Kaalia, Zenith Seeker: Of course she'll call on herself first! This new iteration of our beloved and vengeful General/Commander was gifted to us from Core 2020. Kaalia 2.0 is not as powerful as the original but she does provide value. When she enters the battlefield we can look at the top six cards of our library and choose an angel, demon and/or dragon to put into our hand. At her best she will give us three cards and a 3/3 flying, vigilant body for . That is a potentially great return on such a meager investment of mana. Due to her potential card draw, Kaalia, Zenith Seeker is also a great reanimation target and a valuable creature to exile with Mimic Vat.
Drakuseth, Maw of Flames: Another legendary creature from Core 2020, Drakuseth, Maw of Flames replaced Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker from the initial construction of this deck. As the focus of this deck transitioned from enter the battlefield triggers to reanimation, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker became replaceable. Additionally, he's not an angel, dragon or demon! The Vorthos in me can no longer allow non-Kaalia of the Vast avengers to be in the deck! Anyway, getting Drakuseth, Maw of Flames into play early with Kaalia of the Vast can create havoc for our opponents and their smaller, dorkier creatures. WARNING: putting Drakuseth, Maw of Flames into play with Kaalia of the Vast's attack trigger WILL NOT trigger Drakuseth's attack triggers. This is unfortunate, but we're still attacking with a 7/7 flier.
Master of Cruelties: A game-ending combo for an unlucky opponent exists between Master of Cruelties and Kaalia of the Vast. Master of Cruelties can only attack alone, which means that when he is declared an attacker no other creature can legally be declared attacking with him. However, when Kaalia of the Vast attacks, her ability allows us to put Master of Cruelties onto the battlefield ALREADY tapped and attacking. Thus, Master of Cruelties hits the battlefield ALREADY ATTACKING and therefore his attack trigger is ignored because he was never declared an attacker. If both Kaalia of the Vast and Master of Cruelties are unblocked in this scenario then Master of Cruelties's ability will trigger, sending our opponent's life total to one. Then Kaalia of the Vast will deal two damage through the air and eliminate that opponent. Harsh!
Balefire Dragon: If it deals combat damage to an opponent, Balefire Dragon acts as an opponent-focused Inferno. Dealing six points of combat damage to our opponent is nice, but dealing six points of damage to every creature they control is the hot fudge, whipped cream, chopped nuts and extra cherries on top of the sundae that is Balefire Dragon. This Mythic Rare dragon from Innistrad really enjoys being equipped with Blade of Selves. If the air is clear over our opponents' battlefields then imagine the delight of dealing six points of combat damage to each opponent and six points of damage to all of their creatures! Everything gets Infernoed but us and our creatures!
Hellkite Tyrant: This 6/5 flying trampler allows us to gain control of all artifacts an opponent controls if it deals combat damage to that opponent. Aside from Master of Cruelties, Hellkite Tyrant is the creature I want in my opening hand. If we can cast a hasty Kaalia of the Vast on turn three or four and swing into an opponent with her and Hellkite Tyrant and take control of their freshly-ramped mana rocks then we may be unstoppable. Imagine the shenanigans of Hellkite Tyrant carrying a Blade of Selves!
Lord of the Void: If Lord of the Void had trample a la Hellkite Tyrant then he would be one of the most powerful demons in Magic's history. Well, a 7/7 flier still is impressive. When Lord of the Void deals combat damage to an opponent, we can exile the top seven cards of that player's library and put a creature from among them into play under our control. Lord of the Void also wears Blade of Selves extremely well.
Baneslayer Angel: Baneslayer Angel brings the stats! For just we get a 5/5 angel with flying, first strike, lifelink and protection from demons and dragons. For the purposes of this deck, I wish Baneslayer Angel did not have protection. Having an opponent steal her away from us is heart-breaking and concerning. Well, honestly, who wouldn't be heartbroken about losing an angel? This angel's lifelink is very valuable in a deck where there are a lot of ways to lose incidental life as we try to advance our board state.
