Kaalia of the Vast is without a doubt the most popular general in her Team Italia colours (White, Black and Red) and with good reason. She enables quite threatening board states early and having a triggered ability that favours two of the most popular tribes and another flavourful one, certainly appeals to the imagination and all types of magic player and especially the casual. Of her rivals, Oros, the Avenger has a few nice tricks he can pull off, but is ultimately just a dragon with a limited application triggered ability that poorly imitates Thunder Dragon. While Tariel, Reckoner of Souls, is also an angel, certainly a plus, but is reliant on others having a graveyard to work, which is far from guaranteed and I prefer to destroy or ensure they have no graveyard that may allow their deck to perform better or at all. I chose her for what she enables and the ability to run cards I would find too clunky in any deck but a tribal or dedicated Scion of the Ur-Dragon deck, without the short step to a five colour good stuff-***-dragon deck. So, here is my contribution to the considerable library of Kaalia of the Vast decks, which I'm confident will one day be on top ten list of most popular generals for the Magic the Gathering Salvation Forums.
Why Play this Commander?
TBA
Deck History
I have played Commander long before it was known as that and often chose off-beat and rarely played commanders. I felt that it was too easy to play something like Sharuum the Hegemon or Uril, the Miststalker and that it was more fun to aim for the unused Ravnica or Kamigawa legendary creatures. With that in mind, having pre-ordered all five Commander decks I decided I would build try build three of them, focusing on Damia, Sage of Stone, as the first. However, my friend, who had also acquired all five decks, sought to build a blue and green deck at the same time – Animar, Soul of Elements. Given that my friend shared my pool of cards, I let him build his blue deck first and instead focused on my second choice, Kaalia of the Vast.
Initially, Kaalia was focused on just trying to get value, big creatures, the mana to cast them and more ways to cheat them in. Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker also was considered a viable card early on. Over time angels, demons and dragons improved in quality, I was finding dragons were getting worse and angels better, while at the same time, low powered demons were also improving and warranted more than just Rakdos the Defiler and Rune-Scarred Demon. In this way the deck had a similar focus to the typical Mayael the Anima type decks, but with better creatures and less creature tutors. The deck was doing well, but I was always viewed as a threat and could run out of steam, which compelled me to re-evaluate my strategy.
Previously I had made the decision to play the deck as a Kaalia deck, not a Team Italia deck that sometimes gained benefit from Kaalia or a way to enable the Worldgorger Dragon infinite mana combo. This didn’t mean land destruction was out of the question, just not the main emphasis. After Grand Prix Brisbane late 2011 I found myself with a Chinese Sneak Attack, I had found my new angle that was less followed and entirely synergistic and decided to embrace that style of the deck. I would make the deck focused on getting big creatures out quickly through my general or searching for and getting out Sneak Attack as soon as possible with other less efficient substitutes that can do same thing. This strategy could be replicated with other cards and artifacts, but Sneak Attack was now the prime goal and the deck has more resilience than ever.
Notes about the deck:
1. I don't see myself buying an Imperial Seal (IS) just for Commander, although I would adore one and this deck would utilise it. There is also some discussion IS is worthy of being banned due to price considerations, making it worthy of special note.
2. Griselbrand is officially banned, but would otherwise be a great inclusion.
3. I would run Ravages of War if I had it.
08/10/11 Swamp -> Maze of Ith - The synergy with Kaalia makes the 'Maze' very helpful in saving her life and more useful than a basic land. This occurs by attacking to enable Kaalia's trigger, then using maze to remove her from combat. Many people, have suggested this, although my thanks go to Blackjack68 for pointing it out first.
01/10/2012 Balefire Dragon -> Kokusho, the Evening Star - While a very good card, Balefire Dragon has to hit for any impact and had been having little to no impact in games played. All dragons I run have to have an immediate impact, unless they provide me utility and the unbanning of Kokusho was timely enough to warrant the removal of the red dragon. Reya Dawnbringer -> Angel of Serenity - The newest angel, 'Serenity' is a great card that be used to permanently exile creatures with Erratic Portal or sacrifing itself with Entering the Battlefield triggers on the stack, as well as returning them. Reya often had no targets and thus no impact, while Angel of Serenity always has an impact. Restoration Angel -> Rakdos, Lord of Riots - The angels are often the best blink targets and 'Resto Angel' can't hit them unfortunately. I recognise she is very powerful and works with dragons and Kaalia herself, but a pseudo-Heartless Summoning would be more useful in the current configuration.
