Overview:

This Esper artifact deck leverages Sydri, Galvanic Genius to animate noncreature artifacts and grant them deathtouch/lifelink, enabling aggressive lifegain strategies and turning utility artifacts into threats. The deck combines Vehicle tribal (powered by Greasefang, Okiba Boss recursion) with a Rat tribal subtheme (synergizing with Maskwood Nexus and Kindred Discovery). Key win conditions include overwhelming Vehicle combat, infinite mana combos utilizing Basalt Monolith + Unstoppable Plan, and Rat token swarms amplified by Marrow-Gnawer. Sydri acts as both an enabler (animating artifacts) and a finisher (granting lifelink/deathtouch), but the strategy relies heavily on artifact synergy rather than Sydri herself.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Deploy artifact mana (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, artifact lands) and key engines like Artificer Class or Efficient Construction. Use tutors (Fabricate, Diabolic Intent) to find Maskwood Nexus or Unstoppable Plan.
2. Mid-Game Value (Turns 4-6): Animate Vehicles with Sydri/Mech Hangar or recur them with Greasefang, Okiba Boss. Generate Rat tokens via Lord Skitter, Sewer King/Vren, the Relentless. Draw aggressively with Kindred Discovery (enabled by Nexus) or The Reality Chip.
3. Win Condition Execution (Turns 6-8):
   • Vehicle Combat: Attack with massive Vehicles (Parhelion II, Reaver Titan) animated by Sydri/Greasefang/Mech Hangar, often granting deathtouch/lifelink via Sydri or Vault of the Archangel.
   • Infinite Mana: Assemble Basalt Monolith + Unstoppable Plan (untaps Monolith each end step). Use infinite mana with Walking Ballista (not listed but implied by combo support) or Dance of the Manse (X=infinity).
   • Rat Swarm: Sacrifice Rats to Marrow-Gnawer for exponential tokens, then attack with a lethal horde (amplified by Pack Rat's scaling).
   • Control Lock: Imprint Orim's Chant on Isochron Scepter to prevent opponents from casting spells/attacking.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands including colored sources. Prioritize artifact lands.
• Ensure early ramp (Sol Ring, Signet) or a critical engine (Artificer Class, Efficient Construction).
• Look for a tutor (Fabricate, Diabolic Intent) or key synergy piece (Maskwood Nexus, Greasefang).
• Hands lacking artifact density or mana acceleration should be mulliganed aggressively.

Key Tips:

• Maximize Sydri: Animate key artifacts like Chromatic Lantern or Staff of Nin to turn them into lifelink/deathtouch threats. Use her deathtouch ability to trade utility artifacts (e.g., Soul-Guide Lantern) for big creatures.
• Leverage Graveyard: Use Entomb/Final Parting to bin Vehicles for Greasefang or combo pieces for recursion (Academy Ruins, Phyrexian Reclamation).
• Protect Combos: Unbreakable Formation shields your board during critical turns. Dovin's Veto/Mana Drain counter key disruption.
• Synergy Overkill: Maskwood Nexus makes all creatures Rats, enabling Kindred Discovery draw triggers off every creature cast/attack and Marrow-Gnawer sacrifices.
• Utility Lands: The Mycosynth Gardens copies key artifacts (e.g., Basalt Monolith). Swarmyard regenerates Rats.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Artifact Wipes: Vandalblast/Farewell cripple mana base, Vehicles, and synergy pieces with minimal recovery.
• Graveyard Hate: Rest in Peace/Leyline of the Void nullify Greasefang, Phyrexian Reclamation, and Entomb.
• Anti-Activation Stax: Collector Ouphe/Karn, the Great Creator shut down artifact mana, Vehicles, Sydri's abilities, and combo enablers.

Moderate

• Board Wipes: Damnation/Toxic Deluge reset Rat tokens and animated artifacts; recovery relies on recursion engines.
• Combo Disruption: Removing Unstoppable Plan or Basalt Monolith delays the infinite mana win.
• Rule of Law Effects: Limit spell-per-turn, hindering combo assembly and Vehicle deployment.

Minor

• Enchantment Removal: Hits key engines like Kindred Discovery or Phyrexian Arena but less devastating than artifact hate.
• Mana Base Fragility: Heavy reliance on artifact lands makes nonbasic land hate (Blood Moon) moderately painful.

Most Important Cards:

• Maskwood Nexus (Enables Rat tribal synergies with Kindred Discovery/Marrow-Gnawer)
• Greasefang, Okiba Boss (Primary Vehicle recursion engine)
• Unstoppable Plan (Combo piece with Basalt Monolith for infinite mana)
• Basalt Monolith (Combo piece for infinite mana)
• Kindred Discovery (Card draw engine with Nexus)
• Marrow-Gnawer (Rat token generator and win condition)
• Diabolic Intent (Tutor; sacrifices Rats for critical searches)
• Artificer Class (Mana reduction, card selection, token copying)
• Isochron Scepter (Potential lock with Orim's Chant)
• The Reality Chip (Card advantage and top-deck manipulation)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can threaten wins via Vehicle combat or Rat swarms by turn 7-8; infinite mana combo enables T6-7 wins with proper setup.

Resilience: 5/10

• Has recursion (Academy Ruins, Phyrexian Reclamation) and protection (Unbreakable Formation), but core strategy folds to targeted artifact/graveyard hate with limited answers.

Consistency: 7/10

• Multiple tutors (Fabricate, Diabolic Intent, Whir of Invention), strong card draw (Kindred Discovery, The Reality Chip), and redundancy in artifact ramp ensure reliable access to key pieces.

Interaction: 8/10

• Excellent suite: Counterspells (Mana Drain, Dovin's Veto), targeted removal (Swords to Plowshares, Void Rend), board wipes (Damn, The Meathook Massacre), and graveyard hate (Soul-Guide Lantern).

Rating Justification:

This deck demonstrates focused speed (T6-8 wins) through synergistic combat and a compact infinite mana combo, supported by high consistency via tutors and card draw. However, its critical vulnerability to artifact/graveyard hate and modest resilience against board wipes caps its ceiling below optimized tiers. It aligns with the "Focused" (6.0) benchmark but lacks the protection/redundancy for higher resilience.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5