Need Some Help Brewing. I'm Stumped.
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Aug. 11, 2020, 9:53 a.m. by TheGenericSchlub
I love to build silly theme decks in Commander. I sit down, choose a Commander and an archetype, and try to build a deck that's somewhere between a 5 and a 7 on the 1-10 power scale (no infinite combos, nothing unfair. I intentionally power down my deck to be good, but fun to play against) with a set of arbitrary theme rules (like, only Cat creature cards, or use as many original frame cards as possible).
The current silly theme I have chosen is: Build a deck for each of Avacyn's Lieutenants. There are two versions of each of the three Lieutenants and I chose these three: Sigarda, Heron's Grace, Bruna, Light of Alabaster, and Gisela, Blade of Goldnight. The Sigarda deck was extremely easy (Human Tribal, using as many Innistrad and Return to Innistrad cards as possible) and the Bruna deck that I just started building is even easier (enchantments matter).
The only one I'm having a hard time with is Gisela. I'm completely stumped. I've tried Tron, and burn isn't viable in Commander. Anybody got any archetypes or cards that work well with Gisela, Blade of Goldnight?
You can go with a "Group Slug" theme. Group Slug uses cards that hurt everyone on the field--Burning Earth, Manabarbs, Spellshock, etc.--with some mechanism to ensure you are the last one standing (like Gisela's one-sided damage doubling). Throw in some classic Red/White Stax pieces like Stranglehold, Blood Moon, Aura of Silence, and Aven Mindcensor, alongside some other damage doublers like Furnace of Rath, and you have yourself a deck.
August 11, 2020 10:17 a.m.
It took a while to tune but I had fun building Legendary tribal for Gisela. As many legendary cards as possible in a single deck, even if they aren't optimal like Kher Keep and Shivan Gorge
It could also be fun to build an indirect double damage deck. Things like Heartless Hidetsugu and Firey Emancipation, with some support like Ghostly Prison, Leyline of Sanctity, Crawlspace, to keep you from being attacked
August 11, 2020 10:23 a.m.
SynergyBuild says... #5
Go for a list that is fun to play. Personally I'd recommend a lands matter deck that runs ways of converting cards into lands and lands into cards. Think a mix of effects like Waterlogged Grove, The Gitrog Monster, etc. Which make you never flood to hard because you can convert those lands into cards (Tatyova, cycling lands, etc. all do the same) as well as numerous effects like land cycling, Cultivate, etc. to never mana screw.
By making your deck never mana flood or screw, it becomes way more fun in more games, and you can focus on your goal, rather than just getting to play. Obviously a lot of cantrips can help too, and tutors can as well, but for casual-semi-competitive lists, this is what I recommend.
Finally, making a wincon that is really cool, yet fast to explain is a good way to make other players interested. Luminarch Ascension does this. So does Helix Pinnacle, so does Insurrection basically, cards that change the battlefield in a massive way, from making your opponents attack you unless they want you to have an army of angels to just slamming every creature on the field wherever you want, to sidestepping everything your opponents were doing at all.
People like knowing how they lose before it happens, big infinite mana dumps into Exsanguinates or combos just often hit randomly, when you get all the pieces.
Also, I'd recommend running your two least favorite colors and your favorite color together, it brings out the brewer in a lot of my friends, I'd recommend it!
August 11, 2020 10:35 a.m.
TheGenericSchlub says... #6
SynergyBuild That sounds super fun, but I'm stuck in Boros because Gisela has to be my Commander. I also have to do everything with instants, sorceries, enchantments, and humans/Angels because of the theme rules I set for this self-challenge.
August 11, 2020 10:57 a.m.
EleshNornsFs says... #7
I mean...you could always try double strike tribal for kicks and giggles.
August 11, 2020 11:03 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #8
Damage doublers and Earthquake effects is the traditional go to for Gisela.
August 11, 2020 11:06 a.m.
TheGenericSchlub says... #9
I just figured out exactly what I want to do with this deck while looking through my multi colored rares.
I want my deck to run like the card Firemane Avenger. Agro that deals direct damage and gains me life. Also, I want to use the Heroic mechanic as a sub theme. Any good cards in red and white that would work for this deck?
August 11, 2020 11:08 a.m.
TheGenericSchlub says... #10
Within my theme rules of only humans and angels, of course.
August 11, 2020 11:10 a.m.
EleshNornsFs says... #11
Besides Firemane avenger, the only one that comes to mind right now is Bomber Corps.
August 11, 2020 11:14 a.m.
seshiro_of_the_orochi says... #12
Maybe make it "Gisela Double Tribal"? There are plenty of cards in red and even some in white that double things (i.e. combat phases, damage, life totals etc.). Combining this with damage prevention such as Tajic, Legion's Edge could be pretty cool. And once you've got a double striking 5/5 commander that deals quadruple damage in two or more combats, winning in a Voltron way seems easy.
August 11, 2020 12:38 p.m.