Aurelia, the Warleader: Let's proceed with caution when bestowing the virtues of the great Aurelia. For we get a 3/4 flying, hasty and vigilant angel that can give us an additional attack phase whenever she attacks for the first time each turn. Our problem is that Aurelia's attack trigger will not trigger if she is put onto the battlefield with Kaalia of the Vast. The Warleader will ALREADY be tapped and attacking due to Kaalia's trigger so we will not get an additional attack phase in this scenario. Even so, Aurelia, the Warleader is powerful and must be included. Pairing a freshly summoned Aurelia, the Warleader and Kaalia of the Vast in a combat phase feels so good. Make sure you've got a fist full of creatures!
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight: One of the amazing angels from Avacyn Restored, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight is an ultimate force on the battlefield. Pay close attention to her text: "If a source would deal damage to an opponent or a permanent an opponent controls..." "A source" is not just us. This means that our opponents can deal double damage to each other! Meanwhile, half of all damage that is done to us or permanents we control is prevented by 50% or more. Suddenly, Battlefield Forge, Caves of Koilos and Sulfurous Springs aren't so painful anymore! Gisela is amazing and can end games quickly once she enters the battlefield. She is our finisher.
Avacyn, Angel of Hope: Speaking of amazing angels from Avacyn Restored, we have the set's namesake up next. Avacyn, Angel of Hope protects all of our permanents by giving them indestructible. Additionally, she's an indestructible 8/8 with flying and vigilance. She can attack and block with little fear of dying. She gives Kaalia of the Vast indestructible so she can attack and put a flying creature onto the battlefield with little fear of being sent to the Command Zone. Many nefarious things can be done with Avacyn, Angel of Hope. I can't say that Armageddon isn't included in this deck.
Razaketh, the Foulblooded: An 8/8 flying demon with trample checks all of the necessary boxes for inclusion into a Kaalia of the Vast EDH/Commander deck. Razaketh, the Foulblooded adds more. If we pay two life and sacrifice another creature we can search our library for a card and put it into our hand. We don't have the ability to create a lot of tokens in this deck, and sacrificing our powerful angels, demons and dragons seems counter-intuitive to the goals of this deck. Sometimes the loss of a powerful creature in exchange for an answer to a threat or threats is acceptable. Don't worry, as this deck list continues you will see that there are numerous ways to easily recur these sacrificed creatures when needed.
Vilis, Broker of Blood: This legendary demon from Core 2020 is an 8/8 flier with the ability to destroy creatures. Tapping for and paying two life will give target creature -1 -1 until end of turn. There is an added bonus with this interaction. Whenever we lose life, we draw that many cards. By tapping for and paying two life we draw two cards from the loss of life. CAUTION: Drawing cards is great and seeing our opponents' creatures going to the graveyard or Command Zone is great too, but losing two life each time to do so can add up quickly. Keep an eye on that life total!
Bogardan Hellkite: A 5/5 dragon with flash and flying for is terrible. A 5/5 dragon with flash and flying for that when it enters the battlefield it can spread five points of damage among any number of eligible targets is a lot better. Bogardan Hellkite is in this deck due to its enter the battlefield trigger. As a creature we are able to recur Bogardan Hellkite and use its enter the battlefield trigger repeatedly with Strionic Resonator, Mimic Vat and Blade of Selves.
Ryusei, the Falling Star: The most impressive feature of this dragon is its death trigger. When Ryusei, the Falling Star dies it deals five damage to each creature without flying. Except for Master of Cruelties, every single creature in our deck has flying. How many of our opponents' decks typically can say the same? This is a great target for Mimic Vat in order to keep the ground clear.
Thunder Dragon: Thunder Dragon has an enter the battlefield trigger that deals three damage to each creature without flying. This dragon's stats are not great, as a 5/5 flier for leaves much to be desired, but the miniaturized board sweep is valuable and repeatable. Thunder Dragon can eliminate swarms of tokens and is another great target for Mimic Vat, Strionic Resonator and Blade of Selves.
