Overview:

This Orzhov aristocrats/reanimator deck leverages Carmen's sacrifice-triggered growth and attack-triggered recursion to generate overwhelming value. The primary strategy involves sacrificing permanents (especially tokens from cards like Marionette Master or Black Market Connections) to fuel Carmen's power boosts, enabling her to reanimate increasingly potent threats like Sun Titan or Shard of the Void Dragon. Secondary win conditions include life-drain synergies (Marauding Blight-Priest, Marionette Apprentice), stax locks (Voice of Victory, Braids, Arisen Nightmare), and reanimation combos. Carmen is the essential engine, vulnerable to removal but efficiently recastable and protected by numerous auras/creatures.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Deploy mana acceleration (Sol Ring, Chrome Mox, Lotus Petal, Dark Ritual), low-CMC sacrifice fodder (Alseid of Life's Bounty, Benevolent Bodyguard), or value pieces (Esper Sentinel, Smothering Tithe). Use tutors (Vampiric Tutor, Entomb) to find key enablers like Necropotence or The Ozolith.
2. Engine Activation (Turns 3-5): Cast Carmen and initiate sacrifice loops. Sacrifice tokens or expendable permanents to cards like Phyrexian Tower, Braids, Arisen Nightmare, or Plaguecrafter to grow Carmen. Attack with Carmen to reanimate critical pieces (e.g., Sun Titan to recur The Ozolith/sac outlets, Marionette Master for drain).
3. Win Condition Execution (Turns 4-7):
   • Combat/Aristocrats: Overwhelm with Carmen's commander damage or drain via Marauding Blight-Priest/Marionette Master triggers amplified by mass sacrifices.
   • Reanimation/Value: Recur high-impact permanents (Shard of the Void Dragon, Cataclysmic Gearhulk) repeatedly with Carmen/Sun Titan.
   • Stax Lock: Deploy Voice of Victory + Martyr's Bond/Braids, Arisen Nightmare to restrict opponents' resources while draining life.
   • Combo: Marionette Master + mass artifact sacrifice (e.g., Treasures) for lethal life loss.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands (including color-fixing like Caves of Koilos/fetches) and early mana/sacrifice outlets.
• Prioritize Carmen enablers: The Ozolith, a protection aura (Spirit Mantle), or a sacrifice engine (Braids, Arisen Nightmare).
• Include at least one card draw/tutor (Necropotence, Vampiric Tutor, Black Market Connections).
• Reject hands lacking early plays or reliant solely on high-CMC cards.

Key Tips:

• Protect Carmen: Use Lightning Greaves, Apostle's Blessing, or sacrifice-based protection (Alseid of Life's Bounty) to ensure Carmen survives to attack. The Ozolith preserves counters if she dies.
• Sequence Sacrifices: Time sacrifices during opponents' turns (via Braids/Plaguecrafter) to maximize Carmen triggers and disrupt opponents. Prioritize sacrificing tokens or recurrable creatures.
• Leverage Recursion Loops: Sun Titan + The Ozolith/Sevinne's Reclamation creates potent value. Lurrus of the Dream-Den recasts key low-CMC permanents.
• Manage Life Total: Balance life payments (Necropotence, Ancient Tomb) with Carmen's lifegain. Use Teferi's Protection defensively or to enable a lethal Marauding Blight-Priest turn.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) cripples reanimation, Carmen's attack trigger, and recursion engines like Sun Titan/Lurrus.
• Carmen-focused removal (especially exile) severely disrupts the core engine due to commander tax reliance.
• Enchantment/artifact mass removal (Farewell) devastates key pieces like Necropotence, Smothering Tithe, and The Ozolith.

Moderate

• Anti-sacrifice effects (Tajuru Preserver, Sigarda, Host of Herons) nullify Braids/Plaguecrafter and slow Carmen's growth.
• Counter-heavy decks can disrupt critical sorcery-speed setup (tutors, reanimation, Braids).
• Fast combo decks can outpace this deck's incremental value before locks stabilize.

Minor

• Life-gain prevention mildly hinders drain strategies but doesn't stop Carmen's core plan.
• Land destruction can strain mana if key non-basics (Cabal Coffers, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth) are targeted early.

Most Important Cards:

• Necropotence (Primary card advantage engine, fuels graveyard)
• Sun Titan (Recursion backbone for permanents, enables loops)
• The Ozolith (Preserves Carmen's counters, amplifies threats)
• Braids, Arisen Nightmare (Forced sacrifice, card draw, life drain)
• Smothering Tithe (Ramp, artifact generation for sacrifice/drain)
• Voice of Victory (Stax piece preventing interaction during your turn)
• Marionette Master (Primary life-drain win condition)
• Teferi's Protection (Protects board, enables lethal life-drain turns)
• Demonic Tutor/Vampiric Tutor (Finds critical combo/engine pieces)
• Phyrexian Tower (Sacrifice outlet, mana acceleration, Carmen trigger)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Capable of T4-5 wins with ideal draws (e.g., fast mana into Carmen + sac outlet + Marauding Blight-Priest), but typically threatens wins/locks by T6-7 via incremental value or combo.

Resilience: 6/10

• Strong protection for Carmen, recursion for key pieces, and card draw mitigate disruption. However, heavy reliance on the graveyard and Carmen makes it vulnerable to targeted hate.

Consistency: 8/10

• Extensive tutors (9+), high card draw density (Necropotence, Black Market Connections, The One Ring), and functional redundancy (multiple sac outlets, reanimation) ensure reliable access to core strategy components.

Interaction: 7/10

• Robust suite of removal (Path to Exile, Anguished Unmaking, Fracture), free protection (Deadly Rollick, Flawless Maneuver), stax (Voice of Victory, Aven Interrupter), and graveyard hate (Dauthi Voidwalker). Lacks stack interaction beyond Mana Tithe/Reprieve.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at high-power casual levels, leveraging efficient tutors, fast mana, and synergistic combos to threaten wins by T5-7. Its resilience against spot removal and strong card advantage elevate it beyond optimized casual, but reliance on Carmen and vulnerability to graveyard hate prevent cEDH viability.

Power level: 7.0 - 7.5