this was built with AI with my goals in mind, feel free to comment to help me brew; this deck is for casual/midrange play.
The combo potential in this deck revolves around leveraging Meren's ability to recur creatures from the graveyard combined with various sacrifice outlets and powerful enter-the-battlefield (ETB) effects. Here's how you can capitalize on this combo potential and play the deck effectively:
Setup: Start by filling your graveyard with creatures using cards like Satyr Wayfinder, Grisly Salvage, and Hermit Druid. These cards help you set up your graveyard while also providing additional value or ramp.
Establish Meren: Once Meren of Clan Nel Toth is on the battlefield, prioritize getting experience counters by sacrificing creatures. Use cards like Viscera Seer, Carrion Feeder, or Phyrexian Tower to sacrifice creatures at instant speed, allowing you to trigger Meren's ability during each of your end steps.
Utilize Sacrifice Outlets: As you accumulate experience counters with Meren, make sure to have sacrifice outlets available to sacrifice your creatures for value. Cards like Altar of Dementia, Ashnod's Altar, and Victimize allow you to sacrifice creatures for additional benefits, such as milling opponents, generating mana, or reanimating more creatures.
Abuse ETB Effects: Look for creatures with powerful ETB effects that can further your game plan. Creatures like Woodfall Primus, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Ravenous Chupacabra, and Shriekmaw provide removal, life drain, or creature recursion when they enter the battlefield. Recur these creatures with Meren and sacrifice them repeatedly to control the board or drain opponents' life totals.
Infinite Combos: Some combinations of cards in the deck can lead to infinite loops or game-ending plays. For example, combining Mikaeus, the Unhallowed with a persist creature like Woodfall Primus or Puppeteer Clique and a sacrifice outlet results in infinite creature destruction or reanimation. Look for these synergies and set them up when possible for decisive wins.
Protection and Value: While setting up your combos, be mindful of protecting your key pieces and generating additional value. Use cards like Swiftfoot Boots, Veil of Summer, and Greater Good to protect your creatures and draw cards to fuel your engine further.
Adapt to the Board State: Assess the board state and adapt your game plan accordingly. Sometimes, it may be more advantageous to prioritize controlling the board with removal spells like Toxic Deluge or Damnation before executing your combo.
By focusing on these principles and adapting to the flow of the game, you can effectively pilot the deck to assemble powerful combos, control the board, and emerge victorious in your matches.
Looking at the deck, here are some potential weaknesses and our win conditions:
Weaknesses:
Graveyard Hate: Since the deck relies heavily on graveyard interactions for reanimation and value, cards like Bojuka Bog, Tormod's Crypt, or Scavenging Ooze from opponents could disrupt our plans by exiling cards from our graveyard.
Artifact/Enchantment Removal: Although we have some removal options like Beast Within, Assassin's Trophy, and Abrupt Decay, if opponents have multiple key artifacts or enchantments, we may struggle to deal with them effectively.
Countermagic: The deck does not have many ways to interact with spells on the stack. If our opponents play disruptive spells or combo pieces, we may have difficulty stopping them.
Win Conditions:
Value Engine: Meren of Clan Nel Toth serves as the commander and a powerful engine for recurring creatures from the graveyard. With cards like Eternal Witness, Mulch, and Survival of the Fittest, we can consistently fill our graveyard and bring back impactful creatures turn after turn.
Graveyard Recursion: Reanimation spells like Animate Dead, Reanimate, and Victimize allow us to bring back key creatures from our graveyard, providing us with powerful board presence and maintaining pressure on opponents.
Creature Beatdown: With ramp creatures like Llanowar Elves, Elvish Mystic, and Birds of Paradise, we can accelerate our mana production early in the game. Combined with efficient removal and protection spells, we can establish a board presence of resilient creatures and overwhelm opponents with sheer creature power.
Combo Potential: The deck contains various combos and synergies that can lead to game-winning plays. For example, combining Meren's ability with sacrifice outlets like Phyrexian Tower and High Market along with creatures like Woodfall Primus or Gray Merchant of Asphodel can generate powerful recurring loops or drain opponents' life totals.
Understanding these weaknesses and leveraging our win conditions effectively will be crucial for piloting the deck to success. Let me know if you'd like to explore any specific strategies or further refine the deck to address these points!
Clear Win Conditions
Combo Win:
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Puppeteer Clique/Walking Ballista + Sac Outlet: Infinite damage/life drain with a sac outlet like Altar of Dementia, Carrion Feeder, or Viscera Seer.
Gray Merchant of Asphodel: Repeatedly reanimating Gray Merchant with Meren or other recursion effects to drain opponents' life totals.
Craterhoof Behemoth:
Use cards like Finale of Devastation or Green Sun's Zenith to tutor Craterhoof Behemoth, then swing for massive damage with a board full of creatures.
Resource Denial and Grind:
Use removal spells like Abrupt Decay, Assassin's Trophy, and Putrefy to keep opponents' boards clear while you accrue value through Meren’s ability.
Utilize graveyard recursion to repeatedly bring back creatures like Ravenous Chupacabra and Shriekmaw for repeated removal, or Eternal Witness and Skullclamp for card draw and value.
