Overview:

This Bant (GWU) deck helmed by Yuna, Grand Summoner focuses on explosive +1/+1 counter proliferation and value generation through synergistic creature/enchantment interactions. The strategy leverages Yuna's mana acceleration and counter redistribution alongside powerful multiplicative effects like Doubling Season, Branching Evolution, and Primal Vigor to create overwhelming board states. Win conditions include massive evasive creatures (enabled by Herald of Secret Streams, Abzan Falconer), combo kills via Freed from the Real/Pemmin's Aura mana engines, and alt-win cons like Simic Ascendancy or The Millennium Calendar. Yuna acts as both a value engine and combo enabler, though the deck contains several "hidden commanders" like Marwyn, the Nurturer and Kami of Whispered Hopes that drive critical synergies.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (T1-3):
   • Deploy mana dorks (Birds of Paradise, Bloom Tender) and counter multipliers (Hardened Scales, Conclave Mentor)
   • Use land tutors (Three Visits, Nature's Lore) to fix colors and enable T2 Yuna
2. Value Engine Activation (T3-5):
   • Cast Yuna to start generating colored mana and counter distribution
   • Deploy key engines: Luminous Broodmoth for recursion, Forgotten Ancient for counter generation, Arwen, Weaver of Hope for ETB scaling
3. Combo/Kill Turns (T5-8):
   • Combat Win: Use Champion of Lambholt + Duskshell Crawler for unblockable lethal
   • Infinite Mana: Marwyn, the Nurturer/Gyre Sage + Freed from the Real → fuel The Millennium Calendar or Phyrexian Devourer
   • Alt-Win: Achieve 20 growth counters on Simic Ascendancy through proliferate effects (Grateful Apparition, Metastatic Evangel)

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with at least 2 lands (including color fixing)
• Prioritize T1 ramp (Birds/Sol Ring) or T2 counter multiplier
• Look for engine pieces that combine with Yuna's abilities (Arwen, Weaver of Hope, Kami of Whispered Hopes)
• Avoid hands without early plays or color-screwed mana bases

Key Tips:

• Use Yuna's Grand Summon ability strategically to enable explosive plays like T3 Managorger Hydra with 3 counters
• Guardian of Faith protects against board wipes while Inspiring Call provides indestructible and card draw
• Wave Goodbye acts as asymmetric board clear with proper counter distribution
• Ripples of Potential can phase out key permanents after proliferating

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Severe vulnerability to Cursed Totem/Linvala, Keeper of Silence shutting down mana dorks and combo pieces
• Lacks protection against stack interaction (only Mana Drain as countermagic)
• Dark Depths/Marit Lage package is poorly supported and resource-intensive

Moderate

• Board wipes bypassing indestructible (Damning Verdict, Toxic Deluge) cripple the strategy
• Graveyard hate disrupts Luminous Broodmoth recursion and Evolution Witness
• Struggles against fast combo decks due to limited early interaction

Minor

• The Millennium Calendar requires significant setup time
• Some mana dependency on fragile dorks (Marwyn, Gyre Sage)
• Can be color-screwed despite fetchlands if key duals are removed

Most Important Cards:

• Doubling Season (Force multiplier for all counter strategies)
• Freed from the Real (Primary combo enabler with mana dorks)
• Herald of Secret Streams (Ensures combat victory through evasion)
• Kami of Whispered Hopes (Mana generation + counter doubling)
• Simic Ascendancy (Alt-win condition with proliferate support)
• Arwen, Weaver of Hope (Massive ETB counter scaling)
• Luminous Broodmoth (Recursion engine for counter-bearing creatures)
• Marwyn, the Nurturer (Key mana generator for combos)
• Danny Pink (Draw engine synergizing with counter distribution)
• Enlightened Tutor (Fetches critical enchantments)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can threaten T5-7 wins through combat or combos, but lacks fast mana beyond Sol Ring/Ancient Tomb

Resilience: 5/10

• Moderate protection (phasing, indestructible) but over-reliant on board presence and vulnerable to common stax pieces

Consistency: 7/10

• Strong tutor/draw package for enchantments and some creatures, though creature tutors are limited

Interaction: 4/10

• Spot removal (Swords, Beast Within) and limited counterspells, minimal stack interaction beyond protection

Rating Justification:

This deck demonstrates focused synergy with T7-8 win potential through combat and combos, but its vulnerability to common disruption and reliance on maintaining board presence limit its ceiling. While packing high-impact cards, it lacks the speed and interaction density of optimized lists.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5