Fancy new cards may shine for a bit, but the classics will always endure. Magic: the Gathering’s newest set – Commander Masters – reprints popular cards for the fan-favourite Commander format, and is out on 4th August. Thanks to Wizards of the Coast, we’re happy to reveal one of the reprints – the rare Ghoulcaller Gisa!
As a Legendary Creature, Ghoulcaller Gisa is already all set to take on the Commander role. Her 3/4 Power/Toughness stats are decent for 5 mana, but short of being powerful. It’s her activated ability that is going to disturb the undead:
Pay 1 black mana, tap, and sacrifice another creature: Create X 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens, where X is the sacrificed creature’s power.
We like the fact that you can easily get 2 or more new Zombies just by sacrificing 1 of them. Sacrificing a 3/1 or 4/1 creature would be delicious brain juice for any Gisa player, since you’ll be getting 3 or 4 Zombies for the price of 1 Creature.
That very ability makes Ghoulcaller Gisa a prime candidate for infinite combos. Let’s run through how one such combo works, leading to infinite 2/2 Zombies, and also infinite triggers for entering and leaving the Battlefield.
Infinite Combo with Ghoulcaller Gisa:
Cards needed: Ghoulcaller Gisa, Thornbite Staff, Gravecrawler, and Phyrexian Altar.
Step 1: Have all 4 cards on the Battlefield.
Step 2: Equip Thornbite Staff to Ghoulcaller Gisa
Step 3: Sacrifice Gravecrawler to Ghoulcaller Gisa’s ability, giving you 2, 2/2 Zombies.
Step 4: Sacrifice 1 of the new Zombies to Phyrexian Altar, generating 1 black Mana. Ghoulcaller Gisa will untap because of Thornbite Staff.
Step 5: Recast Gravecrawler with that black Mana, and repeat Step 3 to 5!
Sure, this takes 4 cards to pull off, so some luck is required to either draw these cards in a Commander game. However, it’s simple, straightforward, and the payoff is huge. You’ll find that Thornbite Staff and Phyrexian Altar go hand-in-hand for many other combos too, so keep those cards handy for your other decks.
End Step
As Ghoulcaller Gisa has seen 2 other reprints fairly recently (2020 and 2021), she might not be the card players were hoping to see reprinted. This Commander Masters edition will almost certainly bring the card value down, possibly to less than $1. This further strengthens the theory that reprints reduce card prices, even for the best cards out there.
Nevertheless, Ghoulcaller Gisa is one of the better Commanders out there, especially for black or Zombie lovers. Get the shovel, and start digging!
Ted Chen is the founder of Tap & Sac, a website with a dream of making Magic: the Gathering more accessible and inclusive to a whole generation of new players. It offers learning guides for beginners, all the way to advanced videos for seasoned spellcasters. Everyone can have fun in the gathering!
