Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald (Optimized, High Power) (EDH / Commander)

Primer:

Strategy: Generate value by casting cards from exile. Finish the game with either a combat finisher (Craterhoof Behemoth) or a burn damage combo (Squee, the Immortal + Food Chain//Earthcraft +Squirrel Nest + Purphoros, God of the Forge//Witty Roastmaster//Passionate Archeologist)

targeted powerlevel: optimized high power, but not cEDH. (Faldorn is not a cEDH commander anyways) Therefore I avoid just relying on combos, playing stacks like effects or color hate. The combos I play use cards that at least have some synergy with the value oriented main gameplan.

by category:

Exile Synergies:

• Conspiracy Theorist//Containment Construct//Inti, Seneschal of the Sun//Veronica, Dissident Scribe: Support Faldorn directly by granting additional exile draw or compensating the discard cost.
• Apex Devastator//Etali, Primal Conqueror//Jeska's Will: Big Bombs.
• Bonehoard Dracosaur: IMO the best "exile draw at upkeep" effect.

Conventional Draw:
Since this deck already plays a lot of exile draw effects, I cut down the conventional draw spells to repeatable engines or mass draw. Mass draw is especially important in this deck, because exile draw is time restriced and oftentimes leaves you with only a few cards in hand. Sensei's Divining Top is noteworthy due to providing top deck manipulation. The combat centric cards like Toski, Bearer of Secrets also incentivize a combat oriented gameplay instead of passively assembling your combo.

Removal//Wipes:
Gruul is not the best at interaction, however this deck specifically has great synergy with Delayed Blast Fireball. The removal is permanent based when there are good options available (e.g. Haywire Mite). When you exile draw a removal card you prefer permanents with sac effects over instants/sorceries you have to use immediately to not waste the card. This way you mitigate the timing limitations that come with drawing into exile. Outland Liberator is chosen over similar slightly more mana efficient cards due to being a werewolf and synergizing with Tovolar, Dire Overlord.

Protection:
This deck is particularly weak to Board wipes. Therefore, cards like Heroic Intervention and even Tibalt's Trickery are absolutely necessary. Also, you want to protect Faldorn from targeted removal, so cards like Deflecting Swat and Lightning Greaves try to combat those pescy Swords to Plowshares.

Buffs and generic Synergies:
Since this deck tries to avoid being a passive combo deck, those cards try to help dealing combat damage (Champion of Lambholt, Kessig Wolfrun) or accelerating your gameplan (Anger, Iraxxa, Empress of Mars). Those cards also synergize well with combat centric draw engines (e.g. Toski, Bearer of Secrets).

Recursion:

• Noxious Revival: Useful for being able to recycle Jeska's will and providing top deck manipulation.
• Reclaim: Noxious Revival no. 2

Ramp:
The ramp is mostly centered around getting Faldorn out turn two. I play a lot of creature-based ramp. This adds to the deck’s vulnerability to board wipes, however, even if I played other ramp pieces, the deck would still be quite weak to wipes, so it doesn't really make that much of a difference.

Lands:
Urza's Saga is a noteworthy land for it's flexibility: It fetches ramp (Sol Ring), removal (Haywire Mite) or card draw (Sensei's Divining Top).

On the cutting block (cards I consider cutable or need to test more)

• Veronica, Dissident Scribe: Good card, however redundant with the cheaper Inti, Seneschal of the Sun (Veronica's Junk tokens are better than Inti's immediate exile draws however); needs more testing due to being a recent addition.
• Bloodbraid Elf//Geological Appraiser: Decent 1-time value cards, however overall the weakest exile synergy, since they are non repeatable and do not offer card selection like Reckless Impulse like effects. However they cast a card for free, whereas the other one time cards still need you to pay the exiled cards' cost; maybe cut 1 or both to add more combos/Gamble?

P.S.: This is by far my most played and most beloved EDH deck. Feel free to leave questions or recommendation in the comments. I'll update the deck over time.

P.P.S.: The versions of cards listed here are true to the cards I use irl (with a few exceptions Deckstats doesn't have for some reason). Please overlook the fact that I didn't upgrade all cards yet, especially the fetch lands. I also won't foil out reserved list cards, even if available in foil, this is already a very expensive project.