01/03/2013 Bloodgift Demon -> Lord of the Void - Bloodgift Demon gains advantage too slowly over an explosive on-hit ability. Lord of the Void allows me to advantage the game substantially faster if I hit. Bogardan Hellkite -> Hellkite Tyrant - The tyrant is an excellent dragon as it is and the additional win condition, with the ability to steal artifacts to make your dragons easier to cast is also impressive. Debtors' Knell -> Aurelia, the Warleader - Debtor's Knell just never worked, it was always worse than casting a creature and was removed the same turn I cast it. Aurelia allows more explosive plays. Gilded Lotus -> Chromatic Lantern - Five drop artifacts are just too late, three drop is the sweet spot and this allows Sneak Attack to be vastly more efficient so that I can afford to run less red mana scources.
20/03/2013 Condemn -> Armageddon - The deck has a functional amount of removal already and Condemn can be regarded as the weakest of the remaining spells to this end. Armageddon adds a mana denial strategy to the deck was will be subsequently expanded upon.
03/12/2013 Anger -> Fervor - The deck has few enough Mountains this won't always be useful and Fervor is a turn earlier. Dragon Mage -> Increasing Ambition - More tutoring is always good and I don't like helping others draw too much. Eternal Dragon -> Master of Cruelties - One of the best new demons for a long term and works very well with Kaalia to ambush someone. Nexumi Graverobber -> Angel of Finality - Nezumi has more versatility, but this angel works well with Kaalia and has capacity to be free and the ETB reused. Rakdos, Lord of Riots -> Thoughts of Ruin - I need more cheap land destruction and Thoughts of Ruin has capacity to reset board. Ravages of War would be ideal but is just too expensive for me right now. Swamp -> Dragonskull Summet - I excluded this initially as I felt basics were, I'll see if it helps now. Thunder Dragon -> Sire of Insanity - I have other removal and Steel Hellkite is still superior removal for the deck.
Strategy
TBA
Goal:
- This deck strives to use Kaalia to emulate Sneak Attack or get out Sneak Attack as soon as possible to apply maximum pressure early on.
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.
2. I don't see myself buying an Imperial Seal just for Commander.
"Just" for commander? "Just"? There is no format that justifies crazy expenditures more.
Anyway..
Maze of Ith comes in pretty handy sometimes. You can swing into what would normally be the death of Kaalia, drop the follower, then use Maze to save Kaalia.
For other directions, there's "punisher". Mine is linked in my sig, but it's certainly not to everyones tastes.
"Just" for commander? "Just"? There is no format that justifies crazy expenditures more.
Anyway..
Maze of Ith comes in pretty handy sometimes. You can swing into what would normally be the death of Kaalia, drop the follower, then use Maze to save Kaalia.
For other directions, there's "punisher". Mine is linked in my sig, but it's certainly not to everyones tastes.
Hah, I love EDH, but I also like having multiple decks and one card like that hurts the others.
I might try run maze, but I disagree with your style of deck as a defining characteristic for Kaalia and my Kaervek deck does same thing for me right now.
I'll try acquire a Catastrophe and Maze of Ith as part of your strategy, but I don't want to embrace to heavilly as I do want to still beat face with creatures. Academy Rector might also be an idea.
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.
The reason an Armageddon is nice is because these colors do not have any counterspells in them. You are left with controlling the field through destroying peoples stuff... and lands, which red and white are the best at. Kaalia also doesn't need land to bring someone in for free. You can be tactful with the land destruction and just use it to secure a win when you have your beaters in and ready to go. This isn't the "target three of someones land and watch them suffer the rest of the two hour game".
As a side note for success, when my kaalis deck fails, it's usually because I had absolutely no card draw. It's lame to tutor for a card draw piece, but if you have a necropotence then it changes the game.
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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
The reason an Armageddon is nice is because these colors do not have any counterspells in them. You are left with controlling the field through destroying peoples stuff... and lands, which red and white are the best at. Kaalia also doesn't need land to bring someone in for free. You can be tactful with the land destruction and just use it to secure a win when you have your beaters in and ready to go. This isn't the "target three of someones land and watch them suffer the rest of the two hour game".
