Hey there MTGS, this is my take on Lyra Dawnbringer tribal angels. This deck is so far untested and I would consider it in beta. Any suggestions or ideas are appreciated. The manabase is built but I dont have access to the list at the moment. I will add the lands later when I have a chance.
I saw Oketra's in your build actually, I liked that it makes my angels cheaper and goes well with Skullclamp. Ill have to add it.
I like the idea of Sword of Light and Shadow as well. I dont really have any way to make it generate cards (like sacrificing creatures), but its better vs removal than Feast and Famine.
I will probably add Austere Command as it is the most flexible. I think none is wrong but I also think 5 or 6 wraths is also wrong. Most of my creatures are expensive to cast and have powerful static abilities. Wraths are good against me, so I don't want to shoot myself in the foot unless I really have to. I think Mass Calcify is an interesting option as it basically leaves your guys alone. It depends on the meta.
Played this deck at the local shop, first time playing the deck and first time playing at the shop. This deck is preeeetty casual. I was intending it to be, and it was a good ice breaker deck. That being said, its doing something fundamentally less powerful than 5c Jodah big stuff or grixis combo. It was fun but I'm not sure how long I will keep it together. As I sort of predicted I was getting my board wiped more than I need to be wiping the board. That being said I think Austere Command is needed for the artifacts and enchantments mode. I will be adding that in place of Thraben Inspector which is low impact in most turns of the game.
Played this deck at the local shop, first time playing the deck and first time playing at the shop. This deck is preeeetty casual. I was intending it to be, and it was a good ice breaker deck. That being said, its doing something fundamentally less powerful than 5c Jodah big stuff or grixis combo. It was fun but I'm not sure how long I will keep it together. As I sort of predicted I was getting my board wiped more than I need to be wiping the board. That being said I think Austere Command is needed for the artifacts and enchantments mode. I will be adding that in place of Thraben Inspector which is low impact in most turns of the game.
I built Gisela, the Broken Blade a few years back and I keep her around. I asked myself the difference between her and Lyra Dawnbringer recently from the standpoint of as a commander. I have not played Lyra as a commander but I do play her in my Bruna, the Fading Light deck so some of this is me sort of abstract thinking this but I will mention a few things from having played Gisela for a few years now.
Lifelink has a diminishing return. Sure you can gain more life from having more things with lifelink and its possible that you trigger more gain life but in general when it comes to defending yourself from being brought to zero generally you don't need a ton of things with lifelink to do it.
Angels are expensive and so that makes anthems for angels worse. Anthems tend to work the best on tokens and or very cheap creatures. Lyra's anthem is in a lot of cases not that impressive as its mostly a Baneslayer Angel. If I already have a Baneslayer Angel in play do I need another?
I play my Gisela list as a voltron / lifegain matters list. There are some sweet things that are nice to proc such as Angelic Accord, Cradle of Vitality, Well of Lost Dreams, Archangel of Thune, and Crested Sunmare to name most of the ones that I run that work with Gisela. I guess what I am saying is that when I see Lyra Dawnbringer, I actually see a potential voltron / tempo style commander rather than a tribal. I do have a Bruna, the Fading Light deck though that I do play as an angels / humans deck where I have justified playing Lyra in I just question if Lyra as a tribal is really that good of an effect that you would be willing to build arround her as a really weak and sub par anthem effect. In my Bruna, the Fading Light deck I could cast Bruna and rez Lyra as a bonus as part of my commander cast for a huge swing in board presence where as when I see Lyra, I really think if you want to play her you might want to shift at least somewhat to being kind of a commander centric aggro deck rather than tribal.
Also, don't forget all of the sweet lifegain matters effects, it looks like you don't have much of that in your OP.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
You make a lot of good points. This type of deck was something my old group would have appreciated. Tribal theme, fun cards mostly, and generally underpowered. If the decks I played against yesterday are indicative of the metagame at that shop, then I might have more room to play decks I couldn't before.
I still think there is some fun to be had playing Lyra though and I like all the lifegain matters cards you mentioned. Ill try to work some of those in. I want to state for the record I wanted to play Archangel of Thune but I didn't want to spend the money picking one up.
If you build Lyra, you want to commit to the lifegain theme. Angelic Chorus gives you some lifegain on the drop, Well of Lost Dreams lets you draw cards off life gain, and Aetherflux Reservoir lets you turn all that life into burn.
