Overview:

This mono-blue deck helmed by Eluge, the Shoreless Sea focuses on leveraging flood counters to turbo-charge instant/sorcery synergies, with an emphasis on infinite turns and massive card advantage. The commander enables dramatic cost reduction for extra-turn spells like Nexus of Fate and Time Warp, while cards like Harbinger of the Seas and Thassa, Deep-Dwelling amplify Island density and flicker value. The deck aims to lock opponents out via recursive turn loops, supported by efficient counterspells and cost reducers like Sapphire Medallion and Baral, Chief of Compliance.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4):
   • Deploy mana rocks (Sol Ring, Sky Diamond) and cost reducers (Sapphire Medallion, Baral, Chief of Compliance).
   • Cast Eluge once 3-4 Islands are available, prioritizing flood counters on nonbasic lands. Use Harbinger of the Seas to convert all lands into Islands.
   • Protect Eluge with Lightning Greaves or countermagic (Counterspell, Stubborn Denial).

2. Midgame Acceleration (Turns 4-6):

   • Exploit Eluge's cost reduction to chain extra-turn spells (e.g., cast Alrund's Epiphany for {U} with 4 flood counters).
   • Use Displacer Kitten to flicker Archaeomancer/Thassa, Deep-Dwelling and recur key spells.
   • Generate infinite mana via High Tide + Frantic Search loops or Hullbreaker Horror bounce synergies.

3. Win Conditions (Turns 5+):

   • Infinite Turns: Loop Nexus of Fate/Beacon of Tomorrows with recursion (Archaeomancer, Mnemonic Deluge).
   • Combat: Swing with pumped Haughty Djinn or Eluge (scaling with Island count) via Rogue's Passage.
   • Deckout: Cast Enter the Infinite + Blue Sun's Zenith to mill opponents.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands (prioritize Islands), a cost reducer/ramp piece, and at least one counter/extra-turn spell.
• Avoid hands without early interaction or flood counter enablers.

Key Tips:

• Use Mystic Sanctuary to recur critical counters/extra turns.
• Displacer Kitten + Archaeomancer = infinite extra turns with Temporal Manipulation in graveyard.
• Primal Amulet (flipped) copies extra-turn spells for exponential value.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Commander-dependent: Eluge removal cripples cost reduction.
• Loses to Drannith Magistrate/Lavinia, Azorius Renegade (blocks cast-from-command-zone synergies).
• No lab-man/thoracle wincon risks fizzling after drawing entire library.

Moderate

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace) disrupts recursion engines.
• Struggles against Teferi, Time Raveler (shuts off instant-speed extra turns).

Minor

• Limited board presence makes it vulnerable to early aggression.
• High Tide reliance falters against Blood Moon.

Most Important Cards:

• Nexus of Fate (Recursive extra turns)
• Eluge, the Shoreless Sea (Cost reduction engine)
• High Tide (Mana multiplier)
• Displacer Kitten (Flicker enabler for recursion)
• Hullbreaker Horror (Control/Combo piece)
• Mystical Tutor (Finds key extra turns)
• Archaeomancer (Spell recursion)
• Baral, Chief of Compliance (Cost reduction + draw)
• Sapphire Medallion (Cost reduction)
• Cyclonic Rift (Board reset)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Can initiate extra-turn chains as early as T5-6 with Eluge online, but lacks fast mana for T3-4 wins.

Resilience: 5/10

• Heavy reliance on Eluge and graveyard recursion makes it vulnerable to targeted removal/hate, though counterspells provide some protection.

Consistency: 8/10

• 12 tutors/card selection spells (e.g., Mystical Tutor, Brainstorm) ensure access to combo pieces.

Interaction: 7/10

• 15+ counterspells/bounce effects (Cryptic Command, Cyclonic Rift) disrupt opponents effectively.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at a 7.0 - 7.5 power level, capable of establishing game-winning extra-turn loops by T5-6 with robust countermagic backup. While it lacks the speed and redundancy of cEDH-tier combos, its focused strategy and high consistency place it firmly in the "Focused Competitive" bracket.

Power level: 7.0 - 7.5