As a side note for success, when my kaalis deck fails, it's usually because I had absolutely no card draw. It's lame to tutor for a card draw piece, but if you have a necropotence then it changes the game.
Card draw is certainly a masisve issue, how do you use necro with limited life gain available?
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.
I have serra ascendant, baneslayer angel, and true conviction in my kaalia deck. It's not unusual to be around 60-80 hp in my meta, and I'm usually the only one beating at peoples life, therefore it usually isn't an issue. Others are comboing, or going for general damage.
Another LD card to look at is cataclysm. This has proven less useful in my meta because of the combo player who will still have a large advantage with one of each type of card in play. Otherwise it could be huge for kaalia. One piece of protection, one piece of enchantment ownage such as aggravated assault or true conviction as mentioned above, and hopefully large a/d/d to throw in next turn.
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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
I had to take out Mana Crypt, as signet did more for early drops, but I will be squeezing it back in when I've tried deck out a bit more. Dread Cacodemon rarely does enough so I will likely take it out for Catastrophe when I can get one. White Akroma is also not long for this world, just what I replace her with is up for debate.
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.
I added Bloodgift Demon back and took out Dread Cacodemon, I think having it sined by Izzy made me want it there more, but it is just stranded in my hand a lot.
What is the experience of others with it?
On the LD front, still no Cata and I won't run Armageddon alone. Need to try flow convince playgroup about mass LD.
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.
Your deck looks sweet. I have a kaalia deck as well. I don't have the list up yet cause I just made my account, but in addition to maze of ith the is also a sweet little enchantment called reconnaissance that you might want to look into. I have it as well as gustcloak savior for kaalia protection. whispersilk cloak never hurt either.
Isn't Italy Green, Red, White? and Germany Black, Yellow, Red? Where are you getting Italy's colors to be Black Red White? o.O
The name Team Italia was coined by Gerrard Fabiano, they have nothing to do with actual flag colours, the same way BUG/Team America has nothing to do with the US flag colours (which happen to be many other countries' colours). If you look at SCG you'll see his Team Italia decklist, it was a WBR decklists that ran best low costing spells in colours.
Thunderbunny:
The Saviour seems a tad off-theme, but the cloak might be a great idea. I'll look into it, thank you. The enchantment looks interesting too.
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.
The name Team Italia was coined by Gerrard Fabiano, they have nothing to do with actual flag colours, the same way BUG/Team America has nothing to do with the US flag colours (which happen to be many other countries' colours). If you look at SCG you'll see his Team Italia decklist, it was a WBR decklists that ran best low costing spells in colours.
Thunderbunny:
The Saviour seems a tad off-theme, but the cloak might be a great idea. I'll look into it, thank you. The enchantment looks interesting too.
my faith in society just waned a little. Thanks for the explanation..
...And? Bribery's existance doesn't mean we shouldn't play creatures. Best case scenario he takes...what? Rune-Scarred Demon, for the tutor? Baneslayer Angel to race? Iona, Shield of Emeria, to fail at locking out a 3 colour deck? Maybe Yosei, the Morning Star to buy a turn. All of these are powerful interactions against this, but they certainly don't give you an "I win" setup.
...And? Bribery's existance doesn't mean we shouldn't play creatures. Best case scenario he takes...what? Rune-Scarred Demon, for the tutor? Baneslayer Angel to race? Iona, Shield of Emeria, to fail at locking out a 3 colour deck? Maybe Yosei, the Morning Star to buy a turn. All of these are powerful interactions against this, but they certainly don't give you an "I win" setup.
I suppose Iona would be worse thing that could be stolen for a lot of decks and it is often the first choice, unless it is in my hand, just to shut off the white removal.
I really don't let Bribery get to me too much, Kaalia may have flashy creatures, but the deck often sticks to a theme to ignores generally good stuff creatures that may be more desirable. It's similar to Acquire and Blightsteel Colossus, it can happen, but you just need to be ready.
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.
Without entomb I generally prefer fervor over anger as it is more reliable. You can also use it to give kaalia haste early (which is difficult with anger). Weathered wayfarer can tutor for hall of the bandit lord.
