Overview:

This Meren of Clan Nel Toth deck is a high-powered graveyard-centric build focused on explosive combo potential and relentless recursion. Leveraging fast mana, dense tutor packages, and stax elements, it aims to assemble game-winning loops like Gravecrawler/Phyrexian Altar/Blood Artist or Protean Hulk chains while disrupting opponents with cards like Chains of Mephistopheles and Opposition Agent. The deck transitions seamlessly between grinding value via Meren’s experience counters and executing deterministic wins through redundant combo lines.

Primer:

Core Strategy: This deck accelerates into Meren using premium mana rocks (Grim Monolith, Mox Diamond) to establish early board presence. Key creatures are sacrificed to outlets like Viscera Seer or Ashnod’s Altar to fuel experience counters, enabling Meren to reanimate threats like Protean Hulk or Gray Merchant of Asphodel. The primary win condition involves assembling infinite death/drain loops using Gravecrawler + Phyrexian Altar + Blood Artist or tutoring into Protean Hulk death triggers to fetch combo pieces. Secondary lines include stax locks (Chains of Mephistopheles + Mindcrank) and overwhelming value via recurring threats like Endurance and Dauthi Voidwalker.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2+ mana accelerants (e.g., Chrome Mox, Elvish Mystic) to cast Meren by turn 3.
• Prioritize hands containing a tutor (Demonic Tutor, Diabolic Intent) or key combo piece (Gravecrawler, Phyrexian Altar).
• Avoid hands lacking graveyard enablers or slow land sequences.

Key Tips:

• Use Necropotence and Sylvan Library aggressively to dig for combo pieces, accepting life loss as a resource.
• Time Protean Hulk deaths post-Meren’s experience counters to immediately reanimate fetched creatures.
• Deploy stax pieces like Opposition Agent reactively to disrupt opponents’ tutors or combo attempts.
• Leverage Emergence Zone to flash in threats or sacrifice outlets during end steps.

Avoid Traps:

• Overextending creatures into board wipes without recursion backup.
• Holding tutors for “perfect” lines instead of answering immediate threats.
• Letting Chains of Mephistopheles remain idle – force discard phases with Sylvan Library or Necropotence.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Foldsto graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) without immediate answers
• Commander-dependent recursion (3+ Meren removals cripple engine)

Moderate:

• Limited protection for combo turns (relies on timing vs. counterspells)
• Stax pieces disrupt own draw engines (Chains vs. Sylvan Library)

Minor:

• Life payment synergies (Necropotence, Mana Confluence) vulnerable to aggro

Most Important Cards:

• Protean Hulk
• Blood Artist
• Phyrexian Altar
• Gravecrawler
• Necropotence
• Demonic Tutor
• Vampiric Tutor
• Imperial Seal
• Chains of Mephistopheles
• Viscera Seer

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 9/10

• Turn 3 wins possible with perfect hands (T1 Dark Ritual + Mana Vault into T2 Meren + T3 Hulk)
• 8+ fast mana sources enable explosive starts

Resilience: 7/10

• Recursion via Meren/Animate Dead mitigates single removals
• 5+ instant-speed interaction pieces (Force of Vigor, Deadly Rollick)
• Struggles against layered hate (e.g., Rule of Law + Grafdigger’s Cage)

Consistency: 8/10

• 10+ tutors find combo pieces reliably
• Redundant sac outlets (7+) ensure engine functionality
• Weak to early grave hate without Force of Vigor

Interaction: 7/10

• S-Tier: Force of Vigor, Deadly Rollick
• A-Tier: Abrupt Decay, Infernal Grasp
• Stax elements (Opposition Agent, Chains) provide passive disruption

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at cEDH-adjacent levels with its density of fast mana, tutor consistency, and compact win conditions, but lacks the absolute fastest Thoracle/Consultation lines seen in Tier 1 cEDH. Its ability to threaten T3 wins while maintaining stax pressure aligns with High Power (8.0), but the reliance on combatable combos and vulnerability to common grave hate prevents it from reaching Tier 1 cEDH status. It outperforms most optimized casual decks but doesn’t consistently race top-tier combo decks.

Power level: 8.0 - 8.5