Overseer of the Damned: This 5/5 flying demon debuted in Commander 2014. When it enters the battlefield we may destroy target creature. Additionally, whenever a nontoken creature an opponent controls dies, we can create a tapped 2/2 black zombie creature token. These tokens are great chump-blockers and/or fodder for Razaketh, the Foulblooded. As a bonus, we don't need to always send our opponents' nontoken creatures to the graveyard in order to create a zombie token. ANYTIME an opponent's nontoken creature dies we create the token. If an opponent sacrifices nontoken creatures, we get zombies. If nontoken creatures die during opponent-on-opponent combat, we get zombies. If an opponent's General/Commander dies, we get a zombie. Zombies zombies everywhere!
Angel of Serenity: Angel of Serenity's versatility is its most valuable attribute for our deck, because a 5/6 flier for will win few popularity contests. Upon entering the battlefield, we may exile up to three other creatures from the battlefield and/or graveyard. When Angel of Serenity leaves the battlefield the previously exiled creatures are returned to their owners' hands. We can remove threats from the battlefield. We bring back some creatures from our graveyard. We can use Angel of Serenity as a political ploy. She provides us with a lot of options.
Sower of Discord: Let the politicking begin! When Sower of Discord enters the battlefield we choose two players. Whenever damage is dealt to one of the chosen players, the other chosen player loses that much life. DISCLOSURE: When down to one opponent and ahead on life I have cast Sower of Discord and chosen myself and my opponent. If not removed from play, what does the opponent do? What's not to love about this card!?
Kokusho, the Evening Star: This is all about Kokusho, the Evening Star's death trigger. When Kokusho dies each opponent loses five life and we gain life equal to the life lost this way. This is another great target for Mimic Vat. This is also a great fit for Blade of Selves. If we have three opponents and attack with Kokusho, the Evening Star while it's equipped with Blade of Selves then we put a token that's a copy of Kokusho onto the battlefield tapped and attacking each other opponent. When these tokens enter the battlefield, the Legend Rule applies and we must choose one Kokusho, the Evening Star to keep (the equipped one). The tokens die and their death triggers trigger and our opponents lose ten life each and we gain 30. Life gain is an important feature for us as we can really do some self-inflicted damage.
Angel of Despair: This wannabe Asajj Ventress is a 5/5 flier for . These stats are not overwhelming. However, her enter the battlefield trigger is: When Angel of Despair enters the battlefield destroy target permanent. ANY permanent. Mimic Vat loves Angel of Despair. Who wouldn't love an angel?!
Demonlord Belzenlok: This Mythic Rare from Dominaria is a 6/6 flying trampler for . On these merits alone Demonlord Belzenlok is a solid addition to this deck. His enter the battlefield trigger is where he really shines: When Demonlord Belzenlok enters the battlefield, we exile cards from the top of our library until we exile a nonland card, then we put that card into our hand. If the card's converted mana cost is four or greater, repeat this process. Demonlord Belzenlok deals one damage to us for each card put into our hand this way. WHOA! Wait, can this kill us? Possibly. Out of the 58 nonland cards in our deck, 37 cards have a converted mana cost (CMC) of four or more. That's 63.8%. Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? No. Minimally we'll get at least one card. The odds are in our favor to get more than one, however, and that's a valuable commodity for a deck that wants big creatures in our hand in order for Kaalia of the Vast to exact her revenge. CAUTION: I would not cast Demonlord of Belzenlok if I had less than five life.
Rune-Scarred Demon: This is a flying Demonic Tutor. It costs much more than a Demonic Tutor, but attaching a 6/6 flying body to it enables it as a prime target for recursion. Our usual suspects of Mimic Vat, Blade of Selves and Strionic Resonator love Rune-Scarred Demon, and so should you!
Karmic Guide: Throughout the early portion of this deck's description we've eluded to recursive effects. Angel of Serenity offers some recursive effects, but not as instantly as Karmic Guide. When Karmic Guide enters the battlefield, we return target creature card from our graveyard to the battlefield. Karmic Guide's echo cost of makes it unlikely that she'll see consecutive turns outside of being recurred herself. However, if in dire straights we could pay to keep her around. Karmic Guide's enter the battlefield creature recursion is so valuable. Additionally, we can recur the recursion...yes, that's what I meant to say. Owning it!
