Lyra Dawnbringer: Zion's Glory (EDH / Commander) [Revision 9]

„Et lux in tenebris lucet et tenebrae eam non conprehenderunt."
(The light shines in the darkne​ss, and the darkne​ss has not ove​rcome it.)

The Bible, John 1:5

"Zion's GIory" by Really SIow Motion: https://youtu.be/u7w0KrMmp_E

INTRODUCTION
I love Magic's angels. Not only because they're (usually) above-average powerful flyers; but mainly because artists like Greg Staples (Archangel of Strife), Terese Nielsen (Basandra, Battle Seraph) and Jason Chan (Angelic Overseer) manage to depict them as the majestic and breathtakingly beautiful divine beings they're supposed to be. While my Akroma, Angel of Wrath Voltron EDH deck is my top favorite deck to this day (and I will never take it apart), I don't get to play it very often, because it is shunned in my - rather casual - playgroup. It is a very focused and optimized deck, dedicated to rushing Akroma out and keeping her in play, and once that happens, its pretty quick GG for my opponents. Thus I pondered over assembling another mono white angel deck with Lyra Dawnbringer at the helm, focusing on a "go wide" token strategy with a lifegain subtheme rather than Akroma's "go big" Voltron approach to victory. And fortunately, WotC designed some very interesting cards lately to support that strategy.

STRATEGY

1. Play angels and create angel creature tokens.
2. Drop Lyra and other "anthem" permanents to buff my host.
3. Swing big with my evasive army and gain huge amounts of life.
4. Profit!

TACTICS

• The more recent Magic sets and expansions finally linked angels with lifegain in a truly synergistic way. Angel tribal players now have access to powerful, potentially game-winning cards (Righteous Valkyrie, The Book of Exalted Deeds, Angel of Destiny, Valkyrie Harbinger). While some of these effects did exist in the game before (e.g. Angelic Accord, Angelic Chorus), the new cards provide much needed redundancy to make the whole strategy viable.
• Because most angels are creatures with high mana values, my deck runs an ample amount of cards which provide extra mana by some means or other. While this is usually sufficient to get me going, on rare occasions I may be forced to discard down to seven at the end of my turn. Emeria, the Sky Ruin, Cleric Class, Dawnbreak Reclaimer and Bruna, the Fading Light ensure that any discarded angels don't stay in my graveyard for long, and are also able to turn th​e tide in long wars of attrìtion.
• For me, politics is a huge part of the fun in multiplayer Magic, so I put at least a few "group hug" style cards in practically every EDH deck I build. Avacyn, Guardian Angel may seem rather underwhelming compared to her first incarnation from the Innistrad block, but my opponents have to take her ability into account in everyone's combat step. Aegis Angel may give any permanent on the table indestructible. And the aforementioned Dawnbreak Reclaimer is a huge boon if an opponent is dominating the board and the other players are struggling to stabilize.
• Speaking of Avacyn: The Angel of Hope is not in my list by design. The deck is already pretty strong, and making everything I control indestructible would be a tad bit "over the top" for my rather casual playgroup. Sephara, Sky's Blade is a more than decent substitute.
• For pretty much the same reson you won't find Aetherflux Reservoir in my list. In addition, it is a "nonbo" with Cosmos Elixir, Righteous Valkyrie and Angel of Destiny.
• I added quite a few "pet cards" to my deck. Ivory Cup, Scroll of Avacyn, Renewed Faith and Answered Prayers may be supoptimal picks, but they fit the theme and I love their art and/or flavor.

CONCLUSION
This is a flavorful and fun casual deck, but also very synergistic and powerful. It may take some time to get going; but once it does, my opponents are in a tough spot because of my evasive beaters and the significant amount of life they provide with each swing.
I'd appreciate if you'd leave a comment if you like. Thanks for dropping by!