Competitive Kaalia of the Vast (Multiplayer, Combo) (EDH / Commander) [Revision 134]

21JAN20: With the release of Thassa's Oracle, many changes have been made to the deck to compensate for the expected meta changes. More spell-based sweepers have been added to attack opposing mana dorks, in addition to the inclusion of two sweepers for opposing mana rocks.

The goal of the current iteration of this deck is CONTROL THE EARLY TURNS (in a similar fashion as the old-old Xantcha build) until we can get to mid/late game where our combos create an overwhelming advantage for us.

Use cards listed in the Maybeboard to round out the rest of the deck based on your own preferences.

The primary combo is Worldgorger Dragon, Animate Dead, and Bogardan Hellkite for infinite targeted damage. The secondary combo is Razaketh, Dockside Extortionist, and Corpse Dance for big mana w/ tutor. The tertiary combo is Razaketh, the Foulblooded, Leonin Relic-Warder, and Animate Dead for tutor chains. The quaternary combo is the Corpse Knight, Leonin Relic-Warder, and Animate Dead combo.

Combo Lines:
The Blood Whisperer Draw Line:
Vilis is the pivot spell here with the others providing a supporting role in the creation of a Griselbrand-esque replacement.
1) Vilis paired with Doom Whisperer (on an empty field) will allow for 19 instances of the surveil mechanic, allowing you to filter though 76 cards. That's 38 life paid and 38 cards drawn.
2) Vilis paired with Kuro (on an empty field) will allow for 15 instances of targeted -1/-1 between both creatures without killing either. That's 15 life paid and 15 cards drawn.
3) Children of Korlis is there to regain the life paid into the Vilis synergies. It is important to note, if Vilis and the other support creature is on the battlefield and you have already used the Vilis synergies to draw cards, you will have to creatively use the stack to draw more cards, e.g. pay X life, putting whichever abilities on the stack, then saccing CoK last to recoup that life.

TabChomper's Corpse Extortion Loop:
1) With Razaketh and Dockside in play + 6 (or more) artifacts/enchants.
2) Sac Extortionist to Raz and tutor for Corpse Dance.
3) Cast Corpse Dance, targeting Extortionist in the graveyard (w/Buyback) and go mana positive.
4) Sac Extortionist to Razaketh again and grab Silence. Cast it.
5)Rince and repeat casting Corpse Dance targeting the Extortionist for infinite mana.
6) Children of Korlis (again) will bolster your life total to continue the loop for more mana. Each loop nets one (or more mana) and a card of your choosing from your library through Raza. This means you can put out all your fast mana, grab removal, protection, win cons, whatever all while going mana positive.

ALL PREVIOUS DECK CHANGE NOTES:
Note: 29OCT19 - Huge changes made to the deck again resulting from in-depth, deck development and collaboration sessions on our discord. We created another combo!!!

Note: 17OCT19 - Vandalblast is back in. Also, tutor density is increased.

Note: 04OCT19 - BIG changes made and too many to list. Check out the change/revision log for details.

Note: 12SEP19 - Dropped Stranglehold, Leyline of the Void, and Dragon Tempest for Magus of the Moon and Mayhem Devil. As it turns out, NEEDING a hasty Kaalia in cEDH is less important than it is in 1v1. Therefore, just the two haste enablers (land & artifact) are enough based on the number of tutors we run. Also, Leyline of the Void is nice, but it's so much easier to leave a singular Mana open for Silence or Pyroblast than it is to get to four mana consistently or have it in opening hand.

Note: 08SEP19 - Dropped Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Winter Orb, Need for Speed, and Clifftop Retreat. Going down a land was necessary, especially after the addition of the Grim Monolith. As compared to 1v1 versions of this deck, the extra haste enabler isn't needed, and frankly, was never cast in the history of the deck. In an effort to be more combo centric, Gisela's reign of terror is postponed. While not critical to the deck, I was never unhappy to cast her. Especially when opposing damage-based board wipes were made to cost double to be effective. Lastly, Winter Orb was taken out and will be the card I'll miss the most out of this group. We run enough artifact ramp to negate it's effect, but card draw is King, and I needed to add more to the mix. Added was Hellkite Tyrant, Necropotence, Ransack the Lab, and Magmatic Insight.

Note: 31AUG19 - Dropped Arbiter to add another counterspell in Ricochet Trap. Also added Dockside Extortionist for ramp value.

