I'm currently trying to optimize my Kaalia build, which in my mind means a Kaalia deck heavy on tutors, recursion, and mass land destruction.
The most devastating decks in my format are Niv, Zhur, Varolz, Azami, Mimeoplasm, and Jhoira. My deck can already compete with them, but I'd like to really get this deck down. I'm adding duals and fetches as soon as they come in.
Here's the decklist as it is right this second. I just recently swapped a few cards out. If you guys could go over it to see if I overlooked anything, I'd appreciate it.
When I started building the deck over a year ago, This was the guide I came to, so any pointers would be appreciated. I defer to your experience.
Standard BBlack AggroB Modern CAffinityC Legacy RBlood Moon PainterR EDH WBRKaaliaRBW RWTajicWR GWTrostaniWG WGRBUSliversUBRGW RUGRiku, of Two ReflectionsGUR
Not to derail the current discussion, but how do yall feel about Iroas, god of victory? I feel like maybe it's a win more card, but the ability to nullify blocks to kaalia, and make our beaters harder to answer with chumps, seems revenant, I would test it but I get very little time to play these days.
I don't like Iroas in Kaalia. As a 4 drop, it's competing with Kaalia, who I always want to be dropping at 4 if I can. When I'm playing Kaalia, I hardly ever see her die to combat. It's usually a kill spell, counter, or board wipe that kills her. I'd rather run Maze of Ith, Rogue's Passage, or even diabolic tutor to find Avacyn.
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Standard BBlack AggroB Modern CAffinityC Legacy RBlood Moon PainterR EDH WBRKaaliaRBW RWTajicWR GWTrostaniWG WGRBUSliversUBRGW RUGRiku, of Two ReflectionsGUR
Not to derail the current discussion, but how do yall feel about Iroas, god of victory? I feel like maybe it's a win more card, but the ability to nullify blocks to kaalia, and make our beaters harder to answer with chumps, seems relevant
I will be giving Iroas, God of Victory a try in my Kaalia deck. For a lot of the same reasons you mentioned here. He will be replacing Magus of the Moat in my Sunforger build.
I don't like Iroas in Kaalia. As a 4 drop, it's competing with Kaalia, who I always want to be dropping at 4 if I can.
While it is ideal to have Kaalia out at the 4 drop... Sometimes I find it best to be wait a turn or two if the blue Mage has 1UU available. In his situation, Casting a threat like Iroas to bait a counterspell may be in order
Also, Iroas coming down the turn after Kaalia comes into play is just as effective. I'm looking forward to giving the Boros deity a try.
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Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been around. I've been spending the better part of my year playing two-color decks and mono-coloreds some good playtesting time.
Iroas is someone I actually want to consider for this deck. Him and Athreos, actually.
Right now I'm giving me deck a thorough look over and I'm going to be doing some retooling. The list I currently run has already cut out some of my favorites like sunforger and Cloudshift. =(
Of the cards I'm looking to add in, the two new gods actually seem very strong for an aggressive build so I'm going to test them both the next time I go into my lgs.
I don't like Iroas in Kaalia. As a 4 drop, it's competing with Kaalia, who I always want to be dropping at 4 if I can. When I'm playing Kaalia, I hardly ever see her die to combat. It's usually a kill spell, counter, or board wipe that kills her. I'd rather run Maze of Ith, Rogue's Passage, or even diabolic tutor to find Avacyn.
competing "one of" 4 drops in a 100 card deck? I don't buy it. ill definitely be trying iroas in this deck, it has a lot of potential.
The whip is definitely doing a LOT of work. Lifelink is very important to this deck, especially with the way I keep cannibalizing my life total (at one point I had done over 20 pts of damage to myself with Ancient Tomb w/o anyone bothering to touch me because I wasn't drawing my fourth land). But even the one-shot reanimations with haste have been proving worthwhile. Whipping back an ETB effect, strapping it up with a sword and getting in for some quick beats is a much better use for them than letting them sit in the graveyard where they're a prime reanimation target for anyone running Sepulchral Primordial.
I got a chance to try out Iroas for the first time. He definitely helps the Whip-quick-beats game plan. Concerns of him fighting Kaalia for the four drop slot is actually incorrect. More often, he's a 5 or 6 drop card since the correct play is often to play Kaalia, then play him so that she can get a free swing in. I need to try him more, but he facilitates the aggro strategy I want quite well.
