Having read the books from the first Mirrodin
block, this turn of events deeply saddens me.
But as a player, this version of Glissa seems
pretty neat. I like how she still has first
strike, but has gained a second, black-aligned
ability, even though first strike is arguably
more black than green and deathtouch shows up in
green almost more often than black. But
seriously, first strike and deathtouch on the
same creature? That combo is like trample and
deathtouch-- it's so overpowered that I always
figured that they'd never print a creature with
both, and that we'd always be left to assemble
the combo via Equipment or Auras. To survive a
tango with this princess of the forest, you
pretty much need to be indestructible-- or
Engulfing Slagwurm.
But that's not all--whenever Glissa kills an
opposing creature, or whenever any creature
"over there" goes to the graveyard for any
reason, you get to bring an artifact card in
your graveyard back to your hand. Remember
Executioner's Capsule? There's a two-card combo
that lets you kill as many creatures as you want
for 1BB apiece. How about Horizon Spellbomb?
Every creature you kill lets you fetch another
land, and draw another card if you want. The
only weakness to this recursion strategy is that
it requires your opponent to have creatures on
the table, and some control decks have so few
that Glissa might trigger once in a 3-game
match. Definitely a strong addition to any black
and green deck that runs artifacts, but perhaps
relying too heavily on her is a mistake.
I'm curious how long Scars of Mirrodin takes
place after the original Mirrodin block - Glissa
doesn't look a day older! Sitting in the colors
which the first set of the block established as
the main ones for poison but lacking the infect
ability, she doesn't naturally fit in that deck
type, but her second ability basically demands a
deck built for it. Alternatively, you could
ignore it and just ask her to kill things. I
never thought I'd see a creature with first
strike and deathtouch, much less who was
partially green. And with many aggressive decks
now using either Darksteel Axes or mythic
swords, her second ability might end up being
relevant occasionally after all. Definitely a
card with potential.
Magic The Gathering Card of The Day: Glissa,
The Traitor
Welcome back readers to another week of Mirrodin
Besieged cards, today's card of the day is a
twisted version of Glissa once a hero from
Mirrodin. Three mana for a 3/3 creature
with first strike and deathtouch is pretty solid
the mana cost may be tricky. In standard it
could see play as an early beater in some sort
of aggressive g/b black deck although im unsure
of how possible it is for a non infect g/b aggro
deck. The ability to revive artifacts from your
graveyard can be powerful with Ratchet bomb and
things like Perilious Myr. In extended and
eternal the power of artifacts increases you can
regrow Engineered Explosives it may see play its
a solid card. In casual and multiplayer this is
a new and interesting general for Elder Dragon
Highlander or Commander and it will see
extensive play as such. In limited its a solid
creature for green/black decks as it has
deathtouch and first strike it may also be worth
a little cash. Overall a powerful new general
for EDH and a card that provides interesting
interactions.
Today's card of the day is Glissa, the Traitor
which is a three mana Green and Black 3/3 zombie
and elfwith First Strike and Death Touch.
Aside from the somewhat demanding casting cost
this is already a solid creature, but the effect
of returning an artifact from your graveyard to
your hand whenever an opponent's creature is
sent to the graveyard adds quite a bit of
potential. Cards like Memnite work
amazingly well with this as do any low cost
sacrifice effects like Ratchet Bomb.
Overall a card to watch for despite the less
commonly played pairing of colors and both types
have plenty of support.
For Limited the mana cost is an issue, but this
is still a very powerful card in the format.
Drafting it first in Booster is a bit of a
gamble, but worth it and can be supported with
later picks. In Sealed it depends entirely
on your pool of Green and to a lesser degree
Black cards. Any available color fixing is
worth using to get this into play earlier as it
may not reach the battlefield until later in the
game with a bad draw. Even with the
difficult casting cost the effects make this a
playable card, just one that requires careful
though in choosing your mana base.
Today’s preview card
is one that would make Benedict Arnold jealous.
After an epic battle the fell the Tree of Tales,
the elves she called friends and family accused
Glissa Sunseeker of being a traitor, and outcast
her from her one and only home. It was then she
found a new home, and embraced the name given
her, traitor. That’s right today’s Card of the
Day is Glissa the Traitor.
For one black mana and two green mana, the 3/3 Glissa enters
the board seeking revenge, and destruction. Her
abilities are fierce. The first two make for a
devastating combo. Her first two abilities are
First Strike and Deathtouch. Her last ability is
whenever a creature an opponent controls is put
into a graveyard, you may return an artifact
card from you graveyard to your hand.
Her first two abilities together spell disaster for your opponent
in a variety of ways. For starters, if Glissa is
held as a blocker, whatever she gets her
traitorous grasp on is going to be killed while
she survives, unless what she blocks has first
strike or double strike. As an attacker, the
same applies, even if chump blocked. Three
creatures block her, you divide one damage to
each, and the first strike kicks in and kicks
them out.
Now, her last ability is a little more interesting, but,
easily adaptable. In standard, she can easily
exploit Throne of Geth. Kill a creature, pull a
creature out of your graveyard, such as a
Memnite, to sacrifice to the Throne, and
proliferate. That’s a decent combo for standard.
Oh, and by the way, I forgot to mention that anyone who goes
to a prerelease this weekend and plays for
Phyrexia gets a promo version of Glissa the
Traitor. So make sure you all get to your local
gaming store and participate.
