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Legality
Format | Legality |
1v1 Commander | Legal |
Archenemy | Legal |
Arena | Legal |
Block Constructed | 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 |
Quest Magic | Legal |
Vanguard | Legal |
Vintage | Legal |
Rules Q&A
Lyra Dawnbringer
Legendary Creature — Angel
Flying, first strike, lifelink
Other Angels you control get +1/+1 and have lifelink.
kirbysan on
[Primer] Helming the Host of Heaven *Update*
2 months ago
I saw that too and was at first excited for a new angel BUT it's 5CMC so it's tied for Archangel of Thune, Herald of War, Lyra Dawnbringer and Sigarda's Vanguard. It doesn't gain life, cost reduce or finish the game. While it does increase the number of counters it's only once per our turn and only by a power of 1 per angel.
If we're trying to bring back Giada late game then we'd already need counters on the board to proliferate. If we're attacking it's not providing the same power as Vanguard which is essentially double. At most it'd be an 4-5 additional power? Nothing to write home about.
If we had other types of counters it could be interesting but at most it'd be an additional enlightened counter off The Book of Exalted Deeds or an extra quest counter for Luminarch Ascension. Neither of which are great choices.
As a body it holds up well enough, 5/4 flying first strike but at that cost we're looking more towards abilities and less at bodies.
If it's cheap and you want to test it out I'd say go for it but I'm personally passing. Also, it's phyrexian, and not pretty so ew. :)
kirbysan on
[Primer] Helming the Host of Heaven *Update*
2 months ago
First game of the year. I'll probably be playing Giada less now as I think the list is pretty optimized at this point.
Opponents: Arvinox, the Mind Flail, Sigarda, Host of Herons, Gisa and Geralf
Starting Hand: Plains, Plains, The Ozolith, Court of Grace, Bishop of Wings, Serra Paragon, Mangara, the Diplomat
Starting hand wasn't great as I would need to draw a land to curve out but I had 2 draw cards in hand so I figured it was worth it. Luckily the table was playing pretty slow and I drew into some ramp.
I started with a T1 Ozolith and drew into an Enlightened Tutor which got me Pearl Medallion so I could play my Court of Grace.
Arvinox played 3 separate sacrifice cards where I sacced my Angel tokens and dumped the +1/+1 counters onto The Ozolith to pump up my next swings. They were able to get a Bolas's Citadel out quite early but due to the constant beatdown from my Angels couldn't explode like normal.
Sigarda tried to get through my Angel wall but I always chumped blocked to protect my Monarch token. Late in the game they used a Day of Judgment but at that time I had Breathkeeper Seraph soulbonded to Giada and a bunch of Angel tokens so I let it resolve. I had a foretold Cosmic Intervention since the early game but I was maintaining so much threat with my tokens and Ozolith that I never needed to use it.
Unfortunately Gisa durdled the whole game as they were also hit by Arvinox's sacrifice cards and Sigarda's board wipe so could never really get off the ground.
I ended the game with 89 life and Giada as a 40/40 with 36 +1/+1 counters and 2 anthems.
The Ozolith like most of our 1-drops, can change the makeup of the game quite heavily from the start if we drop it T1. I've had it in a few games before but usually only drew into it mid to late game where its impact is not as great.
Court of Grace I think was in your deck before as it was mine but ended up getting pulled in favor of other cards. Now that I've had a few more games with it I think it's provides too much synergy to leave out.
I think the lifegain strategy as whole is niche and our payoffs aren't really worth it to build an entire package around. I still got to 89 life this game due to just 2 cards - Bishop of Wings and a late game Pyre of Heroes on Serra Paragon for a Lyra Dawnbringer that was essentially a win-more move rather than strategic. I know you love your soul sisters but I think in your next few games you might want to take another look at their performance. Well of Lost Dreams was kind of on your chopping block before and I think it's time to revisit that card as well.
kirbysan on
[Primer] Helming the Host of Heaven *Update*
2 months ago
Got another couple games in today:
I made some swaps prior to today's match incluuding:
Crashing Drawbridge for Lightning Greaves
Smuggler's Share for Esper Sentinel
Search for Glory for Steelshaper's Gift
I think our decks are still functionally the same but I have a lot of the tech you were heavily considering already swapped in and will be focusing on their performance in multiplayer format.
