Overview:

This Gruul deck leverages Wolverine, Best There Is as a double-damage engine, combining +1/+1 counter synergies with multiplicative damage effects. The strategy focuses on turbo-charging Wolverine's combat potential through counter acceleration (Hardened Scales, Branching Evolution), damage amplification (Twinflame Tyrant, Uncivil Unrest), and multi-combat enablers (Karlach, Fury of Avernus, Aggravated Assault). Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar serves as a pseudo-hidden commander, enabling Wolverine's double-strike-adjacent damage to hit all opponents simultaneously. The deck can pivot between commander-focused aggression and board-wide overruns with Craterhoof Behemoth/Chandra's Ignition.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3):
   • Deploy mana dorks (Delighted Halfling, Elvish Mystic) and counter accelerants (Hardened Scales, The Ozolith).
   • Cast Wolverine on-curve (T2-3) using cost reducers like Goblin Anarchomancer. Protect with Lightning Greaves/Snakeskin Veil.

2. Counter Synergy (Turns 3-5):

   • Activate Wolverine's regeneration to force favorable trades, triggering his end-step +1/+1 counters.
   • Deploy multiplicative effects: Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider doubles counters, Twinflame Tyrant doubles damage.
   • Use fight spells (Tail Swipe, Ram Through) to trigger Wolverine's damage-to-creatures condition.

3. Win Conditions (Turns 4-7):

   • Commander Kill: Equip Embercleave or cast Temur Battle Rage on Wolverine. With Kediss, 21 commander damage to one player = 42 total damage distributed.
   • Board Overrun: Resolve Craterhoof Behemoth after establishing wide counter presence.
   • Damage Multipliers: Chandra's Ignition with a 20+ power Wolverine and Twinflame Tyrant in play can deal 80+ damage globally.
   • Infinite Combats: Aggravated Assault + Selvala, Heart of the Wilds (with 5+ power creature) generates infinite combat phases.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands, at least one ramp spell, and either protection (Veil of Summer) or counter synergy (Hardened Scales).
• Prioritize T1 mana dork + T2 Wolverine lines.
• Avoid hands lacking early plays or with only high-CMC bombs.

Key Tips:

• Use The Ozolith to preserve counters when Wolverine regenerates.
• Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar turns single-target removal into a 3-for-1 trade - bait out interaction before committing him.
• Finale of Devastation at X=10 with Uncivil Unrest gives all creatures +10/+10 and quadruple damage.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Relies heavily on Wolverine's board presence - repeated removal/Darksteel Mutation effects cripple the strategy.
• Minimal stack interaction (only 3 counterspell protections) leaves combos vulnerable.

Moderate

• Board wipes reset counter investments. Limited recursion beyond Noxious Revival.
• Cursed Totem/Torpor Orb nullifies key abilities (Selvala, fight spell triggers).

Minor

• Limited card advantage beyond The Great Henge - can run out of gas if early aggression falters.

Most Important Cards:

• Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar (Global damage amplifier)
• Twinflame Tyrant (Quadruples Wolverine's damage output)
• Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider (Counter/damage multiplier)
• Aggravated Assault (Infinite combat enabler)
• The Great Henge (Card advantage + counter synergy)
• Hardened Scales (Counter acceleration)
• Selvala, Heart of the Wilds (Mana generation for combos)
• Chandra's Ignition (Global nuke with pumped Wolverine)
• Craterhoof Behemoth (Board-wide finisher)
• Uncivil Unrest (Damage doubler for counter-heavy board)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Can threaten T4-5 kills via Wolverine+Kediss+damage doubler, but requires specific setup. Average goldfish win ~T6-7.

Resilience: 5/10

• Regeneration and protection spells mitigate some removal, but core strategy folds to repeated commander tax or stax pieces.

Consistency: 7/10

• Strong ramp/tutor suite (9 ramp spells, 4 tutors), but some key pieces lack redundancy (only 1 damage doubler).

Interaction: 4/10

• 8 targeted removal spells and 3 protections, but minimal stack interaction or board wipes beyond Blasphemous Act.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at a 6.0-6.5 power level, executing focused combat-based wins through efficient synergies and combo potential. While capable of T4-5 explosive turns with ideal draws, its reliance on the commander and vulnerability to interaction aligns it with optimized casual/high-power casual tiers. The robust ramp package and multiplicative damage effects compensate for below-average interaction.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5