Giada, Font of HopeGiada, Font of Hope | Art by Kai Carpenter

Series News and Poll Results

Hello fellow brewer and welcome back to Brew For Your Buck, where we swap out the top 10 most expensive cards in a deck with 10 budget cards that add a unique twist. Before we get into our deck, here's a quick recap of the poll results from my 2024 review article:

• In general, people tend to like the BFYB process over the more traditional method of picking a target budget and staying under that number. Good news for me!
• An overwhelming majority wanted me to adjust land counts in my articles even if it means cutting a few of the less impactful cards from the average list. That starts today!
• Most people seem to want me to suggest cards that work with the deck's existing plan, instead of including a package that changes its plan or adds a combo. I'll lean heavily in this direction going forward, but don't be surprised if you see the other types once in a while.
• Finally, $2 seems to be a good guideline for budget cards, though some of you wouldn't mind to see that creep up a bit, so I'll be a little more flexible on that limit than in the past.

With that, I also have very exciting news. I will now be offering deck techs! If you want me to review your personal deck, apply the BFYB process or make suggestions in general, send an email to [email protected].

Put "BFYB deck tech" in the subject line, include an Archidekt link and a few sentences about what your goals are for the deck, and I can have a look!

Thanks for all your feedback, and I'm looking forward to a great 2025. Now, let's get into the real article.

A Gathering of Angels Appeared Above My Head

For the first real article of 2025, and I decided to knock out the last mono-color remaining to be featured in the series, and I picked the most popular mono-colored commander for that color (white) to do it:

In fact, Giada is the most popular mono-white commander by more than 2x the next one (Light-Paws, Emperor's VoiceLight-Paws, Emperor's Voice). People love their Angels! Unfortunately, many of those Angels cost a lot of money, with Giada's decklist coming in at $479.60. Here's the top ten, let's see what we can do to change that, shall we?

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Avacyn, Angel of HopeAvacyn, Angel of Hope ($37.88)
               2. Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection ($32.67)
               3. Archangel of ThuneArchangel of Thune ($32.50)
               4. Trouble in PairsTrouble in Pairs($25.71)
               5. Smothering TitheSmothering Tithe ($25.57)
               6. Gisela, the Broken BladeGisela, the Broken Blade ($22.90)
               7. Throne of EldraineThrone of Eldraine ($17.64)
               8. Land TaxLand Tax ($15.68)
               9. Linvala, Keeper of SilenceLinvala, Keeper of Silence ($13.30)
               10. Battle Angels of TyrBattle Angels of Tyr ($12.21)

Total Value of Cuts: $236.06

We've got three lands that need to be replaced: Nykthos, Shrine to NyxNykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Three Tree CityThree Tree City, and Emeria, the Sky RuinEmeria, the Sky Ruin. Replacing them with Plains leads to an additional $69.50 in savings, for a total of $305.56.

Talk about a list of mono-white Angels staples! There is some good news though, AvacynAvacyn and GiselaGisela are both being reprinted shortly in Innistrad Remastered, so the prices on those should drop a bit in a few weeks, especially Gisela, since she's only had her original printing until now. In the meantime, let's look at some other Angels and sneaky budget cards we can swap in for these.

Additions

Angels

We cut five Angels at the top, so that means we're going to add at least that many back in so we don't hurt the typal synergies of the deck. Sanctuary WardenSanctuary Warden ($1.07) is first up because I'm shocked it's not already in the list. It's an Angel, but also has synergy with the +1/+1 counters that Giada puts on all of your other Angels!

Removing one measly counter from one of our Angels for a card and a 1/1 sounds pretty nice to me, especially when it comes with shield counters to protect itself.

Speaking of 1/1s, we have another addition from Modern Horizons 3 Commander: Angelic AberrationAngelic Aberration ($0.36). This horrifying Eldrazi mockery of an Angel can transmute of the 1/1 (non-Angel) tokens that Sanctuary WardenSanctuary Warden and Bishop of WingsBishop of Wings pump out into massive Angels.

