Overview:

This Nicol Bolas deck is a Grixis control build focused on hand disruption, creature theft, and incremental value through forced discard synergies. While it features some strong individual cards and a clear strategy, its high mana curve, lack of fast mana, and overreliance on its expensive commander limit its competitiveness. The deck struggles to execute its game plan consistently and folds to common interaction.

Primer:

Core Strategy: The deck aims to control the game through targeted discard (Blightning, Guul Draz Specter), creature theft (Corrupted Conscience, Volition Reins), and leveraging Nicol Bolas' hand destruction trigger. Key threats like Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon and Arcanis the Omnipotent provide alternate win conditions, while equipment helps push commander damage.

Key Phases:

1. Early Game: Set up mana with slow dual lands and limited ramp (Dark Ritual, Obelisk of Grixis). Use cheap interaction like Lightning Bolt and Vapor Snag to disrupt opponents.
2. Mid Game: Resolve Nicol Bolas with protection from Lightning Greaves or Neurok Stealthsuit. Activate discard triggers through combat damage with evasion enablers like Trailblazer's Boots.
3. Late Game: Close out with stolen creatures, infect via Skithiryx, or incremental value from Maralen of the Mornsong + Mindcrank synergies.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3+ lands including color fixing
• Prioritize early interaction (Boomerang, Unsummon)
• Avoid hands without a clear path to cast Nicol Bolas

Key Tips:

• Use Forced Fruition cautiously - it accelerates opponents' decks
• Mycosynth Lattice enables artifact synergies but lacks payoff cards
• Protect Nicol Bolas at all costs - his high recast cost is debilitating

Avoid Traps:

• Energy Tap requires setup in a creature-light deck
• Sadistic Sacrament is mana-intensive without fast mana
• Vile Requiem requires multiple turns to become relevant

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• No protection against commander tax spiral (3+ removals = non-functional)
• Lacks reliable win conditions outside combat

Moderate:

• Slow mana base (11 enters-tapped lands)
• Minimal card advantage engines

Minor:

• Vulnerable to artifact/enchantment removal

Most Important Cards:

• Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
• Corrupted Conscience
• Diabolic Tutor
• Mindcrank
• Maralen of the Mornsong
• Mycosynth Lattice
• Volition Reins
• Arcanis the Omnipotent
• Lightning Greaves
• Ghastlord of Fugue

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 3/10

• No fast mana/tutors for early Nicol Bolas
• Win conditions require multiple combat phases

Resilience: 2/10

• No free protection spells
• Limited recursion (only Rise from the Grave)

Consistency: 4/10

• 2 tutors (Diabolic Tutor, Dark Ritual)
• Some redundancy in theft effects

Interaction: 5/10

• 8 targeted removal
• 3 counterspells
• Lacks board wipes

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between "Structured Jank" (2.5) and "Casual/Precon" (4.0). While it has some synergistic elements like discard triggers and equipment packages, its glacial speed and reliance on a fragile 7-mana commander prevent it from consistently threatening wins before turn 12. The lack of card advantage engines and inability to recover from setbacks place it below tuned precons.

Power level: 3.0 - 3.5