So I been working on this deck since I got the precon, it's went through many changes and will continue to be changed with newer/better stuff and I was just hoping I could get some useful advice, if there are any questions please ask, thanks in advance!
I moved the decklist to multiplayer and added tags / numbering to it for you. Please check out this thread for some intro to tags if you are unfamiliar with them. -ISB
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
What do you think about the new arrivals Angel of Serenity and Rakdos, Lord of Riots. I could see a spot in here for both. I would probably drop Basandra and Angelic Arbiter for them in this deck.
And I would probably drop Final Punishment for Savage Beating. You will play it when you've dealt a lot of damage, but Savage Beating can even quadruple your damage instead of double it.
Yea I would have no prob getting rid of basandra bc I don't think she has ever helped, the arbiter however has made a diff in multiple games, I like rakdos alot and will pick one up sooner or later because he's just awesome to have for my fatties, I like that he gives me another angle to work instead of just trying to cheat them out, I didn't really care for the new angel but I will probably do a little play testing with it to see how she does, thanks demon
Edit: just realized that the angel returns them to the hand instead of the battlefield, will def be trying her out now
Yes, returning to hand sets your opponents back quite a bit.. even more if you would go a MLD route.
Additionally you can have her be a bit of a wrath deterrent by also exiling some creatures from your grave with her, so you will get those back when she dies. (Like exiling Avacyn from your grave for instance and removing 2 of your opponents creatures)
I like the savage beating alot and will probably get one, not to sure if I want to drop final punishment thought because I can use it and the relentless assault if I have the right mana out (cabal coffers and urborg)
It's definitely not fast, I've noticed that she usually won't stay on the board long if you try to have an aggro strategy. I play this deck in multiplayer or 1v1 either way it works about the same, I'm not even sure what I would call it other than my Swiss army commander deck because I am trying to be prepared Fo almost anything because my lgs's meta is impossible to know as far as commander goes it seems, everyone just runs all kinds of generals, the only budget limitations really are just that my wife won't let me spend over a hundred on a card, soon I'm wanting to get some of the ABUR lands and take out some of the tapped duals. I like the way it is now with the little synergies like the crucible+strip mine, crucible+sandstone needle/remote farm, one of the ways I have found the most fun to win was kaalia, attack, drop gisela, then final punishment haha, dude was so pissed. I play mostly defensive with her, I think that's the best strategy with her or else you will get hated out early
What's your budget? Sneak Attack is another great way to drop fatties in sans Kaalia, but it's going for $35-50 (depending where you're looking). Plus, it drops them into the 'yard afterwards to be reanimated.
I thought about using sneak attack but I only have two reanimation spells, it's in the budget though, I may proxy one up and play with it a while and see how I like it with the deck, I don't really care for having to sac them end if turn, haha it funny people will ask about the budget and theres stuff in it like my Japanese Iona or my foil phyrexian arena or the vindicate, although I didn't post what sets or specifics of the cards so it's understandable to ask about budget, really the only stuff that NOT in my card budget are cards that fetch a price north of $100
I was thinking of maybe running some sort of pump spells for skithiryx, or for any of the damage multiplying stuff, or kaalia herself for that matter, or would it be a waste of space
Any advice where I should take this deck other than being my Swiss army deck?
It's definitely not fast, I've noticed that she usually won't stay on the board long if you try to have an aggro strategy. I play this deck in multiplayer or 1v1 either way it works about the same, I'm not even sure what I would call it other than my Swiss army commander deck because I am trying to be prepared Fo almost anything because my lgs's meta is impossible to know as far as commander goes it seems, everyone just runs all kinds of generals, the only budget limitations really are just that my wife won't let me spend over a hundred on a card, soon I'm wanting to get some of the ABUR lands and take out some of the tapped duals. I like the way it is now with the little synergies like the crucible+strip mine, crucible+sandstone needle/remote farm, one of the ways I have found the most fun to win was kaalia, attack, drop gisela, then final punishment haha, dude was so pissed. I play mostly defensive with her, I think that's the best strategy with her or else you will get hated out early
If your wife won't let you spend over $100 for any one card, you can still afford Godless Shrine, Sacred Foundry, and Blood Crypt, which will allow you to remove the inferior multilands. I don't run any ABUR lands, and my deck isn't running slow.
