It's not aggro. You can't aggro in commander because of multiple players and increased life totals, so get that notion out of your head. Aggro doesn't exist in commander. Full stop. The trifecta of archetypes is combo < control < ramp (which really is a specialized term for "midrange"). So, we're a combo deck that struggles at fighting other combo decks. Yes, this is as true of any deck without countermagic that is fighting against something that wins in one key turn. This is nothing new.
You can aggro in commander. I run Edgar Markov myself, and with a super low curve he's 100% aggro, and he's hard to beat unless you carry really early answers. There's plenty of other builds I'd consider aggro, too; Xenagos, God of Revels is pure aggro. Animar can do it, OG Kozilek can do it, Marchesa, the Black Rose and Grenzo, Dungeon Warden can do it. They may be easy beats for a well tuned competitive deck, but they hold their own - I've played against all of them and they all do well on a good day.
The issue you seem to be projecting here is all the builds of Kaalia you have witnessed do the same linear game plan...snip...None of these strats are strats I'd consider douchebaggery or exceedingly offensive to the senses such as resource denial seems to do to you.
The issue of linear building is an issue with the builder, not the deck. Most of the time, anyway. There's a ton of commanders out there that are 'solved', and I tend to stay away from them personally. I've had more fun building Nissa, Vastwood Seer and Glissa, the Traitor, scratching my head the whole way along, than I'd get from building, say Meren or Kaalia. That being said, this is the format for being creative and showing your character. The point of 'douchebaggery' is really moot; it's 100% entirely meta dependent. I don't mind going up against MLD if I know beforehand, and I think most people are the same. I have a couple of decks that can work around it. But if you're sneaking it up on me, I absolutely have an issue with it; you're essentially saying 'I'm gonna play this one solitaire, guys'. If you're sneaking it up on people though, there's an element of unfriendliness there. It's not the easiest thing to plan around, and unless you're running Crucible, blue control, or taking Kaalia out early, you're screwed out of 2-3 hours of your time. Which, for me, is a valuable commodity, and I have no qualms being pissed at someone who screws me around like that.
And then, even if resource denial was the only way to build the deck, why is that even a problem in a format where people can and will kill you on t2? This is a flash-hulk format, a cephalid breakfast format, an AEtherflux Reservoir format, an ANT/Unlife format..........but you're getting rustled over the person who wants to have fun with their discounted, iconic creature types? And for the record I've won games where I never resolved my Ravages of War. So...is this really an issue you have with the commander's lack of playability appeal, or is it maybe sitting across from an inexperienced or struggling pilot that may have a suboptimal list that is overwhelmed by the wealth of information out there and doesn't know where to start building? If it's the latter...shouldn't you as a responsible player, offer some kind of help even if it's a proper forum link to go seek advice further? Hell, you're a mod you were at one point a moderator on a forum with direct access to one of if not THE largest resources on the net for this particular deck.
I mean, unless you rather just pubstomp the poor individual. I know that's not your style...right? Wouldn't this be far more constructive to the conversation at-large than a mere summary dismissal of the archetype and commander in question?
It seems like your meta is pretty cutthroat, so I can totally see why no holds would be barred. Kaalia could be devastating there. Like I mentioned before though, her reputation proceeds her, so playing a sub-optimal build, in a less competitive meta, is still going to raise eyebrows. It may not be fair, but her bed is made. She's not the only commander like this - Oloro, Animar, Prossh, Jeleva, Tasigur, Derevi; I see them across the table, I know who to keep an eye on. If I don't take them out of the game, they'll do it to me.
I don't think the issue here for me is her playability. Clearly there's a couple of ways to make her viable, but for a potential build I think that knowing ahead of time precisely what I'm going to put in takes the fun out of it for me.
This is all personal opinion. If OP wants to build something that goes this hard and has a reasonably predetermined list of optimal inclusions, far be it for me to stop them. It's definitely not my preference; nonetheless, I offer apologies if my opinion has deterred anyone from entertaining her as a potential build.
@ISBPathfinder With running mono-white how do you deal with ramp outside of artifacts (I've shied away from artifact ramp lately because of all the artifact hate that people incorporated after C2018).
Here are some ways that white can ramp which doesn’t leave you vulnerable to artifact removal.
I've either tried most of these in my build or run them present. There are some rocks in the deck, but at least a reasonable degree of the ramp options are not artifact mana. Gift of Estates is surprisingly good, Sword of the Animist less unpredictably so, Dowsing Dagger is great, and Azor's Gateway does draw/filter and big mana if you can flip it. Weathered Wayfarer is as good as its reputation, Isolated Watchtower has its moments.
