Overview:

This mono-blue artifact storm/combo deck leverages Urza, Lord High Artificer as its engine and win condition. The strategy revolves around deploying cheap artifacts to generate mana, create large Construct tokens via Urza's ETB, and utilize Urza's ability to cheat high-cost spells like Omniscience or Blightsteel Colossus. Primary win conditions include infinite mana combos (e.g., Hullbreaker Horror + 0-cost artifacts), extra turn chains (Time Warp, Expropriate), Mechanized Production alt-win, or overwhelming board states with indestructible threats. Urza is the core enabler, providing mana acceleration, card advantage, and a scalable threat.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Deploy mana rocks (Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, Sapphire Medallion), utility artifacts (Voltaic Key, Unwinding Clock), and card selection (Preordain, Brainstorm). Prioritize casting Urza by turn 3-4 using artifact ramp.
2. Engine Activation (Turns 4-6): Use Urza's tap ability for mana and card advantage. Tutor key pieces with Solve the Equation, Mystical Tutor, or Fabricate. Assemble combos:
   • Infinite Mana: Hullbreaker Horror + two 0/1-cost artifacts (e.g., Darksteel Citadel + Mox Amber) generates infinite mana/casts.
   • Storm/Extra Turns: Chain extra turn spells (Temporal Manipulation, Time Warp) with Urza's ability or Frantic Search untaps.
   • Cheat Payoffs: Cast Show and Tell for Omniscience/One with the Multiverse, enabling free spells.
3. Win Execution (Turns 5-7):
   • Infinite mana into Walking Ballista or Blue Sun's Zenith.
   • Mechanized Production on a token for alt-win.
   • Swing with Blightsteel Colossus (potentially given infect via Corrupted Conscience).
   • Lock opponents out with Hullbreaker Horror bounce loops or extra turn chains.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands, at least one mana rock, and Urza or a tutor.
• Prioritize hands containing early ramp (Sol Ring, Sapphire Medallion) or card selection (Brainstorm, Preordain).
• Avoid hands lacking blue sources, ramp, or proactive plays.

Key Tips:

• Protect Urza: Use Padeem, Consul of Innovation for hexproof or bounce threats with Cyclonic Rift/Sink into Stupor.
• Maximize Urza's Ability: Pair with cost reducers (Foundry Inspector, Sapphire Medallion) to cast high-impact spells cheaply.
• Leverage Recursion: Emry, Lurker of the Loch and Myr Retriever recur key artifacts.
• Combo Safely: Hold interaction (Mana Drain, Pongify) when attempting to combo off.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Commander Dependency: Removal of Urza cripples mana generation and win potential.
• Artifact Hate: Vandalblast, Null Rod, or Stony Silence shut down mana and combos.
• Graveyard Exclusion: Lacks recursion for instants/sorceries; countered combo pieces are lost.

Moderate

• Board Wipes: Cyclonic Rift or Supreme Verdict resets Construct tokens and artifact boards.
• Stack Interaction: Limited protection against counterspells; combos fold to well-timed disruption.
• Hand Disruption: Thoughtseize effects can remove key combo pieces preemptively.

Minor

• High Mana Costs: Some win conditions (e.g., Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur) are slow if not cheated.
• Poison/Alt-Win Vulnerability: Minimal life gain; susceptible to fast aggro or poison strategies.

Most Important Cards:

• Urza, Lord High Artificer (Mana engine, win enabler)
• Hullbreaker Horror (Primary combo piece, control lock)
• Sol Ring (Critical ramp)
• Mana Drain (Counterspell + mana acceleration)
• Cyclonic Rift (Board reset, protection)
• Omniscience (Free spell enabler)
• Solve the Equation (Tutor for instants/sorceries)
• Emry, Lurker of the Loch (Artifact recursion)
• Unwinding Clock (Untap synergy)
• Thassa's Oracle (Alt-win condition)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 8/10

• Capable of T4-5 wins with ideal draws (e.g., Urza + Hullbreaker combo) or T3 Omniscience via Show and Tell.

Resilience: 6/10

• Recursion for artifacts and some protection exist, but heavy reliance on Urza and artifacts makes it vulnerable to targeted hate.

Consistency: 7/10

• Multiple tutors and card selection ensure key pieces are found, but lacks redundancy for Hullbreaker/Omniscience.

Interaction: 7/10

• Efficient counterspells (Mana Drain), bounce (Cyclonic Rift), and artifact removal, but limited stack protection for own combos.

Rating Justification:

This deck achieves T4-5 wins through efficient combos and high-speed mana acceleration, aligning with the "Highly Optimized" tier (7.5). However, its vulnerability to commander removal and artifact hate reduces resilience, placing it at the lower end of this range.

Power level: 7.0 - 7.5