This is a typical big-beats Kaalia deck. Lots of beef, protection and mana acceleration.The deck has a built-in reanimator sub-theme as well since most of the creatures cost a lot of mana.
The mana acceleration is pretty standard. It is as much acceleration as you can pack in, with as low cost as possible. You need to be able to hard-cast the creatures and effects if Kaalia never hits the board, so there is plenty of this stuff.
Several of the reanimator cards are also able to target opponent graveyards as well for some good-ol' theft. Reya Dawnbringer and Beacon of Unrest are somewhat re-useable, while Animate Dead, Stitch Together (can also be used to get a Kaalia target to hand) and Reanimate are all single use. Beacon of Unrest, Animate Dead and the OG Reanimate, can all target an opponent's graveyard as well as yours. Several of the draw cards are designed to get targets into the graveyard as well. Seize the Spoils, Tormenting Voice, Thrill of Possibility, Mask of Memory and Burning-Rune Demon will all dump a big-boy to the bin for use later, with Burning-Rune Demon also giving you a valid Kaalia target in hand.
Of the artifact protection for Kaalia, Darksteel Plate and Mirror Shield are actually some of the better options due to the way the removal package is set up. Darksteel Plate is both indestructible, and makes Kaalia indestructible as well. This allows us to bomb the battlefield with impunity. Mirror Shield allows us to kill anything that fails the "Bolt Test". Whispersilk Cloak makes Kaalia unblockable, though with her evasion, that's not always needed.
There are two ways to get additional combat steps. Waves of Aggression, which can be re-used with the Retrace mechanic, and Hellkite Charger, which can be re-used as long as it is on the board and you have the mana to pay. Both of these can surprise opponents and take someone out, or sometimes win the game when it is not expected. Of note, any creatures that came into play from the Kaalia drop, cannot attack on the second step, unless they have haste... however, you can always just drop another one into play using Kaalia.
Lastly, removal. Removal is VERY heavy in this deck. The dragons, demons and angels can go toe-to-toe with most beef that hits the field, so the focus is more on stopping swarm mechanics, tokens, and smaller combos needing creatures. One of the better ways to stop these is with the family of Pestilence cards. Pestilence, Pestilence Demon and Pyrohemia all do the same thing. They allow you to pay one mana to deal 1 damage to each creature and each player, so long as you have mana to spend. This can absolutely crush decks playing tokens without static pump effects, any deck using smaller creatures for combos, and generally is good at just clearing the field. Kaalia dies after a second activation unless you have her equipped, but there is enough mana in the deck that it's usually not a concern.
There are also several wipes of various types. Archfiend of Sorrows gives all opposing creatures -2/-2, and can be Unearthed for a second round of fun.Scourge of Kher Keep, and Oros, the Avenger both have a mechanic where you can pay to do the damage. While their activation cost is higher than Pestilence, it's still a 1 for 1 actually. The Scourge is particularly good in that you target flying or non-flying, meaning you can sweep and keep Kaalia on-board.
Piru the Volatile basically has an upkeep cost of RWB, and if not paid, he explodes and sweeps all but the toughest non-legendary creatures off the board. The deck only runs 5 Legendary creatures, so this often wipes our side as well, but is almost always worth it. Also, it's a death-trigger, so he is sort of like a loaded gun to the head of everyone at the table. Ryusi the Falling Star is similar in that it has a death-trigger that deals 5 to each creature without flying. This one leaves our entire board in play, and often can be a one-sided wipe.
For more targeted removal, Oblivion Ring and Angel of Despair can target pretty much anything, and Return to Dust hits artifacts and enchantments well. Steel Hellkite can also eliminate anything bothering you, but you need to pay mana to do it. Still, an awesome way to clean up a board. Remember, tokens are 0. Vampiric Dragon, Mordant Drqagon and Bogardan Hellkite all do a great job of cleaning up specific creatures during play, with the Hellkite and Mordant being able to eliminate all but the biggest creatures.
Lastly, we come to what are by far the best two pieces of removal in the deck. Balefire Dragon allows you to sweep a single players entire board basically unless they are huge. This allows for some politics and can also cripple board-states. Plus, it's just fun to do. And finally, we come to probably the best card in the deck. Razia's Purification absolutely demolishes the game. If you can get this off, it's usually better than Cyclonic Rift even. Yes, they get to pick their three permanents, but so do you. I am inclined to go with Kaalia, the artifact protecting her, and either a permanent that is reanimating, or some card-draw. If those are not available, big beats. The game gets very one-sided very fast as this also removes lands. As I am cheating permanents into play, it provides a huge advantage.
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Notes on changes.
I use to run Liliana, Waker of the dead, but she was just too slow and hard to protect.
