Overview:

This Boros deck helmed by Arabella, Abandoned Doll focuses on swarming the board with low-power creatures (power 2 or less) to amplify Arabella's damage/lifegain trigger. The strategy combines token generation (Assemble the Legion, Skyknight Vanguard), damage multipliers (City on Fire, Dictate of the Twin Gods), and lifegain payoffs (Angelic Accord, Griffin Aerie). Arabella serves as both an engine and finisher, with the deck aiming to win through incremental combat damage amplified by mass triggers or explosive turns enabled by damage-doubling effects.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Deploy low-cost creatures (Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Boros Elite) to build board presence. Use token generators like Skyknight Vanguard and Kari Zev, Skyship Raider to widen the board.
2. Engine Activation (Turns 3-5): Cast Arabella once you have 3+ creatures. Protect her with Dauntless Bodyguard or Selfless Spirit. Activate lifegain engines (Dawn of Hope, Attended Healer) and card advantage tools (Mentor of the Meek, Bygone Bishop).
3. Amplification (Turns 5-7): Resolve damage multipliers (City on Fire, Dictate of the Twin Gods) or stax pieces (Archon of Emeria, Hokori, Dust Drinker). Use Break Through the Line or Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner to enable unblockable Arabella swings.
4. Closing the Game:
   • Combat Overkill: Swing with Arabella and 5+ creatures to trigger 6+ damage per opponent, tripled by City on Fire for 18+ damage.
   • Token Swarm: Overwhelm with Assemble the Legion tokens or Angelic Accord angels.
   • Recursion Loops: Recur key creatures via Karmic Guide and Resurrection to maintain pressure.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands (including color fixing).
• Prioritize early creatures (1-2 CMC) and token generators.
• Look for at least one protection piece (Selfless Spirit, Safe Passage) or card draw engine.
• Avoid hands without a turn 1-2 play or excessive high-CMC cards.

Key Tips:

• Use Strict Proctor to tax opponents’ ETB triggers while your strategy focuses on non-ETB value.
• Hushbringer shuts down opposing death/ETB triggers but also neuters your Karmic Guide and Inspiring Overseer – deploy judiciously.
• Reconstruct History can recover multiple key enchantments/artifacts in one cast.
• Dauntless Dismantler is both artifact hate and a political tool – negotiate its activation for maximum impact.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Board Wipe Vulnerability: Relies heavily on maintaining a wide board for Arabella triggers and lifegain payoffs. Lacks mass recursion outside Ascend from Avernus.
• Anti-Token Hate: Cursed Totem, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, or Ratchet Bomb cripples the core strategy.
• Commander Dependency: Arabella is the primary win condition – repeated removal stalls the deck significantly.

Moderate

• Artifact/Enchantment Reliance: Key pieces like Assemble the Legion and City on Fire are vulnerable to Austere Command.
• Mana Constraints: Limited ramp beyond Treasure tokens; Hokori, Dust Drinker can backfire if not timed perfectly.

Minor

• Limited Stack Interaction: Only 3 counterspell-like effects (Archon of Emeria, Strict Proctor, Leonin Arbiter).
• Flyer Weakness: Minimal reach/flying blockers outside Griffin Aerie tokens.

Most Important Cards:

• City on Fire (Triples Arabella’s damage trigger)
• Assemble the Legion (Unstoppable token generation)
• Dictate of the Twin Gods (Doubles damage for explosive finishes)
• Angelic Accord (Win condition via lifegain)
• Mentor of the Meek (Critical card draw engine)
• Karmic Guide (Recur key creatures)
• Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner (Enables unblockable triggers and card draw)
• Selfless Spirit (Board wipe protection)
• Archon of Emeria (Slows opponents’ combos)
• Bygone Bishop (Generates Clues for sustained card flow)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10
Can threaten wins by turn 6-7 with ideal setups (damage multipliers + 5+ creatures), but lacks fast mana or tutors to consistently accelerate.

Resilience: 4/10
Limited protection for Arabella and key enchantments. Recovery options exist but are slow (e.g., Reconstruct History).

Consistency: 6/10
Strong card draw (12+ sources) and redundant token generators provide steady pressure, but key damage multipliers are singleton.

Interaction: 5/10
Focused on stax (Hokori, Archon) and targeted removal (Banisher Priest), but lacks instant-speed answers to combo decks.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at a 4.0 - 4.5 power level. It executes a clear game plan with synergistic combat/lifegain triggers but lacks the speed (T10-12 wins) and resilience of optimized decks. While it can create overwhelming boards, it struggles against focused interaction and has no "oops I win" combos typical of higher tiers.

Power level: 4.0 - 4.5