Discussion
So like everyone else these days I've been enjoying playing some Commander safely from my home online, and I have been reminded recently that a lot of Magic players today have not been playing as long as some of us have been. This was shown abundantly true when several arguments erupted about how [[Kaalia of the Vast]] works in several scenarios. I decided that since she is a bit of an older legend who recently came back into the fold through Double Masters, some people might not understand how these abilities on her card works, so here's a breakdown of how it works and some FAQs I've gotten over the years:
The Legend Herself -
Let's take a quick look at Kaalia herself for those who need a refresher:
Kaalia of the Vast
(1)(R)(W)(B)
Legendary Creature - Human Cleric
Flying
Whenever Kaalia of the Vast attacks an opponent, you may put an Angel, Demon, or Dragon creature card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped and attacking that opponent.
2/2
Originally printed in Commander 2011, Kaalia decks revolve around two key strategies; Combat and Creature Cheats. I suppose there is also a flair of Tribal here as Kaalia REALLY wants you to have Angels, Demons, or Dragons. The balance of the deck is achieved when you can effectively get threats into play early with Kaalia, and then if the game goes longer you have the ability to hard cast these scary creatures to sweep away victory. Since she has the flexibility of sending out one of three different types of creature cards you can customize your own build to be a mix blend of all three creature types or heaver set toward whichever one you like most. Kaalia is one of Commander's original powerhouse decks and have a tendency to draw immediate hate your direction if revealed as your general. This can be alleviated however by replacing this Kaalia with the other one; [[Kaalia, Zenith Seeker]].
Pulling the Trigger -
Here's some quick information about how her ability works and questions that might come up:
Do I reveal the creature I'm putting into play?
No. When Kaalia's trigger goes onto the stack your opponents don't get to know if you even have a creature in your hand to put into play. If you have intentions to put something into play you do not have to share what creature that is, the only information known is where the creature is going to be attacking as it goes alongside wherever Kaalia herself attacked.
Is the creature being cast?
No. If your Angel, Demon, or Dragon has a "cast" triggered ability it will not happen as Kaalia only puts the creature directly into play. This also works in your favor as since you are not casting a creature there is no opportunity for your opponents to counter it. The creature itself can still be stopped by cards like [[Containment Priest]] or spot removed as the phase moves to Declare Blockers.
Do creatures coming into play this way trigger any Attacking abilities?
NO. This one is THE biggest hurdle for newer players to grasp. Kaalia's ability only triggers when she is declared as an attacker, and it then passes around the table if it resolves. This only happens after you have declared any other attacking creatures alongside her and where those attackers are going. Then her ability resolves and you put a creature into play tapped and attacking, PAST the Declare Attackers step. Triggered abilities, like Kaalia's, that trigger when something is attacking will ONLY fire off during the Declare Attackers step.
What does this mean for my creatures?
So here's the big one: You will NOT go to an immediate 2nd Combat step using [[Aurelia, the Warleader]]. Aurelia's triggered ability is one of those mentioned previously that goes off when she is attacking, of which happens in the Declare Attackers step. On your next turn around if Aurelia is still in play and you declare her as an attacker alongside Kaalia, THEN you will receive Aurelia's triggered ability for an additional combat, of which you can double trigger Kaalia!
So what does happen when Kaalia puts a creature into play?
Cards that have triggered abilities whenever a creature/permanent enters the battlefield will fire, such as [[Warstorm Surge]] or [[Bogardan Hellkite]]. If the creature you cheated into play has any triggers after Combat Damage has been assigned like [[Lord of the Void]], those will trigger. If the creature cheated into play survives the Combat phase and to the end of your turn, it does remain in play unless otherwise stated on the card or another ability in play somehow like [[Archwing Dragon]].
FAQ's and Tips -
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If Kaalia attacks a Planeswalker her ability will not fire. It only triggers when Kaalia is attacking an opponent.
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If your opponent Kaalia is attacking as her ability is resolving leaves the game you will still be able to put a creature into play tapped, but it is not attacking.
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If Kaalia is removed as her ability is on the stack you will still be able to put a creature into play tapped and attacking wherever Kaalia was originally attacking. If Kaalia is removed BEFORE the Declare Attackers step her ability will never be put onto the stack.
