The Holy Clap Back (update v1.3)

Commander / EDH Aggro Angels Casual Primer RGW (Naya) Tribal

kindsith

Creature (23)

• 1x Aegis Angel
• 1x Anya, Merciless Angel
• 1x Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice *f-pre*
• 1x Aurelia, the Warleader
• 1x Avacyn, Guardian Angel
• 1x Emeria Shepherd
• 1x Exalted Angel
• 1x Exquisite Archangel
• 1x Feather, the Redeemed
• 1x Firemane Angel
• 1x Firemane Avenger
• 1x Flameblade Angel
• 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• 1x Razia, Boros Archangel
• 1x Requiem Angel
• 1x Serra Avatar
• 1x Shalai, Voice of Plenty
• 1x Shattered Angel
• 1x Sigarda, Heron's Grace
• 1x Sigarda, Host of Herons
• 1x Sunblade Angel
• 1x Sunblast Angel
• 1x Tiana, Ship's Caretaker

Enchantment (12)

• 1x Cindervines
• 1x Demotion
• 1x Faith's Fetters
• 1x Gift of Immortality
• 1x Gift of Paradise
• 1x Indestructibility
• 1x Luminous Bonds
• 1x Overwhelming Splendor
• 1x Rhythm of the Wild
• 1x Sigil of the New Dawn
• 1x Spirit Mantle
• 1x Weirding Wood

Land (32)

• 1x Blossoming Sands
• 1x Boros Garrison
• 1x Clifftop Retreat
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Detection Tower
• 5x Forest
• 1x Fortified Village
• 1x Gruul Guildgate
• 1x Gruul Turf
• 1x Guildmages' Forum
• 1x Jungle Shrine
• 3x Mountain
• 1x Needle Spires
• 4x Plains
• 1x Rugged Highlands
• 1x Selesnya Sanctuary
• 1x Seraph Sanctuary
• 1x Stone Quarry
• 1x Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
• 1x Temple of Triumph
• 1x Tranquil Expanse
• 1x Unknown Shores
• 1x Wind-Scarred Crag

Sorcery (11)

• 1x Burn from Within
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Eternal Isolation
• 1x Grow from the Ashes
• 1x Harvest Season
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Open the Gates
• 1x Rampant Growth
• 1x Sudden Disappearance
• 1x Take Vengeance
• 1x Traverse the Ulvenwald

Commander (1)

Instant (13)

• 1x Angel's Grace
• 1x Aurelia's Fury
• 1x Chance for Glory
• 1x Dawn Charm
• 1x Deflecting Palm
• 1x Disenchant
• 1x Haze of Pollen
• 1x Immolating Glare
• 1x Naya Charm
• 1x Rally of Wings
• 1x Rebuke
• 1x Shared Summons
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

Artifact (8)

• 1x Boros Locket
• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Firemind Vessel
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Lifecrafter's Bestiary
• 1x Obelisk of Naya
• 1x Selesnya Signet
• 1x Vanquisher's Banner

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I have been wanting to make an angel theme deck for quite a while now and finally got around to it after getting Rinne, angel of Rebirth. I have had a lot of fun throwing this together from cards I had on hand. The following primer is the first that I have written for any of my decks. Any and all constructive criticism for the write up is appreciated, as are replacement spells. Thanks in advance!

Here is a breakdown of the deck, minus lands and mana rocks as they are self-explanatory. I am going to break the cards down by purpose (offensive spells, ramp, etc.) as opposed to card type (instant, sorcery, etc.).

UPDATE 1.2 So after playing this a handful of times I have taken a few of the recommendations from the users here. I will update the primer sometime in the next few days.

-OUT- Boros Guildgate , Gateway Plaza , Maze's End , Justice Strike , Beacon of Immortality , Hyena Umbra

-IN- Jungle Shrine , Guildmages' Forum , Command Tower , Take Vengeance , Rhythm of the Wild , Exquisite Archangel

UPDATE 1.3 I found 2 new cards that I thought would work well and have found 2 cards that haven't made a difference or meaningful appearance.

-In- Cindervines , Seraph Sanctuary

-Out- Swift Reckoning , Urza's Ruinous Blast

Commander

Rienne, Angel of Rebirth costs 5 CMC. Not the cheapest, but not the most expensive I have played either. I haven’t been attacking or defending with it due to the small buff and return feature are pretty useful when half of the creatures are multicolored.

