I also made a change to the deck. I decided to take out Akroma's Memorial and add Promise of Power for more card draw, bringing me up to 10 total card advantage cards.
Blinding Angel is one I hadn't thought about, but it would really help with swarms on the ground. This is for multiplayer, I should have made that more clear. As far as Stranglehold goes, the strange part of my meta is that nobody seems to use extra turn spells. I was considering replacing Stranglehold with a card like Akroma's Memorial because it would seem to help me more. I'll reconsider that. Blinding Angel might be a good replacement for Master of Cruelties. Reconnaissance or Maze of Ith are other options I hadn't considered. What about Whispersilk Cloak instead of the Swiftfoot Boots? I think I like Promise of Power better than Skeletal Skrying, though, because it's versatile, and it can give me an extra beefy body if I need it. I'm also considering running that one land, I forget what it's called, that returns all creatures to their owner's control. Someone who has a red deck with theft cards has stolen my Kaalia on one occasion and used her to drop a really nasty dragon early, and stole Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith from my other deck and killed me with commander damage from my own commander. Rule of Law would pretty much screw over everyone at the table but me, so I really like that idea. I really like some of these ideas, but I'm still not sure what to cut to add these. Any help is appreciated.
Intro and Philosophy:
This is my first Commander deck, so I'm not sure this deck is as good as it could be. So, I decided I'd post it here to get feedback. The idea is to do angel tribal with Kaalia of the Vast as competitively as possible without using mass land destruction or any other cards that might make me the Archenemy instantly and cause people to hate playing against my deck. (Cards like maybe Iona, Shield of Emeria. That and mass land destruction are the only cards I can think of that would be considered a "dick move" and make people refuse to play with me.) As it is, I have to play the Feline Ferocity preconstructed deck (upgrading it to Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith cat equipment Voltron will be next after this deck) every so often to keep everyone happy. I want this deck to be competitive so that I won't get stomped when I'm focused JUST because Kaalia happens to be on the battlefield, sometimes even if there are bigger threats around. Casting Kaalia certainly gets everyone's attention.
I've tried to build a deck with sufficient card draw (8 cards, plus one card that grabs from my graveyard, so 9 total card advantage. I might need more), ramp (10 mana rocks, plus Kaalia herself), targeted removal (10, with every permanent type covered), recursion (5 cards), board wipes (3, plus two cards that are mini-wipes, Steel Hellkite and Oros, the Avenger, and graveyard hate (two cards). I also have a surprise win condition that combos well with Kaalia: (Master of Cruelties, and the Gisela/Bruna combo that makes a creature that is truly horrifying, and a few ways to give creatures, especially Kaalia, haste and protection. Kaalia tends to die a lot, but this reduces the number of times I have to recast her. I'm hoping these cards will be able to deal with threats as they come up and provide a steady flow of creatures and mana to keep the pain coming.
Why Kaalia?
There are a couple good choices for generals for angel tribal, but I decided on Kaalia because she speeds up getting a good board state with lots of threats. Also, she has something that I like a lot, she's in Mardu colors. Red and white to get access to mono-white and Boros angels, red also for Earthquake, a nice board wipe when almost everything of mine flies. Black and white are both good for removal in general, and for recursion. White also has good board wipes, and black gives me access to much-needed card draw. Also, I couldn't resist putting in Anguished Unmaking, which is Orzhov colors, for flavor reasons, as it depicts Avacyn's death. (I couldn't find room for a Sorin planeswalker, though. Oh well). Akroma's Vengeance and Akroma's Memorial add to the angel flavor, too. I could have chosen a mono white or Boros angel general, but I would have missed out on everything black has to offer.
