Overview:

This mono-black deck helmed by Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal employs a ruthless discard/stax strategy paired with life-drain payoffs and reanimation subthemes. The primary plan forces mass hand depletion through persistent discard triggers (Oppression, Cunning Lethemancer) and asymmetric payoffs like Waste Not, Liliana's Caress, and Syr Konrad, the Grim. Aclazotz serves as a recurring discard enabler and token generator, while backup win conditions include reanimated bombs (Archon of Cruelity, Sepulchral Primordial) and mana-sink finishers like Torment of Hailfire. The deck transitions into a grindy attrition game, leveraging black's signature recursion and mana amplification (Cabal Coffers, Crypt Ghast) to out-resource opponents.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Disruption (Turns 1-3): Deploy discard engines like The Raven Man, Tinybones, Trinket Thief, or Cunning Lethemancer. Use fast mana (Dark Ritual, Jet Medallion) to accelerate into stax pieces like Oppression or Painful Quandary.
2. Midgame Pressures (Turns 4-6): Activate Aclazotz's attack trigger while protecting it with Lightning Greaves. Resolve asymmetric discard payoffs like Waste Not or Geth's Grimoire. Use targeted removal (Soul Shatter, Flare of Malice) to disrupt key threats.
3. Late-Game Closure (Turns 7+):
   • Life Drain: Amplify discard triggers with Bloodchief Ascension or Syr Konrad, the Grim.
   • Reanimation: Cheat out Archon of Cruelty via Reanimate or Animate Dead.
   • Mana Sinks: Cast Torment of Hailfire with Coffers/Ghast mana or activate Tinybones, Trinket Thief's 10-life ability.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 Swamps and early discard outlets (Mind Rake, Dark Deal).
• Prioritize Waste Not, Necropotence, or Crypt Ghast in opening hands.
• Avoid hands lacking black mana sources or with only high-CMC spells.

Key Tips:

• Time mass discard (Delirium Skeins, Myojin of Night's Reach) after opponents refill hands.
• Use Necropotence to bypass discard symmetry while stockpiling answers.
• Protect Cabal Coffers/Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx with Demolition Field recursion.
• Tergrid, God of Fright converts opponents' sacrifices/discards into your board presence.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Enchantment Removal: Loses to Cleansing Nova/Austere Command hitting Waste Not, Necropotence, and stax pieces.
• Graveyard Hate: Rest in Peace/Leyline of the Void nullifies reanimation and Syr Konrad triggers.
• Empty-Hand Meta: Struggles against low-CMC/graveyard decks that operate effectively with 0-1 cards in hand.

Moderate

• Artifact Ramp Decks: Struggles to pressure opponents relying on mana rocks over hand-based strategies.
• Life Gain: Authority of the Consuls/Erebos, God of the Dead negates life-drain wincons.

Minor

• Flyer Swarms: Limited aerial blockers beyond Bat tokens and Aclazotz.
• Tax Effects: Thalia, Guardian of Thraben delays critical discard spells.

Most Important Cards:

• Waste Not (Mana/card/token engine from discards)
• Necropotence (Card advantage bypassing discard symmetry)
• Torment of Hailfire (Primary finisher)
• Cabal Coffers (Mana amplification)
• Syr Konrad, the Grim (Passive life drain)
• Archon of Cruelty (Reanimation target with multi-faceted value)
• Oppression (Asymmetric discard stax)
• Bloodchief Ascension (Scaling life-drain payoff)
• Tergrid, God of Fright (Theft engine)
• Myojin of Night's Reach (Hand reset button)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Can deploy early stax but typically closes via incremental damage or T8+ Torment/Coffers mana.

Resilience: 6/10

• Redundant discard engines and recursion (Witch's Cottage, Reanimate) mitigate single-target removal, but folds to board wipes.

Consistency: 7/10

• High density of discard triggers and black's superior card draw (Necropotence, Geth's Grimoire) ensure strategy execution.

Interaction: 6/10

• Targeted removal (Toxic Deluge, Sudden Spoiling) and hand disruption, but lacks stack interaction beyond discard.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at Optimized Casual levels (T8-10 wins via attrition/combo) with strong synergy and mana scaling, but its reliance on incremental damage and vulnerability to enchantment removal caps its ceiling. The combination of moderate speed and resilience aligns with tiered precon+ power.

Power level: 5.0 - 5.5