Overview:

This Golgari deck helmed by Aphelia, Viper Whisperer combines deathtouch tribal synergies with explosive combo potential. The primary strategy leverages Aphelia's ability to generate deathtouch Snake tokens, amplified by token doublers like Doubling Season and Parallel Lives, while using life-drain effects such as Hooded Blightfang, Wound Reflection, and Bloodletter of Aclazotz to whittle down opponents. A secondary, more potent win condition involves the infinite Witherbloom Apprentice + Chain of Smog combo. The deck’s high-powered mana base (e.g., Gaea's Cradle, Cabal Coffers) and premium tutors (Demonic Tutor, Survival of the Fittest) enable rapid execution of its game plan. Aphelia acts as a value engine and alternate wincon via her activated ability, but the deck can function independently of her.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Acceleration (Turns 1-3): Deploy fast mana (Mox Diamond, Grim Monolith, Dark Ritual) and land accelerators (Exploration, Burgeoning). Prioritize Gaea's Cradle or Cabal Coffers setup.
2. Token Generation (Turns 2-5): Attack with Aphelia to create Snake tokens. Use Seedborn Muse or Saryth, the Viper's Fang to untap Aphelia for multiple activations. Amplify tokens with Doubling Season.
3. Combo Setup (Turns 3-5): Tutor for Witherbloom Apprentice and Chain of Smog using Vampiric Tutor or Worldly Tutor. Protect the combo with Veil of Summer or Heroic Intervention.
4. Win Conditions (Turns 4-6+):
   • Infinite Combo: Cast Chain of Smog targeting yourself while controlling Witherbloom Apprentice, copying it infinitely to drain opponents.
   • Life Halving: Activate Aphelia’s ability alongside Wound Reflection to quadruple life loss via deathtouch triggers.
   • Overrun: Use Triumph of the Hordes or Beastmaster Ascension for lethal infect/combat damage.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with fast mana (Mox Diamond, Sol Ring), a tutor, or early token generation (Aphelia + protection).
• Prioritize lands that fix for both colors (e.g., Bayou, fetchlands).
• Avoid hands lacking ramp or payoff cards.

Key Tips:

• Use Necropotence aggressively to dig for combo pieces or interaction.
• Dauthi Voidwalker can steal opponents’ graveyard answers to protect your combo.
• Sidisi, Undead Vizier exploits tokens for tutor effects.
• Activate Vorpal Sword’s instant-win ability during combat with an unblocked deathtouch creature.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Relies on key 2-card combo (Witherbloom Apprentice + Chain of Smog) with minimal redundancy.
• Fragile to instant-speed interaction (e.g., Swords to Plowshares on Apprentice mid-combo).
• Crippled by Rule of Law effects, which prevent combo execution.

Moderate

• Vulnerable to board wipes (e.g., Toxic Deluge), though recursion (Eternal Witness, Agadeem's Awakening) provides some recovery.
• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace) disrupts recursion lines and Entomb.

Minor

• Limited stack interaction beyond Veil of Summer and Abrupt Decay.
• High life loss from Necropotence and Feed the Swarm can be risky in aggressive metas.

Most Important Cards:

• Witherbloom Apprentice (Infinite combo enabler)
• Chain of Smog (Infinite combo payoff)
• Doubling Season (Token/damage amplifier)
• Necropotence (Card advantage engine)
• Survival of the Fittest (Tutor for creatures/combo pieces)
• Gaea's Cradle (Mana explosion for token swarms)
• Wound Reflection (Life-loss multiplier)
• Demonic Tutor (Universal search)
• The Great Henge (Value engine for creature decks)
• Heroic Intervention (Critical protection)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 8/10

• Capable of T3-4 combo wins with optimal hands (e.g., T1 Dark Ritual into Apprentice, T3 Chain of Smog).

Resilience: 6/10

• Multiple protection spells and recursion, but combo fragility and reliance on creatures lower robustness.

Consistency: 8/10

• 10+ tutors and premium card selection (Necropotence, Survival of the Fittest) ensure reliable access to wincons.

Interaction: 5/10

• Efficient targeted removal (Abrupt Decay, Baleful Mastery) but minimal counterspells outside niche cases (Force of Vigor).

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at cEDH-adjacent speeds with T3-4 combo potential and backup combat/life-drain strategies, but its reliance on creature-based combos and vulnerability to common interaction place it just below top-tier lists. The balance of explosive power and moderate resilience aligns with the High Power tier.

Power level: 8.0 - 8.5