Overview:

This Anje Falkenrath deck leverages madness synergies and discard outlets to generate value, utilizing the commander as a lynchpin for card velocity. The primary strategy revolves around cycling through the deck using Anje's discard/draw ability to trigger madness spells, create zombie tokens via Bone Miser, drain opponents with Faith of the Devoted, and reanimate threats like Flayer of the Hatebound. Anje is critical for enabling the engine, but the deck lacks fast mana or efficient tutors, relying instead on incremental value and mid-to-late-game reanimation.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Cast Anje immediately to start discarding madness cards (e.g., Fiery Temper, Alchemist's Greeting) for free value. Use lands like Geier Reach Sanitarium or Key to the City to enable additional discard triggers.
2. Mid-Game Value (Turns 5-7): Deploy payoff engines like Bone Miser (zombie tokens, mana, and card draw) and Faith of the Devoted (life drain). Recur key creatures like Skyfire Phoenix or Squee, Goblin Nabob for repeated value.
3. Win Conditions (Turns 8+):
   • Drain: Use Faith of the Devoted alongside mass discard (e.g., Anje's Ravager) to drain the table.
   • Combat: Swing with zombie hordes from Bone Miser or From Under the Floorboards, amplified by Warstorm Surge.
   • Reanimation: Resurrect Flayer of the Hatebound with Chainer, Nightmare Adept or Doomed Necromancer to burn opponents on ETB.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with Anje, 2-3 lands, and at least 1 madness card.
• Prioritize early discard outlets (Key to the City, Geier Reach Sanitarium) if Anje isn’t in hand.
• Avoid hands with high-CMC cards lacking ramp or discard synergies.

Key Tips:

• Use Sanctum of Eternity to bounce Anje if she’s targeted, preserving your engine.
• Grimoire of the Dead is a late-game bomb—time it after filling graveyards.
• Flayer of the Hatebound pairs with Chainer, Nightmare Adept for recurring damage.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Graveyard Reliance: Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void cripples recursion, madness payoffs, and Bone Miser.
• Commander Dependency: Anje’s removal stalls the deck’s velocity; limited protection outside Sanctum of Eternity.

Moderate

• Slow Mana Base: 16 tapped lands and minimal fast ramp (only Sol Ring) delay key plays.
• Fragile Payoffs: Bone Miser and Faith of the Devoted are vulnerable to removal.

Minor

• Limited Interaction: Few answers to artifacts/enchantments (only Chaos Warp, Meteor Golem).
• High Variance: Many situational madness cards (e.g., Curse of Fool’s Wisdom) risk clunkiness.

Most Important Cards:

• Anje Falkenrath (Engine enabler)
• Bone Miser (Token generation, mana, and card advantage)
• Faith of the Devoted (Primary life-drain wincon)
• Flayer of the Hatebound (Reanimation damage trigger)
• Chainer, Nightmare Adept (Recurrence and haste enabler)
• Grimoire of the Dead (Late-game zombie swarm)
• Key to the City (Discard outlet and evasion)
• Geier Reach Sanitarium (Discard synergy)
• From Under the Floorboards (Token generation and life gain)
• Skyfire Phoenix (Recurring threat with Anje)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 4/10

• Wins via incremental damage or reanimation typically around T10-12. No fast combos, and high-CMC payoffs like In Garruk’s Wake slow the clock.

Resilience: 3/10

• Heavily reliant on Anje and graveyards. Minimal protection and slow recovery from board wipes or hate pieces.

Consistency: 5/10

• Anje’s cycling ensures steady card flow, but lack of tutors for key pieces (e.g., Bone Miser) creates variance.

Interaction: 3/10

• Limited removal (Plaguecrafter, Chaos Warp) and no counterspells. Struggles to disrupt opponents’ combos.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at a Casual/Precon level, aiming for T10-12 wins through combat or attrition but lacks the speed, redundancy, and interaction to compete at higher tiers. Its reliance on Anje and graveyards makes it fragile against common disruption.

Power level: 3.5 - 4.0