I also play Weiss Schwarz, Chaos, Vanguard and Wixoss.
Weiss Schwarz Sets
Accel World, Angel Beats, Familiar of Zero, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Guilty Crown, Kill La Kill, Robotics;Notes, Sword Art Online.
Chaos Partners
Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Iona, Kirishima, Kongou.
Dangan Ronpa: Asahina, Togami.
Freezing: Vibration: Chiffon, Satelizer.
Vanguard Clans Favoured
Angel Feather, Dark Irregulars, Genesis, Neonecter, Pale Moon, Shadow Paladins, Tachikaze.
Okay, suffice it to say that Ob Nixis unshackled is going in. In fact, he's the reason I'm finally cutting Akroma. =( I've had to cut so many pet cards lately. Oh well. At least I can still use them on mtgo while my deck there's still bad and cheap.
I don't really like having guys with "when ~ attacks" triggers, since dropping them off Kaalia doesn't trigger it. Aurelia is a notable exception, since she is reasonable to cast on her own and has haste. Another example is Utvara Hellkite from RtR. Scourge of the Throne is a good card, but I'm not sure it's too great
Also, what do people think about the new Avacyn? I was thinking that it isn't really good enough, but maybe I'm missing something?
I don't really like having guys with "when ~ attacks" triggers, since dropping them off Kaalia doesn't trigger it. Aurelia is a notable exception, since she is reasonable to cast on her own and has haste. Another example is Utvara Hellkite from RtR. Scourge of the Throne is a good card, but I'm not sure it's too great
Also, what do people think about the new Avacyn? I was thinking that it isn't really good enough, but maybe I'm missing something?
I agree Scourge probably isn't good enough because of Flameblast Syndrome. Also the new Avacyn is pretty terrible in my opinion. It only protects against damage rather than destruction, it can't protect itself, and its abilities are pretty expensive to use. All in all just not a very good card.
I agree Scourge probably isn't good enough because of Flameblast Syndrome. Also the new Avacyn is pretty terrible in my opinion. It only protects against damage rather than destruction, it can't protect itself, and its abilities are pretty expensive to use. All in all just not a very good card.
So glad this term has caught on. Makes me proud. =)
If anything, I would be more interested in the new pre-release promo angel or demon. The angel could reset our life total since we tend to cannibalize it pretty quickly. The demon is easy to cast on his own and could either be Bloodgift #2 or additional pressure on whoever you're attacking. Of course, I'm not a fan of cards that defer to your opponent, so it's probably better in one-on-one than in our multiplayer environment.
Hellkite Tyrant I was thinking about that in my list, assuming it does good work with more then just mana rocks?
If all I steal with it is a Signet, I am generally happy. Any more than that I and I'm just ecstatic. (I don't care about the alt win, but hey, I guess it could happen?)
Blueram, thanks for the primer! I've gotten a few solid ideas from the various posts. My deck is designed for multiplayer, but by default I'm often only facing my good friend, so it needs to be reasonable for 1v1 as well. Makes it a challenge for construction My collection is quasi-budget. I've been playing for quite a while, but I'm very hesitant to buy new cards that are > $5.
How many D/D/A does everyone include? Similarly, how many Sunforger targets (for those that use it)?
You asked about "pet cards" that people are loathe to drop? Pre-Kaalia I was running a Boris Devilboon Demon-tribal deck, so I'm still using Minion of Leshrac, Elbrus, the Binding Blade and Pentagram of the Ages. Pentagram is actually okay, but I don't have enough sac targets for the Minion and the Blade is just shy of worthless.
With regards to boots, is Whispersilk Cloak simply too expensive? I've been quite pleased with it for Kaalia, Steelkite, or other bombs.
I recently tossed in Sigil of the New Dawn which seems amazing in theory, but I haven't had a game where it's been relevant. I am, however, a huge fan of Mother of Runes for protection, because, as it was discussed above, she comes on-line prior to Kaalia.
I want to second Faith's Reward: If you have 8 mana, it's FANTASTIC with 'geddon, it saves your team from wrath effects, and it's Sunforger goodness.
What are people's thoughts on Angel of Glory's Rise ? Its my secret tech i go for when people wrath or ping Kaalia of the Vast . It works real well with all my other human utility creatures
What are people's thoughts on Angel of Glory's Rise ? Its my secret tech i go for when people wrath or ping Kaalia of the Vast . It works real well with all my other human utility creatures
I don't think I like Angel of Glory's Rise all that much mostly because it costs 7, and at that point you probably want to be dropping a some other threat that you would put down with kaalia. Maybe you could try something like Faith's Reward, which can get all your creatures after a wrath, and is a bit more versatile (and can be found off Sunforger!).