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Kaalia's ability only cares about her being declared as an attacker, so if you have an ability that removes a creature from combat such as [[Maze of Ith]] you will still be able to have another creature enter the battlefield tapped and attacking.
Let's get Too Specific -
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So the funny interaction most new builders go to is with Kaalia and [[Master of Cruelties]]. Firstly, Kaalia allows you to bypass Master's text of "Only able to attack alone" as he is being cheated into play PAST the Declare Attackers step. Second, Master has First Strike meaning that after Declare Blocks he will deal his damage alongside anything else with First Strike, most likely BEFORE Kaalia does. This means that if Master of Cruelties goes Unblocked, his damage replacement effect triggers DURING the First Strike portion of Combat, putting that opponent to 1 life. Kaalia, now entering her own damage hits that player and will most likely kill. This little trick usually only works once and almost always requires the opponent you are attacking to have an empty board, but if you can pull it off, it is one of the funniest, salt inducing interactions you can do in all of Magic.
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Feeling extra naughty with your build? How do you feel about Land Destruction? One of Kaalia's best targets for cheating into play would have to be [[Avacyn, Angel of Hope]] and her mass Indestructible she provides for ALL of your permanents. This line of play can be paired off with any form of Mass Land Destruction such as [[Armageddon]] to clean the board away of any opportunity your opponents might have to remove your threats while leaving your completely safe. This line of strategy can be used even without Avacyn, as once you have Kaalia in play and feel safe she can stick around you can blow up all the lands and continue to put the biggest threats into play. BE WARNED: DOING ACTIONS LIKE THIS IS NOT CASUAL FRIENDLY. CONSULT YOUR GROUP FIRST BEFORE EVER DOING THIS OR YOU WILL REGRET IT!!!
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If you're looking to be real saucy with the creatures you can cheat into play, look no further than [[Conspiracy]]...no not THAT Conspiracy, the card called Conspiracy. This card changes the creature type of your creatures into whatever you want, and this includes creature cards in your hand. I'm not 100% what some of the best moves would be with this ability but I'm sure someone else out there is smarter than me and can figure out something fun.
TL;DR -
Kaalia of the Vast is a sweet Commander, but can also be tricky to build around. You want a calculated mix of relevant creatures, ramp, and removal to keep the board under control. Creatures coming into play with her ability attack the opponent you swing at but DO NOT get any of their own attack triggers, such as Aurelia, the Warleader or Utvara Hellkite. If Kaalia is removed from combat via destroy effect or Maze of Ith effect, her trigger still resolves. Her trigger does not fire when she attacks Planeswalkers.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk, I'll see myself out now.
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For those of you running kaalia lightning greaves and swift foot boots are your best friend. For ppl playing against kaalia removal is your best friend
Yep, she's just that kind of commander. When playing her, a third of your deck is lands, a third is big things to cheat and the last third is literally everything you can use to protect her. I don't think there is a single general that embodies more the "kill on sight" concept than Kaalia.
Chulane is up there.
I'd say it's even worse for Kaalia, because a new player sees Chulane and he might not understand what makes him so strong. But he sees Kaalia, he reads "Angels, Demons and Dragons" and even him knows she will do big things
For some real synergy running [[Dragon Tempest]] is baller, giving ALL fliers haste AND bonuses for Dragons ETB.
Dragon Tempest - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
For people playing against her, effects like [[Pacifism]], [[Kenrith's Transformation]], or [[Waterknot]] are exponentially better than a simple [[Murder]] or [[Path to Exile]].
Unil they disenchant your aura and then immediately swing again.
Making them spend an additional 6 mana to have a commander again (because you sent her to the command zone) does the trick more reliably imo
Also auras being sorcery speed definitely does not help, good luck sneaking that pacifism past lightning greaves
If you're arguing that insert removal here removal is trash b/c of lightning greaves or indestructible effects then the only 'good' removal in EDH is Toxic Deluge. All removal short of board wipes are equal in the eyes of anti-targeting effects. =D
Play what works for you, I just trust Pacifism effects since I've not had a blowout from them yet.
If you have a Kaalia list I'd love to see your build, sounds like you play in a pretty competitive environment.
Nope, I didn't say any of this.
The point was auras can be removed and are sorcery speed.