Between that and solid draw options, the deck does really well.
For what it's worth, I think there's ways of making Kaalia of the Vast work, but they seem like either fragile plans or drastic measures.
I've only ever played against her, never built, so can't speak from experience. My experience playing against her tells me that the staxy MLD builds have obliterated her reputation, though (I couldn't help that pun). She either gets targeted out of the game or makes it an unpleasant experience (unless, of course, you're alright with MLD - some are, I don't care, but I do prefer to know it's a possibility prior to picking a deck). I would love to have my mind changed - she's not an uninteresting commander, I just think she requires too much protection for my tastes. Totally my opinion, I am open to being proved incorrect.
Without plugging directly for one of my lists, myself and ISBpathfinder have both had good success with mono white Bruna, the Fading Light. Neither one of our lists is strict angel tribal, although both run several. She's a really decent reanimation option with a fun second option in the meld ability.
Mono white is scary in terms of ramp and draw options, but building with this in mind mitigates that, and there's plenty of options for grinding out some good wins.
You can aggro in commander. I run Edgar Markov myself, and with a super low curve he's 100% aggro, and he's hard to beat unless you carry really early answers. There's plenty of other builds I'd consider aggro, too; Xenagos, God of Revels is pure aggro. Animar can do it, OG Kozilek can do it, Marchesa, the Black Rose and Grenzo, Dungeon Warden can do it. They may be easy beats for a well tuned competitive deck, but they hold their own - I've played against all of them and they all do well on a good day.
The issue of linear building is an issue with the builder, not the deck. Most of the time, anyway. There's a ton of commanders out there that are 'solved', and I tend to stay away from them personally. I've had more fun building Nissa, Vastwood Seer and Glissa, the Traitor, scratching my head the whole way along, than I'd get from building, say Meren or Kaalia. That being said, this is the format for being creative and showing your character. The point of 'douchebaggery' is really moot; it's 100% entirely meta dependent. I don't mind going up against MLD if I know beforehand, and I think most people are the same. I have a couple of decks that can work around it. But if you're sneaking it up on me, I absolutely have an issue with it; you're essentially saying 'I'm gonna play this one solitaire, guys'. If you're sneaking it up on people though, there's an element of unfriendliness there. It's not the easiest thing to plan around, and unless you're running Crucible, blue control, or taking Kaalia out early, you're screwed out of 2-3 hours of your time. Which, for me, is a valuable commodity, and I have no qualms being pissed at someone who screws me around like that.
It seems like your meta is pretty cutthroat, so I can totally see why no holds would be barred. Kaalia could be devastating there. Like I mentioned before though, her reputation proceeds her, so playing a sub-optimal build, in a less competitive meta, is still going to raise eyebrows. It may not be fair, but her bed is made. She's not the only commander like this - Oloro, Animar, Prossh, Jeleva, Tasigur, Derevi; I see them across the table, I know who to keep an eye on. If I don't take them out of the game, they'll do it to me.
I don't think the issue here for me is her playability. Clearly there's a couple of ways to make her viable, but for a potential build I think that knowing ahead of time precisely what I'm going to put in takes the fun out of it for me.
This is all personal opinion. If OP wants to build something that goes this hard and has a reasonably predetermined list of optimal inclusions, far be it for me to stop them. It's definitely not my preference; nonetheless, I offer apologies if my opinion has deterred anyone from entertaining her as a potential build.
I've either tried most of these in my build or run them present. There are some rocks in the deck, but at least a reasonable degree of the ramp options are not artifact mana. Gift of Estates is surprisingly good, Sword of the Animist less unpredictably so, Dowsing Dagger is great, and Azor's Gateway does draw/filter and big mana if you can flip it. Weathered Wayfarer is as good as its reputation, Isolated Watchtower has its moments.
Between that and solid draw options, the deck does really well.
I've only ever played against her, never built, so can't speak from experience. My experience playing against her tells me that the staxy MLD builds have obliterated her reputation, though (I couldn't help that pun). She either gets targeted out of the game or makes it an unpleasant experience (unless, of course, you're alright with MLD - some are, I don't care, but I do prefer to know it's a possibility prior to picking a deck). I would love to have my mind changed - she's not an uninteresting commander, I just think she requires too much protection for my tastes. Totally my opinion, I am open to being proved incorrect.
Mono white is scary in terms of ramp and draw options, but building with this in mind mitigates that, and there's plenty of options for grinding out some good wins.