How does Teysa work for you? I don't think she is that good for this deck, since she takes up a high cmc slot that could be used for a better threat.
Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts has been a good silver bullet for me and provides a very political role that says 'don't attack at me' to the table. and with enough mana rocks, her high cmc cost is on par with most of the bombs in my deck when kaalia isn't in play.
Hey guys! I'm back and this time I really do have an updated list for Kaalia! It's been a while and some cards I thought would never get cut got pushed out because of the awesome cards that Wizards has been giving us. Most notably is that my current list has a lot more demons, less dragons, and I've been able to cut down on the mana cost of most of my creatures.
I found I often got frustrated with my wheel effects and Necropotence trying to play nice together, so I actually ended up cutting both. Necropotence was replaced with Greed simply because it's easier on the mana-base and gives me an alternative turn three-four play if I don't feel ready to play Kaalia. The wheel effects were cut for cheaper card draw since I became more concerned with keeping my threats coming rather than disrupting everyone else or potentially refilling everyone's hand with Dragon Mage (worry not, he has a nice new home in Nekusar).
I also changed my philosophy on what kinds of angels/demons/dragons I wanted to use. I want them to be at least one of these things:
1) An etb effect where I'm okay with the creature dying because it's effect is so powerful that I've already profited by letting Kaalia drop em' into play. Resolute Archangel and Shadowborn Demon were added because of how powerful their effects are.
2) Aggressively costed so I could take some pressure off of Kaalia. The problem with jamming in nothing but big, game breaking creatures is that without Kaalia it takes you a while to play them. You can try playing reanimator or any other variations of Kaalia, but I specifically wanted to build an aggressive deck where I could hard cast enough creatures that Kaalia becomes one of many threats rather than THE threat they have to deal with. Baneslayer Angel was originally cut, but I slotted her back in when I realized I needed more mid-sized creatures. Indulgent Tormentor is also a reasonable to cast body that has the benefit of acting like card draw/removal/pressure. Butcher of the Horde doubles as a sac outlet for Kaalia. I shelled out the money for a Stormbreath Dragonrecently because like the Thundermaw he's a hastey dragon that comes with the upside of getting bigger and burning everyone for more damage later.
3) A game breaking bomb. This was more of a guideline one what to keep. Rakdos, the Defiler is certainly this for one swing, but if I don't have a sac outlet and a way to keep getting him back to my hand (Phyrexian Reclamation is a good one), then I have to give up a lot to keep pushing for damage. Other cards, like Steel Hellkite, were also good but required some sort of setup or cost to get their effects. The ones I kept needed little or no setup cost outside of playing them. Avacyn, Gisela, and Iona are the big icons for this, but Lord of the Void and Balefire Dragon were also kept in because their effects can break the game open if they connect. Although Ob Nixilis might not qualify as a huge bomb, keeping people off of tutoring while also growing bigger incidentally, with trample of all things, is not insignificant. He toes the line between this criteria and criteria #2.
Speaking of set up costs, this is also part of how I ended up cutting Sunforger. Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing card and I want to find room for it in the future again, but I was constantly getting into situations where I either had no creatures to equip it too, or the mana to use it was getting in the way of other things I needed to do. Hopefully reducing the cost of my angels/demons/dragons will make running it much more feasible, but for the time being I'm putting it back on the rack.
The last thing I want to touch on are some additions I made during Theros block.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - I've been giving this card a try and it does surprisingly well for this deck. Normally I'd never use a devotion card in a three color deck, but so many angels and demons have triple mana in their costs that one creature already pays for Nykthos's activation. It's a great way to power out some more big guys or just play more than a single card a turn.
Whip of Erebos - I love lifelink. It pays for Greed and keeps me in a fight where everyone's going to be beating on me because I'm the top threat. The whip also plays an important role by bringing back creatures. ETB effects that you need right now, or sudden beats to push through for damage make it worth the exile clause. It's worth noting that this is another reason why I'm going to try and find room for Cloudshift since I'll be able to keep the creature afterwards.
Iroas, God of Victory - Although he does get turned on quite a bit (see devotion to Nykthos), I've really been enjoying how he enables my aggressive game plan. It keeps Kaalia alive and actually makes blocking a lot harder since your opponents need to commit even more creatures to be run over by your guys who are usually a lot bigger, assuming they have any fliers at all.