I've made some changes as I intend to play this deck soon, I've added the obvious two, Griselbrand and Avacyn, as well as Reforge the Soul and Vault of the Archangel. My goal is to try morph this into a Sneak Attack deck, with or without general.
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.
If Sneak Attack is what you want, then I would urge you to consider Gisela, Blade of Goldnight. That's minimum ten damage on it's own, and any other creatures, is almost GG. Just imagine with a Moonveil Dragon...
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.
Realy like your list, it looks pretty solid to me....
I am thinking of making a Kaalia deck as wel, am currently playing a Gisela deck and a Vampire deck... both combined would come out to the colours for Kaalia, and I already own a Kaalia also... so could make a Kaalia deck.....
Just quite some cards in your list, I dont own.... and not sure if I need them...
Some of the cards I am missing that might be important...
Do you think its possible to make a working deck without those, or do I realy need those to make it a good deck....
Just wondering, cause it might be a bit expencive for me to get those...
Specialy Scroll Rack is Insanely expencive atm....
Or do you have any tips on cards that might be a good replacement... if so, please let me know.... as I realy would love to play a good Kaalia deck....
I also checked the Punisher version, but that doesnt seem like a version I would want to play, and also seems like it might have even more cards I dont own currently.....
Ps. thinking of buying 'Knights vs Dragons', it has some of the cards in the list I believe...
Bogardan Hellkite
Thunder Dragon
(possibly a few others I might need for this)
Well, my list is far from budget, but feel free to check the Kaalia link in my sig for some ideas. I do primarily play 1v1 so do keep that in mind. Other than that, good luck, and I hope between myself, and Moogle here, we can get you on the right track.
Just wondering, cause it might be a bit expencive for me to get those...
Specialy Scroll Rack is Insanely expencive atm....
Or do you have any tips on cards that might be a good replacement... if so, please let me know.... as I realy would love to play a good Kaalia deck....
Use Gatherer's Advanced Search and look up keywords for what you're trying to accomplish. For example, if you want cards that remove an opponent's artifacts, you could run the following search in your colors:
"exile" OR "destroy" AND "target" AND "artifact".
Ps. thinking of buying 'Knights vs Dragons', it has some of the cards in the list I believe...
Bogardan Hellkite
Thunder Dragon
(possibly a few others I might need for this)
Precons are an excellent way to get a lot of useful cards at once. Which Commander precons do you have already?
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There are no divisions: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:28
@Threedrinks: Thank you, you are of course correct.
@Dachivale: Card drawing is very important when not playing blue and we need artifact ways to do it. So i think most of these are essential, but Portal could be done without. Also Quicksilver amulet is backup plan. If Kaalia dies a deck like this needs to be ready.
The angel/demon/dragon content is up to builder's choice, but I think you want GOOD creatures, and that includes win cons or ETB triggers. For this reason I favoured dragons and angels over demons. Dragons double as removal and sweepers and Restoration is a way to save them or Kaalia.
I'm running a focus on Sneak Attack, you could make it without it, just be ready to have backup plan without Kaalia (Belbe's Portal is even good). You do however, need plenty of tutors and removal for enchantments or artifacts propaganda etc can be annoying for this deck and we want to be able to interact.
If you can't get them (maybe you do by now) just use more card draw or el cheappo options as others have said.
Punisher is different deck, I don't like it for Kaalia, but I do play Kaervek that way.
Knights v dragons has some good cards for this deck.
I am interested in how your deck turned out! Netdecking is of course not the idea with EDH, but no reason not to use the knowledge of others. I find that's best way to start and then go own direction.
[CARD]
Griselbrand[/CARD] is of course banned in mist now, so i'll be adding Idyllic Tutor.
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.
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.
I've updated my deck to reflect its current state. I am seeking to make it a bit faster and more resilient. Fervor over Anger is possible, as is Defense Grid or more mana rocks.
I'm finding the high number of legendary angels is becoming a problem against blue, so the deck just needs to be faster or prioritize the players with clone spells.
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.
Wixoss - Just trial decks for now!
