All 8 Angel Lords in Magic Ranked

Lyra Dawnbringer | Illustration by Chris Rahn

Every good typal deck needs its payoffs and its lords. Spider-Man introduces lords like Doctor Octopus, Master Planner for villains and Spider-Punk for spiders, and we’ve seen plenty others like Ogre Slumlord, Squirrel Sovereign, and Ramses, Assassin Lord.

Goblins, dragons, zombies, and vampires also have their lords, but what about angels? There are angel decks across Magic’s history and formats, but we have fewer angel lords than you might expect.

Let’s dive into it!

What Are Angel Lords?

Giada, Font of Hope | Illustration by Kai Carpenter

Angel lords are creatures that grant your other angels some benefit. Classic typal lords like Lord of Atlantis grant a stat boost, keywords, or both, but angels have surprisingly few of those. I’ll include angel cost reducers, and I’ll consider abilities that let you reanimate or cheat your angels into play somehow. But I won’t consider cards that simply pay you off for playing angels, or angel token generators.

Honorable Mentions

While I’m not considering these cards for the main list, they do play nicely with angels, depending on the context.

Angel Payoffs

Shilgengar, Sire of Famine‘s a strong commander that lets you trade in angels for Blood tokens. Bishop of Wings is one of the best angel payoffs since it triggers both when they enter and when they die. Righteous Valkyrie also gets in on the lifegain theme, and I guess you could make the argument that it’s an “angel lord” as an angel that’s a lord for all your creatures. Feel free to roast me for this one.

Shoutout to Defy Death as a reanimation spell that adds counters if you grab an angel, and Rampage of the Valkyries as an enchantment that turns your angels’ deaths into edicts.

Angel Token Generators

Some of the best angels benefit you for going wide, so you need cards that count as more than one body. Parhelion II and Valkyrie Harbinger are some steady Angel token generators. You can also use enchantments like Angelic Accord and Court of Grace to add to the number of angels you control.

Flying Lords

Flying lords aren’t the best synergy since they tend to be in blue; with the exception of Serra the Benevolent, you’ll pretty much only use them as lords for your angels if your angels are supporting your flying decks, but not the other way around. Some flying lords that you can surround with angels include Inniaz, the Gale Force, Kangee, Sky Warden, and Kangee's Lieutenant.

Serra Aviary is an anthem for fliers, but it’s too expensive at 4 mana to see much play these days.

#8. Kaalia, Zenith Seeker

Kaalia, Zenith Seeker isn’t quite a lord, although it grabs the best angels from the top of your library and sticks them into your hand. I guess that’s a form of acceleration, so here it is.

#7. Sigarda, Font of Blessings

Sigarda, Font of Blessings helps you play more angels since it gives you access to the top card of your deck. It pairs nicely with angelic cost reduction, but there are some more potent angel lords to consider.

#6. Bruna, the Fading Light

The 7 mana it takes to cast Bruna, the Fading Light may seem intimidating, but it’s a two-for-one since it reanimates an angel. It’s another card that’s a little bit removed from traditional lord definitions, but we’re hurting for entries here.

#5. Kaalia of the Vast

Kaalia of the Vast is well-known as a strong typal commander for angels, demons, and dragons alike. Its attack trigger gets you more bodies onto the field, which is especially good when you have some of these notoriously high-mana and color intensive creatures.

#4. Herald of War

Herald of War’s cost reduction is tied to how frequently you attack with it or find other ways to give it counters. It takes a few turns just to make it even with Starnheim Aspirant, and your opponent can blink it to reset it or tap it at instant speed to prevent you from adding more counters.

#3. Starnheim Aspirant

Starnheim Aspirant’s cost reduction is valuable to help with the high curve that a pure angel deck can sometimes impose. It basically cancels out the first round of commander tax, but it works exceptionally well in multiples.

#2. Lyra Dawnbringer

Lyra Dawnbringer is the only true, classic +1/+1 lord for angels, which surprised me. Lifelink is perfectly on-brand, although it may be redundant on some angels.

#1. Giada, Font of Hope

Two-mana mana dorks that are also lords are just fantastic cards, period. Giada, Font of Hope is especially good as you widen your board with token generators, and it would be good even if you couldn’t tap it for mana. There’s a reason it’s the most popular angel commander.

Wrap Up

Sigarda, Font of Blessings | Illustration by Justyna Dura

And there we are! All the angel lords in Magic. At least, everything that remotely qualifies. I have to say, given angels’ reputation for running powerful decks, there are more token generators and payoffs than strict lords. There’s also a lot of creatures that can become angels, and equipment and other cards that turn creatures into angels. But really, only Lyra Dawnbringer for the +1/+1 lord buff? Geez.

Which of these lords do you run in your angel decks? What are your favorite angel payoffs and token generators? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, stay safe!