Giada will see all of these Angels enter simultaneously, so when I say massive, I mean massive.

Requiem AngelRequiem Angel ($0.95) will join the fray to help support the Aberration line. Note that its ability only says "non-Spirit" it will replace your non-Spirit tokens too. Given that Giada can build up a scary board state really fast, having that little bit of board wipe insurance goes a long way as well.

Angelic SkirmisherAngelic Skirmisher ($1.66) is a WILD card for this deck. It triggers on EACH combat, meaning on your opponents' turns as well. So you can choose vigilance on your turn and attack, keeping your Angels available to tangle with an incoming army with first strike or prevent your doom with lifelink.

Our last Angel isn't technically an Angel, but it sure can make some! Empyrial StormEmpyrial Storm ($0.32) works great if you have a cheap commander, especially if that commander wants you to have Angels. It's not hard to imagine casting Giada three to four times from the command zone each game, so six mana for three to four Angels (which get bigger with Giada) is a pretty great bargain.

Ramp

Giada makes a great Angel commander since she provides one of the biggest things that an Angel deck needs: ramp. Angels tend to be very mana-intensive. The mana curve for the deck actually isn't that bad:

But with a multitude of six and seven mana spells, a couple more ramp spells can't hurt. The first one is Scholar of New HorizonsScholar of New Horizons ($1.61), another card that works great with Giada and the counters she's throwing around. The counter can be removed from any permanent, so this becomes repeatable as the game goes on, ramping you one Plains per turn if you play it right. More on that in a bit.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Knight of the White OrchidKnight of the White Orchid ($0.85) ain't broke. It's not repeatable like the Scholar, but it does what it needs to as white's Rampant GrowthRampant Growth effect of choice. Both of these two mana ramp spells might seem odd when we have one of those in the command zone, but casting them after Giada can get us to a bigger Angel that much faster.

Worst case scenario, we're halfway to recasting Giada should she bite the dust.

Our last card isn't strictly ramp, but Gift of EstatesGift of Estates ($0.59) will ensure that you won't miss your land drops as you curve out towards your top end Angels. It's our budget replacement for Land TaxLand Tax, which often ends up overfilling your hand anyways. Let's be honest, in that scenario are you throwing away something besides lands?

I'll be throwing in some of the bounce-lands that go well with "catch-up" ramp effects like these in order to up the land count as I discussed with the poll results. Take a look for them in the final list!

Additional Synergy

Kindred decks like this are obviously hyper-focused on creature-type synergies, but there's a couple of other angelic aspects we can take advantage of. Flying for example. Most of the creatures in the list have flying, which means Jackdaw SaviorJackdaw Savior ($0.30) is a fantastic recursion engine for the deck. With so many of our Angels having a high mana value, you should have a lot of flexibility choosing what comes back from the graveyard.

Finally, Brave the ElementsBrave the Elements ($0.79) is a must-have in a mono-white deck. For one mana, this can protect your whole team from a Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act, or make combat so one-sided that you can almost view it as an OverrunOverrun, especially in this deck that is capable of going so wide.

Wrap Up & Savings

Let's see what we saved:

Not a bad way to start the year at 61% savings. There are still quite a few expensive cards in the list that I'm sure could be replaced if you're looking to get the deck further away from $200. Anyways, I hope you liked the article, especially those of you out there with Giada lists!

As always, I'm interested in any feedback you have to give me, so drop a comment down below. Be sure to check out other BFYB articles and my content for beginners on EDHREC as well. I'll see you next time when we brew for your buck!

Please note: card prices listed in this article are accurate at the time of writing, but prices can vary over time and between locations.

Brian Cain

Brian played Magic intermittently between 2003 and 2017 when he fully embraced his love for Commander. Finding ways to maximize the value of each piece of cardboard in the deck is one of his favorite things to explore, especially if it involves putting lands in the graveyard! Outside of Magic, Brian works as a consultant in the marine industry, turning his passion for boats and ships into a career.