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Introduction
Kaalia of the Vast is without a doubt the most popular general in her Team Italia colours (White, Black and Red) and with good reason. She enables quite threatening board states early and having a triggered ability that favours two of the most popular tribes and another flavourful one, certainly appeals to the imagination and all types of magic player and especially the casual. Of her rivals, Oros, the Avenger has a few nice tricks he can pull off, but is ultimately just a dragon with a limited application triggered ability that poorly imitates Thunder Dragon. While Tariel, Reckoner of Souls, is also an angel, certainly a plus, but is reliant on others having a graveyard to work, which is far from guaranteed and I prefer to destroy or ensure they have no graveyard that may allow their deck to perform better or at all. I chose her for what she enables and the ability to run cards I would find too clunky in any deck but a tribal or dedicated Scion of the Ur-Dragon deck, without the short step to a five colour good stuff-***-dragon deck. So, here is my contribution to the considerable library of Kaalia of the Vast decks, which I'm confident will one day be on top ten list of most popular generals for the Magic the Gathering Salvation Forums.
Why Play this Commander?
TBA
Deck History
I have played Commander long before it was known as that and often chose off-beat and rarely played commanders. I felt that it was too easy to play something like Sharuum the Hegemon or Uril, the Miststalker and that it was more fun to aim for the unused Ravnica or Kamigawa legendary creatures. With that in mind, having pre-ordered all five Commander decks I decided I would build try build three of them, focusing on Damia, Sage of Stone, as the first. However, my friend, who had also acquired all five decks, sought to build a blue and green deck at the same time – Animar, Soul of Elements. Given that my friend shared my pool of cards, I let him build his blue deck first and instead focused on my second choice, Kaalia of the Vast.
Initially, Kaalia was focused on just trying to get value, big creatures, the mana to cast them and more ways to cheat them in. Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker also was considered a viable card early on. Over time angels, demons and dragons improved in quality, I was finding dragons were getting worse and angels better, while at the same time, low powered demons were also improving and warranted more than just Rakdos the Defiler and Rune-Scarred Demon. In this way the deck had a similar focus to the typical Mayael the Anima type decks, but with better creatures and less creature tutors. The deck was doing well, but I was always viewed as a threat and could run out of steam, which compelled me to re-evaluate my strategy.
Previously I had made the decision to play the deck as a Kaalia deck, not a Team Italia deck that sometimes gained benefit from Kaalia or a way to enable the Worldgorger Dragon infinite mana combo. This didn’t mean land destruction was out of the question, just not the main emphasis. After Grand Prix Brisbane late 2011 I found myself with a Chinese Sneak Attack, I had found my new angle that was less followed and entirely synergistic and decided to embrace that style of the deck. I would make the deck focused on getting big creatures out quickly through my general or searching for and getting out Sneak Attack as soon as possible with other less efficient substitutes that can do same thing. This strategy could be replicated with other cards and artifacts, but Sneak Attack was now the prime goal and the deck has more resilience than ever.
1 Kaalia of the Vast
Tutors (7)
1 Academy Rector
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Idyllic Tutor
1 Increasing Ambition
1 Vampiric Tutor
Mass Land Destruction (2)
1 Armageddon
1 Thoughts of Ruin
Equipment (3)
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
Mana Rocks (6)
1 Boros Signet
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Coalition Relic
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Sol Ring
Other Gadgets (5)
1 Erratic Portal
1 Mind's Eye
1 Quicksilver Amulet
1 Scroll Rack
1 Sensei's Divining Top
Angels (11)
1 Akroma, Angel of Fury
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1 Angel of Despair
1 Angel of Finality
1 Angel of Serenity
1 Aurelia, the Warleader
1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Karmic Guide
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Lord of the Void
1 Master of Cruelties
1 Rakdos the Defiler
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Sire of Insanity
Dragons (5)
1 Hellkite Charger
1 Hellkite Tyrant
1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Yosei, the Morning Star
Enchantments (6)
1 Fervor
1 Land Tax
1 Leyline of the Void
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Phyrexian Reclamation
1 Sneak Attack
Instants (6)
1 Chaos Warp
1 Mortify
1 Orim's Thunder
1 Path to Exile
1 Return to Dust
1 Through the Breach
Land (38)
1 Arid Mesa
1 Badlands
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Bojuka Bog
1 City of Brass
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Command Tower
1 Dragonskull Summet
1 Dust Bowl
1 Fetid Heath
1 Godless Shrine
1 Graven Cairns
1 Hall of the Bandit Lord
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Maze of Ith
1 Marsh Flats
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
3 Mountain
3 Plains
1 Plateau
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Rugged Prairie
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Scrubland
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
1 Strip Mine
2 Swamp
1 Temple of the False God
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Austere Command
1 Decree of Pain
1 Patriarch's Bidding
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Wheel of Fortune
Notes about the deck:
1. I don't see myself buying an Imperial Seal (IS) just for Commander, although I would adore one and this deck would utilise it. There is also some discussion IS is worthy of being banned due to price considerations, making it worthy of special note.
