Firja's Retribution

Enchantment — Saga

(As this Saga enters the battlefield and after your draw step, put a lore counter on this and activate and/or enable the ability of the saga tied to the required number of counters. Sacrifice this after you put a third lore counter on this.)

: Create a 4/4 white Angel Warrior creature token with flying and vigilance.

: Until end of turn, Angels you control gain "{T}: Destroy target creature with power less than this creature's power."

: Angels you control gain double strike until end of turn.

Tokens

• Angel Warrior 4/4 W w/ Vigilance

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Pre-release	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Standard	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (5)

janederscore on Orzhov Valkyries

1 year ago

Hi darkmus! Thank you for the suggestions, I really appreciate it.

I was looking at your Serra's Descendants, competitive Angel Tribal deck last night actually, and I agree on the Bishop of Wings call for sure, I actually completely forgot about that card when I was building this. Speaker of the Heavens I originally wasn't considering because of the aggressive stance I was taking with the low mana cost creatures, but as nice as Resplendent Angel is its definitely less justifiable without more lifegain payoff (and is the most expensive card here by far), so I think that's a switch I'm comfortable with making.

I was concerned about the payoff for Cleric Class being less reliable than Paladin Class , but with an extra couple of lifegain cards like Bishop that's definitely more viable feeling.

Legion Angel is one of my favorite cards in standard right now, but I'm worried about having a 4 mana drop sitting in bolt range. The card advantage is very helpful, but I feel like it generates more value for an opponent than it does for me if it immediately dies to a 1 mana spell. I think I might value the opportunity to drop 2 Serra Avenger on turn 4 a bit more instead.

I have the same issues with Emeria's Call  ^Flip as you noted here and in your conversations about it in your Serra's Descendants deck, its something that just doesn't generate enough value consistently enough that its worth spending the extra 6 bucks to me.

I definitely am considering swapping to a monowhite deck here, especially since unfortunately as much as I love them the black (and most b/w) valkyrie cards just aren't very viable in modern (rest in peace Eradicator Valkyrie and Hailstorm Valkyrie , I wish you two were better ;_;).

I worry about Starnheim Unleashed a bit since getting efficient payouts with it requires having at least 5 mana on the board, and I've found that Firja's Retribution is actually quite nice in a lot of instances; the "free" removal on stage 2 is nice for killing flying blockers without taking a hit on my tokens (since you can activate it after declaring), and the double strike ends up being a wincon in most games where I get it out on the field. That said, the dual lands are pretty pricey, so the switch is definitely still on the table for me.

Anyway, thank you again! I'll be making a few changes here to update things and see how it shapes up.

K0rt on Angels ♡ That need some help

1 year ago

Get ready for a long post. I put way to much effort into this.

Depends on what direction you want to go and how competitive you want to be. Currently, Ephemerate doesn't really give you much value for flicking your angels, meaning that it isn't worth the card it is taking up over just another angel. I see two different ways to take this deck, either leaning into Angel synergies with life gain or a Ephemerate deck.

Ephemerate decks are great, and if your looking for a budget deck for a kitchen table or low powered modern games then you can build something pretty cheaply by just looking around for cool cards on Scryfall. The issue is that if you want more than that and want a more powerful deck the creatures that work well with Ephemerate are generally really really good and become very expensive by being played loads. In competitive modern these are often 80 cards Yorion, Sky Nomad decks that run Stoneforge Mystic and Solitude as there main cards, which are very expensive. You can try something with Wall of Omens, Thraben Inspector and Charming Prince to generate value but it won't be very powerful with Stoneforge. I think if you want bang for your buck you probably want to try and build the deck around Angel's synergies, although if you want to upgrade into competitive Modern deck at some variable point in the future it is less good.

