Overview:

This Meren of Clan Nel Toth deck blends graveyard recursion with a poison/toxic subtheme, leveraging experience counters to reanimate threats while pressuring opponents with proliferate synergies. Meren acts as the engine, enabling recurring value from creatures like Eternal Witness and Noxious Gearhulk while amplifying poison via cards like Necrogen Rotpriest. The deck employs a midrange strategy, using deathtouch creatures for board control and toxic/proliferate effects to threaten alternative win conditions. Secondary value engines like Sheoldred, Whispering One and Vat of Rebirth provide redundancy, while Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider doubles counters for explosive turns.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Ramp with Sakura-Tribe Elder, Golgari Signet, or Dune Mover. Use Grisly Salvage or Entomb to fill the graveyard. Deploy early toxic/deathtouch creatures (Fynn, the Fangbearer, Blightbelly Rat) to pressure life totals and poison counts.
2. Midgame Value (Turns 4-6): Cast Meren, prioritizing experience counter generation via sacrificial creatures like Spore Frog. Recur key pieces like Eternal Witness or Fell Stinger for card advantage. Activate proliferate triggers (Cankerbloom, Bloated Contaminator) to accelerate poison and experience counters.
3. Win Conditions (Turns 6+):
   • Poison: Amplify toxic triggers with Necrogen Rotpriest and proliferate. Use Infectious Inquiry and Vraska's Fall to spread counters.
   • Combat: Overwhelm with Vorinclex, Agent Frank Horrigan, or Writhing Necromass, enhanced by deathtouch and +1/+1 counters.
   • Value Lock: Recur Sheoldred, Whispering One or Liliana, Dreadhorde General to grind opponents out of resources.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands (including Golgari sources).
• Prioritize early ramp (Sakura-Tribe Elder, Sol Ring) or graveyard setup (Entomb, Grisly Salvage).
• Look for Meren enablers (sacrifice outlets, low-CMC creatures) or early toxic threats (Fynn, Pestilent Syphoner).
• Avoid hands lacking graveyard interaction or ramp.

Key Tips:

• Use Spore Frog and Witch of the Moors to control combat phases while building experience counters.
• Sacrifice creatures with toxic to Fell Stinger or Necrogen Communion before blockers are declared to maximize proliferate triggers.
• Pair Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider with proliferate effects to double poison counters.
• Protect Meren with Whispersilk Cloak or recursion tools like Vat of Rebirth.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) cripples recursion and Meren’s engine.
• Heavy artifact/enchantment removal disrupts key pieces (Vat of Rebirth, Whispersilk Cloak, Necrogen Communion).

Moderate

• Board wipes reset Meren’s experience counter progress and poison momentum.
• Fast aggro decks can outpace the deck’s midrange setup.

Minor

• Limited stack interaction makes countering combo pieces difficult.
• High-CMC threats (Vorinclex, Sheoldred) can clog hands without sufficient ramp.

Most Important Cards:

• Meren of Clan Nel Toth (Engine: recursion/experience counters)
• Fynn, the Fangbearer (Poison accelerator)
• Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider (Counter doubler, game-ender)
• Sheoldred, Whispering One (Recurring value/opponent sacrifice)
• Necrogen Rotpriest (Poison multiplier)
• Entomb (Graveyard setup)
• Eternal Witness (Recursion engine)
• Vat of Rebirth (Alternative recursion)
• Liliana, Dreadhorde General (Card draw, board control)
• Cankerbloom (Flexible removal/proliferate)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Threatens poison wins or board dominance by turns 7-9 but lacks fast mana for explosive starts.

Resilience: 6/10

• Recursion and proliferate provide recovery paths, but over-reliance on Meren and graveyard creates vulnerabilities.

Consistency: 6/10

• Moderate tutors (Entomb, Grisly Salvage) and card draw (Fell Stinger, Liliana) but lacks redundancy for key combo pieces.

Interaction: 5/10

• Targeted removal (Noxious Gearhulk, Drag to the Roots) and deathtouch blockers handle threats but minimal countermagic.

Rating Justification:

The deck operates as a midrange graveyard/poison hybrid with solid recursion and proliferate synergies but lacks the speed and protection of higher-tier decks. Its T7-9 win potential and vulnerability to common disruption align with optimized casual tiers.

Power level: 5.0 - 5.5