Overview:

This Izzet wheels deck helmed by The Locust God focuses on explosive card draw synergies to flood the board with Insect tokens and burn opponents through ETB triggers. The strategy leverages 15+ wheel effects (Windfall, Jace's Archivist, Magus of the Wheel) to trigger the commander's token generation while enabling damage engines like Purphoros, God of the Forge, Impact Tremors, and Psychosis Crawler. Key combo lines with Sage of the Falls + Ashnod's Altar enable infinite token/damage loops. The commander serves as the primary engine, providing both token generation and a built-in card draw outlet to fuel the strategy.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (T1-3): Deploy mana rocks (Sol Ring, Izzet Signet) and value engines (Rhystic Study, Mystic Remora). Use cantrips (Brainstorm, Preordain) to dig for wheels or combo pieces.
2. Midgame Acceleration (T3-5): Cast wheel effects to flood the board with Insects. Activate The Locust God's draw/discard ability to maintain momentum. Deploy damage amplifiers like Purphoros or Torbran, Thane of Red Fell.
3. Win Conditions (T4-7):
   • Combat Overrun: Swing with 10+ hasty Insects, often boosted by Coat of Arms-style effects (missing in current list - consider adding).
   • Infinite Combos:
     • Sage of the Falls + Ashnod's Altar + The Locust God: Sac Insects for mana, draw/discard to make more tokens, loop infinitely.
     • Underworld Breach + Wheel of Misfortune + Lion's Eye Diamond (missing - consider adding) for storm-style wins.
   • Burn Triggers: Stack Purphoros/Impact Tremors triggers from mass token generation.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands including red/blue sources
• Prioritize early ramp (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet) or a T2-T3 wheel enabler
• Look for at least one interaction/protection spell (Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat)

Key Tips:

• Use Skullclamp on Insects to convert tokens into card advantage
• Underworld Breach can recur critical wheels or interaction from grave
• March of Swirling Mist protects your board while phasing out opponents' threats
• Teferi's Ageless Insight doubles all non-draw-step card draws

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Commander-dependent strategy: Multiple removals on The Locust God cripples the engine
• Limited protection for key damage engines (Purphoros/Impact Tremors vulnerable to enchantment removal)

Moderate

• Vulnerable to graveyard hate shutting down Underworld Breach/recursion
• Board wipes reset token progress (only 2 mass bounce spells in Evacuation, Mists of Lórien)

Minor

• Some wheels benefit opponents (Wheel of Misfortune, Windfall can refill enemy hands)
• Limited land count (34) with several tap lands risks stumbling on early turns

Most Important Cards:

• The Locust God (Engine/wincon)
• Purphoros, God of the Forge (Primary damage amplifier)
• Ashnod's Altar (Combo enabler/mana acceleration)
• Underworld Breach (Recursion/combo potential)
• Windfall (Best wheel effect)
• Sage of the Falls (Infinite combo piece)
• Skullclamp (Card advantage engine)
• Fierce Guardianship (Free commander protection)
• Rhystic Study (Early value engine)
• Psychosis Crawler (Secondary win condition)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Capable of T4-T6 wins with ideal wheels + Purphoros/Impact Tremors, but requires setup turns. Fast mana (Sol Ring, Ancient Tomb) enables explosive starts.

Resilience: 5/10

• Limited protection beyond 6 counterspells. Heavy reliance on commander and key enchantments makes it vulnerable to focused removal.

Consistency: 8/10

• 15+ wheel effects, 8 tutors (including Gamble, Mystical Tutor), and massive card draw ensure regular access to key pieces.

Interaction: 6/10

• 10 targeted removal/counters (Chaos Warp, Swan Song) plus 2 board wipes. Lacks stax pieces but has efficient answers.

Rating Justification:

This deck demonstrates high-speed potential through explosive wheel turns and combo lines, but its reliance on vulnerable engines and moderate interaction suite keeps it below cEDH tiers. The consistent access to game-winning effects through tutors and massive draw justifies an Optimized/Focused rating.

Power level: 6.5 - 7.0