That's it for now, folks! I'm super happy that I was finally able to find the time to post the update and go into detail about the changes I made. Let me know what you guys think!
Hey BlueRam, your list inspired mine a bit, though I've changed some cards due to my meta and card availability.
Is there anyway to turn dead land draws into gas? Some kind of reusable loot effect, cheaper Seer's Sundial, or a one-sided Horn of Greed? I find that I keep drawing land in the longer games and would like some way of recyling them, short of hoarding them for a MLD.
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The most devastating decks in my format are Niv, Zhur, Varolz, Azami, Mimeoplasm, and Jhoira. My deck can already compete with them, but I'd like to really get this deck down. I'm adding duals and fetches as soon as they come in.
Here's the decklist as it is right this second. I just recently swapped a few cards out. If you guys could go over it to see if I overlooked anything, I'd appreciate it.
When I started building the deck over a year ago, This was the guide I came to, so any pointers would be appreciated. I defer to your experience.
BBlack AggroB
Modern
CAffinityC
Legacy
RBlood Moon PainterR
EDH
WBRKaaliaRBW
RWTajicWR
GWTrostaniWG
WGRBUSliversUBRGW
RUGRiku, of Two ReflectionsGUR
Long live the Legion
BBlack AggroB
Modern
CAffinityC
Legacy
RBlood Moon PainterR
EDH
WBRKaaliaRBW
RWTajicWR
GWTrostaniWG
WGRBUSliversUBRGW
RUGRiku, of Two ReflectionsGUR
Long live the Legion
I will be giving Iroas, God of Victory a try in my Kaalia deck. For a lot of the same reasons you mentioned here. He will be replacing Magus of the Moat in my Sunforger build.
While it is ideal to have Kaalia out at the 4 drop... Sometimes I find it best to be wait a turn or two if the blue Mage has 1UU available. In his situation, Casting a threat like Iroas to bait a counterspell may be in order
Also, Iroas coming down the turn after Kaalia comes into play is just as effective. I'm looking forward to giving the Boros deity a try.
I write EDH articles on EDHREC and MTGCasualPlay. I hope you like them!
EDH DECKLISTS
RGWUril, the Miststalker WBRKaalia of the Vast Sunforger WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUGDerevi, Empyrial TacticianWUBRGSliver Queen EDH
UB Wrexial, the Risen DeepWU Hanna, Ship's NavigatorWGSigarda, Host of Herons EnchantressWULavinia, of the Tenth
RRPurphoros, God of the ForgeBBChainer, Dementia MasterWWEight-and-a-Half TailsUUMuzzio, Visionary ArchitectGGJolrael, Empress of Beasts
BGVhati il-DalRWTajic, Blade of the LegionUBRZurgo HelmsmasherUBDaxos the ReturnedWBKarlov of the Ghost CouncilWUBruna, Light of Alabaster
RWAurelia Angel Tribal URJhoira Chaos Deck UGVorel +1 Counters BRGProssh Tokens
UBRGwendlyn Discard EDH URG Surrak Dragonclaw UBLazav Mill EDH WUBrago Flicker EDH Deck
Iroas is someone I actually want to consider for this deck. Him and Athreos, actually.
Right now I'm giving me deck a thorough look over and I'm going to be doing some retooling. The list I currently run has already cut out some of my favorites like sunforger and Cloudshift. =(
Of the cards I'm looking to add in, the two new gods actually seem very strong for an aggressive build so I'm going to test them both the next time I go into my lgs.
www.commandercast.com
Commandercast on Tumblr!
My EDH/Commander List:
Wedges:
Numot, the Devastator RWU
Damia, Sage of Stone GUB
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
Olivia Voldaren
competing "one of" 4 drops in a 100 card deck? I don't buy it. ill definitely be trying iroas in this deck, it has a lot of potential.
The whip is definitely doing a LOT of work. Lifelink is very important to this deck, especially with the way I keep cannibalizing my life total (at one point I had done over 20 pts of damage to myself with Ancient Tomb w/o anyone bothering to touch me because I wasn't drawing my fourth land). But even the one-shot reanimations with haste have been proving worthwhile. Whipping back an ETB effect, strapping it up with a sword and getting in for some quick beats is a much better use for them than letting them sit in the graveyard where they're a prime reanimation target for anyone running Sepulchral Primordial.
