Overview:

This mono-black lifegain/drain deck helmed by Gollum, Obsessed Stalker focuses on converting incremental life gain into opponent life loss through triggered abilities and synergistic payoffs. The commander enables a unique "death by a thousand cuts" strategy, leveraging skulk to guarantee early combat damage and activate its end-step trigger. The deck combines aristocrats effects, mass life-drain spells, and lifegain-to-damage converters like Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose to create multiple pressure vectors. Key backup plans include explosive Exsanguinate casts, Aetherflux Reservoir activations, and Gray Merchant of Asphodel recursion.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Deploy Gollum with protection (Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots), then establish lifegain engines like Creeping Bloodsucker, Phyrexian Arena, or Bontu's Monument. Use utility lands like Rogue's Passage to ensure Gollum connects.
2. Midgame Amplification (Turns 5-7): Resolve key payoffs like Sanguine Bond, Wound Reflection, or Alhammarret's Archive. Activate mass lifegain via Crypt Ghast-fueled Exsanguinate or Kokusho, the Evening Star sacrifices.
3. Endgame Closure (Turns 8+): Leverage Aetherflux Reservoir to delete opponents, stack multiple lifegain triggers with Strionic Resonator, or lock the board with The Meathook Massacre + recurring Gray Merchant loops.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with Gollum protection (boots/greaves) or early lifegain (Vampire of the Dire Moon, Gifted Aetherborn).
• Prioritize at least 3 lands and a mana rock (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet).
• Avoid hands without black mana sources or excessive high-CMC spells.

Key Tips:

• Use Dauthi Voidwalker to disrupt opponents' graveyards while stealing key spells.
• Veinwitch Coven and Witch of the Moors provide critical recursion for key creatures.
• Time Toxic Deluge and Killing Wave to maximize opponent creature loss while preserving your board.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Extreme commander dependency – repeated removal of Gollum cripples the primary win condition.
• Minimal stack interaction leaves combo decks largely unchecked.

Moderate

• Vulnerable to Rest in Peace/Leyline of the Void shutting off recursion and Gray Merchant loops.
• Struggles against lifegain prevention (Erebos, God of the Dead, Tainted Remedy).

Minor

• Limited artifact/enchantment removal beyond Feed the Swarm.
• High mana curve creates vulnerability to early aggression.

Most Important Cards:

• Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose (Doubles lifegain damage output)
• Sanguine Bond (Alternative lifegain-to-damage engine)
• Aetherflux Reservoir (Instant-speed nuke)
• Exsanguinate (Scalable life swing)
• Gray Merchant of Asphodel (Recurrable drain bomb)
• Crypt Ghast (Mana multiplier for X spells)
• The Meathook Massacre (Board control + passive drain)
• Dauthi Voidwalker (Disruption + threat acceleration)
• Lightning Greaves (Critical Gollum protection)
• Alhammarret's Archive (Lifegain/draw amplifier)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10
Capable of threatening wins around T8-10 through optimized Exsanguinate/Aetherflux lines, but requires significant setup for lethal.

Resilience: 4/10
Moderate recursion and protection exist, but commander dependency and lack of counterspells leave key strategies fragile.

Consistency: 6/10
Redundant lifegain payoffs and card draw engines provide reliable access to core mechanics, though limited tutors hinder combo assembly.

Interaction: 5/10
Strong creature removal suite (Go for the Throat, Infernal Grasp) but lacks answers to noncreature permanents beyond Feed the Swarm.

Rating Justification:

The deck demonstrates focused casual capabilities with multiple synergistic win paths but lacks the speed (T8-10 benchmarks) and protection needed for higher tiers. Its reliance on combat-triggered commander damage and straightforward lifegain combos align with the Casual/Precon (4.0) to Focused Casual (4.5) range.

Power level: 4.0 - 4.5