Overview:

The Teneb, the Harvester deck is a midrange reanimator strategy leveraging graveyard recursion and value engines. The core plan involves ramping into Teneb or big threats, filling the graveyard with key creatures, and reanimating them through Teneb's combat trigger or other recursion. While lacking infinite combos, it aims to overwhelm with resilient threats like Skullbriar and value engines like Black Market Connections. The deck has moderate interaction but struggles against fast combo decks and dedicated graveyard hate.

Primer:

Core Strategy: This deck seeks to dominate through attrition and recursive value. Key phases include:

• Early Setup: Ramp with Cultivate, Llanowar Elves, and artifact acceleration while filling the yard via Buried Alive, Grapple with the Past, and creature deaths.
• Midgame Value: Deploy Teneb with Swiftfoot Boots protection to harvest threats from any graveyard. Use Myrkul, Lord of Bones and Eerie Ultimatum for recurring value.
• Late-Game Overwhelm: Close games with Zetalpa, Primal Dawn as an indestructible finisher, Massacre Wurm for life drain, and The Meathook Massacre as a board wipe/drain hybrid.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3 lands + ramp (Sol Ring, Rampant Growth) or early interaction (Swords to Plowshares).
• Prioritize graveyard setup (Vile Entomber, Buried Alive) in slower metas.
• Avoid hands without mana acceleration or graveyard enablers.

Key Tips:

• Use Teneb politically - steal opponents' best creatures post-wrath.
• Skullbriar, the Walking Grave survives removal and grows rapidly.
• Black Market Connections provides card advantage at life cost - manage carefully.
• Eerie Ultimatum can instantly rebuild after board wipes.

Avoid Traps:

• Overextending into mass exile effects like Farewell.
• Wasting removal on non-critical threats.
• Casting Teneb unprotected against open mana.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Graveyard reliance folds to Rest in Peace/Leyline of the Void
• No protection from counterspells for key spells

Moderate:

• Slow recovery from multiple Teneb removals (6CMC recast)
• Limited card advantage outside combat

Minor:

• Moderate ramp density (14 sources) for 6CMC commander
• Some situational cards (Legolas, Master Archer, Liquimetal Coating)

Most Important Cards:

• Buried Alive
• Eerie Ultimatum
• The Meathook Massacre
• Black Market Connections
• Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
• Massacre Wurm
• Zetalpa, Primal Dawn
• Rune-Scarred Demon
• Myrkul, Lord of Bones
• Farewell

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 4/10

• No T3-4 wins. Optimal goldfish T6-7 with reanimated threats. Relies on traditional combat damage.

Resilience: 5/10

• Recursive threats (Skullbriar, Myrkul) provide some recovery. Folds to sustained graveyard hate.

Consistency: 5/10

• 7 tutors (Worldly Tutor, Buried Alive), but limited redundancy for key effects.

Interaction: 6/10

• 10 targeted removal, 3 board wipes. Lacks counterspells but has exile effects.

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between Focused Casual (5.0) and Optimized Casual (5.5) but lacks the speed and redundancy of true high-power builds. Compared to a 4.0 precon upgrade:

• Superior threat quality (Zetalpa vs. generic beaters)
• Better recursion engines (Eerie Ultimatum vs. single-use reanimation)
• More tutors than precons
  However, it's slower than 6.0 decks that threaten T7-8 wins through combos. The lack of free interaction and vulnerability to common hate keeps it below optimized tiers.

Power level: 4.5 - 5.0