In this paper, we study positive solutions of the quasilinear elliptic equation, where n ≥ 2, 1 < p < ∞, the divergence of A is the well known A-Laplace operator considered in the influential book of Heinonen, Kilpeläinen, and Martio, and the potential V belongs to a certain local Morrey space. The main aim of the paper is to extend criticality theory to the operator Q ′ p,A,V . In particular, we prove an Agmon-Allegretto-Piepenbrink (AAP) type theorem, establish the uniqueness and simplicity of the principal eigenvalue of Q ′ p,A,V in a domain ω ⋐ Ω and various characterizations of criticality. Furthermore, we also study positive solutions of the equation Q ′ p,A,V [u] = 0 of minimal growth at infinity in Ω, the existence of minimal positive Green function, and the minimal decay at infinity of Hardy-weights.