MTG Salvation

I often use Armageddon and Catastrophe in my Kaalia deck when I have the upper hand (or Avacyn in play). It's really just kind of a win condition for me.

Have there been any good lifelink cards besides Archangel of Thune and Baneslayer Angel that can help offset the heavy self inflicted life loss we experience? I primarily play 4-5 player games now and it can really beat me down and put me at a huge disadvantage early on. I would really hate to cut cards like Reanimate and Orzhov Charm, but between those two, all my pain lands, fetches, shocks, and arena effects, it gets overwhelming at times X_X

Tithe seems quite amazing when you put it that way. Wayfarer still wins some points for being a cleric in my mind, but I know how incredibly dumb that sounds ha. Guess I will be on the lookout for a Tithe then. It only finds one dual for me because I'm missing Plateau , but grabbing my Scrubland and a shock doesn't sound so bad at all.

I can see how powerful Scourge of Kher Ridges can be, but I prefer Balefire Dragon for my playgroup. They hardly ever play any kind of flying, and Balefire takes out just about everything from tokens to many of their generals. I also stay away from Thundermaw Hellkite for the same reason. No one else plays enough flying creatures for it to be worth it. It makes me really REALLY want to own a Moat one day.

...Unless I'm missing something when it comes to Scourge. I know he has some synergy with Vault of the Archangel, but Balefire has never let me down.

Thanks for the reply! Feels good to finally get my deck as finely tuned as possible. Now as for the cards, I'm not so sure what would replace Harvester of Souls. I actually like him because he's kind of like Decree of Pain on a stick, and I cut that for Merciless Eviction. I guess without something like Reliquary Tower he might cause me some headaches though.

Utvara Hellkite has flat out won me games, so I would much prefer to keep him over Koko. I'm also trying to maintain the presence of red in the list, which seems to keep dwindling as new cards get revealed. That's kinda why I have Wheel of Fortune and Dragon Mage as well. They also stir up quite a bit of chaos, and can refuel my hand if I'm out (which I know is the cliche response, but it's true XD).

I just cut out Stoneforge Mystic for Disciple of Bolas, so hopefully that pans out well. I can definitely see the benefit, but it seems very situational. After I took out the other two swords, Mystic wasn't doing much anyways. It was nice being able to fetch up greaves though.

As for Weathered Wayfarer, he's capable of searching for Hall of the Bandit Lord, but he's hardly been that useful in all honesty. Strange thing is that he almost never dies, unless someone wraths.

Fervor is a card I have been struggling with. I know it's pretty bad, but a friend of mine goes out of his way to make sure Kaalia dies as often as possible, and by that I mean he runs Bolt, Arrow and Plummet effects, despite them being terrible overall in multiplayer. Another player will probably be running Lightning Helix soon enough for the same reason. Fervor can at least lead to a turn 4 swinging Kaalia if nothing else, I just don't know if that's good enough. I'm terrified of what they may top deck from time to time.

How do you feel about Rakdos's Return and Aurelia's Fury? Both seem to be very capable in multiplayer, especially if games drag on for too long. I'm tempted to run both just for that reason. I know you mentioned Fury in your OP, but I'm talking strictly multiplayer here.

Quote from dorino

I've never been upset by Master of Cruelties. Wins the game, nice job.

The most annoying card I've ever seen in Kaalia is Sire of Instanity, and I'm not sure why I find it so annoying.

I guess I like having cards?

Yeah that I can understand. Sire is quite the evil doer

Crazy powerful when dropped turn 3 or 4.

Ha! Kaalia... easy mode. Yeah right. Sure, she puts huge bombs into play if the other players don't have answers or are incompetent, but that's the thing.

How many people don't know who she is? She generates so much hate I find it fairly (if not overly) challenging to play her most of the time. Good Kaalia players will always have to be one step ahead of the whole table, or it's goodnight for our leading lady.

I accept the fact that the basis behind her is very straightforward, but isn't that the entire point? Haters gonna hate. She is the kind of general that can be both noob and pro friendly (and everyone inbetween). You learn a lot about her when your playgroup all has finely tuned decks. You can't just swing for victory every game (unless you dropped Master of Cruelties XD)

Hey 3drinks, you might not remember me but I pop my head in once in awhile to get ideas from your awesome primer.

Anyways, would you be able to look over my Kaalia deck and give me some feedback if you have the time? I have made some big changes to it recently, with 4 player + multiplayer games in mind. Borrowed a lot of ideas from you of course. Reason I'm asking is because I have been playing on and off, and it's hard to test my decks consistently due to the random schedules of my playgroup.