I'd like to keep this deck angel tribal as much as possible, unless of course it's impossible to make a really good Kaalia angel deck. I've actually kept the creatures mostly angels, but I've also added some demons and dragons, and Mother of Runes and Iroas, God of Victory because they bring way too much to the table to ignore. Mother of Runes and Rune-Scarred Demon especially have saved my butt when I was in a pinch. There is one person who also plays at my LGS who keeps insisting I add this dragon and that dragon and only play a couple angels, even after repeatedly telling him that my deck is angel tribal. I realize that some dragons are incredibly powerful, but unless I need to abandon the angel strategy to stand a chance of winning I REALLY don't want to. I'd like to prove to him that angels can win too. I don't have the deck fully assembled yet, and I'll include a list of the cards I have in the deck that I'm cutting after I post the decklist that is my "dream" Kaalia angel deck. Any suggestions on how I could improve it while still keeping the angel flavor, if possible, are much appreciated. I'm tentatively calling the deck "Kaalia's Angels", a reference to an old tv show, but suggestions for a better name are also welcome. Sorry, I can't get the cards or deck tag to work properly, so I'll use lists after a heading instead. Sorry:
I think the first thing I'll do is add in the remainder of the card draw from my list that I don't have, because I run out of cards really fast with only 5 of my card draw spells in so far. I have been told that I need at least 10, but I'm unsure what to cut for that extra card draw card, or what it might be. Maybe Promise of Power could be that extra card draw card and could provide an extra body if I entwine it? Do I want more than ten? It's really a shame that my play group hates mass land destruction so much, because it would be a good path to victory. Oh well. I know that I personally hated having Winter Orb played against me, and an Armageddon or Razia's Purification can't be reversed once it's cast. So, I get the dislike for it. Given the parameters of what I'm dealing with with my play group and that I still want the deck to be as strong as possible, what should be added and taken away? What should I cut for that tenth card draw card, and is there anything else I should add/subtract?
Thanks for reading this long post and for your time, consideration, and comments.
-Gabrielle
This is my first Commander deck, so I'm not sure this deck is as good as it could be. So, I decided I'd post it here to get feedback. The idea is to do angel tribal with Kaalia of the Vast as competitively as possible without using mass land destruction or any other cards that might make me the Archenemy instantly and cause people to hate playing against my deck. (Cards like maybe Iona, Shield of Emeria. That and mass land destruction are the only cards I can think of that would be considered a "dick move" and make people refuse to play with me.) As it is, I have to play the Feline Ferocity preconstructed deck (upgrading it to Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith cat equipment Voltron will be next after this deck) every so often to keep everyone happy. I want this deck to be competitive so that I won't get stomped when I'm focused JUST because Kaalia happens to be on the battlefield, sometimes even if there are bigger threats around. Casting Kaalia certainly gets everyone's attention.
I've tried to build a deck with sufficient card draw (8 cards, plus one card that grabs from my graveyard, so 9 total card advantage. I might need more), ramp (10 mana rocks, plus Kaalia herself), targeted removal (10, with every permanent type covered), recursion (5 cards), board wipes (3, plus two cards that are mini-wipes, Steel Hellkite and Oros, the Avenger, and graveyard hate (two cards). I also have a surprise win condition that combos well with Kaalia: (Master of Cruelties, and the Gisela/Bruna combo that makes a creature that is truly horrifying, and a few ways to give creatures, especially Kaalia, haste and protection. Kaalia tends to die a lot, but this reduces the number of times I have to recast her. I'm hoping these cards will be able to deal with threats as they come up and provide a steady flow of creatures and mana to keep the pain coming.
Why Kaalia?
There are a couple good choices for generals for angel tribal, but I decided on Kaalia because she speeds up getting a good board state with lots of threats. Also, she has something that I like a lot, she's in Mardu colors. Red and white to get access to mono-white and Boros angels, red also for Earthquake, a nice board wipe when almost everything of mine flies. Black and white are both good for removal in general, and for recursion. White also has good board wipes, and black gives me access to much-needed card draw. Also, I couldn't resist putting in Anguished Unmaking, which is Orzhov colors, for flavor reasons, as it depicts Avacyn's death. (I couldn't find room for a Sorin planeswalker, though. Oh well). Akroma's Vengeance and Akroma's Memorial add to the angel flavor, too. I could have chosen a mono white or Boros angel general, but I would have missed out on everything black has to offer.
