Overview:

Kaalia of the Vast leverages her ability to cheat massive Angels, Demons, and Dragons into play, focusing on aggressive combat strategies with multiple combat phases and incremental value from Dragon synergies. While lacking infinite combos, the deck aims to overwhelm opponents with high-power creatures and combat manipulation.

Primer:

Core Strategy: This deck seeks to resolve Kaalia by turn 4 using mana rocks and cost reducers, then attack immediately to deploy game-ending threats like Aurelia, the Warleader or Scourge of the Throne. Backup plans include Dragon tribal synergies (Lathliss, Dragon Queen, Dragon's Hoard) and graveyard recursion (Rivaz of the Claw).

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3 lands (including color fixing)
• Prioritize 1-3 mana ramp (Sol Ring, Dragonlord's Servant)
• Ensure at least 1 protection spell (Boros Charm) or combat trick (Master Warcraft)

Key Tips:

• Sequence Kaalia after establishing protection: Use Alesha's Legacy or Make a Stand to preserve her through removal.
• Chain combat phases: Aurelia, the Warleader + Scourge of the Throne enables 3+ attacks per turn cycle.
• Leverage Dragon synergies: Dragonstorm Globe and Lathliss, Dragon Queen amplify board presence.

Avoid Traps:

• Overextending before establishing protection
• Keeping hands without early ramp/recursion
• Wasting removal on non-critical threats

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Relies heavily on Kaalia staying on board (3+ removals cripple the deck)
• Limited graveyard hate protection (weak to Rest in Peace effects)

Moderate:

• Slow recovery from board wipes
• Minimal stack interaction (only 3 instant-speed answers)

Minor:

• Mana base vulnerabilities (10+ tapped lands)

Most Important Cards:

• Boros Charm
• Master Warcraft
• Aurelia, the Warleader
• Lathliss, Dragon Queen
• Sol Ring
• Dragon's Hoard
• Gilded Lotus
• Hoarding Dragon
• Haunted Cloak
• Scourge of the Throne

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Can deploy Kaalia + 1-2 threats by T4-5 with optimal draws
• Dragon cost reducers enable T5-6 hardcasts of backup threats

Resilience: 4/10

• Heavily commander-dependent with limited protection
• Moderate recursion (Rivaz of the Claw, Soul Salvage) but slow

Consistency: 5/10

• 7x ramp pieces and 3x cost reducers
• Limited tutors (Hoarding Dragon, Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon)

Interaction: 3/10

• 5 targeted removal spells (Feed the Swarm, Join the Dead)
• No counterspells or stax pieces

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between "Upgraded Jank" (3.5) and "Focused Casual" (4.5) on the rubric. While capable of explosive T5-7 wins with Kaalia triggers, it falters against interaction-heavy metas and lacks the redundancy/tutoring of optimized lists. The mana base and protection suite limit its ceiling compared to tuned Kaalia builds running free protection spells and faster mana.

Power level: 4.0 - 4.5