Overview:

This Rakdos deck leverages Kuja, Genome Sorcerer as a central engine for a Wizard-tribal/spellslinger strategy focused on dealing incremental damage through noncreature spell triggers. The primary game plan involves generating numerous 0/1 Wizard tokens (via Kuja, Queen Brahne, Lindblum, Industrial Regency, etc.) and amplifying their "ping" damage with effects like transformed Kuja, Harmonic Prodigy, Solphim, Mayhem Dominus, and Spiked Corridor. Threats are deployed through casting spells and token generation, with secondary reanimation/recursion via cards like Back for Seconds and Mizzix's Mastery. Kuja is essential as the primary token generator and win-condition enabler, though its 5-mana cost and reliance on maintaining Wizard count for transformation create vulnerability to removal and board wipes.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Prioritize ramping (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Mind Stone) and deploying early token generators/value engines (Young Pyromancer, Sedgemoor Witch, Kessig Flamebreather). Cast low-cost noncreature spells (Sign in Blood, Night's Whisper, Reckless Impulse) to trigger tokens and draw. Protect Kuja with Swiftfoot Boots/Lightning Greaves when casting.
2. Board Development (Turns 4-6): Cast Kuja on curve or shortly after. Focus on casting multiple noncreature spells per turn to rapidly create Wizard tokens and trigger damage. Deploy key amplifiers like Harmonic Prodigy (doubles triggers), Coruscation Mage (redundant damage source), Solphim, Mayhem Dominus (doubles damage), and Theater of Horrors (card advantage). Use impulse draw/exile play (Light Up the Stage, Valakut Exploration, Prosper, Tome-Bound) to maintain momentum.
3. Win Condition Execution (Turns 6-9):
   • Damage Amplification: Achieve Kuja's transformation (4+ Wizards) to enable Flame Star's damage doubling. Stack this with Harmonic Prodigy and Solphim, Mayhem Dominus for exponential damage per noncreature spell. Use Spiked Corridor to add +2 damage per trigger.
   • Big Spells/Recursion: Leverage high-impact spells like Mizzix's Mastery (recasting multiple spells from gy), Zenith Festival (exiling multiple cards), Wheel of Misfortune (massive damage/draw), or Delayed Blast Fireball (scaled damage). Nalfeshnee copies spells cast from exile for extra triggers.
   • Combat/Goad: Use Bothersome Quasit and Kardur, Doomscourge to force attacks and create chaotic board states, leveraging incidental life loss.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands (including untapped BR sources like Sulfurous Springs/Dragonskull Summit if possible).
• Prioritize having at least 1-2 early plays: ramp artifact, 1-2 mana token generator (Young Pyromancer, Kessig Flamebreather), or cheap draw (Sign in Blood, Night's Whisper).
• Hands containing Kuja + protection (Boots/Greaves) or a key amplifier (Harmonic Prodigy, Solphim) are strong.
• Avoid hands lacking early plays, lands, or a clear path to deploying Kuja/engines.

Key Tips:

• Sequence Amplifiers: Cast damage doublers after establishing token generators. Prioritize protecting Harmonic Prodigy and Solphim.
• Maximize Exile Play: Cards like Prosper, Tome-Bound, Theater of Horrors, Valakut Exploration, and Wild-Magic Sorcerer provide fuel and cascade value. Nalfeshnee turns exile-casts into copied spells.
• Protect Critical Mass: Your board state (Wizard count) is vital for Kuja's transformation and damage scaling. Prioritize rebuilding after wipes with recursion (Back for Seconds, Mizzix's Mastery) or instant-speed token makers (Transpose rebound, Lindblum, Industrial Regency adventure).
• Leverage Life Loss: Cards like Florian, Voldaren Scion and Pact of the Serpent scale with the incremental life loss from your triggers. Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin grows rapidly.
• Interaction Timing: Use versatile interaction like Untimely Malfunction, Return the Favor, and Sheoldred's Edict disruptively to protect your game plan or remove key threats.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Extremely vulnerable to board wipes: Losing Wizard tokens cripples Kuja's transformation and damage output. Recovery is slow without specific recursion.
• Severely hampered by graveyard hate: Shuts down Mizzix's Mastery, Back for Seconds, Delayed Blast Fireball flashback, and other recursion.
• Anti-token strategies: Torpor Orb effects nullify ETB token generation from Kuja, Sedgemoor Witch, Young Pyromancer, etc. Cursed Totem shuts down activated abilities on key cards.

Moderate

• Targeted removal on key engines: Losing Harmonic Prodigy, Solphim, or Kuja significantly slows the win condition.
• Rule of Law effects: Limit the deck's ability to chain multiple noncreature spells per turn, drastically reducing damage output.
• Life gain strategies: Can outpace the incremental damage, requiring overwhelming turns or combo kills.

Minor

• Counter-heavy decks: Can disrupt critical spells, though the deck runs some protection (Imp's Mischief, Tibalt's Trickery).
• Artifact/Enchantment focus: While running removal (Feed the Swarm, Chaos Warp), heavy reliance on artifacts for ramp makes it susceptible to mass artifact hate.

Most Important Cards:

• Kuja, Genome Sorcerer (Core engine: token generation & damage doubling)
• Harmonic Prodigy (Doubles Wizard trigger damage, essential amplifier)
• Solphim, Mayhem Dominus (Doubles noncombat damage, key win-con enabler)
• Mizzix's Mastery (Recurs multiple spells for explosive turns/triggers)
• Prosper, Tome-Bound (Exile play enabler, provides card advantage & Treasures)
• Young Pyromancer (Early token generator, critical for board presence)
• Sedgemoor Witch (Token generator & protection via Ward)
• Theater of Horrors (Sustained card advantage from exile, damage outlet)
• Swiftfoot Boots / Lightning Greaves (Essential protection for Kuja/engines)
• Wheel of Misfortune (Massive damage potential & refuel)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Capable of threatening wins via amplified triggers or big recursion turns (Mizzix's Mastery) around turns 7-9 in ideal scenarios, but requires significant board setup for maximum damage.

Resilience: 5/10

• Has protection for key pieces and some recursion, but heavily reliant on maintaining a board presence (tokens). Struggles significantly to recover from wipes or graveyard hate. Value engines help mitigate.

Consistency: 6/10

• Good density of token generators, card advantage via impulse draw/exile play, and tutors for creatures (Back for Seconds recursion). Lacks direct tutors for key noncreature pieces like amplifiers.

Interaction: 7/10

• Runs efficient, versatile removal (Terminate, Sheoldred's Edict, Feed the Swarm, Chaos Warp) and disruptive counters/redirects (Pyroblast, Imp's Mischief, Tibalt's Trickery, Return the Favor). Focuses primarily on permanents, with less stack interaction for non-creature spells.

Rating Justification:

The deck demonstrates focused speed through synergistic damage amplification and recursion, enabling T7-9 win potential, aligning with the "Focused" tier (T7-8 wins). However, its critical vulnerability to board wipes and reliance on maintaining multiple permanents significantly hinders resilience, preventing it from reaching higher optimization tiers.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5