KAALIA'S CATACLYSM - Aggro/Stax [cEDH Primer] (Commander / EDH MTG Deck)

KAALIA'S CATACLYSM - Aggro/Stax [cEDH Primer]

Commander / EDH Aggro Angels Combo Competitive Demons Dragons Land Destruction Primer RBW (Mardu) Stax

zAzen7977

Combo - Artifact Victory (4)

Combo - Damage-Doubler (3)

Combo Hate (1)

1x Praetor's Grasp

Creature - Kaalia Target (17)

Creature - Stax (10)

Draw (10)

Graveyard Hate (2)

Haste Enabler (3)

Land (32)

Land Destruction (3)

Non-Creature Stax (5)

Protection (6)

Ramp (16)

Removal (10)

Tutor (9)

Commander (1)

Maybeboard

Artifact (17)

Creature (46)

Enchantment (13)

Instant (14)

Land (23)

Sorcery (14)

Top rank: #1 in EDH (#2 on T/O) - thanks for reading!

GREETINGS!

This is my Kaalia of the Vast hybrid Aggro-Stax cEDH build I have been refining since Kaalia was first released. Any comments or suggestions are welcome!

OVERVIEW

First and foremost, this deck is a blast to pilot. Since Kaalia is a flying Quicksilver Amulet, I get the satisfaction of playing some of the most powerful creatures in the game, without worrying about their mana costs. My focus is getting Kaalia on the board, protecting her, and attacking with her while I have an Angel, Demon, or Dragon in-hand. As I set up Kaalia, I lock down my opponents with stax effects. Once Kaalia is safe I no longer need lands to cast creatures, so I can neutralize or destroy all players’ lands.

Although Kaalia is the centerpiece of the deck, it is resilient enough to win without her. The mana curve is balanced and expensive non-creature cards are limited. If Kaalia is stolen or incapacitated, most creatures can be hard-cast using numerous ramp sources. The stax cards are necessary to slow down most other cEDH decks which are inherently faster than this one.

TURN STRATEGY

The optimal opening is to have a haste generator (Lightning Greaves, Dragon Tempest, or Hall of the Bandit Lord) in play by turn 1 or 2. Then I play ramp artifacts to get Kaalia into play and attacking by turns 2-4 with an angel, demon, or dragon in my hand ready to drop. On turns 4-6, I continue the assault while restraining my opponents with stax effects and land destruction.

WIN-CONS

This deck focuses on stax effects but features a few combo possibilities.

Kaalia + “Damage Doubler”

Archfiend of Despair, Blast-Furnace Hellkite, and Gisela, Blade of Goldnight effectively double the damage I inflict on opponents. With two or more of these in play, I can eliminate an opponent in one turn via combat damage.

Kaalia + Master of Cruelties

It is possible, although highly unlikely, to defeat a single undefended opponent as early as turn 2. I must start the game with Ancient Tomb or Mana Crypt and play Lightning Greaves. On turn 2, I must play a land that produces colored mana, and two 0-cost ramp artifacts, then attack with Kaalia and drop Master of Cruelties to defeat a single opponent.

Rule of Law + Possibility Storm Lock

If I can get a Rule of Law-type effect (including Archon of Emeria, Deafening Silence, Drannith Magistrate, Eidolon of Rhetoric, and Ethersworn Canonist) and Possibility Storm in play simultaneously, I create a hard-lock for each opponent, preventing them from casting spells.

Hellkite Tyrant Artifact Victory

If I use Wishclaw Talisman to search for Hellkite Tyrant, then attack with Kaalia and drop the Tyrant, I will take possession of the Talisman again. I can then search for Ancient Copper Dragon or Dockside Extortionist and likely win via artifact victory on my following upkeep.

Stolen Thassa’s Oracle

If an opponent is playing blue and is running Thassa's Oracle, I can steal it with Praetor's Grasp, cast Tainted Pact (naming a card not in my library) to exile my library, then cast Oracle and win. This is possible due to several lands and mana rocks which produce multicolored mana, as well as treasure tokens.

CREATURES

To benefit most from Kaalia’s ability, I have focused on Angels, Demons, and Dragons who either:

1) Possess enter-the-battlefield abilities or immediately impact the board with Kaalia: (Ancient Copper Dragon, Angel of the Ruins, Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Balefire Dragon, Blast-Furnace Hellkite, Doom Whisperer, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Hellkite Tyrant, Master of Cruelties, Razaketh, the Foulblooded, Rune-Scarred Demon, Vilis, Broker of Blood)

2) Immediately restrict the opponent (“stax”): (Archfiend of Despair, Liesa, Shroud of Dusk, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, Serra's Emissary).

