So... Ready to have all the players at the table focus their aggression on you? Time to be the "Bad Guy".
I beheld fear itself. She was beautiful, and terrifying beyond words. On great wings she soared into the sky, the very heavens set ablaze on her passing. Angels cowered in fear, and the legions of hell followed with her. Her eyes burned into my soul, and then she spoke.
"I am the judge, jury, and executioner of your entire world. From this moment forward, your every thought and deed will be in devotion to the Legion, else your lands will crumble, the heavens will burn, and the seas will boil. I will leave nothing but scorched aether." - Kaalia of the Vast, as told by the Archangel Gabriel.
Thanks to Theismisacrime at Heroes of the Plane Studio for the great banner!
Vorthos - In an unprecedented play for power and control of Ravnica and planes beyond, The Boros Legion, The Orzhov Syndicate, and the Cult of Rakdos have entered an uneasy but unbelievably powerful alliance that threatens to shake the very foundations of the multiverse itself. They have appointed Kaalia of the Vast to command their armies and given her all the resources of heaven and hell to accomplish the task. Her orders are simple; Seize control of everything you can, and burn whatever is left. Leave only devoted followers and smoldering corpses.
About the Deck/ History:
Using Kaalia to lead the charge, and as a way to cheat fat Demons/Dragons/Angels, I quickly became disappointed with how quickly and often Kaalia died leaving me unable to use her late game when I could really finish off someone with her. So I started holding off casting her until later in the game when I was sure to be able to give her haste and bring in a fatty with her, which led me to looking for things to do early/mid game to further my goals, and help get opponents into killing range.
What I ended up with is a very different take on her altogether, it's a "punisher" deck. Instead of Kaalia "leading the charge", she sits back and watches her army of punisher cards weaken all of the opponents while strengthening her own position. Then late game, still only costing her original cmc and with plenty of mana at her disposal, she pounces with haste and a fatty, with tricks to back her up and finish off the battered and weakened opponents. It's worked a lot better for me, added several layers of nuanced strategy, and has been REALLY fun! I'm actually quite proud of the deck, as nobody really expects the direction it goes. They always wonder why I'm not casting her early/mid game and you know they've been saving removal for her the whole time and leaving mana and/or blockers open every turn hindering their development and playing right into her hands.
I don't play the deck all the time as punisher decks can get a little frustrating to play against fairly quickly. But when I do play it, everyone seems to enjoy it, and it makes me the (eventual) common enemy of everyone at the table which is a lot of fun sometimes, especially for a normally very political and intentionally unthreatening, self-effacing player like myself. Very often, by the time I've become public enemy number one and all the opponents have banded together to kill me, it's too late for them. They usually focus on other players and more immediate threats, fighting it out amongst themselves until I drop something like Vicious Shadows, Kaervek the Merciless, Pyrohemia, Manabarbs, Painful Quandary. A couple of those seem to be the universal trigger for declaring that I need to be killed.
How it plays/wins:
The main strategy is to get/keep/bring back into play, cards that punish everything players do and damage everyone, while giving yourself a bit of breathing room with some lifegain and holding off the angry mob with defensive measures. Direct damage and life drain (Sorin and Exsanguinate) can dramatically hasten everyones demise. Plenty of recursion and a robust removal suite ensure survivability in a game that goes too long, and a couple of combos can steal a win out of nowhere. Beatdown with a hasty Kaalia and whomever she brings along is an alternate but still somewhat effective plan, especially later in the game when everyones low on life, and you can likely give Kaalia haste.
Typical Game (Murphy's Law applying, of course):
Early Game - Play out ramp and defensive measures
Mid Game - Start dropping punishments. Protect self with removal/sweepers.
Late Game - Recursion of dead punishments and defensives while making a few comments about everyone ganging up on you
.....Big Finish Sorceries or Drop Hasty Kaalia and swing to finish someone.
Why Play This Deck?:
Because every now and then, you just feel the need to be the focus of everyone's agression.
All my decks try to adhere to these guidelines:
1) Be able to win.
2) Be mostly true to a flavor and a theme.
3) Be fun to pilot or to play against and interactive.
4) Have multiple paths to victory.
5) Have lots of cool interactions and synergy.
6) Play out differently every game to keep it fun over a long time.
7) Be streamlined and fast to play without excessive upkeep, time-consuming play or overcomplicated boardstates.
8) Integrate the Commanders abilities into the strategy at least a little, but be able to win without ever playing the commander.
Optional Weapons of Mass Destruction: (Not included in main deck) 1 Jokulhaups 1 Obliterate
.
.
Changelog:
02 July 2011 - Ok, to be honest I lost track of everything I changed today. Net effect though is more recursion, tutoring, defensives, and sweepers. Less spot removal.
15 July 2011 - Comet Storm in for Wild Ricochet.
09 Oct 2011 - Out - Swords, Terminate, Bogardan Hellkite, Vampire Nighthawk, Savage Beating, Wheel of Fortune, Akroma, swamp, plains.
In - Jokulhaups, Obliterate, Warstorm Surge, Ankh of Mishra, Blasphemous Act, Barter in Blood, Damnation, Stensia Bloodhall, Isolated Chapel.
