Hello, all! From the moment I laid my eyes upon the glory of Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, I was in love. The card does everything I want in a boros-colored angel, and at an expensive-but-totally-reasonable 7 CMC! She has certainly earned her high cost. Anyway, let's get right to the deck, listed by card type alphabetically (except for including lands):
Well, there it is. The list isn't overly surprising or exciting, it just has all the aggro/Voltrony goodness that I want in a Boros list. While it's primarily a Voltron list, that doesn't mean Gisela is the only means of victory. Given the density of equipment in the deck, essentially any of my creatures can become a relevant threat if needed. The Sunforger package is insanely strong with several answers to search for, as always bolstered by plenty of equipment search (I'm seriously considering the addition of Steelshaper's Gift as well, for even further redundancy). I'll probably update with a card-by-card breakdown sometime in the near future. The deck has a few areas I'd like to work on, such as its low creature count (which I'm not entirely convinced is necessarily a problem, since Gisela herself most often closes things for me) and perhaps certain sub-optimal or ill-fitting choices. Then again, that's where playtesting comes in. I've only actually been able to play this list in-person on two separate gaming nights, and so far its win/loss ratio is about 1:4, though that doesn't really mean much given the small sample size.
Still, I'm really dedicated to making Gisela work, so I fully expect this list to evolve somewhat over time. Oh, and a shout-out to ChimericPisces for building the most flavorful Gisela list(s) I've ever seen; I was able to pick up quite a few useful tidbits from his excellent primer thread.
Slayers' Stronghold should probably be in here as another land that can grant haste to Gisela. In addition, it makes her kill in two hits rather than three, essentially making your general kill two turns faster.
I'm seriously considering the addition of Steelshaper's Gift as well, for even further redundancy).
Given that you've taken the Voltron/aggro route, I think that Gift is an auto-include. Perhaps you could drop Savage Beating or Aggravated Assault to make room? By the way, what's your rationale for not including Insurrection?
Then again, that's where playtesting comes in. I've only actually been able to play this list in-person on two separate gaming nights, and so far its win/loss ratio is about 1:4, though that doesn't really mean much given the small sample size.
Still, I'm really dedicated to making Gisela work, so I fully expect this list to evolve somewhat over time. Oh, and a shout-out to ChimericPisces for building the most flavorful Gisela list(s) I've ever seen; I was able to pick up quite a few useful tidbits from his excellent primer thread.
Slayers' Stronghold should probably be in here as another land that can grant haste to Gisela. In addition, it makes her kill in two hits rather than three, essentially making your general kill two turns faster.
I run the Stronghold myself, however, Kenji is already running almost 10 lands that don't provide access to colored mana. On another note, with the number of fetches he's got, Crucible of Worlds is worth consideration.
Kenji, I love that you run as many mana sources as you do. I learned the hard way that our decks don't take kindly to missed land drops. I got overconfident based on several games where I had Land Tax to rely on, but I've since learned the error of my ways and upped my land counts to at least 36.
I look forward to our decks' evolution!
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There are no divisions: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:28
Check the OP for a newly revamped list! I haven't actually tried out this version of the deck in my playgroup yet, but I'm hoping it works out well. Here's a rundown of some of the more "iffy" choices:
- Radiate: I know, I know. It seems really situational, and rarely is it going to do anything super explosive. However, I've heard really good things about this card, and I'm excited to see what it can do for me. The fact that I can copy something I've fetched up via Sunforger is certainly relevant, as well.
- Oblation: Technically, I shouldn't have to defend this, but I will just because. Oblation is a great political tool, and being able to tutor for it via Sunforger is really good. In a pinch, I can use it as an emergency draw spell by tucking one of my own permanents, or "save" something that is being targeted for destruction. Pretty solid, I think.
Actually, those are the only ones that need mention, after checking my list again. If you have individual questions about any card choices here, feel free to ask.
Oh, and Chimeric, I never answered your question about Insurrection before. Primarily, the reason it's not in here is because I don't have any extras on-hand. I suppose it's also the fact that lethal creature swarms in my playgroup tend to come with haste, which makes Insurrection quite slow - my contingency plan for dealing with "hasty death" is including Starstorm and Rout in this iteration of the deck. Here's hoping it works!
