Overview:

This Gruul deck leverages Tovolar, Dire Overlord as a card draw engine and tribal enabler for a Werewolf/Wolf strategy, but its core strength lies in explosive artifact-based mana acceleration and multiple compact infinite combos. While Tovolar provides card advantage and night/day synergy, the deck functions more as a high-speed combo/storm hybrid, utilizing premium fast mana, tutors, and graveyard recursion to execute wins via Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Combat Celebrant, Dualcaster Mage + Twinflame, or Selvala, Heart of the Wilds + Staff of Domination. Secondary plans include combat overruns with Craterhoof Behemoth and Purphoros, God of the Forge triggers.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Explosive Start (Turns 0-2): Deploy fast mana (Mana Vault, Lion's Eye Diamond, Grim Monolith, dorks) and tutors (Gamble, Worldly Tutor, Survival of the Fittest). Prioritize assembling Underworld Breach or key combo pieces.
2. Mid-Game Setup (Turns 2-4): Use Tovolar for card draw via combat or cast Sylvan Library/Wheel of Fortune for velocity. Recur artifacts with Goblin Engineer/Goblin Welder. Generate massive mana via Gaea's Cradle/Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx.
3. Win Execution (Turns 3-5):
   • Kiki-Jiki + Combat Celebrant: Create infinite combat phases.
   • Dualcaster Mage + Twinflame: Generate infinite hasty tokens.
   • Selvala + Staff: Draw deck/gain infinite life, win via Walking Ballista or combat.
   • Breach Loops: Loop Wheel of Fortune/rituals with Lion's Eye Diamond for storm or mana.
4. Backup: Deploy Craterhoof Behemoth or Purphoros, God of the Forge if combos are disrupted.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with ≥1 land + fast mana (e.g., Sol Ring, Mox Diamond, Lotus Petal) or a tutor.
• Prioritize hands containing Underworld Breach, Gamble, or a combo piece with protection (Veil of Summer, Deflecting Swat).
• Avoid slow hands without acceleration or tutors.

Key Tips:

• Breach Lines: Use Lion's Eye Diamond to fuel Breach by exiling itself for mana. Goblin Engineer can retrieve LED from the graveyard.
• Tutor Sequencing: Survival of the Fittest finds Combat Celebrant/Dualcaster Mage; Imperial Recruiter fetches Goblin Engineer/Kiki-Jiki.
• Protection: Cast Allosaurus Shepherd early against blue decks. Heroic Intervention shields against wipes during combo turns.
• Mana Efficiency: Birgi, God of Storytelling reduces spell costs and provides storm potential.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) cripples Underworld Breach, Survival of the Fittest, and recursion.
• Artifact nullification (Collector Ouphe, Stony Silence) shuts down fast mana, Staff of Domination, and combo enablers.
• Rule of Law effects prevent multiple spells per turn, disrupting combo chains.

Moderate

• Board wipes reset creature-based combos and Tovolar's draw engine.
• Countermagic can interrupt critical tutor or combo spells despite protection suite.

Minor

• Land destruction targets key utility lands (e.g., Gaea's Cradle), but the deck has ample basics/fetches.

Most Important Cards:

• Underworld Breach (Recursion engine for combos and value)
• Lion's Eye Diamond (Mana acceleration for Breach loops)
• Selvala, Heart of the Wilds (Mana generator and combo piece)
• Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker (Primary combo finisher)
• Gaea's Cradle (Explosive mana for creature-heavy turns)
• Survival of the Fittest (Tutor and graveyard setup)
• Gamble (Efficient tutor for key pieces)
• Purphoros, God of the Forge (Alternate win condition via ETB damage)
• Combat Celebrant (Infinite combat enabler with Kiki-Jiki)
• Craterhoof Behemoth (Combat finisher backup)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 9/10

• Capable of T1-3 wins with ideal hands (e.g., Breach + LED + Wheel), consistently threatens T3-5 victories via multiple compact combos and fast mana.

Resilience: 7/10

• Strong protection (Veil of Summer, Deflecting Swat), recursion (Breach, Welder), and card draw mitigate disruption, but folds to specific hate pieces.

Consistency: 8/10

• 10+ tutors, ample draw (Tovolar, Wheels, Sylvan Library), and functional redundancy in combo lines ensure reliable access to win conditions.

Interaction: 6/10

• Targeted removal (Beast Within, Force of Vigor) and stack protection (Pyroblast, Guttural Response) are efficient but lacks board wipes and counterspell density.

Rating Justification:

The deck operates at cEDH-viable speeds with T1-3 win potential and robust consistency, but its reliance on graveyard/artifact synergies creates critical vulnerabilities to common hate cards. This places it just below top-tier cEDH lists in resilience despite its explosive power.

Power level: 8.5 - 9.0