Overview:

This mono-blue Urza, Lord High Artificer deck leverages artifact synergies, stax elements, and combo potential to control the game. Urza acts as the engine, generating mana through tapped artifacts and enabling explosive plays via his activated ability. The strategy focuses on assembling cost-reduction effects (e.g., Etherium Sculptor, Sapphire Medallion) to deploy stax pieces like Winter Orb and Back to Basics, then winning through infinite mana combos (e.g., Hullbreaker Horror + 0-cost artifacts), Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, or overwhelming value from constructs. Urza is critical to the deck’s function, enabling mana acceleration and serving as a combo facilitator.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Deploy mana rocks (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet), cost reducers (Etherium Sculptor), and stax pieces (Winter Orb, Mystic Remora). Use cantrips (Brainstorm, Ponder) to find key pieces.
2. Mid-Game Lockdown (Turns 4-6): Cast Urza to generate mana from artifacts and create constructs. Deploy stax enhancers like God-Pharaoh's Statue or Propaganda to slow opponents. Use Tezzeret the Seeker to untap key artifacts or fetch Sensei's Divining Top.
3. Win Conditions:
   • Infinite Mana: Pair Hullbreaker Horror with 0-cost artifacts (e.g., Mishra's Bauble) to bounce/recast for infinite storm/mana, then draw the deck via The Reality Chip or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries.
   • Stax Lock: Combine Winter Orb with artifact mana sources (e.g., Thran Dynamo) to paralyze opponents while advancing your board.
   • Construct Overrun: Use Urza’s tokens amplified by The One Ring or Sculpting Steel copying high-value artifacts.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands (prioritize Urza's Saga, Academy Ruins), at least one mana rock, and a stax piece or card filter (Sensei's Divining Top).
• Avoid hands lacking early artifacts or color-fixing.

Key Tips:

• Use Mystic Forge + cost reducers to cast artifacts off the top.
• Sculpting Steel copying Winter Orb or God-Pharaoh's Statue doubles stax pressure.
• Academy Ruins recursion ensures key artifacts like Sensei's Divining Top stay available.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Artifact/Stax Hate: Vandalblast or Collector Ouphe cripples mana and combo potential.
• Commander Reliance: Repeated removal of Urza stalls the deck’s engine.

Moderate

• Graveyard Interaction: Limited recursion outside Academy Ruins makes key artifacts vulnerable.
• Board Wipes: Cyclonic Rift or Austere Command resets construct tokens and stax setup.

Minor

• Hand Disruption: Thoughtseize effects can strip combo pieces preemptively.

Most Important Cards:

• Urza, Lord High Artificer (Mana engine, token generator)
• Winter Orb (Stax lock enabler)
• Hullbreaker Horror (Combo piece, interaction)
• Sensei's Divining Top (Combo piece, consistency)
• The Reality Chip (Card advantage, combo enabler)
• Jace, Wielder of Mysteries (Alternative win condition)
• Mystic Remora (Early-game card advantage)
• Tezzeret the Seeker (Tutor, untap synergy)
• God-Pharaoh's Statue (Stax pressure)
• Rhystic Study (Sustained card draw)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Can establish stax locks or assemble infinite mana by turns 5-6, but relies on setup turns for artifact synergy.

Resilience: 6/10

• Counterspells (Mana Drain, Flare of Denial) and recursion (Academy Ruins) provide protection, but stax pieces are vulnerable to artifact removal.

Consistency: 7/10

• Strong card selection (Brainstorm, Rhystic Study) and artifact redundancy, but lacks tutors for non-artifact combo pieces.

Interaction: 8/10

• Robust suite of counterspells, bounce (Cyclonic Rift), and stax to disrupt opponents.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at a high-power level with efficient stax locks and a T5-6 combo potential, but its reliance on Urza and vulnerability to artifact hate prevent it from reaching cEDH tiers. The balance between disruption and combo execution aligns with the "Focused Competitive" range.

Power level: 7.0 - 7.5