Akroma, Angel of Wrath: For the Win (EDH / Commander)

"Those who fe​ar the darkne​ss have never seen what the light can do."
—Selenia, dark angel

"For the Win" by Two Steps From Hell: https://youtu.be/7bEWlpI_9XU

INTRODUCTION

This deck has been dear to me since I assembled it, because Akroma, Angel of Wrath is my epitome of a voltron commander. She packs a good punch, haste and evasion, and due to her protection abilities, she is immune to many removal spells and effects - EDH staples like Blasphemous Act and Anguished Unmaking can't harm her (nice try, Sorin!). Akroma is an awesome legend, got two reprints with gorgeous artwork since her first appearance, and I always enjoyed piloting her.

As a result, since my meta keeps developing and I get more and more gaming experience, this deck is among those I have tuned the most often. At first, it was an angel tribal deck. Later I switched to a human/angel theme with tribal synergy and lifegain elements. While never a straight voltron build, I nonetheless always intended to deliver the finishing bIow(s) with Akroma herself. Lastly, I have decided to go "full voltron", since my former designs were a little too unfocused.

The most recent modification swapped Karoo with Guildless Commons, Throne of the High City with War Room and Twilight Shepherd with Akroma, Vision of Ixidor. Playing Karoo is just too much of a tempo loss, and using Throne of the High City to become the monarch sadly includes sacrificing it (and thus crippling my mana base). Adding the new Akroma to the 99 feels a bit odd for a Vorthos like me, but the potential +6/+6 for OG Akroma is just too sweet to pass up ("Yo dawg, we heard you like Akroma, so we added Akroma to your Akroma so you can overkill while you overkill").

STRATEGY

Straightforward Voltron deck that wins the game by smacking opponents for 21+ commander damage with a scantily clad flying woman carrying all sorts of blades and bludgeons.

TACTICS

With a converted mana cost of 8, Akroma, Angel of Wrath is one of the most expensive commanders. Though utilizing a total of 13 cards in the 99 that provide extra mana (e.g. Ancient Tomb, Sol Ring) or let me fetch lands from my library (e.g. Expedition Map, Land Tax), it usually takes some time ramping up to 8 mana and beyond. To buy this time, my deck plays the control game until I can cast Akroma.

During the first few turns I try to build up my mana base as fast as possible while setting up an early defense of cheap creatures that help advance my game pIan. For example, Mother of Runes can block an early attacker all day long while protecting Akroma from nonblack, nonred removal later in the game, and Stoneforge Mystic or Heliod's Pilgrim fetch me a piece of equipment or an aura for immediate or later use.

To deter my opponents from attacking me I run cards like Boreas Charger, Ghostly Prison, Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker and Angelheart Vial. Equipping or enchanting a low CMC creature with cards like Hammer of Nazahn or Angelic Destiny is also a good way to say "go attack someone else, please".

In case when deterrence just isn't enough, my deck has access to quite a few spells which keep my enemies' board state in check.
Intrepid Hero kills off huge threats repeatedly if must be, Cataclysmic Gearhulk doesn't care for ability keywords like hexproof or indestructible, and Rout can be played at any time if necessary. To take care of enemy commanders I run Pacifism (with the Onslaught artwork, of course) and Faith's Fetters. Akroma's Vengeance (wheee, more flavor!), Cast Out and Forsake the Worldly provide additional answers when needed; but when not, they can be cycled for more useful cards.

When I'm finally able to cast Akroma - usually somewhere around turn 6 - my opponents have had quite some time to prepare for her arrival, so it is imperative that I can protect her from removal at instant speed.
I already mentioned Mother of Runes; in addition, I run Shielded by Faith, Grand Abolisher and Bastion Protector to offer immediate protection. If I have two mana left, Dawn Charm can re​generate Akroma or help her dodge an Entrapment Maneuver. Flickerform needs twice that much mana to activate, but also has powerful applications with ETB-creatures like Stoneforge Mystic or Palace Jailer. Faithful little Brass Squire stands ready to attach Champion's Helm or Hammer of Nazahn to my angel in response to an enemy kill spell, while Adarkar Valkyrie can return Akroma to the battlefield immediately after a Beast Within caught her off guard. And if all else fails, Emeria, the Sky Ruin or Karmic Guide can simply return my commander from the graveyard to the battlefield on my next turn. This can be a bit risky due to cards like Grafdigger's Cage, but usually works well to avoid the commander tax.

Besides the already mentioned auras and equipments, I use cards like Blessing, Blackblade Reforged or Akroma, Vision of Ixidor to give Akroma a huge P/T boost. Since she is the only creature I intend to attack with, Cathedral of War, Angelic Benediction, Sublime Archangel and Battlegrace Angel give her a small but significant buff when attacking. And in addition to the aforementioned +X/+X effects, Fireshrieker, Battle Mastery and Silverblade Paladin give my commander double strike, which is essential to potentially kill an opponent in one hit.

In order to reliably get all the mana and spells that my deck needs to work properly, a significant number of card draw effects and tutors are required. Of course there are EDH staples like Sword of Fire and Ice or fun game mechanics like the Monarch from Conspìracy: Take the Crown. But I wanted as much consistency as possible, so I decided to use every option white has to offer to gain card advantage.
The color has a lot of tutors which may seem a bit narrow, but work just fine if properly built around. So every decent available tutor went into my 99: Enlightened Tutor, Expedition Map, Heliod's Pilgrim, Open the Armory, Recruiter of the Guard, Stoneforge Mystic, Thalia's Lancers and Three Dreams can find the right card for any situation if the other cards in the deck were thoughtfully selected. I made sure that some cards of each card type - artifact/equipment, creature, enchantment/aura, land and legendary - cover the four core capabilities ramp, card draw, threat and answer.
For example, Thalia's Lancers may find Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx (ramp), Sram, Senior Edificer (card draw), Blackblade Reforged (threat) or Kor Haven (answer), among other cards. Recruiter of the Guard may find Burnished Hart* (ramp), Mentor of the Meek (card draw), Silverblade Paladin (threat) or Palace Jailer (answer). Enlightened Tutor may find Land Tax (ramp), Endless Atlas (card draw), Battle Mastery (threat) or Cataclysmic Gearhulk (answer).
I'm confident that you understand what I have been aiming to achieve. Mind you, there are overlaps that provide even more consistency. For example, Sword of the Animist is a legendary artifact equipment, so it can be found by a total of four tutors in this deck; but one of these cards, Stoneforge Mystic, can itself be tutored for by Recruiter of the Guard. So even if I only have Recruiter of the Guard in hand, if Sword of the Animist is the card I need, I may nonetheless fetch it from my library via Stoneforge Mystic.

( *Burnished Hart + Gift of Immortality is a sick ramp engine. )

EVALUATION

Akroma's deck is fun to play and is capable of delivering sudden, deadly blows as well as winning long wars of attritìon. Due to its sizeable control package and some capability to gain life it can stand its ground at any non-competitive table.
As always in this format, deckbuilding and -adjusting is a process that never ceases, so further changes may occur in the future. I hope you like my concept. Please PM me if you have questions or suggestions.