Iona, Because She's Completely Fair

Commander / EDH Angels Budget Combo Control Mono-White

EldraziEnthusiast

Creature (22)

• 1x Aegis Angel
• 1x Akroma, Angel of Wrath
• 1x Angel of the Dire Hour
• 1x Angelic Arbiter
• 1x Archangel of Tithes
• 1x Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• 1x Baneslayer Angel
• 1x Blazing Archon
• 1x Filigree Familiar
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Platinum Angel
• 1x Resolute Archangel
• 1x Reya Dawnbringer
• 1x Selfless Squire
• 1x Serene Master
• 1x Serra Angel
• 1x Serra Ascendant
• 1x Serra Avatar
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Wall of Reverence
• 1x Wispweaver Angel

Artifact (9)

• 1x Caged Sun
• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Helm of Obedience
• 1x Panharmonicon
• 1x Pearl Medallion
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Vedalken Orrery
• 1x Witchbane Orb

Enchantment (12)

• 1x Choking Restraints
• 1x Darksteel Mutation
• 1x Dictate of Heliod
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Isolation Zone
• 1x Karmic Justice
• 1x Near-Death Experience
• 1x Oblivion Ring
• 1x Rest in Peace
• 1x Stasis Snare
• 1x Stony Silence
• 1x Worship

Land (38)

• 1x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
• 1x Kor Haven
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 30x Plains
• 1x Sejiri Steppe
• 1x Seraph Sanctuary
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Terrain Generator
• 1x Thawing Glaciers

Sorcery (6)

• 1x Angelic Purge
• 1x Archangel's Light
• 1x Decree of Justice
• 1x Hallowed Burial
• 1x Planar Cleansing
• 1x Wave of Reckoning

Commander (1)

Instant (10)

• 1x Angel's Grace
• 1x Apostle's Blessing
• 1x Celestial Flare
• 1x Dazzling Reflection
• 1x Entrapment Maneuver
• 1x Immolating Glare
• 1x Oblation
• 1x Silence
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Valorous Stance

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• 1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion

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When it comes to the colors in EDH, almost everyone will agree that white is definitely the weakest color in the format. Due to the lack of ramp and burn spells, early game traction is rare, if at all possible, for a mono white deck. But you have to admit... some of its high CMC spells are worth the effort of trying.

In this deck, nobody will attack you that much early game, due to both the "White=weak" mindset, and they think that Iona is too costly to be put into play at all(every single game I've played with this deck, I've been able to cast her more than once). That's good, as it gives the deck time to gather itself for the mid game, where it begins to shine. By late game, you should have either Iona or one of the MASSIVE threats on the field ready to win the game.

Here are the all stars, support spells, and combos with this surprisingly effective stack of 100.

All Stars

Iona, Shield of Emeria is our commander for a reason. Being one of two of the most expensive(mana wise) angels ever printed(the other being Reya Dawnbringer), our investment pays off by being able to cut off a color from multicolored decks, or completely stopping any and all efforts to win from a mono colored deck.

Avacyn, Angel of Hope would have been one of my backup choices for the commander(the other being Linvala, Keeper of Silence ), if Iona hadn't existed. Being able to resist most boardwipes gives this deck a lot of advantage, as well as time to drop more threats that also can't be removed as easily.

Akroma, Angel of Wrath is one of the few angels ever printed that has haste, which everyone in my group seems to forget about. Good for when you need to get in some more damage to finish someone off.

Serra Avatar For being a control deck, there is a surprising amount of lifegain. Why not take advantage of it and cast Serra Avatar?

Angelic Arbiter Making somebody choose between spells or attacks is always annoying, unless of course you are making your opponents do that, and it doesn't apply to you.

Serra Ascendant One of the best turn one plays in the deck, a 6/6 Flying Lifelink on turn 1 is nothing to scoff at. Usually your opponents will either forget the "White=Weak" mindset and go after you, or they will remember that you actually are powerful and devote more resources to take you out. But at least you have the forces to keep you going in.