Starting Hand?: Prismatic Vista, Windswept Heath, Myriad Landscape, Soul's Attendant, Generous Gift, Lightning Greaves, Folk Hero
Forgot to snap a picture of my starting hand but I think it was something like that. Important play of the game was Firkraag playing an early Agitator Ant. By turn 3 I had Giada equipped with a Lightning Greaves and slowly played out my hand, focusing on dropping lands and playing removal. I constantly dumped the +1/+1 counters onto Giada and since she had the greaves equipped she was basically untouchable.
After bringing Arvinox and Ryu down to the low 20's with just Giada I began dumping the counters onto a Bishop of Wings that I drew into so I could start swinging at Firkraag. Ryu also got in 2 Hadokens against Firkraag's board to draw cards. I only got 1 swing into Firkraag before they boardwiped.
I was able to recast Giada and cast an Angelic Page drawing me a card off Folk Hero. I also cast a Pyre of Heroes excited to chain it off for some spicy tech. Unfortunately Ryu was at low life and killed shortly after the boardwipe. As the other 2 players had no board they scooped to end the game so we could start the next, giving me the win.
Starting Hand: Plains, Mutavault, Pearl Medallion, Righteous Valkyrie, Sigarda's Vanguard, Well of Lost Dreams, Steelshaper's Gift
T1 - Plains into Steelshaper's Gift tutoring Lightning Greaves
T2 - Plains (drew) into Pearl Medallion
T3 - Mutavault into Lightning Greaves & Giada (Sworded by Isshin)
This game had some intense interactions. Isshin had a turn 1 Authority of the Consuls. Tevesh nearly played a turn 2 Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools with a Jeweled Lotus but was countered by Muldrotha. Firkraag played a Pursued Whale giving us all Pirate tokens and forcing us to attack. Isshin played into that with a Combat Calligrapher. The entire table started swinging into each other with increasingly multiplying Inkling tokens. After Isshin's Combat Calligrapher was blown up and they took a bunch of damage from their own Inklings they decided to super wipe the board with a Ruinous Ultimatum but luckily their board was pretty sparse.
I lost Pearl Medallion, Well of Lost Dreams, Sword of the Animist, Lightning Greaves and Righteous Valkyrie. This set me back really far but luckily I had been ramping every turn with Sword of the Animist and kept some strong angels in hand.
I recast Giada, and played Archangel of Tithes, Angelic Field Marshal and Lyra Dawnbringer with Mutavault giving me the extra +1/+1 counter. At this point Isshin started going off and nearly killed me with a combination of Tectonic Giant, Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin, Isshin, Two Heavens as One, Aurelia, the Warleader but they tapped out for Dihada, Binder of Wills to give Krenko vigilance, lifelink and indestructible. When they tried to swing at me, they forgot about the tax for Tithes and instead knocked out Tevesh and Muldrotha. Muldrotha took out Aurelia, the Warleader as retribution.
On the final turn I was left with only Oblation and Breathkeeper Seraph in hand. I had the choice to use it on one of Isshin's creatures but they were in such a dominating position that giving them 2 cards was probably a bad idea. Instead I used it on a tapped Emergence Zone and drew into Thraben Watcher and Sigarda's Vanguard. With the combination of all the angels I brought Isshin down to 3 and Firkraag cleaned up but had nothing against my board so scooped.
Starting Hand: Cavern of Souls, Flooded Strand, Windswept Heath, Esper Sentinel, Path to Exile, The Ozolith, Teferi's Protection
I debated even listing this game as it was over so fast. Alela burst out on turn 1 with an Island into Sol Ring into Arcane Signet. Turn 2 they played a Smothering Tithe. Turn 3 they played a Bolas's Citadel. In one of their turns they cast a Vendilion Clique bottoming my Teferi's Protection. Despite whiffing for 2 turns off the top of their library they were so ahead with ramp that they quickly overtook the game. I died by turn 5 to 35+ damage from a faerie army beefed up with Coat of Arms. The other 2 players scooped as they had no interaction with the Coat.
T1 Esper Sentinel did some amazing work here. I drew off every player at least 2-3 times so it netted me like 7-8 cards for just 1 mana.
I also attempted to attack with Battle Angels of Tyr but it was bounced to my hand by next turn.
