Overview:

This Kaalia of the Vast deck leverages its commander's attack trigger to cheat massive Angels, Demons, and Dragons into play, bypassing their high mana costs. The primary strategy revolves around deploying Kaalia quickly, protecting her, and using her ability to overwhelm opponents with immediate combat threats. Secondary reanimation packages (Reanimate, Animate Dead, Sneak Attack) provide redundancy if Kaalia is countered or removed. Win conditions center on combat damage amplified by powerful attack triggers (e.g., Balefire Dragon, Terror of the Peaks) and extra combats (Aurelia, the Warleader + Aggravated Assault/Sword of Feast and Famine). Kaalia is essential as the primary enabler, but her fragility makes the strategy highly vulnerable to removal.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Prioritize fast mana (Sol Ring, Dark Ritual, Signets), protection (Lightning Greaves, Mother of Runes), or card selection (Faithless Looting, Entomb). Cast Kaalia as early as Turn 2-3 using rituals or rocks.
2. Kaalia Activation (Turns 3-5): Attack with Kaalia to cheat high-impact threats like Master of Cruelties (instakill), Terror of the Peaks (burn), Avacyn, Angel of Hope (protection), or Razaketh, the Foulblooded (tutor). Equip Sword of Feast and Famine to untap lands for additional combats/spells.
3. Reanimation Backup: If Kaalia is countered/killed, use Buried Alive/Entomb + Reanimate/Animate Dead/Sneak Attack to deploy threats from the graveyard. Living Death can reset the board in your favor.
4. Win Condition Execution:
   • Combat: Overwhelm with flying beaters. Use Akroma's Will for lethal, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight/Twinflame Tyrant for damage doubling, or Master of Cruelties for instant kills.
   • Infinite Combats: Aggravated Assault + Sword of Feast and Famine (untap lands on hit) or sufficient mana.
   • Burn: Terror of the Peaks + multiple creature cheats/reanimation loops.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands, including at least one black source.
• Prioritize hands containing:
  • Kaalia + protection (Greaves/Boots/Mother of Runes)
  • Fast mana (Sol Ring, Dark Ritual, Signet)
  • A reanimation spell + enabler (Entomb/Faithless Looting)
  • A high-impact threat to cheat (e.g., Avacyn, Razaketh)
• Avoid hands lacking ramp, protection, or payoff creatures.

Key Tips:

• Protect Kaalia at All Costs: Equip Greaves/Boots before attacking. Use Grand Abolisher to prevent interaction during your turn. Teferi's Protection protects your board.
• Sequence Threats Wisely: Cheat Master of Cruelties only when lethal (post-combat damage). Prioritize Avacyn against board wipes or Razaketh for tutoring.
• Leverage Reanimation: Buried Alive sets up graveyard for Living Death or targeted reanimation. Sneak Attack bypasses commander tax.
• Manage Life Total: Necropotence, Phyrexian Arena, and Black Market Connections demand careful life payment. Use Vilis, Broker of Blood to convert life loss into cards.
• Disrupt Opponents: Toxic Deluge clears problematic creatures. Deadly Rollick/Chaos Warp handle key threats.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Commander Dependency: Repeated removal/counterspells on Kaalia cripples the primary strategy, forcing reliance on slower reanimation.
• Board Wipes: Mass removal (e.g., Farewell) devastates the board with limited recovery outside reanimation.
• Graveyard Hate: Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void nullifies reanimation backups and Living Death.

Moderate

• Anti-Cheat Effects: Containment Priest, Hushbringer prevent Kaalia triggers and reanimation.
• Taxing Effects: Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Sphere of Resistance slow down ramp and reanimation spells.
• Flying Blockers: Mass flying creatures (e.g., Avian Changeling) can stall combat wins.

Minor

• Artifact/Enchantment Removal: Targets key equipment (Sword, Greaves) or engines (Necropotence, Aggravated Assault).
• Life Total Pressure: Aggressive decks can exploit life payment from card draw engines.

Most Important Cards:

• Kaalia of the Vast (Primary cheat engine)
• Sneak Attack (Secondary cheat engine, bypasses commander tax)
• Razaketh, the Foulblooded (Tutor-on-a-stick, finds answers/combo pieces)
• Buried Alive (Sets up reanimation targets)
• Teferi's Protection (Board protection, dodges wipes)
• Necropotence (Massive card advantage)
• Sword of Feast and Famine (Enables infinite combats, protection)
• Avacyn, Angel of Hope (Indestructible board protection)
• Terror of the Peaks (Burn wincon, punishes creature cheats)
• Dark Ritual (Enables T2 Kaalia)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 8/10

• Capable of T2-3 kills with perfect hands (e.g., T1 Ritual -> Kaalia, T2 attack cheating Master of Cruelties). Consistently threatens wins by T4-5 via combat or combo.

Resilience: 5/10

• Strong protection suite (Greaves, Teferi's Protection, Grand Abolisher) and reanimation backups mitigate disruption, but heavy reliance on Kaalia and graveyard creates significant fragility against targeted hate.

Consistency: 7/10

• Multiple tutors (Demonic Tutor, Razaketh, Burning-Rune Demon), card draw engines (Necropotence, Phyrexian Arena), and redundancy in cheat/reanimation effects ensure key pieces are found regularly.

Interaction: 6/10

• Efficient targeted removal (Swords to Plowshares, Deadly Rollick, Chaos Warp), board wipes (Toxic Deluge), and stack protection (Grand Abolisher) cover key threats, but lacks countermagic for non-creature spells.

Rating Justification:

This deck achieves high-speed T3-5 wins through explosive Kaalia triggers or reanimation, aligning with the "Focused Competitive" tier (T5-6 win/lock). However, its reliance on an easily disrupted commander and vulnerability to graveyard hate reduces resilience, preventing higher optimization. The speed/resilience balance places it at the upper end of Optimized.

Power level: 6.5 - 7.0