Overview:

This Grist, the Hunger Tide deck is a high-speed, combo-centric list leveraging Golgari's strengths in reanimation, tutors, and explosive mana to execute fast wins. Grist serves as a flexible value engine (generating Insect tokens, removal, and a potential life-drain ultimate) but is secondary to the deck's primary plan: assembling efficient two-card combos like Witherbloom Apprentice + Chain of Smog or reanimating game-ending threats like Razaketh, the Foulblooded to tutor for win conditions. The deck operates at cEDH-adjacent speeds, utilizing fast mana, hyper-efficient tutors, and graveyard recursion to threaten wins as early as Turn 2-3 in ideal scenarios.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Acceleration (Turns 0-2): Deploy fast mana (Mana Vault, Chrome Mox, Elvish Spirit Guide) and tutors (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Entomb) to set up combo lines. Culling the Weak and Sacrifice can generate explosive black mana by sacrificing Insects or dorks.
2. Combo Assembly (Turns 2-4):
   • Primary Combo: Cast Chain of Smog targeting yourself with Witherbloom Apprentice in play, copying it infinitely to drain the table.
   • Reanimation Lines: Use Entomb/Unmarked Grave + Reanimate/Necromancy to cheat Razaketh or Hoarding Broodlord into play, then sacrifice tokens to tutor for combo pieces or Ad Nauseam.
   • Storm Finish: Chatterstorm with sufficient storm count or Peer into the Abyss/Ad Nauseam to draw into win conditions.
3. Protection/Disruption: Deploy Opposition Agent to hijack opponents' tutors, Veil of Summer to protect combos, and Endurance to disrupt graveyard strategies.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 1-2 lands, fast mana, and a tutor or combo piece.
• Prioritize hands containing Chain of Smog + Witherbloom Apprentice, Entomb + reanimation spell, or Ad Nauseam with sufficient mana.
• Mulligan away slow hands lacking acceleration or tutors.

Key Tips:

• Use Grist, the Hunger Tide’s +1 to mill combo pieces (e.g., Chain of Smog) for reanimation or Yawgmoth's Will recursion.
• Lion's Eye Diamond enables explosive Peer into the Abyss or Yawgmoth's Will turns.
• Boseiju, Who Endures protects combos by removing key stax pieces like Cursed Totem or Rule of Law.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) cripples reanimation lines and Yawgmoth's Will.
• Instant-speed interaction disrupts the Chain of Smog combo mid-loop.
• Anti-tutor effects (Opposition Agent, Aven Mindcensor) block critical searches.

Moderate

• Rule of Law effects slow storm/combo turns.
• Aggressive early pressure can race the deck’s setup phase.

Minor

• Blood Moon/Back to Basics marginally impact the mana base due to artifact mana and duals.

Most Important Cards:

• Witherbloom Apprentice (Primary combo piece)
• Chain of Smog (Infinite damage enabler)
• Ad Nauseam (Draws entire deck with low curve)
• Razaketh, the Foulblooded (Tutor engine)
• Demonic Tutor (Finds any combo piece)
• Lion's Eye Diamond (Enables explosive turns)
• Yawgmoth's Will (Recurs combo pieces from grave)
• Peer into the Abyss (Massive draw engine)
• Mana Vault (Critical early acceleration)
• Veil of Summer (Protects combo execution)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 9/10
Capable of T2-3 wins with ideal draws (e.g., T1 Entomb + Reanimate Razaketh, T2 tutor combo). Consistently threatens T4-5 wins through disruption.

Resilience: 7/10
Multiple combo lines (graveyard, storm, direct combo) and protection spells (Veil of Summer, Boseiju) provide redundancy, but relies heavily on resolving key sorceries.

Consistency: 9/10
17 tutors, 8+ fast mana sources, and dense draw engines (Sylvan Library, The One Ring) ensure reliable access to win conditions.

Interaction: 6/10
Focused on protecting its own combos (Veil, Endurance) with limited removal (Assassin's Trophy, Abrupt Decay).

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at cEDH-adjacent speeds (T2-4 wins) with high consistency and multiple protected combo lines, but lacks the stack interaction and free counterspells of top-tier cEDH lists. Its resilience to disruption and meta flexibility place it just below Tier 1 cEDH.

Power level: 8.5 - 9.0