Overview:

This Tovolar deck masquerades as a werewolf tribal build but operates as a high-velocity Gruul combo engine. While leveraging Tovolar for incidental card draw, the deck bypasses its day/night mechanic entirely, focusing on explosive mana acceleration to deploy game-winning combos by turns 2-4. Critical artifacts (Gaea's Cradle, Mox Diamond, Lion's Eye Diamond) and tutors (Gamble, Survival of the Fittest) enable multiple redundant win lines, including Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Combat Celebrant, Dualcaster Mage + Twinflame, and Selvala, Heart of the Wilds + Staff of Domination. Tovolar is a value piece, not the core – the strategy functions without him.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Explosive Start (Turns 0-1): Mulligan for fast mana (Lion's Eye Diamond, Mox Diamond, Elvish Spirit Guide), land tutors (Crop Rotation for Gaea's Cradle), or combo enablers (Goblin Engineer). Use free mana to deploy Chrome Mox, Mana Vault, or dorks.
2. Assemble Combo (Turns 2-3): Tutor key pieces: Survival of the Fittest pitches creatures to find Kiki-Jiki/Dualcaster; Gamble/Imperial Recruiter grabs combo components. Generate massive mana via Selvala, Heart of the Wilds + high-power creature or Underworld Breach + rituals (Pyretic Ritual, Rite of Flame).
3. Win (Turns 2-4):
   • Kiki-Jiki + Combat Celebrant: Copy Celebrant for infinite combat phases.
   • Dualcaster Mage + Twinflame: Copy Dualcaster infinitely for hasty tokens.
   • Selvala + Staff of Domination: Generate infinite mana, draw deck, win via Walking Ballista (tutored via Goblin Engineer/Finale of Devastation).
   • Underworld Breach: Loop rituals and Wheel of Fortune with LED to storm off or recur combos.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with ≥1 fast mana source (LED, Mox Diamond, Spirit Guide) and a tutor/combo piece.
• Prioritize land → Gaea's Cradle via Crop Rotation or Elvish Spirit Guide + Natural Order.
• Avoid hands lacking acceleration or combo potential.

Key Tips:

• Protect Combos: Cast Deflecting Swat, Veil of Summer, or Pyroblast to shield critical spells. Allosaurus Shepherd ensures green spells resolve.
• Breach Lines: Exile LED with Goblin Engineer to enable Breach loops. Noxious Revival retrieves key combo pieces.
• Alternative Wins: Use Craterhoof Behemoth or Purphoros, God of the Forge with token generators if combos are disrupted.
• Resource Recycling: Underworld Breach recovers spent tutors/interaction. Wrenn and Six rebuys fetches for landfall triggers with Lotus Cobra.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Artifact/Ability Hates: Collector Ouphe or Null Rod cripples mana rocks, Goblin Engineer, and Staff of Domination.
• Graveyard Lock: Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void shuts off Underworld Breach, reanimation, and Goblin Engineer loops.
• Stack Interaction: Heavy counterspell decks can disrupt combo turns despite protection.

Moderate

• Rule of Law Effects: Eidolon of Rhetoric limits spell chains and Breach lines.
• Early Board Wipes: Mass removal (Toxic Deluge) before combo setup slows momentum.

Minor

• Commander Tax: Repeatedly removing Tovolar reduces card draw, but the deck wins without him.
• Color-Specific Hate: Blood Moon minimally impacts the mana base due to basics and dorks.

Most Important Cards:

• Underworld Breach (Recursion engine for combos)
• Lion's Eye Diamond (Mana for Breach loops, enables T1/T2 wins)
• Gaea's Cradle (Explosive creature-based mana)
• Survival of the Fittest (Tutors combo creatures)
• Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker (Primary combo piece)
• Gamble (Tutors any card, synergizes with Breach)
• Selvala, Heart of the Wilds (Mana generator/combo piece)
• Goblin Engineer (Fetches LED/Staff, enables graveyard combos)
• Crop Rotation (Fetches Cradle or utility lands)
• Deflecting Swat (Free protection for combos)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 10/10

• Consistently threatens T2-3 wins via Breach/LED, Kiki-Combat Celebrant, or Selvala-Staff with optimal hands.

Resilience: 7/10

• Free interaction (Deflecting Swat, Pyroblast) and recursion (Breach, Noxious Revival) protect combos, but relies heavily on artifacts vulnerable to mass hate.

Consistency: 9/10

• 14 tutors, 8+ fast mana sources, and explosive draw (Wheel of Fortune, Sylvan Library) ensure rapid combo assembly.

Interaction: 8/10

• Efficient artifact/enchantment removal (Force of Vigor, Nature's Claim), free counters (Deflecting Swat), and targeted disruption (Pyroblast) handle key threats at instant speed.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at cEDH velocity with multiple protected T2-3 win lines, backed by top-tier fast mana and tutors. While vulnerable to specific stax pieces, its resilience and redundancy place it near the top of competitive viability, falling short of Tier 0 only due to meta-dependent fragility.

Power level: 9.0 - 9.5