13 Nov 2012 - Moved Jokulhaups and Obliterate to the "sideboard" for political reasons.
Also Out:
Stensia Bloodhall (too expensive for effect)
Hall of the Bandit Lord (rarely used, need color fixing lands)
Lightning Greaves (upgraded)
Phyrexian Arena (too painful)
Damnation (needed space, have plenty of mass removal)
Argivian Find (redundant)
Maze of Ith Trick: Maze of Ith - Not only prevents damage from happening to you, but.... Kaalia, only being a 2/2 is fragile. A lot of times you don't want attack with her because she'll be swinging into her death. With Ith on the field you can safely swing with her, triggering her ability to put a fatty in play, then use the Maze on her after blockers are declared.
Reconnaissance can also be used for this, but isn't nearly as universally useful as the Maze, and I don't run it.
Using Kaalia:
I almost never cast Kaalia before late game in here. She's not meant to lead the charge, just command it and finish off the weak. Usually by late game, someone's ready to finish and I can give her haste, I'll drop her with a fatty backer for the win.
Nice combo - Drop Kaalia, declare attack putting in Rune-Scarred Demon and tutoring for and playing an entwined Savage Beating for 32 damage (assuming Anger in the graveyard).
** Kaalia the Graveyard Sniper:
Letting Kaalia go to the graveyard instead of exile is sometimes a good play in this deck. We've got lots of recursion, and some of it grants haste. So she can sit in the graveyard until you've got a fat demon/angel/dragon in your hand, then Corpse Dance her into play hasted to knock the crap out of someone. If you've got a sac outlet, you can sac her and repeat it turn after turn for much cheaper than you can by putting her in the command zone.
Really, Wound reflection with a LOT of the cards in here should pretty much kill at least one player late game. A "Reflected" Exsanguinate can finish of an entire table in one-shot.
Vicious Shadows: Vicious Shadows: Easily one of the most powerful finishers in this deck. If it sticks for long, it will kill people. A simple Fleshbag Marauder making 3 or 4 people sac a creature, easily turns into 20-plus points of direct damage. A Siege-Gang Commander and fodder on the board means 36 points of damage to a player with a full grip of cards. Add Wound Reflection for some truly sick damage.
Lark & Guide + any sac outlet and Vicious Shadows means someone's getting hurt.
Using Corpse Dance: Corpse Dance is a one card recursion engine if you've got a sac outlet in place and enough mana for the buyback cost. Casting it multiple times in a single turn is not uncommon, and Phyrexian Tower as the sac outlet make playing it multiple times in a turn even easier. Just make sure to have a sac outlet, so you don't have to exile the creature at eot.
As an added bonus, Corpse Dance is an "Instant" rather than "Sorcery" like most recursion, so it can reanimate an emergency blocker or in response to graveyard hate to save a creature you don't want to lose forever (then sac it back after hate resolves).
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Recommended Playlist
Mouth for War - Pantera
Burn - Dope
Fire - Jimi Hendrix
Heaven's on Fire - Kiss
Symphony of Destruction - Megadeth
Holy Wars... The Punishment Due - Megadeth
------------------------------------------------
I chose not to go with discard effects/punishments to focus on the others for now.
I originally had a Sunforger package included, but it just wasn't working out, and I desperately tried to make Kiki-Jiki work, but there just weren't enough targets for her.
nice twist man, i'm sure it catches any new opponent off guard ahaha
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~Wuliev~
EDH: WBGhost Council of OrzhovaBW WUBErtai, the CorruptedWUB
CONSTRUCTED: B Smallpox Control
Bloodbraid Elf Sligh RG UW Draw-Go Weenie Hosea 13:14
"I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes."
All my decks try to adhere to these guidelines:
Be mostly true to a flavor and a theme
Be good against one or multiple opponents
Be very interactive
Be fun to pilot or to play against (this deck may fall a little short in the "fun to play against" category for some people)
Have multiple paths to victory
Have lots of cool interactions and synergy
Play out differently every game to keep it fun over a long time
Integrate the Commanders abilities into the strategy at least a little, but...
Be able to win without ever playing the commander.
THIS!! IS!! E.D.H!
It's just too bad most of it is subjective and cannot be bound by rules. It must be adopted as a nature of being. I wish more would take this as their creed.
Multiple thumbs up for your deckbuild. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
It's just too bad most of it is subjective and cannot be bound by rules. It must be adopted as a nature of being. I wish more would take this as their creed.
Multiple thumbs up for your deckbuild. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Thanks GFireflyE.
Updated: More recursion, Mass Damage/Removal, Punishment Enchantments
Kept Karmic Guide, but took out the rest of the Lark combo.
Pimpage:
Changed the banner to an even cooler one.
Added Recommended Playlist
I love this deck. I've been working on a version of my own that looks similar, but you just have better ideas. Now that I see your deck, I am inspired to hurry up and finish mine. This looks so fun. I like the minor emphasis on enchantments. It just makes sense for this deck. I've been dying to use Painful Quandary in EDH since it was printed. I want to watch my opponent squirm with that one.
Have you thought about Debtors' Knell? I was thinking of including it. It's fun, but may not be needed in your build.
I love your EDH guidelines, by the way.
