Overview:

This Golgari deck leverages Greta, Sweettooth Scourge as a value engine commander to fuel an aristocrats strategy centered on Food token generation and sacrifice. The primary game plan involves flooding the board with Food artifacts using cards like Academy Manufactor, Peregrin Took, and Experimental Confectioner, then sacrificing them for life drain (Agent of the Iron Throne, Marionette Master), card advantage (Greta's draw ability, Deadly Dispute), or creature buffs. Win conditions pivot around overwhelming life loss through token death triggers, large Torment of Hailfire/Exsanguinate fueled by Treasure synergies, or combat with enhanced threats like Feasting Troll King. Greta enables the engine but isn't irreplaceable; the deck functions through redundancy and has "hidden commander" elements in Academy Manufactor and Mirkwood Bats.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Prioritize ramp (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Cultivate) and early Food generators (Gilded Goose, Shelob's Ambush, Many Partings). Mulligan for hands with 3 lands and at least one token source or ramp piece.
2. Token Proliferation (Turns 3-5): Deploy key engines: Academy Manufactor (triples token output), Peregrin Took (adds extra Food), Experimental Confectioner (creates Rats on sacrifice). Use Night of the Sweets' Revenge to turn Foods into mana sources.
3. Sacrifice & Value (Turns 4-6): Activate Greta's abilities: Use {G} to buff creatures like Feasting Hobbit or {1}{B} to draw cards. Sacrifice Foods to Deadly Dispute for cards/Treasure, Braids, Arisen Nightmare for opponent sacrifice/life loss, or Krark-Clan Ironworks for mana acceleration.
4. Win Condition Execution (Turns 5-8):
   • Life Drain: Leverage Mirkwood Bats, Agent of the Iron Throne, Marionette Master, or Nadier's Nightblade to drain opponents as Foods/Servos die.
   • Big Mana: Use Treasure from Nuka-Cola Vending Machine or Tireless Provisioner to fuel Torment of Hailfire or Exsanguinate.
   • Combat: Deploy Feasting Troll King or animate Foods with Tough Cookie, boosted by Night of the Sweets' Revenge's finisher ability.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3+ lands (including duals like Bayou/Woodland Cemetery), at least one early Food generator (e.g., Gilded Goose, Shelob's Ambush), and a payoff (e.g., Mirkwood Bats, Trail of Crumbs).
• Prioritize hands containing Academy Manufactor or ramp if lacking token production.
• Avoid hands without early plays or excessive high-CMC cards.

Key Tips:

• Maximize Token Doubling: Academy Manufactor turns every Food into Clue/Treasure/Food. Pair with Peregrin Took or Chatterfang, Squirrel General for exponential tokens.
• Combo Potential: Krark-Clan Ironworks + Clock of Omens + Marionette Master/Mirkwood Bats can drain the table infinitely by sacrificing artifacts to untap Ironworks.
• Protect Engines: Use Heroic Intervention or Abrupt Decay to safeguard Academy Manufactor, Night of the Sweets' Revenge, or Mirkwood Bats.
• Recursion: Back for Seconds and The Underworld Cookbook retrieve key creatures like Marionette Master from the graveyard.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Artifact/Token Hate: Stony Silence or Collector Ouphe cripples Food sacrifice outlets, mana generation, and combo pieces.
• Graveyard Hate: Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void disrupts recursion (Back for Seconds, Feasting Troll King, Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord).
• Board Wipes: Mass removal (Farewell, Damnation) before establishing engines forces slow rebuilds.

Moderate

• Anti-Token Effects: Torpor Orb nulls ETB token generation (e.g., Greta, Experimental Confectioner). Rakdos Charm punishes wide token boards.
• Combo Disruption: Counterspells targeting Torment of Hailfire or key combo pieces (Krark-Clan Ironworks) delay wins.

Minor

• Life Gain Decks: Opponents with heavy life gain can outpace drain effects.
• Flying Threats: Limited flying blockers make evasion problematic without deathtouch enablers.

Most Important Cards:

• Academy Manufactor (Token tripler: exponentially increases Food/Clue/Treasure output)
• Mirkwood Bats (Primary life-drain engine)
• Night of the Sweets' Revenge (Mana acceleration and finisher)
• Peregrin Took (Token doubler and card draw enabler)
• Krark-Clan Ironworks (Mana engine/combo piece)
• Agent of the Iron Throne (Commander damage amplifier/life drain)
• Torment of Hailfire (Scalable finisher)
• Deadly Dispute (Card draw and Treasure generation)
• Gilded Goose (Early Food generation and mana fixing)
• Marionette Master (Secondary life-drain wincon)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can threaten wins via life drain or big mana spells by turns 7-8, but lacks fast mana (e.g., Mana Crypt) or T4 combos.

Resilience: 7/10

• High redundancy in token generation and sacrifice payoffs, with recursion (Back for Seconds, The Underworld Cookbook) and protection (Heroic Intervention). Still vulnerable to targeted hate.

Consistency: 8/10

• Abundant token producers, card draw (Greta, Deadly Dispute, Phyrexian Arena), and land tutors (Cultivate, Many Partings) ensure engine assembly.

Interaction: 6/10

• Efficient targeted removal (Assassin's Trophy, Beast Within, Tear Asunder) and board wipes (Toxic Deluge), but minimal stack interaction beyond Force of Vigor.

Rating Justification:

The deck demonstrates high consistency and resilience through redundant token engines and recursion, enabling T7-8 wins via scalable life drain or big mana spells. However, its speed is capped by reliance on incremental value and vulnerability to artifact/graveyard hate, placing it below optimized combo tiers.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5