Overview:

This Mardu deck leverages Caesar, Legion's Emperor as a central engine for token generation, card advantage, and direct damage. The strategy revolves around attacking with disposable tokens (Soldiers, Warriors, Gnomes) to trigger Caesar's sacrifice ability, enabling explosive turns with cards like Cathars' Crusade, Divine Visitation, and Isshin, Two Heavens as One. Secondary themes include death-trigger payoffs (Bastion of Remembrance, Elas il-Kor) and token synergy enhancers (Intangible Virtue, Warleader's Call). Caesar acts as the linchpin, enabling card draw, board development, and direct damage simultaneously. The deck is vulnerable to commander removal but includes protection (Flawless Maneuver, Clever Concealment) and recursion (Battle of Hoover Dam).

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Prioritize ramp (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Talismans) and token generators (Jadar, Ghoulcaller, Lingering Souls, Frontline Rush). Mulligan for lands, ramp, or early token sources.
2. Commander Deployment & Attack Triggers (Turns 4-6): Cast Caesar, ideally with protection. Attack immediately, sacrificing a token to Caesar. Choose tokens + card draw to refuel or tokens + damage for pressure. Reconnaissance enables safe attacks.
3. Synergy Amplification (Turns 5-8): Deploy key enhancers: Isshin doubles Caesar/attack triggers, Divine Visitation upgrades tokens to Angels, Cathars' Crusade grows the board exponentially. Use Skullclamp on tokens for massive card draw.
4. Win Condition Execution:
   • Combat Overrun: Boost tokens via Fervent Charge, Warleader's Call, or Martial Coup (X=5+). Dolmen Gate protects attackers.
   • Sacrifice Drain: Leverage death triggers with Bastion of Remembrance, Elas il-Kor, Nadier's Nightblade, and Plumb the Forbidden for life loss.
   • Commander Burn: Use Caesar's damage mode repeatedly with a wide board for significant direct damage.

Mulligan Priorities:

• 3+ lands including all three colors (prioritize untapped sources).
• Early token generator (Frontline Rush, Jadar, Lingering Souls) OR ramp.
• Caesar enabler (protection like Boros Charm or token producer).
• Avoid hands lacking tokens, ramp, or color fixing.

Key Tips:

• Maximize Isshin: Prioritize casting Isshin before Caesar. He doubles Caesar's sacrifice trigger, token creation from Anim Pakal, Bone-Cairn Butcher, and damage from Arabella.
• Sacrifice Sequencing: Sacrifice tokens before combat damage to enable Caesar triggers immediately. Use Deadly Dispute/Plumb the Forbidden post-combat for value.
• Protect Critical Engines: Use Flawless Maneuver, Clever Concealment, or Boros Charm to shield Caesar, Isshin, or Divine Visitation.
• Leverage Treasure: Pitiless Plunderer and Warren Soultrader provide mana for explosive turns or recovery.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Board Wipes: Mass removal (Wrath of God, Blasphemous Act) devastates the token-based strategy with limited recovery outside Battle of Hoover Dam.
• Commander Reliance: Caesar is essential for card advantage and scaling damage. Removal/countermagic targeting Caesar significantly slows the deck.
• Anti-Token Hate: Cursed Totem, Torpor Orb, or Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite cripple token production and ETB synergies.

Moderate

• Graveyard Hate: Rest in Peace disrupts Battle of Hoover Dam, Lingering Souls flashback, and recursion.
• Stax Effects: Rule of Law/Deafening Silence hinder the deck's ability to deploy multiple spells/tokens per turn.
• Focused Removal: Targeting key engines like Isshin or Divine Visitation delays the game plan.

Minor

• Flyers: Limited reach makes large flying threats problematic without Divine Visitation.
• Artifact/Enchantment Removal: Hits critical pieces like Skullclamp, Dolmen Gate, or Cathars' Crusade, though the deck has some answers (Wear // Tear, Powder Ganger).

Most Important Cards:

• Isshin, Two Heavens as One (Doubles Caesar/attack triggers for exponential value)
• Divine Visitation (Upgrades tokens to 4/4 Angels, drastically increasing threat level)
• Cathars' Crusade (Grows the entire board with each token, creating overwhelming threats)
• Skullclamp (Draws massive cards when equipped to tokens)
• Caesar, Legion's Emperor (Core engine for tokens, draw, and damage)
• Bastion of Remembrance (Key drain effect for sacrifice/attrition wins)
• Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (Secondary drain engine, gains life)
• Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon (Scaling token producer synergizes with counters)
• Bone-Cairn Butcher (Creates immediate tokens for Caesar sacrifice)
• Plumb the Forbidden (Sac outlet and card draw, scales with board presence)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can threaten wins via combat/drain around T7-8 with ideal draws (Caesar + Isshin + token producers), but relies on board development.

Resilience: 5/10

• Includes protection spells and some recursion, but heavily reliant on the board and commander. Struggles to recover from wipes or repeated removal.

Consistency: 7/10

• Numerous token generators, card draw engines (Caesar, Skullclamp, Welcoming Vampire), and redundancy in drain effects ensure reliable access to core strategy.

Interaction: 5/10

• Targeted removal (Anguished Unmaking, Chaos Warp, Lethal Scheme) and board wipes (Martial Coup) are present, but lacks stack interaction beyond Boros Charm.

Rating Justification:

The deck demonstrates strong consistency and synergistic speed, capable of T7-8 wins with combat or drain strategies when unimpeded. However, its reliance on the commander and vulnerability to board wipes limits resilience, preventing higher optimization. This aligns with the Focused tier (T7-8 wins).

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5