Overview:

The Wise Mothman deck focuses on milling opponents to trigger +1/+1 counter synergies while leveraging proliferate effects to amplify rad counters and other counters. It employs a dual strategy of incremental value through creature growth and a potential infinite mill combo, supported by Sultai's graveyard recursion and counter-doubling tools.

Primer:

Core Strategy:
This deck mills opponents via cards like Mesmeric Orb, Ruin Crab, and Psychic Corrosion, triggering The Wise Mothman’s +1/+1 counter distribution. Proliferate engines (Flux Channeler, Evolution Sage) accelerate rad counters and other counters, while counter-doublers (Hardened Scales, Branching Evolution) amplify threats. A secondary wincon exists in the Duskmantle Guildmage + Mindcrank infinite mill combo. Key creatures like Consuming Aberration and Syr Konrad, the Grim punish milling, while Herald of Secret Streams enables evasion for buffed creatures.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Ensure 3 lands with color fixing (prioritize untapped duals/fetches).
• Seek early ramp (Birds of Paradise, Sol Ring) or mill engines (Ruin Crab, Altar of the Brood).
• Keep hands with at least one counter synergy (e.g., Hardened Scales) or combo piece.

Key Tips:

• Time The Wise Mothman’s recasts post-boardwipe to maximize rad counter triggers.
• Use The Ozolith to preserve counters and redistribute them post-wipe.
• Tutor for Mindcrank or Duskmantle Guildmage to threaten an instant-speed combo.
• Heroic Intervention and Tamiyo's Safekeeping protect critical pieces like Corpsejack Menace.

Avoid Traps:

• Overcommitting to the board before establishing counter protection.
• Wasting proliferate triggers on non-critical counters.
• Holding interaction for combo protection instead of deploying threats.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace) shuts down recursion and Muldrotha.
• Relies on fragile combo pieces (Duskmantle Guildmage dies to removal).

Moderate:

• Slow recovery from board wipes.
• Limited redundancy for mill engines.

Minor:

• Vulnerable to flyers without direct answers.

Most Important Cards:

• Mindcrank
• Duskmantle Guildmage
• Hardened Scales
• Branching Evolution
• Mesmeric Orb
• The Ozolith
• Consuming Aberration
• Syr Konrad, the Grim
• Psychic Corrosion
• Corpsejack Menace

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can assemble the infinite mill combo by T6–7 with tutors. Mill engines and counter synergies apply pressure from T4 onward.

Resilience: 5/10

• Moderate protection (hexproof instants, counterspells) but folds to repeated removal on key pieces. Graveyard reliance is a liability.

Consistency: 6/10

• 5 tutors (Demonic Tutor, Fabricate, etc.) and card draw (Rhystic Study, Guardian Project) provide reliable access to combo pieces or engines.

Interaction: 6/10

• A-tier removal (Toxic Deluge, Putrefy) and counterspells (Disallow, An Offer You Can’t Refuse), but lacks free interaction for combo protection.

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between Optimized Casual (5.0) and Focused (6.0). It has a clear combo line and strong synergies but lacks the speed (T7–8 wins) and resilience of higher-tier decks. The mill/counter strategy is vulnerable to meta staples like graveyard hate, and interaction density is below competitive thresholds.

Power level: 5.0 - 5.5