Overview:

This Atraxa deck leverages proliferate mechanics to amplify +1/+1 counters and poison strategies. Atraxa serves as the central proliferate engine, enabling consistent counter growth on infect creatures, planeswalkers, and synergistic permanents. The deck wins primarily through poison counters via evasive infect creatures, supported by combo finishes (Sage of Hours + counter doubling) and combat damage enhanced by counter synergies. While Atraxa accelerates the game plan, the strategy remains vulnerable to commander removal due to its high mana cost and reliance on proliferate triggers.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Deploy mana rocks (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone), ramp (Rampant Growth, Cultivate), or low-cost infect creatures (Blighted Agent, Plague Stinger). Prioritize counter-doublers like Hardened Scales or Branching Evolution if available.
2. Engine Activation (Turns 4-6): Cast Atraxa to trigger proliferate every turn. Deploy key pieces: Inexorable Tide for spell-based proliferation, Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus for double proliferate, or Bred for the Hunt/Hollowmurk Siege for card draw. Protect Atraxa with Lightning Greaves or Mithril Coat.
3. Win Condition Execution:
   • Poison: Attack with unblockable/flying infect creatures (Blighted Agent, Plague Stinger). Proliferate poison counters using Atraxa, Inexorable Tide, or Drown in Ichor.
   • Combo: Generate 5+ experience counters with Ezuri, Claw of Progress, then use Sage of Hours to take infinite turns. Counter doublers enable this with fewer counters.
   • Combat: Overwhelm with creatures amplified by proliferated +1/+1 counters (e.g., Canopy Gargantuan, Phyrexian Crusader).

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands, including color-fixing (fetchlands, Chromatic Lantern).
• Prioritize early infect creatures, mana acceleration, or a counter doubler.
• Include at least one protection piece (Snakeskin Veil, Mutational Advantage) or interaction (Counterspell, Mana Drain).
• Avoid hands lacking early plays or reliant solely on Atraxa.

Key Tips:

• Protect Combo Pieces: Sage of Hours and Ezuri, Claw of Progress are priority targets. Use Mutational Advantage or Lightfoot Technique defensively.
• Maximize Proliferate: Sequence noncreature spells after establishing Inexorable Tide/Ichormoon Gauntlet. Use Brokers Confluence for instant-speed triple proliferate.
• Leverage Recursion: Smile at Death and Conduit of Worlds recover key creatures/artifacts. Resourceful Defense preserves counters after board wipes.
• Poison Pivot: If infect creatures are removed, pivot to Grafted Exoskeleton on Atraxa or Sword of Truth and Justice for combat proliferation.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Board Wipes: Mass removal (e.g., Damnation) cripples the board state; limited recovery beyond Smile at Death.
• Graveyard Hate: Rest in Peace shuts down Conduit of Worlds, Smile at Death, and Rite of Renewal.
• Anti-Counter Tech: The One Ring/Solemnity nullifies proliferate targets and combo lines.

Moderate

• Commander Reliance: Atraxa’s high recast cost (up to 10 mana) slows the deck if removed repeatedly.
• Artifact/Enchantment Removal: Loses key engines (Ichormoon Gauntlet, Branching Evolution) to Fracture.
• Stack Interaction: Limited counterspells; struggles against resolved combos or stax like Drannith Magistrate.

Minor

• Aggro Decks: Early pressure can overwhelm if infect creatures don’t connect quickly.
• Flying Threats: Limited reach; relies on Phyrexian Crusader or Windborn Muse for defense.

Most Important Cards:

• Sage of Hours (Infinite turns combo with Ezuri/Atraxa)
• Hardened Scales/Branching Evolution (Doubles +1/+1 counters for faster wins)
• Blighted Agent (Primary unblockable poison threat)
• Inexorable Tide (Spell-based proliferate engine)
• Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus (Doubles proliferate triggers)
• Brokers Confluence (Versatile interaction + triple proliferate)
• Ichormoon Gauntlet (Proliferate planeswalkers, enables extra turns)
• Ezuri, Claw of Progress (Generates experience counters for Sage combo)
• Mana Drain/Counterspell (Critical stack interaction)
• Grafted Exoskeleton (Backup poison source on Atraxa)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can threaten poison wins or infinite turns by T7-8 with ideal draws, but relies on combat or incremental proliferate for most victories.

Resilience: 5/10

• Moderate protection (hexproof/indestructible instants) and recursion, but folds to repeated wipes or graveyard hate. Atraxa’s cost hampers recovery.

Consistency: 7/10

• Strong card draw (Bred for the Hunt, Abundance), proliferate redundancy, and tutors (Worldly Tutor via Finale of Devastation omission noted) ensure key pieces are accessible.

Interaction: 5/10

• Efficient targeted removal (Mortify, Drown in Ichor) and premium counterspells, but lacks board wipes and has limited answers to noncreature permanents.

Rating Justification:

The deck executes a focused T7-8 win via poison or combo with high consistency, placing it in the "Focused" tier. However, its reliance on combat/proliferate increments and vulnerability to disruption caps its speed/resilience below optimized levels.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5