Help me Giada, you're my only Hope (Commander / EDH MTG Deck)

Help me Giada, you're my only Hope

Commander / EDH* Angels Flying Lifelink Mono-White

kirbysan

Angel (28)

Lifegain (13)

Interaction (10)

Protection (7)

Fetch (5)

Human Trigger (4)

Angel Trigger (19)

Ramp (18)

ETB (12)

Human (9)

Equipment (4)

Blink (3)

Combat (2)

Commander (1)

Land (33)

Draw (12)

Utility (10)

Recursion (6)

Tutor (6)

Tokens (3)

Sideboard

Angel (17)

Ramp (8)

Angel Trigger (5)

Blink (4)

Recursion (3)

Human (2)

Lifelink (1)

1x Shadowspear

Removal (1)

1x Excise the Imperfect

Draw (11)

Utility (10)

NonFoil (6)

ETB (5)

Combat (4)

Tokens (3)

Tutor (1)

1x Pyre of Heroes

Land (11)

Interaction (9)

Protection (7)

Lifegain (5)

Equipment (4)

Fetch (2)

2024 UPDATE

Originally built this list as a strict upgrade to @Guerric's. However after nearing 2 years since Giada released, the power level of the store has increased at least 1-2 steps. When playing against mid-power casual pods, Angels beatdown is a major threat and they must answer you, usually in the form of a board wipe which we pack protection for. However, when playing against high-power pods, Angels doesn't provide a table wide threat fast enough to stop combos or synergies from popping off. Since the previous strategy against combos is player elimination, if we don't kill them fast enough then we're out of the game. I have consistently lost with the old list because it was unfortunately too straightforward and they could see our punches coming a mile away, therefore I've revamped the entire list.

SHINY ANGELS

I've made this entire deck foil because I like shiny things and therefore ommitted some staples listed below. This is also a budgetless list so be aware that a number of these cards will end up in the 2 to 3 digits.

Youthful Valkyrie unfortunately found only in the theme boosters, there are no foils for this Angel but it's the best 2-drop one there is.
Starnheim Aspirant also only found in the Kaldheim theme boosters, no foil exists for this Angel ramping human.
Sigarda's Vanguard a commander only card that's been used for many a finisher it not only buffs your board, has flash but is an angel as well.
Excise the Imperfect a mono-white staple as it exiles instead of destroys but can't hit lands like Generous Gift
Clever Concealment perhaps the best protection spell outside of Teferi's Protection as it doesn't remove your counters and can save your non-creature permanents as well.
Chivalric Alliance a commander only cheap draw enchantment that helps facilitate attack on draw similar to Firemane Commando or Minas Tirith.

POWER OF TUTORS

While there aren't a lot of tutors in mono-white, especially for angels, they can help setup for the more impactful angels later in the game when we want to close out.

Enlightened Tutor for any artifact or enchantment. Early game use it for a manarock or draw spell.

Recruiter of the Guard tutors for anything toughness 2 or less.

Stoneforge Mystic for equipment
Loran of the Third Path or Skyclave Apparition for removal
Guardian of Faith for protection
Grand Abolisher for closing out protection
Karmic Guide for recursion

Stoneforge Mystic tutors for any equipment and can drop it down for 1W. Used to use it for an entire sword package but most players have recognized the line now and will stop it in its tracks. Listed below in order of priority:

Sword of Hearth and Home for ramping and blinking. You would target the Stoneforge to get the rest of the equipments but can also hit any of the other ETB targets to get additional value.
Lightning Greaves for protection and haste. If you plan on having a big turn next then you'll want this piece to help facilitate it. Early game it will also protect Giada from the constant removal she often faces.
Dowsing Dagger for the ramp. While Giada functions as an Angel ramp, there are a lot more spells in the deck now that are not Angels, and having the extra mana never hurts.
Sword of Feast and Famine for the additional ramp. When it hits an early board it makes itself a massive target and doesn't ramp too much. But with a couple of the stronger lands like Lotus Field, Nyk, Shrine to Nykthos or the Lost Vale above we are generating tons of mana for big plays.
Sword of Fire and Ice for extra draw and a shock. Really useful for killing hatebears without having to sacrifice 1 for 1.

Urza's Saga tutors for any 0 or 1 colorless artifact

Sol Ring for the ramp
Mana Crypt for the ramp if we're high on life
Mox Amber if we need the color fixing
The Ozolith if we're good on mana and trying to grab those few extra points of life

Suggestions

Updates Add

MOM Swaps & Gameplay Interactions (UPDATE) — May 28, 2023

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March of Machine Upgrades (x12) - Blink/Tutor Show

1. Guardian of Ghirapur IN Angelic Curator OUT

After nearly a year of playtesting, I'm not the biggest fan of the low CMC angels, especially Angelic Curator. While it's a 1/1 flying angel body for 2, the protection for artifacts is more of a hindrance than a help. It helped defend against a Blightsteel Colossus once but being unable to equip it hurts more. By turn 3 when we want to drop Angelic Curator we would rather want to drop a 3-4 CMC angel or an impactful Artifact, Equipment or Enchantment.

