This is a shell we saw last season which was ultimately supplanted by G/W Tokens and Bant Company. However, there is no doubt that Gisela, the Broken Blade is a powerful Magic card. If left unchecked, it takes over the game even without its partner in crime, Bruna, the Fading Light; but last season it matched up so poorly against Reflector Mage that it became untenable.
Right now, the influence of Smuggler’s Copter means that instant-speed removal that kills three toughness creatures is on the rise, which is continued bad news for Angel lovers everywhere, but one card could change that calculus: Blossoming Defense.
I simply cannot see losing a game against an aggressive deck where you counter their removal spell on your Gisela, the Broken Blade for one mana and perhaps get an extra two-point life drain out of the deal. We in the business call that a blowout and blowouts are good.
Unlike the deck I played last weekend, this list is certainly not aggressive. It’s a midrange deck that is honestly slanted slightly in the control direction given how much removal it has. Blessed Alliance and Stasis Snare both handle the ubiquitous Smuggler’s Copter and Declaration in Stone handles nearly everything else.
I particularly like Blessed Alliance in this deck because the lifegain is welcome and the oft-overlooked third mode comes into play a lot with this deck, as it gives you the ability to attack aggressively and set up a blowout on your opponent’s next attack.
Like I said before, blowouts are good. And this one comes stapled to a removal spell you were playing anyway, so it’s basically free. Free is also good. And as we all know, Good + Good = Great. That’s just math.
Tireless Tracker and planeswalkers give the deck its needed selection of card advantage, so the one thing I’m worried about is the clunk factor. If your removal spells don’t line up properly or you miss a land drop around turns 3-5, you can fall behind with nothing to catch you up but jamming an Angel and hoping it sticks. I think Servant of the Conduit could do wonders in a deck like this, shifting it more towards a dedicated midrange deck that can play aggressively more often.
The earlier you can land a big threat, the more pressure you put on your opponent to have an answer, lest you untap with the ability to counter it with Blossoming Defense. The extra mana even allows you to play your threats with an extra green lying around immediately. Ultimately this deck is winning with its big threats, so using your early plays in service to them is a good plan.
After the Standard Open in Indianapolis, this was the direction I wanted to take G/W Aggro, so I’m glad to see someone was ahead of the metagame with it. Smuggler’s Copter is going to increase the value of combat-dominating fliers, and few cards fit that mold better than Gisela, the Broken Blade. Broken is right in the name, so it was kind of a gimme, but I’ll take what I can get.
Creatures (17)
- 1 Linvala, the Preserver
- 4 Sylvan Advocate
- 1 Archangel Avacyn
- 1 Sigarda, Heron's Grace
- 3 Tireless Tracker
- 1 Bruna, the Fading Light
- 3 Gisela, the Broken Blade
- 1 Thalia's Lancers
- 2 Fairgrounds Warden
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (10)
Spells (28)
