I've tried variations with
Worldsoul Colossus,
Ironroot Warlord, and
Dawn of Hope. They never really worked. The Dawn didn't trip enough, the Lions and Shieldmates worked better than the warlords most of the time, and I looked at that Ajani but never really tried it. I think it was the mana cost--The deck gets weaker when it slows down, and adding those creatures means removing other aspects that have it work. The Warlords probably worked best of the cards mentioned, although it was highly situational and the secondary ability never saw use. I honestly don't think
Angelic Exaltation or
Divine Visitation would help at all. One limits attackers in a deck that triggers best when 2 or 3 creatures are buffed and attacking early, and the other seems too mana heavy and too reliant on the Hero. The Hero almost always gets nuked the moment it hits the board. So depending on it as the main winning condition is iffey.
That said,
Conclave Mentor is built for this deck and I completely missed it. So thanks on that suggestion! Well, for all suggestions. I agree that some of the cards you suggested look like good fits. In reality, they didn't seem to work as well, though. The Shieldmates have been surprsingly and astonishingly good adds to the deck. I think I took out a set of the Warlords actually for them, and winning went up considerably.
The deck tends to win with speed and
attrition. If the Hero gets out (and stays out) and adds fodder to be pumped, then it almost always wins through blunt force. When it doesn't, the deck tends to wear down the opponent with a couple ever-stronger creatures that get into play quickly and that are replaced as fast as they are removed. Throw in the white sidecar of Enchantment removal and some
vigilance to deal with the biggest threats, and it does well. Definitely gonna try the Mentor though.