Guardian of Ghirapur is a far superior body to Angelic Curator at 3/3 for 3. Initially there weren't that many blink targets for this deck but I've tweaked it to have more relevant targets and provide some outs to accelerate our gameplan. Typical targets would be Stoneforge Mystic, Recruiter of the Guard, Inspiring Overseer, Karmic Guide, Sanctuary Warden, Bruna, the Fading Light ^Meld.

2. Karmic Guide IN Angelic Page OUT

Following the same logic as Angelic Curator, Angelic Page simply doesn't do enough when it hits the board. Karmic Guide was initially pulled due to lack of use as 5CMC is a lot for simple recursion and the deck was more focused on mana efficiency. However, with the re-introduction of tutors and blink mechanics it may have a place again.

3. Recruiter of the Guard IN Mangara, the Diplomat OUT

Mangara has proven its worth in a few games if opponents continue with their strategy and play through it. However, like Smuggler's Share, if opponents decide to play around it, it's kind of a dead card on board. The first ability generally doesn't do much since opponents aren't swinging into our board and depending on the deck they can cast one big spell on their turn and save their instants for opponents. Recruiter of the Guard was in my initial build but pulled in favor of more angels. Typical line would be Recruiter of the Guard into Stoneforge Mystic to grab either Lightning Greaves for protection or Sword of Hearth and Home for protection, ramp and blink shenanigans. While it seems like adding 1 card for a maybe synergy seems inefficient I was able to pull it off in 1/3 games so it's not as inconsistent as it seems.

4. Firemane Commando IN Angelic Sleuth OUT

While the clues generated with Sleuth have saved me before, I would much rather have more consistent draw to keep my hand topped off rather than wasting a turn after a wipe to refill my hand. Firemane serves double duty as not only being a solid 4/3 angel body but also provides "free" draw through attacking which we want to do. It also helps direct combat decks towards opponents if they want the draw.

5. Invasion of Dominaria ^Flip IN Thorough Investigation OUT

In the same theme as Sleuth, Thorough Investigation provides draw for later with the added benefit of going through the dungeon. I've completed dungeons twice before with this card but the benefits haven't been as strong as I hoped. Invasion of Dominaria ^Flip provides lifegain and draw immediately and as long as we have 2 angels (Giada and 1 other) then we can defeat this battle the turn we drop it providing a 6/6 Serra Angel. When you staple all 3 together then that's incredibly efficient. Late game when we're trying to close out the game we may choose to not swing at the battle but instead go for lethal but the option remains.

6. Invasion of Gobakhan ^Flip IN The Ozolith OUT

In the dozens of games I've played with Ozolith I've only had it successfully work once. Late game it may seem like a dead card as it sort of hinges on either an opponent playing a board wipe and us refilling the board to swing again or using Pyre of Heroes on a stacked angel to grab something relevant. I much prefer Gobakhan as it slows down an opponents gameplay, easy to flip and provides benefits right away by buffing our board the same turn it comes out and also has "free" protection for later.

7. Conjurer's Mantle IN Mask of Memory OUT

Mask has been pretty great overall but sometimes slows down the game too much by making us filter. While there's a recursion package, it's not always guaranteed, so pitching relevant angel bodies early can be detrimental for late game, especially against graveyard exiles like Bojuka Bog. Yet, we'll still want to draw our cards so the discarding is necessary. Mantle is great not only because it costs the same, has a buff and vigilance and grabs relevant bodies off the top 6 without having to discard.

8. Clever Concealment IN Cosmic Intervention OUT

Cosmic seems good on paper but exile effects like Farewell or Merciless Eviction can make it useless. It also doesn't protect the angel tokens which can sometimes be the main body of threat. Concealment allows us to not just protect the tokens but lets the vigilant angels tap for a surprise protection. Oftentimes opponents will check untapped mana before blowing everything on a boardwipe so the convoke mechanic is super relevant for a well timed protection spell. Depending on the success of this swap I may consider Wand of the Worldsoul as well for some sneaky convoke shenanigans.

9. Chivalric Alliance IN Tome of Legends OUT

In the same line of thinking as Firemane Commando, "free" draw is better than costed draw. They both cost the same but having to pay for Tome of Legends can slow us down as well as if Giada is removed too much in the beginning. At most we'll ever get 1 draw per turn anyway so this swap was pretty simple.

10. Land Tax IN Smothering Tithe OUT

I've loved Tithe for awhile thinking it's a great ramp card. While it is good, it hinges on the decks it's played against. I've been most successful against my friends Jhoira's deck which colored my view when bringing it into pub matches. After reflecting on it for a year, it simply isn't worth it in mid to high powered casual decks that don't use draw as part of their strategy. In 90% of games I'll get 3-6 treasures before it gets removed or the game ends. Figuratively, you would drop it on turn 4 and if no one pays the tax then by turn 6 you'll have at most 6 treasures which is only net +2 mana. If the game lasts till turn 7 then you could have +5 mana but at that point opponents would either have game ending spells or plenty of open mana to pay the tax. Land Tax on the other hand can come down T1 before Giada even hits the field, thins out the deck while filling the hand with relevant plays and synergizes well with Emeria Shepherd or Emeria, the Sky Ruin. It was in the initial build of this deck before but was taken out along with the other artifact ramp to add more angels in.

