Maha, Its Feathers Night makes opposing creatures much easier to kill by setting their base toughness to one. A small amount of damage or a toughness-reducing effect can then remove creatures that would ordinarily survive. Flying, trample, and ward also give Maha a substantial role as a threat rather than merely a support enchantment on a body.
Night of Souls' Betrayal supplies a particularly strong interaction: its toughness reduction can bring creatures with base toughness one down to zero. Counters and other toughness bonuses still matter, so not every creature automatically dies in every board state. The setting of base toughness is only one part of the final toughness calculation.
Repeated damage effects become more effective as well. A modest damage source that previously handled only small utility creatures may now threaten much larger attackers. Black control decks can use that shift to keep the board manageable while Maha attacks in the air. The ability affects opponents' creatures, allowing your own board to retain its normal base toughness.
Ward asks opponents to discard a card when targeting Maha with a spell or ability, but it does not prevent removal outright. They can pay, and untargeted answers avoid ward. Protecting Maha matters because the toughness-setting effect disappears when it leaves. Build with useful removal even without the commander, then let Maha improve that package. That gives the deck a working control plan instead of making every answer depend on one five-mana creature surviving.
