Giada, Font of Hope

Strategies it goes well with

• Angel typal. Every Angel after Giada arrives larger than printed, so the deck wants a steady flow of Angels at every point on the curve rather than a few big ones.
• Lifegain thresholds. Righteous Valkyrie gains life equal to each entering Angel's toughness, and Giada's counters raise that toughness, which pushes you past seven life above your starting total sooner.
• Counters on counters. Cathars' Crusade adds a counter to the whole team whenever a creature enters, on top of the counters Giada puts on each new Angel.

How it does in Commander

As the commander

As the commander of Calling All Angels she does two jobs from turn two: she ramps into the deck's Angels and makes each one bigger than the last. The weakness is the one the upgrade guide names for the whole deck. Mono-white has little card draw, so once the hand is empty the Angels come one draw at a time, and a board wipe resets everything Giada built.

In the 99

In another white deck she belongs only if that deck already runs a real Angel count. Outside Angel typal she is a 2/2 flier whose mana ability does nothing for most of your spells.

Formats it's strong in

• Angel typal in white. The counters and the restricted mana both read Angels, so a deck with fifteen or more of them gets full value from both halves of the card.
• Beginner and Core-bracket pods. The plan is simple to execute and easy for the table to read, which suits a first deck and a casual pod.

Formats it's weak in

• Tables with frequent board wipes. Giada's value lives in counters on creatures, and a single wipe removes all of it along with the Angels themselves.
• Fast, high-power pods. An Angel deck builds its board over several turns, which is too slow against decks trying to win by turn five.

Synergistic cards

Righteous Valkyrie ↗

Gains life equal to each entering Angel's toughness, counters included, and gives the team +2/+2 once you are seven life up.

Lyra Dawnbringer ↗

Gives every other Angel +1/+1 and lifelink, stacking with the counters Giada has already put on them.

Cathars' Crusade ↗

Each creature that enters puts a +1/+1 counter on your whole board, on top of the counters Giada adds to each new Angel.

Sephara, Sky's Blade ↗

Can be cast for {W} and tapping four fliers, and gives your other fliers indestructible, which protects the counters from a destroy-based wipe.

Is it worth the price?

Giada is inexpensive. She was printed in Streets of New Capenna, reprinted in Foundations, and ships again as the face commander of Calling All Angels, so there is plenty of supply. Buying the precon gets you her plus an Angel core, which is better value than buying the singles one at a time.

Current printings and prices →

Frequently asked questions