Since your LGS meta is random and it sounds like you aren't eliminated early in every game, it seems like everybody else is running slower decks. In this case, you can afford to be a bit more creative with card choices.
Some of your synergies don't seem to have a large chance of happening in any given game, so if you aren't using tutor cards like Enlightened Tutor, you won't make your deck go "faster." But it also sounds like your opponents don't care either.
What I'm trying to say is that if your opponents at your LGS are not steamrolling you over against your deck, then your local meta is slow enough to allow you to maintain your current deck and have interesting synergies that make each game different. If you are finding yourself being eliminated pretty quickly, then you need to sacrifice some of your "fun" cards for cards the support a fast and consistent strategy (i.e. more tutors, lower casting cost cards, etc.).
As for other things you can do to your Kaalia deck...
Kaalia decks fall into one (or a mix) of these styles:
1) Aggro: Most of your cards are spent to get Kaalia out as quick as possible and to get your creatures attacking. Cards like Sneak Attack, Mass Hysteria, and Fervor give your creatures haste. The downside is that you give up defense for offense. In a 1 vs. 1 game, aggro Kaalia works great. In multiplayer, you might run out of gas after eliminating one opponent.
2) Pillowfort: This is a defensive style. You use cards like Ghostly Prison, Crawlspace, and No Mercy to make you an unappealing target. This early defense gives you time to build up to cast Kaalia and her creatures. It's a much slower deck.
3) Stax: This is a lockdown deck. You find cards that prevent your opponents from using their resources and you use Kaalia and her creatures as finishers. Smokestack, Crucible of Worlds + Strip Mine, Trinisphere, and others fall into this category. Kaalia and her creatures serve as finishers, meaning you have fewer creatures for this style of deck typically. Arguably, a Stax deck of any kind is the most expensive of the styles.
4) Punisher: You have cards that punish your opponents from doing anything they would normally do. This is a little different from Stax, since your opponents can still do something, but they take damage, lose cards, lose permanents, etc. for doing it. War's Toll is an example of a Punisher card. Kaalia and her creatures serve as finishers, meaning you have fewer creatures for this style of deck typically.
5) Discard: Only relevant in a 1 vs. 1 game, you make some of your cards into discard cards to remove counterspells and other pesky spells from your opponent's hand in the first few turns to make way for Kaalia and her creatures by turn 3+. 3drinks's Kaalia thread (http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=364660) is the primer for this style.
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1 Kaalia of the Vast
Creatures:
1 Rakdos the defiler
1 Balefire dragon
1 Stoneforge mystic
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1 Bloodgift Demon
1 Angel of Despair
1 Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
1 Bladewing the Risen
1 Angelic Arbiter
1 Akroma, Angel of wrath
1 Akroma, Angel of Fury
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Basandra, Battle Seraph
1 Harvester of Souls
1 Restoration Angel
1 Bogardan Hellkite
1 Reya Dawnbringer
Artifacts:
1 Rakdos signet
1 Orzhov signet
1 Boros signet
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Whispersilk Cloak
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Witchbane Orb
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Sol Ring
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Quicksilver Amulet
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Batterskull
1 Stranglehold
1 Underworld Connections
1 Imperial Mask
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Oblivion Ring
Land:
1 Vivid meadow
1 Akoum Refuge
1 Blackcleave cliffs
1 Command Tower
1 Blood Crypt
1 Fetid Heath
1 Boros Garrison
1 Rakdos Carnarium
1 Orzhov Basilica
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Sandstone needle
1 Strip Mine
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Remote Farm
1 Dragonskull summit
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 City of brass
1 Ancient ziggurat
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Cabal Coffers
4 mountain
4 swamp
4 plains
Instants/sorcery
1 Rakdos' Return
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Pillage
1 Terminus
1 Vindicate
1 Dreadbore
1 All is Dust
1 Final Punishment
1 Relentless Assault
1 Cloudshift
1 Praetor's Grasp
1 Return to Dust
1 Terminate
1 Wrecking Ball
1 Armogeddon
1 Day of Judgment
1 Mortify
1 Unburial Rites
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 Sorin Markov
1 Karn Liberated
1 Liliana Vess
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Powerdouble - Shrine of Burning Rage wins games you have no business winning.
Tanion - Humans are basically short bus Allies. Lame.
