So, this science experiment was the final result of being up at 4 A.M., having a deck tech on this commander showing up in my subscription feed, and having my laptop on hand. The list you see now is the final result of months of testing and replacing cards. This deck is a super fun time to play, because it's a Rube Goldberg machine of a combo deck, with more jank synergies than you can shake an Isochron Scepter at, stacking abilities onto one creature that have no business sharing the same text box. On top of that, the deck costs less than $150, so you won't need to take out a third mortgage to buy it.
Winning
Since this deck is a combo deck, the game plan is, shocker, getting your combo(s) online. Apart from 1, all of the deck's wincons require Kraj to be present, so keeping Kraj alive should be your primary directive. The wincons all, except for one, fulfill the same end: infinite mana into Blue Sun's Zenith/Pull from Tomorrow/Thrasios, Triton Hero into a ton of spell casting with Aetherflux Reservoir or a Laboratory Maniac win.
The wincons are as follows:
Experiment Kraj + Pili-Pala + Any mana dork that taps to produce 2+ mana
This is the most straightforward combo. Tap Kraj to produce your 2+ mana, pump that 2 mana to untap Kraj and you net at least one mana with each tap/untap. Repeat until ready to cast one of the above spells and win. This combo is the most resilient to removal because you can float your infinite mana in response to a kill spell, and since the only abilities used are mana abilities, you can do this even in response to a Krosan Grip.
Experiment Kraj + Argothian Elder + Horseshoe Crab/Simic Ragworm
This combo does its best imitation of the Pili-Pala combo stated above, except slightly more fragile, because the untap effect of Crab and Ragworm isn't a mana ability, so it's easier to disrupt. A fallback plan if Pili-Pala is exiled. Argothian Elder is specifically required because he is the only non-pili-pala dork capable of producing blue mana.
Grand Architect + Pili-Pala
I feel that this combo is in no need of an introduction. Its the Kraj-Pili combo w/o Kraj
Experiment Kraj + Knacksaw Clique + Gilded Lotus + Aphetto Alchemist
Here's the one combo NOT reliant on infinite mana into blue sun/pull/thrasios. The combo here goes for a mass deck exile with knacksaw. Made possible by WOTC reprinting Gilded Lotus in Dominaria, driving the price down to acceptable budget levels. How it works is you tap Gilded Lotus for 3 blue, then you tap kraj to untap GL, then you use 2 blue to untap Kraj and exile the top card of an opponent's library, while also consequently netting 1 blue mana. Repeat until decks are gone. I recommend exiling a control player's deck first so you have their interaction at your disposal when you go after the rest of the table.
The Game Plan
The deck's main strategy is to get +1/+1 counters on our relevant combo pieces so Kraj can use their abilities. Kraj can place counters with his own ability, but that's, more often than not, once per turn cycle, so we run other cards that distribute counters so we can win faster. Cards like Afiya Grove, Ezuri, Claw of Progress, Master Biomancer, Bond Beetle, and the various Graft cards included allow us to place counters on whatever we need without needing to untap with Kraj.
Notable Inclusions
Future Sight and Precognition Field
Card selection is key to success in this deck. Future Sight and Precognition Field both let us see and play the top card of our library. They also give us an outlet to go through our deck if we have our mana combo online but Thrasios is RIP. I included both because each brings something important to the table, Future Sight with its ability to play whatever we see on our library, and Precognition Field, while only being able to directly play instants and sorceries of the top of the library gives us the ability to dispose of anything we don't need
Tatyova, Benthic Druid
Since we play a ton of landfall enablers, Tatyova gives us extra life gain and card draw, and lets us dig into our deck faster. Dropping her early isn't even that far-fetched, considering the high level of acceleration we play.