I love this deck. I've been working on a version of my own that looks similar, but you just have better ideas. Now that I see your deck, I am inspired to hurry up and finish mine. This looks so fun. I like the minor emphasis on enchantments. It just makes sense for this deck. I've been dying to use Painful Quandary in EDH since it was printed. I want to watch my opponent squirm with that one.
Have you thought about Debtors' Knell? I was thinking of including it. It's fun, but may not be needed in your build.
I love your EDH guidelines, by the way.
Thanks. I do indeed love Debtors' Knell, I use it in my Ghost Council deck (in sig). I would think that it could always find a good reanimation target in here, even if it's not from your own gy.
I'm tempted to just put in a few more sweepers and the mass land destruction package, but I'm afraid that wouldn't be enough fun to play against. Obliterate killing off everything except your enchantments is pretty brutal.
I haven't seen another Kaalia deck that goes the punisher route yet, so I'd be really interested in hearing how your build goes/ if you find any good tech/ hidden gems that I'm missing. So please report back from time to time.
Thanks. I do indeed love Debtors' Knell, I use it in my Ghost Council deck (in sig). I would think that it could always find a good reanimation target in here, even if it's not from your own gy.
I'm tempted to just put in a few more sweepers and the mass land destruction package, but I'm afraid that wouldn't be enough fun to play against. Obliterate killing off everything except your enchantments is pretty brutal.
I haven't seen another Kaalia deck that goes the punisher route yet, so I'd be really interested in hearing how your build goes/ if you find any good tech/ hidden gems that I'm missing. So please report back from time to time.
Oh, most definitely. Now I really have to get crackin' and work on this deck. Mine will most likely also have a few proxies here and there.
I gotta say, I was thinking of throwing in a few sweepers, especially with those colors. It begs for it. I have to say, though, that I'm not a fan of playing Obliterate. I used to run it in my Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper EDH, but every time I casted it, it just sucked out all the life of the game and basically restarted it.
Rune-Scarred Demon 5BB
6/6 Flying
Flying
When Rune-Scarred Demon enters the battlefield, search your library for a card, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.
Did they print this specifically for Kaalia? Auto-Include!
I could be wrong however I am pretty sure I am now when I say, Sorin Markov + wound reflection does not = death. As you dont lose any life with sorin. The other combo is true though. However kinda janky and gonna get you removed from any play group out there who isnt a fan of combo wins.
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4th Texas State Champs - Red Deck Loses
5th TCG Qualifier - Soul Sisters
2nd GPT Qualifier - Sealed
3rd Star City Games Super IQ - UB Control
4th Star City Games Super IQ - Solar Flare
1st Star City Games IQ - Esper Heartless
3rd GPT Qualifier - Modern - Bant
2nd Star City Games IQ - Reanimator
2nd GPT Qualifier - Legacy - Goblins
Currently Playing: STANDARD UWBCONTROLUWB EDH UGEDRIC, SPYMASTER OF TRESTUG MODERN WBGRASSAULT LOAMWBGR
I could be wrong however I am pretty sure I am now when I say, Sorin Markov + wound reflection does not = death. As you dont lose any life with sorin. The other combo is true though. However kinda janky and gonna get you removed from any play group out there who isnt a fan of combo wins.
My group uses a lot of combo, so that's cool.
Actually, Sorin does work. Here's the ruling.
10/1/2009: For a player's life total to become 10, what actually happens is that the player gains or loses the appropriate amount of life. For example, if the targeted opponent's life total is 4 when this ability resolves, it will cause that player to gain 6 life; alternately, if the targeted player's life total is 17 when this ability resolves, it will cause that player to lose 7 life. Other cards that interact with life gain or life loss will interact with this effect accordingly.
So, as long as the player started the turn at 20 or more life, it's a kill.
Looking at the decklist, it seems like the actual creature count itself is fairly low. Have you ever found it a problem to keep an actual board presence or is the removal/sweeper + punishment suite good enough to keep the others at bay?
This is an interesting take on Kaalia, as you don't weigh your deck around her ability to ignore mana costs for big creatures. It seems like you built the deck heavily around being able to play without her. Interesting.
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EDH Decks:
Kaalia's Army of AnnhilationRWB
Obzedat, Ghost Council - Life Gain MattersWB
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord - Fatty Reanimator ToolboxBG
Nekusar, the Mindrazer - Draw to DieRBU
Marath, Will of the Wild - Token Pump and TapGWR
Roon of the Hidden Realm - Blink to BleedWBG
Looking at the decklist, it seems like the actual creature count itself is fairly low. Have you ever found it a problem to keep an actual board presence or is the removal/sweeper + punishment suite good enough to keep the others at bay?
Yeah, pretty much I've given up on creature board presence other than the occasional defensive creature or punisher, and all the recursion keeps them coming back. Between that and the heavy removal, it's been doing ok. Of course, if everyone gets focused and comes after me too quickly, I usually don't stand much of a chance.
This is an interesting take on Kaalia, as you don't weigh your deck around her ability to ignore mana costs for big creatures. It seems like you built the deck heavily around being able to play without her. Interesting.
Yep. I started out playing her the way you mentioned, and all my games were ending up with her getting killed constantly, costing lots of mana to play and hardly ever actually getting to cheat something into play. Now I use her for late-game ambush. By late game, I can almost always give her haste and have something juicy in hand to cheat in with her, or use her as an ambusher from the graveyard as I describe in the tricks section.
