Overview:

This Kaalia of the Vast deck focuses on cheating out high-impact Angels, Demons, and Dragons through its commander's attack trigger. The strategy revolves around aggressive ramp to deploy Kaalia quickly (ideally T3-4), protect her with equipment like Lightning Greaves, and overwhelm opponents with combat damage from flying beaters like Gisela, Blade of Goldnight and Utvara Hellkite. Secondary value comes from attack-trigger doubling via Isshin, Two Heavens as One and recursion tools like Karmic Guide. While lacking infinite combos, it leverages explosive combat phases with Aurelia, the Warleader and Bloodthirster for multiple attacks.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (T1-3): Deploy mana rocks (Sol Ring, Boros Signet) and land-fixing (Wayfarer's Bauble, Fabled Passage). Prioritize protection like Robe of Stars in hand.
2. Commander Online (T3-4): Cast Kaalia with haste enablers (Swiftfoot Boots) or phase-out protection (Haystack).
3. Threat Deployment (T4+): Attack with Kaalia to cheat 6+ MV threats like Drakuseth, Maw of Flames or Rune-Scarred Demon (tutoring key pieces). Use Reconnaissance to preserve Kaalia after triggers.
4. Combat Domination: Activate extra combat steps via Bloodthirster or Aurelia, the Warleader, amplified by Isshin, Two Heavens as One. Close games with Gisela, Blade of Goldnight's damage doubling or Angel of Destiny's life total wincon.

Mulligan Priorities:

• 3+ lands with at least two colors
• Early ramp (Signet, Fellwar Stone, or 1-mana rock)
• Kaalia protection (Lightning Greaves, Robe of Stars)
• At least one high-impact Angel/Demon/Dragon

Key Tips:

• Use Strionic Resonator to copy Kaalia's attack trigger for double creature deployment.
• Sephara, Sky's Blade provides indestructible to your flying board when cheated out.
• Shilgengar, Sire of Famine turns sacrificed Angels into Blood tokens for mass reanimation later.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Extreme reliance on Kaalia: Multiple removals/board wipes cripple the deck's threat deployment.
• Minimal card advantage engines beyond Vilis, Broker of Blood and one-time draws (Sign in Blood).

Moderate

• Vulnerable to flying hate (Spidersilk Armor, Archetype of Imagination).
• Limited stack interaction (only Swords to Plowshares, Terminate, no counterspells).

Minor

• High average CMC (4.3) struggles under stax like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben.
• Graveyard reliance (Karmic Guide, Reya Dawnbringer) weak to Rest in Peace.

Most Important Cards:

• Kaalia of the Vast (Core enabler)
• Gisela, Blade of Goldnight (Damage multiplier)
• Rune-Scarred Demon (Tutor on wings)
• Aurelia, the Warleader (Extra combats)
• Lightning Greaves (Protection)
• Isshin, Two Heavens as One (Trigger doubler)
• Utvara Hellkite (Token snowball)
• Blasphemous Act (Board reset)
• Drana and Linvala (Hatebear + ability theft)
• Robe of Stars (Phasing protection)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10
Can deploy game-ending threats as early as T4 with Kaalia unblocked, but requires setup turns and combat steps.

Resilience: 4/10
Heavily commander-dependent with limited protection/recursion. Recovers poorly from multiple wipes.

Consistency: 5/10
Moderate tutor density (Rune-Scarred Demon, Finale of Devastation missing) but struggles to refill hand.

Interaction: 3/10
Minimal removal suite focused on creatures; no counterspells or artifact/enchantment hate beyond Angel of the Ruins.

Rating Justification:

The deck's T4-7 threat deployment aligns with Focused tiers, but its fragility without Kaalia and lack of combo finishers cap its ceiling. While capable of explosive starts, inconsistent protection and recovery mechanisms place it below optimized lists.

Power level: 5.0 - 5.5