Overview:

This mono-black deck leverages Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER as a sacrifice engine and death-trigger amplifier. The strategy revolves around sacrificing creatures for value via card draw, life manipulation, and opponent drain effects. Key themes include aristocrats (sacrifice payoffs), forced sacrifice effects, and life-loss synergies. Sephiroth enables card advantage through its attack/ETB trigger while accelerating its transformation into Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel for an emblem that exponentially scales death triggers. The deck wins primarily through incremental life drain from death triggers (e.g., Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat) amplified by Sanguine Bond/Marauding Blight-Priest, or via infinite loops with Exquisite Blood combos. Secondary wins involve large Exsanguinate casts or overwhelming zombie tokens from Dreadhorde Invasion.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Play mana rocks (Arcane Signet, Jet Medallion), sacrifice fodder generators (Ophiomancer, Ghoulish Procession), or recursive creatures (Gravecrawler, Reassembling Skeleton). Prioritize engines like Skullclamp or Midnight Reaper.
2. Commander Deployment & Triggers (Turns 3-5): Cast Sephiroth, sacrificing tokens/fodder to draw cards. Attack to trigger additional sacrifices. Use sac outlets (Viscera Seer, Ashnod's Altar) proactively to enable death triggers and accelerate transformation.
3. Amplify Death Triggers (Turns 4-7):
   • Deploy payoff enchantments: Bastion of Remembrance, Sanguine Bond, Exquisite Blood.
   • Force mass sacrifices with Fleshbag Marauder effects or Blasphemous Edict.
   • Use Drivnod, Carnage Dominus to double death triggers.
4. Win Condition Execution:
   • Infinite Drain: Combine Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond/Marauding Blight-Priest (any life change loops infinitely).
   • Mass Death Triggers: Transform Sephiroth (4+ deaths/turn) for the emblem, then sacrifice multiple creatures per turn to drain the table.
   • Big Mana: Ramp with Crypt Ghast/Bubbling Muck into Exsanguinate or Gray Merchant of Asphodel.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands, preferably including utility (Bojuka Bog, Malakir Mire).
• Prioritize early fodder (Ophiomancer, Bloodsoaked Champion), sacrifice outlets (Carrion Feeder, Viscera Seer), or card draw (Village Rites, Night's Whisper).
• Include at least one payoff card (Zulaport Cutthroat, Bastion of Remembrance) or tutor (Diabolic Intent).
• Avoid hands lacking sacrifice enablers or with only high-CMC spells.

Key Tips:

• Transform Efficiently: Time forced-sacrifice effects (Fleshbag Marauder, Merciless Executioner) on opponents' turns to hit Sephiroth's death trigger quota faster.
• Protect Combos: Use Lightning Greaves on Sephiroth or key combo pieces. Force of Despair disrupts opponents' boards unexpectedly.
• Leverage Recursion: Recur Gray Merchant/Sidisi with Victimize or Dread Return. Reassembling Skeleton/Gravecrawler enable repeated sacrifices.
• Maximize Triggers: Drivnod doubles Blood Artist/Pitiless Plunderer triggers. Plumb the Forbidden sacrifices multiple creatures for card draw.
• Alternative Lines: Westvale Abbey provides a flying, indestructible finisher. K'rrik accelerates mana but requires life management.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Graveyard Hate: Bojuka Bog/Rest in Peace cripple recursion (Gravecrawler, Dread Return, Victimize) and disrupt Sidisi/Drivnod.
• Enchantment Removal: Exquisite Blood/Sanguine Bond are irreplaceable combo pieces; losing them severely hampers the primary wincon.
• Anti-Sacrifice Effects: Torpor Orb nullifies ETB sacrifice triggers (Fleshbag variants), while Hushbringer shuts down death triggers.

Moderate

• Board Wipes: Mass removal (Damnation) resets fodder and payoff creatures, though recursion provides some recovery.
• Combo Disruption: Targeted removal on Sanguine Bond or Marauding Blight-Priest breaks the Exquisite Blood loop.
• Life-Gain Prevention: Sulfuric Vortex/Erebos, God of the Dead negate life-drain strategies and limit K'rrik's mana ability.

Minor

• Artifact Hate: Destroys mana rocks/altars but less critical than other vulnerabilities.
• Stack Interaction: Limited counterspell protection; relies on timing sacrifices around removal.

Most Important Cards:

• Exquisite Blood (Primary combo piece for infinite drain)
• Sanguine Bond (Combo finisher, standalone drain amplifier)
• Pitiless Plunderer (Mana generation from sacrifices)
• Ashnod's Altar (Sacrifice outlet, mana acceleration)
• Ophiomancer (Reliable token generation for sacrifices)
• Drivnod, Carnage Dominus (Doubles death triggers for faster wins)
• Diabolic Intent (Tutor for combo pieces or answers)
• Gravecrawler (Recursive sacrifice fodder)
• Zulaport Cutthroat (Key death-trigger payoff)
• Crypt Ghast (Mana doubling for big spells)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can threaten T5-6 wins with Exquisite Blood combos or mass death triggers post-transformation, but relies on assembling specific pieces without fast mana.

Resilience: 5/10

• Recursion (Gravecrawler, Dread Return) and card draw mitigate losses, but critical enchantments lack protection; graveyard dependency creates fragility.

Consistency: 7/10

• Abundant sacrifice fodder, tutors (Diabolic Intent, Sidisi), and card draw (Skullclamp, Necropotence) reliably access key components.

Interaction: 6/10

• Efficient targeted removal (Infernal Grasp, Hero's Downfall), board wipes (Toxic Deluge), and instant-speed tricks (Malakir Rebirth), but lacks stack interaction beyond Force of Despair.

Rating Justification:

This deck demonstrates focused synergy and efficient combo potential (T5-6 wins) with strong consistency via tutors and recursion, placing it in the Optimized/Focused tier. However, its critical vulnerabilities to graveyard/enchantment hate and reliance on combat-agnostic wins cap its resilience below high-power thresholds.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5