Considering the RC's admission both that Balance has never been tested and is being judged soley on it's status in Legacy and Vintage; with all of the obscenely broken cards in other colors and with white being the least poweful color by a marge margin, why is this card still banned?
I'd recommend lowering your creature count, or at least your curve. Reya Dawnbringer, Archangel of Strife, Aegis Angel, Requiem Angel, Exalted Angel, Blinding Angel, and Angelic Field Marshal, to name a few, are all rather... Meh. The new Emeria Shepherd replaces Reya really well, as it can get any of your things back and not just creatures. I would lose the Mobilization or Moonsilved Spear for Luminarch Ascension, too. Since Avacyn protects your team, Mass Calcify seems redundant, and bad even if anyone else in your group plays white. Austere Command makes a good replacement, as you don't run much for artifact and enchantment removal.
I can see playing burnished heart and white orchid, but the rest of your not angels really don't need to be here if you're going angel tribal. I'd personally drop them for more mass removal to take advantage of your general's ability, or different utility Angels such as Emancipation Angel and Angel of Jubilation. You run enough artifacts that Indomitable Archangel might also prove effective.
Land Tax, Mind's Eye, and Scroll Rack are pretty heavily recommended as well. If you decide to keep the soldier generators, perhaps Skullclamp would also be useful. If you have a Swords to Plowshares, use it. That card is amazing.
As one of the people voting for Avacyn in that poll, congratulations on choosing the superior angel
Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge.
Grixis has already been mentioned to have the best selection of steal stuff canards, and jeleva is the queen of stealing stuff.
Terminus and hallowed burial are tuck, not exile. In any case, the effects are amazing for dealing with avacyn clones and other indestructible dudes. If you don't have an issue with those, I can see them not being that great, but they also answer creature based combo decks really well.
Purify and austere command I would still recommend because you don't really have any answers for artifacts or enchantments, besides planar cleansing and nev's disc.
I can see the synergy with sigil and cage of hands and co. But you don't run any of white's tutor effects to get the sigil; the six mana one from theros gets both of the pieces to that combo, if you're interested. Games where you don't have sigil, those really aren't that good imo. They don't do enough. They don't even stop activated abilities, so you can only answer beatsticks.
I really don't like worldslayer being called "unfun". It's my favorite sword... It also seems backwards that you think Worldslayer is unfun, by Iona isn't.
To be honest, I didn't even notice the akroma's memorial. I've had atrocious luck with both of those cards, mostly due to my count of 20 wrath effects I'd assume. There's just better things you could run with your low creature count and absurdly high mana curve. More lands, more Angels, more wrath effects, more removal, more mana rocks, ect.
My playgroup's not what I would call competitive or cuthroat, but your build looks a lot like mine did before I switched her to mass-removal.dec. it spent a lot of games doing nothing, which is why I was questioning your land count. But if it works for you, keep playing it how you like to. I'm just making suggestions
Avacyn clones are probably the biggest threat to this deck since the legend rule change, Erratic Portal and Angel of the Dire Hour are the only defences I have for that, other than giving Avacyn shroud. I'll definitely have a look at some options, though the only deck with clones in my meta at the moment is mine. Clones sure did go out of fashion fast with the legend rule change, at least amongst my friends.
Aura of Silence is usually my go to for a problem enchantment/artifact, and Admonition Angel does a lot of work. Should have a lot more though, you're right.
Sigil combo is nice, but its not someone I actively try to assemble. I personally like Cage of Hands over other Pacifism-effects simply because I can return it to my hand in response to an opponent trying to remove it. Flickering Ward is a recent include that I don't regret one bit, I've used it to drop a full suite of enchantments off an opponents Rafiq after his shroud enchant was blown, drop Pacifism-like cards off Avacyn, it does a lot more work than you might think. Situational work, but work.
Don't get me wrong on Worldslayer, I love that card. But my playgroup, myself included, is opposed to mass land destruction. Spot removal, fine, but mass land D is a no go. Interesting you mention Iona, because she is an iffy include that can definitely be considered unfun. She's not allowed to be a general in our meta, but can be in decks. The difference as my group sees it, is that she can be dealt with by any colour not locked, or by artifact-based removal in a mono-coloured deck. Compare that to mass land destruction, no one can do anything if you take all their land away, they will just scoop. They don't feel like they lost, they feel cheated.