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Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I found a Well of Lost Dreams in my collection last night and I plan on adding it today. I'll probably cut Crucible of Worlds as lands weren't really an issue compared to raw card draw.
I'm pretty sure I own an Angelic Chorus but I'll have to check. I'm not super crazy about that card but to be honest I've never tested it.
Cradle of Vitality is kinda cool as it can make creatures huge if unchecked.
Random thoughts:
Admonition Angel is probably better than Sunblast Angel.
I'm not big on wrath type cards in a deck with so many creatures.
Oketra's Monument seems really good, maybe I missed that one.
1 Lyra Dawnbringer
Angels:
1 Angelic Field Marshal
1 Angel of Finality
1 Angel of Jubilation
1 Archangel of Tithes
1 Emeria Angel
1 Gisela, the Broken Blade
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Angel of Invention
1 Avacyn, Guardian Angel
1 Herald of War
1 Karmic Guide
1 Adarkar Valkyrie
1 Sunblast Angel
1 Twilight Shepherd
1 Angelic Arbiter
1 Angel of the Dire Hour
1 Angel of Serenity
1 Archangel of Strife
1 Angelic Arbiter
1 Bruna, the Fading Light
1 Emeria Shepherd
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Reya Dawnbringer
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Voltaic Key
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Doubling Cube
1 Marble Diamond
1 Mind Stone
1 Pearl Medallion
1 Basalt Monolith
1 Burnished Hart
1 Herald's Horn
1 Urza's Incubator
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Caged Sun
Card Quality:
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Land Tax
1 Steelshaper's Gift
1 Skullclamp
1 Expedition Map
1 Scroll Rack
1 Treasure Map
1 Azor's Gateway
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Thaumatic Compass
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sun Titan
1 Path to Exile
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Aura of Silence
1 Teferi's Protection
1 Austere Command
Manabase:
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Arid Mesa
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
1 Flooded Strand
1 Karoo
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Nkythos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Secluded Steppe
1 Temple of the False God
1 Windswept Heath
1 Winding Canyons
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GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
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I like the idea of Sword of Light and Shadow as well. I dont really have any way to make it generate cards (like sacrificing creatures), but its better vs removal than Feast and Famine.
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GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
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BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/lyras-seraph-party/
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
I built Gisela, the Broken Blade a few years back and I keep her around. I asked myself the difference between her and Lyra Dawnbringer recently from the standpoint of as a commander. I have not played Lyra as a commander but I do play her in my Bruna, the Fading Light deck so some of this is me sort of abstract thinking this but I will mention a few things from having played Gisela for a few years now.
I play my Gisela list as a voltron / lifegain matters list. There are some sweet things that are nice to proc such as Angelic Accord, Cradle of Vitality, Well of Lost Dreams, Archangel of Thune, and Crested Sunmare to name most of the ones that I run that work with Gisela. I guess what I am saying is that when I see Lyra Dawnbringer, I actually see a potential voltron / tempo style commander rather than a tribal. I do have a Bruna, the Fading Light deck though that I do play as an angels / humans deck where I have justified playing Lyra in I just question if Lyra as a tribal is really that good of an effect that you would be willing to build arround her as a really weak and sub par anthem effect. In my Bruna, the Fading Light deck I could cast Bruna and rez Lyra as a bonus as part of my commander cast for a huge swing in board presence where as when I see Lyra, I really think if you want to play her you might want to shift at least somewhat to being kind of a commander centric aggro deck rather than tribal.
Also, don't forget all of the sweet lifegain matters effects, it looks like you don't have much of that in your OP.
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I still think there is some fun to be had playing Lyra though and I like all the lifegain matters cards you mentioned. Ill try to work some of those in. I want to state for the record I wanted to play Archangel of Thune but I didn't want to spend the money picking one up.
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GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Moonsilver Spear helps generate Angels, and Sigarda's Aid makes it easier to attach equipment.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
I'm pretty sure I own an Angelic Chorus but I'll have to check. I'm not super crazy about that card but to be honest I've never tested it.
Cradle of Vitality is kinda cool as it can make creatures huge if unchecked.
Aetherflux Reservoir is currently in my Firesong and Sunspeaker build. I could probably find another one fairly easy though.
Moonsilver Spear fits the angel theme pretty well. I'm not crazy about the card though as its a poor top deck later in the game.
I got some tuning to do today and I need to decide which direction to take the deck.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG