Overview:

This Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald deck focuses on exiling cards to generate Wolf tokens and leveraging cast-from-exile synergies for value. The primary win conditions are token swarm via combat overruns (e.g., End-Raze Forerunners, Beastmaster Ascension) and incremental burn from Impact Tremors/Passionate Archaeologist. While it has strong exile synergies and token payoffs, it lacks infinite combos and relies heavily on maintaining board presence.

Primer:

Core Strategy: The deck aims to generate exponential value through exiling cards (via Faldorn's ability, impulse draw, and effects like Urabrask, Heretic Praetor), creating Wolf tokens with each cast-from-exile trigger. Key phases:

1. Early Setup: Ramp with dorks (Delighted Halfling, Fyndhorn Elves) and land tutors (Three Visits, Cultivate). Establish exile engines like Wild Wasteland or Professional Face-Breaker.
2. Midgame Value: Chain impulse draws (Jeska's Will, Escape to the Wilds) to flood the board with Wolves. Use token multipliers like Champion of Lambholt and Ohran Frostfang to build threats.
3. Finishers: Deploy End-Raze Forerunners or Beastmaster Ascension for lethal swings. Backup plans include burn via Passionate Archaeologist and copied spells from Nalfeshnee.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3 lands + 1-2 ramp pieces.
• Prioritize early exile engines (Containment Construct, Reckless Impulse).
• Avoid hands without green mana sources or slow starts.

Key Tips:

• Sequence exile effects before land drops to maximize Faldorn triggers.
• Use Defense of the Heart to cheat Etali, Primal Conqueror or Surrak and Goreclaw.
• Protect key pieces with Heroic Intervention before alpha strikes.

Avoid Traps:

• Overcommitting to the board before securing protection.
• Holding back impulse-drawn spells past their play window.

Weaknesses:

Moderate:

• Board wipe vulnerability (only Heroic Intervention as protection)
• Commander dependency for optimal token generation
• Limited redundancy for key effects like exile-based card advantage

Minor:

• Mana base has some tapped lands but sufficient fixing
• Struggles against hard control/stax (Rule of Law, Archon of Emeria)

Most Important Cards:

• Impact Tremors
• End-Raze Forerunners
• Jeska's Will
• Passionate Archaeologist
• Defense of the Heart
• Urabrask, Heretic Praetor
• Professional Face-Breaker
• Nalfeshnee
• Beastmaster Ascension
• Chandra, Torch of Defiance

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10
Can threaten wins via token overruns by T8-9. Limited fast mana/cheat effects. Exile engines need setup turns.

Resilience: 6/10
Moderate recursion (Eternal Witness, Savvy Trader), but board-dependent strategy folds to repeated wipes. Some protection for key pieces.

Consistency: 7/10
12+ impulse/exile draw effects and 8 ramp pieces provide reliable engine fueling. Lacks tutors for specific finishers.

Interaction: 5/10
Situational removal (Beast Within, Chaos Warp) and one-sided wipes (Blasphemous Act). No counterspells or stack interaction.

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between Focused Casual (4.5) and Optimized Casual (5.0) on the rubric. It has clear synergies and multiple win lines but lacks:

• Fast mana/cheat effects (below T8 win benchmark for 5.5+ tiers)
• Infinite combos
• Free interaction
  The exile engine provides above-precon consistency, and token overruns align with T10-12 combat win benchmarks for 4.0-5.0. It outperforms precons through card quality but doesn't reach optimized levels of redundancy or speed.

Power level: 4.5 - 5.0