Instants can be used in response to an equip ability, most auras can't.
Pacifism - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Kenrith's Transformation - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Waterknot - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Murder - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Path to Exile - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
A good example of a positive interaction for Kaalia not allowing declare attack triggers on her cheated creatures, [[Rakdos the Defiler]] drops in without having you sacrifice half your non-demon permanents. But if he connects (good chance of this happening with flying and trample), your opponent has to sac. It's a one-off effect but a good way to bring an arch-enemy down to everyone's level.
Alternatively, if you're playing a deck focused more towards MLD or if you have a lot of rocks, you can always sac your lands and attack with him again. In my experience, forcing someone to sac half of their non-demon permanents, and then making them do it again the next turn is usually enough to pull out a win.
I was going to mention exactly this. It was a powerful interaction my deck had way back.
Rakdos the Defiler - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
TL,DR: Kill it before it lays eggs.
They're coming out of the goddamned walls!!
Hey I just wanted to say that was a wonderful joy to read. I really like people breaking down how commanders can most optimally play out. Not that optimal plays are necessarily the best plays but because it allows for that smooth experience. Its nice to see the spotlight on a card I think everyone takes for granted as it's old and not exciting. I can't speak for anyone else but I personally would like to see these keep popping up! I really like how you mention that she is a commander that supports a personalized brew in the deck. I've got friends that I know would love to use her for just one of the three tribes.
To add something relevant here to the deck itself, perhaps the very best thing any Kaalia of the Vast deck can run is different sets of protection. This is my personal opinion. There is no experience of competitive examples. Just that artifact removal isn't exactly hard to find so while either boots are great with her, it is also worth running some things like [[whispersilk cloak]] and [[darksteel plate]]. These may seem obvious to the more experienced players. But sometimes we all need a simple reminder on a few things. Like how Kaalia's triggers work.
whispersilk cloak - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
darksteel plate - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
I've had the deck built for as long as the precon has been out, always tinkering. Just a few suggestions for kaalia players, in addition to the excellent ones above.
Yes, you should play boots and greaves and whatnot, but I think the one off instant speed protection spells, like [[apostle's blessing]] or [[emerge unscathed]] are also great in the deck. They can get her through blockers, blank targeted removal, or protect her from damage. Feels pretty good to cast a shelter in response to darksteel mutation.
You don't want all of the beefiest angels, demons, and dragons. You're going to play some games where someone kills Kaalia twice, and you have a choice whether to cast 2/2 flyer for eight or hard cast that razaketh. Hard casting fatties is an okay game plan, but if you bunch up around 4, 5, 6 CMC with the occasional 7+ cmc creature, The deck is a lot better. Cheating out a 5cmc bloodgift demon or blinding angel, even when you could hardcast it, is still a big advantage because you can hold up spells or hardcast another creature on top.
The deck comes out of the gates fast and hard, but can run out of gas. Pretty typical to go ramp, protection, kaalia, bomb rare. Make sure you have some card advantage built in the deck. Card draw is good, but also things like unburial rites will get back two of your giant game ending fatties after you've been contained. Something like reconnaissance is excellent as well, because you can attack to put a creature into play for free, then withdraw kaalia from combat.
Angels and demons are great, but if you are playing dragon tempest, and you should be, dragons get an extra little boost. Most of the really good creatures are pretty obvious, with exceptions mentioned elsewhere like Aurelia. There are some cheap hidden gems too, like overseer of the damned, demon of wailing agonies, runehorn hellkite, sephara, steel hellkite. Doesn't have to be all balefire, rune scarred, gisela, archfiend, avacyn.
Last, you have to make a decision about how cut throat you want to be. Armageddon, cataclysm, other MLD spells are great in the deck. Can you swing once, drop an enormous creature, then cast Armageddon. Sire of insanity is another card that works pretty well, but will make you no friends. Earthquake spells seem really good because they miss Your creatures, but they also miss the creatures your most interested in killing, kaalia blockers.
Last, don't skimp on removal, particularly removal that hits multiple card types. Mardu has the best removal spells, and you will run into someone playing some enchantment that is an absolute game ender for you, or racing and beating you to a combo. It's tempting to just load up on bombs and spill them out on the table, but You will really want the vindicate, anguished unmaking, swords, that sort of package.
apostle's blessing - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
emerge unscathed - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
You didn't mention one of my favorite demons to cheat out with Kaalia: [[Rakdos the Defiler]]. Getting around that attack trigger is so nice, even if it is only once.