2. Griselbrand is officially banned, but would otherwise be a great inclusion.
3. I would run Ravages of War if I had it.
Cards that have a strong case for inclusion:
Ancient Tomb - Potentially more advantageous than Temple of the False God and generally will allow bigger spells to be cast sooner.
Wasteland - It is often Dust Bowl or this. Without Crucible of Worlds included at present, I favour this Dust Bowl.
Vindicate - It is very utilitarian and could either replace or complement existing removal.
Crucible of Worlds - To go with Armageddon and assist Land Tax.
Card Options
TBA
Third Party Deck Statistics
Ongoing Change Log
08/10/11
Swamp -> Maze of Ith - The synergy with Kaalia makes the 'Maze' very helpful in saving her life and more useful than a basic land. This occurs by attacking to enable Kaalia's trigger, then using maze to remove her from combat. Many people, have suggested this, although my thanks go to Blackjack68 for pointing it out first.
23/10/11
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker -> Academy Rector - Kiki-Jiki just wasn't having good return and almost never had targets. It was about time to remove her for the rector which has many good targets.
Bloodgift Demon -> Sneak Attack - Both are valid, but temporarilly, I need Sneak Attack more for the purpose of the deck.
Adarkar Valkyrie -> Yosei, the Morning Star - This should've been here from start and works well with Sneak Attack.
Thran Dynamo -> Orzhov Signet - Too expensive, we want Kaalia to come down a turn early most of the time.
Conspiracy -> Rakdos Signet - The deck is mostly dragons now and angels don't care what tribe they return.
Mana Crypt -> Boros Signet - I need the signet over crypt for colours, the Crypt will find its way back in a later date.
4/11/11
Plains -> Isolated Chapel
Mountain -> Hilltop Retreat
Belbe's Portal -> Aggravated Assault
24/11/11
Dread Cacodemon -> Bloodgift Demon
6/01/12
Kor Haven -> Scrubland
19/01/12
Flagstones of Trokair -> Plateau
19/05/2012
Homeward Path -> Vault of the Archangel
Bladewing the Risen -> Avacyn, Angel of Hope
Liliana Vess -> Griselbrand
Swords to Plowshares -> Reforge the Soul
25/05/2012
Aggravated Assault -> Through the Breach
Sunforger -> Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Baneslayer Angel -> Restoration Angel
25/06/2012
Griselbrand -> Idyllic Tutor - Griselbrand was officially banned in Commander and is thus removed at this point. Idyllic Tutor had been on the edge for a long time and will now add more consistency to either recursion through Phyrexian Reclamation or the Debtors' Knell or Sneak Attack strategies.
01/10/2012
Balefire Dragon -> Kokusho, the Evening Star - While a very good card, Balefire Dragon has to hit for any impact and had been having little to no impact in games played. All dragons I run have to have an immediate impact, unless they provide me utility and the unbanning of Kokusho was timely enough to warrant the removal of the red dragon.
Reya Dawnbringer -> Angel of Serenity - The newest angel, 'Serenity' is a great card that be used to permanently exile creatures with Erratic Portal or sacrifing itself with Entering the Battlefield triggers on the stack, as well as returning them. Reya often had no targets and thus no impact, while Angel of Serenity always has an impact.
Restoration Angel -> Rakdos, Lord of Riots - The angels are often the best blink targets and 'Resto Angel' can't hit them unfortunately. I recognise she is very powerful and works with dragons and Kaalia herself, but a pseudo-Heartless Summoning would be more useful in the current configuration.
01/03/2013
Bloodgift Demon -> Lord of the Void - Bloodgift Demon gains advantage too slowly over an explosive on-hit ability. Lord of the Void allows me to advantage the game substantially faster if I hit.
