Core Strategy

Game Plan in One Sentence

Get Kaalia onto the battlefield quickly, protect her with equipment and combat tricks, and use attacks to cheat game-ending creatures into play.

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Early Game (Turns 1–3)

Your early turns are about speed and setup:

Ramp / Fixing

• Sol Ring
• Arcane Signet
• Orzhov Signet
• Charcoal Diamond / Fire Diamond / Marble Diamond
• Ornithopter of Paradise
• Gold Myr / Iron Myr / Leaden Myr
• Savai Crystal

Protection / Setup

• Swiftfoot Boots
• Boots of Speed
• Benevolent Bodyguard
• Generator Servant (also accelerates big turns)

The goal is simple:

Resolve Kaalia as early and safely as possible.

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Mid Game (Kaalia Online)

Once Kaalia attacks, the deck becomes explosive.

Kaalia lets you cheat in:

Angels

• Angel of Despair
• Angel of Serenity
• Serra’s Emissary
• Liesa, Shroud of Dusk
• Aegis Angel
• Glorious Protector
• Angel of Finality

Demons

• Archfiend of Sorrows
• Archfiend of Spite
• Demon of Loathing
• Kothophed, Soul Hoarder
• Rakshasa Debaser
• Goremand
• Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
• Overseer of the Damned

Dragons

• Bogardan Hellkite
• Drakuseth, Maw of Flames
• Oros, the Avenger
• Steel Hellkite
• Terror of Mount Velus
• Dream Pillager

These swings create immediate pressure:

• board wipes
• discard pressure
• massive flying damage
• value engines on combat

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Key Synergies

Kaalia + Master of Cruelties (Game Ending Line)

One of the most dangerous interactions in the deck:

If Kaalia puts Master of Cruelties into play attacking and it goes unblocked:

• Opponent drops to 1 life
• Any follow-up damage eliminates them

This is a real one-shot kill line.

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Kaalia + Terror of Mount Velus

A single attack can become lethal:

• Grants double strike to your entire attacking force
• Turns random flyers into game-ending damage

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Kaalia + Bogardan Hellkite / Drakuseth

Immediate removal stapled to huge threats:

• Clear blockers
• Damage multiple opponents
• Maintain combat dominance

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Kaalia + Isshin, Two Heavens as One

Isshin, Two Heavens as One doubles Kaalia’s attack trigger effects.

If both are in play:

• Kaalia triggers twice per attack
• You can cheat in multiple threats per combat step

This turns the deck from explosive into absurd.

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Reanimation Package

• Unburial Rites
• Karmic Guide
• Tariel, Reckoner of Souls

These let you:

• recover key bombs
• reuse ETB effects like Angel of Despair
• rebuild after wipes

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Card Advantage Engines

Mardu normally struggles with draw, so this deck compensates with:

• Painful Truths
• Read the Bones
• Cathartic Reunion / Faithless Looting / Thrill of Possibility / Tormenting Voice
• Dragon Mage (huge refill potential)
• Dream Pillager (combat damage = massive value)

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Removal & Interaction

Targeted Removal

• Crackling Doom
• Utter End
• Declaration in Stone
• Poison the Cup
• Orim’s Thunder
• Mythos of Snapdax

Board Control / Swing Spells

• Response // Resurgence (can be a game-ending combat phase)
• Nahiri, the Harbinger (planeswalker removal + filtering)

Nahiri, the Harbinger gives the deck:

• removal
• card filtering
• occasional ultimate pressure

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Win Conditions

This deck wins through:

1. Kaalia Combat Explosions

Cheating multiple 6–9 mana threats per attack.

2. Master of Cruelties Lines

Instant player elimination.

3. Flying Overwhelm

Serra’s Emissary + big Angels closes games quickly.

4. Burn + ETB Damage

• Drakuseth
• Bogardan Hellkite
• Oros, the Avenger

5. Value Snowball

Dream Pillager + Dragon Mage refilling hands while pressure builds.