Bladewing the Risen: This 4/4 flying dragon costs and gives dragons we control +1 +1 until end of turn for . These states alone are not strong enough to justify this dragon's presence in the deck. However, when Bladewing the Risen enters the battlefield we may return a dragon permanent card from our graveyard into play. Returning only a dragon creature card from our graveyard to play is restrictive, considering that the deck is filled with demons and angels also. We have eight other dragons in our deck aside from Bladewing the Risen and any one of them is valuable enough to recur. Additionally, he is a piece to a game-ending infinite combo involving Dragon Tempest. We equip Blade of Selves to Bladewing the Risen prior to attacking. When equipped and Bladewing the Risen attacks Blade of Selves will create tokens that are copies of Bladewing the Risen (one for each opponent Bladewing the Risen is not attacking). Due to the Legend Rule, only one Legendary Bladewing the Risen can remain under our control. We keep a token, sending the other token(s) and the original Bladewing the Risen to the graveyard. The enter the battlefield abilities of the Bladewing the Risen tokens trigger, and then we return the original Bladewing the Risen to the battlefield, it dies due to the Legend Rule, recur it again with its enter the battlefield trigger and continue to repeat this process. With Dragon Tempest under our control, this cycle will produce infinite damage and win us the game.
Yosei, the Morning Star: Similar to Kokusho, the Evening Star, Yosei, the Morning Star's greatest value is its death trigger. If Yosei, the Morning Star dies, target player skips their next untap phase and we can tap five of their permanents. Paired with Mimic Vat this can become oppressive for an opponent. Paired with Blade of Selves this can lock-out an opponent for many turns. For each Yosei, the Morning Star that dies due to the Legend Rule after attacking and wearing Blade of Selves, an opponent skips their untap phase and we tap five of their permanents. If three Yosei, the Morning Stars die then we could choose the same opponent with each death trigger, forcing them to skip three consecutive untap steps and tapping up to 15 of their permanents!
Doom Whisperer: This Mythic Rare demon from Guilds of Ravnica is included in this deck due to its surveil ability. Doom Whisperer's surveil ability allows us to set-up future draws and/or load up the graveyard. Additionally, it's a 6/6 flying trampler for only . Doom Whisperer replaced Darksteel Plate from the initial construction of this deck. I think I undervalue Darksteel Plate and don't appreciate it enough. I seemed to either find a different use for the mana needed to equip it or didn't bother casting it from my hand. I suppose self-awareness is a positive in this regard and thus Darksteel Plate is replaced by a card I KNOW I'll get into play every possible chance.
Ob Nixilis, Unshackled: A 4/4 flying trampler for is not optimal. Ob Nixilis, Unshackled's text is what matters more: Whenever an opponent searches their library, they sacrifice a creature and loses ten life. Remind me, do players search their libraries in EDH/Commander? Whenever another creature dies, put a +1 +1 counter on Ob Nixilis, Unshackled. Remind me, how often do creatures die in EDH/Commander? ALL CREATURES. Not just nontoken creatures. ALL CREATURES! Tokens. Generals/Commanders. ALL OF THEM!!!! Ob Nixilis, Unshackled replaced Necropotence from this deck's initial build. Admittedly, this exchange was more about needing Necropotence in a different deck than wanting Necropotence out of this deck. With the addition of Doom Whisperer and the emergence of Vilis, Broker of Blood, removing Necropotence seemed easier. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS DECK, waiting a full turn for cards from Necropotence while Kaalia of the Vast is on the battlefield is limiting. Our General/Commander is a target, and each turn she survives is a turn closer to victory. We must take full advantage of her summoning ability while she's under our control and we need creatures in our hand to do it. Necropotence is better served in an Edgar Markov deck where emptying our hand can happen every turn and re-stocking it is vital to its success. DISCLOSURE: That's where Necropotence currently resides. DISCLOSURE II: Ob Nixilis, Unshackled loves Field of Ruin.