Besides angels, demons, and dragons, I have chosen other creatures for their lockdown/stax effects. Since Kaalia has to compete against extremely fast commanders in cEDH, the best strategy is to utilize stax to slow down my opponents rather than trying to outrace them.

Archon of Emeria, Dauthi Voidwalker, Drannith Magistrate, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Ethersworn Canonist, Hushbringer, and Opposition Agent each inhibit opponents from executing a particular combo or strategy, especially Storm decks. These creatures are also useful for sacrificing to Razaketh, the Foulblooded when I need to search for a card to complete the Rule of Law + Possibility Storm combo.

NON-CREATURE STAX

Blind Obedience slows down my opponents and enables life drain via extort.

Once Kaalia is on the board and I have a stax lock in place, I use Cataclysm, Ravages of War (identical to Armageddon - I just happen to own a copy of Ravages), or Strip Mine to target my opponents’ lands. If I control Avacyn, Angel of Hope and cast Ravages, my lands are unaffected.

The trick is knowing when to time my plays because these stax and land-destruction effects can be a double-edged sword, especially Blood Moon/Magus of the Moon. I never play the land destruction/Blood Moon cards unless Kaalia is secure and I am very confident of my board position.

Dauthi Voidwalker and Rest in Peace shut down The Gitrog Monster, reanimator, or self-mill decks and make land destruction permanent.

DRAW/TUTORS

The tutor cards Demonic Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Grim Tutor, Imperial Seal, Razaketh, the Foulblooded, Rune-Scarred Demon, Tainted Pact, Vampiric Tutor, and Wishclaw Talisman allow me to search my deck for missing pieces.

Archivist of Oghma, Doom Whisperer, Esper Sentinel, Kothophed, Soul Hoarder, Necropotence, Night's Whisper, and Vilis, Broker of Blood help me draw cards rapidly to find missing pieces.

PROTECTION

Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Serra's Emissary, and Reconnaissance prevent Kaalia and her horde from dying during combat.

Cavern of Souls prevents Kaalia and my other humans from being countered.

Command Beacon allows me to reset Kaalia’s mana cost if she has already died numerous times, which is inevitable against control decks.

Lightning Greaves bestows haste and protects Kaalia from targeted removal.

Deflecting Swat is highly versatile since it deflects both spells and abilities for free if Kaalia is in play.

REMOVAL

Angel of the Ruins, Anguished Unmaking, Balefire Dragon, Cataclysm, Deadly Rollick, Fire Covenant, Hellkite Tyrant, Swords to Plowshares, Vilis, Broker of Blood, and Wear / Tear deal with specific threats, while Toxic Deluge allows me to wipe the board of indestructible creatures.

LANDS AND RAMP

The idea is to play Kaalia as fast as possible, so I have chosen the most cost effect mana generators. With the exception of Hall of the Bandit Lord, no other lands come into play tapped. 8 Fetchlands allow me to tailor my mana pool depending on my draw.

Other ramp cards - Arcane Signet, Chrome Mox, Dockside Extortionist, Grim Monolith, Jeweled Lotus, Lotus Petal, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault, Mox Diamond, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Sol Ring, the Signets, and the Talismans help ensure that Kaalia is played by turns 2 through 4, or to hard-cast expensive creatures.

WHY RULE OF LAW?

I’m purposefully trying to increase redundancy with Rule of Law-type effects due to the prevalence of combo decks in the current meta. Rule of Law shuts down most storm decks and combo lines, especially Demonic Consultation / Tainted Pact + Thassa's Oracle.

NOTABLE EXCLUSIONS

As you can see in the Maybeboard, I have considered many other cards. I excluded cards that didn’t impact the board state quickly enough for cEDH. I also tried to keep the average CMC as low as possible and reduce redundant card effects, except when absolutely necessary.

Thanks for reading!

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Casual

100% Competitive

Revision 56 See all

(1 year ago)

Myrel, Shield of Argive

maybe

Top Ranked	Achieved #2 position overall 3 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH 3 years ago
Date added	5 years
Last updated	1 year
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	26 - 0 Mythic Rares 54 - 0 Rares 13 - 0 Uncommons 3 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.18
Tokens	Treasure
Folders	land destruction, Kaalia Decks, decks, fun, Kaalia, ka, Kaalia ideas, AAWant to try, Other Decks, Saved
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