Commander Deck Tech: Gisa, the Hellraiser

Attention, outlaws, the Cecani siblings have come to Thunder Junction and left their mark!

Our beloved Gisa and Geralf were recruited by Oko to take part in his latest scheme, but they decided to check out what corpses are like on this new plane on their way. You can check out more about their story in our article covering the lore of Outlaws of Thunder Junction.

In this deck tech, we'll explore the "Commit a Crime" mechanic with Gisa, the Hellraiser as our commander in two deck lists. Our main list is a classic Mono Black Zombie list, and the second is a wonderful Aristocrat deck.

Get your shovel and join us as we have fun with Gisa!

Even though Gisa interacts with death, she naturally protects herself from removals because she has Ward, which is quite nice. Additionally, she buffs Skeletons and Zombies and makes them more "menacing" to your opponents.

Committing Crimes with Gisa!

If you don't know anything about the new mechanics in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, we have a guide that explains everything about them and this set itself.

However, we'll also briefly explain to you right now what is Committing a Crime before we list the cards that will help you commit a crime. This is how our commander will interact most of the time, so it is important to understand it fully.

How do You Commit Crimes?

To sum up, to commit a crime you have to use a spell or ability (activated or triggered) that targets one or more of the following:

- An opponent;

- A spell or ability that one of your opponents controls;

- A permanent that one of your opponent controls;

- A card in one of your opponent's graveyard.

As Gisa creates tokens only once per turn with her triggered ability when you commit a crime, we decided to gather a few options that may help you target something your opponents control on their turn. This way, you'll create 2/2 Zombie Rogues, tapped, on your board.

You can use Animate Dead and Reanimate to get creatures from your opponent's graveyards, and, in case of emergency, you may also get something interesting from your own graveyard.

You can also use Attrition, Cemetery Reaper, Gravespawn Sovereign, Stronghold Assassin, and Withered Wretch on your opponents' turns at instant speed (as along as the creature doesn't have any summoning sickness, of course).

As for Zombie Trailblazer, it can be a "chaotic" piece, considering, with it, you can target a creature your opponent's is using and give it Swampwalk to make it attack another enemy creature. In the best-case scenario, it will help you make an opponent weaker.

Blasting Station deserves a highlight, as it will untap any time a creature enters play. Considering Gisa creates a token when you commit a crime, if you have her on the board, you'll certainly be able to use this artifact quite frequently. But remember: Gisa creates tokens only once per turn, so use the interaction with this artifact wisely.

Besides these spells, Bojuka Bog fits this deck nicely and commits a crime when it exiles a target opponent's graveyard. As for Maze of Ith, it commits a crime by disrupting your opponent's attack, be it to protect you or just frustrate whoever dared to attack.

Removals

“Are removals "committing a crime"?”

If the card in question has the word "target" and can target one of your opponent's cards, the answer is yes!

As a result, a few of the cards below will help you with this, even if you can only use them once.

Draw

A great Mono Black deck knows that life and creatures are resources, even if it is to help you draw more cards. The options we chose for this deck are:

Burn

Is there something more fun than dealing damage to your opponents as you pilot your deck correctly?

Burn is important in Zombie decks, and can be chaotic in any match. So, let's take advantage of its potential with cards like:

Cards like Ayara, First of Locthwain, Blood Artist, and Gray Merchant of Asphodel make your experience even more fun, considering they benefit you with life as you drain it from your opponents.

Tokens

As you can only use your commander's ability to fill the board once per turn, we saved a few spots in this deck for some cards that will help you create even more creatures.

Out of these cards, I'll highlight Wand of Orcus. It tends to annoy any opponent because, besides creating tokens, this equipment also gives Deathtouch to the creature you equip it with and for your Zombies whenever they attack or block with it until the end of the turn.

Evasion

Even with Burn, tokens, and committing crimes, evasion is still an important part of this deck to deal damage to your opponent's life total directly.

If Gisa isn't on the board, Lord of the Accursed will help you make your Zombies more menacing and buff them with +1/+1.

While the first list we covered is more diverse in terms of cards, this list focuses on removals and draining your opponents' lives.

The interaction between cards like Gravecrawler, Pitiless Plunderer, and Carrion Feeder create a combo which, in turn, creates infinite mana for you.

If cards like Blood Artist, Syr Konrad, the Grim, Bastion of Remembrance, Vein Ripper, Zulaport Cutthroat, and Bontu's Monument are on the board during this interaction, you can also drain your opponents' lives.

This list is more challenging to face, and your opponents will certainly not like it one bit.

Gisa, the Hellraiser is an interesting option for anyone who wants to play "for fun". That is, with it, the goal is not being the strongest player on the board, or the most powerful; instead, you'll keep yourself in the game while you take advantage of your board to grow and disrupt your opponents.

As she has Ward, buffs Zombies and Skeletons, and also fills the board, Gisa is very versatile and can adapt to multiple decks. How important it is to have her on the board will be up to each player.

She is also an incredibly charismatic player and has a legion of fans that, undoubtedly, will enjoy playing her as their commander or as one of the other 99 cards in a deck that focuses on Zombies and Skeletons.

Oh, and let's not forget: even if her ability only creates tokens once per turn, Magic: The Gathering has enough Aristocrat cards to help players who enjoy playing combos in their decks.

This only reinforces the point I discussed before: this commander is interesting enough to be in multiple decks, and let you add any personality to your list without completely derailing it.

Sure, we brought two different lists to inspire you, but Gisa, the Hellraiser deserves more experimenting with, so you should explore other builds with her, as creative as you can think.

Did you like this commander? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below!

See you next time!