Battle in the Skies

Commander / EDH Angels Blink Demons Dragons RBW (Mardu)

Vallaris

Land (38)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Bonders' Enclave
• 1x Cathedral of Serra
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Clifftop Retreat
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Fabled Passage
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Lotus Field
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Nomad Outpost
• 1x Plains
• 1x Plains
• 1x Plains
• 1x Plains
• 1x Plains
• 1x Plains
• 1x Plains
• 1x Plains
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Silent Clearing
• 1x Spectator Seating
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Temple of Triumph
• 1x Vault of Champions

Creature (34)

• 1x Akroma, Vision of Ixidor
• 1x Archangel of Tithes
• 1x Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice
• 1x Aurelia, the Warleader
• 1x Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• 1x Balefire Dragon
• 1x Basandra, Battle Seraph
• 1x Bruna, the Fading Light  ^Meld
• 1x Demon of Catastrophes
• 1x Demonlord Belzenlok
• 1x Drakuseth, Maw of Flames
• 1x Emeria Shepherd
• 1x Feather, the Redeemed
• 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• 1x Gisela, the Broken Blade  ^Meld
• 1x Hellkite Courser
• 1x Kaalia of the Vast
• 1x Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
• 1x Liesa, Shroud of Dusk
• 1x Lyra Dawnbringer
• 1x Master of Cruelties
• 1x Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
• 1x Odric, Lunarch Marshal
• 1x Piru, the Volatile
• 1x Resplendent Angel
• 1x Restoration Angel
• 1x Reya Dawnbringer
• 1x Segovian Angel
• 1x Sephara, Sky's Blade
• 1x Seraph of the Scales
• 1x Terror of the Peaks
• 1x Verix Bladewing
• 1x Vilis, Broker of Blood
• 1x Wispweaver Angel

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Ajani, Strength of the Pride
• 1x Serra the Benevolent

Commander (1)

Artifact (9)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Conjurer's Closet
• 1x Mox Amber
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Conviction
• 1x Thran Temporal Gateway

Instant (8)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Chance for Glory
• 1x Cloudshift
• 1x Ephemerate
• 1x Expedite
• 1x Inner Struggle
• 1x Long Road Home
• 1x Response / Resurgence

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Avacyn's Judgment
• 1x Deafening Clarion
• 1x Jaya's Immolating Inferno
• 1x Scheming Symmetry
• 1x The Elderspell

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Angelic Renewal
• 1x Reprobation
• 1x Serra's Blessing

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Maybeboard

Sorcery (4)

• 1x Bond of Revival
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Soul Exchange
• 1x Torrent of Souls

Land (3)

• 1x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
• 1x Savai Triome
• 1x Smoldering Marsh

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Dance of the Dead
• 1x Debtors' Knell

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After playing MTG casually for something like a decade, Kaalia, Zenith Seeker was the card that really made me want to finally get into the EDH format (although this was the second EDH I constructed, the first being an Esper artifacts deck). There was a lot I loved about Core 2020, best of all Kaalia herself, and I had a ton of fun for a few short months with a Mardu Kaalia deck in Standard on Arena before rotation hit and the deck was unplayable. The days before historic and all.

Backstory continued Show

Granted my Standard deck was quite different than what this EDH aims to do, there was far more discard and reanimation with the Standard variant than there is with my Kaalia EDH deck. However, the aim to use Kaalia as a means of card draw still exists, as do nearly all of the original angels, dragons, and demons with the notable exception of Shalai Voice of Plenty who has both white and green colour identities. At some point I will get around to posting the original decklist, it wasn't anything crazy, just fun (for me haha).

Anyway, so rotation hits, I'm out without playing my favourite deck, so it was time to build one for EDH which is why I was all about Zenith Seeker rather than the objectively better and more powerful Kaalia of the Vast. At some point I did acquire Kaalia of the Vast with the intent to change and upgrade my deck, but I just love playing Zenith Seeker too much so KOTV has been relegated to being a side participant (albeit a rather strong and useful one).

Once I've gotten Kaalia out a few times, other players DO NOT want to kill her as bringing her out again and again is the primary means of card draw. Of course if they don't kill her, there are tons of blink effects to rely on instead, some of which are very funny to get rolling with Feather out...Feather becomes quite the target in that case.