The Ozolith ended up doing nothing this game but that's more due to having no boardstate. Together Forever wouldn't have done anything in this game either so its impact still hasn't been seen. Other players did comment that it could be a problem with a bigger board.
I did have a misplay here as I should have held up mana for removal spells which I had in my hand. My final hand was Vanquisher's Banner, Archangel of Thune, Angelic Accord, Serra Paragon, Valkyrie Harbinger, Path of Exile and Swords to Plowshares. I just didn't expect Alela to quintuple their damage in one turn.
Starting Hand: Secluded Steppe, Emergence Zone, Plains, Pearl Medallion, Thorough Investigation, Angelic Field Marshal, Angel of Vitality
T1 - Secluded Steppe tapped
T2 - Plains into Pearl Medallion
T3 - Emergence Zone into Thorough Investigation and Giada, Font of Hope
I had several misplays this game as it had been a long day. The first was using my Clues too early instead of playing out my hand and refilling it later with the Clues.
Phenax became a huge threat towards mid-game as they had a Haunt of high tower on board along with their commander Phenax, God of Deception. They forced Ghisath to mill 40+ cards with 4 creatures. I had Kabira Takedown Flip in hand but it wouldn't put a dent in the Haunt. Instead I opted for player removal and swung with everything knocking them out.
My second misplay here was not tapping Giada to cast Angelic Field Marshal which would've given all my creatures vigilance. I was so used to swinging with Giada first and then tapping her that I failed to see her as a mana dork. Since I had Archangel of Tithes out it would've prevented huge swings against me as well.
Since I was wide open Gishath took the advantage and swung at me dropping a good number of dinos on their board. However on their next turn when they tried to use Silverclad Ferocidons with Pyrohemia Jared saved the day by sacrificing Primeval Spawn into a Time Warp.
When I tried to rebuild I realized I had no clues left and no attackers to draw into answers. I also made my third misplay by wasting a Path to Exile on a random dinosaur thinking it would sacrifice Pyrohemia but then stupidly played Bishop of Wings so I could trigger my The Book of Exalted Deeds by replaying Giada.
I died on the next turn to due to lethal Gishath commander damage. If I had saved my Path I could've used it on Gishath and played out more angels for the lifegain.
Lightning Greaves was amazing in the 2 games it was played. It was so great that Isshin focused Giada when it came back out. In fact I like it so much that I'm going to try and find a spot for Swiftfoot Boots so I can keep equipping without removing the protection.
Esper Sentinel was also great the 1 game I got it out. Drawing that many cards for 1 mana is just too good to pass up. If you haven't purchased Smuggler's Share yet I'd say go for Esper first.
Archangel of Tithes was SO GOOD. It saved me from lethal once and would've again a second time if I didn't misplay again. With vigilance it does double duty.
Well of Lost Dreams felt a little clunky in game 2. I want to like it, it has a high ceiling but it needs some prep work to start drawing. Either I drop it instead of a threat or I play it much later. I also need lifegain and the mana to draw from it. With the amount of work that goes into it to activate it, a board wipe usually turns it off. We have no other lifegain outside of creature based lifegain. So we would only draw with an established board presence and we're using mana to draw into threats rather than play them. It feels either like a win-more card or a hail mary to get something good. I'm actually debating its place in this deck and what may be a better card draw. Court of Grace at least replaces itself on our end step and provides either an Angel or Spirit on our upkeep. It also requires no additional maintenance to get it going.
Others at the table commented that Authority of the Consuls is a better option to the soul sisters. While I do like the tap mechanic of Authority, it doesn't trigger off my creatures. Also having it be an enchantment means that most people won't bother with it all game. Soul sisters typically get wiped with the rest of the board whereas opponents have to target Authority. I find that I don't usually hit the payoffs on opponents turn but on my own turn. However, I only hit the magic 4/5 life when Bishop of Wings or Righteous Valkyrie is out, not off a soul sister. I know that you really like the soul sisters but practically every game I've had a board wipe and the payoffs haven't been worth it.
Kabira Takedown Flip has its uses but in terms of removal is pretty poor for the slot. After a boardwipe it's practically worthless.
