This deck is under construction.
Background
Most Gishath deck lists I have seen advertise Gishath as being an aggro deck, and I have come to realize the veracity of this statement as I constructed this deck. While this deck list has many components those self proclaimed aggro decks also have, this is largely a result of the inherently limited dinosaur card pool available. Instead of advocating for an aggro Gishath, I instead advocate for a midrange and late game Gishath which is more of a gameplay philosophy rather than a difference in deck building because of Gishath's high mana value.
Gishath, the Sun's Avatar high mana value makes it awkward for it to be an aggro deck, because her CMC is high enough that your opponents will likely have enough mana sources to board wipe or use single target removal (especially since there likely haven't been many high priority targets yet). If you opt to go full aggro from the moment you can summon Gishath, you may cripple or even defeat one opponent, but you're more than likely setting yourself up to be the first dethroned/crippled archenemy who has the added trouble of needing to win through expensive creatures with no substantial way to cheat them into play other than an overcosted removal magnet of a commander (assuming it had been returned to the command zone on multiple times by the time you've been dethroned/defeated). Our fair battlecruiser magic puts us at an even greater disadvantage to our opponents due to the relatively poor dinosaur synergy that's available so far. Simply put, your opponents probably have enough removal to make it unlikely for you to end the game through combat that early on.
Now that I've convinced you of how powerful and attractive a Gishath deck can be, let's take a look at how to win with it.
Deck Strategy
Our dinosaur's high mana value means our early turns will be committed almost exclusively to ramping. Assuming we can play a ramp card each turn, we can summon Gishath as early as turn 5 (4 too but that isn't reliable). Regardless of when you can summon Gishath, you will inevitably have access to 8 Mana, after which your strategy branches off into two primary paths.
-
Summoning and attacking with Gishath to generate an insurmountable lead. This option is largely dependent on everyone else's mana and board state, and should be pursued if... (A) You are committed to ending the game ASAP (you have to leave soon, win or lose), (B) An archenemy has risen and you need to be the hero that knocks them down a peg (note that you will become the new archenemy), (C) Everyone with likely interaction is tapped out, (D) You can summon Gishath as early as turn 5 and want to go full aggro, or (E) You have protection for Gishath (e.g.
Lightning Greaves
) and/or have the mana to summon Gishath again during the next turn.
-
Opt not to summon Gishath and instead use your mana to continue ramping and setting up protection to use in tandem with Gishath during a future turn (
Eerie Interlude
,
Swiftfoot Boots
,
Rootborn Defenses
). Depending on your group meta (including mine), I would advise following this option, because Gishath is a clear removal target that someone is bound to be saving removal for. This way, you can play fair large battle cruiser magic with Gishath as a trump card when you run out of options, need it, or can afford to summon Gishath consecutively with the assumption that she will die to removal on at least the first turn it's summoned. Being able to use Gishath as an option rather than a mad dash to win makes our deck less predictable and more flexible in terms of commander politics and play options (especially early on if you are stuck on 8 mana and can't afford to summon Gishath again in the foreseeable future), and it gives our opponents time to expend their removal.
Solar Solstice: Gishath's Moment to Shine
Regardless of which strategy you use above, you will inevitably summon Gishath, paint a target on your back, and make a play to win the game with confidence in what I call Gishath's Moment to Shine. I have elaborated above about when we should not summon Gishath, but there is indeed a turn we should definitely summon Gishath, and this is a turn I would use commander politics to mold the entire game to revolve around: the rise of an archenemy. Because Gishath is so vulnerable to removal, and Gishath's triggered dinosaurs (our primary win condition) are so vulnerable to a board wipe, the optimal time to use Gishath is at the table's behest (or during a group effort) to dethrone an archenemy. This way, we have assurances from most of the table to not remove (and possibly even protect) Gishath. And more importantly, we have assurances from most of the table that Gishath's pack of summoned dinosaurs actually get the chance to attack on the following turn unhindered, hopefully through a deck synergy highlighted below.
Deck Synergies
Our simplest win condition is to simply beat down our opponent's life totals to zero with massive dinosaurs, but that is obviously easier said than done.
-
When you have a respectable number of dinosaurs on board (at least 3), ensure one of the following is active during your combat phase: (1)
Overwhelming Stampede
, (2)
Kindred Charge
, (3)
-
Summon
Polyraptor
while
Forerunner of the Legion
is on the battlefield to generate an infinite number of polyraptor tokens. Note that you need an additional dinosaur to spend the final forerunner trigger on or risk having this synergy never end and turn the game into a technical draw.
-
While
Warstorm Surge
is on the battlefield, summon and attack with Gishath to summon many dinosaurs or use the polyraptor combo listed in the prior synergy.
-
This strictly speaking isn't a deck synergy, but a commander politics strategy. Having the mana to summon Gishath again the next turn, assuming Gishath will die the first time you summon it can be a disincentive it's removal in the first place. The idea is that you can threaten an opponent who is considering removing the first Gishath with a second Gishath coming at the same opponent the next turn again. You can instead negotiate a Gishath attack at another opponent without removal so it's a win-win for both you and your opponent with removal. The removal is irrelevant later, because it's safe to assume that Gishath will be removed after one turn cycle anyways, and we hopefully have multiple dinosaurs to exploit in the meantime until our next Gishath turn. Yes, you obviously can wait for the mana to summon Gishath again two turns later, but the psychological effect is much more muted at that point. If the same opponent had two removal spells and didn't want agree with you then a Gishath attack likely wasn't going to resolve anyways so you may reconsider summoning Gishath or follow through on the threat out respect for Gishath.
References
[1] https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/multiplayer-commander-decklists/783415-a-guide-to-gishaths-prehistoric-menagerie
[2] https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/dinosaurs-are-better-than-dragons/?fbclid=IwAR2r36_zRAPyGJSGs9Coz53I95Z6JUnp5j8Dd_KiK8pbmwlghsR7pPR1DJ4