In the angel's direction, the main payoffs in Modern are being able to play Aether Vial, Resplendent Angel and Archangel of Thune which are all, presumably, out of your price range. To make a budget version you probably want to make out on Youthful Valkyrie, Speaker of the Heavens, Seraph Sanctuary and Bishop of Wings for additional synergies with Angels. You probably want to play some Serra Avenger as a cheap beater and source of Angel related triggers. Some other cards are Sephara, Sky's Blade, although with would be best with a source of tokens such as Lingering Souls and Spectral Procession and cheat it in more consistently if you want to build around it. Archangel of Tithes is greater in creature matchups if you play against them regularly and can easily win races combined with your lifegain. Angel of Invention is a 'Lord' effect that also can create chump blockers and have value if your creates all die. Honor of the Pure is a pump effect that is difficult to interact with. Starnheim Unleashed is one of the most powerful cards in standard Angels and can win games by itself.

As much as it pains me to say it as a big fan of Meld Gisela, the Broken Blade and Bruna, the Fading Light  ^Flip aren't really that good, either dying to the most played removal in the format like (Lightning Bolt) for no value or costing 7 mana for too little upside. The same is true for Angel of Destiny which seems like a massive win more card 90% of the time. Starnheim Aspirant seems good but considering the number of white symbols in your costs I doubt this will be legitimately save on mana enough to warrant an inclusion. With your current mana base, you only going to draw double black to cast Sign in Blood 53% of the time by turn 6 and I doubt increasing the number of tapped lands is worth the card draw. Speaking of which making out on Scoured Barrens is probably worth it alongside a couple of other dual lands of your choice, maybe Silverquill Campus if your going to be running the Firja's Retribution which I recommend as that card is very very good.

TLDR: Add good cards cut bad cards.

1empyrean on Subjective Reality Upgrade

1 year ago

You've already been given solid advice, so I'll just suggest something I have been playing with in my recently built Aminatou deck.

Rampage of the Valkyries and Firja's Retribution both create an angel token on ETB and both allow you to destroy creatures your opponents control.

Also, a long time favorite card of mine is Emeria Shepherd , especially when Aminatou can guarentee a landfall trigger.

Sorin_Markov_1947 on Celestial Edict

2 years ago

Ok, angels is workable. Most of the angels decks I've seen don't need cost-reduction from Dream Devourer because of cards like Youthful Valkyrie that come down early, or because they have removal ( Heartless Act , Eliminate , Banishing Light , etc) to last them until they get their bigger angels (usually around 4 CMC). I've seen a few Azorius (U/W) foretell tribal decks, but it really needs to be all-in, as does angels (usually Orzhov, W/B).

I'd encourage you to look at some current orzhov angels decklists and see what you like. Angels isn't top-tier or anything, but it'll get you up to plat in MTGA if you play it enough. Firja's Retribution is a strong one for angels, as it's a creature, removal, and win condition all in one card. Rampage of the Valkyries might be a two-of to discourage removal. Baneslayer Angel is just difficult to deal with outside of straight removing it. If you're going the lifegain route, Speaker of the Heavens is a good one. Angel of Destiny as a one- or two-of alternate win condition.

jamochawoke on

2 years ago

I like how the guy above this comment just casually strolls in and tells you to put in a bunch of moxen...

That said, warriors is one of my favorite tribes and I've made a ton of decks with them! Plus Najeela is such a badass commander! These are my suggestions that you haven't included and could serve as some better synergy with your deck than your non-warriors:

huge detailed list of warriors with combos and shenanigans

• Winota, Joiner of Forces for deck filtering, extra combat step power, and a tutor for your human warriors.
• Samut, Voice of Dissent to give all your creatures haste and she's incredibly powerful in and of herself, can give pseudo vigilance or enable tap/untap shenanigans with her second ability, and she has Flash.
• Garna, the Bloodflame gives your creatures haste and has Flash like Samut. She also helps you instantly recover from board wipes (in my meta boardwipes are so rampant my playgroup has started to implement restrictions on how many can be put into decks, yours may be different).
• Tahngarth, First Mate is a great way to engage politically with the board.
• Harald, King of Skemfar tutors the top 5 of your deck for warriors.
• Varolz, the Scar-Striped also helps you recover from wipes or having your big creatures removed with his scavenge ability.
• Maja, Bretagard Protector she can net you a lot of warrior tokens, especially if you have ways to bounce lands or play extra lands.
• Rhys the Redeemed gets you a lot of warrior elf tokens over the course of a game if you can get him out early.
• Kresh the Bloodbraided helps you recover from removal (but not wipes) in a better way than Varolz.
• Surrak Dragonclaw makes all your warriors uncounterable.
• Zurgo Helmsmasher one of the biggest warrior beat-sticks available to you, and he has haste. His cheap cmc also makes him a huge target while his indestructible clause lets you build other threats on your board while they figure out how to deal with him.
• Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel one of the most perfect ways to recover from a board wipe by putting a massive amount of tokens on the field once he dies (can also use blink or graveyard recursion on him to make more).
• Anthousa, Setessan Hero makes your lands warriors. Works really well with Maja.
• Jedit Ojanen of Efrava makes tons of cat warrior tokens.
• Sosuke, Son of Seshiro gives all your warriors pseudo-deathtouch.
• Yasova Dragonclaw steals their creatures.
• Alesha, Who Smiles at Death gives you graveyard recursion for your low CMC warriors and works really well with ones with ETB's.
• Chief of the Edge should be an auto-include. Chief of the Scale is ok if you are running toughness or need the toughness for certain spells or something, but yeah Chief of the Edge is absolutely where it's at.
• Honored Crop-Captain like Chief of the Edge but only works while attacking.
• Resolute Survivors keeps you in long games
• Brawl-Bash Ogre is a good sac outlet for tokens you aren't using/don't need.
• Proud Wildbonder works REALLY well with Bramblewood Paragon's effect. Also works with Khenra Charioteer
• Rubblebelt Raiders can get absolutely huge with tokens on the board.
• Scuzzback Marauders isn't just a good beatstick, with Persist it can combo off with any of your sac outlets and Bramblewood Paragon.
• Moriok Replica works really good with Alesha for continuous card draw.
• Avenging Huntbonder keeps dishing out the double strike onto your other creatures every turn.
• Blaring Recruiter make warrior tokens.
• Hidden Dragonslayer morph ability takes out your opponents biggest threats.
• Den Protector is great graveyard recursion.
• Nacatl Hunt-Pride lets you control the combat step to your liking.
• Paired Tactician just some nice synergy.
• Mardu Woe-Reaper graveyard removal with every warrior ETB. More important than you think!
• Seasoned Hallowblade just a really strong and low CMC card that will stay on the battlefield throughout an entire game more often than not.
• Steward of Solidarity free vigi warrior token generation every 2 turns or a lot every turn with untap shenanigans.
• Usher of the Fallen the cheapest warrior token creation you can find.
• Battle Brawler with just a single red or white permanent on the battlefield becomes super strong. With Chief of the Edge he becomes a 4 power first strike for 2 mana... not bad.
• Blaring Captain partners with Blaring Recruiter and has Honored Crop-Captain's effect.
• Blood-Chin Fanatic a MUST in any warrior tribal that includes black and makes tokens or pumps a single warrior's power to an absurd level. This card can single handedly win you a game.
• Blood-Chin Rager gives all your warriors menace.
• Champion of Stray Souls expensive, but can recover your entire board very quickly.
• Exquisite Huntmaster an extremely underrated card that can net you a ton of elf warrior tokens in a multiplayer match while also being a beater.
• Mardu Strike Leader using its dash ability can keep it safe from removal. Also makes a 2/1 warrior token every turn.
• Mindblade Render keeps the card draw going off of warrior damage.
• Nadier's Nightblade combos EXTREMELY well with Blood-Chin Fanatic and also with any other sac outlet.
• Sickle Dancer a 4/3 flier when attacking isn't bad for cmc 3.
• Thrasher Brute forms a combo with Scuzzback Marauders and any of the sac outlet warriors.
• Titan Hunter gives combo and solitaire players a clock while also giving you a convenient sac outlet with lifegain.
• Vampire Warlord sac outlet with regenerate.
• Herald of Secret Streams combos really well with Bramblewood Paragon to give your warriors unblockable.
• Nimbus Champion can keep the board clear of annoying blockers.
• Whirlpool Warrior wheel effect on a stick.
• Ahn-Crop Invader another beater sac outlet.
• Archetype of Aggression combos with Proud Wildbonder and keeps your opponents from gaining trample.
• Ash Zealot punish those blue and black decks that like to keep casting their spells over and over from the graveyard!
• Boldwyr Heavyweights tutor for your game ending creature and put it into play for free. Sure your opponents get a tutor too... but it's your turn, and your combat, and you have Najeela...
• Boldwyr Intimidator COWARDS CAN'T BLOCK WARRIORS!
• Kargan Intimidator COWARDS CAN'T BLOCK WARRIORS! FOR CHEAPER!
• Combat Celebrant those additonal combat steps are... chef's kiss
• Frenzied Saddlebrute ridiculously fun political ability.
• Goblin Bushwhacker can end a game if you just laid out a bunch of tokens that turn.
• Goblin Cratermaker get rid of annoying artifacts or spot removal... likes to work with Alesha.
• Goma Fada Vanguard choose a creature to not block each turn based on warriors.
• Kruin Striker strong and cheap card that gets out of hand with sac combos or mass token generation.
• Shatterskull Charger pseudo dash effect with a bunch of other strong abilities.
• Rustrazor Butcher extremely underrated card. First strike and wither for 2 CMC! Can buff it a number of ways to surprise an enemy in combat too.
• Vengeful Firebrand basically a fireball on a stick as long as you have a warrior in the yard.
• Viashino Sandsprinter pseudo dash effect with trample. Has cycling if you need something else.
• Champion of Rhonas cheat whatever creature you want from hand onto the battlefield with no downside.
• Civic Wayfinder helps you get the right colors you need.
• Duskwatch Recruiter  ^Flip dig through your library for more warriors.
• Golgari Raiders green haste that gets huge if you just suffered a boardwipe.
• Heir of the Wilds just a very strong presence for 2 CMC.
• Imperious Perfect elf warrior token generation.
• Horizon Seeker repeatable color fixing.
• Icehide Troll very, very strong and hard to remove creature. Needs snow lands though.
• Maulfist Revolutionary better version of proliferate.
• Matsu-Tribe Sniper keeps your enemies' dragons, demons, angels, and emrakuls from flying over your field.
• Petrified Wood-Kin expensive, but this guy can't be countered and is extremely difficult to remove and can ETB with insane P/T if you swung in hard on someone that turn.
• Stonehoof Chieftain a game ender if you've pumped your creatures at all.
• Thorn Lieutenant high value low CMC card with a mana dump if you need it (I like the combos for mana dumps better though).
• Unstoppable Ash come out of every combat pretty much unscathed. Only creature better for it is Stonehoof Chieftan.

