Kaalia of the VastKaalia of the Vast | Art by Michael Komarck

Hello everyone. I’m Levi from The Thought Vessel, and this is Hidden Gems, the series that looks at cards for a commander that might be flying under the radar. For a card to qualify as a hidden gem, it must be included in less than 15% of decks on EDHREC for a particular commander.

This week, we’re showing some love for a commander that is a bit down in the dumps lately and could use some attention: Kaalia of the VastKaalia of the Vast.

Kaalia has been an incredibly popular commander ever since her original release in Commander 2011. Blending the creature types of Angels, Demons, and Dragons, this deck is not short on firepower. Every time Kaalia attacks, we can put an Angel, Demon, or Dragon from our hand directly into play, attacking. This can be something powerful, like getting a free Avacyn, Angel of HopeAvacyn, Angel of Hope, or something sneakier like bringing in Master of CrueltiesMaster of Cruelties against an opponent who can’t block and putting them at one life in one hit.

The downside, of course, is that this commander is the very definition of a lightning rod.

If you have a conversation about commanders who are “kill on sight,” Kaalia will always be included. This game of Commander whack-a-mole can leave players feeling bad, as Kaalia will have a lot of games that end up being absolute flops. Combine that with the meteoric rise of Final Fantasy’s Y'shtola, Night's BlessedY'shtola, Night's Blessed, and you have the perfect recipe for a demotion from commander number five overall down to number six.

While this can be a rough time for Kaalia, some hidden gems can help spice up deck lists. Let’s begin.

#10. Hall of the Bandit LordHall of the Bandit Lord (13%)

Starting out at number ten is Hall of the Bandit Lord. Kaalia is going to get targeted a lot. To combat this, we want ways to get her onto the battlefield and attacking in the same turn so our opponents don’t have a full turn cycle to find and use their removal.

One thing to remember with Kaalia is that it only takes one combat step to flip the game on its head, so we really need to take advantage of that window. Giving Kaalia haste means we can immediately cash in on her ability and potentially drop something devastating onto the battlefield before anyone can respond.

#9. Dihada, Binder of WillsDihada, Binder of Wills (10%)

This one is a bit outside the box because it doesn’t synergize with our commander in the traditional sense. But everything this planeswalker does makes it too strong not to consider.

Ignoring the ultimate ability for a moment, the +2 ability can give Kaalia vigilance, lifelink, and indestructible, keeping her safe from being blocked or removed in combat.

The -3 reveals four cards, and we can retain any legendary creatures from among them, with the other cards going to the grave. There are a lot of strong legendary Angels, Demons, and Dragons in this deck, so this can be a solid card advantage engine for us, as we can keep those legendary creatures in our hands.

Any card we leave in the graveyard from this ability also nets us a Treasure token, helping us ramp up. Being able to pile up Treasure to recast Kaalia or hard-cast our bigger creatures helps keep this deck from falling behind.

Finally, that -11 for an InsurrectionInsurrection-style effect that grabs all nonland permanents for the turn is unlikely to happen, but if we do get there, it will typically be enough to win in the midgame in most Commander pods.

#8. Sneak AttackSneak Attack (9.4%)

If we can’t get Kaalia online, then Sneak AttackSneak Attack is a great Plan B. Being able to sneak a creature into play for a single turn before sacrificing it can create a huge swing. Since we’re in Mardu colors, we also have access to fantastic recursion to give us a chance to get those creatures back on a later turn. Even if we do have Kaalia online and attacking, Sneak Attack can help us get another creature onto the battlefield to push our advantage even further.

Though this card is well known in Commander in general, I was quite surprised to learn that it only shows up in 9.4% of Kaalia decks. While we should have faith in our plan, we realistically need a few insurance policies in our deck to stay productive.

#7. Kardur, DoomscourgeKardur, Doomscourge (9.3%)

Typically, Kaalia is known for aggressive plays; sneaking in a big flying creature to apply pressure to our opponents is the bread and butter of the deck. Kardur is a fantastic twist on this plan.

In the later stages of the game, when other players have ramped into bigger spells, sneaking in one creature at a time becomes far less impactful. There may even come a point where the entire table is well-equipped to block and remove Kaalia and whatever she brings with her. Kardur serves as our trench buster. When it enters the battlefield, it forces every creature our opponents control to attack each combat they can, and they can’t attack us.

As a bonus, whenever any attacking creature dies, we get to drain the table for one. With everyone attacking each other, life totals will be carved down, and attacking lanes will open up for Kaalia to wrap up the game in the next turn or two.

#6. Sword of the AnimistSword of the Animist (5.4%)

Let’s talk about ramp. Mana rocks are a given for this deck, especially since our commander costs four mana. In a perfect world, we can play a land on turn one, ramp with a two-mana Arcane SignetArcane Signet, and cast Kaalia a turn early on turn three. Once Kaalia arrives, though, we really want to push that advantage quickly.

Sword of the Animist will make Kaalia one power and toughness bigger, giving us a better chance of surviving against flying blockers. The main reason we like this Equipment, though, is the ability to tutor a basic land into play every time Kaalia attacks. If we can stay ahead of the curve, every time Kaalia is removed, we’ll have the mana to simply recast her or just cast our bigger creatures instead.