Here's the cool thing about late game ambush - She still gets shot a lot, but late game you can often play her 2 to 3 times in a single turn (especially if you've got Corpse Dance or you're "Larking" her back) and force the damage + free fatty through. And with any luck, by that point in the game it will be a fatal blow. If I can't swing fatal with her, I'll usually just wait a little longer.
I'm really enjoying this approach so far. It relies on planning ahead quite a bit more, and it indulges my "inner bad-guy".
Anyway, I want to start off by saying I absolutely love the ideas that you put into your decks. I built my Teysa deck as an offshoot of yours, and it's still my favorite one to play.
That being said, I have two questions about this deck, as it is also one I'm building using your ideas, with a couple tweaks:
1) It doesn't feel like you're putting much focus into Kaalia itself, rather than just using her colors, so how do you feel in using Tariel, Reckoner of Souls instead? I know you've built your lore around miss Vast, but it feels like Tariel actually plays better to the theme of the deck in punishing, i.e. using your opponent's creatures to beat them instead.
2) If you're going to stick with Kaalia, Rakdos the Defiler NEEDS to be in this deck. If you can get him in your hand with a sac outlet and hand recursion, he can decimate opponent's boards, mainly because his ability doesn't trigger for yourself; he comes out attacking as a part of Kaalia's ability, not as a declared attacker, so you lose nothing in the process.
Just some food for thought, take with it what you will. Keep building awesome decks!
On Tariel - You're right, I am using Kaalia mostly for color access, but she's also a very valuable late game finisher. I'm sure Tariel would be fine if the deck was tailored a bit more to her, but from the moment I saw Kaalia, I had to build a deck around her. The flavor and the sexy art was just too much for me.
Rakdos - He was actually the first card I added to the deck when I got it home from the Launch Party. I'll grant you that if you cheat him into play with Kaalia that he's just crazy good, but since that strategy isn't the focus anymore, I need the demons/dragons/angels to be good when not cheated into play.
I do appreciate the suggestions. I hope your build goes well, just be prepared to draw some fire from the table, it happens a lot. But going into it in that "let's be the bad guy" frame of mind makes it a lot of fun for me.
I already have an aggro version of Kaalia built (but not optimized), but your build is very intriguing. Or at the very least, applying the Punisher archetype to her. I'm gonna draft up my version, methinks.
Thanks for the inspiration, and may your revenge be sweet.
Thanks SE - It's been a lot of fun so far, it's going to need lots more testing and tweaking though. If you do start a punisher version let me know. I'm curious to see how it goes for others and look for new ideas. Between all my decks, I don't get enough playtesting in.
Warstorm Surge - When I first read it, I thought no, as I don't drop all that many creatures....... but thinking a little more, when I do drop them, it's generally later in the game, opponents are low on life and they're fairly fat. It might be that little extra I need. Karmic Guide etb bringing back something or hasty Kaalia bringing something with her could finish off someone pretty easily. And playing it right before a suspended Gargadon comes in is an easy 9 point shot. I'm going to have to think a little more on this card, maybe proxy it up and give it a test.
Wow. This is certainly a build. It's kinda like you're faking people into thinking that Kaalia, oh no, massive threats ahoy, but it's just cool deck. I like it, it's cool.
I've got a few questions though.
Shinka, the red land thing, worth it? You have a total of 4 legendary, only maybe 3 of them attack, while Zo-zu and heartless stand there and shoot lasers and kept out of combat. First strike isn't that relevant, and having it cost R every turn may be a bad idea? Also, having something like other lands that do stuff make it look like a subpar choice, unless I'm way off and first strike is a game winner for you.
You have a lot of removal, but is Vindicate just slow in your deck or something? The soc speed killed it?
Other then that, I've got nothing to say about the deck, looks really solid.
Xlich - Lol, yeah, the first time I play someone with this deck, I get that look from them when I don't play Kaalia like "what the ** are you up to". Of course, by the second game that's gone. It's funny to watch someone knowing they're holding back their instant spot removal afraid that I'm going to drop her with haste and nail them with a fatty behind her.
Shinka - I don't think it's really important. I haven't even had the opportunity to use it for anything but a mountain yet. But I look at it like.... it could possibly make a huge difference at some point, it doesn't come in tapped or have an upkeep cost, doesn't only tap for colorless, and it's unlikely to get killed by another Shinka, so there's really not much reason to not run it.
Vindicate is a staple of mine, I love the card. It may end up in the list at some point, but I'm just not feeling it over what's in there yet. And honestly, I'm not looking forward to the $cost of having to get another copy.
I beheld fear itself. She was beautiful, and terrifying beyond words. On great wings she soared into the sky, the very heavens set ablaze on her passing. Angels cowered in fear, and the legions of hell followed with her. Her eyes burned into my soul, and then she spoke.
"I am the judge, jury, and executioner of your entire world. From this moment forward, your every thought and deed will be in devotion to the Legion, else your lands will crumble, the heavens will burn, and the seas will boil. I will leave nothing but scorched aether." - Kaalia of the Vast, as told by the Archangel Gabriel.
Thanks to Theismisacrime at Heroes of the Plane Studio for the great banner!
