3drinks wrote: ↑3 years ago
Worth noting, @Dumoko, I also maintain a
Kaalia primer (that will also cover zenith seeker, once I stumble upon a list I'm confident in posting), and while there are some steady differences with @benjameenbear's in terms of philosophies, they both play to a stax approach (mine is decidedly a more "nuclear" ...in some respects...approach).
If the stax is causing issues with the group, I'd have a discussion to learn why. Stax is a very important part of a healthy meta, and without it, the pendulum becomes lopsided. Is it just that they don't like being interacted with? Are the lock pieces coming down but there's no way to finish in a timely manner, and they're growing annoyed at the game they can't win but won't end?
I definitely understand the sanity of your arguments.
But here we play a style called "kitchen magic with really expensive cards". When somebody is low-life or with a weak board, that person is usually left to recover.
We're trying to keep fun as the most important criteria of our meta, so no MLD and STAX :D We "banned" Iona before the committee did it :D
benjameenbear wrote: ↑3 years ago
While I personally strongly agree with @3drinks about the necessity of Stax in a meta, but it can be decidedly unfun approach for a table to deal with. Having cards that you've spent money on and are integral to your deck's strategy be invalidated by a single card, halting or slowing down your ability to interact in a game completely while one player builds ahead... it's not for everyone, so I think it's important to respect your playgroup so that you can keep playing.
Now, @Dumoko, I checked out your list and I think I have some ways that you can add in some lifegain while retaining the feel of your Aggro/Reanimator strategy. The first card I would recommend to you is
Lyra Dawnbringer. This card will do a whole lot in helping you recoup a ton of life so that you stay relevant in the game since you have a decent suite of Angels in your decklist already. And I definitely agree that Akroma (both versions) is just too vanilla of a creature to include.
Baneslayer Angel was recently reprinted and has the Lifelink keyword that will help you regain some life. The Angel is also a decent attacker.
Angelic Arbiter is also lackluster because I don't think that it will do enough for you.
Reya Dawnbringer is expensive and may or may not give you enough value.
I definitely think that
Vault of the Archangel is an easy include since it's a land slot. But instead of
Celestial Mantle may I recommend
True Conviction instead? It grants lifelink to your whole team, can have an immediate impact (if you have a board to attack with), and accomplishes the primary purpose of shortening the clock for
Kaalia. And
Sephara, Sky's Blade is also a great addition, so I think you're on the right track.
I think that, given your playgroup's preferences and your card pool, I would try and build a deck that looks a little like this (because I love brewing lists with restrictions):
<removed to save space>
There's quite a few elements of lifegain present in here and I recommend adding in
Gisela, the Broken Blade and
Bruna, the Fading Light because both cards individually enhance the themes you are striving for and, when combined, create a HUGE threat for the table.
Vilis, Broker of Blood could be a good way to deter attackers from you because they wouldn't want to flood you with cards for doing damage to you.
Whip of Erebos adds more lifelink to your deck and enhances the Reanimator feel you're going for. I think adding in
Morbid Curiosity is a great way to put a target into your 'yard for Reanimation effects while also replenishing your hand. I realize that some other additions, in conjunction with the cards I've already recommended, might be more costly to trade/purchase, so do take that into consideration. Of the cards to invest in, the ones I most highly recommend are
Terror of the Peaks and
Vilis, Broker of Blood. They are incredible cards and some of the most impactful
Kaalia targets printed in recent memory.
I would also inquire as to your general strategy during the course of a game. Do you go for
Kaalia ASAP or do you take time to let the board develop, sculpt your hand? The reason I ask is that if you come out of the gates too quickly you'll inevitably draw attention to yourself and draw the negative attention that might be inhibiting your ability to win or preserve your life total appropriately.
Anyways, I hope the list gives you some inspiration. You've got great bones already, but I think you can definitely make some additions and improvements that will help your deck and playstyle soar.
This comment is golden for me... Thank you so much for putting it together and providing your argumented point of view!
Reya Dawnbringer I did feel that this card is slow (I should wait a turn to get the real value from it), and it's basically only
Kaalia-entering... Removed.
Akroma, Angel of Fury - time to say goodbye. Removed.
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Vilis, Broker of Blood - I was watching your guide closely, and when you insta-added Vilis, I hesitated, since I knew I had problems with life. With the changes we make, I think it's time to get this card.
True Conviction instead of
Celestial Mantle - I actually didn't know about this card! I find it absolutely fantastic! Thanks for this simple yet fantastic suggestion!
Whip of Erebos - I don't know how I didn't consider this one. Thanks a lot, will add!
Mythos of Snapdax - same as with the Whip. How it's not already in the deck? :D
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Lyra Dawnbringer
Gisela, the Broken Blade
Bruna, the Fading Light
Terror of the Peaks
These are fantastic cards, and I will definitely add them. It's just that the cards that are >$8 are not as a "insta-buy" as those <$8... Terror and Lyra were already in my wishlist. Will definitely add Brisela
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Angelic Arbiter - Can we discuss this one for a bit? It's one of the two stax(can we call it stax?) cards left (second being
Grand Abolisher). And when I play versus most of the decks (our meta is full of artifacts aggro, elves, cats, etc), I do feel happy to see it in my hand almost all of the time. And it doesn't generate as much hate: people are free to play whatever they want, just can't attack... Giving me time. Thank you for the proposal!
Morbid Curiosity - I did play this card... But after hitting some plays where it does nothing with tokens and that it's just a much worse version of Disciple of Bolas... Dunno... Plus I didn't feel much lack of a card draw... I think I will wait on this one. Thanks for suggesting!
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Reaper from the Abyss - offtopic. just bought me this card. Curios to try it. What was your personal experience with it?
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General strategy:
Since our meta shifted towards more aggro play, and without having STAX, I feel forced to get her out ASAP, since most of my
Kaalia-targets are in a way or another board controllers (Balefire, Tyrant, Gisela Gold, etc), or just blocking bodies at their worst :D
As you can see I don't have many tutors (Diabolic and Rune-Scarred Demon), so my focus is just get out
Kaalia and start pumping those bodies.
Now I see much less "default
Kaalia-hate", but still people kick me in the face really painfully, that's why I still need that lifegain.
Any thoughts on this style?
Board and Kaalia protection
Each of my opponents plays in their decks from 2-4 wraths(it's synonym with "board wipe", right?), and multiple targeted removals. It's very common that
Kaalia gets removed as the most dangerous single target (even if somebody else's board is more imminently dangerous).
I did notice that purposely or not, but these cards were removed from your brew of my decklist:
Boros Charm - when somebody wipes the board, it's absolutely invaluable!
Darksteel Plate - protecting
Kaalia
Whispersilk Cloak - protecting
Kaalia
I also was considering adding cards like
Teferi's Protection (super expensive but in my wishlist).
But I see you do have a philosophy that overrides the idea of "keep
Kaalia alive".
Can you please share the thoughts behind this?
I do agree that it is a very valuable card, and that's why it is in the deck from its first iterations.