Overview:

This Orzhov aristocrats deck leverages Ratadrabik of Urborg to create non-legendary Zombie copies of legendary creatures upon their death, enabling recursive value engines and combo potential. The strategy focuses on sacrificing high-impact legendary creatures (e.g., Kokusho, the Evening Star, Elenda, the Dusk Rose) to generate life drain, token swarms, and infinite loops via sac outlets like Phyrexian Altar and Ashnod's Altar. Ratadrabik serves as the linchpin, enabling token copies to preserve death triggers even if the original is exiled. The deck combines stax elements (Grave Pact, Kambal, Consul of Allocation) with combo finishers and token multipliers like Mondrak, Glory Dominus and Anointed Procession.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Setup (Turns 1-4): Deploy mana rocks (Sol Ring, Orzhov Signet), tutors (Demonic Tutor, Buried Alive), and key engines like Skullclamp or Phyrexian Reclamation. Use Esper Sentinel or Necropotence to maintain card advantage.
2. Engine Assembly (Turns 3-6): Cast Ratadrabik and protect it with Swiftfoot Boots or Teferi's Protection. Sacrifice legends like Elenda, the Dusk Rose or Sidisi, Undead Vizier to create Zombie copies and trigger death effects. Recur key pieces with Reanimate or Victimize.
3. Win Conditions (Turns 5-8):
   • Infinite Mana/Death Loops: Phyrexian Altar + Gravecrawler-style recursion (if present) or Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Walking Ballista (if included).
   • Mass Drain: Bastion of Remembrance + token generation (e.g., Luminous Broodmoth + sac outlet).
   • Combat Overrun: Token swarms amplified by Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite or Mondrak, Glory Dominus.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands (including duals), 1-2 ramp pieces, and at least one engine card (Ratadrabik, sac outlet, or tutor).
• Prioritize Buried Alive or Entomb-like effects to set up graveyard recursion.
• Avoid hands lacking early interaction or mana acceleration.

Key Tips:

• Use Nim Deathmantle to repeatedly resurrect key legends, creating Ratadrabik tokens each time.
• Lithoform Engine doubles Ratadrabik’s token-creation trigger.
• Drivnod, Carnage Dominus and Teysa Karlov amplify death triggers exponentially.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) cripples recursion and Ratadrabik’s token generation.
• Commander-focused removal (Darksteel Mutation, Imprisoned in the Moon) disrupts the core engine.

Moderate

• Board wipes reset token swarms unless protected by Flawless Maneuver.
• Anti-sacrifice effects (Tajuru Preserver) block key synergies.

Minor

• Slow mana base (multiple tapped lands) can delay early setup.

Most Important Cards:

• Ratadrabik of Urborg (Token generation engine)
• Phyrexian Altar (Sac outlet for infinite mana/triggers)
• Mondrak, Glory Dominus (Token multiplier)
• Drivnod, Carnage Dominus (Trigger doubler)
• Teysa Karlov (Trigger doubler)
• Elenda, the Dusk Rose (Scaling token generator)
• Living Death (Mass reanimation wincon)
• Demonic Tutor (Tutor for key pieces)
• Necropotence (Card advantage engine)
• Grave Pact (Stax/control)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can threaten wins via combo or overwhelming tokens by turns 6-8, but setup requires multiple pieces.

Resilience: 7/10

• Robust recursion (Reanimate, Phyrexian Reclamation) and protection (Teferi's Protection) mitigate disruption, but graveyard reliance remains a liability.

Consistency: 8/10

• Extensive tutors (7+), card draw (Necropotence, Skullclamp), and redundancy in sac outlets/triggers ensure reliable access to the game plan.

Interaction: 5/10

• Efficient spot removal (Swords to Plowshares, Deadly Rollick) and stax (Grave Pact), but limited counterspells.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at an Optimized Casual level, leveraging tutors and combos to threaten T6-8 wins through recursive value or infinite loops. While its resilience and consistency are high, reliance on the graveyard and commander-centric strategy caps its speed below cEDH tiers.

Power level: 6.5 - 7.0