Silence Buys you extra time, or force somebody to waste an extra turn. Especially funny when the latter occurs.

Support Spells

Blazing Archon : Creatures can't attack you. 'Nuff said.

Wispweaver Angel : If we need to change colors for Iona, playing this angel allows us to do that.

Sun Titan : Helps the deck reuse some of it's cheap permanents or will help recover after an Armageddon.

Selfless Squire : Every time I've been able to cast her, she usually becomes a 30/30 or more. Because 4 mana for a 30/30 is just as fair as 9 mana to stop people from casting spells.

Archangel of Tithes: A strictly worse Ghostly Prison , except it applies to blocking too.

Isolation Zone : An Oblivion Ring that also applies to enchantments.

Oblivion Ring: Pseudo-removal for anything that's bothering you.

Stasis Snare: A flash-able Oblivion Ring that only applies to creatures.

Choking Restraints : Pacifism, but with an exile clause.

Stony Silence : Great for spiteing that one player who started with a turn one Sol Ring.

Serene Master : Can't be killed by normal combat.

Darksteel Mutation : This card is legendary in our group, so I couldn't resist putting it in here to mess up somebody's game plan. The most ideal target for this is somebody's commander.

There are plenty more I could go over, but those are the essentials.

Combos

Iona, Shield of Emeria + Wispweaver Angel = Allows the changing of colors if you chose wrong.

Iona, Shield of Emeria + Panharmonicon = Allows the choosing of TWO colors instead of one. Great for losing friends.

Serra Avatar + Wall of Reverence = Double your life total on your end steps. Great for losing friends permanently(This was in the Esper precon in Commander 2013).

Aegis Angel + Darksteel Mutation = Enchant somebody's commander with the mutation, then cast the angel give DM indestructible. That opponent has to use unconventional removal to get rid of it now. Great for losing just one friend.

Near-Death Experience + Angel's Grace OR Worship = The deck's backup win condition. When you can't draw into any of your life gain or attack detterrance, let the damage through, stopping your life at one with either of the latter two cards, then win with NDE on the field, OR, flash it in with Vedalken Orrery at the end of their end step. I've been able to pull this off only once, only because nobody knew about the combo at the time. But let me tell you, THEY REMEMBER IT QUITE WELL.

Rest in Peace + Helm of Obedience = Thanks to the generosity of a friend, I was able to trade for this infamous combo. For the low, low cost of 1 mana of any color, you can insta-mill any opponent you wish. However, Rest in Peace's ETG effect is a curse to you as well, which means that if somebody uses removal on your Helm, you can kiss that combo goodbye because you arent getting it back.

If you find anymore combos within the deck list or if you think I should add some in, please tell me in the comments!

The Best Turn One Possible

The Hand plus Ditchable cards

Plains + Sol Ring + Pearl Medallion + Serra Ascendant + Chrome Mox + any card that can be ditched by Chrome Mox safely.

Cards that are ditchable:All enchantments except for Near-Death Experience , Worship , and Rest in Peace

Angelic Purge

Decree of Justice

Archangel's Light

Apostle's Blessing

Celestial Flare

Dazzling Reflection

Entrapment Maneuver

Immolating Glare

Oblation

Valorous Stance

Statistically speaking, you have a .0000000000005479% chance of drawing these 5 specific cards, plus one/two of the 20 cards that can be safely ditched by Chrome Mox

Play the Plains, tap for Sol Ring, tap for Pearl Medallion . Play the Chrome Mox, exile one of the targets listed above, tap for Serra Ascendant. On turn one, you have 4 mana, your white spells are reduced by one, and you have a 6/6 flying lifelink blocker ready to defend your artifacts. Unfortunately you may not have any opponents after this play. So we'll just call this a turn one win.

Thanks for looking at this deck! Leave an upvote above and tell me your thoughts about this list!

Date added	7 years
Last updated	7 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 0 Mythic Rares 35 - 0 Rares 13 - 0 Uncommons 10 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	4.15
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Emblem Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Soldier 1/1 W
Folders	Decks, EDH, Decks To Build