Overview:

This mono-black deck leverages Maha, Its Feathers Night to set opponents' creatures to base toughness 1, enabling devastating -1/-1 effects, board wipes, and death-trigger synergies. The primary win conditions involve life-drain combos (Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond/Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose), mass creature death payoffs (Blood Artist, Syr Konrad, the Grim), and big-mana finishers (Exsanguinate, Torment of Hailfire). Maha is the linchpin—its toughness reduction enables the deck's core strategy, and its ward (discard) offers modest protection. Without Maha, the deck's efficiency plummets, as few alternatives replicate this effect. Secondary value comes from reanimation (Reanimate, Living Death) and stax elements (Contamination, Grave Pact).

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Setup (Turns 1-4): Prioritize ramping with Sol Ring, Dark Ritual, or Crypt Ghast. Cast Maha ASAP (ideally T3-4) using rituals or land acceleration (Cabal Coffers, Liliana of the Dark Realms). Deploy card engines like Necropotence or Phyrexian Arena.
2. Board Control (Turns 4-6): With Maha active, deploy toughness-reduction enhancers (Night of Souls' Betrayal, Massacre Girl, Known Killer) or targeted removal (Feed the Swarm). Use low-cost wipes (The Meathook Massacre, Toxic Deluge) to clear 1-toughness creatures, triggering death effects. Reanimate key threats (Archon of Cruelty, Gray Merchant of Asphodel) for value.
3. Win Execution (Turns 5-8):
   • Combo: Assemble Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond/Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose/Bloodletter of Aclazotz—any life-gain/loss event wins the game.
   • Drain: Flood the board with creatures, then wipe with Maha active; Syr Konrad, the Grim or Vein Ripper amplifies damage.
   • Big Mana: Use Cabal Coffers/Crypt Ghast to fuel Torment of Hailfire or Exsanguinate for lethal.
   • Alternate: Revel in Riches or commander damage (equip Commander's Plate/Lightning Greaves) as backups.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands, early ramp (e.g., Sol Ring, Dark Ritual), and a path to cast Maha by T4.
• Prioritize hands with card draw (Necropotence, Vampiric Tutor) or a combo piece.
• Reject hands lacking black sources, ramp, or Maha enablers.

Key Tips:

• Protect Maha: Equip Lightning Greaves/Swiftfoot Boots immediately. Use Imp's Mischief/Withering Boon to counter removal.
• Maximize Death Triggers: Time wipes after Maha resolves. Necroskitter steals opponents' dying creatures.
• Life Management: Leverage life gain (e.g., Sheoldred, the Apocalypse) to offset costs from Necropotence or Bolas's Citadel.
• Combo Flexibility: Bloodletter of Aclazotz doubles life loss, enabling faster kills without the full Exquisite/Sanguine loop.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Extreme commander dependency: Repeated removal cripples the strategy, as Maha enables the core toughness-reduction synergy.
• Enchantment removal disrupts key combo pieces (Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond) and stax (Contamination), with limited protection.
• Graveyard hate (Bojuka Bog) shuts down reanimation and recursion engines (Phyrexian Reclamation, Living Death).

Moderate

• Board wipes hinder creature-based value engines (e.g., Yawgmoth, Thran Physician), though recursion provides some recovery.
• Anti-tutor effects (e.g., Opposition Agent) disrupt consistency, as the deck relies on multiple tutors.
• Life-total pressure from aggressive decks challenges life-pay outlets (Necropotence, Bolas's Citadel).

Minor

• Limited stack interaction against non-creature spells, relying on niche counters (Withering Boon).
• Artifact-heavy metas may bypass Contamination's mana denial.

Most Important Cards:

• Exquisite Blood (Primary combo piece)
• Sanguine Bond (Combo finisher)
• Maha, Its Feathers Night (Enables entire strategy)
• Cabal Coffers (Mana acceleration for big spells)
• Necropotence (Card advantage engine)
• Demonic Tutor (Finds combo pieces/answers)
• The Meathook Massacre (Board wipe + drain with Maha)
• Syr Konrad, the Grim (Massive damage from death triggers)
• Gray Merchant of Asphodel (Life swing with devotion)
• Torment of Hailfire (Scaling finisher)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Capable of T5-6 wins via combo or big-mana spells (e.g., T4 Maha → T5 Exquisite Blood + trigger), but requires setup turns.

Resilience: 6/10

• Recursion (e.g., Phyrexian Reclamation) and protection (equipment, ward) offer recovery, but commander dependency and enchantment fragility create significant vulnerabilities.

Consistency: 8/10

• Extensive tutors (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Beseech the Mirror) and card draw (Necropotence, Phyrexian Arena) reliably access combo pieces or answers.

Interaction: 6/10

• Efficient targeted removal (Deadly Rollick, Feed the Swarm) and wipes, but limited stack interaction and reliance on Maha for board control.

Rating Justification:

The deck operates at Focused Competitive levels (T5-6 wins) due to fast combo potential and efficient tutors, but its commander dependency and vulnerability to enchantment/graveyard hate cap its resilience. This places it in the high-power optimized range, falling short of cEDH consistency.

Power level: 7.0 - 7.5