Dies to Removal

Keith, I updated the Primer for ya.

Just noticed this here. Kaalia is my babe of choice for EDH too. My list is intended for multiplayer though, so I hope that's OK.

Commander: Kaalia of the Vast

[deck]Creatures (25)
1 Adarkar Valkyrie
1 Akroma, Angel of Fury
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1 Angel of Despair
1 Angel of Serenity
1 Aurelia, the Warleader
1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1 Balefire Dragon
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Bloodgift Demon
1 Deathpact Angel
1 Eternal Dragon
1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
1 Karmic Guide
1 Lord of the Void
1 Pestilence Demon
1 Rakdos, Lord of Riots
1 Reya Dawnbringer
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Ryusei, the Falling Star
1 Sire of Insanity
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Yosei, the
Morning Star

Enchantments (4)
1 Debtor's Knell
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Underworld Connections

Instants (11)
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Hide // Seek
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Mortify
1 Path to Exile
1 Return to Dust
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Terminate
1 Unmake
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Wear // Tear

Sorceries (11)
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Damnation
1 Day of Judgement
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Defy Death
1 Dreadbore
1 Obzedat's Aid
1 Unburial Rites
1 Vindicate
1 Wrath of God

Artifacts (12)
1 Boros Signet
1 Charcoal Diamond
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Fire Diamond
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Marble Diamond
1 Mimic Vat
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Sol Ring
1 Whip of Erebos

Land(36)
1 Arid Mesa
1 Battlefield Forge
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Caves of Koilos
1 City of Brass
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Command Tower
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Fetid Heath
1 Forbidden Orchard
1 Godless Shrine
1 Graven
Cairns
1 Hall of the Bandit Lord
1 High Market
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Marsh Flats
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
2 Mountains
1 Phyrexian Tower
3 Plains
1 Rugged Prairie
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Slayer's Stronghold
1 Sulfurous Springs
1 Swamps
1 Temple of Malice
1 Temple of Silence
1 Temple of Triumph
1 Vault of the Archangel[/deck]

Of course it's okay.


I used to have a listed sideboard with the deck for when I convert it to multiplayer. If i can get some time, I'll post either my multiplayer list or just the sideboard and what changes I make.

Off-color fetches are fine, since they don't make mana.

Off-color fetches are perfectly fine when done safely.

I agree with Azrael. Maybe in a slower, multiplayer build that focuses on reanimating fatties it could work.

I think the newly spoiled Angel of Finality is a shoe-in for Kaalia. Looks like Linvala has a friend in the 4 CMC department.

Azrael, what's your list of mana rocks?

I like your "moar tutor" approach to Kaalia. It's seems like the more tweaks I make, the more I'm headed in that direction also. Being able to toolbox for the correct A/D/D at the right time is invaluable.

Made a few updates with the deck.

The hand disruption is out. For now. In my quest to make this deck more streamlined for both Multiplayer and 1v1, the change made for fewer cards to be switched out. Not to mention, I've been winning just as much without the disruption as I did with it, if not more.

I removed the Lorwyn filter lands and replaced them with pain lands. I was sick and tired of not being able to use them on turn 1 or as my first land drop after an Armageddon. I'll deal with the life loss in exchange for consistency in my drops.

I added Diabolic Tutor. Yay! I didn't realize how much smoother my deck operated with just the addition of 1 extra tutor, but hey, it just does.

Switched out Lesbian Stage for Homeward Path. Who needs to worry about Bribery? Not this guy!

I also added Coldsteel Heart to my artifact ramp package. I love the Diamonds and this is like the "4th Diamond" for the deck
with a bonus that I can decide what color I need it to be.

I heard that, in Magical Christmas Land, stranger things have happened. At least, that's what I've been told over on Sally...

Well, yeah. But how often do you see a guy on turn 3? If you're on the play there's a pretty good chance they're defenseless.

I guess it's auto win if there's nothing out. So it's not a hundred percent auto win. It's still a pretty strong opening either way, I suppose.

Yeah, Sire is just nuts. Not only do they need to topdeck the answer, but they'll also need the land. It's just absurd.

Also, T3 Master of Cruelties is an auto-win. Kaalia's cheat ability bypasses the "must attack alone" clause, and then the life drop happens during the blocks phase. So then, Kaalia delivers the deathblow with her measly 2 power. It's just....cruel.

Updated both lists with some of the new cards, such as Sire and Master. The deck now utilizes a little bit more hand hate, which was badly needed.

The Multiplayer list has some reanimation spells to go the distance in the longer games.

For the multiplayer build, I'm thinking Sire of Insanity is going to be great. He'll work as a universal Mind Twist. At the very least, he'll punish the players that want to sculpt a perfect hand.

He's one of those "must deal with" threats. His CMC is pretty good. 5 means I can cast him without any problem.

So, Master of Cruelties seems like a shoe-in as a 1-hit kill, no?