I got a chance to try out Iroas for the first time. He definitely helps the Whip-quick-beats game plan. Concerns of him fighting Kaalia for the four drop slot is actually incorrect. More often, he's a 5 or 6 drop card since the correct play is often to play Kaalia, then play him so that she can get a free swing in. I need to try him more, but he facilitates the aggro strategy I want quite well.
~Cheers!
www.commandercast.com
Commandercast on Tumblr!
My EDH/Commander List:
Wedges:
Numot, the Devastator RWU
Damia, Sage of Stone GUB
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
Olivia Voldaren
Main Decks
Diaochan, Iroas, God of Victory, Kaalia, Marton, Ulasht, Volrath,
Kaervek, Prossh, Titania
Amusing or Themed
Progenitus
Pauper Guildmages
Azorius Boros Dimir Golgari Gruul Izzet Korozda
Orzhov Rakdos Rix Maadi Selesyna Simic Skarrg Zameck
I also play Weiss Schwarz, Chaos, Vanguard and Wixoss.
Accel World, Angel Beats, Familiar of Zero, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Guilty Crown, Kill La Kill, Robotics;Notes, Sword Art Online.
Chaos Partners
Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Iona, Kirishima, Kongou.
Dangan Ronpa: Asahina, Togami.
Freezing: Vibration: Chiffon, Satelizer.
Vanguard Clans Favoured
Angel Feather, Dark Irregulars, Genesis, Neonecter, Pale Moon, Shadow Paladins, Tachikaze.
Wixoss - Just trial decks for now!
www.commandercast.com
Commandercast on Tumblr!
My EDH/Commander List:
Wedges:
Numot, the Devastator RWU
Damia, Sage of Stone GUB
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
Olivia Voldaren
I don't really like having guys with "when ~ attacks" triggers, since dropping them off Kaalia doesn't trigger it. Aurelia is a notable exception, since she is reasonable to cast on her own and has haste. Another example is Utvara Hellkite from RtR. Scourge of the Throne is a good card, but I'm not sure it's too great
Also, what do people think about the new Avacyn? I was thinking that it isn't really good enough, but maybe I'm missing something?
WBR Kaalia of the VastWBR
W Kemba, Kha RegentW
WUBX Sharuum the HegemonWUBX
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge UBR
Modern:
X Affinity X
"It's easy to see the bright side of other people's problems"
I agree Scourge probably isn't good enough because of Flameblast Syndrome. Also the new Avacyn is pretty terrible in my opinion. It only protects against damage rather than destruction, it can't protect itself, and its abilities are pretty expensive to use. All in all just not a very good card.
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
So glad this term has caught on. Makes me proud. =)
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
www.commandercast.com
Commandercast on Tumblr!
My EDH/Commander List:
Wedges:
Numot, the Devastator RWU
Damia, Sage of Stone GUB
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
Olivia Voldaren
However, I'm not sure how good he is for Kaalia. Not really something worth cheating in. More a reanimation target.
EDH Decks:
WUBOloro, Combo ControlWUB
UBOona Reanimator ComboUB
BRGProssh, Eater of the Blue MageBRG
UBRGrixis StormUBR
Rebuilding Jenara (stealyourstuff.dec)
Pauper Deck:
UBInspired SirenUB
I feel like I'm a level 20 Truenamer, because you "Say My Name and I Am There". (I also feel like the reference will be lost on most readers. )
1 Kaalia of the Vast
1 Sun Titan
1 Archangel of Thune
1 Grand Abolisher
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Bloodgift Demon
1 Dark Confidant
1 Sire of Insanity
1 Angel of Finality
1 Rakdos the Defiler
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Academy Rector
1 Yosei, the Morning Star
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Hellkite Tyrant
1 Necropotence
1 Havoc Festival
1 Moat (if you don't have one of these, then Stranglehold)
1 Earnest Fellowship
1 Animate Dead
1 Dance of the Dead
1 Necromancy
1 Legion's Initiative
1 Vindicate
1 Council's Judgment
1 Cataclysm
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Merciless Eviction
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Dreadbore
1 Night's Whisper
1 Armageddon
1 Obzedat's Aid
1 Reanimate
1 Read the Bones
1 Chaos Warp
1 Boros Charm
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
1 Tithe
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Fork
1 Dismember
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Wear/Tear
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Surveyor's Scope
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Boros Signet
1 Defense Grid
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Sol Ring
1 Talisman of Indulgence
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Windswept Heath
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
1 Homeward Path
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Mountain
1 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Hall of the Bandit Lord
1 Graven Cairns
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Strip Mine
1 Fetid Heath
1 Godless Shrine
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Rugged Prairie
1 Blood Crypt
1 Marsh Flats
1 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Snow-Covered Plains
1 Scrubland
1 Plateau
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Command Tower
1 City of Brass
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Arid Mesa
1 Badlands
1 Bojuka Bog
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
If all I steal with it is a Signet, I am generally happy. Any more than that I and I'm just ecstatic. (I don't care about the alt win, but hey, I guess it could happen?)