I can see you don't purposefully go for land destruction in your build either, like I've seen in competitive Avacyn decks, and I'll admit Worldslayer has a lot of flavour, but mass land destruction is mass land destruction.
In mentioning Akroma's Memorial, I actually realised I'd already removed it. That thing was a lead weight, but I did really like the flavour of it especially with Akroma in the deck.
Don't get me wrong, I'm listening to your feedback and you give a lot of valid points. As always I'll be watching the performance of the deck closely to watch for mana issues. Will be looking for some underperforming cards to drop for additional enchantment/artifact removal or other wrath effects too. What do you think of Act of Authority for spot removal?
I favor Return to Dust, but since you have the enchantment thing going it's not a terrible option. If you do run it, it's just one more reason you should be playing Emancipation Angel.
I just want to say thanks for the great list, you have definitely brought to light some cards I will want to put into my own Avacyn List.
A few questions do you ever find yourself wishing you have some small guys to protect you until you get the mana out? Whenever I play Avacyn I get so much hate from the get go that I have to have some smaller creatures in the list just to detour the early on beating
not that you were asking me, but running a lot of mass removal tends to deal with attackers in the early game just as well, provided you run artifacts to start powering them out turn 3 or sooner, and also equally useful in the late game. I find a tactical nuke to be more effective as a deterrent than a brick wall.
Terminus and hallowed burial are tuck, not exile. In any case, the effects are amazing for dealing with avacyn clones and other indestructible dudes. If you don't have an issue with those, I can see them not being that great, but they also answer creature based combo decks really well.
Purify and austere command I would still recommend because you don't really have any answers for artifacts or enchantments, besides planar cleansing and nev's disc.
I can see the synergy with sigil and cage of hands and co. But you don't run any of white's tutor effects to get the sigil; the six mana one from theros gets both of the pieces to that combo, if you're interested. Games where you don't have sigil, those really aren't that good imo. They don't do enough. They don't even stop activated abilities, so you can only answer beatsticks.
I really don't like worldslayer being called "unfun". It's my favorite sword... It also seems backwards that you think Worldslayer is unfun, by Iona isn't.
To be honest, I didn't even notice the akroma's memorial. I've had atrocious luck with both of those cards, mostly due to my count of 20 wrath effects I'd assume. There's just better things you could run with your low creature count and absurdly high mana curve. More lands, more Angels, more wrath effects, more removal, more mana rocks, ect.
My playgroup's not what I would call competitive or cuthroat, but your build looks a lot like mine did before I switched her to mass-removal.dec. it spent a lot of games doing nothing, which is why I was questioning your land count. But if it works for you, keep playing it how you like to. I'm just making suggestions
1: calciform pools isn't legal in this deck, as it has blue in it's color identity.
2: how are you only playing 30 lands? My build runs 37 with the same number of mana rocks and more tutors, and I still have really slow games.
2b: Seraph Sanctum, Sejirei Steppe, Kabira Crossroads, and Ancient Den should be plains; your curve is too high for the etbt lands, and you're not really running enough plains for Emeria (sky ruin or shepherd).
3: With avacyn as your general, I highly recommend more wrath effects. Particularly Austere Command, Terminus, Hallowed Burial, Final Judgment, Purify, to name a few. This also helps you survive the early game a lot better, especially if you take the less expensive wraths such as Day of Judgment.
3b: Worldslayer
4: you could use some cheaper Angels. While she's certainly not the best, little Avacyn is actually pretty decent at protecting you. Her ability costs a lot to activate, but it guarantees you survive an alpha strike unless they deal with her first.
5: I have had atrocious luck with Voice of All, and recommend dropping her for Emancipation Angel. In addition to her having some of the best artwork in the game (in my opinion), she allows you to reuse your etb Angels (dire hour, sunblast, karmic).
5: I don't know what your meta looks like, but your deck looks far too slow to get much mileage out of True Conviction. I'd also suggest dropping cage of hands or one of those effects for Oblivion Ring, or more wrath effects. Words of worship is also something I would drop immediately. It's lifegain isn't worth the loss of card draw, which is mono white's biggest weakness.
6: If you can pick up a scroll rack, I would. Combined with Land Tax, it's pretty much (1): Draw 3 cards.
