Another non-budget entry into my EDH/Commander lists. All I wanted to do was make a Gonti deck. So how did I get a Jeskai flying deck?!? I'm not sure, but this list was made with "Fair Magic" and interesting themes in mind. It was almost Jeskai Dragons, but it didn't make enough sense with the Commanders. Also, I know Ishai and Kraum may seem weird for a flying deck, but they are solid Jeskai fliers with interesting ways to somewhat capitalize throughout the game. Plus, I didn't think Numot was a strong enough Commander. So, with all this in mind, enjoy!
All of your life, you have lived safely in the skies above. You have lived peacefully above the land dwellers, ignorant to the troubles below. You have watched their attempts at the flight, giggling as the fall back to the ground below. For years, it's always been you watching and admiring the world on land while enjoying life in the clouds. One day, however, a series of unfortunate events took it all away. The ground-dwellers created a monster. A disgusting horror that took to the skies and went on a rampage. It destroyed your home, killed your people, and nearly cost you your life. However, in the horrors of the moment, you found yourself gone in a flash of light. You would awake surrounded by strange people in robes, nuturing you to health. Their leader, Ishai, a bird that spoke and acted like a human, gave you shelter, and tried to teach you their ways. Over the next few years, you would discover your nature as a Planeswalker and understand your powers and abilities. As you became more powerful, Ishai agreed to follow you on your journey home to face the monster that took away all you loved. As you returned, the wretched abomination still tormented the skies, it's reign as a twisted tyrant unopposed. You and Ishai did battle with the creature, and eventually brought it down. Within the last moments of battle, you almost struck it down, but Ishai's teachings called to you. So, you turned your enemy into ally, then with Ishai and the creature made a vow: You would take the battle to the creature's creators, showing the ground-dwellers that the skies will not be taken.
As a whole, the deck you possess will be all about flying creatures. Your entire plan revolves on dominating the battlefield from above. Creatures like Warden of Evos Isle and Thunderclap Wyvern are vital to your forces, supporting all creatures in your deck while also helping press the aerial offensive. Other creatures, like Archangel Avacyn and Stormbreath Dragon, bring powerful abilities to the assault. While your creatures may not be the biggest creatures in the Commander format, having the flying ability allows you to soar over your opponents big threats and right at their life totals.
In order to help your flying forces hit even harder, there are a few strong enchantments to help strengthen your creatures further. Gravitational Shift boosts all flying creatures by +2/+0 and reduces all nonflying creatures by -2/-0, a huge advantage against creatures with reach that can tear down your creatures. Favorable Winds gives you a more one-sided boost, granting +1/+1 to all of your creatures. Combined with Gravitational Shift, you can assemble a nice +3/+1 boost for your creatures, and since a large number of your flying creatures have at least 2 or more power, that means each can swing for at least 5 every time, and it only takes eight of them to take down an opponent. Dragon Tempest grants your flying creatures Haste when they enter the battlefield, which quickens the pace of the game letting creatures like Steel Hellkite start punishing their creatures if they hit that opponent. Along with these enchantments, your deck features so strong cards to keep the board in order, like Disallow shutting down any spell or ability, (that isn't a mana ability) Kirtar's Wrath destroys all creatures with the added benefit or restocking your flying creatures by adding two 1/1 flying spirits to the field afterward if you have seven cards in your graveyard, and Cyclonic Rift can clear the opponents boards at instant speed, which can turn any game around in a second.
Your commanders are also incredible ways to pressure your opponents at almost every turn. Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker gets a +1/+1 counter every time an opponent plays a spell, so from turn four and onward you can start building towards an enormous aerial beater just by opponents playing the game. To make matters even worse, Kraum, Ludevic's Opus lets you draw a card every time your opponents cast their second spell per turn. This may be avoided by your opponents not playing two spells per turn, but if your opponents spend each turn playing one spell, it opens the opportunity to let you cast more spells and overwhelm your opponents, forcing them to eventually give you the cards. Overall, your deck is a simplistic deck focused on aggressive tactics. The skies are yours, it's only a matter of taking them and the land below.