Overview:

This Merieke Ri Berit deck focuses on creature theft and untap synergies to control the board, leveraging the commander's ability to repeatedly steal threats. While it has some stax elements and value engines, it lacks deterministic win conditions and struggles with speed/consistency.

Primer:

Core Strategy: The deck aims to deploy Merieke Ri Berit with untap enablers like Freed from the Real and Magewright's Stone to permanently steal opponents' creatures. Secondary plans include:

• Equipment/Aura voltron (Battle Mastery, Moonsilver Spear)
• Slow value through Treasury Thrull recursion
• Soft stax via Aven Mindcensor and Teferi's Moat

Mulligan Priorities:

• 3 lands (prioritize untapped sources)
• At least 1 untap enabler (Vizier of Tumbling Sands, Unbender Tine)
• Protection/evasion for Merieke (Swiftfoot Boots, Flitterstep Eidolon)

Key Tips:

• Use Eerie Interlude to reset Merieke while keeping stolen creatures
• Pair Thornbite Staff with Merieke's destruction trigger for repeated theft
• Mirror Mockery on opponents' value creatures for cloned ETBs

Avoid Traps:

• Overcommitting to high-CMC beaters like Tromokratis
• Relying on slow value engines without protection
• Keeping hands without early interaction/ramp

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Loses to 3+ commander removals (no alternate wincons)
• No infinite mana/damage combos to close games

Moderate:

• Slow recovery from board wipes
• Limited card advantage engines

Minor:

• Tapland-heavy mana base

Most Important Cards:

• Freed from the Real
• Thornbite Staff
• Magewright's Stone
• Unbender Tine
• Swiftfoot Boots
• Mirror Mockery
• Ertai Resurrected
• Aven Mindcensor
• Treasury Thrull
• Retreat to Coralhelm

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 4/10

• No fast combos, relies on T5+ Merieke setup and incremental value

Resilience: 3/10

• Commander-dependent with limited protection (only 3 hexproof sources)
• Slow recursion (Codex Shredder, Treasury Thrull)

Consistency: 4/10

• Only 4 tutors (Diabolic Tutor, Open the Armory, etc.)
• Redundant untap effects but no combo payoff

Interaction: 5/10

• 8 targeted removal, 2 counterspells (Ertai Resurrected, Path to Exile)
• Lacks free interaction and board wipes

Rating Justification:

The deck sits between "Upgraded Jank" (3.5) and "Casual/Precon" (4.0) due to:

• Theft theme requires opponents' creatures to win
• T10+ combat/steal win benchmark
• Lacks cEDH staples or fast mana
• Outclassed by focused T8-10 decks but exceeds pure precon power

Power level: 3.5 - 4.0