Bogardan Hellkite -> Hellkite Tyrant - The tyrant is an excellent dragon as it is and the additional win condition, with the ability to steal artifacts to make your dragons easier to cast is also impressive.
Debtors' Knell -> Aurelia, the Warleader - Debtor's Knell just never worked, it was always worse than casting a creature and was removed the same turn I cast it. Aurelia allows more explosive plays.
Gilded Lotus -> Chromatic Lantern - Five drop artifacts are just too late, three drop is the sweet spot and this allows Sneak Attack to be vastly more efficient so that I can afford to run less red mana scources.
20/03/2013
Condemn -> Armageddon - The deck has a functional amount of removal already and Condemn can be regarded as the weakest of the remaining spells to this end. Armageddon adds a mana denial strategy to the deck was will be subsequently expanded upon.
03/12/2013
Anger -> Fervor - The deck has few enough Mountains this won't always be useful and Fervor is a turn earlier.
Dragon Mage -> Increasing Ambition - More tutoring is always good and I don't like helping others draw too much.
Eternal Dragon -> Master of Cruelties - One of the best new demons for a long term and works very well with Kaalia to ambush someone.
Nexumi Graverobber -> Angel of Finality - Nezumi has more versatility, but this angel works well with Kaalia and has capacity to be free and the ETB reused.
Rakdos, Lord of Riots -> Thoughts of Ruin - I need more cheap land destruction and Thoughts of Ruin has capacity to reset board. Ravages of War would be ideal but is just too expensive for me right now.
Swamp -> Dragonskull Summet - I excluded this initially as I felt basics were, I'll see if it helps now.
Thunder Dragon -> Sire of Insanity - I have other removal and Steel Hellkite is still superior removal for the deck.
Strategy
TBA
Goal:
- This deck strives to use Kaalia to emulate Sneak Attack or get out Sneak Attack as soon as possible to apply maximum pressure early on.
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!
"Just" for commander? "Just"? There is no format that justifies crazy expenditures more.
Anyway..
Maze of Ith comes in pretty handy sometimes. You can swing into what would normally be the death of Kaalia, drop the follower, then use Maze to save Kaalia.
For other directions, there's "punisher". Mine is linked in my sig, but it's certainly not to everyones tastes.
Banner by Nakamura, Thanks!
EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Hah, I love EDH, but I also like having multiple decks and one card like that hurts the others.
I might try run maze, but I disagree with your style of deck as a defining characteristic for Kaalia and my Kaervek deck does same thing for me right now.
I'll try acquire a Catastrophe and Maze of Ith as part of your strategy, but I don't want to embrace to heavilly as I do want to still beat face with creatures. Academy Rector might also be an idea.
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!
As a side note for success, when my kaalis deck fails, it's usually because I had absolutely no card draw. It's lame to tutor for a card draw piece, but if you have a necropotence then it changes the game.
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
Card draw is certainly a masisve issue, how do you use necro with limited life gain available?
I see your point on Armageddon, I'll try acquire a catastrophe and use both.
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!
I have serra ascendant, baneslayer angel, and true conviction in my kaalia deck. It's not unusual to be around 60-80 hp in my meta, and I'm usually the only one beating at peoples life, therefore it usually isn't an issue. Others are comboing, or going for general damage.
Another LD card to look at is cataclysm. This has proven less useful in my meta because of the combo player who will still have a large advantage with one of each type of card in play. Otherwise it could be huge for kaalia. One piece of protection, one piece of enchantment ownage such as aggravated assault or true conviction as mentioned above, and hopefully large a/d/d to throw in next turn.
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
I added:
Academy Rector
Boros Signet
Orzhov Signet
Rakdos Signet
Sneak Attack
Yosei, the Morning Star
I had to take out Mana Crypt, as signet did more for early drops, but I will be squeezing it back in when I've tried deck out a bit more. Dread Cacodemon rarely does enough so I will likely take it out for Catastrophe when I can get one. White Akroma is also not long for this world, just what I replace her with is up for debate.
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!
What is the experience of others with it?
On the LD front, still no Cata and I won't run Armageddon alone. Need to try flow convince playgroup about mass LD.
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!