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
How many D/D/A does everyone include? Similarly, how many Sunforger targets (for those that use it)?
You asked about "pet cards" that people are loathe to drop? Pre-Kaalia I was running a Boris Devilboon Demon-tribal deck, so I'm still using Minion of Leshrac, Elbrus, the Binding Blade and Pentagram of the Ages. Pentagram is actually okay, but I don't have enough sac targets for the Minion and the Blade is just shy of worthless.
With regards to boots, is Whispersilk Cloak simply too expensive? I've been quite pleased with it for Kaalia, Steelkite, or other bombs.
I recently tossed in Sigil of the New Dawn which seems amazing in theory, but I haven't had a game where it's been relevant. I am, however, a huge fan of Mother of Runes for protection, because, as it was discussed above, she comes on-line prior to Kaalia.
I want to second Faith's Reward: If you have 8 mana, it's FANTASTIC with 'geddon, it saves your team from wrath effects, and it's Sunforger goodness.
What are people's thoughts on Stronghold Overseer or Platinum Angel? Both are awesome equipment targets.
The Soup
Also, I love Earnest Fellowship in my Kaalia List
Another deck tech I use is Stonehewer Giant to fetch any equipment in my deck while on the attack or chain with Sunforger
I don't think I like Angel of Glory's Rise all that much mostly because it costs 7, and at that point you probably want to be dropping a some other threat that you would put down with kaalia. Maybe you could try something like Faith's Reward, which can get all your creatures after a wrath, and is a bit more versatile (and can be found off Sunforger!).
How does Teysa work for you? I don't think she is that good for this deck, since she takes up a high cmc slot that could be used for a better threat.
WBR Kaalia of the VastWBR
W Kemba, Kha RegentW
WUBX Sharuum the HegemonWUBX
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge UBR
Modern:
X Affinity X
"It's easy to see the bright side of other people's problems"
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Arid Mesa
1x Badlands
1x Blood Crypt
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Bojuka Bog
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Clifftop Retreat
1x Command Tower
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Fetid Heath
1x Godless Shrine
1x Graven Cairns
1x Hall of the Bandit Lord
1x High Market
1x Homeward Path
1x Isolated Chapel
1x Marsh Flats
2x Mountain
1x Nomad Outpost
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Opal Palace
1x Phyrexian Tower
3x Plains
1x Plateau
1x Rugged Prairie
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Scrubland
1x Strip Mine
3x Swamp
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Vault of the Archangel
1x Animate Dead
1x Greed
1x Phyrexian Reclamation
1x Stranglehold
Creature (25)
1x Angel of Despair
1x Angel of Finality
1x Angel of Serenity
1x Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1x Balefire Dragon
1x Baneslayer Angel
1x Bloodgift Demon
1x Butcher of the Horde
1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
1x Grand Abolisher
1x Hellkite Tyrant
1x Indulgent Tormentor
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Iroas, God of Victory
1x Karmic Guide
1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1x Lord of the Void
1x Magus of the Moat
1x Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
1x Resolute Archangel
1x Rune-Scarred Demon
1x Shadowborn Demon
1x Stoneforge Mystic
1x Stormbreath Dragon
1x Thundermaw Hellkite
Sorcery (7)
1x Akroma's Vengeance
1x Armageddon
1x Catastrophe
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Merciless Eviction
1x Night's Whisper
1x Read the Bones
1x Boros Signet
1x Coldsteel Heart
1x Fellwar Stone
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Mind Stone
1x Orzhov Signet
1x Rakdos Signet
1x Sol Ring
1x Sphere of the Suns
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Sword of Fire and Ice
1x Sword of War and Peace
1x Talisman of Indulgence
1x Whip of Erebos
Instant (11)
1x Boros Charm
1x Chaos Warp
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Hide/Seek
1x Oblation
1x Path to Exile
1x Rakdos Charm
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Utter End
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Wear / Tear
I found I often got frustrated with my wheel effects and Necropotence trying to play nice together, so I actually ended up cutting both. Necropotence was replaced with Greed simply because it's easier on the mana-base and gives me an alternative turn three-four play if I don't feel ready to play Kaalia. The wheel effects were cut for cheaper card draw since I became more concerned with keeping my threats coming rather than disrupting everyone else or potentially refilling everyone's hand with Dragon Mage (worry not, he has a nice new home in Nekusar).
