First serious attempt at making a deck, so it's going to be pretty scuffed.
Advice is appreciated, it's not the most viable tribe but I want to make the best of it.
(This is outdated and doesn't apply to the whole deck but still explains the cards it covers fairly well. Working on an update)
1-drops
Ocelot Pride
First strike is considered a separate instance in time for technical purposes, so it triggers "one or more" separately from other combat damage in the same turn, which is helpful for Feline Sovereign and Kutzil. Additionally, the deck is usually playing enough creatures to hit the city's blessing around turn 4, particularly if Ajani, Pride Sovereign, or Collected Company get to drop multiple bodies. Going wide with tokens is very nice for taking advantage of the lord boosts.
Wild Nacatl
The best standalone stats-to-mana ratio in the deck, and much more comfortable to dispose of than any other cat once on the board. Jetmir's Garden or Sacred Foundry fetched on an off turn immediately turn on the stat boosts and don't mess with my mana too much.
2-drops
Ajani, Nacatl Pariah
The easiest way to get two bodies on the board. He helps with getting the city's blessing for Ocelot Pride, and the token he comes with can also be cloned by them. He can also potentially flip into a highly synergistic planeswalker. Opponents may hesitate to remove other creatures before him, so he may have trouble flipping, but it's not a bad thing if the rest of the board isn't dying. Additionally, I can legend rule him or Kutzil to flip on command anyways. His planeswalker side's +2 is extremely valuable if the board is already established, and if it isn't, his 0 can help rebuild. Though not consistent enough to plan around, if Jetmir is out, the 0 is also valuable for removal or closing out a game where attacking isn't an option. The ultimate is also fairly reasonable to reach, and the mass edict effect can allow an established board to swing through for lethal damage.
Dromoka's Command *f-etch*
The modality is very nice for mainboarding. The first mode is pretty situational, but the rest have nice value. Most often it's just used to combine the last two modes for fairly decent creature removal, but the enchantment edict can be valuable against Sterling Grove and decks that tend to only have one enchantment at a time.
Feline Sovereign and King of the Pride
These lords are used for similar purposes. They usually aren't attacking on their own but can still threaten some defence while others do. The king is very vulnerable to damage based removal without support from other lords, so it's important for him to come down later. Feline Sovereign can also be held back to catch artifact based decks by surprise.
Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar
Can be very valuable in stopping counterspells and other instant-speed interaction during my turn, giving me nearly full knowledge of what actions my opponent can take during it. Additionally, the card draw she provides on a successful attack can be very important in not losing steam during longer games. Generally most helpful against control decks, but still valuable otherwise, at worst a 3/3.
Pride Sovereign
Provides a nice mana sink and the ability to go both wide and tall. Additionally, the vigilance that Jetmir and Kaheera provide allow them to both attack and create tokens in one turn cycle. Attacking in this way leaves the threat of getting +2/+2 and can force opponents to block or let them through unfavorably. The tokens also help against decks that threaten my life total or decks that force trades, and Ocelot Pride can trigger from their lifegain as well as clone them.
4-drops
Collected Company
The primary finisher of the deck. There should usually be 1-2 lords in any given set of 6 cards, so it can be a shaky combat trick, preferably when blocking. The main value is just in getting so many bodies onto the board at once. There need to be as many lords on the board as possible, and as many cats that can take advantage of them as possible, and CoCo is simply the most effective way to accomplish that.
Jetmir, Nexus of Revels
This is the other win condition, and the only card in the deck that actually requires red mana. There should almost always be a Cavern of Souls or Mountain by turn 4, but he's not always going to need to come down that soon. He's devastating when he grants +2/+0, vigilance, and trample immediately upon coming down, as at that point one combat phase is usually enough to either devastate the enemy's board or swing for lethal. If the board can reach the conditions for double strike, the game is basically won.
The sideboard is probably the part of the deck that needs the most development. There aren't really any anti-meta cards here, just situational ones that are helpful against certain kinds of decks.
Kaheera, the Orphanguard
Fairly straightforward inclusion, basically just makes all of my matches better. Pulling her out for 6 mana total isn't always helpful but the option is always there. Vigilance synergises nicely with the attack requirements of Feline Sovereign and Kutzil, and Pride Sovereign's ability to create tokens while still attacking.
Mirri, Cat Warrior
First strike and vigilance are both very nice keywords, as mentioned before, but forestwalk making her unblockable as well against green decks is the main reason to play her. Guaranteeing that at least one attacker gets through without sacrificing defence is extremely valuable in longer games that would otherwise be standoffs, and green is a deck that's going to be going for larger creature boards.
Pick Your Poison
Just generally nice against decks where I need to hit more artifacts and enchantments than Feline Sovereign can handle. Flying creatures are also sometimes only out one at a time in certain decks, and are unblockable for my creatures, so this can be an important answer.
Solitude
This card is an elemental, so they're legal under Kaheera's companion restriction. Pitching feels bad when I need as many cats as I can get, but it's still a valuable emergency option against faster creature decks.
Surgical Extraction *f-etch*
It's going to require 2 life no matter what, but it's Surgical Extraction. Instant speed graveyard hate and combo disruption is very valuable, and can singlehandedly swing games in my favor depending on the deck.
All help is appreciated, I don't expect the deck to see anywhere near widespread success, but I want to do the best with it that I can.
(The deck name is a reference please play Purrfect Apawcalypse)
