unstoppable-deck
Deckling -
MTG Decks
black sacrifice deck
Unknown*
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ATTACK OF THE CLONES
Unknown
4992 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER
green black white reanimator
Standard*
2768 VIEWS
red green aggro
Modern*
312 VIEWS
Finished Decks | 77 |
Prototype Decks | 30 |
Drafts | 0 |
Avg. deck rating | None |
T/O Rank | 775 |
Helper Rank | 109 |
Joined | 13 years |
Said on Kaalia of the …...
#1My own Kaalia deck also has a heavy reanimator theme and I have also been playing it/mtg for over a decade now. I don't want you to take it personally, I'm trying to offer constructive criticism with what I see as bizarre includes in this particular commander, which wants specific things to work at all. I also have plenty of flex slots, interaction, and synergies because Kaalia will always be a target and need a lot of ramp, card draw, and other ways to cheat out big things. Specific examples, eh? Ok....
-There is almost no ramp in there. Mox amber most games is a totally dead card because you won't have any legendaries in the first 3-4 turns of the game and thus cannot ramp early. These turns are important for any commander but especially kaalia because you need to get her out or something else ASAP, or at least before your opponents can stop you. More signets, talismans, whatever.
-Your various cheaters, Bolas' citadel, quicksilver amulet, helm of the host, panharmonicon, lithoform engine, sneak attack, teleportation circle, flame shadow conjuring all cost at least 4+ mana, with most at costing 4 which conflicts with casting kaalia. You have so many of these in what order do you cast these, before or after you get kaalia out? Either way they throw off your tempo and what you're trying to do with this deck, which is to be aggressive. If you want to play slower, the game might either be over by the time you get any engine in place, people will remove your scary threats, and none of these cards control the board or stop your opponents from developing their game plans. You're setting up while your opponents are doing other things to accelerate. Again, there's not enough ramp to get you to most of these piece so more than likely you're waiting until turn 4 to land a quicksilver amulet or whatever that does nothing while your opponents already have threats on board. Not only that, the lack of ramp does not get you to any of these pieces any faster. You can't really on one sol ring or one arcane signet.
-There's not enough life gain support. A random planes walker, one soul sister, Vito, angelic chorus (ANOTHER expensive do nothing enchantment), blind obedience, ayli, bishop of wings, charming prince, a valkyrie, and maybe two or three other pieces is not enough to fill out a sub theme. There's even fewer pay offs for life gain and I can't imagine that most games you draw enough pieces for them to work together in the way that you want. You'll have a bishop of wings in play and no angels, or charming prince with no way to blink it, etc. The life paying pay offs are also so life intensive that you'll be almost dead before you get to do anything cool. I'm speaking from experience here--people see kaalia and regardless of what you're doing you will get all the aggro sent your way and without drawing any of the things that might gain you back a little bit of life, you'll be out first easy, which is what happened to me NUMEROUS times.
-I can kind of understand ETB stuff/doublers, but again they're so expensive. You get out knight of the white orchid turn two, wait until 4 and 5 to get out panharmonicon and then elesh norn, then wait until turn 6 to get one of only 4(!) blink spells, which can potentially then get 2 out of only 5(!) plains cards from the deck, assuming you haven't played them already or have some in you hand, had them milled, etc. Going into turn 7, you have 7-8 lands in play, probably no kaalia because you spent three turns ramping, and none of your permanents offer any tribal support. This admittedly ridiculous scenario is dependant on you always drawing 4 exact card to make a synergy. Then a board wipe happens and everyone else rebuilds faster than you.
-There is frighteningly little card draw or advantage in this deck. No vilis, no one off card draw like sign in blood or the like, no repeatable black market connections, etc. Not saying to use exactly these cards but what happens when opponents blow up your ETB engines or kill kaalia? My own deck empties the hand fast, gets wiped, and needs to rebuild. How are you going to rebuild by top decking? Assuming you even get most of this stuff out in the first place, with the little ramp you have you tap out to play one card a turn, pass, and hope for the best. Unless you intend on discarding to hand size and then reanimating something, a play I have also made? Animate Dead and reanimate will get you there, again only two cards in the deck that you likely will not even have. The other reanimation stuff is too expensive and won't get going until turn 5, again far too slow of a clock.
-The amount of protection for kaalia is shockingly low. Again, she requires a very specific build. you need to protect her with instant speed stuff because people will kill her ASAP. I recently played a game where my three opponents teamed up to use three different interaction spells in order to deal with kaalia. I used two answers in my hand and that still wasn't enough. never mind your scary beaters, which will be killed, stolen, used against you, copied, exiled, or turned into indestructible bugs. A three mana sorcery is not enough. Swiftfoot boots, flawless maneuver, ANY white indestructible spell, etc.
-Do you intend on playing kaalia on turn 4 (the most likely scenario, given how again there is so little ramp in there), then angel fire ignition the next turn? The haste at that point is pointless and kaalia is likely dead already. Or do you wait until turn 7 (!), cast kaalia, angel fire ignition, then get one, maybe two threats in for free with a trigger doubler? At that point why not just cast the big creature by paying the full 7 mana for it? peregrine dynamo will not get you there, especially since you have to now pay an additional one for this scenario!
-Helm of the host--cute, but 5 mana equip? or do you wait to cast kaalia turn 8 for 4, play land on turn 9, cast helm and equip, then get two triggers? None of these scenarios sound very appealing or realistic to me.
-Almost no board wipes or ways to interact with what the opponents are doing. I hate running interaction as well but you need more than a token toxic deluge or vindicate that doesn't even always deal with the threat. I peronsonally run anguished unmaking because it's way better.
-Autie blyte is a complete non sequitur to me. I don't understand the inclusion there at all. Is THAT your interaction? Maybe kill one thing? There's no +1/+1 synergies whatsoever in this deck. Please take that card out.
-Dualcaster mage is very nearly the same situation. It's a great card, but you have only one way of going infinite with it. What are the chances that you assemble this combo with almost no card draw? Your current instant/sorcery package does not support being improved by the inclusion of a card that is dead in most cases (of course except the rare cases where you copy opponents' spells, which is no way to make a game plan).
-Archangel of Thune is a dream. you won't get your lifegain enablers and even if you do, blinking any creature will immediately lose the +1/+1 counters. if this is your plan for auntie blyte I'm telling you it won't happen.
-I tried emeria shepherd in my kaalia deck. I did not have enough plains to make it worth it and neither do you. You definitely do not have enough lands to trigger the return to hand ability or enough mana to even cast the thing/cheat it out.
-Sorry, goblin engineer is actually the most random include in the deck. Are you sacrificing mox amber to get back...a sol ring? Arcane signet? palantir? This is not worth a slot here.
-That maybe board is a deck in and of itself.
My honest option is that if you want to do a blink/ETB/reanimator theme in mardu switch out the commander for ANYTHING else. Make a partner deck. Kaalia attracts way too much heat and you won't get to play the game that you want to. I think there's a good idea hidden in there somewhere but not as a kaalia deck deck. Either mass overhaul, following my suggestions, or keep the main themes and take out the demon/angel/kaalia stuff. But trust me, you can't do it all. It took me a while to get my own version in shape. But again I don't think this version works as a kaalia deck. Take my opinion for what it's worth.
December 21, 2024 10:47 p.m.