Overview:

This Orzhov Vampire aristocrats deck revolves around Elenda, the Dusk Rose, leveraging creature sacrifice, token generation, and death triggers to drain opponents while building a resilient board. Elenda serves as both a scaling threat and token engine, synergizing with Vampire tribal synergies and sacrifice payoffs. The deck wins primarily through incremental life loss via Blood Artist-style effects, amplified by Teysa Karlov, with secondary combat wins enabled by token swarms and lords like Edgar, Charmed Groom.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Deploy mana rocks (Sol Ring, Orzhov Signet), token generators (Legion's Landing, Call to the Feast), and key enablers like Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim. Use Vampiric Tutor or Necropotence to find critical pieces.
2. Engine Assembly (Turns 4-6): Establish sacrifice outlets (Yahenni, Undying Partisan, Bartolomé del Presidio) and payoff permanents (Cruel Celebrant, Marauding Blight-Priest). Protect Elenda with Gift of Immortality or Swiftfoot Boots.
3. Win Condition Execution (Turns 6-9):
   • Drain: Sacrifice tokens/recurred creatures to trigger Blood Artist, Elas il-Kor, and Teysa Karlov-enhanced effects.
   • Combat: Overwhelm with Vampire tokens boosted by Edgar, Charmed Groom or Sanctum Seeker. Use Kindred Dominance to clear blockers.
   • Value Loops: Recur Elenda with Reanimate/Victimize to generate exponential tokens.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands (including duals like Godless Shrine).
• Prioritize early enablers: mana rocks, token generators, or a payoff card.
• Avoid hands lacking sacrifice outlets or payoff engines.

Key Tips:

• Use Skullclamp on 1/1 Vampires for explosive card draw.
• Necropotence fuels critical mass of resources but requires life management.
• Farewell resets opponents while preserving your enchantment-based engines.
• Clavileño, First of the Blessed turns Vampires into card-drawing Demons.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) disrupts recursion and Elenda’s death trigger.
• Board wipes that exile (Merciless Eviction, Farewell) bypass token generation and Elenda’s recursion.

Moderate

• Fast combo decks outpace incremental life drain.
• Torpor Orb nullifies ETB token generators and death triggers.

Minor

• Limited instant-speed interaction for stack-based threats.
• Relies on board presence for lifegain/drain; struggles against go-wide strategies.

Most Important Cards:

• Teysa Karlov (Doubles death/lifegain triggers)
• Necropotence (Card advantage engine)
• Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (Primary drain payoff)
• Kindred Dominance (Board wipe + finisher)
• Skullclamp (Token-to-card conversion)
• Edgar, Charmed Groom (Tribal lord + token generator)
• Gift of Immortality (Elenda/commander protection)
• Blood Artist (Core drain effect)
• Yahenni, Undying Partisan (Sac outlet + threat)
• Farewell (Asymmetric reset)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Wins via incremental drain or combat typically around T8-10. No fast combos, but tutors streamline setup.

Resilience: 6/10

• Recursion (Reanimate, Gift of Immortality), hexproof equipment, and redundant payoffs mitigate disruption. Vulnerable to graveyard/exile hate.

Consistency: 7/10

• Strong card draw (Necropotence, Phyrexian Arena) and tutors (Vampiric Tutor, Elenda's Hierophant) ensure access to key pieces.

Interaction: 5/10

• Targeted removal (Swords to Plowshares, Anguished Unmaking) and board wipes (Farewell) are present but lack stack interaction.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates as a focused aristocrats strategy with optimized card quality and tutors, threatening wins via T8-10 drain loops or combat. While resilient against spot removal, it falters against graveyard hate and fast combos, placing it in the upper casual tier.

Power level: 5.0 - 5.5