Note: 10AUG19 - Vandalblast was originally included in the deck for the off chance of casting it for it's overload cost. Over the course of many games, I discovered that I was using the single target mode most often. So this circumstance, in addition to the recent substitution of Leonin Arbiter (Cleric creature type) over Ob Nixilis, made the transition to Leonin Relic-Warder in this slot easier to consider, as LRW doubles as a combo piece and targeted removal.

Note: 26JUL19 - Through multiple rounds of play and against a wide variety of archtypes, I have observed that Leyline of the Void allows us the opportunity to win matchups that we otherwise wouldn't be able to win against. Yes, the CMC is high for a Stax piece, but smart mulliganing from the onset is usually enough to have the game start with the enchantment in play.

Note: As of 23JUL19, Archfiend of Despair, Earthquake, & Subterranean Tremors have been subbed out with Bolas's Citadel, Flame Sweep, & Fragmentize in an effort to test out the potential power of the Citadel here. The x-spells selected to come out are a no-brainer due to their nonbo with Citadel. However, in the event Citadel becomes a more permanent part if the deck, I'm not settled on either Electrickery or Fragmentize as suitable replacements.

Single Card Discussion:
Other Creatures -
[Currently Out] Aurelia, the Warleader: We used to run the dethrone dragon as well, however only one of these types of effects is needed to close the game out via combat damage. Note: with both Scourge of the Throne and Aurelia, the effect does not trigger if cheated into play via Kaalia's ability.

[Currently Out] Thundermaw Hellkite: This is included due to my own personal preference. It serves two purposes: occasionally one of your opponents will put up a flying blocker, either as the result of Swan Song or a thopter token, and this helps to get around that for a turn. Also, its one of the few castable creatures in the deck.

Balefire Dragon / Scourge of Kher Ridges: In a post-PE meta, I believe that mana dorks will serve as the primary ramp strategy. Both are included as creature-based mana dork management. While Balefire is an on damage effect (and therefore completely cutable), Scourge's ability can be activated outside of the combat step. The major difference between these two creatures relates to your preference in the efficient use of mana. Balefire is technically more mana efficient, but is restricted by timing.

[Currently Out] Steel Hellkite: This is another on damage effect that specifically deals with early artifact ramp. Competitive metas operate effectively with just a few lands on the battlefield, so destroying their fast mana rocks can often be devastating from a tempo perspective.

Stax Creatures -
[Currently Out] Angelic Arbiter: This creature seeks to complicate your opponents decisions. Do they cast their Brainstorm? Or do they attack in with Tymna the Weaver to draw cards? Is your opponent piloting a Zur Doomsday deck? What about Najeela, the Blade-Blossom?

[Currently Out] Archfiend of Despair: Winning through the combat step in cEDH is extremely difficult. The addition of this creature not only doubles your combat effectiveness, it also punishes the player using fetches to smooth out their greedy four/five color manabases.

[Currently Out] Gisela, Blade of Goldnight: See Archfiend of Despair above.

[Currently Out] Ob Nixilis, Unshackled: While it doesn't completely stop opponents from searching their libraries, it does dissuade them from doing it too often.

Linvala, Keeper of Silence: In a post-Paradox Engine world, I truly believe that mana dorks will be the preferred method for cEDH ramp. That said, this card stops mana dorks cold. Further, most of the current Commanders being played at the highest level have built-in activated abilities which either assist or cause the opponent to win the game through massive card advantage. This is a CORE CARD for Kaalia.

Sire of Insanity: Because the aim of this deck is to "go wide" via stax versus all-in combo, we are quite comfortable playing from the top of our deck. Plus, we have enough specific tutor and draw power built in to break parity through Sire's effect.

[Currently Out] Chancellor of the Annex: Simply put, she is a flying Sphere of Resistance which only effects your opponents and is a Force Spike if drawn in your opening hand.

Ethersworn Canonist: One of a few non-ADD (Angels, Dragons, or Demons) that I include in the 99. Not only does it form a 'soft lock' with Possibility Storm, it has the Cleric subtype and can be cast using Cavern of Souls to be uncounterable.

[Currently Out] Grand Abolisher: Another one of a few non-ADD creatures included in the deck. You get to cast spells uninterrupted on your turn and it has the Cleric creature subtype like the Canonist above.