I also changed my philosophy on what kinds of angels/demons/dragons I wanted to use. I want them to be at least one of these things:
1) An etb effect where I'm okay with the creature dying because it's effect is so powerful that I've already profited by letting Kaalia drop em' into play. Resolute Archangel and Shadowborn Demon were added because of how powerful their effects are.
2) Aggressively costed so I could take some pressure off of Kaalia. The problem with jamming in nothing but big, game breaking creatures is that without Kaalia it takes you a while to play them. You can try playing reanimator or any other variations of Kaalia, but I specifically wanted to build an aggressive deck where I could hard cast enough creatures that Kaalia becomes one of many threats rather than THE threat they have to deal with. Baneslayer Angel was originally cut, but I slotted her back in when I realized I needed more mid-sized creatures. Indulgent Tormentor is also a reasonable to cast body that has the benefit of acting like card draw/removal/pressure. Butcher of the Horde doubles as a sac outlet for Kaalia. I shelled out the money for a Stormbreath Dragonrecently because like the Thundermaw he's a hastey dragon that comes with the upside of getting bigger and burning everyone for more damage later.
3) A game breaking bomb. This was more of a guideline one what to keep. Rakdos, the Defiler is certainly this for one swing, but if I don't have a sac outlet and a way to keep getting him back to my hand (Phyrexian Reclamation is a good one), then I have to give up a lot to keep pushing for damage. Other cards, like Steel Hellkite, were also good but required some sort of setup or cost to get their effects. The ones I kept needed little or no setup cost outside of playing them. Avacyn, Gisela, and Iona are the big icons for this, but Lord of the Void and Balefire Dragon were also kept in because their effects can break the game open if they connect. Although Ob Nixilis might not qualify as a huge bomb, keeping people off of tutoring while also growing bigger incidentally, with trample of all things, is not insignificant. He toes the line between this criteria and criteria #2.
Speaking of set up costs, this is also part of how I ended up cutting Sunforger. Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing card and I want to find room for it in the future again, but I was constantly getting into situations where I either had no creatures to equip it too, or the mana to use it was getting in the way of other things I needed to do. Hopefully reducing the cost of my angels/demons/dragons will make running it much more feasible, but for the time being I'm putting it back on the rack.
The last thing I want to touch on are some additions I made during Theros block.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - I've been giving this card a try and it does surprisingly well for this deck. Normally I'd never use a devotion card in a three color deck, but so many angels and demons have triple mana in their costs that one creature already pays for Nykthos's activation. It's a great way to power out some more big guys or just play more than a single card a turn.
Whip of Erebos - I love lifelink. It pays for Greed and keeps me in a fight where everyone's going to be beating on me because I'm the top threat. The whip also plays an important role by bringing back creatures. ETB effects that you need right now, or sudden beats to push through for damage make it worth the exile clause. It's worth noting that this is another reason why I'm going to try and find room for Cloudshift since I'll be able to keep the creature afterwards.
Iroas, God of Victory - Although he does get turned on quite a bit (see devotion to Nykthos), I've really been enjoying how he enables my aggressive game plan. It keeps Kaalia alive and actually makes blocking a lot harder since your opponents need to commit even more creatures to be run over by your guys who are usually a lot bigger, assuming they have any fliers at all.
That's it for now, folks! I'm super happy that I was finally able to find the time to post the update and go into detail about the changes I made. Let me know what you guys think!
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My EDH/Commander List:
Wedges:
Numot, the Devastator RWU
Damia, Sage of Stone GUB
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
Olivia Voldaren
Is there anyway to turn dead land draws into gas? Some kind of reusable loot effect, cheaper Seer's Sundial, or a one-sided Horn of Greed? I find that I keep drawing land in the longer games and would like some way of recyling them, short of hoarding them for a MLD.