I like the group slug in combination with a pillowfort idea. Gisela's wording offers a pretty unique opportunity. Triggered effects that would deal 1 damage to you while she is on the board deal no damage to you instead, but double damage to opponents. Manabarbs, AEther Sting, Battle Strain, Burning Earth, Heat of Battle, Rampaging Ferocidon, City of Brass, Talisman of Conviction, Battlefield Forge are all cards that would have their negative effect negated if Gisela is on the field, while opponents would suffer more.
Ankh of Mishra, Psychogenic Probe, Eidolon of the Great Revel, Pyrostatic Pillar, Repercussion, Spellshock, Zo-Zu the Punisher would all be cards that have their negative effects mitigated with Gisela out and opponents would suffer a lot more.
You could complement this game plan with pieces like War's Toll, Caltrops, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Aura of Silence, Glowrider, Sphere of Resistance, Thorn of Amethyst, Vryn Wingmare, Ghostly Prison, Windborn Muse to tax and slow them down while all the slug effects eat away at life totals.
I feel like there's quite a bit of space to be explored in this niche for Gisela.
August 11, 2020 2:21 p.m. Edited.
Why not focus or what Boros does best double strike, first strike, flying and you can even sprinkle trample in there from red then focus on extra combat turns.
Other option is Angel tribal there are 3 mon red angles and 10 other Boros angels and the rest would be white
August 11, 2020 2:26 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #15
Gisela + Warstorm Surge effects has always been my favourite. A bit clunky and expensive though.
August 11, 2020 2:58 p.m.
EleshNornsFs says... #16
Pandemonium is a better alternative to Warstorm Surge due to the fact that you won't take as much damage with Gisela.
August 11, 2020 4:11 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #17
@EleshNornsFs why not both? I’d run Terror of the Peaks too if not for the humans and angels restriction.
August 11, 2020 5:31 p.m.
I didnt see if anyone pointed this out yet. Just in case no one mentioned this yet, what about the Sunforger engine/toolbox in the deck? It's very boros, very powerful and will give you repeatable burn and lifegain if you put the engine in with support for it. A basic recap is:
Load the deck with quality instants you can tutor with Sunforger. Add in equipment tutors to find the sunforger. Then add a recursion engine with cards like Reito Lantern to put the instants back in your library after you cast them. You can, for example, then do stuff like cast any of these once per turn if you wanted: Comeuppance, Settle the Wreckage, Warleader's Helix or Radiating Lightning. Or any other instants as long as they are cmc 4 or less and white or red.
August 11, 2020 9:28 p.m.
Damage prevention/reduction with Holy Day and Avacyn, Guardian Angel and Hedron-Field Purists
August 11, 2020 9:34 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #20
Oooh. I’d run Feather, the Redeemed as well with that Sunforger deck MagicMarc is talking about.
This could also work all in conjunction with a double strike tribal that other people have suggested too. I like this idea.
August 11, 2020 10:55 p.m. Edited.
TheGenericSchlub says... #21
I'm definitely doing double strike tribal with multiple damage doublers. A 1/1 lifelinker can easily cause a 32 point life swing in my current test build for the deck. I just need to figure out how to make my enchantments indestructible.
August 12, 2020 10:25 a.m.
TheGenericSchlub says... #22
Also, this deck makes a ton of tokens that I can give lifelink extremely easily. It's a Johnny strategy though, so it keeps the power level down.
August 12, 2020 10:28 a.m.
TheGenericSchlub says... #23
Also, Manabarbs works well with Gisela. I'll take no damage, but everyone else will take two. Four, if I have another damage doubler out. Eight if I have two besides Gisela.
August 12, 2020 10:48 a.m.
EleshNornsFs says... #24
My default for indestructible of any kind in Boros angels is the obvious Avacyn, Angel of Hope.
August 12, 2020 10:50 a.m.
TheGenericSchlub says... #25
It's a good thing that Boon Reflection was just reprinted because Alhammarret's Archive is out of my budget. I'll definitely buy a copy if the price drops though, because it stacks with Reflection to quadruple my life gains.
August 12, 2020 10:54 a.m.
TheGenericSchlub says... #26
Avacyn, Angel of Hope is also out of budget for me, otherwise I'd include her. I'm also thinking about running the Circles for one sided damage prevention.
August 12, 2020 10:56 a.m.
Iroas, God of Victory use him he is down to $8-$9 dollars and gives menace to all your creatures and goes with your theme
TheGenericSchlub says... #2
DeinoStinkus The problem with that is that tokens and knights/soldiers/angel is a sub tribal in the Sigarda deck. I've kinda painted myself into a corner here because one of the arbitrary rules that I set for myself is that each deck has to feel distinctive and play differently. The other rule is that I can only run Humans and Angels in each deck.
So I can't use tribal/tokens or enchantments as the main theme with Gisela (although I am going to run a copy of Assemble the Legion.
Is there any way to make Life Gain/Burn actually viable?
August 11, 2020 10:12 a.m.