Overview:

This Orzhov deck leverages Ketramose's exile-triggered card draw to fuel a mix of stax elements, graveyard hate, and combo finishes. The strategy focuses on exiling cards from both graveyards and the battlefield to maintain card advantage while disrupting opponents, eventually winning through Altar of the Brood mill loops or Bolas's Citadel life manipulation.

Primer:

Core Strategy: The deck operates through three phases:

1. Exile Engine Setup: Use cards like Planar Void, Dauthi Voidwalker, and flicker effects (Ephemerate, Cloudshift) to generate exile triggers for Ketramose's card draw. Early plays prioritize mana acceleration (Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual) and stax pieces (Drannith Magistrate, Grand Abolisher).
2. Combo Assembly: Tutor for Felidar Guardian + reanimation auras (Animate Dead, Necromancy) to create infinite ETB triggers with Altar of the Brood, or leverage Bolas's Citadel with Children of Korlis for uncapped life-to-spells conversion.
3. Lock/Finish: Deploy stax locks (Blind Obedience + Rule of Law effects) or convert card advantage into win conditions using Necropotence-fueled hands.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3 lands, 1-2 accelerants, and either a stax piece or tutor.
• Favor opening hands containing Entomb + reanimation spell or Wishclaw Talisman.

Key Tips:

• Time flicker effects on opponents' turns to maximize Ketramose triggers.
• Use Emergence Zone to flash in stax pieces or combo enablers.
• Force of Despair and Slaughter Pact provide free interaction during critical turns.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Relies on fragile 2-card combos with minimal protection (only Grand Abolisher/Silence)
• No backup wincon if Altar of the Brood is exiled

Moderate:

• Slow recovery from graveyard hate targeting own reanimation targets
• Limited redundancy for stax effects beyond Rule of Law variants

Minor:

• Commander-dependent card flow (needs 3+ exile triggers/turn to outpace table)

Most Important Cards:

• Necropotence
• Felidar Guardian
• Altar of the Brood
• Bolas's Citadel
• Animate Dead
• Dauthi Voidwalker
• Grand Abolisher
• Planar Void
• Entomb
• Drannith Magistrate

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Goldfish T5-6 wins via Felidar/Altar loops or Citadel chains
• Fast mana enables T3 Necropotence but requires setup turns

Resilience: 5/10

• Limited protection beyond Silence/Imp's Mischief
• Recursion exists (Sevinne's Reclamation) but combos remain fragile

Consistency: 7/10

• 6 tutors + Ketramose's card draw enable combo assembly
• Redundant exile engines (4+ graveyard hate pieces)

Interaction: 6/10

• 10 targeted answers (S-tier: Force of Despair, B-tier: Toxic Deluge)
• Stax pieces provide passive disruption

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between "Focused" (T7-8 wins) and "Optimized" (T6-7) tiers. While it lacks free interaction and has fragile combos, its tutor density and stax elements outperform typical T7 decks but fall short of cEDH's redundancy. Comparable to high-powered casual decks that threaten wins by T6 but fold to early interaction.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5