Even though I STILL haven't pulled off Pyre of Heroes properly I'm once again debating Recruiter of the Guard and Weathered Wayfarer. Since they're both humans they can chain into our human sub-theme. Weathered Wayfarer can be sacrificed into Bishop of Wings to get our lifegain payoffs going. It also helps grab lands for Emeria Shepherd if we want to recur stuff from the graveyard. Recruiter of the Guard can tutor for Starnheim Aspirant, Esper Sentinel, Inspiring Overseer, Thraben Watcher and can be sacrificed into Mangara, the Diplomat.
KBK7101 on
Glorious Angels
2 months ago
Hello and welcome back to the game! Commander is definitely the best format for the game these days (in my opinion, anyway) and Giada is one of the best commanders printed this past year. Great choice!
You can definitely tweak this deck to be a lot smoother, and none of my suggestions will be terribly expensive (which is a subjective term, I know).
Recommended cuts:
-
Archway Angel You don't have any Gates, so you don't get any benefit from her.
-
Goldenglow Moth Too low impact.
-
Valiant Veteran You have four (technically five because of the changeling Bloodline Pretender) Soldiers in the deck. A cool card, for sure, but doesn't have enough support here.
-
Unclaimed Territory and Unknown Shores These are much better for multicolor decks.
-
Join Forces and Righteousness Like the above cards, these are nice but they don't quite fit here. Join Forces is great in a deck like Anax and Cymede or Feather, the Redeemed!
Recommended additions:
- Bonders' Enclave and War Room to replace the two lands. These two cards can help mono white's card draw woes immensely. Other potential lands to look at are Cave of the Frost Dragon Windbrisk Heights and Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire.
Oblation and Swords to Plowshares for some more removal. Oblation can also be used on your stuff, either to protect it by shuffling it into the deck or just to draw some cards.
- Angels tend to lend themselves really well into lifegain themes. I see you already have Resplendent Angel in here (which is great! I love that card!) so why not take a look at Righteous Valkyrie and/or Angelic Accord/Valkyrie Harbinger? Both are great on their own and can turn games around when working together.
I have a Rule 0 commander deck featuring Serra the Benevolent as commander. While not exactly the same, it can be pretty close to what Giada wants to do.(Rule 0 meaning "Hey guys, would it be okay if I bend the rules and play this? If not, it's cool. I'll use Lyra Dawnbringer instead.") Here's the link if you would like to check it out for some other ideas/inspirations.
(RULE 0) Serra the Benevolent - Song of All (v1.4)
On a similar note, the user Guerric has a fantastic Giada deck on here that I'm pretty sure is the highest rated one. His deck would probably offer much better advice/insight than mind could. His deck is below. (Hope you don't mind me putting you on the spot like this!)
[Primer] Helming the Host of Heaven *Update*
That's all I have for now. Hopefully this helps some!
KBK7101 on
Glorious Angels
2 months ago
Hello and welcome back to the game! Commander is definitely the best format for the game these days (in my opinion, anyway) and Giada is one of the best commanders printed this past year. Great choice!
You can definitely tweak this deck to be a lot smoother, and none of my suggestions will be terribly expensive (which is a subjective term, I know).
Recommended cuts:
-
Archway Angel You don't have any Gates, so you don't get any benefit from her.
-
Goldenglow Moth Too low impact.
-
Valiant Veteran You have four (technically five because of the changeling Bloodline Pretender) Soldiers in the deck. A cool card, for sure, but doesn't have enough support here.
-
Unclaimed Territory and Unknown Shores These are much better for multicolor decks.
-
Join Forces and Righteousness Like the above cards, these are nice but they don't quite fit here. Join Forces is great in a deck like Anax and Cymede or Feather, the Redeemed!
Recommended additions:
- Bonders' Enclave and War Room to replace the two lands. These two cards can help mono white's card draw woes immensely. Other potential lands to look at are Cave of the Frost Dragon Windbrisk Heights and Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire.
Oblation and Swords to Plowshares for some more removal. Oblation can also be used on your stuff, either to protect it by shuffling it into the deck or just to draw some cards.
- Angels tend to lend themselves really well into lifegain themes. I see you already have Resplendent Angel in here (which is great! I love that card!) so why not take a look at Righteous Valkyrie and/or Angelic Accord/Valkyrie Harbinger? Both are great on their own and can turn games around when working together.
