Overview:

This Esper (WUB) control deck revolves around Saruman of Many Colors, leveraging spell-slinging and opponent graveyard exploitation. The primary strategy focuses on casting multiple spells per turn cycle to trigger Saruman's mill/copy ability, disrupt opponents with counterspells/removal, and win via incremental value, stolen spells, or late-game bombs like Rise of the Dark Realms. Saruman acts as both a value engine and win condition, synergizing with instant-speed interaction and mill synergies like Mindcrank/Bloodchief Ascension. Secondary "hidden commanders" like Lord of the Nazgûl and Nymris, Oona's Trickster enhance spellcasting payoffs.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Deploy mana rocks (Sol Ring, signets), establish card advantage engines (Archmage Emeritus, Faerie Mastermind), and disrupt opponents with targeted removal (Swords to Plowshares, Fracture).
2. Midgame Triggers (Turns 4-7): Cast Saruman and maintain 2+ spells per turn cycle using flash enablers (Borne Upon a Wind, Quicken). Prioritize countermagic (Dovin's Veto, Counterspell) to protect key pieces while milling opponents.
3. Win Conditions:
   • Mill Combo: Activate Bloodchief Ascension + Mindcrank for infinite life loss/mill.
   • Stolen Spells: Copy opponents' high-impact instants/sorceries via Saruman or Sorcerous Squall.
   • Army of Wraiths: Generate tokens with Lord of the Nazgûl and swing with a critical mass.
   • Graveyard Resurrection: Rise of the Dark Realms to steal all creatures.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands + 1-2 mana rocks.
• Prioritize early interaction (Baleful Strix, Opt) or engine pieces (The Reality Chip, As Foretold).
• Avoid hands lacking blue mana or with only high-CMC spells.

Key Tips:

• Use Storm of Saruman to double-cast key spells like Supreme Verdict or Demonic Tutor.
• Palantír of Orthanc forces opponents into lose-lose scenarios once stacked with counters.
• Gríma, Saruman's Footman provides repeatable spell theft if left unblocked.
• Time Wipe protects your key creatures while resetting the board.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Heavy reliance on Saruman's presence for sustained value; repeated removal can stall the game plan.
• Minimal proactive threats outside of stolen spells, making the deck vulnerable to combo/aggro decks outpacing its control elements.

Moderate

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) disrupts Saruman's copy ability and Rise of the Dark Realms.
• Struggles against decks with uncounterable threats or hexproof commanders.

Minor

• Limited artifact/enchantment removal beyond Fracture and Void Rend.
• Tapped lands in mana base slightly slow early interaction.

Most Important Cards:

• Saruman of Many Colors (Value engine/wincon)
• Mindcrank (Combo piece, mill enabler)
• Bloodchief Ascension (Combo piece, incremental damage)
• Demonic Tutor (Tutor critical pieces)
• Lord of the Nazgûl (Token generation, secondary wincon)
• Dovin's Veto (Uncounterable protection)
• Rise of the Dark Realms (Game-ending bomb)
• Storm of Saruman (Spell duplication)
• As Foretold (Free spellcasting)
• Nymris, Oona's Trickster (Card advantage engine)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Can establish control by T4-5 but typically wins via incremental value or T8+ combo/late-game bombs.

Resilience: 6/10

• Strong counterspell/protection suite but over-reliant on Saruman staying active. Recursion limited to Reanimate/Shifting Woodland.

Consistency: 7/10

• Extensive card selection (14 cantrips, 5 tutors) ensures access to key pieces, though combo requires specific cards.

Interaction: 9/10

• 15 targeted removal spells, 10 counterspells, and 4 board wipes provide exceptional disruption at all stages.

Rating Justification:

This deck demonstrates optimized casual traits with strong interaction and combo potential but lacks the speed (T8-10 wins) and redundancy of high-power lists. Its resilience is hampered by commander dependency, aligning it with upgraded precons/focused casual tiers.

Power level: 5.0 - 5.5