Vorthos - In an unprecedented play for power and control of Ravnica and planes beyond, The Boros Legion, The Orzhov Syndicate, and the Cult of Rakdos have entered an uneasy but unbelievably powerful alliance that threatens to shake the very foundations of the multiverse itself. They have appointed Kaalia of the Vast to command their armies and given her all the resources of heaven and hell to accomplish the task. Her orders are simple; Seize control of everything you can, and burn whatever is left. Leave only devoted followers and smoldering corpses.
About the Deck/ History:
Using Kaalia to lead the charge, and as a way to cheat fat Demons/Dragons/Angels, I quickly became disappointed with how quickly and often Kaalia died leaving me unable to use her late game when I could really finish off someone with her. So I started holding off casting her until later in the game when I was sure to be able to give her haste and bring in a fatty with her, which led me to looking for things to do early/mid game to further my goals, and help get opponents into killing range.
What I ended up with is a very different take on her altogether, it's a "punisher" deck. Instead of Kaalia "leading the charge", she sits back and watches her army of punisher cards weaken all of the opponents while strengthening her own position. Then late game, still only costing her original cmc and with plenty of mana at her disposal, she pounces with haste and a fatty, with tricks to back her up and finish off the battered and weakened opponents. It's worked a lot better for me, added several layers of nuanced strategy, and has been REALLY fun! I'm actually quite proud of the deck, as nobody really expects the direction it goes. They always wonder why I'm not casting her early/mid game and you know they've been saving removal for her the whole time and leaving mana and/or blockers open every turn hindering their development and playing right into her hands.
I don't play the deck all the time as punisher decks can get a little frustrating to play against fairly quickly. But when I do play it, everyone seems to enjoy it, and it makes me the (eventual) common enemy of everyone at the table which is a lot of fun sometimes, especially for a normally very political and intentionally unthreatening, self-effacing player like myself. Very often, by the time I've become public enemy number one and all the opponents have banded together to kill me, it's too late for them. They usually focus on other players and more immediate threats, fighting it out amongst themselves until I drop something like Vicious Shadows, Kaervek the Merciless, Pyrohemia, Manabarbs, Painful Quandary. A couple of those seem to be the universal trigger for declaring that I need to be killed.
How it plays/wins:
The main strategy is to get/keep/bring back into play, cards that punish everything players do and damage everyone, while giving yourself a bit of breathing room with some lifegain and holding off the angry mob with defensive measures. Direct damage and life drain (Sorin and Exsanguinate) can dramatically hasten everyones demise. Plenty of recursion and a robust removal suite ensure survivability in a game that goes too long, and a couple of combos can steal a win out of nowhere. Beatdown with a hasty Kaalia and whomever she brings along is an alternate but still somewhat effective plan, especially later in the game when everyones low on life, and you can likely give Kaalia haste.
Typical Game (Murphy's Law applying, of course):
Early Game - Play out ramp and defensive measures
Mid Game - Start dropping punishments. Protect self with removal/sweepers.
Late Game - Recursion of dead punishments and defensives while making a few comments about everyone ganging up on you
.....Big Finish Sorceries or Drop Hasty Kaalia and swing to finish someone.
Why Play This Deck?:
Because every now and then, you just feel the need to be the focus of everyone's agression.
All my decks try to adhere to these guidelines:
1) Be able to win.
2) Be mostly true to a flavor and a theme.
3) Be fun to pilot or to play against and interactive.
4) Have multiple paths to victory.
5) Have lots of cool interactions and synergy.
6) Play out differently every game to keep it fun over a long time.
7) Be streamlined and fast to play without excessive upkeep, time-consuming play or overcomplicated boardstates.
8) Integrate the Commanders abilities into the strategy at least a little, but be able to win without ever playing the commander.
Approx:
Deckstats Value - $286
Average CMC - 4.15
1 Kaalia of the Vast
Mana Lands:
6 Mountain
5 Plains
5 Swamp
1 Marsh Flats
1 Arid Mesa
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Godless Shrine
1 Blood Crypt
1 Command Tower
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Vivid Crag
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Vivid Meadow
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Akoum Refuge (tiny lifegain... every bit counts)
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Rakdos Guildgate
Utility Lands:
1 High Market (sac outlet, minor lifegain)
1 Phyrexian Tower (sac outlet)
1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep (First strike)
1 Kor Haven (defense)
1 Bojuka Bog (Gy hate)
1 Strip Mine
1 Homeward Path
1 Maze of Ith (defense)
Ramp/Color Fixing:
1 Sol Ring
1 Expedition Map
1 Solemn Simulacrum (plus draw)
1 Coalition Relic
1 Boros Signet
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Sorin Markov (Lifegain/drain)
Punishment & Mass Damage:
1 Havoc Festival
1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight (Punisher & Protector)
1 Kokusho, the Evening Star (Punisher & Lifegain)
1 Manabarbs
1 Painful Quandary
1 Kaervek the Merciless
1 Heartless Hidetsugu
1 Vicious Shadows
1 Earthquake (+removal)
1 Comet Storm (+removal)
1 Warstorm Surge
Other Angel/Demon/Dragons:
1 Rune-Scarred Demon (tutor)
1 Akroma, Angel of Fury
1 Angel of Despair (removal)
1 Baneslayer Angel (lifegain)
1 Karmic Guide (recursion)
1 Mana-Charged Dragon (testing out as a political card)
Recursion:
1 Torrent of Souls
1 Profane Command (plus Removal, Finisher)
1 Replenish
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Reveillark
1 Auramancer
1 Corpse Dance
Tutoring:
1 Academy Rector
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
Removal:
1 Catastrophe (selective WMD)
1 Archon of Justice (Rattlesnake)
1 Austere Command
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Mortify
1 Faith's Fetters (lifegain)
1 Black Sun's Zenith
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Barter in Blood
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Vandalblast
1 Insurrection
Tricks:
1 Reiterate
1 Reverse the Sands
Misc:
1 Greater Gargadon (sac outlet)
1 No Mercy (defense)
1 Exsanguinate (lifegain, finisher)
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Siege-Gang Commander (removal, dmg)
1 Knight-Captain of Eos (defense)
1 Blasting Station (Sac Outlet + Combo)
1 Exquisite Blood (potential for massive lifegain)
Optional Weapons of Mass Destruction:
(Not included in main deck)
1 Jokulhaups
1 Obliterate
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Changelog:
02 July 2011 - Ok, to be honest I lost track of everything I changed today. Net effect though is more recursion, tutoring, defensives, and sweepers. Less spot removal.