I have no idea what your meta looks like, but Avacyn is an amazing general, and I love her as an angel tribal commander. I'm just not sure, looking at your list, how this deck functions.
(My list hasn't been updated in ages. Wouldn't use it as a reference.)
(Saw the opening post was edited 4 days ago, assumed it was still active. Sorry for the necro if that's not the case.)
Linessa, Zephyr Mage is my suggestion. Her ability gives you a bit of control, and allows you to abuse your own etb effects. I've run her to great effect.
Triggering off cast instead of etb in addition to the 5+ cmc restriction seems... Not that good. I don't think I'd want to play him over any of the other boros legends. Except razia, probably.
Kothophed can be dangerous. I've killed a kothophed player with Wrath of God after someone answered his sac outlet. You have to be very careful in this format with him, especially if your meta has a lot of mass removal.
Tax+Rack is the only card(s) that you mentioned that goes well in any mono white deck. Skullclamp and Mentor of the Meek are both worthless in builds that don't run a lot of small creatures, and mask of memories is only good so long as you can actually hit things. White weenie isn't the only way to play mono white; and in EDH it's probably the worst way to play mono white.
I'm casual/semi-competitive. My deck can hold it's own fairly well in a more competitive group, but i'm not going to claim to be the greatest at the game.
My role is the Balance player. I have all of the wrath effects, and i keep the other players in check. I allow some of our less expensive decks to win the game by keeping the more competitive decks from overrning the table.
I play the role because i find it fun, and it allows me to play my favorite underpowered cards without worrying about being trampled to the dirt by my friend's overpowered cards.
My character depends on my mood. If i'm in a good mood, i'm pretty mellow and easy to play with. If i'm having a rough day, i can be kranky and vengeful, which isn't very fun to play with. I try to keep that in check.
I don't really know what i bring to the game. I take from it something to occupy my time and keep my brain busy.
On a side note, i also enjoy Balance. As a near exclusively mono-white mage, i find that the color needs every bit of help it can get. Balance is a fantastic card to keep the more powerful colors in line; aggro decks lose their armies, green mages lose their ramp, and blue mages lose their hands. It teaches the table to not overextend. It is abusable, but you have to go out of your way to do it and if you're interrupted you leave yourself wide open to be out of the game completely (and doing so usually requires the use of sol ring, mana crypt, and ancient tomb, which is more a problem with those cards than with balance).
Sinc the rules committee has openly admitted that it only banned the card for it's reputation in vintage and legacy and outright refuses to test the card, i refuse to take it out of my deck. Most groups i've played with didn't even know it was banned until i pointed it out, and none have asked me to remove it.
I cannot advocate this card enough for mono white. The amount of card advantage this thing is capable of providing absolutely makes it worth a spot in your 99. Other colors may have better sources of draw, but if your not playing tier one competitive, this card is still worth considering. The initial 5 mana is pretty high, but drawing ateast one card on each opponent's turn for minimal investment shouldn't be taken so lightly.
I would take this over staff of nin any day, but I also run so much removal that drawing three extra cards per turn cycle for pennies far outweighs sometimes maybe being able to kill a utility dork.
I can see playing burnished heart and white orchid, but the rest of your not angels really don't need to be here if you're going angel tribal. I'd personally drop them for more mass removal to take advantage of your general's ability, or different utility Angels such as Emancipation Angel and Angel of Jubilation. You run enough artifacts that Indomitable Archangel might also prove effective.
Land Tax, Mind's Eye, and Scroll Rack are pretty heavily recommended as well. If you decide to keep the soldier generators, perhaps Skullclamp would also be useful. If you have a Swords to Plowshares, use it. That card is amazing.
As one of the people voting for Avacyn in that poll, congratulations on choosing the superior angel
Grixis has already been mentioned to have the best selection of steal stuff canards, and jeleva is the queen of stealing stuff.
not that you were asking me, but running a lot of mass removal tends to deal with attackers in the early game just as well, provided you run artifacts to start powering them out turn 3 or sooner, and also equally useful in the late game. I find a tactical nuke to be more effective as a deterrent than a brick wall.
I'll update my list sometime today...
Purify and austere command I would still recommend because you don't really have any answers for artifacts or enchantments, besides planar cleansing and nev's disc.
