Overview:

This Meren of Clan Nel Toth deck is a midrange attrition/grind strategy focused on recurring value creatures and leveraging sacrifice synergies. The primary win conditions are incremental life drain (via Bastion of Remembrance, Blood Artist), overwhelming board presence through token generation (Golgari Germination, Open the Graves), and explosive recursion loops with Protean Hulk/Gray Merchant of Asphodel. While lacking infinite combos, it achieves dominance through persistent recursion and stax-adjacent effects like repeated Fleshbag Marauder triggers.

Primer:

Core Strategy:
Deploy low-CMC creatures with death/sacrifice value (Sakura-Tribe Elder, Plaguecrafter) to build experience counters for Meren. Use sac outlets like Carrion Feeder and Vampiric Rites to trigger recursion engines. Mid-game, leverage Meren's ability to loop Acidic Slime for land destruction or Ravenous Chupacabra for creature control. Late game, close with Gray Merchant recursion or Massacre Wurm triggers amplified by Drivnod, Carnage Dominus.

Key Lines:

1. T1: Llanowar Elves
2. T2: Carrion Feeder + sac outlet setup
3. T3: Meren, start recurring Viridian Emissary/Spore Frog
4. T4-5: Loop Fleshbag Marauder with Eternal Witness recursion
5. T6+: Deploy Protean Hulk to fetch Blood Artist + Zulaport Cutthroat equivalents

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3 lands (at least 1 black source)
• Prioritize early sac outlets (Carrion Feeder, Evolutionary Leap)
• Ensure at least 1 recursion piece (Eternal Witness, Victimize)

Critical Interactions:

• Drivnod, Carnage Dominus doubles Massacre Wurm's life loss
• Buried Alive into Victimize for instant reanimation
• Culling Ritual as both board wipe and ritual effect

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) shuts down 70% of strategy
• Limited protection for Meren beyond Swiftfoot Boots

Moderate:

• Slow recovery from board wipes pre-Meren setup
• No instant-speed interaction for stack-based threats

Minor:

• Some enter-tapped lands slow early development

Most Important Cards:

• Birthing Pod
• Protean Hulk
• Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• Buried Alive
• Drivnod, Carnage Dominus
• Acidic Slime
• Eternal Witness
• Diabolic Intent
• Massacre Wurm
• Bastion of Remembrance

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Goldfish win around T8-10 through incremental drain
• No fast mana or T3 combo potential

Resilience: 6/10

• Multiple recursion engines (Mercy: 3 backups)
• Vulnerable to graveyard hate but functional without Meren

Consistency: 7/10

• 8 tutors (including pod chains)
• Redundant sac outlets/drain effects

Interaction: 5/10

• Targeted removal (Putrefy, Doom Blade)
• Creature-based answers (Ravenous Chupacabra)
• Lacks stack interaction

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between "Optimized Casual" (5.0) and "High-Power Casual" (5.5). While lacking cEDH-level speed/protection, it exceeds precon-level consistency through multiple tutors and redundant engines. The ability to lock out creature-based decks with repeated Plaguecrafter triggers pushes it above casual, but reliance on combat steps and incremental damage keeps it below T7 win-focused decks.

Power level: 5.0 - 5.5