Overview:

This Abzan (W/B/G) deck helmed by Thalia and The Gitrog Monster combines aggressive stax elements with land-based value and disruptive combat strategies. The commander enables explosive land plays while slowing opponents with tapped nonbasic lands and creature-based taxation. The deck aims to lock opponents out of resources using Contamination, Armageddon, and Stony Silence, then win through combat overcommitment with beaters like Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite or Torment of Hailfire finishers. Thalia/Gitrog serves as both a value engine (land acceleration + card draw) and a stax piece, with recursion through Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher and land play enablers like Azusa, Lost but Seeking mitigating its sacrifice requirement.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Disruption (Turns 1-3): Deploy mana dorks (Birds of Paradise, Llanowar Elves), stax pieces (Drannith Magistrate, Archon of Emeria), and land accelerators (Azusa, Lost but Seeking, Sakura-Tribe Elder). Use Gemstone Caverns and Mox Diamond for explosive starts.
2. Midgame Lock Assembly (Turns 3-5): Drop critical hate pieces like Contamination + Bitterblossom-like token generators (though absent here, replaced by Myrel tokens), Stony Silence, or Drana and Linvala. Recur lands with Crucible of Worlds/Ramunap Excavator to withstand Armageddon.
3. Endgame Domination (Turns 5+): Overwhelm with Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite-enhanced boards, generate massive mana via Gaea's Cradle for Torment of Hailfire, or lock opponents out with Myrel, Shield of Argive + The One Ring protection.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands including green/black sources
• Prioritize early stax pieces (Hushbringer, Aven Mindcensor) or accelerators (Sol Ring, Lotus Cobra)
• Ensure interaction (Swords to Plowshares, Assassin's Trophy) against fast combo
• Avoid hands without early plays or excessive high-CMC cards

Key Tips:

• Time Armageddon when ahead on mana rocks/recursion
• Use Teferi's Protection to protect lock pieces during critical turns
• Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher can recur sacrificed permanents post-Thalia/Gitrog attacks
• Deep Gnome Terramancer punishes fetch-heavy metas
• Vexing Bauble disrupts free spells while cycling late-game

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Relies heavily on graveyard for land recursion (Ramunap Excavator, Crucible of Worlds) - vulnerable to Rest in Peace
• Contamination requires constant creature sacrifice - weak to token denial
• Limited win conditions beyond combat/Torment of Hailfire

Moderate

• High density of nonbasics makes Blood Moon/Back to Basics problematic
• The One Ring/Sylvan Library life loss accelerates clock against aggressive decks
• Hushbringer conflicts with own ETB value engines

Minor

• Light on board wipes beyond Winds of Abandon
• Glacial Chasm conflicts with combat win conditions
• Drana and Linvala's high CMC makes it vulnerable to removal

Most Important Cards:

• Contamination (Mana denial lock)
• Gaea's Cradle (Mana explosion for finishers)
• Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite (Board control + combat win)
• Thalia and The Gitrog Monster (Engine + stax)
• Armageddon (Resource reset)
• The One Ring (Card advantage + protection)
• Demonic Tutor (Flexible enabler)
• Crucible of Worlds (Land recursion synergy)
• Drana and Linvala (Ability lockdown)
• Teferi's Protection (Game-winning protection)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10
Can establish soft locks by T3-4 (Contamination + dork) and threaten wins by T5-6 through combat or Torment of Hailfire. Fast mana accelerates critical plays.

Resilience: 6/10
Multiple recursion engines (land and permanent) with protection spells, but core stax pieces remain vulnerable to targeted removal before locks establish.

Consistency: 8/10
11 tutors (including Imperial Seal, Worldly Tutor), strong card draw (Sylvan Library, Beast Whisperer), and redundant stax effects ensure strategy execution.

Interaction: 7/10
Diverse removal suite (Swords, Trophy, Get Lost) paired with proactive stax. Lacks counterspell density but uses Silence/Obscuring Haze for protection.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at cEDH-adjacent speeds with T3-4 stax locks and T5-6 wins, but lacks the compact infinite combos and free interaction of top-tier lists. Its balance of high-quality stax, tutor density, and resilient mana bases aligns with Focused Competitive tiers, though win condition clunkiness prevents higher optimization.

Power level: 7.0 - 7.5