Kaalia of the Vast - "Competitive Aggro"

Commander / EDH AlexRuzhyo

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CMD16 thoughts and a small update. —Nov. 3, 2016

** -= COMMANDER 2016 =-**

The new cards from Commander 2016 are disappointing. The power level of past sets isn't there, nor are there any creatures that Kaalia cares about. There's other arguments to be made but nothing that needs to be said here.

That said, onto the deck update!

-= DECK UPDATES=-

• - Aggravated Assault

• + Rakdos the Defiler

It took a few months, but I finally came across an inexpensive RtD! I'm eager to test out RtD on the field. He seems to be the last powerful, "obvious" include that I initially overlooked.

** -= POSSIBLE INCLUDES =-**

There's still a couple other cards that I intend to test, including Sunforger, Strionic Resonator, and Scourge of Kher Ridges.

• Sunforger - It's a heavy investment, but the ability to for tutor for 8/10 of my instants may provide a bit more useful than, say, Sword of Feast and Famine. SoFaF hasn't felt like it's been pulling its weight lately, and only seems to provide benefit when you're already in a position to swing with cards in hand, where as Sunforger may provide an off-turn answer.

• Strionic Resonator - I was admittedly blinded to this cards utility. For some reason, I thought its primary use of this was for copying Kaalia's ability, but I now realize it can be used for the "vast" majority of the creatures I run. This is something I'm looking to slot in as soon as I can stumble across either an agreeable price or convenient local trade.

• Scourge of Kher Ridges - Ever stumble across a card that you didn't know existed? This guy is something I discovered browsing the "Help!" feed. Heck, he doesn't even pop under Kaalia on EDH Rec. Now, I'm not too keen on paying mana for effects, but an instant speed, repeatable Rough / Tumble could be a big threat and provide some great political situations.

-= POSSIBLE CUTS =-

As far cards to cut, the shortlist consists of Sword of Feast and Famine, On Nixilis, Unshackled, and Rakdos, Lord of Riots.

• Sword of Feast and Famine - Much of my feelings on the sword have been covered when I spoke about Sunforger. It feels a bit "win more" and hasn't been as impactful as it once was.

• Ob Nixilis, Unshackled - While he does sometimes pull his weight, his effect is more of a "soft lock" than anything else, those silver bullet situations being more uncommon than I'd like.

• Rakdos, Lord of Riots - He's a house, to be sure, but his effect is comparable to a Strionic Resonator copying Kaalia's attack trigger with the color cost requirements of my creatures, and provide sno value unless you have cards in hand.

-= CLOSING THOUGHTS =-

That's about it. I'm stilling scrounging for a foil Ancient Tomb and a "cheap" (ha) Nether Void,

New cards for this deck have been far and few in between. It's been a long time since I wanted to include anything from a standard set, outside of Anguished Unmaking, and the Commander product this year was underwhelming in many ways for me. Let's hope Aether Revolt provides at least one gem, or that Amonket is littered with creatures that Kaalia cares about.