Overview:

This Dimir deck revolves around Etrata, the Silencer's unique alternate win condition, leveraging ninjutsu, evasion, and flicker effects to exile opponents' creatures with hit counters. The secondary strategy utilizes Assassin/Ninja synergies with Mari, the Killing Quill and Ramses, Assassin Lord for card advantage and alternative win paths. The deck aims to control combat through unblockable creatures, ninjutsu triggers, and tempo plays while slowly assembling its three-hit-kill condition.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Deploy evasive 1-drops like Changeling Outcast or Baleful Strix, mana rocks (Sol Ring, Dimir Signet), and card advantage engines like Reconnaissance Mission.
2. Ninjutsu Value (Turns 2-5): Use ninjas like Ingenious Infiltrator and Biting-Palm Ninja to replace unblocked attackers, generating card advantage and disruption. Silver-Fur Master reduces ninjutsu costs.
3. Etrata Triggers (Turns 4+): Attack with Etrata using evasion (unblockable) and protection (Swiftfoot Boots, Slip Out the Back). Use flicker effects like Ghostly Flicker to bypass her shuffle clause.
4. Alternative Wins: Leverage Ramses, Assassin Lord for instant wins via Assassin combat kills or Fallen Shinobi/Silent-Blade Oni for stolen spells.

Mulligan Priorities:

• At least 2 lands (UB sources preferred)
• 1-2 evasive creatures or ninjutsu enablers
• Early interaction (Counterspell, Doom Blade) or protection (Swiftfoot Boots)
• Avoid hands without early plays or Etrata enablers

Key Tips:

• Use Strionic Resonator to double Etrata's hit counter triggers.
• Portal of Sanctuary lets you reuse ninjas/ETB creatures while protecting Etrata.
• Satoru Umezawa turns any creature into a ninjutsu threat and provides card selection.
• Time Devastation Tide with miracle cost for maximum tempo swings.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Heavily commander-dependent: Losing Etrata repeatedly cripples the primary win condition.
• Weak to instant-speed removal on ninjutsu attackers mid-combat.

Moderate

• Struggles against go-wide token strategies that block evasive creatures.
• Limited board wipe recovery outside Devastation Tide.

Minor

• Hit counter tracking becomes complex in multiplayer.
• Low threat density for non-commander win conditions.

Most Important Cards:

• Etrata, the Silencer (Primary win condition)
• Mari, the Killing Quill (Hit counter synergy/treasure generation)
• Ramses, Assassin Lord (Alternate win condition)
• Satoru Umezawa (Ninjutsu enabler/card selection)
• Silver-Fur Master (Cost reduction for ninjas)
• Strionic Resonator (Doubles Etrata triggers)
• Swiftfoot Boots (Protection/evasion)
• Ghostly Flicker (Saves Etrata from shuffling)
• Ingenious Infiltrator (Card draw engine)
• Fallen Shinobi (Value theft)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 4/10

• Wins typically require 3+ combat phases with Etrata (T7+), though Ramses enables occasional T6 wins with perfect setup.

Resilience: 5/10

• Moderate protection (hexproof, phasing) but struggles with repeated removal. Ninjutsu provides some redundancy.

Consistency: 6/10

• Good card draw from ninjas but lacks tutors for key pieces like Etrata.

Interaction: 7/10

• Strong suite of counterspells, bounce, and targeted removal disrupts opponents effectively.

Rating Justification:

The deck operates at a Casual/Precon level with focused upgrades, capable of winning via combat or its unique commander ability around T7-9. While interaction is strong, reliance on Etrata and slow clock keep it below optimized tiers.

Power level: 4.0 - 4.5