Overview:

This Archelos, Lagoon Mystic deck focuses on land synergy and gate-based win conditions, leveraging the commander's ability to manipulate tapped/untapped states for acceleration or stax. The primary strategy involves ramping into landfall value engines, recurring lands from the graveyard, and assembling either a critical mass of Zombie tokens via Field of the Dead or a Maze's End victory. Secondary lines include Torment of Hailfire mana bursts and incremental value from gates.

Primer:

Core Strategy:
The deck aims to flood the battlefield with lands using multiple land-per-turn effects (Exploration, Azusa, Lost but Seeking) and land recursion (Crucible of Worlds, Ramunap Excavator). Key payoffs include Field of the Dead zombie generation, Guild Summit card draw, and Splendid Reclamation mana bursts. Archelos optimizes land deployment by keeping permanents untapped while serving as a stax piece when tapped. The ultimate endgame involves either overwhelming with zombie armies, assembling 10 gates via Maze's End, or casting an X=20+ Torment of Hailfire using land-sacrifice engines like Squandered Resources.

Key Interactions:

• Amulet of Vigor + Archelos enables instant-speed untapped land chains.
• Scapeshift into Field of the Dead/Splendid Reclamation creates explosive board states.
• The Gitrog Monster + Dakmor Salvage enables recursive draw/landfall triggers.
• Squandered Resources + Life from the Loam fuels massive Torment of Hailfire turns.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3 lands, 1 land accelerator (e.g., Burgeoning), and 1 payoff (e.g., Tatyova, Benthic Druid).
• Avoid slow starts without early land drops or recursion.

Critical Sequencing:

1. Turn 1-3: Deploy land accelerants and set up graveyard recursion.
2. Turn 4-6: Resolve Archelos with protection (Sylvan Safekeeper), then chain landfall triggers.
3. Turn 7+: Assemble Maze's End, Field of the Dead, or Torment of Hailfire with backup protection (Veil of Summer).

Avoid Traps:

• Overcommitting to gates without Gond Gate/Baldur's Gate acceleration.
• Casting Archelos unprotected into removal-heavy metas.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Lacks win conditions if primary engines (Field of the Dead, Maze's End) are exiled.
• Heavily reliant on graveyard recursion; folds to Rest in Peace.

Moderate:

• Vulnerable to land destruction (Blood Moon, Wave of Vitriol).
• Limited instant-speed interaction for combo disruption.

Minor:

• Slow recovery from early board wipes.

Most Important Cards:

• Field of the Dead
• Scapeshift
• Amulet of Vigor
• Crucible of Worlds
• Torment of Hailfire
• The Gitrog Monster
• Splendid Reclamation
• Maze's End
• Squandered Resources
• Dryad of the Ilysian Grove

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can threaten T7-8 wins with ideal draws (Scapeshift + Field of the Dead), but typically operates at T9-10.

Resilience: 5/10

• Recursive land engines mitigate destruction, but key enchantments/artifacts lack redundancy.

Consistency: 7/10

• 8+ land tutors (Crop Rotation, Realms Uncharted) and 5 land-play accelerators ensure steady progression.

Interaction: 4/10

• Limited to spot removal (Assassin's Trophy, Abrupt Decay) and protective spells (Heroic Intervention).

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between "Optimized Casual" (rubric 5.0) and "High-Power Casual" (5.5). It outpaces precons with land-based tutors and explosive turns but lacks the speed (T8+ vs T6-7) and interaction density of true high-power decks. The reliance on sorcery-speed land plays and vulnerability to graveyard hate prevent it from reaching tier 6.0.

Power level: 5.0 - 5.5