Overview:

This Grixis (U/B/R) deck revolves around Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor as a resilient Curse engine. The primary strategy involves attaching disruptive Curses (e.g., Curse of Opulence, Curse of Disturbance, Torment of Scarabs) to opponents, leveraging Lynde's recursion and card draw to maintain pressure. Secondary Constellation synergies (e.g., Grim Guardian, Thoughtrender Lamia) provide incremental life loss and disruption. Wins through slow attrition, life drain, and occasional combat with zombie tokens. Lynde is essential for recursion/value but vulnerable to removal; the deck relies on her to offset card disadvantage and recover key Curses.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Play mana rocks (Sol Ring, Signets), low-cost Curses (Curse of Opulence, Curse of Verbosity), or value enchantments (Propaganda). Prioritize ramping to cast Lynde by turn 4. Use Trinket Mage to fetch Crystal Chimes if needed.
2. Deploy Lynde & Curses (Turns 4-6): Cast Lynde and attach Curses to opponents during your upkeep for card draw. Focus on high-impact Curses like Torment of Scarabs, Curse of Misfortunes, or Curse of Thirst. Recur sacrificed/destroyed Curses with Lynde's end-step trigger.
3. Amplify & Disrupt (Turns 6+): Use copy effects (Copy Enchantment, Mirrormade) to duplicate key Curses or Constellation triggers. Deploy Constellation payoffs (Doomwake Giant, Grim Guardian) for board control and life drain. Leverage Sphinx of the Second Sun for extra upkeep triggers to move Curses/draw cards.
4. Win Condition Execution:
   • Attrition: Drain opponents via Curse triggers (Torment of Scarabs, Curse of Thirst) and Constellation effects (Grim Guardian, Wicked Visitor).
   • Combat: Generate zombie tokens with Curse of Disturbance/Curse of Shallow Graves and attack cursed opponents. Use Curse of Hospitality for trample/value.
   • Lock/Value: Curse of Echoes disrupts instant/sorcery decks, while Curse of Surveillance draws cards for allies, accelerating their demise.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3 lands, including at least two colored sources. Prioritize lands that enter untapped (e.g., basics, Command Tower).
• Ensure early ramp (Signet, Sol Ring) or a low-cost Curse/value piece (Curse of Opulence, Propaganda).
• Hands with Lynde + protection (e.g., Chaos Warp for removal) are ideal. Avoid hands lacking ramp or with only high-CMC cards.
• Include at least one card draw source (e.g., Read the Bones, Thirst for Meaning) if possible.

Key Tips:

• Curse Targeting: Spread Curses early to incentivize opponents to attack each other. Prioritize attaching Curse of Misfortunes to the player most vulnerable to its tutor effect.
• Protect Lynde: Use instant-speed removal (Terminate, Bedevil) to clear threats before moving Curses. Protean Thaumaturge can copy Lynde for redundancy.
• Maximize Recursion: Sacrifice Curses to Perilous Research or Saw for card draw, knowing Lynde will return them. Crystal Chimes recovers multiple Curses at once.
• Leverage Constellation: Prioritize enchantment creatures (Doomwake Giant, Thoughtrender Lamia) for dual triggers. Ashiok's Reaper draws cards when Curses die.
• Timing: Cast Extinguish All Hope when your board is enchantment-heavy. Use Obeka, Splitter of Seconds to gain extra upkeeps for more Curse-moving/draw triggers.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Enchantment Wipes: Merciless Eviction, Cleansing Nova, or Farewell cripple the deck, removing Curses and payoffs simultaneously. Limited recursion beyond Lynde/Crystal Chimes.
• Anti-Enchantment Hate: Back to Nature, Cleansing Meditation, or Bane of Progress are devastating. Deck lacks counterspells to protect key pieces.
• Commander Reliance: Removing Lynde repeatedly stalls the engine, as the deck lacks alternative Curse recursion and struggles to recast her without heavy ramp.

Moderate

• Slow Mana Base: Over 10 taplands (e.g., Temples, Crumbling Necropolis) delay critical early plays. Minimal land ramp (only Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse) slows development.
• Limited Win Speed: Relies on incremental damage; struggles to close games quickly against lifegain or combo decks. No infinite combos or explosive finishers.
• Graveyard Hate: Rest in Peace/Leyline of the Void disrupts Lynde's recursion and Crystal Chimes.

Minor

• Artifact/Enchantment Removal: Targeted removal (Nature's Claim) can hit key value pieces like Extravagant Replication or Sphinx of the Second Sun.
• Hand Disruption: Early discard can remove key setup cards before Lynde provides draw.

Most Important Cards:

• Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor (Engine: Recursion, card draw)
• Curse of Misfortunes (Tutors additional Curses)
• Bitterheart Witch (Tutors Curses on death)
• Crystal Chimes (Mass Curse recursion)
• Torment of Scarabs (High-impact life drain)
• Grim Guardian (Primary life drain payoff)
• Doomwake Giant (Board control via Constellation)
• Sphinx of the Second Sun (Extra upkeep for more triggers)
• Ashiok's Reaper (Card draw on enchantment death)
• Curse of Disturbance (Token generation for pressure/defense)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 4/10

• Wins via slow attrition, typically threatening lethal around T10-12. No fast combos; relies on incremental damage from multiple Curses/Constellation triggers.

Resilience: 5/10

• Lynde provides inherent recursion for Curses, and cards like Crystal Chimes offer graveyard recovery. However, heavy reliance on enchantments makes it vulnerable to sweepers, and protection is minimal.

Consistency: 6/10

• High Curse density (20+) ensures access to targets. Tutors (Bitterheart Witch, Trinket Mage) and card draw (Lynde, Read the Bones) find key pieces, but lacks universal enchantment tutors.

Interaction: 5/10

• Targeted removal (Terminate, Feed the Swarm, Bedevil, Chaos Warp) handles threats, and Doomwake Giant offers repeatable soft board control. Limited stack interaction and no counterspells.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at a casual level, leveraging Lynde's unique Curse synergy for incremental value and slow life drain. Its T10-12 win speed and moderate resilience against targeted removal align with Focused Casual, but vulnerability to enchantment wipes and slower mana base prevent higher optimization.

Power level: 4.0 - 4.5