15 July 2011 - Comet Storm in for Wild Ricochet.
09 Oct 2011 - Out - Swords, Terminate, Bogardan Hellkite, Vampire Nighthawk, Savage Beating, Wheel of Fortune, Akroma, swamp, plains.
In - Jokulhaups, Obliterate, Warstorm Surge, Ankh of Mishra, Blasphemous Act, Barter in Blood, Damnation, Stensia Bloodhall, Isolated Chapel.
13 Nov 2012 - Moved Jokulhaups and Obliterate to the "sideboard" for political reasons.
Also Out:
Stensia Bloodhall (too expensive for effect)
Hall of the Bandit Lord (rarely used, need color fixing lands)
Lightning Greaves (upgraded)
Phyrexian Arena (too painful)
Damnation (needed space, have plenty of mass removal)
Argivian Find (redundant)
In:
10 December 2012
Out: I had 101 cards, so 5 out, 4 in:
Zo-Zu, Wound Reflection, Stranglehold, Ankh of Mishra, Spiteful Visions
In:
Tricks/Tips/Combos:
Maze of Ith Trick:
Maze of Ith - Not only prevents damage from happening to you, but.... Kaalia, only being a 2/2 is fragile. A lot of times you don't want attack with her because she'll be swinging into her death. With Ith on the field you can safely swing with her, triggering her ability to put a fatty in play, then use the Maze on her after blockers are declared.
Reconnaissance can also be used for this, but isn't nearly as universally useful as the Maze, and I don't run it.
Using Kaalia:
I almost never cast Kaalia before late game in here. She's not meant to lead the charge, just command it and finish off the weak. Usually by late game, someone's ready to finish and I can give her haste, I'll drop her with a fatty backer for the win.
Nice combo - Drop Kaalia, declare attack putting in Rune-Scarred Demon and tutoring for and playing an entwined Savage Beating for 32 damage (assuming Anger in the graveyard).
** Kaalia the Graveyard Sniper:
Letting Kaalia go to the graveyard instead of exile is sometimes a good play in this deck. We've got lots of recursion, and some of it grants haste. So she can sit in the graveyard until you've got a fat demon/angel/dragon in your hand, then Corpse Dance her into play hasted to knock the crap out of someone. If you've got a sac outlet, you can sac her and repeat it turn after turn for much cheaper than you can by putting her in the command zone.
Wound Reflection:
Wound Reflection + Sorin Markov or Heartless Hidetsugu = Pretty much kill somebody. The ruling on Sorin's ability says the player "gains or loses" the life, so it works.
Really, Wound reflection with a LOT of the cards in here should pretty much kill at least one player late game. A "Reflected" Exsanguinate can finish of an entire table in one-shot.
Vicious Shadows:
Vicious Shadows: Easily one of the most powerful finishers in this deck. If it sticks for long, it will kill people. A simple Fleshbag Marauder making 3 or 4 people sac a creature, easily turns into 20-plus points of direct damage. A Siege-Gang Commander and fodder on the board means 36 points of damage to a player with a full grip of cards. Add Wound Reflection for some truly sick damage.
Lark/Guide Combo:
Reveillark + Karmic Guide + Blasting Station = Kill the table. As a bonus, all 3 cards are very useful by themselves in here.
Lark & Guide + any sac outlet and Vicious Shadows means someone's getting hurt.
Using Corpse Dance:
Corpse Dance is a one card recursion engine if you've got a sac outlet in place and enough mana for the buyback cost. Casting it multiple times in a single turn is not uncommon, and Phyrexian Tower as the sac outlet make playing it multiple times in a turn even easier. Just make sure to have a sac outlet, so you don't have to exile the creature at eot.
Corpse Dance (w/buyback) + Sac Outlet +:
Reveillark or Karmic Guide = Super Recursion
Angel of Despair or Archon of Justice = Destroy any permanent every turn.
Fleshbag Marauder = A sweep if you have the mana for multiples.