11. Plains IN Bonders' Enclave OUT

As one of the few available card draws in mono-white, Enclave was a land for hail-mary draws. I've only ever used these abilities in 1 game when I was desperate for any card draw and it felt terrible. Paying 4 to draw a single card is terrible use of mana. Also, there were too many colorless sources from lands so I was struggling early game to play 2 relevant white cards in one turn.

12. Mistveil Plains IN War Room OUT

Same line of thinking as Enclave. Mistveil's ability is more of an experiment as tap lands are generally too slow. Typically recursion would just put the creatures back on the battlefield but Mistveil can possibly help with the Blink/Tutor package we've introduced.

Considering Wand of the Worldsoul and Excise the Imperfect

Game 1 (3-man Pod vs. Sigarda Voltron & Lathiel Lifegain) Show

Game 2 (4-man Pod vs. Sigarda Voltron, Lathiel Lifegain & Wilhelt Zombies) Show

Game 3 (4-man Pod vs. Prosper Exile, Sliver Tribal & Muldrotha Reanimation) Show

Game 4 (4-man Pod vs. Thrun Voltron, Jegantha Mutate & Muldrotha Reanimation) Show

Game 5 (4-man Pod vs. Thrun Voltron, Narset Prowess & Kinzu ETBs) Show

Game 6 w/ Planechase (5-man Pod vs. Brimaz Phyrexians, Narset Prowess, Kinzu ETBs & Dakkon Esper Goodstuff) Show

Game 7 w/ Planechase (4-man Pod vs. Brimaz Phyrexians, Kinzu ETBs & Isperia Flyers) Show

Conclusions Show

Currently only at 4/7 wins which is a drop in percentage, not counting the Planchase games it's 3/5. I could've possibly won game 4 if I didn't have to scoop. Every new update has a trial period as there are new lines of strategy so this is par for the course. It did feel like I had less consistency overall though as Game 5 was angel screwed and Game 6 was mana screwed.

Guardian of Ghirapur and Recruiter of the Guard shined in Game 2 and showed the benefits of running the small blink package. I enjoy using it far more than the Pyre of Heroes sacrifice package as it doesn't remove our threats from the board buut adds to it with cards in hand.

Karmic Guide was useful in Game 6 as it helped recur creatures from the graveyard and is in the sweet spot between an impactful 4-cost angel and Bruna, the Fading Light ^Meld. However, I would be careful about pitching stuff into the graveyard to recur with Karmic Guide like I did with Avacyn as black has plenty of reanimation shenanigans.

Firemane Commando was in hand a few times and played possibly once but compared to Chivalric Alliance is much more prone to single target removal or board wipes.

Invasion of Dominaria ^Flip was played a handful of times but only flipped once. In terms of raw card draw it pales in comparison to Thorough Investigation. Giada doesn't help pay for it so as an Angel it's a little lackluster. 5 damage to flip it ends up being quite a lot as I want the damage to hit life totals. It also doesn't trigger the Swords when I go after battles. Out of all the new adds, this may be the first to be cut.

Invasion of Gobakhan ^Flip frontside was actually very useful in the few times it was played. It bought time in Games 3 and 6 while the backside only added less than 10 power to the board before it was either removed or sacrificed. However, for 2 mana it's been useful every time it was played.

Chivalric Alliance was great the few times it's been played. It typically draws me a card a turn once dropped and doesn't need Giada around to trigger. Definitely an upgrade over Tome of Legends.

Conjurer's Mantle, Land Tax and Mistveil Plains haven't had a chance to see play yet so their testing remains to be seen.

Budget Swaps (Post March of Machine Upgrades) — May 5, 2023

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Gameplay Interactions — Jan. 8, 2023

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Gameplay Interactions — Jan. 1, 2023

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Gameplay Interactions — Dec. 31, 2022

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Gameplay Interactions — Dec. 24, 2022

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Gameplay Interactions — Dec. 11, 2022

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Gameplay Interactions — Nov. 28, 2022

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Revision 23 See all

(1 week ago)

+1	Collector's Cage	main
+1	Lost Jitte	main

Date added	1 year
Last updated	1 week
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	27 - 8 Mythic Rares 53 - 36 Rares 3 - 16 Uncommons 2 - 3 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.27
Tokens	Angel 3/3 W, Angel 4/4 W, Angel 4/4 W w/ Vigilance, Citizen 1/1 GW, Clue, Construct 0/0 C, Copy Clone, Elephant 3/3 G, Illusion / U, Incubator, Knight 2/2 WU, Phyrexian 0/0 C, Plant 0/2 G, Spirit 1/1 W, Monarch Emblem, Treasure, Warrior 1/1 W w/ Vigilance
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