Updated 31 January 2024
"And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." - Matthew 24:29-31
"Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands..." Revelation 5:11-12
What the deck is and how it's played
This is a straight up mono-white aggro deck, focused on a heavy angelic theme with creatures and generally a lot of the card artwork, with some supporting non-angel creatures. The ideal battle plan is to establish solid ramp in the early game with cards like Mana Crypt, Urza's Incubator and/or Herald's Horn, getting Giada out early and starting to dump angels onto the field. The deck has a fair variety of protection spells and even graveyard recursion in the form of Ascend from Aevernus. If allowed to establish a powerful board state early game, the deck functions very well. Main drawbacks can be running out of gas with low or no cards in hand, lack of draw abilities and trying to rebuild from a board wipe.
Card Draw / Advantage
White is notoriously bad at card draw. Thankfully, we have gotten some new(ish) cards that help in this area, and even some that fit nicely into the angel theme.
Esper Sentinel - nothing new here, and a mono-white staple card at this point. If lucky enough to have him out on turn 1, can really help build up a hand to setup for early or mid-game plays. Expect him to be a huge target for removal.
Firemane Commando - A pleasant new addition from the latest Phyrexian block. Attacking with two creatures to get card draw is easy in this deck, and since most of the creatures in the deck are flying, we usually don't have to worry about blockers to risk losing them in the process. Her second ability can also be a political bargaining chip with opponents to give them card draw for leaving you alone (don't expect this to happen often though, as this deck does draw significant hate).
Angelic Sleuth - An addition from Capenna, this card can be a blessing when faced with a board wipe. Presumably having other angels on the field with counters on them, thanks to Giada's ability, we can turn a board wipe into a net positive by giving us Clue tokens to help us draw cards. Good insurance policy.
Archivist of Oghma - One of the few non-angels in the deck, but a significant addition for a commander game. If dropped early game, can also help with generating significant card advantage especially if playing against opponents that ramp or tutor early-game.
Loran of the Third Path - Another white staple card, this time from Brothers War. Can be a useful political tool, like Firemane Commando, to strike a deal for a turn or two. Also doubles as a great removal spell similar to Reclamation Sage.
Battle Angels of Tyr - Not only a card draw engine but a game winner, if left unchecked by opponents. The chance of you drawing a card from his ability is pretty high, so attacking with him every turn you can is very profitable.
Secret Rendezvous - From the Strixhaven set, I've included this card as basically a mono-white version of Harmonize, but with the added (potential) benefit of being used as a political card with an opponent. Yeah, it sucks letting an opponent get three free cards, but politicking is an important skill any commander player needs to develop, and this helps enable that.
Herald's Horn - While not explicitly a card draw engine, it does offer a chance to draw an angel and allow you to then draw your normal card for turn. Obvious addition to the deck due to its discount ability for our angels.
Thoughts on other cards and musings
Segovian Angel - My main reason for adding this little girl into the deck was predominantly to allow for a very early creature drop and as a chump blocker, not to mention her synergy with other angels in the deck. Ideally I prefer to have Giada out first, so Segovian can at least enter as a 2/2 at minimum to give her a bit more of a surviving chance. Not a make or break card for the deck, but I like her a lot and she has worked very well as an easy creature drop in early-mid game that gets big easily.
Angelic Curator - This is an oddity that I figured "eh, why not," to add to the deck. Like Segovian, it's an easy drop early game and functions as a good blocker if needed. The added protection from artifacts is not often useful, but you really never know. And the best part is because of it being such an obscure card, opponents that swing out with an artifact creature tend to forget the pro-artifact part ;)
Serra the Benevolent - So, Serra is really a pet card for me. Since the early days of Magic I was always fascinated with the lore surrounding Serra and having her finally see representation in the game as a Planeswalker card made me happy. Is she a great card for this deck? Not particularly, all things considered. This deck doesn't suffer from having a lack of threatening creatures or a number of them, but Serra to me is a nice little buff that can help in the short-term. If lucky enough, activating her ultimate to get a Worship emblem is very sweet indeed.
Is Giada the best / ideal Angel commander for this deck? - I would argue yes. Some may find that Lyra Dawnbringer would make for a more ideal commander for her anthem abilities, but she runs the risk of getting hated as soon as she is cast. Giada, in my experience, often makes her appearance on turn 2 (or even turn 1) and is not at risk of being destroyed in the early game. Giada's ability to help pay for angels, and her ability to grant counters to other angels as they enter is more flexible for me than the more risky Lyra, hence why I've placed her in the 99 instead.
