Overview:

This Xenagos, God of Revels deck is a classic Gruul stompy build focused on deploying massive creatures and leveraging extra combat steps to overwhelm opponents. Xenagos acts as a force multiplier, doubling a creature's power each combat and granting haste, enabling explosive one-shot kills. The deck combines efficient ramp, high-impact creatures like Ghalta, Primal Hunger and Worldspine Wurm, and synergistic combat enablers like Hellkite Charger and Moraug, Fury of Akoum to create overwhelming board states. While lacking infinite combos, it achieves wins through sheer combat pressure, often amplified by equipment like Embercleave or token generators like Quartzwood Crasher.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Ramp (Turns 1-4): Use Sol Ring, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Nature's Lore, and Skyshroud Claim to accelerate into Xenagos (often castable by Turn 3-4).
2. Deploy Threats (Turns 4-6): Drop high-power creatures like Carnage Tyrant, Ilharg, the Raze-Boar, or Savage Ventmaw. Activate Xenagos’s trigger to double their power and swing immediately.
3. Chain Combats (Mid-Late Game): Use Hellkite Charger, Scourge of the Throne, or Full Throttle for extra attacks. Pair with Savage Ventmaw for mana to fuel additional phases.
4. Close the Game: Amplify damage with Embercleave, Thunderfoot Baloth, or God-Eternal Rhonas. Use Kessig Wolf Run to push lethal trample damage.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands and at least one ramp spell.
• Prioritize early plays like Goblin Anarchomancer or Sakura-Tribe Elder.
• Look for a Turn 4 Xenagos + Turn 5 threat curve. Avoid hands clogged with >6 CMC spells without ramp.

Key Tips:

• Use Bolt Bend and Tyvar's Stand to protect Xenagos or key attackers.
• Ilharg, the Raze-Boar cheats in Worldspine Wurm or Ghalta for free combat swings.
• Moraug, Fury of Akoum triggers landfall combats during main phases—time land drops accordingly.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Board wipes (Blasphemous Act, Chain Reaction) cripple the deck’s momentum due to limited recursion.
• Enchantment removal disrupts Xenagos (if devotion is met) and key pieces like Rhythm of the Wild.

Moderate

• Stax effects (Ghostly Prison, Authority of the Consuls) slow combat-based strategies.
• Flyer-heavy decks can evade ground threats without consistent trample enablers.

Minor

• Spot removal on Xenagos is manageable due to indestructibility, but losing devotion stalls the engine.

Most Important Cards:

• Xenagos, God of Revels (Damage doubler/haste enabler)
• Embercleave (Critical combat finisher)
• Savage Ventmaw (Mana generation for extra combats)
• Hellkite Charger (Repeatable combat phases)
• Moraug, Fury of Akoum (Landfall-triggered combats)
• Thunderfoot Baloth (Team-wide trample/power boost)
• Ghalta, Primal Hunger (Cheap, lethal threat)
• God-Eternal Rhonas (Power doubler for alpha strikes)
• Garruk's Uprising (Card draw engine)
• Kogla, the Titan Ape (Interaction + protection)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Capable of T4 Xenagos into T5 20+ power swings, with potential T6-7 kills via extra combats.

Resilience: 5/10

• Limited protection beyond indestructible commanders; struggles to rebuild after wipes.

Consistency: 7/10

• Strong ramp package and card draw tied to creature plays, but lacks tutors for key combat enablers.

Interaction: 5/10

• Reactive removal (Beast Within, Chaos Warp) and combat tricks, but minimal stack interaction.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at a high-power casual level, threatening wins via combat as early as T5-7 with robust redundancy in threats. While faster than precon-tier decks, its reliance on combat and vulnerability to disruption place it below optimized combo builds.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5