Overview:

This Bant deck leverages Kellan, the Kid to cheat high-impact permanents onto the battlefield by casting spells from exile, graveyard, or via adventure/foretell/plot. The primary strategy revolves around generating immense value through alternative casting costs, enabling explosive turns where Kellan triggers allow free casts of powerful permanents like Apex Devastator or Chimil, the Inner Sun. Kellan is the essential engine, enabling the deck's core value generation and win acceleration. While vulnerable to removal, the deck includes protection and recursion to mitigate this. Secondary value engines like Vega, the Watcher, Rashmi, Eternities Crafter, and Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius synergize deeply with the exile/graveyard theme.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Setup & Ramp (Turns 1-3): Prioritize deploying mana accelerants (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Birds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch, Delighted Halfling, Nature's Lore, Farseek) and establishing card advantage engines (Rhystic Study, Mystic Remora, Esper Sentinel, Sylvan Library). Use foretell/adventure/plot costs to exile spells early, setting up Kellan triggers.
2. Deploy Kellan & Enable Triggers (Turns 3-5): Cast Kellan (ideally protected by Delighted Halfling or boots). Immediately leverage exiled cards: Cast adventures (e.g., Petty Theft, Retrieve Prey), foretold spells (e.g., Saw It Coming, Doomskar), or plot cards (e.g., Outcaster Trailblazer) to trigger Kellan. Choose to either cast a high-value permanent for free (e.g., Smothering Tithe, Beast Whisperer, The One Ring) or ramp with a land.
3. Value Amplification & Win Setup (Turns 4-7): Use Kellan triggers and cost reducers (Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius, Savvy Trader) to cheat out key permanents: Chimil, the Inner Sun, Apex Devastator, Elven Chorus, Kellan Joins Up, or The Reality Chip. These generate massive card advantage, mana, or board presence. Recur key pieces with Sevinne's Reclamation, Auroral Procession, or Six.
4. Win Condition Execution (Turns 5-8):
   • Combat Overwhelm: Use massive creatures cheated out (Apex Devastator, Railway Brawler) boosted by Kellan Joins Up counters and evasion from Sword of Forge and Frontier.
   • Value Combos: Apex Devastator cascades or Chimil, the Inner Sun discovers can chain into win conditions or lock pieces. Elven Chorus/The Reality Chip enable casting off the top indefinitely.
   • Control Lock: Leverage repeated free spells, counterspells (Fierce Guardianship, Counterspell, Spell Queller), and board wipes (Doomskar + Cosmic Intervention) to stall while assembling an insurmountable board.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Essential: 2-3 lands (including color fixing), at least one piece of ramp (mana dork, signet, land fetch).
• High Priority: Kellan enablers (foretell/adventure/plot card like Saw It Coming, Petty Theft, Outcaster Trailblazer) OR a card advantage engine (Rhystic Study, Mystic Remora, Sylvan Library).
• Good: Protection for Kellan (Delighted Halfling, Mithril Coat, Flawless Maneuver) or a tutor (Worldly Tutor, Enlightened Tutor).
• Avoid: Hands lacking ramp, lands, or ways to trigger Kellan immediately after casting him.

Key Tips:

• Sequence Triggers: Cast Kellan after exiling cards via foretell/adventure/plot to ensure immediate triggers. Hold instant-speed adventures/foretell until after Kellan resolves if possible.
• Protect Kellan: He is critical. Use Delighted Halfling, Mithril Coat, Swiftfoot Boots (implied), Flawless Maneuver, Heroic Intervention, and Teferi's Protection aggressively. Grand Abolisher protects your combo turns.
• Maximize Free Casts: Prioritize cheating permanents that generate immediate value or win the game (Apex Devastator, Chimil, the Inner Sun, Smothering Tithe, The One Ring). Use land drops only if no impactful permanent is available.
• Leverage Cost Reduction: Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius makes plotting and casting from exile/graveyard significantly cheaper. Savvy Trader reduces costs and provides graveyard recursion.
• Recursion is Key: Use Sevinne's Reclamation, Auroral Procession, Six, and Shifting Woodland (implied by Savvy Trader/Uro) to rebuy Kellan or key pieces after removal or wipes. Cosmic Intervention protects your board from wipes.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Extreme Commander Dependency: The deck's engine and win acceleration rely heavily on Kellan resolving and staying on the battlefield. Multiple removals or Drannith Magistrate cripple the strategy.
• Vulnerable to Stax: Cursed Totem/Linvala, Keeper of Silence shuts down mana dorks and Birds of Paradise. Rule of Law/Eidolon of Rhetoric severely limits spellcasting from exile triggers. Hushbringer/Torpor Orb neuters ETB value (Apex Devastator, Rashmi, Spell Queller, Beast Whisperer).

Moderate

• Graveyard Hate: Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void disrupts recursion (Sevinne's Reclamation, Uro, Auroral Procession, Six, Savvy Trader) and escape costs.
• Board Wipes: Recovering from multiple wraths (especially with exile) is difficult without established draw engines or specific recursion in hand. Relies heavily on Cosmic Intervention/Teferi's Protection.
• Countermagic Density: While having good counters, the deck can struggle against decks with heavier stack interaction, especially targeting Kellan or key value pieces on cast.

Minor

• Artifact/Enchantment Removal: Can disrupt key engines like The One Ring, Smothering Tithe, Elven Chorus, or equipment, but the deck has redundancy and tutors.
• Mana Base Consistency: Some lands enter tapped, and the mana base, while good, isn't flawless for a 3-color deck needing specific early colors.

Most Important Cards:

• Kellan, the Kid (Core engine enabling free casts/ramp)
• Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius (Cost reduction for exile/graveyard casting and plotting)
• Apex Devastator (Primary win condition/value engine via cascades)
• Chimil, the Inner Sun (Win condition/value engine via uncounterable spells and Discover 5)
• Rhystic Study (Critical early card advantage engine)
• Delighted Halfling (Protects Kellan/legends and fixes mana)
• Smothering Tithe (Massive mana generation enabling big turns)
• The One Ring (Unparalleled card draw and protection)
• Sevinne's Reclamation (Key recursion for Kellan or low-CMC value pieces)
• Fierce Guardianship (Free, critical interaction protecting the game plan)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Capable of explosive wins via Kellan enabling T4-6 casts of Apex Devastator/Chimil or chaining free permanents, though reliant on setup and protection. Average win attempt T6-8.

Resilience: 6/10

• Features strong protection (Teferi's Protection, Flawless Maneuver, Heroic Intervention, counterspells) and recursion (Sevinne's, Auroral Procession, Six), but core strategy is highly vulnerable to Kellan removal and specific stax. Recovery from multiple wipes is challenging.

Consistency: 7/10

• Excellent card draw (Rhystic Study, Mystic Remora, Sylvan Library, The One Ring, Chimil) and tutors (Worldly, Enlightened, Finale of Devastation implied by cascade/discover) ensure access to key pieces. Kellan triggers provide inherent consistency in accessing exiled cards.

Interaction: 7/10

• Robust suite of efficient counterspells (Fierce Guardianship, Counterspell, Saw It Coming, Hypnotic Sprite), removal (Path to Exile, Petty Theft, Boseiju), board wipes (Doomskar), and stack interaction (Spell Queller, Aven Interrupter). Lacks some instant-speed creature removal density.

Rating Justification:

This deck possesses high-speed potential (T6-8 wins) through Kellan enabling free, game-ending permanents and strong consistency via abundant draw and tutors. Its resilience is hampered by critical reliance on Kellan and vulnerability to specific stax, preventing it from reaching true cEDH levels but placing it solidly in the Focused Competitive tier.

Power level: 7.0 - 7.5