One of my favourite cards in this deck is the Thran Temporal Gateway, as many of the angels, dragons, and demons are legendary, often enough their cost to cast is slashed substantially if I have this out. I never turn down an opening hand that has this card as it enables things like an early Avacyn. I can also thank starting this deck on acquiring not one, but four Mox Ambers before they shot way up in value. They were perhaps $5 at the time, thought it one would be useful for this deck, I would find places for them in other decks as well. Kaalia is very cheap to cast, so the Mox Amber is highly useful early on and nearly always continues to be for the rest of the game.

Another important participant in this deck is Serra the Benevolent. My boyfriend and I play a variant of EDH where we have both a commander and a planeswalker that we can cast at any time (although some combinations have been mutually agreed on being too busted). We call this format of ours "Vizier", Serra is Kaalia's vizier in this deck. Some of our Vizier decks rely heavily on the planeswalker, others like this one, not so much. I have Serra in here to be on theme mostly.

It's been close to two years since I started working on this deck and I am still am extremely passionate about it. It is easily my favourite and the one I tend to baby the most. There's been a lot of changes since I first started it, but originally it was a rather budget deck that has had more upgrades than any of my other decks.

Basics of how the deck works: blink (and sometimes sacrifice) Kaalia to get your hand filled, lots of creatures here that eventually minimize or prevent anyone from doing anything to you.

Pardon this section while I get everything organized...

Blink Effects

Artifacts Conjurer's Closet - best blink effect card for this deck as you may do it every turn (end step)

Instants Cloudshift Ephemerate Long Road Home all three are great if you get Feather, the Redeemed so you can blink Kaalia again and again!

Creatures Restoration Angel - ETB blink effect on another creature Wispweaver Angel - ETB blink effect on another creature Feather, the Redeemed - enables blinking with the above instants Hellkite Courser - blinks a commander from the command zone, only just discovered that this card exists; I do not have it yet but it will be included soon

Other Demon of Catastrophes - while not a blink enabler, should a pesky opponent not kill Kaalia when you want them too, you can sacrifice her to this demon to cast her again

Angelic Renewal - usually I use this to bring back a different creature, but it can be used as a sort of pseudo blink effect for Kaalia if you decide to send her to the graveyard instead of the command zone. This was an early inclusion to this deck that ended up being useful often enough to not remove it. After the rules about commanders and graveyards changed, this card got so much better. Definitely recommend it for any decks running white identity commanders with ETB effects. Pairs nicely with the aforementioned Demon of Catastrophes as well.

Lands

I often push the limit with having as few lands as possible in my decks. Not this one. This is not for Kaalia of the Vast which could get away with fewer. Hitting as many land drops as possible is crucial to making this deck run. On the other, nothing is more frustrating than blinking Kaalia, Zenith Seeker without getting a hit because it's all lands.

Fetches wind up being some of the most important lands in this deck and I am highly considering getting something like Crucible of Worlds to help use the fetches over and over and filter lands out of the deck to make Kaalia's hits better and more consistent.

That said of the others...

Lotus Field - there are many mono-coloured permanents in this deck that have two or three of a single colour in the casting cost, Lotus Field makes a huge difference in the ease of being able to cast them more easily.

Bonders' Enclave - there is almost always a creature that is power 4 or greater on the field with this deck. Although Kaalia can provide card advantage on her own, it's doesn't hurt to have this.

Cathedral of Serra - really this is like more of a free enchantment, it can't tap for mana, but it gives all your white legendaries (of which there are many) fucking BANDING and this is sick in this deck.

Scry Lands - Scrying is actually nice to have in this deck, that said, I have been replacing these as I get something better.

Vault of the Archangel - probably not necessary in this deck, will replace with something else eventually

Mana Rocks

Thran Temporal Gateway is the #1 most important "mana-rock." There are lots of Legendary creatures to cheat out early with it, and on your opponents turn no less. Hell even late game this thing is great. I can't believe it's still less than $1.

Mox Amber - I am so glad I noticed how underrated these were back when they were $5, that's all.

Rakdos Signet et al. are must haves

Arcane Signet and Sol Ring - typical EDH staples. To be perfectly honest though, I have mixed feelings on Sol Ring in this deck as blasphemous as that may sound. On one hand, the ramp is undeniably great, but on the other, there have been many a game where I have wished for just anything that could produce a colour.

Removal

This deck does not have a whole lot of removal in it right now since I've mostly been playing dual commander this past year and some.