The deck is in my signature, and the list on the front page is entirely updated. Just ignore everything else but the list basically. I finally added in all 3 diamonds after a long run with Coldsteel Heart, so that was definitely LONG overdue haha. Would really appreciate it! Going to be busy for a bit, but I will respond asap if you are able to look it over.

Strage. I picked up an Academy Rector for around 10 as well awhile back... I had no idea it shot up so much in price. I'm tempted to sell it now too, but I kind of don't want to for the same reason

Probably going to pick up some new toys for Kaalia at a LGS tomorrow. I need to really get my list up to date...

Do any of you guys have any opinions about Sneak Attack? I'm sure it has been discussed before, but I really need to know if it's Kaalia worthy before I make the decision to trade it in for other cards. It was in my original build for many months, but I never actually used it once. I just never felt the need to do so, or it was always in my hand at the wrong time. I know in theory it's completely nuts with Phyrexian Reclamation, but I have swapped it out for Quicksilver Amulet instead. I really want to like Sneak Attack, but it just never did it's job... I don't know. Should I give it another chance? Or cash it in for many other cards I can use in other decks?

Yeah I get what you mean, especially about Vindicate (sorcery speed still bothers me though). If I had the money I would pick up Thundermaw, Vindicate and a Cavern of Souls, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. Also, sorry if I have misunderstood anything you said, I have been sick/loopy the past couple of days and my mind is in a haze

I do have a Sneak Attack just sitting around in a binder, so maybe I can see what I could get for that at a LGS. It went up about 10 dollars in price since I last checked, so maybe that alone can get me a Vindicate or Cavern at least. I have been spending my spare cash on my Thraximundar deck recently. It's nowhere near as optimized as Kaalia is, and he needs some love.

Thanks for the insight guys! I might mess around with Rakdos 2.0 some more just because he's a fun card, but he probably won't make the cut in the end. It was fun to mix things up a bit though because original Rakdos doesn't always do much for me in a large multiplayer game.

I really really want to get my hands on Nefarox now, and I would grab a Thundermax Hellkite in an instant if he wasn't so expensive. I originally shunned Nefarox for his ability, but now that you pointed out using him as a distraction, he seems much better than I imagined. As for Dreadbore, I don't know how I feel about it really. No one really uses planeswalkers in my play group often enough to warrant it a slot, that and the sorcery speed really bugs me. Infact, I have still yet to get a Vindicate for that reason. Call me crazy, but Mortify serves me well enough. I also really like Utvara Hellkite. He might be able to cause a lot of havoc in my play group and I do like tokens.

I just wanted to copy this from my own thread. Some of you may remember me. I got a lot of great advice from you specifically 3drinks for my own Kaalia deck. I kind of took a little break from magic and have been playing on and off recently. I will probably be updating my 2 lists in the next couple of days but I have a few questions for anyone who sees this. My Kaalia list is a little out of date now, and I was wondering if there are any new bombs or staple cards that came out in the last couple of sets worth using here. I completely missed Magic 2013 and Return to Ravnica. Any new powerful instants or sorceries that can help Kaalia out?

I did manage to get my hands on Rakdos 2.0 and messed around with him a little bit, but I'm not so sure about his place here. Any thoughts?

Also, are there any up coming cards I should be on the look out for? There are some sweet new B/W angels I see that might be game changes here, especially that one that gives a second combat phase. I don't want to imagine dual power of her and Gisela on the table at the same time

That's true. Having opponents play around Impending Disaster seems really solid if they can't answer it. Fits the Kaalia theme really well too. It could cause a lot of headaches for my play group. That being said, I still really love how Catastrophe can be total land destruction or a board wipe. It's not the best card in the world, but I like having those options on one card, even if it costs 6. I should make a little playtest chart for each time I use Catastrophe, and then see which option I choose more often.

Quote from Eriol

Desolation Angel put onto the battlefield through Kaalia (or Quicksilver Amulet) does not allow you to pay the kicker cost, so you only end up destroying your own lands.

I've also run Catastrophe for global land destruction, although it is 6 CMC.

I also use Catastrophe in my own Kaalia deck. It has great flexibility, fits a land destruction theme, or sub-theme and well... it has just been straight up useful for me.

I run an aggro/reanimator build for both 1v1 and multiplayer. I also have tons of card draw like Wheel of Fortune and Dragon Mage, as well as land destruction, which will soon have amazing synergy with Avacyn. I honestly do tend to rely on Kaalia for most of my bigger threats, but still tend to do well thanks to cheaper cards like baneslayer angel, Linvala and Skittles if she is tucked or what not.

How do you guys deal with the extreme hate in multiplayer if players view Kaalia as "OP" or "broken?" I mean I have had a lot of success with my deck and intend to keep it sleeved up at all times, but it's a lot of pressure.