Overview:

This Nekusar, the Mindrazer deck leverages forced card draw and wheel effects to burn opponents, supported by damage amplifiers like Underworld Dreams and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. While it lacks infinite combos, it focuses on redundancy and synergy to pressure opponents through incremental damage. The deck operates at a focused casual level, relying on efficient wheels and stax-adjacent effects like Chains of Mephistopheles to disrupt opponents while advancing its game plan.

Primer:

Core Strategy:
This deck aims to flood opponents with card draw via wheels (e.g., Wheel of Fortune, Windfall) and symmetrical draw engines (e.g., Howling Mine, Font of Mythos), punishing them with damage triggers from Nekusar and supporting enchantments/creatures. Key phases:

1. Setup (Turns 1–4): Deploy mana rocks (Sol Ring, signets) and early draw engines (Kami of the Crescent Moon).
2. Amplification (Turns 5–7): Resolve damage multipliers (Underworld Dreams, Fate Unraveler) and disruptive pieces (Chains of Mephistopheles).
3. Execution: Cast wheels to force mass draws, triggering lethal damage. Backup wincons include Exsanguinate and Mindcrank + Bloodchief Ascension.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3+ lands and at least one ramp/draw engine.
• Prioritize early wheels (Dark Deal, Winds of Change) if damage enablers are present.
• Avoid hands lacking ramp or excessive high-cost cards.

Key Tips:

• Time wheels to maximize damage: Cast after resolving 2+ damage triggers.
• Use Teferi's Puzzle Box to disrupt opponents’ hands while triggering Nekusar.
• Protect Nekusar with Lightning Greaves or countermagic (Swan Song, Counterspell).

Avoid Traps:

• Overcommitting to the board before establishing protection.
• Wheeling without sufficient damage triggers in play.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Relies on easily removed enchantments/creatures (no recursion outside Elixir of Immortality).
• Limited answers to lifegain or damage prevention.

Moderate:

• Slow recovery if key pieces are countered/destroyed.
• Vulnerable to fast aggro due to minimal blockers.

Minor:

• Mana base susceptible to Blood Moon effects (relies on nonbasic duals).

Most Important Cards:

• Underworld Dreams
• Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
• Wheel of Fortune
• Chains of Mephistopheles
• Windfall
• Teferi's Puzzle Box
• Mindcrank
• Bloodchief Ascension
• Cyclonic Rift
• Forced Fruition

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can threaten lethal via wheels + damage triggers by turns 7–9. Fast mana (Sol Ring, Cabal Coffers) accelerates setup.

Resilience: 5/10

• Redundant damage sources mitigate commander reliance, but key enchantments are fragile. Limited protection beyond counterspells.

Consistency: 6/10

• 10+ wheel effects and 6 damage amplifiers provide redundancy. Lacks tutors beyond Tolaria West.

Interaction: 5/10

• Mix of counterspells (Arcane Denial, Disdainful Stroke) and removal (Terminate, Damnation), but few free/cheap options.

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between "Optimized Casual" (rubric 5.0) and "Focused" (6.0). It has a clear, synergistic game plan with redundancy but lacks the speed (T7–9 wins vs. T6–8 benchmark) and interaction density of higher-tier decks. Its reliance on incremental damage over combos and vulnerability to enchantment removal place it closer to a strong casual build.

Power level: 5.5 - 6.0