I'd like to keep this deck angel tribal as much as possible, unless of course it's impossible to make a really good Kaalia angel deck. I've actually kept the creatures mostly angels, but I've also added some demons and dragons, and Mother of Runes and Iroas, God of Victory because they bring way too much to the table to ignore. Mother of Runes and Rune-Scarred Demon especially have saved my butt when I was in a pinch. There is one person who also plays at my LGS who keeps insisting I add this dragon and that dragon and only play a couple angels, even after repeatedly telling him that my deck is angel tribal. I realize that some dragons are incredibly powerful, but unless I need to abandon the angel strategy to stand a chance of winning I REALLY don't want to. I'd like to prove to him that angels can win too. I don't have the deck fully assembled yet, and I'll include a list of the cards I have in the deck that I'm cutting after I post the decklist that is my "dream" Kaalia angel deck. Any suggestions on how I could improve it while still keeping the angel flavor, if possible, are much appreciated. I'm tentatively calling the deck "Kaalia's Angels", a reference to an old tv show, but suggestions for a better name are also welcome. Sorry, I can't get the cards or deck tag to work properly, so I'll use lists after a heading instead. Sorry:
General:
1 Kaalia of the Vast
Creatures
1 Razia, Boros Archangel 1 Mother of Runes 1 Reya Dawnbringer 1 Angelic Arbiter 1 Angelic Skirmisher 1 Aegis Angel 1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath 1 Akroma, Angel of Fury 1 Karmic Guide 1 Twilight Shepherd 1 Angel of Serenity 1 Basandra, Battle Seraph 1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence 1 Angel of Finality 1 Angel of Despair 1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight 1 Gisela, the Broken Blade 1 Aurelia, the Warleader 1 Rune-Scarred Demon 1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope 1 Steel Hellkite 1 Bloodgift Demon 1 Master of Cruelties 1 Bruna, the Fading Light 1 Baneslayer Angel 1 Resolute Archangel 1 Harvester of Souls 1 Iroas, God of Victory 1 Oros, the Avenger
Artifacts
1 Orzhov Signet 1 Boros Signet 1 Rakdos Signet1 Sol Ring 1 Commander's Sphere 1 Fellwar Stone 1 Coldsteel Heart 1 Darksteel Ingot 1 Sphere of the Suns 1 Chromatic Lantern 1 Darksteel Plate 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Swiftfoot Boots 1 Akroma's Memorial
Enchantments
1 Phyrexian Reclamation 1 Phyrexian Arena
Spells
1 Wear // Tear 1 Swords to Plowshares 1 Mortify 1 Terminate 1 Return to Dust 1 Anguished Unmaking 1 Volcanic Offering 1 Syphon Mind 1 Ambition's Cost 1 Ancient Craving 1 Read the Bones 1 Earthquake 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Merciless Eviction 1 Akroma's Vengeance 1 Unburial Rites
Planeswalker
1 Nahiri, the Harbinger
Lands
1 Command Tower 1 Reflecting Pool 1 City of Brass 1 Temple of Malice 1 Temple of Silence 1 Temple of Triumph 1 Blood Crypt 1 Godless Shrine 1 Sacred Foundry 1 Myriad Landscape 1 Terramorphic Expanse 1 Evolving Wilds 1 Orzhov Basilica 1 Boros Garrison 1 Rakdos Carnarium 1 Sulfurous Springs 1 Caves of Koilos 1 Battlefield Forge 1 Nomad Outpost 1 Vivid Meadow 1 Vivid Crag 1 Vivid Marsh 1 Spinerock Knoll 1 Flamekin Village 1 Vault of the Archangel 1 Rogue's Passage 1 Bojuka Bog 2 Mountain 2 Swamp 5 Plains
Here's what I have as placeholders that I'm going to cut:
1 Archangel of Strife 1 Shattered Angel 1 Tariel, Reckoner of Souls 1 Serra Angel 1 Armillary Sphere 1 Stranglehold 1 Orim's Thunder 1 Master Warcraft 1 Syphon Flesh 1 Jund Panorama 1 Exotic Orchard 1 Dragonskull Summit 1 Rupture Spire
I think the first thing I'll do is add in the remainder of the card draw from my list that I don't have, because I run out of cards really fast with only 5 of my card draw spells in so far. I have been told that I need at least 10, but I'm unsure what to cut for that extra card draw card, or what it might be. Maybe Promise of Power could be that extra card draw card and could provide an extra body if I entwine it? Do I want more than ten? It's really a shame that my play group hates mass land destruction so much, because it would be a good path to victory. Oh well. I know that I personally hated having Winter Orb played against me, and an Armageddon or Razia's Purification can't be reversed once it's cast. So, I get the dislike for it. Given the parameters of what I'm dealing with with my play group and that I still want the deck to be as strong as possible, what should be added and taken away? What should I cut for that tenth card draw card, and is there anything else I should add/subtract?
Thanks for reading this long post and for your time, consideration, and comments.
-Gabrielle