Kaalia's Army

Commander / EDH* Angels Demons Dragons RBW (Mardu)

FearRipper70

Creature (40)

• 1x Giver of Runes
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Kaalia, Zenith Seeker
• 1x Archangel of Tithes
• 1x Bloodletter of Aclazotz
• 1x Gisela, the Broken Blade  ^Meld
• 1x Iroas, God of Victory
• 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
• 1x Magus of the Moat
• 1x Thunderbreak Regent
• 1x Angel of Sanctions
• 1x Archfiend of Depravity
• 1x Archon of Redemption
• 1x Ganax, Astral Hunter
• 1x Goldspan Dragon
• 1x Liesa, Forgotten Archangel
• 1x Terror of the Peaks
• 1x Wrathful Red Dragon
• 1x Ancient Copper Dragon
• 1x Aurelia, the Warleader
• 1x Bloodthirster
• 1x Demonlord Belzenlok
• 1x Hellkite Tyrant
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Lathliss, Dragon Queen
• 1x Rakdos, Patron of Chaos
• 1x Scourge of the Throne
• 1x Ancient Gold Dragon
• 1x Angel of Despair
• 1x Angelic Arbiter
• 1x Balefire Dragon
• 1x Bruna, the Fading Light  ^Meld
• 1x Chancellor of the Annex
• 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• 1x Sephara, Sky's Blade
• 1x Archfiend of Despair
• 1x Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• 1x Razaketh, the Foulblooded
• 1x Utvara Hellkite

Land (36)

• 1x Alpine Meadow
• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Bonders' Enclave
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Clifftop Retreat
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Fabled Passage
• 1x Fetid Heath
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Graven Cairns
• 1x Hall of the Bandit Lord
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Luxury Suite
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Mountain
• 4x Plains
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Rugged Prairie
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Savai Triome
• 1x Shadowblood Ridge
• 1x Snowfield Sinkhole
• 1x Spectator Seating
• 3x Swamp
• 1x Tyrite Sanctum
• 1x Vault of Champions
• 1x Vesuva

Enchantment (2)

• 1x Dragon Tempest
• 1x Phyrexian Arena

Commander (1)

Artifact (11)

• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Silver Shroud Costume
• 1x Strionic Resonator
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Sonic Screwdriver

Instant (6)

• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Pyroblast
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Crackling Doom
• 1x Teferi's Protection

Sorcery (4)

• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Grim Tutor
• 1x Damnation

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Maybeboard

Creature (13)

• 1x Soul Warden
• 1x Soul's Attendant
• 1x Isshin, Two Heavens as One
• 1x Righteous Valkyrie
• 1x Aurelia, the Law Above
• 1x Bloodgift Demon
• 1x Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
• 1x Master of Cruelties
• 1x Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
• 1x Steel Hellkite
• 1x Angel of Serenity
• 1x Hoarding Broodlord
• 1x Demon of Death's Gate

Instant (5)

• 1x Mana Tithe
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Everybody Lives!
• 1x Get Lost
• 1x Mortify

Sorcery (4)

• 1x Imperial Seal
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Wrath of God

Artifact (5)

• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mox Opal
• 1x Scroll Rack
• 1x Pact Weapon
• 1x The Immortal Sun

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Flowering of the White Tree
• 1x Spirit Mantle
• 1x Necropotence

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Ok! So, I know you know Kaalia of the Vast. Everyone knows Kaalia of the Vast. She is from the first wave of preconstructed commander decks and you have probably lost a game or two to her once upon a time. She is so tied to commander history and so well known that it has become a meme to never let her stay on the board. She helped to establish the strength a Commander can have. She herself is an engine. If you swing with her, you get to play a demon, dragon, or angel tapped and attacking with her for free. It SO GOOD!

I love her. I have since 2011 when she came out. I have had this deck since then and have continuously tweaked it every other year or so. And like I said, its become a meme that she must be killed. So I must warn you first, ONLY PLAY KAALIA IF YOU HAVE A THICK SKIN. You need to have a thick skin to play this commander. You need to enjoy being the villain if you play this commander. People are rightfully afraid of Kaalia.

I must also warn you that some people find Kaalia boring. There can be nuance in her deck design, but because she is so straightforward most decks tend to rely heavily on her being on the field. This reliance can be unfun to play sometimes and can be unfun to play against sometimes. And as the one who is choosing to play a meme commander it is up to you to not get salty when people counter and kill Kaalia. Its gonna happen. That's why I say you need a thick skin.

BUT I STILL LOVE HER!!! It is so fun to play big dumb flyers and destroy my opponent's hopes and dreams. It is so much fun to look for the opportune moments to paly my Commander and start wrecking face. It's like walking a razors edge. Its a delightful tension. It makes you feel formidable. It's fun to be the villain of the table.