• Wolfir Avenger flash in for a block and a regenerate ability.

warrior enablers

God-Eternal Oketra make huge 4/4 zombie warrior tokens on every warrior cast.

Oketra the True make warrior tokens and acts as a big beater itself.

Oketra's Monument tons and tons of warrior tokens.

Rush of Battle warrior themed overrun that gains you tons of life.

Herald of Anafenza gets bigger and makes warrior tokens at the same time.

Raiders' Spoils probably the best card draw you'll see for warrior tribal.

Gilt-Leaf Ambush elf warrior tokens with sometimes deathtouch.

Hunting Triad elf warrior tokens or modal +1/+1 counters.

Presence of Gond give a creature a tap for elf warrior token ability.

Lovisa Coldeyes more warrior lord buffs!

Obsidian Battle-Axe haste and auto-attach to warriors equipment!

Regna, the Redeemer and Krav, the Unredeemed act as a sac outlet and warrior token generation combo.

Lord Windgrace deck filtering, color fixing, and generation of a ton of cat warrior tokens

Great Hall of Starnheim gets you a 4/4 angel warrior token in a pinch

Base Camp cheap 5 color land for warriors

Starnheim Unleashed make a ton of 4/4 angel warrior tokens!

Emeria's Call  ^Flip make angel warrior tokens and give your non-angel warriors indestructible or make it a land

Ascent of the Worthy pretty fun tricks on this.

Firja's Retribution make a 4/4 angel warrior token and give angels destroy and double strike.

Battle for Bretagard make warrior tokens, then make copies.