Overview:

A mono-black value engine deck centered around Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor, utilizing combat damage triggers for card advantage while maintaining flexibility through exile-based casting. The deck employs a mix of creature-based strategies and powerful black control elements.

Primer:

The deck operates on two primary axes: combat-based card advantage through Gix's first ability, and a late-game value engine through his exile ability. The early game focuses on deploying evasive creatures like Nighthawk Scavenger and Terror of Towashi to trigger Gix's draw ability while maintaining board presence. The deck includes strong tutors (Vampiric Tutor, Demonic Tutor) to find key pieces as needed.

The secondary strategy involves leveraging powerful black mana acceleration (Dark Ritual, Black Market Connections) to fuel Gix's exile ability, potentially casting opponent's spells for free. The deck includes several board wipes (Toxic Deluge) and removal options to control the game, while artifacts like Bolas's Citadel and Sol Ring provide additional value engines. The inclusion of Rise of the Dark Realms offers a powerful late-game finisher.

Weaknesses:

• The deck is vulnerable to graveyard hate, which impacts several of its recursion-based strategies.
• Relies heavily on creature-based combat damage for card advantage, making it susceptible to pillowfort strategies and heavy removal.
• Limited answers to enchantments outside of Feed the Swarm.
• Can struggle against faster combo decks due to its relatively fair gameplay approach.

Most Important Cards:

1. Bolas's Citadel
2. Black Market Connections
3. Vampiric Tutor
4. Demonic Tutor
5. Rise of the Dark Realms
6. Toxic Deluge
7. Sol Ring
8. Nighthawk Scavenger
9. Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
10. Revel in Riches

Attribute Ratings:

• Speed: 5/10
• Resilience: 6/10
• Consistency: 7/10
• Interaction: 6/10

Rating Justification:

This deck sits comfortably in the 5.5-6.0 range due to its consistent gameplan and inclusion of powerful tutors and interaction pieces. While it can establish a strong board presence and generate significant card advantage, it typically won't threaten wins before turn 7-8. The deck is stronger than typical casual builds (5.0) due to its tutor package and interaction suite, but lacks the explosive potential and fast mana base of higher-powered decks (6.5+).

Final power level rating: 5.5 - 6.0