Siege-Gang Commander or Knight-Captain of Eos = Lots of tokens to keep
Rune-Scarred Demon = Tutor for any cards once or twice per turn.... just sick!
As an added bonus, Corpse Dance is an "Instant" rather than "Sorcery" like most recursion, so it can reanimate an emergency blocker or in response to graveyard hate to save a creature you don't want to lose forever (then sac it back after hate resolves).
Recommended Playlist
Mouth for War - Pantera
Burn - Dope
Fire - Jimi Hendrix
Heaven's on Fire - Kiss
Symphony of Destruction - Megadeth
Holy Wars... The Punishment Due - Megadeth
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I chose not to go with discard effects/punishments to focus on the others for now.
I originally had a Sunforger package included, but it just wasn't working out, and I desperately tried to make Kiki-Jiki work, but there just weren't enough targets for her.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
EDH:
WBGhost Council of OrzhovaBW
WUBErtai, the CorruptedWUB
CONSTRUCTED:
B Smallpox Control
Bloodbraid Elf Sligh RG
UW Draw-Go Weenie
Hosea 13:14
"I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes."
I was considering that, and Whispersilk Cloak, but She's really only just a possible finisher. The rest of the deck does most of the work.
Maze of Ith is a good trick to save her after her ability triggers.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
THIS!! IS!! E.D.H!
It's just too bad most of it is subjective and cannot be bound by rules. It must be adopted as a nature of being. I wish more would take this as their creed.
Multiple thumbs up for your deckbuild. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
| B Erebos, God of VampiresB | GYeva SmashG | RBosh ArtifactsR | GURAnimar +1 BeatsGUR | RBVial's Secret Hot SauceRB | UBRNekusar, Draw if you DareUBR | RGBDarigaaz'z DragonsRGB | GBSlimeFEETGB | UBOn-Hit LazavUB | URBrudiclad's Artificer InventionsUR | GUBMuldrotha's ElementalsGUB | WUGKestia's EnchantmentsWUG | GUTatyova - Draw, Land, Go!GU | WGArahbo's EquipmentWG | BUWVarina's ZOMBIE HORDESBUW | WLyra's Angelic SalvationW | WBChurch of TeysaWB | UAzami...WizardsU
Thanks GFireflyE.
Updated: More recursion, Mass Damage/Removal, Punishment Enchantments
Kept Karmic Guide, but took out the rest of the Lark combo.
Pimpage:
Changed the banner to an even cooler one.
Added Recommended Playlist
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Have you thought about Debtors' Knell? I was thinking of including it. It's fun, but may not be needed in your build.
I love your EDH guidelines, by the way.
Thanks. I do indeed love Debtors' Knell, I use it in my Ghost Council deck (in sig). I would think that it could always find a good reanimation target in here, even if it's not from your own gy.
I'm tempted to just put in a few more sweepers and the mass land destruction package, but I'm afraid that wouldn't be enough fun to play against. Obliterate killing off everything except your enchantments is pretty brutal.
I haven't seen another Kaalia deck that goes the punisher route yet, so I'd be really interested in hearing how your build goes/ if you find any good tech/ hidden gems that I'm missing. So please report back from time to time.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Oh, most definitely. Now I really have to get crackin' and work on this deck. Mine will most likely also have a few proxies here and there.
I gotta say, I was thinking of throwing in a few sweepers, especially with those colors. It begs for it. I have to say, though, that I'm not a fan of playing Obliterate. I used to run it in my Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper EDH, but every time I casted it, it just sucked out all the life of the game and basically restarted it.
Rune-Scarred Demon 5BB
6/6 Flying
Flying
When Rune-Scarred Demon enters the battlefield, search your library for a card, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.
Did they print this specifically for Kaalia? Auto-Include!
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
I could be wrong however I am pretty sure I am now when I say, Sorin Markov + wound reflection does not = death. As you dont lose any life with sorin. The other combo is true though. However kinda janky and gonna get you removed from any play group out there who isnt a fan of combo wins.
5th TCG Qualifier - Soul Sisters
2nd GPT Qualifier - Sealed
3rd Star City Games Super IQ - UB Control
4th Star City Games Super IQ - Solar Flare
1st Star City Games IQ - Esper Heartless
3rd GPT Qualifier - Modern - Bant
2nd Star City Games IQ - Reanimator
2nd GPT Qualifier - Legacy - Goblins
Currently Playing:
STANDARD
UWBCONTROLUWB
EDH
UGEDRIC, SPYMASTER OF TRESTUG
MODERN
WBGRASSAULT LOAMWBGR
My group uses a lot of combo, so that's cool.
Actually, Sorin does work. Here's the ruling.
10/1/2009: For a player's life total to become 10, what actually happens is that the player gains or loses the appropriate amount of life. For example, if the targeted opponent's life total is 4 when this ability resolves, it will cause that player to gain 6 life; alternately, if the targeted player's life total is 17 when this ability resolves, it will cause that player to lose 7 life. Other cards that interact with life gain or life loss will interact with this effect accordingly.