I'm interested in this deck but since running a Red/Black Landkill deck at my table Once and ruining fun for both of us I've stopped it forever.

Would you mind posting your Multiplayer version?

I reallly like this deck it's just not my thing and you appear to be great at deckbuilding lol

For the multiplayer version of this deck, just make the following changes I outlined at the bottom of the decklist.

Ah, I was looking for Vampiric Tutor in the wrong place. Gotcha. That helps a
lot. Still, I wonder if Diabolic Tutor and possibly a few other options like Demonic Collusion and Increasing Ambition to help generate the lockout combinations (Rakdos, Iona) more consistently would help. Sans Kaalia, not very good at all. But if you can resolve one pre-swing, they probably win you the game on the spot. Moves you towards a more combo-esque direction, and away from a more vulnerable, straight aggro clock -which is a good way to go, if you have problems with your opponents still being able to successfully interact with you *after* Kaalia has attacked. If your problem is more often that Kaalia herself is getting murdered pre-attack, and you never get an attack off in the games that you lose, then that might just clog up your hand and kill tempo, unless there are some other packages of stuff that could be helpful to spend an entire turn's worth of mana grabbing.

For multiplayer at least, packing in more card draw is pretty important. I'm not as familiar with the card choices of the meta in
competitive 1v1, but it would make sense that you can't afford to worry about resiliency versus wrath effects quite as much.

Do you think some extra haste effects might be worth it? Fervor, maybe? It doesn't really add a lot of value on the first casting of Kaalia if you are able to ramp and play her turn 3, but it does protect better against sorc speed removal, and it provides an edge if you're casting Kaalia multiple times, or hard-casting big guys.

Personally, I haven't felt the need for any additional tutors. Diabolic Tutor isn't too bad but at this point I almost wouldn't know what to take out. Rakdos or Iona is typically the "combo kill" of the deck but there are surprisingly a lot of games you can win easily without having to drop them.

Yes, there are some games where Kaalia can be taken out quite early. Blue is, hands down, Kaalia's number one menace because of the counterspells and disruption but in this deck we have [card:
2pwvnvpw]Cavern of Souls[/card], Grand Abolisher, and Defense Grid (which can be tutored up in a pinch with Enlightened Tutor) to protect Kaalia from Blue magic. For added protection from kill spells, I've found Mother of Runes, Boros Charm and Orzhov Charm to be extremely valuable.

Being in the Dega Wedge ( ) provides us with plenty of control and disruption to carry a game if Kaalia is dealt with pretty early. Also, the deck packs Quicksilver Amulet as a "second Kaalia." At some point, thanks to the artifact ramp
package, you can actually hardcast your big critters and, Kaalia or no Kaalia, those monsters will still have to be dealt with.

Haste is pretty important. I did pack the Swiftboot Boots in the main for a long time, but it was pretty redundant since I already have access to Lightning Greaves, which I can tutor up for if I absolutely need it. One of the best haste enablers in the deck is Hall of the Bandit Lord - I don't mind "bolting" myself if it means I can have T3 attacking Kaalia. In the multiplayer version of the deck I definitely put in Swiftfoot Boots. Not only is it an extra haste enabler, but the protection is pretty important since I'm facing more opponents and more kill spells. As for Fervor, I tried it out but I hate drawing it late game since by then I usually have a pair of boots out anyway.

Thanks.

Aggression is definitely the key strategy. You only need to land one or two monsters early and just ride them out til you win. Obviously you'll need to sandbag a creature in your hand in case you encounter a Wrath effect but if you can seal the deal with a MLD spell then you've pretty much won. I'm also thinking of putting back Impending Disaster into the deck for added land kill.

Really? Hmm... I've got Bloodgift Demon, Phyrexian Arena, Skeletal Scrying, and Disciple of Bolas for card draw. As for tutors, I have Rune-Scarred Demon, Vampiric Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Demonic Tutor, and Tithe (yes, it counts).

It's never been an issue for me, really. This is a very fast and aggressive deck. The main goal is to establish a massive presence and an insurmountable offense early in the game to leave your opponent back-pedaling and unable to recover.

It's worked pretty well so far.

Though, I have been toying around with the idea of removing Merciless Eviction and Balancing Act in this version for Sign in Blood and [card]Night's Whisper[/card]. Thoughts?

Here is my ole standby for EDH/Commander. It started out strictly multiplayer, but I end up playing it more 1v1 waiting for FNMs to start than in big FFA pods. It doesn't follow the French banned list because fuck the French, that's why.

Without further ado:
[deck]Kahlua of the Vast[/deck]

The overall strategy is very simple:
(1) Ramp up with mana rocks and drop Kaalia as early as turn 3 while using some hand disruption.
(2) Swing and drop a beast. You've effectively put your opponent(s) on a swift clock.
(3) Maintain the
clock with removal and land destruction.
(4) Laugh manically as you win.