Offensive Spells

The card in this section that I find most interesting is Rally of Wings . I have had pretty good luck in this and other decks by using it on your opponent’s turn after you attacked. Try to lull them into making an attack with some of their more important creatures and then surprising them by untapping all of your creatures with a +2/+2 letting you take out their creatures a little easier than you would otherwise if they like to sit on them.

Deflecting Palm , Aurelia's Fury , Justice Strike , and Burn from Within are all pretty straight forward damage dealing spells while Swords to Plowshares , Rebuke , Urza's Ruinous Blast , Disenchant , Immolating Glare , and Swift Reckoning are all removal/destroy effects.

Defensive Spells

Dawn Charm is very useful situationaly to mitigate damage. Haze of Pollen is more straightforward spell for the same mitigation.

Demotion , Luminous Bonds , Faith's Fetters , and Eternal Isolation all lock down any heavy hitters that your opponent may play. If you need to really take the wind out of their sails Overwhelming Splendor is available.

Hyena Umbra is solid when put on whatever your heaviest hitter on the board is. Any direct damage or destroy effects are negated.

Gift of Immortality , and Sigil of the New Dawn , work similar to the commander in that they bring creatures back from the graveyard. These 2 cards are best saved for a few of the mono-white angels since Rienne brings back multicolored creatures.

Indestructibility and Spirit Mantle are both simple protection spells.

Beacon of Immortality is a no-brainer in that it doubles your life and then gets shuffled into your deck to potentially double your life again. Rinse-Repeat.

Angel's Grace is a life saver. Literally. It usually gets you another turn to try to win the game. Having it in your hand in the late game is crucial.

Effect Spells

Vanquisher's Banner gives a slight boost to your angels and provides draw as you play them.

Naya Charm is another one of those spells that are situationally awesome.

Lifecrafter's Bestiary is a simple draw enchantment that is fairly cheap to trigger.

Chance for Glory , and Sudden Disappearance can be used to set up huge amounts of damage dealt to your opponent.

Ramp

Shared Summons allows you to pull 2 creature cards.

Harvest Season , Weirding Wood , Gift of Paradise , Cultivate , Kodama's Reach , Open the Gates , Rampant Growth , Grow from the Ashes , and Traverse the Ulvenwald are all staple mana ramp cards for any deck that has access to them.

Angels with Offensive Abilities

Firemane Avenger deals 3 damage to any target and gives you 3 life

Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice boosts an attacking creature

Aurelia, the Warleader gives you an additional combat phase

Anya, Merciless Angel provides boosts if your opponent has less than half their life

Gisela, Blade of Goldnight doubles damage dealt, and halves damage taken

Razia, Boros Archangel redirects damage to target creature

Sunblast Angel destroys all tapped creatures when it’s played

Requiem Angel creates a token spirit when another creature dies

Serra Avatar stats are based on your life.

Flameblade Angel deals one damage to the controller of anything that damages you

Sunblade Angel flying, first strike, vigilance, lifelink

Angels with Defensive Abilities

Feather, the Redeemer brings back instant and sorcery spells

Tiana, Ship's Caretaker brings back aura spells

Sigarda, Host of Herons makes it so you can’t be forced to sacrifice anything

Sigarda, Heron's Grace gives you hexproof

Firemane Angel gives you life on your upkeep, and returns to the battlefield

Emeria Shepherd return cards from graveyard on landfall

Shalai, Voice of Plenty gives you and your stuff hexproof

Shattered Angel gives you life on opponent’s landfall

Aegis Angel grants another permanent indestructible

Avacyn, Guardian Angel prevents damage from color of your choice

Exalted Angel has lifelink and can be cast for a morph cost

Top Ranked	Achieved #20 position overall 5 years ago Achieved #13 position in Commander / EDH 5 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Primer 5 years ago
Date added	5 years
Last updated	5 years
Exclude colors	UB
Splash colors	WRG
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	13 - 0 Mythic Rares 30 - 0 Rares 21 - 0 Uncommons 20 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.79
Tokens	Clue, Human Soldier 1/1 W, Morph 2/2 C, Spirit 1/1 W
Folders	My Decks, EDH Decks, Commander Decks, Fun Decks