Rakdos the Defiler - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
Kaalia is my favorite deck and the first I built. So many utility creatures that she works well with. My only dislike is the 16cmc. It costs more to cast her than if emrakul was legal!
But for real, I love her! I usually have to go soft stax and MLD to slow people to my level after a few removals of her. Average cmc of the deck is pretty high.
Small correction - Master of Cruelties ability triggers on the declare blockers step if no blockers are assigned, not during first strike damage. It will then resolve before moving to the damage step. He then deals no damage when first strike damage happens.
Ah thank you, I figured in this blocky mess of a rant I'd mess something up.
See I've never been a fan of her. I love big creatures and those are 3 of the coolest tribes. But she's just so warping to a table. Either the pod plays smart meaning the Kalia players never gets to play or the pod doesn't gang up on her and Kalia probably wins by cheating out enormous win conditions.
Take your upvote. I want more!
Great read, please do this with more commanders.
Atraxa maybe? 😁
I didnt intend to turn this into an ongoing thing, but I'll consider it
Totally understandable. But you have a real talent for writing interesting articles.
You don’t even need Avacyn before you mass land destruction. If you are confident that Kaalia won’t be removed in response then you should always destroy all lands. This is true with most commanders but Kaalia puts you super far ahead when no one has lands and you can effectively still put creatures into play.
Correct, I mentioned this in the section about using MLD, along with the warning of don't do this.
As a long time kaalia player, you left out the best interaction with her, reconnaissance :)
I really like [[Iroas, God of Victory]] in Kaalia as well, makes your bombs harder to block and protects Kaalia from flying blockers
Iroas, God of Victory - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
I just recently added this tech to my Kaalia Angels deck and it’s so nice to just swing away with her knowing she’s safe. Boots are nice until your opponent has a blocker for Kaalia. I like to get more than one trigger out of a cast ;) [[Reconnaissance]]
Reconnaissance - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
Hello, sorry its a bit late, does Reconnaissance still let her abillity resolve?
Yes it does.
Wow, sweet card then 🤙🏻
While I'm an old school player and veteran Kaalia player I just love reading stuff like this about commanders. Well done!
I have Kaalia since the first printing, and I'm growing tired of playing it.
So I was thinking of doing that exactly, to freshen things up. And I removed all the Dragonstorm synergies I had in my Melek list (which is turning into cEDH-level), so I want to try to make it work there. Problem is casting DS with enough storm built up, so I'll need rituals in there.
Or I try to sneak it on an opoonent's turn with Vedalken Orrery out hehe.
Another good one is [[Rakdos, Lord of Riots]]. Swing in against whomever doesn't have flying/reach for at least 8 (Kaalia and Rakdos) and now all creatures in your hand cost only their devotion in your second main.
Rakdos, Lord of Riots - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
I'm currently working on upgrading my Kaalia deck, heres the list if anyone wants to chime in with advice :)
I have a question about the interaction of Kaalia and the enchantment Moat whch states: Non-flying creatures cannot attack.
If you attack with Kaalia, can you put a non flying Dragon/demon/angel to attack with her when Moat is active?
Short answer: Yes you can
Moat only stops non flying creatures from being declared as an attacker. A permanent coming in tapped and attacking is after that step, so there's no chance for Moat to stop it. Doing so however means if Moat is still in play the cheated in creature will not be able to attack next turn if it still does not have flying.
I thought that might be the case, thank you.
Absolutely stellar write up.
Kaalia was my first dive into commander back then. Hopefully you explaining how these interactions work break up some of the stigma I've seen/experienced around piloting the card.
I've definitely got the most MTG related salt from playing Kaalia than any other format I've played.
I'm still trying to figure out why she's a human cleric when she is rocking the angelic demon look. Not enough typings but ay, thats my necro response.
So whenever Kaalia plays that other attacking card, they don’t pay the mana for that other card?
