Kaalia of the Vast
WBRLegendary Creature — Human Cleric

Kaalia of the Vast

Mana value4EDHREC#3,369

The Commander

Flying

Whenever Kaalia attacks an opponent, you may put an Angel, Demon, or Dragon creature card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped and attacking that opponent.

Guide

Gameplan

Resolve Kaalia, protect her, and swing turn after turn to cheat huge Angels, Demons, and Dragons directly into combat tapped and attacking. Each attack snowballs board presence and damage while skipping the mana cost on your fattest threats. You close games fast with evasive beaters and devastating attack triggers.

Strengths

  • Cheats enormous threats into play for free every combat, generating massive tempo and mana advantage
  • Built-in flying evasion lets Kaalia connect reliably to trigger her ability
  • Deep pool of bomb Angels, Demons, and Dragons with powerful attack/ETB triggers
  • Mardu colors give the best removal, board wipes, and recursion in the format

Weaknesses

  • Heavily commander-dependent; without Kaalia the deck stalls with a hand of overcosted fatties
  • Vulnerable to removal, blockers, and fog effects on her attack step
  • Sorcery-speed payoff—Kaalia must survive a full turn cycle before triggering
  • Mana-hungry and clunky if Kaalia is repeatedly killed, raising commander tax

Key Cards

  • Master of CrueltiesCheated in attacking, it drops a defending opponent to 1 life, setting up a lethal swing.
  • Avacyn, Angel of HopeMakes your entire board and permanents indestructible, hugely protecting your investment.
  • Rakdos, Lord of RiotsMassive flyer that enables casting your other bombs nearly free after dealing damage.
  • Lightning GreavesHaste lets Kaalia attack the turn she lands and shroud protects her from targeted removal.
  • Aurelia, the WarleaderGrants an extra combat, doubling Kaalia's cheat triggers for explosive turns.
  • Sigarda, Host of HeronsHexproof angel that shields Kaalia and you from sacrifice and targeted effects.

Upgrade Path

Add fast mana and haste enablers (Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Sol Ring, Mana Crypt) so Kaalia attacks safely the turn she resolves. Prioritize bombs with immediate impact like Master of Cruelties, Rakdos, and extra-combat angels, and include reanimation (Reanimate, Animate Dead) to deploy fatties even when Kaalia is suppressed. Round out with premium removal and protection so a single board wipe or kill spell doesn't end your game.

Core Cards

Win Conditions

  • Repeated attack triggers deploying multiple fliers for overwhelming combat damage
  • Master of Cruelties plus an evasive follow-up for a quick one-shot kill
  • Extra combat steps (Aurelia, Combat Celebrant) doubling your cheated threats
  • Avacyn-backed indestructible board grinding opponents out

Archetypes

  • Big Mana Reanimator-CheatKaalia is the premier way to put expensive Angels, Demons, and Dragons onto the battlefield for free.
  • Aggro/Voltron BeatdownEvasive flyers and extra-combat effects let you race opponents down with commander damage and trample.
  • ReanimatorMardu gives access to discard outlets and reanimation to bring back fatties Kaalia can't trigger.

Combos

No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.

Related Commanders

Same color identity (BRW), by popularity.

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