I also have a 10 card sideboard list that I use for multiplayer conversion:

[deck]Multiplayer Sideboard[/deck]

What I'm going to do, essentially, is take out all the cards that I feel are not at their strongest in a multiplayer free-for-all.

The first to go are the single shot discard spells: Thoughtseize, Duress, and Castigate.

The next are the Planeswalkers: Lillina of the Veil and Ajani Vengeant. These are amazing cards, but they don't exactly live very long in a multiplayer game. Plus, with more people involved in a game, their abilities don't impact
the board as well as they do in 1v1.

Finally, I remove the 5 creatures that I believe lose power with the addition of extra players: Iona, Shield of Emeria, Master of Cruelties, Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis, Blinding Angel, and Mother of Runes. Most of these choices are self-explanatory, like Nefarox and Blinding Angel - they require you to focus solely on one player and there are much better universal options available for multiplayer games. Mother of Runes loses a lot of power when you factor in all the removal that 2-3 other players are packing, so while she's very good to have early in the game, she's just terrible to have late in the game. To the surprise of most people, I remove Iona, Shield of Emeria and Master of Cruleties. These are, more or less, the combo kill cards in a 1v1 match.
In multiplayer, they're much more clunkier. You can drop an Iona in a 4-Player pod and maybe lock about 2 people out of a color. Good job, you are now public enemy number one (As if you weren't already 'kill-on-site' for playing Kaalia in the first place, well, you are now.). There are still maybe 1-2 players that can cast removal spells, so Iona won't be living long. Master of Cruelties is awesome when you're 1v1 because you can 'instant-kill' your opponent without much fuss. In multiplayer, you may be able to kill an opponent with him, but you won't kill the entire table. I'd much rather have something more useful, like a Hoard-Smelter Dragon or something.

---Aside---

I realize that a lot of groups frown upon mass land destruction (MLD). Mine doesn't, therefore I continue to play Armageddon, Balancing Act, and Cataclysm. And while Balancing
Act doesn't exactly murder all the lands, it's still enough to rile some people up. If your group is a bunch of pussies Negative Nancies, then I'd yank those 3 cards out in favor of Wrath of God, Damnation, and Unburial Rites.

---End Aside---

I call this multiplayer version "No More Tears," since it includes the changes I mentioned in the "Aside." If I had to attend a Commander night at a different LGS, I'd bring this to avoid any complaining. I'd also want to leave a somewhat positive impression so that I'm well received the next time I play. Remember, this is supposed to be a gentleman's game. It's really not, but we're supposed to act like it is.

[deck]No More Tears[/deck]
General (1)
1x Kaalia of the Vast

Creature (23)
1x Angel of Despair
1x Angel
of Finality
1x Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1x Bogardan Hellkite
1x Lord of the Void
1x Balefire Dragon
1x Baneslayer Angel
1x Bloodgift Demon
1x Disciple of Bolas
1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
1x Grand Abolisher
1x Hellkite Tyrant
1x Hoard-Smelter Dragon
1x Karmic Guide
1x Sire of Insanity
1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1x Rakdos the Defiler
1x Rune-Scarred Demon
1x Scourge of Kher Ridges
1x Steel Hellkite
1x Thundermaw Hellkite
1x Utvara Hellkite
1x Yosei, the Morning Star

Mana Rocks (10)
1x Boros Signet
1x Charcoal Diamond
1x Coldsteel Heart
1x Fire Diamond
1x Jeweled Amulet
1x Marble Diamond
1x Orzhov Signet
1x Rakdos Signet
1x Sol Ring
1x Talisman of Indulgence

Artifact (5)
1x Defense Grid
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Quicksilver Amulet
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sword of Light and Shadow

Enchantment (2)
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Stranglehold

Instant (12)
1x Boros Charm
1x Chaos Warp
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Oblation
1x Orzhov Charm
1x Path to Exile
1x Rakdos
Charm
1x Return to Dust
1x Skeletal Scrying
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Tithe
1x Vampiric Tutor

Sorcery (11)
1x Austere Command
1x Ashes to Ashes
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Diabolic Tutor
1x Hallowed Burial
1x Damnation
1x Wrath of God
1x Obzedat's Aid
1x Unburial Rites
1x Vindicate

Land (36)
1x Arid Mesa
1x Badlands
1x Battlefield Forge
1x Blood Crypt
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Bojuka Bog
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Caves of Koilos
1x City of Brass
1x Clifftop Retreat
1x Command Tower
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Flagstones of Trokair
1x Godless Shrine
1x Hall of the Bandit Lord
1x Isolated Chapel
1x Marsh Flats
1x Mountain
1x Phyrexian Tower
1x Plains
1x Plateau
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Scrubland
1x Snow-Covered Mountain
1x Snow-Covered Plains
1x Snow-Covered Swamp
1x Strip Mine
1x Sulfurous Springs
1x Swamp
1x Homeward Path
1x Vault of the Archangel
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Volrath's Stronghold
1x Wooded Foothills
[/
deck]