Spazz: Gah, this deck was lying dormant for too long. After all this time, I still don't have a copy of Gratuitous Violence, somehow! Clearly, it's a savage card and I need to get one in here soon.
EDH RW Gisela Beat and Burn WR BW Ghost Council ShenanigansWB BUG Mimeoplasm meets PrototypeGUB BR 30 Nights of OliviaRB [Out of order] BU Dr. Hannibal Grimgrin UB
Standard RWHumansWR RGWerewolvesGR RWG Naya WerewolvesGWR
"Stop asking what when the delicious question is when. Lives, lived, will live."- Rosalind & Robert Lutece
Check the OP for a newly revamped list! I haven't actually tried out this version of the deck in my playgroup yet, but I'm hoping it works out well.
Actually, those are the only ones that need mention, after checking my list again. If you have individual questions about any card choices here, feel free to ask.
Am I to assume there's no/few blue mages in your meta?
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There are no divisions: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:28
Funny story -- I was once primarily a blue player! Actually, there are a couple of players in the group that use blue in one or more of their decks, but I wouldn't call it a blue-heavy metagame.
Or maybe I'm wrong about that... Earlier tonight, one game consisted of my opponents running Riku, Mimeoplasm, and Sakashima. That one was a bit of a nightmare. :/
I really like the looks of this deck! I might have to try it out. I'm nearly finished putting together my deck built around merieke ri berit it's a control creature stealing deck but yours looks really fun.
Hello, all! From the moment I laid my eyes upon the glory of Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, I was in love. The card does everything I want in a boros-colored angel, and at an expensive-but-totally-reasonable 7 CMC! She has certainly earned her high cost. Anyway, let's get right to the deck, listed by card type alphabetically (
except forincluding lands):01 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Creatures
02 Academy Rector
03 Anger
04 Goblin Welder
05 Godo, Bandit Warlord
06 Hoard-Smelter Dragon
07 Hoarding Dragon
08 Leonin Shikari
09 Puresteel Paladin
10 Solemn Simulacrum
11 Squee, Gobin Nabob
12 Stoneforge Mystic
13 Stonehewer Giant
14 Sun Titan
15 Weathered Wayfarer
Enchantments
16 Aura of Silence
17 Land Tax
18 Manabarbs
19 Oblivion Ring
20 Pyrohemia
21 Stranglehold
22 True Conviction
Artifacts - Equipment
23 Champion's Helm
24 Darksteel Plate
25 Lightning Greaves
26 Loxodon Warhammer
27 Skullclamp
28 Sunforger
29 Swiftfoot Boots
30 Sword of Feast and Famine
31 Sword of Fire and Ice
32 Boros Signet
33 Coalition Relic
34 Coldsteel Heart
35 Darksteel Ingot
36 Expedition Map
37 Mind's Eye
38 Mind Stone
39 Scroll Rack
40 Sensei's Divining Top
41 Sol Ring
42 Thran Dynamo
43 Wayfarer's Bauble
Sorcery
44 Austere Command
45 Boom // Bust
46 Cataclysm
47 Catastrophe
48 Hallowed Burial
49 Incendiary Command
50 Rout
51 Steelshaper's Gift
52 Wrath of God
Instant
53 Chaos Warp
54 Enlightened Tutor
55 Ghostway
56 Oblation
57 Path to Exile
58 Radiate
59 Return to Dust
60 Shattering Pulse
61 Starstorm
62 Swords to Plowshares
63 Tithe
64 Wild Ricochet
65 Ancient Tomb
66 Arid Mesa
67 Command Tower
68 Flooded Strand
69 Hall of the Bandit Lord
70 Kher Keep
71 Kor Haven
72 Marsh Flats
73 Miren, the Moaning Well
74 Mistveil Plains
82-91 Plains
92 Rugged Prairie
93 Sacred Foundry
94 Scalding Tarn
95 Slayers' Stronghold
96 Spinerock Knoll
97 Strip Mine
98 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
99 Temple of the False God
100 Vesuva
Well, there it is. The list isn't overly surprising or exciting, it just has all the aggro/Voltrony goodness that I want in a Boros list. While it's primarily a Voltron list, that doesn't mean Gisela is the only means of victory. Given the density of equipment in the deck, essentially any of my creatures can become a relevant threat if needed. The Sunforger package is insanely strong with several answers to search for, as always bolstered by plenty of equipment search (I'm seriously considering the addition of Steelshaper's Gift as well, for even further redundancy). I'll probably update with a card-by-card breakdown sometime in the near future. The deck has a few areas I'd like to work on, such as its low creature count (which I'm not entirely convinced is necessarily a problem, since Gisela herself most often closes things for me) and perhaps certain sub-optimal or ill-fitting choices. Then again, that's where playtesting comes in. I've only actually been able to play this list in-person on two separate gaming nights, and so far its win/loss ratio is about 1:4, though that doesn't really mean much given the small sample size.