WIP

Ajani, Strength of the Pride - conditional since 15 extra life is needed, but that's easy enough in this deck. His 0 ability is a mega board wipe where you can keep all your stuff. I have sometimes swapped him out for other wrath effects, but always end up putting this Ajani back.

Anguished Unmaking - one of the best

Reprobation - underrated card in commander. You want a pesky commander gone without being able to be recast? This and cards like Frogify are personal favourites.

Jaya's Immolating Inferno - hilarious if you have a creature with indestructable with Feather, the Redeemed out as well. Target your own indestructable creature and hit whatever else you want, then get the card back.

Avacyn's Judgment - not as good as Jaya, but can be used similarly

Inner Struggle - will replace eventually

The Elderspell - I mostly have this here in hopes of being able to quickly emblem Serra the Benevolant, but on it's own it's useful enough.

Response / Resurgence - Response side can be used as removal, I mostly use it for the Resurgence side though

Other

Scheming Symmetry - Obviously Vampiric Tutor is better, but in place of it, Scheming Symmetry works great with Kaalia if you play it before casting or blinking her for her ETB if there's a particular creature you're looking for that you'd like her to be able to grab. This card isn't absolutely necessary to this deck, but yea, that's how I typically use it here.

Serra the Benevolent + ElderSpell - get Serra's emblem asap if possible. Sometimes this deck can be slow, having this emblem can help substantially with holding on longer so long as you have a creature. P.S. if you have any Serra Angel cards laying around, these are fun to use as tokens for Serra;s -3 ability.

Maybe List

Most of the maybe board consists of cards I don't have yet but would like to include in here eventually. There are some others that are tentative though.

Hellkite Courser - definitely a priority for this deck, don't have it yet

Arid Mesa - just don't have it yet

Balefire Dragon - currently in another deck but it will be coming out and into this one after some changes are made to the other

Reanimation Spells - my original Kaalia deck from Standard heavily relied on reanimating big creatures to bring them out early, I have been considering ways to adding reanimation to this one, not a ton, but some. Kaalia's ETB can sometimes result in an excess of card draw in hand, but not to the point where Reliquary Tower or Thought Vessel seem worth putting in the deck. Including reanimation effects would address two weaknesses of the deck, that need to discard as well as bringing back other things that have been killed off.

Emeria, The Sky Ruin - Utility land that enables reanimation. Of the three colours in this deck, white is the heaviest so it might be worth it. I will have to proxy this one up to test it out before buying it though as I am unsure how often I'd really have seven plains out.

Soul Exchange - I have not played this card yet but am highly considering it. Completely ignoring the perk for Thrull creature types, Soul Exchange would enable a recast of Kaalia and reanimate another creature for only two mana.

Blood for Bones - similar to Soul Exchange, it would enable a recast of Kaalia, get a creature on the field. If Kaalia is sent to the graveyard, she can be brought back to the hand to evade commander tax.

Bond of Revival and Torrent of Souls - Haste on reanimation is one of my favourite effects, killer with something like Aurelia, the Warleader or Drakuseth, Maw of Flames

Debtors' Knell - I have a few of these in other decks. I quite like this one, but it may be a little slow for this deck. Still considering it though.

Reanimate - of course

The Creatures...

Just some notes about some in particular of each type I like having in this deck

Angels

Feather, the Redeemed - one of the best to have in this deck as she can abuse cards like Cloudshift and Ephemerate on Kaalia.

Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice - underrated card. Her mentor effect won't get a whole lot of use in this deck, it's her other ability that's what's really killer though as there are many other creatures that have both white and red.

Aurelia, the Warleader - just straight up badass

Avacyn, Angel of Hope - a card I used to have from original Avacyn Restored, but was lost. A favourite card which I picked up from our LGS when she turned up one day.

Archangel of Tithes - This deck is fairly slow to get rolling, AoT helps slow down opponents while building up the board

Segovian Angel - I just love this card, it's adorable.

Bruna, the Fading Light   + Gisela, the Broken Blade   - I always try to get Gisela out before Bruna no matter what since Bruna can bring Gisela back. It's rare getting the meld effect for Brisela, Voice of Nightmares    , but when it happens it's awesome.

Emeria Shepherd - I really like this card since she enables getting some stuff back from the graveyard. This deck isn't really designed to really abuse her landfall trigger, but when it happens, it's nice. At some point I will try to get more multicoloured lands that have basic land types to make that happen more easily, but as it is now, it happens often enough that she's worth keeping in this deck.