Isn't Italy Green, Red, White? and Germany Black, Yellow, Red? Where are you getting Italy's colors to be Black Red White? o.O
EDH:
UBGMimeoplasm (Reanimator Control)
WGBURProgenitus (Dream Halls//Good Stuff)
RNorin, the Wary (Metaddited Gaka List)
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane Studios!
The name Team Italia was coined by Gerrard Fabiano, they have nothing to do with actual flag colours, the same way BUG/Team America has nothing to do with the US flag colours (which happen to be many other countries' colours). If you look at SCG you'll see his Team Italia decklist, it was a WBR decklists that ran best low costing spells in colours.
Thunderbunny:
The Saviour seems a tad off-theme, but the cloak might be a great idea. I'll look into it, thank you. The enchantment looks interesting too.
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!
my faith in society just waned a little. Thanks for the explanation..
EDH:
UBGMimeoplasm (Reanimator Control)
WGBURProgenitus (Dream Halls//Good Stuff)
RNorin, the Wary (Metaddited Gaka List)
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane Studios!
...And? Bribery's existance doesn't mean we shouldn't play creatures. Best case scenario he takes...what? Rune-Scarred Demon, for the tutor? Baneslayer Angel to race? Iona, Shield of Emeria, to fail at locking out a 3 colour deck? Maybe Yosei, the Morning Star to buy a turn. All of these are powerful interactions against this, but they certainly don't give you an "I win" setup.
Fact is, I'd be more worried about that card versus my deck that has both Sheoldred, Whispering One and Urabrask the Hidden, than this one.
Bribery =/= We should never play creatures again.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
A good way of putting it.
I suppose Iona would be worse thing that could be stolen for a lot of decks and it is often the first choice, unless it is in my hand, just to shut off the white removal.
I really don't let Bribery get to me too much, Kaalia may have flashy creatures, but the deck often sticks to a theme to ignores generally good stuff creatures that may be more desirable. It's similar to Acquire and Blightsteel Colossus, it can happen, but you just need to be ready.
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!
BRWC Mardu Shops - Tymna and Akiri Artifacts BRWC
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!
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
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!
Through the Breach was probably the card you were referring to, but I get what you are saying.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Well, my list is far from budget, but feel free to check the Kaalia link in my sig for some ideas. I do primarily play 1v1 so do keep that in mind. Other than that, good luck, and I hope between myself, and Moogle here, we can get you on the right track.
Happy brewing!
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Try out the following:
Try out the following:
Try out Into the Core.
A good working deck is a deck that you enjoy playing with. "Netdecking" and EDH aren't the best bedfellows.
Use Gatherer's Advanced Search and look up keywords for what you're trying to accomplish. For example, if you want cards that remove an opponent's artifacts, you could run the following search in your colors:
"exile" OR "destroy" AND "target" AND "artifact".
Precons are an excellent way to get a lot of useful cards at once. Which Commander precons do you have already?
@Threedrinks: Thank you, you are of course correct.
@Dachivale: Card drawing is very important when not playing blue and we need artifact ways to do it. So i think most of these are essential, but Portal could be done without. Also Quicksilver amulet is backup plan. If Kaalia dies a deck like this needs to be ready.
The angel/demon/dragon content is up to builder's choice, but I think you want GOOD creatures, and that includes win cons or ETB triggers. For this reason I favoured dragons and angels over demons. Dragons double as removal and sweepers and Restoration is a way to save them or Kaalia.
I'm running a focus on Sneak Attack, you could make it without it, just be ready to have backup plan without Kaalia (Belbe's Portal is even good). You do however, need plenty of tutors and removal for enchantments or artifacts propaganda etc can be annoying for this deck and we want to be able to interact.
If you can't get them (maybe you do by now) just use more card draw or el cheappo options as others have said.
Punisher is different deck, I don't like it for Kaalia, but I do play Kaervek that way.
Knights v dragons has some good cards for this deck.
I am interested in how your deck turned out! Netdecking is of course not the idea with EDH, but no reason not to use the knowledge of others. I find that's best way to start and then go own direction.
[CARD]
Griselbrand[/CARD] is of course banned in mist now, so i'll be adding Idyllic Tutor.
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!
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!
I'm finding the high number of legendary angels is becoming a problem against blue, so the deck just needs to be faster or prioritize the players with clone spells.
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!