Overview:

This Anowon, the Ruin Thief deck is a Dimir Rogue tribal strategy focused on evasive creature combat, incremental mill, and graveyard theft. While moderately synergistic with key payoffs like Syr Konrad, the Grim and Notorious Throng, it lacks infinite combos or fast mana acceleration. The deck operates as a midrange value engine but struggles against focused disruption and has no deterministic win conditions.

Primer:

Core Strategy:
Deploy evasive Rogues (Invisible Stalker, Triton Shorestalker) to trigger Anowon's mill/draw engine while disrupting opponents with theft effects (Gonti, Lord of Luxury, Memory Plunder). Secondary wincons include Syr Konrad pings, Bonehoard beatdown, and Zareth San graveyard theft. Key phases:

1. Early Game: Establish unblockable Rogues (T1 Slither Blade, T2 Thieves' Guild Enforcer) to start milling.
2. Midgame: Cast Anowon for tribal buffs, then use payoff cards like Soaring Thought-Thief to amplify mill.
3. Lategame: Reanimate key threats with The Eldest Reborn or chain extra turns via prowled Notorious Throng.

Mulligan Priorities:

• 3 lands (prioritize untapped UB sources)
• 1-2 evasive Rogues
• 1 payoff card (Anowon/Syr Konrad) or interaction
  Avoid hands without early creatures or excessive taplands.

Key Tips:

• Time Anowon's cast after establishing 1-2 evasive Rogues.
• Use Rogue's Passage/Whirler Rogue to guarantee combat triggers.
• Prioritize stealing opponents' creatures over developing your board in grindy matchups.

Avoid Traps:

• Overextending into board wipes without Crippling Fear protection.
• Keeping slow starts against aggressive decks.
• Wasting theft effects on low-impact targets.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• No answer to Rest in Peace/Leyline of the Void shutting off mill/reanimation
• Locks/fast combos outrace this deck's incremental value

Moderate:

• Weak to board wipes (only 3 counterspells)
• Slow recovery if Anowon is removed 3+ times

Minor:

• Limited card advantage outside combat triggers
• Mediocre mana base (10 enters-tapped lands)

Most Important Cards:

• Syr Konrad, the Grim
• Notorious Throng
• Soaring Thought-Thief
• Gonti, Lord of Luxury
• Thieves' Guild Enforcer
• Adaptive Automaton
• Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
• Rogue's Passage
• Zareth San, the Trickster
• Bonehoard

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10
Best goldfish win ~T10 through combat/mill. No fast mana or cost reducers beyond Frogtosser Banneret.

Resilience: 4/10
Limited protection (3 counterspells, no hexproof-granting). Recursion exists but is slow (Beacon of Unrest, From the Catacombs).

Consistency: 6/10
26 Rogues ensure tribal synergy uptime. Draw engines tied to combat (Military Intelligence, Anowon) create vulnerability to blockers.

Interaction: 5/10
10 targeted removal/counters (Drown in the Loch, Silumgar's Command), but lacks free spells or stax.

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between "Focused Casual" (T9-11 wins) and "Optimized Casual" (T8-10) in the rubric. While more cohesive than precons with its tribal focus and theft synergies, it lacks:

• Fast mana/combos of 5.5+ decks
• Redundancy against grave hate
• Early stax/interaction to slow opponents
  Power level: 4.0-4.5