I keep reading in several forums/threads that this is a "combo" for infinite zombies and mana. I don't get it. Let us assume you start with at least one 2/2 zombie. You sacrifice it to make two 2/2 zombies with Ghoulcaller Gisa's ability. When the token dies, you trigger Thornbite Staff's untap ability. you resolve the untap first, get two 2/2 zombies and that's it. You can sarfice one to Phyrexian Altar which will trigger the staff again before you get the B mana. Assume you let that resolve with or without using gisa again it doesn't matter. Now you have a new B mana in your pool, an an untapped Gisa, and a 2/2 zombie. you are right back where you started. You can repeat this as ofte as you want, but until you have something like Bad Moon in play to make the tokes 3/3 zombies, You don't net anything. Am I missing something?
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"Whatever style you wish to play, be it fast and frenzied or slow and tactical, the surest way to defeat your opponent consistently is by dominating him or her in the war of card advantage." - Brian Wiseman, April 1996
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
You can sarfice one to Phyrexian Altar which will trigger the staff again before you get the B mana.
It's late and I haven't really thought it through but when you sacrifice the zombie you should get the mana before the untap since it's a mana ability and doesn't use the stack. It simply puts the mana into your mana pool.
Doesn't really matter here though since you need to sac one zombie for mana and one to the ability so unles yuo got a pump or ETB or ETB/LTB-effects nothing really happens apart form letting you ping something for each black mana you have availible.
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Obviously, not all of these are great, but this list isn't exhaustive at all either.
The idea is that you'd build a deck based around sacrificing creatures for extra effect. That's what Gisa loves, anyways. You don't go straight for the combo at all. You run recursion, sacrificial creatures, interesting interactions when creatures enter/die, and so on. Possibly a zombie theme if you want. Run some things that'll help you draw, like Skullclamp, tutors that you'd want anyways, etc, and then it's just two card slots that you use (that are useful for the deck anyways) that can make you go infinite.
Thanks for all the replies. HugSeal is right about the mana ability not using the stack. I am trying to improve the SWORN TO DARKNESS deck and my first step was to change the Commander to Gisa. I don't realy want (nor do I have the resources) to go Zombie tribal. I want to go mono black good stuff and in looking for ideas, I kept reading about this as a combo, and it didn't feel like a complete combo. Well, it isn't. There are a lot of ways to complete it though. Thanks to Feyd_Ruin for your reply as well.
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You could use something like Bad Moon or Lord of the Undead or Muraganda Petroglyphs or Intangible Virtue or Parallel Lives or Cathars' Crusade or Sorin, Lord of Innistrad or even classic Glorious Anthem to make it work. Or just exploit death/ETB triggers.
On phasing:
It's late and I haven't really thought it through but when you sacrifice the zombie you should get the mana before the untap since it's a mana ability and doesn't use the stack. It simply puts the mana into your mana pool.
Doesn't really matter here though since you need to sac one zombie for mana and one to the ability so unles yuo got a pump or ETB or ETB/LTB-effects nothing really happens apart form letting you ping something for each black mana you have availible.
Did I write something useful? Leave a like.
Any new cool Daretti cards printed in the latest set? Tell me about it!
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-Commander-
UBGMill, Sidisi, and Other ShenanigansGBU
WUBRGShingeki no TazriGRBUW
However, combined with one of many different other cards, they create infinite possibilities.
Infinite Drain
Falkenrath Noble
Blood Artist
Vengeful Dead
Infinite Damage-Growth
Blade of the Bloodchief
Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
Sadistic Glee
Scavenger Drake
Swarm of Bloodflies
Gristle Grinner
..there's more, just examples
Infinite Tokens
Illusionist's Bracers
Adaptive Automaton
Ascendant Evincar
Bad Moon
Caged Sun
Cemetery Reaper
Death Baron
Gauntlet of Power
..this list goes on and on
Single Card Infinites
Infinite Life: Deathgreeter
Alternate Win: Bitter Ordeal
Obviously, not all of these are great, but this list isn't exhaustive at all either.
The idea is that you'd build a deck based around sacrificing creatures for extra effect. That's what Gisa loves, anyways. You don't go straight for the combo at all. You run recursion, sacrificial creatures, interesting interactions when creatures enter/die, and so on. Possibly a zombie theme if you want. Run some things that'll help you draw, like Skullclamp, tutors that you'd want anyways, etc, and then it's just two card slots that you use (that are useful for the deck anyways) that can make you go infinite.
No longer staff here.