Demons

Demonlord Belzenlok - I have mixed feelings of having him in this deck. I don't usually need to have a whole lot of card draw, but his ability works really well since so many cards are over 4 mana.

Dragons

Drakuseth, Maw of Flames - one of my favourite cards from Core 2020 (which was one of my favourite sets ever actually).

Scourge of the Throne - in this deck because at the time I added him he was one of the better dragons I owned (that wasn't in storage 1600 miles away). I intend to replace this with something else, Hellkite Courser most likely once I get a copy. Fantastic card, but this deck has enough lifelink that renders his awesome ability a bit useless here.

Non Angels, Dragons, or Demons

Not counting Kaalia, Zenith Seeker since she is the commander, this deck only has two creatures that aren't Angels, Dragons, or Demons.

Odric, Lunarch Marshal - One of my initial inclusions in this deck, sometimes I think about removing him, but whenever he's in play, his effect is just too disgustingly good with everything else, especially with Master of Cruelties.

Kaalia of the Vast - with Kaalia, Zenith Seeker's blink effect, my hand is nearly always full or close to full, so why not have an extra avenue to free cast something if you can?

Other things about this deck

Deck Updates/Plans

2021

Kind of wish I'd kept better progress on this deck in prior years, but oh well.

2021 has not had much come out that begs to be added to this deck, just some minor tweaks here and there.

Modern Horizons 2 - finally acquired an Arid Mesa making this the first deck to have all three of the fetches it would want the most. I really like Piru, the Volatile, don't have him yet but would most likely put him in this deck if I did (also to deter building yet another Mardu deck).

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Budget version

WIP

This deck started out rather budget, and was still pretty effective. I won't be making a full list of cards here, nor will I keep this within a specific budget as the prices of cards change all the time, but hopefully this section will at least present some less expensive options since the engine that makes this deck work itself is rather budget.

Blink Effects

Check the main section I have for blink effects, most of the cards there are extremely inexpensive and they're going to be some of the most important to have in the deck.

An early version of this deck used Astral Visions which allows you to blink a creature whenever you cycle this enchantment or another card. This worked well with budget lands that allowed for some cycling. It was not a huge theme of the deck (and I've since removed this aspect of it), but not a bad route to go with that is extremely cheap!

Lands

I had some of the shocks/checks but not all. Mostly used a lot of tap lands that have mostly been replaced by now. The Scry (Temples) lands are still useful here. Cathedral of Serra was a $1 card when I got it last year (Italian version), it sucks that it went up so much because this card is actually awesome in this deck provided you have enough white legendary creatures. You might get lucky and find one in bulk boxes if your LGS has any, it was only uncommon.

I am a huge fan of the cycle of Thriving Lands (i.e. Thriving Bluff ) from JumpStart. While they are not in this deck, I have been using them a ton in newer decks I've built. They are very cheap as well and highly versatile. If you need to use a lot of tap lands, not a bad idea to throw something like Blood Sun in any deck that runs red as it will enable your tap lands to come in untapped. You will lose any functions that utility lands might provide, (so that's something to consider), but in place, all of your taplands can enter untapped which is a huge benefit for a three colour deck like this one with a lot of big spells.

Mana Fixing

WIP

Corrupted Graftstone was a mana rock I originally had in this deck, if you go with more of a reanimation route for it, this one is great to have.

Creatures

WIP

Many of the creatures were also significantly cheaper at the time (or were already in my collection), really you can just add whatever angels/dragons/demons you have that are best. Both of the angels that blink, Resplendent Angel and Wispweaver Angel are extremely cheap. Demon of Catastrophes is also very cheap, used to sacrifice Kaalia so you can bring her out again. The blink instants/sorceries above are cheap as well as is Feather, the Redeemed.

Other

Thran Temporal Gateway is extremely cheap and one of the best cards provided you have enough legendary creatures.

Date added	5 years
Last updated	2 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	24 - 0 Mythic Rares 44 - 0 Rares 9 - 0 Uncommons 9 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	4.10
Tokens	Ajani's Pridemate, Angel 4/4 W w/ Vigilance, Emblem Serra the Benevolent, Karox Bladewing, Spirit 1/1 WB
Folders	Vallaris EDH Decks