Overview:

This Esper deck helmed by Merieke Ri Berit focuses on creature theft, flicker/untap synergies, and incremental value from opponents' resources. Merieke serves as both a removal tool and a theft engine, supported by untap effects like Freed from the Real and Vizier of Tumbling Sands to bypass her downside. The deck wins by leveraging stolen creatures, with backup plans including reanimator strategies (Gisa, Glorious Resurrector, Command the Dreadhorde) and infect via Corrupted Conscience. Key themes include permanent control (12 theft auras/enchantments), flicker protection (Ghostway), and light stax elements (Intruder Alarm).

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Prioritize mana rocks (Sol Ring, signets), theft enablers (Baleful Strix, Whitemane Lion), and protection for Merieke (Lightning Greaves).
2. Mid-Game Dominance (Turns 4-6): Deploy Merieke with untap tools (Crab Umbra, Kelpie Guide) to steal key threats. Use flicker effects (Flickerwisp, Ghostway) to reset Merieke’s thefts and dodge removal.
3. Late-Game Closure:
   • Theft Overload: Chain untap effects with Intruder Alarm to steal multiple creatures per turn cycle.
   • Infect Finish: Apply Corrupted Conscience to stolen high-power creatures.
   • Graveyard Recursion: Reanimate stolen creatures permanently via Myojin of Grim Betrayal or Rakshasa Debaser.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands (at least one blue source).
• Prioritize Merieke protection (Greaves/Boots) or early theft (Hostage Taker, Domestication).
• Avoid hands lacking mana fixing or with only high-CMC spells.

Key Tips:

• Use The Ever-Changing 'Dane to copy Merieke for redundancy or clone high-value stolen creatures.
• Intruder Alarm combos with any creature-based untappers (e.g., Vizier of Tumbling Sands) to create infinite steals if Merieke has an untap aura.
• Sacrifice stolen creatures to Evil Twin or Gisa, Glorious Resurrector before losing control of them.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Commander-dependent strategy collapses under repeated removal; lacks efficient recursion for Merieke.
• Minimal board wipes (only Void Rend/Swords as spot removal) struggles against wide strategies.
• No graveyard protection; Rest in Peace cripples reanimator subthemes.

Moderate

• Theft effects become dead cards against creature-light decks.
• Limited ramp (only 5 artifacts) slows setup in a 3-color deck.
• Torpor Orb nullifies 40% of ETB theft triggers.

Minor

• Weak to artifact/enchantment hate (14 vulnerable noncreature permanents).
• Mana base has 10+ tapped lands, risking tempo loss.

Most Important Cards:

• Intruder Alarm (Untap engine for Merieke/creatures)
• Freed from the Real (Merieke untap combo piece)
• Corrupted Conscience (Primary alternate win condition)
• Ghostway (Protects Merieke while resetting thefts)
• Gisa, Glorious Resurrector (Permanent theft via death triggers)
• Hostage Taker (Flexible theft with castable exile)
• Myojin of Grim Betrayal (Mass reanimation of stolen creatures)
• Brainstealer Dragon (Value engine from opponent libraries)
• Command the Dreadhorde (Late-game reanimation bomb)
• Lightning Greaves (Critical protection for Merieke)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 4/10

• Wins typically occur T8+ via accumulated stolen value; fastest combo (Freed + Merieke + Intruder Alarm) requires 3 cards and T6+ setup.

Resilience: 5/10

• Multiple protection spells (Greaves, counterspells) but collapses if Merieke is removed 2-3 times. Limited recursion outside graveyard.

Consistency: 5/10

• Theft redundancy offsets variance, but lacks tutors for key combo pieces (Intruder Alarm/Freed). Draw engines (Greed, Brainstorm) are slow.

Interaction: 7/10

• Strong spot removal (10+ targeted answers) and counterspells, but lacks board wipes and struggles against resolved enchantments.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at Focused Casual levels (T9-11 wins) through resilient theft loops and moderate interaction, but its commander dependency and slow combo execution prevent higher optimization. While capable of explosive plays with Intruder Alarm, it lacks the speed and redundancy for competitive tiers.

Power level: 4.0 - 4.5