Holy Cow! It's Budget Angels! | Giada, Font of Hope | EDH Deck Tech

Benjamin Levin • April 4, 2024

Budget Deckbuilding
Giada, Font of Hope
 | Illustrated by Scott M. Fischer

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another installment of BathroomBrews! As we wrap up OTJ spoiler season, we've seen a wide range of cards, from the wacky references of Resilient Roadrunner

and Cunning Coyote
 to the powerhouse Goldvein Hydra
. As always, you can find the full set review in the coming weeks over at EDHREC and here at the Commander's Herald. I recommend you check out one of my favorite series, The Over/Under by Kyle Massa.

Shoutouts aside, the card that inspired this deck tech is one of my new favorite commons, Holy Cow

. It isn't the strongest creature, but I love the flavor and art of this flying ox. Without further ado, let's get into it!

The Angels

Card-Drawing Angels

First up, we have the Angels that make Clues, which isn't something I'd ever thought I'd say. It all started with Angelic Sleuth

from Streets of New Capanea, and with the release of Murders at Karlov Manor, we got Wojek Investigator
, which can give us up to three Clues a turn, and Merchant of Truth
, which is a Sublime Archangel
 for Clues. Other card-draw Angels would be Inspiring Overseer
, Firemane Commando
, and Sanctuary Warden
.

Anthems

Like other kindred decks, Angels have their fair share of lords to buff the team. Some Angels buff all creatures, such as Angel of Invention

, Thraben Watcher
, and Righteous Valkyrie
, and some, in this case exactly one, Lyra Dawnbringer
, buffs just Angels. Giada, while not a true anthem, does give Angels counters when they enter, so she sort of counts.

Removal

Some Angels use their divine power to smite the wicked, and by wicked I mean our opponents. If they target us with anything, canonically they are committing a crime now, which isn't a nice thing to do, so let's use Aurelia's Vindicator

to put some of their creatures into jail. We can also use this to exile cards from our graveyard, and when Vindicator dies, we get those cards back. It's removal and recursion all in one. Angel of Serenity
 does the same thing but doesn't have disguise. For more permanent removal, Angel of the Ruins
 exiles up to two artifacts and/or enchantments and can be plainscycled.

Life Gain

Life gain is probably the most common sub-theme in Angel decks given the density of lifelink, so I wanted to make sure we had some great enablers and payoffs.  There's Righteous Valkyrie

, which has us gain life when Angels enter, and then there's my favorite piece of tech, Shattered Angel
, can gain us a bunch of life against those pesky Landfall decks. The best life-gain  payoffs in the deck are Resplendent Angel
 and Valkyrie Harbinger
. 

Utility

To round out the creature section, I wanted to showcase some of the more utility-focused Angels. Karmic Guide

and Breathkeeper Seraph
 are great at reanimating our Angels. Okay, technically Breathkeeper has them die then come back, but it's close enough that I'm counting it here. Guardian of Ghirapur
, Restoration Angel
, and Glorious Protector
 can blink our Angels, and both double as protection spells thanks to flash. Future Ben here. I missed that Resto Angel and Glorious Protector can only target non-angels. I'd replace them with Cosmos Elixir
 and Folk Hero
.  Herald of War
 provides powerful cost reduction, and it synergizes with Giada's ability. However, my favorite utility Angel has to be Angelic Arbiter
 because it forces players to decide between attacking and casting spells. This isn't as big of a downside in more powerful metas where attacking isn't the primary win con. However, at more combat-centric tables, this card tends to be a house.

The Non-Angels

The other subtheme for Giada in particular is blink thanks to her ability to buff other Angels as they enter. This means we can load up on the best mass-blink spells to grow and protect our board. Eerie Interlude

, Ghostway
, and Lae'zel's Acrobatics
 are the best in the deck thanks to being instants and dodging format staples like Farewell
. If you're looking for classic indestructible, Unbreakable Formation
 and Your Temple Is Under Attack
 are solid inclusions. Finally, Cosmic Intervention
 will return any permanent sent to the graveyard the turn you cast it. This includes Wayfarer's Bauble
 and Mind Stone
. You could combo Intervention with Armageddon
, blowing up everyone's lands and getting yours back.

The Upgrades

Creature Upgrades

If you're looking to spend a few extra dollars to upgrade the deck, there's no shortage of powerful Angels and Clerics you could add. One creature I'd suggest you stay away from, however, is Youthful Valkyrie

. It's a two-mana Angel, but it's hardly worth the $10 price tag it currently carries. Instead, I'd add the non-Angel, Bishop of Wings
. It helps with the lifegain theme of the deck and turns Angels into Spirits. I also opened five of these during Core Set 2020 prerelease weekend, including a prerelease promo. I'm glad this random bulk rare is worth something now. If you want some powerhouses, you should pick up Avacyn, Angel of Hope
, Archangel of Thune
, and Battle Angels of Tyr
. Also, Archangel of Tithes
 is being reprinted in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, and if Resplendent Angel is any indication, this card should drop in price.

Noncreature upgrades

If you want to take your upgrades even further, there are some powerful artifacts you could add. Kindred support, such as Urza's Incubator

and Door of Destinies
, are always welcomed additions. I enjoy adding an Equipment package to kindred decks thanks to how combat-focused they tend to be, so Equipment like Sword of Hearth and Home
, Dowsing Dagger
, and Pip-Boy 3000
 are great. You could also add some of the Angel planeswalkers for flavor, like Serra the Benevolent
, Elspeth Resplendent
, and Archangel Elspeth
.

The Cuts

If you're not sure what to cut, don't worry, I'm here to help! I'd start with the lowest-impact Angels first, so creatures like Segovian Angel

, Angelic Cub
, and Boon-Bringer Valkyrie
. They're in the deck because they smash face super well and have some keywords, that's it. Next, I'd cut some of the utility Angels for either Equipment or ramp. Say goodbye to Sigarda's Vanguard
, Shattered Angel
, and Breathkeeper Seraph
.

I'd love to hear what card you'd cut in the comments down below. Also, make sure to check out my YouTube channel, BathroomBrewsMTG where I'll be doing my fun tier list video for the new set!

Holy Cow! Budget Angels!

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Benjamin Levin

Benjamin Levin

Ben has been playing Magic since 2012 and started creating Magic the Gathering content in October of 2022 on YouTube under the name BathroomBrewsMTG (YouTube.com/@BRBMTG). Primarily focusing on budget EDH content. When he isn't thinking or talking about MTG, he is usually playing video games, spending time with his wife or playing with his two cats. You can find him on Twitter @BathroomMTG.