Overview:

This Tergrid, God of Fright deck is a high-powered stax/control build focused on forcing opponents to discard and sacrifice permanents, then stealing those resources via Tergrid’s ability. The deck leverages fast mana, asymmetrical discard/sacrifice engines (e.g., Necrogen Mists, Grave Pact), and punishing combos to lock opponents out while generating overwhelming value. Tergrid is the linchpin, converting forced sacrifices/discards into a stolen board presence. Alternative win conditions include Torment of Hailfire, Tinybones, Trinket Thief’s life-loss ability, and Phyrexian Altar/Nether Traitor loops for infinite mana.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Deploy fast mana (Mana Vault, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual) to accelerate Tergrid or stax pieces. Prioritize Waste Not, Necropotence, or Contamination to establish asymmetry.
2. Disruption Phase (Turns 3-5): Cast Tergrid and activate her lantern ability or deploy sacrifice engines (Braids, Arisen Nightmare, Smokestack). Use targeted discard (Thoughtseize, Opposition Agent) to disrupt opponents.
3. Lock/Combo Phase (Turns 4-7):
   • Stax Lock: Pair Contamination with token generators (Ophiomancer) or Grave Pact with forced sacrifices.
   • Infinite Mana: Nether Traitor + Phyrexian Altar + a free sacrifice outlet (e.g., Braids) creates infinite B mana. Use this to fuel Torment of Hailfire or Tergrid’s Lantern.
   • Steal Win: Reanimate opponents’ key creatures via Reanimate or Tergrid triggers.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with Tergrid + 2-3 mana sources (including fast mana).
• Prioritize early stax/discard enablers (Necrogen Mists, Smallpox).
• Avoid hands lacking black mana or with only high-CMC cards.

Key Tips:

• Use Imp's Mischief to protect Tergrid from removal or redirect key spells.
• Volrath's Stronghold and Animate Dead ensure Tergrid recursion.
• Bolas's Citadel + Necropotence enables explosive plays by bypassing mana costs.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Commander-dependent: Repeated removal on Tergrid cripples the deck’s value engine.
• Vulnerable to graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void), shutting off recursion and Tergrid’s ability.

Moderate

• Struggles against decks with innate card advantage (e.g., blue-based draw engines).
• Rule of Law effects nullify the deck’s ability to chain spells.

Minor

• Limited answers to enchantments/artifacts (only Feed the Swarm, Demolition Field).

Most Important Cards:

• Tergrid, God of Fright (Core engine)
• Phyrexian Altar (Combo enabler, mana acceleration)
• Contamination (Asymmetrical lock piece)
• Necropotence (Card advantage engine)
• Torment of Hailfire (Primary win condition)
• Demonic Tutor (Tutoring)
• Smallpox (Early disruption + Tergrid trigger)
• Grave Pact (Forced sacrifice synergy)
• Nether Traitor (Combo piece, recursion)
• Waste Not (Value engine for discard)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 8/10

• Capable of T3-T4 locks (e.g., T1 Ritual into T2 Contamination) or T5-T6 combo kills with tutors.

Resilience: 6/10

• Recursion (Volrath's Stronghold, Animate Dead) and protection (Lightning Greaves) mitigate removal, but over-reliance on Tergrid and graveyard creates fragility.

Consistency: 7/10

• 10+ tutors (e.g., Beseech the Mirror, Vampiric Tutor) and strong draw (Necropotence, Geth's Grimoire) ensure key pieces are accessible.

Interaction: 7/10

• Heavy on forced sacrifices and discard but lacks instant-speed interaction beyond Deadly Rollick and Imp's Mischief.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at cEDH-adjacent speeds with explosive starts and potent stax locks but lacks the redundancy and protection of top-tier lists. Its T3-T4 win/lock potential aligns with High Power (8.0), but vulnerability to common meta answers and commander dependence pull it toward the upper end of Focused Competitive.

Power level: 7.5 - 8.0