Still, I'm really dedicated to making Gisela work, so I fully expect this list to evolve somewhat over time. Oh, and a shout-out to ChimericPisces for building the most flavorful Gisela list(s) I've ever seen; I was able to pick up quite a few useful tidbits from his excellent primer thread.
Commander/EDH Decks:
BRG The Blood of Jund - Kresh the Bloodbraided BRG
WR The Blades of Goldnight - Gisela, Blade of Goldnight WR
GUB [Retired Primer] The Mimeoplasm BUG
Modern: UR Storm RU
Cube: WUBRG Pauper Cube GRBUW
Credit for the banner goes to DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
I have the same screen name there, too!
Thanks for the love, Kenji!
I run the Stronghold myself, however, Kenji is already running almost 10 lands that don't provide access to colored mana. On another note, with the number of fetches he's got, Crucible of Worlds is worth consideration.
Kenji, I love that you run as many mana sources as you do. I learned the hard way that our decks don't take kindly to missed land drops. I got overconfident based on several games where I had Land Tax to rely on, but I've since learned the error of my ways and upped my land counts to at least 36.
I look forward to our decks' evolution!
- Radiate: I know, I know. It seems really situational, and rarely is it going to do anything super explosive. However, I've heard really good things about this card, and I'm excited to see what it can do for me. The fact that I can copy something I've fetched up via Sunforger is certainly relevant, as well.
- Oblation: Technically, I shouldn't have to defend this, but I will just because. Oblation is a great political tool, and being able to tutor for it via Sunforger is really good. In a pinch, I can use it as an emergency draw spell by tucking one of my own permanents, or "save" something that is being targeted for destruction. Pretty solid, I think.
Actually, those are the only ones that need mention, after checking my list again. If you have individual questions about any card choices here, feel free to ask.
Oh, and Chimeric, I never answered your question about Insurrection before. Primarily, the reason it's not in here is because I don't have any extras on-hand. I suppose it's also the fact that lethal creature swarms in my playgroup tend to come with haste, which makes Insurrection quite slow - my contingency plan for dealing with "hasty death" is including Starstorm and Rout in this iteration of the deck. Here's hoping it works!
Spazz: Gah, this deck was lying dormant for too long. After all this time, I still don't have a copy of Gratuitous Violence, somehow! Clearly, it's a savage card and I need to get one in here soon.
Commander/EDH Decks:
BRG The Blood of Jund - Kresh the Bloodbraided BRG
WR The Blades of Goldnight - Gisela, Blade of Goldnight WR
EDH
RW Gisela Beat and Burn WR
BW Ghost Council ShenanigansWB
BUG Mimeoplasm meets PrototypeGUB
BR 30 Nights of OliviaRB[Out of order]BU Dr. Hannibal Grimgrin UB
Standard
RWHumansWRRGWerewolvesGR
RWG Naya WerewolvesGWR
"Stop asking what when the delicious question is when. Lives, lived, will live."- Rosalind & Robert Lutece
Or maybe I'm wrong about that... Earlier tonight, one game consisted of my opponents running Riku, Mimeoplasm, and Sakashima. That one was a bit of a nightmare. :/
Commander/EDH Decks:
BRG The Blood of Jund - Kresh the Bloodbraided BRG
WR The Blades of Goldnight - Gisela, Blade of Goldnight WR
Arahbo, Kitty Kat Beatdown Decklist
Mizzix of the Izmagnus Decklist
Breya, Etherium Shaper
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow Decklist
My Current Set Cube Lists:
Kamigawa Re-Experience
Ravnica, City of Guilds Re-Experience
Alara Re-Experience
Mono Red's Strengths and Mono White's Strengths