Overview:

This Kaalia of the Vast deck focuses on cheating massive Angels, Demons, and Dragons into play via commander attacks, leveraging their impactful ETB/combat effects to dominate the board. While capable of explosive plays, it lacks infinite combos and relies heavily on combat damage through synergistic creature beats.

Primer:

Core Strategy: Deploy Kaalia by turn 3-4 using mana rocks, then swing to cheat game-ending threats like Avacyn, Angel of Hope or Master of Cruelties. The deck operates in three phases:

1. Setup: Ramp with Sol Ring/Arcane Signet, protect Kaalia with Lightning Greaves, and maintain card advantage through Smothering Tithe/Phyrexian Arena.
2. Payload Delivery: Use Kaalia's attack trigger to bypass mana costs for bombs like Ancient Copper Dragon or Hellkite Tyrant, supported by haste enablers Dragon Tempest.
3. Closing: Leverage overwhelming combat damage from flying threats, supported by extra combats (Aurelia, the Warleader) and damage amplifiers (Terror of the Peaks).

Mulligan Priorities:

• 3 lands (including at least 1 color-fixer)
• 1-2 ramp pieces (Talisman of Indulgence/Chromatic Lantern)
• At least 1 protection/evasion card (Rogue's Passage, Swiftfoot Boots) Reject hands without early ramp or with only high-CMC creatures.

Key Tips:

• Sequence Kaalia after establishing protection (Mithril Coat/Flawless Maneuver)
• Use Master of Cruelties as a surprise one-shot enabler when paired with Kaalia's attack trigger
• Dragon Tempest turns every cheated creature into immediate damage
• Deflecting Swat protects critical combat phases

Avoid Traps:

• Overextending before establishing indestructible (Boros Charm/Avacyn)
• Wasting removal on non-critical threats - save for combo pieces
• Keeping slow hands hoping to hardcast 8-drops

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Relies on Kaalia surviving to attack (fold to 3+ removals)
• Limited non-combat win conditions

Moderate:

• Vulnerable to flying hosers (Settle the Wreckage, Aetherize)
• Slow recovery from board wipes without Avacyn

Minor:

• Some mana dependency on tapped lands
• Limited graveyard recursion beyond Karmic Guide

Most Important Cards:

• Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• Master of Cruelties
• Terror of the Peaks
• Demonic Tutor
• Hellkite Tyrant
• Ancient Copper Dragon
• Smothering Tithe
• Deflecting Swat
• Aurelia, the Warleader
• Balefire Dragon

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Can deploy Kaalia T3 with perfect ramp, cheat 6+ CMC threats T4
• Master of Cruelties enables pseudo-T4 kills
• Lacks true T3-4 infinite combos

Resilience: 6/10

• 8 protection spells (Flawless Maneuver, Whispersilk Cloak)
• Limited recursion (Liesa, Forgotten Archangel, Karmic Guide)
• Vulnerable to targeted commander removal

Consistency: 7/10

• 6 tutors (Demonic Tutor, Rune-Scarred Demon)
• Strong card advantage engines (Trouble in Pairs, Ancient Copper Dragon)
• 18 ramp sources enable Kaalia consistency

Interaction: 7/10

• 10 targeted removal (Anguished Unmaking, Swords to Plowshares)
• 3 board wipes (Austere Command, Blasphemous Act)
• Limited stack interaction beyond Deflecting Swat

Rating Justification:

This deck exceeds Optimized Casual (T8-10) through explosive Kaalia turns and strong redundancy, but lacks cEDH-level fast mana/combos. It matches Focused (T7-8) benchmarks with:

• T4 Master of Cruelties kills
• T5 Avacyn-protected boards
• Multiple combat phase enablers However, reliance on combat damage and commander dependency prevent higher rankings.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5