Giada, Font of Hope is a two-mana 2/2 flier with vigilance. Each other Angel you control enters with an additional +1/+1 counter for each Angel you already control, and she taps for {W} that can only be spent on Angel spells. The more Angels you have, the bigger every new one gets.
The precon already plays the best Angels, including Lyra Dawnbringer, Righteous Valkyrie and Herald of War. Each swap below pairs a cut with an add, and every card is scored with the same numbers the Oracle uses to build decks: synergy and inclusion from the Giada decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Giada decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Calling All Angels precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Three sweepers in a creature deck
Day of Judgment, Cleansing Nova and Austere Command are all in a deck with 33 creatures. One reset is a safety valve, but three of them fight the plan of buying bigger and bigger Angels every turn.
Two cards that draw for your opponents
Secret Rendezvous has you and an opponent each draw three, and Cut a Deal gives each opponent a card to get you one back. Neither does anything for the Angels, and both feed the table.
Lifegain is not being cashed in
The deck gains life through Lyra Dawnbringer and Righteous Valkyrie, but has few ways to turn that life into more Angels or counters. Lyra, Archangel of Dawn, Angelic Accord and Valkyrie Harbinger all do.
The 13 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Search the Premises is a four-mana enchantment that investigates whenever a creature attacks you or one of your planeswalkers. It is not a card Giada decks usually play.
Lyra, Archangel of Dawn is a 3/3 flier for {2}{W}: whenever you gain life, she puts a +1/+1 counter on each Angel you control. Lyra Dawnbringer's lifelink and Righteous Valkyrie's trigger both gain life, so she grows the whole team.
Secret Rendezvous has you and an opponent each draw three cards. You get the same cards your opponent does.
Angelic Accord costs {3}{W}: at the beginning of each end step, if you gained 4 or more life this turn, you create a 4/4 white Angel with flying. A single hit from a lifelinking Angel pays for it.
Cut a Deal gives each opponent a card to draw you one back, so in a multiplayer pod you gain one card for each card you give away.
Folk Hero is a two-mana Background: your commander creatures have "Whenever you cast a spell that shares a creature type with this creature, draw a card." That triggers once each turn. With Giada as an Angel, every Angel spell you cast draws a card.
With Cleansing Nova and Austere Command also in the deck, a third wrath is one too many for a deck with 33 creatures. Day of Judgment is in about one Giada deck in eight.
Serra Paragon is a 3/4 flying Angel for {2}{W}{W}. Once each turn you may play a land from your graveyard or cast a permanent spell with mana value 3 or less from it, and that card is exiled for 2 life if it would go to the graveyard again. Youthful Valkyrie and the other cheap Angels are easy to recast.
Angelic Destiny is an Aura that gives a creature +4/+4, flying, first strike and the Angel type. Putting that much on one creature leaves you open to removal, and it is played in about one Giada deck in sixteen.
Valkyrie Harbinger is a 4/5 flying lifelinker for {4}{W}{W}. At the beginning of each end step, if you gained 4 or more life this turn, it creates a 4/4 flying, vigilant Angel token, and its own lifelink usually gets you there.
Exorcise costs two and exiles an artifact, enchantment or creature with power 4 or greater, so it misses small creatures.
Path to Exile costs one and exiles any creature, at instant speed. It is in three Giada decks out of four, and it keeps your mana open for a flash-speed play.
Always Watching gives nontoken creatures +1/+1 and vigilance, but Giada already puts counters on each new Angel and most of the Angels fly over blockers anyway.
Angelic Skirmisher is a 4/4 flying Angel for {4}{W}{W}. At the beginning of each combat you choose first strike, vigilance or lifelink, and your creatures gain it until end of turn. Choosing lifelink turns your whole team into lifegain for Lyra and Angelic Accord.
Tome of Legends only gets counters when your commander enters or attacks, then costs {1} and a tap per card.
Entreat the Angels costs {X}{X}{W}{W}{W} and creates X 4/4 flying Angel tokens. It is also a miracle for {X}{W}{W} when it is the first card you draw each turn. Each token enters with extra counters from Giada, and every Angel makes the next one bigger.
Commander's Sphere taps for one mana of your commander's colours, but the deck has six other mana rocks, plus 38 lands.
Starfield Shepherd is a 3/2 flying Angel for {3}{W}{W}. When it enters, it searches for a basic Plains or a creature with mana value 1 or less, and you can warp it for {1}{W} to replay it later. It replaces the mana rock with a body that finds a land or a one-drop.
Linvala is a 5/5 flier for {4}{W}{W}, but both of her bonuses only trigger when an opponent is ahead of you on life or creatures. She is not a card Giada decks usually play.
Baneslayer Angel is a 5/5 for {3}{W}{W} with flying, first strike and lifelink. She costs one less than Linvala, her lifelink triggers Lyra and Valkyrie Harbinger, and she enters as a bigger Angel with Giada.