I have a Rule 0 commander deck featuring Serra the Benevolent as commander. While not exactly the same, it can be pretty close to what Giada wants to do.(Rule 0 meaning "Hey guys, would it be okay if I bend the rules and play this? If not, it's cool. I'll use Lyra Dawnbringer instead.") Here's the link if you would like to check it out for some other ideas/inspirations.
(RULE 0) Serra the Benevolent - Song of All (v1.4)
On a similar note, the user Guerric has a fantastic Giada deck on here that I'm pretty sure is the highest rated one. His deck would probably offer much better advice/insight than mind could. His deck is below. (Hope you don't mind me putting you on the spot like this!)
[Primer] Helming the Host of Heaven *Update*
That's all I have for now. Hopefully this helps some!
kirbysan on
[Primer] Helming the Host of Heaven *Update*
3 months ago
For Inspiring Overseer and Archangel of Tithes I’m debating Angel of Condemnation, Sigarda's Vanguard and Angelic Skirmisher.
Angel of Condemnation has been useful at times. In mid to late game we are usually holding up the 3 mana for an answer anyway and it would combo decently with Inspiring Overseer but I pulled it in favor of more free or impactful effects. When we use it on an enemies creature it doesn’t really remove it, it just delays it for a turn. And it only helps their strategy if they’re relying on etb effects. Also, since we’re running more recursion now I’m not so skittish to let things die. It would help us save things from single target exile though. I may need more play testing to see.
Sigarda's Vanguard is great as a finisher or to get through some big blockers but it’s typically a one and done. If we’re holding it from the start then it’s a dead card till we establish a board presence. It won’t be impactful after a board wipe. There may be some outs with Pyre of Heroes and recursion but like you mentioned it shouldn’t be something we’re building around. This would be a tough cut but it would make sense compared to Archangel of Tithes. Depending on the player with big flyers, they may not have the extra mana to pay for blockers. It’s still useful against non infinite attacks like the one game where Marneus Calgar had 16 angels and swung lethal since he definitely didn’t have 16 mana to pay.
Angelic Skirmisher is one of those cards that when you draw it with a decent board presence it’s amazing. Lifelink on attack, first strike on defense. But if you tutored for Lyra Dawnbringer then there’s your lifelink. If we have Archangel of Tithes then there’s your defense. It provides overlap on that lifelink but with additional tutoring it may become a dead card late game. It also costs 6cmc and we’re adding in Breathkeeper Seraph so pulling her could help keep our average cmc low.
I’ll have a couple games on the 23rd with my buddies so hopefully I can post some gameplay tech with the new swaps.
KBK7101 on
Heavenly Saint
3 months ago
I know that this is a WIP, but there are a few issues. Archangel Avacyn Flip technically has a color identity and isn't legal in this deck. Same problem with Sigarda, Bruna, Razia and a handful of others. There are also some cards that are included twice.
If you want this deck to be playable, Giada, Font of Hope is probably your best bet for the commander. Sephara, Sky's Blade is another option. Morophon, the Boundless is a five color option, though that means the manabase will get pretty expensive. If you don't care about this deck being terribly competitive, and your playgroup is cool with it, then you could change the format of this deck to Commander: Rule 0 and run Serra the Benevolent anyway. If anyone isn't okay with that, then just swap her for Giada or Avacyn or someone. Easy. Just be sure to ask beforehand. The only issue with Serra as commander is her ultimate ability being immune to interaction. Promise not to use it and most people should be fine with it.
You'll probably want to look at cards like War Room, Bonders' Enclave and Vanquisher's Banner as sources of card draw, as well. Other cards that work really well with the angels tribal theme are Bishop of Wings, Rally of Wings, Resplendent Angel if you focus on a lifegain theme, and Harsh Mercy as a "board wipe but not for me".
Art wise, Angel of Flight Alabaster, Linvala, Keeper of Silence and Lyra Dawnbringer (who's getting a new full art treatment in Dominaria Remastered!) are some of my favorites.
kirbysan on
[Primer] Helming the Host of Heaven *Update*
3 months ago
Ask and you shall receive. Enlightened Tutor is getting a reprint. Also, there's a sick new full art Lyra Dawnbringer.
Have (4) | metalmagic , orzhov_is_relatively_okay819 , Falcawn , Galdelonian |
Want (4) | jw560211_magic , Amaterasu312 , Jayce_Ran , theyounghansolo |