Correct, being put into play tapped and attacking bypasses any casting costs
Hot take here: [[Kaalia, zenith seeker]] is the better Kaalia by far. [[kaalia of the vast]] is 4 mana for a 2/2, who has to swing to gain any value. Compare that to new Kaalia, who is a 3 mana 3/3 who just needs to enter the battlefield. The value provided by new Kaalia is card advantage, while the value provided by OG kaalia is mana advantage. Most importantly, new Kaalia is an outlet for infinite mana from the [[worldgorger dragon]] combo. Using the combo, you can blink her as many times as you want. You can do this until you find [[bogardan hellkite]] then flash it in using your infinite mana and deal infinite damage to your opponents. [[razaketh the foulblooded]] can set up this combo easily using [[dockside extortionist]] and [[corpse dance]].
Kaalia, zenith seeker - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
kaalia of the vast - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
worldgorger dragon - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
bogardan hellkite - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
razaketh the foulblooded - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
dockside extortionist - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
corpse dance - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
Wow, the rulings saying that attack abilities don't trigger and allowing the creature to be summoned make no logical sense.
I suppose it's for balance sake but people can't be mad for people being confused by both those. It literally contradicts what the cards are saying.
What does it contradict? The creatures come in already attacking. Abilities trigger when creatures are declared as attackers. That step is skipped with Kaalia and cards like her.
Basic understanding of grammar?
If that's what they meant the wording should be "when this creature is declared as an attacker" not "whenever this creature attacks". Kaalia literally says that it brings creatures into play tapped and attacking. The only reason they say it doesn't trigger is based on their arbitrary ruling. By the literal meaning of the words they're using it absolutely should trigger.
Yes, knowing the ruling clears up the confusion but there wouldn't be any confusion at all if they just said what they meant on the card itself instead of having players look up that ruling. Especially since there is literally no reason to think to even challenge it based on the wording provided.
It also makes zero sense that her ability would trigger and allow you to put the creature into play but not attacking. Nothing in the card's wording suggests that these actions aren't happening simultaneously. Why would one happen but the other not? It's not like removing Kaalia suddenly makes the attack phase not happen. So either the effect doesn't trigger and the creature isn't put into play and doesn't attack, or both should happen. The way they have the half trigger occur just doesn't make logical sense.
I'm not saying they don't have their reasons for doing what they did based on their game design but this way is unnecessarily confusing.
The only time the creature would be put into play by Kaalia’s ability and not have to attack is if the opponent dies or scoops after her ability is still on the stack. For example, you declare Kaalia as an attacker, her ability goes on the stack, in response someone could cast lightning bolt and kill the opponent that is being attacked. It resolves, opponent dies, now the Kaalia trigger will attempt to resolve as many of its conditions as it can, which is to put a creature into play tapped, it cannot be attacking as that opponent is gone. The reason the ability doesn’t fizzle due to the opponent leaving is that the ability doesn’t say target opponent, it’s simply trying to attack the same opponent as Kaalia without any need for targeting.
Ok that makes more sense.
Kaalia of the Vast - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Kaalia, Zenith Seeker - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Containment Priest - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Aurelia, the Warleader - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Warstorm Surge - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Bogardan Hellkite - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Lord of the Void - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Archwing Dragon - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Maze of Ith - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Master of Cruelties - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Avacyn, Angel of Hope - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Armageddon - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Conspiracy - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
Comment deleted by user
apostle's blessing - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
emerge unscathed - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call
What if you have kaalia the vast and kaalia, zenith seeker both attacking. KZS’ ability lets you search the top 6 cards of your deck and put an angel, demon, or dragon into your hand. So if you have both kaalia cards attacking would you be able to search, put something in your hand then put it on the field and attacking the opponent or would you only be able to use KZS’ ability to put a card in hand, and KOTV’s ability to play a card that was in your hand PRIOR to KZS’ search ability?
Kaalia Zenith Seeker is an Enter the Battlefield trigger, not attack trigger.
Hello,
Thanks for the detailed post. If I have Avacyn angel of hope. If I use Blasphemous act or Eviction will my creatures still be protected as they have indestructible?
I know this is a silly question but I am still fairly new and I am still trying to understand the mechanics of the game.
I came across Kaalia because I got her in a double masters pack and so far I have found she can be fun to play but like you said it is tricky as your always target number 1.
Yes.
To confirm meat hookassacre will overrule as it's a -/- ?
Yup. It will be dead then.