Metallic Mimic is a two-mana artifact creature that gives another type counters. It is not a card Giada decks usually play.
Resplendent Angel is a 3/3 flier for {1}{W}{W}. At the beginning of each end step, if you gained 5 or more life this turn, you create a 4/4 flying, vigilance Angel, and for {3}{W}{W}{W} it gets +2/+2 and lifelink. A three-mana Angel that makes more Angels, and one of the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.
Vanguard Seraph is a 3/3 flying Angel Warrior for {3}{W} that surveils when you gain life. It is not a card Giada decks usually play.
Bruna, the Fading Light is a 5/7 flying, vigilance Angel Horror for {5}{W}{W}. When you cast it you may return an Angel or Human creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. A seven-drop that is two Angels, and each enters with Giada's counters.
Merchant of Truth is a 2/5 flying Angel Detective for {2}{W}{W} that investigates when your nontoken creatures die. It is not a card Giada decks usually play.
Herald's Horn costs {3}. Choose Angel: Angel spells you cast cost {1} less, and at your upkeep you look at the top card of your library and may put it into your hand if it is an Angel. A three-mana artifact that makes every Angel cheaper and finds more.
The full swap list
Cut
- Search the Premises
- Secret Rendezvous
- Cut a Deal
- Day of Judgment
- Angelic Destiny
- Exorcise
- Always Watching
- Tome of Legends
- Commander's Sphere
- Linvala, the Preserver
- Metallic Mimic
- Vanguard Seraph
- Merchant of Truth
Add
- Lyra, Archangel of Dawn
- Angelic Accord
- Folk Hero
- Serra Paragon
- Valkyrie Harbinger
- Path to Exile
- Angelic Skirmisher
- Entreat the Angels
- Starfield Shepherd
- Baneslayer Angel
- Resplendent Angel
- Bruna, the Fading Light
- Herald's Horn
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Lyra Dawnbringer$0.63
Played in 89% of Giada decks. Flying, first strike and lifelink, and your other Angels get +1/+1 and lifelink. - Righteous Valkyrie$1.70
Gains you life whenever another Angel or Cleric enters, and gives your creatures +2/+2 once you are seven life above your starting total. - Youthful Valkyrie$0.17
A two-mana flier that gets a +1/+1 counter for every other Angel that enters. - Herald of War$0.62
Grows every attack, and makes your Angel spells and Human spells cost {1} less for each counter on it. - Starnheim Aspirant$2.65
Makes your Angel spells cost {2} less, which lets you deploy two Angels in a turn.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Emeria, the Sky Ruin$7.48
A Plains-friendly land that returns a creature from your graveyard every upkeep once you control seven Plains. With 32 Plains in the deck, it fits perfectly. - Serra the Benevolent$3.02
A four-mana planeswalker that makes a 4/4 flying, vigilant Angel with her -3. - Flawless Maneuver$7.74
Free if you control your commander, and it saves the team from a wrath.
Calling All Angels has the right Angels. The upgrade is a tighter plan: one fewer sweeper, no cards that draw for opponents, and cheap ways to cash in lifegain, which turn the deck from a pile of Angels into a snowball. These thirteen swaps cost about $29 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Giada, Font of Hope from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Calling All Angels precon?
Using data from 38,714 Giada decks, the highest-scoring additions are Resplendent Angel (for Metallic Mimic), Valkyrie Harbinger (for Angelic Destiny) and Bruna, the Fading Light (for Vanguard Seraph). The full list has 13 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Calling All Angels?
All 13 swaps cost about $29.29 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-27). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Emeria, the Sky Ruin ($7.48), Serra the Benevolent ($3.02) and Flawless Maneuver ($7.74).
What should I cut from Calling All Angels?
The weakest cards for this commander are Search the Premises, Linvala, the Preserver and Metallic Mimic. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Calling All Angels?
Keep Lyra Dawnbringer, Righteous Valkyrie, Youthful Valkyrie, Herald of War and Starnheim Aspirant. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Giada do?
Giada, Font of Hope is a two-mana 2/2 flier with vigilance. Each other Angel you control enters with an additional +1/+1 counter for each Angel you already control, and she taps for {W} that can only be spent on Angel spells. The more Angels you have, the bigger every new one gets.
More Foundations Commander upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Giada, Font of Hope decks (38,714 of them when this was written, 2026-10-27) that play the card. Synergy is how much more often they play it than other decks in the same colours. Oracle score is synergy × 0.6 plus inclusion × 0.4, the same blend The Oracle uses to rank cards for a deck. Lift compares how often the card appears in these decks with how often it could, capped at 8× here; it is shown for context and does not change the score.
Two cautions. Players who run the precon unmodified count as Giada decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is high for several of the adds because they are Angel-specific cards that are rarely played outside Angel decks, so use lift to compare cards, not to judge one in isolation. A card the commander's decks do not usually play counts as 0 in the average score. Prices are the cheapest non-foil paper printing on TCGplayer (via Scryfall), in USD, and move daily.