently through efficient creature cheating and Tifa's combat chains, aligning with the "Focused Competitive" tier (7.0). However, its reliance on the commander and vulnerability to wipes reduces resilience, preventing higher optimization. Speed and synergy warrant 7.0, but fragility caps it at 7.0.

Power level: 7.0