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[Modern] Allies
And I would probably drop Final Punishment for Savage Beating. You will play it when you've dealt a lot of damage, but Savage Beating can even quadruple your damage instead of double it.
BRGWTana and TymnaBRGW
RTeneb, the EternalR
UBRNekusar, Mind RazerUBR
Rakdos, Lord of Riots
BGWGhave, Guru of SporesBGW
Aurelia, the Warleader
BDrana, Kalastria BloodchiefB
WBROros, the AvengerWBR
Edit: just realized that the angel returns them to the hand instead of the battlefield, will def be trying her out now
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Additionally you can have her be a bit of a wrath deterrent by also exiling some creatures from your grave with her, so you will get those back when she dies. (Like exiling Avacyn from your grave for instance and removing 2 of your opponents creatures)
BRGWTana and TymnaBRGW
RTeneb, the EternalR
UBRNekusar, Mind RazerUBR
Rakdos, Lord of Riots
BGWGhave, Guru of SporesBGW
Aurelia, the Warleader
BDrana, Kalastria BloodchiefB
WBROros, the AvengerWBR
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Buy thread
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Is this a casual or competitive deck?
So, what is the strategy of this deck? It seems it wants to be all things for all situations, but it is not a fast deck to be sure.
What is your budget? You have a few tapped lands which slows down your game plan.
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Buy thread
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stuff
I was thinking of maybe running some sort of pump spells for skithiryx, or for any of the damage multiplying stuff, or kaalia herself for that matter, or would it be a waste of space
Any advice where I should take this deck other than being my Swiss army deck?
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=9135796#post9135796
Buy thread
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=473224
If your wife won't let you spend over $100 for any one card, you can still afford Godless Shrine, Sacred Foundry, and Blood Crypt, which will allow you to remove the inferior multilands. I don't run any ABUR lands, and my deck isn't running slow.
Since your LGS meta is random and it sounds like you aren't eliminated early in every game, it seems like everybody else is running slower decks. In this case, you can afford to be a bit more creative with card choices.
Some of your synergies don't seem to have a large chance of happening in any given game, so if you aren't using tutor cards like Enlightened Tutor, you won't make your deck go "faster." But it also sounds like your opponents don't care either.
What I'm trying to say is that if your opponents at your LGS are not steamrolling you over against your deck, then your local meta is slow enough to allow you to maintain your current deck and have interesting synergies that make each game different. If you are finding yourself being eliminated pretty quickly, then you need to sacrifice some of your "fun" cards for cards the support a fast and consistent strategy (i.e. more tutors, lower casting cost cards, etc.).
As for other things you can do to your Kaalia deck...
Kaalia decks fall into one (or a mix) of these styles:
1) Aggro: Most of your cards are spent to get Kaalia out as quick as possible and to get your creatures attacking. Cards like Sneak Attack, Mass Hysteria, and Fervor give your creatures haste. The downside is that you give up defense for offense. In a 1 vs. 1 game, aggro Kaalia works great. In multiplayer, you might run out of gas after eliminating one opponent.
2) Pillowfort: This is a defensive style. You use cards like Ghostly Prison, Crawlspace, and No Mercy to make you an unappealing target. This early defense gives you time to build up to cast Kaalia and her creatures. It's a much slower deck.
3) Stax: This is a lockdown deck. You find cards that prevent your opponents from using their resources and you use Kaalia and her creatures as finishers. Smokestack, Crucible of Worlds + Strip Mine, Trinisphere, and others fall into this category. Kaalia and her creatures serve as finishers, meaning you have fewer creatures for this style of deck typically. Arguably, a Stax deck of any kind is the most expensive of the styles.
4) Punisher: You have cards that punish your opponents from doing anything they would normally do. This is a little different from Stax, since your opponents can still do something, but they take damage, lose cards, lose permanents, etc. for doing it. War's Toll is an example of a Punisher card. Kaalia and her creatures serve as finishers, meaning you have fewer creatures for this style of deck typically.
5) Discard: Only relevant in a 1 vs. 1 game, you make some of your cards into discard cards to remove counterspells and other pesky spells from your opponent's hand in the first few turns to make way for Kaalia and her creatures by turn 3+. 3drinks's Kaalia thread (http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=364660) is the primer for this style.