So, as long as the player started the turn at 20 or more life, it's a kill.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Kaalia's Army of Annhilation RWB
Obzedat, Ghost Council - Life Gain Matters WB
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord - Fatty Reanimator Toolbox BG
Nekusar, the Mindrazer - Draw to Die RBU
Marath, Will of the Wild - Token Pump and Tap GWR
Roon of the Hidden Realm - Blink to Bleed WBG
Yeah, pretty much I've given up on creature board presence other than the occasional defensive creature or punisher, and all the recursion keeps them coming back. Between that and the heavy removal, it's been doing ok. Of course, if everyone gets focused and comes after me too quickly, I usually don't stand much of a chance.
Yep. I started out playing her the way you mentioned, and all my games were ending up with her getting killed constantly, costing lots of mana to play and hardly ever actually getting to cheat something into play. Now I use her for late-game ambush. By late game, I can almost always give her haste and have something juicy in hand to cheat in with her, or use her as an ambusher from the graveyard as I describe in the tricks section.
Here's the cool thing about late game ambush - She still gets shot a lot, but late game you can often play her 2 to 3 times in a single turn (especially if you've got Corpse Dance or you're "Larking" her back) and force the damage + free fatty through. And with any luck, by that point in the game it will be a fatal blow. If I can't swing fatal with her, I'll usually just wait a little longer.
I'm really enjoying this approach so far. It relies on planning ahead quite a bit more, and it indulges my "inner bad-guy".
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
RBWKaalia, Burning VenganceRBW
Standard
UWGuess Who's BackUW
BRVampsBR
RGoblinsR
Anyway, I want to start off by saying I absolutely love the ideas that you put into your decks. I built my Teysa deck as an offshoot of yours, and it's still my favorite one to play.
That being said, I have two questions about this deck, as it is also one I'm building using your ideas, with a couple tweaks:
1) It doesn't feel like you're putting much focus into Kaalia itself, rather than just using her colors, so how do you feel in using Tariel, Reckoner of Souls instead? I know you've built your lore around miss Vast, but it feels like Tariel actually plays better to the theme of the deck in punishing, i.e. using your opponent's creatures to beat them instead.
2) If you're going to stick with Kaalia, Rakdos the Defiler NEEDS to be in this deck. If you can get him in your hand with a sac outlet and hand recursion, he can decimate opponent's boards, mainly because his ability doesn't trigger for yourself; he comes out attacking as a part of Kaalia's ability, not as a declared attacker, so you lose nothing in the process.
Just some food for thought, take with it what you will. Keep building awesome decks!
On Tariel - You're right, I am using Kaalia mostly for color access, but she's also a very valuable late game finisher. I'm sure Tariel would be fine if the deck was tailored a bit more to her, but from the moment I saw Kaalia, I had to build a deck around her. The flavor and the sexy art was just too much for me.
Rakdos - He was actually the first card I added to the deck when I got it home from the Launch Party. I'll grant you that if you cheat him into play with Kaalia that he's just crazy good, but since that strategy isn't the focus anymore, I need the demons/dragons/angels to be good when not cheated into play.
I do appreciate the suggestions. I hope your build goes well, just be prepared to draw some fire from the table, it happens a lot. But going into it in that "let's be the bad guy" frame of mind makes it a lot of fun for me.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
here's a link http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=228796
I'm a fan personally.
Thanks for the inspiration, and may your revenge be sweet.
--- Meren of Clan Nel Toth --- Jhoira of the Ghitu --- Prime Speaker Zegana ---
--- Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief --- Ghoulcaller Gisa --- Akroma, Angel of Fury --- Titania, Protector of Argoth ---
Warstorm Surge - When I first read it, I thought no, as I don't drop all that many creatures....... but thinking a little more, when I do drop them, it's generally later in the game, opponents are low on life and they're fairly fat. It might be that little extra I need. Karmic Guide etb bringing back something or hasty Kaalia bringing something with her could finish off someone pretty easily. And playing it right before a suspended Gargadon comes in is an easy 9 point shot. I'm going to have to think a little more on this card, maybe proxy it up and give it a test.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
I've got a few questions though.
Shinka, the red land thing, worth it? You have a total of 4 legendary, only maybe 3 of them attack, while Zo-zu and heartless stand there and shoot lasers and kept out of combat. First strike isn't that relevant, and having it cost R every turn may be a bad idea? Also, having something like other lands that do stuff make it look like a subpar choice, unless I'm way off and first strike is a game winner for you.
You have a lot of removal, but is Vindicate just slow in your deck or something? The soc speed killed it?
Other then that, I've got nothing to say about the deck, looks really solid.
:symr::symb: I hate your deck(Kaervek the Merciless)
Wait, how do I even hide it as a name title?
Ka...Oh god that's not a good alliteration.Wait, how do I even hide it as a name title?
Shinka - I don't think it's really important. I haven't even had the opportunity to use it for anything but a mountain yet. But I look at it like.... it could possibly make a huge difference at some point, it doesn't come in tapped or have an upkeep cost, doesn't only tap for colorless, and it's unlikely to get killed by another Shinka, so there's really not much reason to not run it.
Vindicate is a staple of mine, I love the card. It may end up in the list at some point, but I'm just not feeling it over what's in there yet. And honestly, I'm not looking forward to the $cost of having to get another copy.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
--- Meren of Clan Nel Toth --- Jhoira of the Ghitu --- Prime Speaker Zegana ---
--- Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief --- Ghoulcaller Gisa --- Akroma, Angel of Fury --- Titania, Protector of Argoth ---