Radiant At 25: A Mono-White Flyers Commander Magic Deck

A few articles back, I wrote about the beauty of mono-colored commanders and the value lingering in older legendary creatures.

I still firmly stand behind those sentiments, especially after playing my Mono-White Flyers deck on stream. I forgot how much I enjoyed that deck, and the fact that a 25-year-old commander leads it isn’t lost on me. Just because something is old doesn’t mean it’s bad or weak! The game I had on stream proved that, and so I wanted to share that deck with you all here.

I Just Wanna Fly (Radiant, Archangel)

Chase Carroll

Test deck on 01-19-2024

Commander

Creatures (30)

• 1 Mother of Runes
• 1 Karmic Guide
• 1 Aven Mindcensor
• 1 Magus of the Moat
• 1 Emeria Angel
• 1 Pilgrim's Eye
• 1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
• 1 Serra Ascendant
• 1 Grand Abolisher
• 1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• 1 Emeria Shepherd
• 1 Selfless Spirit
• 1 Aerial Responder
• 1 Kinjalli's Sunwing
• 1 Segovian Angel
• 1 Sephara, Sky's Blade
• 1 Hushbringer
• 1 Cartographer's Hawk
• 1 Battlefield Raptor
• 1 Combat Calligrapher
• 1 Ornithopter of Paradise
• 1 Flumph
• 1 Cloudsteel Kirin
• 1 Inspiring Overseer
• 1 Battle Angels of Tyr
• 1 Ancient Gold Dragon
• 1 Firemane Commando
• 1 Metropolis Reformer
• 1 Moonshaker Cavalry
• 1 Ruin-Lurker Bat

Planeswalkers (2)

• 1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 1 Serra the Benevolent

Lands (37)

• 28 Plains
• 1 Drifting Meadow
• 1 Maze of Ith
• 1 Secluded Steppe
• 1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
• 1 Seraph Sanctuary
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Myriad Landscape
• 1 Path of Ancestry
• 1 War Room

Spells (30)

• 1 Wrath of God
• 1 Pearl Medallion
• 1 Swords to Plowshares
• 1 Land Tax
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Gift of Estates
• 1 Lightning Greaves
• 1 Mask of Memory
• 1 Oblation
• 1 Serra Aviary
• 1 Battle Screech
• 1 Concerted Effort
• 1 Return to Dust
• 1 Austere Command
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Sword of the Animist
• 1 Duelist's Heritage
• 1 Teferi's Protection
• 1 Cleansing Nova
• 1 Endless Atlas
• 1 Smothering Tithe
• 1 Unbreakable Formation
• 1 Generous Gift
• 1 Flawless Maneuver
• 1 Commander's Plate
• 1 Secret Rendezvous
• 1 Surge of Salvation
• 1 Flowering of the White Tree
• 1 Get Lost

The Commander

This deck first came to be when I came across a damaged foil of Radiant, Archangel at my local game store.

I was immediately enamored with the card. The ability felt fairly strong, and the art reminded me of something you’d see on the side of a weird van. I loved it and resolved to brew around her immediately. I themed the deck around white flyers, which are bountiful in almost every set in Magic, both old and new. The goal is to amass an army of flying creatures and beat face with them and a beefy commander.

The Creatures

As you would guess, the deck is full of flying creatures both big and small, 30 creatures, in fact! I know it would be very easy to make this into an Angel deck, but I really wanted to open it up to all flyers to make the deck diverse (and less boring, because typal decks make me wanna snooze). 

From the powerful might of Avacyn, Angel of Hope to the terror known as Battlefield Raptor, this deck has an incredibly wild repertoire of feathered friends. Hushbringer, Aven Mindcensor, Kinjalli’s Sunwing, and Linvala, Keeper of Silence really hinder my opponents while simultaneously buffing up Radiant. Magus of the Moat, while not a flyer itself, also fits this criterion. I also find it hysterical that it just shuts everyone down except me.

In terms of heavy hitters, this deck isn’t lacking. Ancient Gold Dragon and Emeria Angel are consistent ways to generate tiny flying tokens. Firemane Commando and Battle Angels of Tyr give you some support in the form of card advantage and ramp. Sephara, Sky’s Blade and Avacyn, Angel of Hope make it so that our feathered friends stick around, and Moonshaker Cavalry serves as the final nail in the coffin. How could I pass up a mono-white Craterhoof Behemoth?!

Instants and Sorceries

Because this is a mono-white deck, the instants and sorceries are very cut and dried. They offer a balance of protection, ramp, card draw, and removal. It might not be the most streamlined, but it’s what white currently has to offer, so we ball.

We have single-target removal in the form of Generous Gift, Get Lost, Swords to Plowshares, Return to Dust, and Path to Exile. We aren’t lacking in battlefield wipes either, as the deck runs Austere Command, Cleansing Nova, and Wrath of God.

Card draw, while a bit difficult, isn’t an issue when we run Oblation and Secret Rendezvous. Lastly, in the realm of protection, we absolutely have to jam in Teferi’s Protection, Unbreakable Formation, Flawless Maneuver, and Surge of Salvation. While the deck is strong, it is incredibly weak against removal and requires a rather large battlefield to achieve victory. I always want to be safe rather than sorry. 

Artifacts

The artifacts in my deck also perform an intricate dance balancing the many needs of a white deck. Of course, you have the iconic Sol Ring and Pearl Medallion for ramp and reduction. But what else do these artifacts have to offer? 

Commander’s Plate, in my opinion, is a must-run for any and all mono-colored decks. It all but ensures your commander’s protection. Sword of the Animist is my way of introducing ramp into a rampless color. It might not be incredibly streamlined, but it does get the job done. Lastly, Endless Atlas and Mask of Memory help introduce yet another form of card draw to the deck. The best part about these two pieces is that your opponents don’t get to draw cards alongside you (as most white draw spells make you do).

Enchantments

Finally, we have our enchantments. This section is more about trying out cards I never got the chance to in the past. Is it optimal? Not really, but it is incredibly fun to make this deck a guinea pig! 

Sure, Land Tax and Smothering Tithe are just generic good pieces, but I never owned a Land Tax until I pulled one in Wilds of Eldraine! Besides, those are the boring ones. The two I’m most excited about are Duelist’s Heritage and Serra Aviary.

Heritage is a fun political piece that, while good for your combat steps, can also give your opponent’s creature double strike. Talk about a bargaining chip! And lastly, we have the Aviary. Sure, it’s no Concordant Crossroads, but it is a fun world enchantment, and we don’t get to see those often anymore. It buffs all flyers, even your opponents’. Is it dangerous? Maybe. I don’t care, though, because it’s fun!

I Just Wanna Fly

Is my Radiant build a top-tier powerhouse of a deck? No. But is it fun? Is it unique? Yes! I built this deck because I saw value in a 25-year-old card. I have fun with it every time I play with it, and every victory feels that much sweeter. While you might not enjoy my particular list, I still heavily encourage you to take a peek at something older and something unexpected. It might reignite the spark of love you had for Magic, just like it did for me. Happy digging, deckbuilders!