Overview:

This Alesha, Who Smiles at Death deck is a high-speed reanimator/combo hybrid leveraging aggressive recursion of low-power utility creatures and explosive mana acceleration. The strategy revolves around deploying fast mana (e.g., Mana Vault, Lion's Eye Diamond) to enable early Buried Alive/Entomb setups, reanimating key threats like Master of Cruelties or assembling infinite loops with Underworld Breach + Lion's Eye Diamond + Wheel of Fortune. Alesha acts as both a recursive engine for value creatures (e.g., Imperial Recruiter, Opposition Agent) and a combo enabler, though the deck can win without her via standalone reanimation spells and storm-like turns.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Acceleration (Turns 1-2): Prioritize fast mana (Mana Vault, Sol Ring, Chrome Mox) to power out Buried Alive, Ad Nauseam, or Necropotence. Use Gamble/Entomb to dump key creatures like Master of Cruelties or Dauthi Voidwalker.
2. Combo Setup (Turns 2-4): Reanimate combo pieces via Reanimate, Victimize, or Alesha’s attack trigger. Underworld Breach turns the graveyard into a second hand, enabling recursive loops with Lion's Eye Diamond for infinite mana/spells.
3. Win Conditions (Turns 3-5):
   • Master of Cruelties Kill: Attack with Alesha, recur Master of Cruelties tapped and attacking to reduce a player to 1 life, then finish with direct damage (Boros Charm).
   • Breach Storm: Generate infinite mana via Underworld Breach + Lion's Eye Diamond, then cast Wheel of Fortune repeatedly to deck opponents or drain via Aetherflux Reservoir (implied but not listed).
   • Ad Nauseam/Necropotence: Draw most of the deck, then win via Thassa's Oracle (implied but not listed) or combat.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 1-2 lands + fast mana or a tutor.
• Prioritize Buried Alive, Entomb, or Ad Nauseam if paired with acceleration.
• Avoid hands lacking mana sources or graveyard setup tools.

Key Tips:

• Use Teferi's Protection/Boros Charm to protect combo turns or dodge board wipes.
• Opposition Agent + Buried Alive steals opponents’ libraries.
• Underworld Breach can recur Demonic Tutor or Wheel of Fortune for critical redundancy.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) cripples recursion and Breach combos.
• Drannith Magistrate/Containment Priest blocks Alesha’s ability and reanimation.

Moderate

• Board wipes disrupt creature-based value engines if protection isn’t drawn.
• Rule of Law effects hinder storm turns and combo assembly.

Minor

• Limited stack interaction beyond Deflecting Swat/Imp's Mischief.
• Life loss from Necropotence/Ad Nauseam can be risky in prolonged games.

Most Important Cards:

• Underworld Breach (Combo engine, recursion)
• Buried Alive (Graveyard setup)
• Master of Cruelties (One-shot kill with Alesha)
• Ad Nauseam (Draw engine)
• Lion's Eye Diamond (Mana combo with Breach)
• Necropotence (Card advantage)
• Imperial Seal/Demonic Tutor (Tutoring)
• Mana Vault (Explosive acceleration)
• Teferi's Protection (Protection)
• Dauthi Voidwalker (Disruption/combo piece)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 8/10
Capable of T3 wins with ideal hands (e.g., T1 Mana Vault → T2 Buried Alive + reanimation) and consistent T4-5 victories via Breach combos or Master of Cruelties.

Resilience: 6/10
Multiple protection spells and redundancy mitigate disruption, but graveyard dependency creates fragility against specific hate.

Consistency: 9/10
Extensive tutors (10+), card draw engines, and overlapping combo lines ensure reliable access to win conditions.

Interaction: 5/10
Efficient targeted removal (Swords to Plowshares, Chaos Warp) and stack deflection, but lacks broad counterspell coverage.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at cEDH-adjacent speeds with T3-5 win potential, supported by premium tutors and fast mana, but its reliance on graveyard synergies and vulnerability to common hate keep it just below top-tier competitiveness. The balance of explosive power and moderate resilience aligns with high-power optimized lists.

Power level: 7.5 - 8.0