Ao, the Dawn Sky

$0.36

Ao is a 5/4 flier with vigilance whose real value shows up when it dies. You choose between looking at the top seven cards and putting nonland permanents with total mana value 4 or less onto the battlefield, or putting two +1/+1 counters on each creature and Vehicle you control. The deck fills itself with cheap permanents so the first mode hits often, then adds ways to kill Ao on purpose or bring it back, so every death becomes a free burst of cards.

In the recorded games, the most common shape was midrange with small stax pieces like Torpor Orb, slowing the table while Ao set up value. Nim Deathmantle stood out as the key loop piece, returning Ao after each death so the top-seven trigger could happen again until a combo assembled. Gift of Immortality and Helm of the Host were another route to repeated death triggers. When the loop worked, it won in one long turn. When it didn't, the deck played a slower game of removal and flying attackers. Lines that rely on stacking several death triggers in the right order take practice, and exile removal on Ao stops the engine cold.