And her deck design does have a few ways to express yourself. This is my list. I don't think I am bringing anything too spectacular to the Kaalia of the Vast world. I think I probably run less instants than average. I also think I play less equipment than average. I have gone through those phases, but settled back on having most of my utility attached to the creatures that Kaalia cheats out. This is the most straightforward way to play Kaalia, but relies for more patience and experience in correct timing to play Kaalia. It requires knowing what you need to tutor or play before Kaalia to be ready to immediately take control of the game. That's a key point. You only want to play Kaalia if you can immediately take control of the game.

In favor of instant spells, I actually like to run a couple of control-y effects on other creatures as well. Grand Abolisher, Giver of Runes, Iroas, God of Victory, and Magus of the Moat all come to mind as creatures meant to keep Kaalia safer. I think it fits the theme of Kaalia bringing her army to bear against her opponents. It also feels more nostalgic to play her like this to me.

I also prefer flyers for my rise to victory. Flyers are better. If you don't like flyers as much as I do, then consider avoiding Magus of the Moat and play Harvester of Souls and Master of Cruelties.

Here is a breakdown of how I play this list.

Turn 1: Keep a hand with two colors of land with an additional land or mana rock. On Turn one there are four options. Giver of Runes and Mother of Runes are your best options to start protecting Kaalia early. Sol Ring is your most aggressive start. It would allow you to immediately play a signet if you had one. A signet or Fellawar stone could get you Mom or Giver. You might have a Vampiric Tutor instead. If so, then tutor for Grand Abolisher.

Turn 2: Playing a mana rock here is ideal. Arcane Signet, Rakdos Signet, Orzhov Signet, Boros Signet, Fellwar Stone. If not them, then Grand Abolisher is amazing for protecting Kaalia. Then there is also the classic Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves.

Turn 3: DO NOT PLAY KAALIA OF THE VAST! ... only play Kaalia of the Vast on this turn if you have lightning greaves and if your opponents do not have blue mana. The Sol Ring/Signet combo is a trap unless you fulfill those two criteria. Instead play Kaalia, Zenith Seeker to prep your hand. You could also play Righteous Valkyrie to start gaining life. Lastly, I might play Phyrexian Arena to start drawing more cards. You're looking for protection for kaalia.

Turn 4: You should have protection by now. If you do, then start looking for strong cards to drop in when you play Kaalia. Demonic Tutor, Grim Tutor, and Diabolic Tutor to find Gisela, Blade of Goldnight or Avacyn, Angel of Hope. If you aren't lucky enough for any of those things, you might have access to Iroas, God of Victory, Magus of the Moat, or Pact Weapon.

Turn 5: This is when I start looking to play Kaalia of the Vast for real. You should look for an opportunity when you opponent doesn't have blue mana or while you have Grand Abolisher or if you can use Cavern of Souls. The game gets simpler now.

Swing. With. Kaalia.

If you have Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, or Hall of the Bandit Lord, then you can swing with her immediately. If not, then just start swinging with her next turn and dumping in giant creatures.

There are lots of options depending on your board state. The best options are Gisela, Blade of Goldnight and Avacyn, Angel of Hope. Besides them I really like additional combat triggers. Aurelia, the Warleader, Scourge of the Throne, and the newer Bloodthirster are very synergistic, allowing Kaalia of the Vast to drop in multiple things per turn.

Besides Gisela Blade of Goldnight, Bloodletter of Aclazotz and Archfiend of Despair are also ways to double your damage.

If you draw a lot of dragons, Thunderbreak Regent, Ganax, Astral Hunter, Wrathful Red Dragon, Ancient Gold Dragon, Lathliss, Dragon Queen, and Utvara Hellkite all support each other pretty well.

Some of those dragons help build up treasure tokens which can help Ancient Copper Dragon and Hellkite Tyrant win the game.

Demonlord Belzenlok and Rakdos, Patron of Chaos help keep you gassed up. If you draw Sephara, Sky's Blade you probably don't need Avacyn, Angel of Hope.

If you need removal, there is Angel of Sanctions, Archfiend of Depravity, and Angel of Despair.

If you need different control, you could drop in Archangel of Tithes, Angelic Arbiter, Chancellor of the Annex, Linvala, Keeper of Silence or meld Gisela, the Broken Blade   and Bruna, the Fading Light   into Brisela, Voice of Nightmares    .

If you dont like melding, you could run Demon of Death's Gate instead of Gisela, the Broken Blade  .

And that is pretty much it. Get protection first. Secure a weapon next. Play Kaalia. Swing with Kaalia. Win.

Any thoughts?

Date added	3 years
Last updated	1 week
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	30 - 0 Mythic Rares 42 - 0 Rares 13 - 0 Uncommons 4 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	4.22
Tokens	Angel of Sanctions 3/4 W, Dragon 5/5 R, Dragon 6/6 R, Faerie Dragon 1/1 U, Treasure
Folders	Decks Worth Trying