I can see the synergy with sigil and cage of hands and co. But you don't run any of white's tutor effects to get the sigil; the six mana one from theros gets both of the pieces to that combo, if you're interested. Games where you don't have sigil, those really aren't that good imo. They don't do enough. They don't even stop activated abilities, so you can only answer beatsticks.
I really don't like worldslayer being called "unfun". It's my favorite sword... It also seems backwards that you think Worldslayer is unfun, by Iona isn't.
To be honest, I didn't even notice the akroma's memorial. I've had atrocious luck with both of those cards, mostly due to my count of 20 wrath effects I'd assume. There's just better things you could run with your low creature count and absurdly high mana curve. More lands, more Angels, more wrath effects, more removal, more mana rocks, ect.
My playgroup's not what I would call competitive or cuthroat, but your build looks a lot like mine did before I switched her to mass-removal.dec. it spent a lot of games doing nothing, which is why I was questioning your land count. But if it works for you, keep playing it how you like to. I'm just making suggestions
1: calciform pools isn't legal in this deck, as it has blue in it's color identity.
2: how are you only playing 30 lands? My build runs 37 with the same number of mana rocks and more tutors, and I still have really slow games.
2b: Seraph Sanctum, Sejirei Steppe, Kabira Crossroads, and Ancient Den should be plains; your curve is too high for the etbt lands, and you're not really running enough plains for Emeria (sky ruin or shepherd).
3: With avacyn as your general, I highly recommend more wrath effects. Particularly Austere Command, Terminus, Hallowed Burial, Final Judgment, Purify, to name a few. This also helps you survive the early game a lot better, especially if you take the less expensive wraths such as Day of Judgment.
3b: Worldslayer
4: you could use some cheaper Angels. While she's certainly not the best, little Avacyn is actually pretty decent at protecting you. Her ability costs a lot to activate, but it guarantees you survive an alpha strike unless they deal with her first.
5: I have had atrocious luck with Voice of All, and recommend dropping her for Emancipation Angel. In addition to her having some of the best artwork in the game (in my opinion), she allows you to reuse your etb Angels (dire hour, sunblast, karmic).
5: I don't know what your meta looks like, but your deck looks far too slow to get much mileage out of True Conviction. I'd also suggest dropping cage of hands or one of those effects for Oblivion Ring, or more wrath effects. Words of worship is also something I would drop immediately. It's lifegain isn't worth the loss of card draw, which is mono white's biggest weakness.
6: If you can pick up a scroll rack, I would. Combined with Land Tax, it's pretty much (1): Draw 3 cards.
I have no idea what your meta looks like, but Avacyn is an amazing general, and I love her as an angel tribal commander. I'm just not sure, looking at your list, how this deck functions.
(My list hasn't been updated in ages. Wouldn't use it as a reference.)
(Saw the opening post was edited 4 days ago, assumed it was still active. Sorry for the necro if that's not the case.)
Plus the future sight frame is fantastic.
My role is the Balance player. I have all of the wrath effects, and i keep the other players in check. I allow some of our less expensive decks to win the game by keeping the more competitive decks from overrning the table.
I play the role because i find it fun, and it allows me to play my favorite underpowered cards without worrying about being trampled to the dirt by my friend's overpowered cards.
My character depends on my mood. If i'm in a good mood, i'm pretty mellow and easy to play with. If i'm having a rough day, i can be kranky and vengeful, which isn't very fun to play with. I try to keep that in check.
I don't really know what i bring to the game. I take from it something to occupy my time and keep my brain busy.
On a side note, i also enjoy Balance. As a near exclusively mono-white mage, i find that the color needs every bit of help it can get. Balance is a fantastic card to keep the more powerful colors in line; aggro decks lose their armies, green mages lose their ramp, and blue mages lose their hands. It teaches the table to not overextend. It is abusable, but you have to go out of your way to do it and if you're interrupted you leave yourself wide open to be out of the game completely (and doing so usually requires the use of sol ring, mana crypt, and ancient tomb, which is more a problem with those cards than with balance).
Sinc the rules committee has openly admitted that it only banned the card for it's reputation in vintage and legacy and outright refuses to test the card, i refuse to take it out of my deck. Most groups i've played with didn't even know it was banned until i pointed it out, and none have asked me to remove it.
I would take this over staff of nin any day, but I also run so much removal that drawing three extra cards per turn cycle for pennies far outweighs sometimes maybe being able to kill a utility dork.