Overview:

This Kaalia of the Vast deck focuses on cheating out high-impact Angels, Demons, and Dragons using the commander’s attack trigger. The strategy combines aggressive ramp, commander protection, and explosive creature deployment to overwhelm opponents through combat damage and ETB value. While lacking infinite combos, it leverages powerful synergy engines like Terror of the Peaks and Dragon Tempest to amplify its threats.

Primer:

Core Strategy: Deploy Kaalia by T3–4 using mana rocks (Sol Ring, Boros Signet), protect her with Lightning Greaves/Mithril Coat, and cheat out game-ending threats like Avacyn, Angel of Hope or Master of Cruelties. The deck operates in three phases:

1. Setup: Ramp into Kaalia while holding protection (Deflecting Swat, Teferi’s Protection). Prioritize casting Kaalia with haste enablers like Dragon Tempest.
2. Aggression: Use Kaalia’s trigger to bypass mana costs for massive threats. Key includes:
   • Combat multipliers: Aurelia, the Warleader, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
   • Board control: Balefire Dragon, Angel of Despair
   • Stax: Linvala, Keeper of Silence, Archfiend of Despair
3. Finishing: Overwhelm with flying beaters or Hellkite Tyrant artifact theft. Backup plans include Ancient Copper Dragon treasure generation and Ancient Brass Dragon reanimation.

Mulligan Priorities:

• 3 lands (including color fixers like Blood Crypt)
• 1–2 ramp pieces (artifact or land-fetch)
• At least 1 protection/evasion card (Rogue’s Passage, Mother of Runes)

Key Tips:

• Sequence threats to dodge board wipes: Deploy Avacyn before other creatures for indestructible.
• Use Vilis, Broker of Blood as both removal and card draw engine.
• Smothering Tithe funds expensive spells if Kaalia is disrupted.

Avoid Traps:

• Overcommitting to the board before establishing protection.
• Casting high-CMC creatures manually unless necessary.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Extreme commander dependency (3+ removals cripples the deck)
• Limited graveyard recursion for key pieces

Moderate:

• Vulnerability to flyer hate (Aetherize, Sephara)
• Slow recovery from mass exile (Farewell)

Minor:

• Mitigated by protection spells like Boros Charm

Most Important Cards:

• Smothering Tithe
• Terror of the Peaks
• Demonic Tutor
• Lightning Greaves
• Vampiric Tutor
• Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• Teferi’s Protection
• Phyrexian Arena
• Dragon Tempest
• Swords to Plowshares

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10
Can deploy Kaalia + threat by T4, with explosive starts enabled by Dark Ritual. Lacks T3 wins but pressures life totals quickly.

Resilience: 4/10
Heavily reliant on Kaalia surviving; 3+ removals often spell defeat. Some recursion (Phyrexian Reclamation) but limited.

Consistency: 6/10
10 tutors/fetches (e.g., Arid Mesa, Demonic Tutor) and card draw engines (Esper Sentinel). Redundant threats but fragile enablers.

Interaction: 7/10
Efficient removal (Path to Exile, Anguished Unmaking), free spells (Deadly Rollick), and board wipes (Farewell). Lacks counterspells outside Deflecting Swat.

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between 5.5–6.0 on the rubric. It outperforms precon-level decks with explosive T4–5 threats and strong interaction but falters against focused disruption. While faster than "Optimized Casual" (T8–10 wins), its commander dependency and lack of combo finishers prevent it from reaching "Focused" Tier 6.5+. Comparable to high-power battlecruiser decks that dominate mid-game but struggle in faster metas.

Power level: 5.5 – 6.0