Overview:

Kaalia of the Vast leverages aggressive mana acceleration and stax elements to cheat massive Angels/Demons/Dragons into play. The deck combines fast mana, tutor density, and resource denial (Winter Orb/Armageddon) to create early-game dominance. While primarily commander-centric, it features strong reanimation/Sneak Attack backup lines and stax-backed "effective wins."

Primer:

Core Strategy: Deploy Kaalia by turn 2-3 using Moxen/Mana Vault, then attack to cheat game-ending threats like Master of Cruelties or Avacyn. The deck operates in three phases:

1. Turbo Ramp: Prioritize 0-1 mana rocks (Sol Ring, Chrome Mox) to cast Kaalia by turn 2. Use rituals (Dark Ritual) and land destruction (Armageddon) to accelerate while crippling opponents.

2. Stax-Powered Threats: Lock opponents with Winter Orb/Armageddon once Kaalia is online. Cheat in stax-resistant threats: Archfiend of Despair (life loss), Hellkite Tyrant (artifact theft), or Avacyn (indestructible board).

3. Alternative Lines: Sneak Attack, Reanimate, and Underworld Breach provide backup for cheating creatures. Ad Nauseam/Necropotence refuel hands post-stax locks.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2+ mana accelerants (Sol Ring + Ancient Tomb ideal)
• Prioritize Kaalia enablers over standalone threats
• Reject hands without early ramp or color fixing

Key Tips:

• Time Armageddon/Winter Orb after deploying Kaalia/equipping Greaves
• Use Teferi's Protection to survive your own mass land destruction
• Tutor priority: Protection (Boros Charm) > Stax (Winter Orb) > Payoffs (Master of Cruelties)

Avoid Traps:

• Don't overextend creatures before establishing protection
• Prioritize hasted threats (Bloodthirster) with Dragon Tempest
• Never cast Kaalia without backup if opponents have open mana

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Commander dependency (3+ removals cripple the deck)
• No infinite combos for deterministic wins

Moderate:

• Weak to graveyard hate (Rest in Peace)
• Limited counterspells for stack interaction

Minor:

• Blood Moon effects (mitigated by basic-fetching lands)

Most Important Cards:

• Winter Orb
• Armageddon
• Ad Nauseam
• Necropotence
• Sneak Attack
• Demonic Tutor
• Vampiric Tutor
• Teferi's Protection
• Underworld Breach
• Grand Abolisher

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 8/10

• T2 Kaalia → T3 Master of Cruelties kill possible
• Fast mana enables T4 stax locks

Resilience: 6/10

• 5 protection spells (Greaves/Ephemerate)
• Weak to repeated commander removal

Consistency: 8/10

• 7 tutors + Necropotence/Scroll Rack filtering
• Redundant mana acceleration (12+ rocks)

Interaction: 6/10

• 7 targeted removals + 3 board wipes
• Lacks free counterspells for stack wars

Rating Justification:

This deck exceeds optimized casual (7.0) benchmarks with T2-4 explosive starts and stax-powered effective wins, but falls short of cEDH due to commander dependency and lack of infinite combos. Its speed matches 8.0 "High Power" thresholds when goldfishing, but resilience limitations cap it at 7.5. Comparable to high-powered stax decks like Winota but less consistent than true cEDH lists.

Power level: 7.0 - 7.5