This Sword should be in far more than 5.4% of Kaalia decks.

#5. Simian Spirit GuideSimian Spirit Guide (3.8%)

Of the entire hidden gems list, this one is probably the spikiest. Staying with the pressure theme, aggro decks want to storm the enemy camp while the troops are still trying to get out of their tents. We want to catch our opponents off balance and punish passive early turns spent ramping or drawing cards. Simian Spirit Guide helps with exactly that.

Exiling it from our hand gives us a burst of mana that can help cast Kaalia a turn earlier. That means our opponents have one less mana available to remove our commander and one less card in hand to work with.

#4. Great Train HeistGreat Train Heist (2.6%)

The more I’ve played this card, the more I’ve grown to love it. The spree mechanic has been one of my favorites lately, and having three different modes to choose from in this deck is fantastic.

I use this in both my Fire Lord AzulaFire Lord Azula and Vihaan, GoldwakerVihaan, Goldwaker decks for very different reasons. Vihaan primarily wants the first strike and Treasure production, with the extra combat step as a secondary option. Azula, on the other hand, primarily wants the extra combat and takes the Treasure and first strike modes as bonuses. Kaalia leans much closer to the Azula plan. That extra combat step means another massive creature entering the battlefield.

What makes Great Train Heist particularly interesting is that it operates at instant speed. Players deciding whether or not to block can easily get caught off guard by a second combat step. That creature they were planning to trade with Kaalia suddenly falls victim to first strike damage instead.

It’s rare that this is completely dead in hand because it offers a lot of utility.

#3. Redirect LightningRedirect Lightning (1.9%)

Do you know what’s better than stopping an opponent’s removal spell? Taking that removal spell and sending it somewhere else. Kaalia decks currently play Deflecting Swat in about 31% of lists, but this is an effect that benefits from redundancy.

Unlike Lightning GreavesLightning Greaves, Redirect Lightning still forces our opponent to cast their spell instead of holding it and working with the table to remove the boots and Kaalia in the same turn. By redirecting the spell, we remove that spell from their hand while also taking out another target of our choice. In a sense, it functions like a two-for-one trade in our favor.

The biggest advantage, though, is psychological. If we run multiple effects like this, they will show up more frequently during games. Opponents will constantly have to calculate whether we might be holding one in hand before attempting removal. Those assumptions can force mistakes, and that alone makes the card worth a slot.

#2. Maelstrom of the Spirit DragonMaelstrom of the Spirit Dragon (1.4%)

I love a good utility land. This one might seem a little strange since our commander is a Human and the land cares about Dragons. The main reason we like it is the final ability. We can pay four mana and sacrifice Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon to tutor any Dragon we want directly into our hand.

If we activate that ability right before Kaalia attacks and triggers her ability, we effectively get to put the best Dragon in our entire deck directly onto the battlefield. That could be Ancient Copper DragonAncient Copper Dragon to generate a pile of Treasure tokens, or Balefire DragonBalefire Dragon to wipe out an opponent’s board and shut down any crack-back attacks.

We could even grab a Twinflame TyrantTwinflame Tyrant to push for doubling up our damage on opponents. Since we don’t actually have to cast the creature, there’s very little downside to including this land in the 99.

#1. Crystal DragonCrystal Dragon (0.6%)

Finally, we arrive at a very quiet card. Crystal Dragon won’t win any MVP awards in the deck. It’s not a chase rare that scalpers rush to buy up, and it’s currently worth about nine cents. But its subtle versatility makes it a nice addition. Since the card itself looks fairly straightforward, it won’t attract much attention from the rest of the table.

Crystal Dragon is technically two spells in one. The first is the Adventure Rob the Hoard. For two mana, we can cast this spell and return an artifact, enchantment, or legendary card from our graveyard to our hand. As mentioned earlier, these decks tend to run a lot of legendary creatures since many powerful Angels, Demons, and Dragons happen to be legendary. Crystal Dragon lets us get one of those creatures back from the graveyard so we can cheat it out again.

In a pinch, we can also simply cast or cheat out Crystal Dragon itself as a 4/4 flying attacker with vigilance. While it may not be the flashiest card in the deck, the ability to recover important legends from the graveyard while coming with a Dragon body is definitely worth a slot in the 99 of our deck.

Wrapping Up

Though Kaalia may be trending downward in popularity, I don’t think this Human Cleric will ever completely disappear. She’s an incredibly powerful commander and has been around since the early days of Wizards of the Coast producing Commander-exclusive cards. We might even see a Universes Beyond reskin in the future that brings her back into the spotlight as newer players encounter the strategy for the first time.

Until then, I would expect a gradual decline in popularity, but not a complete drop-off.

As we all know, this is nowhere near the bottom of the gem mine. There are plenty of amazing hidden gems for Kaalia that didn’t make this list. What’s a hidden gem in your Kaalia deck? Let us know in the comments below so we can keep building the collection. We’re here for good vibes and to celebrate Magic cards.

Until next time, happy brewing!