Overview:

This Sultai deck helmed by Teval, the Balanced Scale employs a graveyard-centric strategy focused on self-mill, land recursion, and zombie token generation. The commander synergizes with both landfall triggers and graveyard-fueled value engines, enabling a grindy game plan that leverages cards like Life from the Loam and Conduit of Worlds for recursion. Key threats include massive creatures like Lord of Extinction and token swarms amplified by Avenger of Zendikar, with Living Death and Necromantic Selection serving as explosive finishers. Teval acts as both an enabler (via mill/land recursion) and a value engine (zombie generation), though the deck has redundancy to function without it.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4):
   • Deploy self-mill engines (Hedron Crab, Stitcher's Supplier, Skull Prophet).
   • Ramp with Cultivate, Rampant Growth, and Springbloom Druid.
   • Use Grapple with the Past or Grisly Salvage to fill the graveyard while fixing draws.

2. Mid-Game Value (Turns 4-7):

   • Recur lands with Teval's attack trigger or Life from the Loam.
   • Generate zombie tokens via Teval's passive and Crawling Sensation.
   • Deploy key creatures like Meren of Clan Nel Toth or Tasigur, the Golden Fang for incremental value.

3. Late-Game Finishers:

   • Resolve Living Death or Necromantic Selection to reanimate a massive board.
   • Overwhelm with Avenger of Zendikar plants or Lord of Extinction.
   • Drain opponents with Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord or Ob Nixilis, the Fallen.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Ensure 3 lands (prioritize green sources).
• Keep at least 1 early mill/ramp card (e.g., Stitcher's Supplier, Farseek).
• Value hands with graveyard recursion (Phyrexian Reclamation, Shigeki, Jukai Visionary).

Key Tips:

• Use Command Beacon to bypass Teval’s commander tax.
• Time Living Death after milling key creatures like Noxious Gearhulk or Junji, the Midnight Sky.
• Dauthi Voidwalker can steal opponents’ exiled threats while hating their graveyards.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) cripples recursion and token generation.
• Board wipes disrupt zombie swarms and reanimation targets, with limited recovery outside Conduit of Worlds.

Moderate

• Slow setup against fast combo decks due to lack of early interaction.
• Reliance on combat damage without infinite combos makes closing games against lifegain decks difficult.

Minor

• Limited stack interaction (only Tear Asunder, Putrefy).
• Mana base includes many tapped lands, slowing tempo.

Most Important Cards:

• Life from the Loam (Land recursion, fuels graveyard)
• Living Death (Mass reanimation finisher)
• Conduit of Worlds (Recur permanents from graveyard)
• Phyrexian Reclamation (Repeatable creature recursion)
• Avenger of Zendikar (Token swarm engine)
• Meren of Clan Nel Toth (Graveyard value engine)
• Teval's Judgment (Scales with graveyard synergy)
• Dauthi Voidwalker (Graveyard hate + threat theft)
• Lord of Extinction (Massive threat, Jarad synergy)
• Crawling Sensation (Token generation + mill)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Wins typically around T7-9 via combat or Living Death. Lacks fast combos but can accelerate with early ramp.

Resilience: 6/10

• Recursion engines and token generation provide recovery, but graveyard dependency is a liability.

Consistency: 6/10

• Self-mill and card selection (e.g., Satyr Wayfinder) dig for key pieces, but limited tutors reduce reliability.

Interaction: 4/10

• Spot removal (Putrefy, Casualties of War) handles threats, but lacks counterspells and instant-speed answers.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates as a midrange graveyard engine with a T7-9 win clock through combat or reanimation, aligning with the "Optimized Casual" tier. While resilient against single-target removal, its reliance on the graveyard and slower clock caps its power level.

Power level: 5.0 - 6.0