Maybeboard


This deck combines themes of angels, demons, and lifegain to find a sweet spot between a few RWB commanders that can be used interchangeably to lead this deck. My play group allows only mid-power commanders, so Kaalia of the Vast should be viewed as a "hidden commander" for the deck. I made the deck assuming that Kaalia, Zenith Seeker is the default option, but the deck is not particularly streamlined around her; you'll rarely live the dream of being able to draw three cards, and I did not include many blink/topdeck synergies. Licia, Sanguine Tribune might be the better option, despite the deck's focus on angel tribal. Tariel, Reckoner of Souls is also an option, but this deck is in no way built to support her.

Deck Structure

This deck has been built using the 8x8 method. Half the modules fulfill typical functions you'd expect to see in any commander deck, while the other half support the specific themes of this deck.

For every deck, I include a module for ramp, removal, and card draw, preferably filled with cards that align with the deck's theme rather than generic spells that could go in any deck.

  • Ramp: Unfortunately, most of these cards are pretty generic, but Herald of War and Rakdos, Lord of Riots provide a little bit of a unique twist.
  • Removal: While this suite has a couple generic additions, most of them are demons, dragons, or related, and a couple are tied to potential combos.
  • Card Draw & Selection: Most of these cards are demons or demand life payments, which you will hopefully be able to afford with all the life gain in this deck.
  • Commanders & Pet Cards: This module has become standard in most of my decks at this point. It includes four different commanders for this deck, each one with a "pet card" that works particularly well with that commander. Three of these commanders are considered "mid-power" and are therefore eligible for play with my group.

The other half of these module are devoted to the primary themes of this deck: angels and lifegain, supported by demons and a dash of dragons.

  • The two Angels with Lifegain Modules include angels or angel producers that can gain life or provide payoffs for gaining life. All of these cards work with either Kaalia, both of whom want angels in your deck, while all the lifegain supports Licia.
  • The Lifegain Module further supports Licia while providing some more payoff for the lifegain the angels provide. In addition, many of the demons in the other suites have life payments to activate their abilities, which won't feel as painful due to this suite.
  • The "Selenia Combos" Module includes a handful of combos that fit with the overall theme of life gain/drain found elsewhere in the deck but that really shine if you manage to get Selenia into play. Good times!

Deckbuilding Restrictions

I am loosely following a singleton rule for my entire collection, which severely narrows the selection of cards that can go in this deck. Major exclusions include:

  • cube staples,
  • cards already in my Commander Cube, and
  • cards already in one of my planar cubes (https://mulrah.droppages.com/Magic).

Suggestions

Updates Add

I've been picking out my favorite decks and consolidating others. One holdover from our early days with EDH is the classic Selenia "Lich" deck, which was always appealing in theory, but a headache to play because it was about nothing but the combos. Meanwhile, this deck has emerged as my favorite of my "tribal cycle," but it has a few issues of its own, such as the rather off-theme Worldgorger Dragon combo. Upon closer review of both decks, I realized a few things:

  1. The Worldgorger Dragon combo was actually taking up quite a bit of space in this deck. Sure, the combo itself needs only a few cards, but I'd included quite a few other cards that support it or work with cards that are part of the combo. If I put it all together, nearly an entire module was dedicated to this one theme.
  2. When I boiled the Selenia deck down to what made it truly unique--stripping away the mana rocks, generic card draw spells, tutors (which we now try to avoid), etc.--I was left with very little...about a module's worth, in fact!
  3. The Worldgorger Dragon combo has nothing to do with angels or lifegain, the two primary themes of this deck.
  4. Selenia herself is an angel, and all her shenanigans are related to messing with your life total, making her and her associated cards a great thematic fit for this deck!

As a result of all this, I have yanked all the Worldgorger Dragon cards, moved them to the maybeboard, and replaced them with a module devoted to Selenia. Overall, I expect the deck to play mostly the same, except instead of the random side quest to get Worldgorger Dragon into your graveyard, you get to play with some nonsense like swapping life totals.

Comments

96% Casual

Competitive

Date added 3 years
Last updated 2 years
Legality

This deck is Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

20 - 0 Mythic Rares

44 - 0 Rares

6 - 0 Uncommons

2 - 0 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 4.20
Tokens Angel 4/4 W, Angel 4/4 W w/ Vigilance, Spirit 1/1 WB
Folders Retired - Commander Tribal Cycle (Mid-Power), Commander - Favorite Decks
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