Glissa the dirty girl

Commander / EDH pphhaazzee

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2023 A New Era of Magic —Sept. 2, 2023

While my updates have not had breakdowns, I have not forgotten you! I've made big changes, and I'll be going over the most recent changes. I'm also working on updating the cut cards section, which is in dire need of updates to reflect the current thinking on our favorite girl. So, without further ado, here are the 9/2/23 Glissa the Dirty Girl changes!

Big update time! IN

• Orcish Bowmasters: Why? Oh god, is this card overpowered. Orks basically require an opponent to have removal for it if they intend to use a draw engine or combo. This is an auto-include in any serious Glissa list due to shoring up the critical combo vulnerability this Glissa lists have a difficult time addressing. Even if Orks only stopped draw combos I'd be running it but it also removes the only "real" way to beat Glissa with any reliability - powerful methods of refilling hands to overwhelm our removal capacity. Honestly, I fully expect this card to be banned from EDH in the near future. It's overpowered and is comparable to Dockside in the amount of impact it has for zero downsides. I don't like cards like this as it removes all nuances of deckbuilding and in general, only hurt the format. Also, collaboration cards don't feel like magic to me, and I can easily see decks 10 years from now just being a mix of overpowered collab events with no real identity behind them.

• Beseech the Mirror: Why? The year is 2023, and WOTC can't stop printing overpowered black cards, it seems. The reasons to run this are obvious but lets run over the main points that apply to our favorite girl. Notable targets are Mystic Forge, Aetherflux, Grave Pact, Defense of the Heart, Imotekh the Stormlord, Orcish Bowmasters, Nevinyrral's Disk, and Terisiare's Devastation. AKA you can combo, perma wipe creatures, wipe everything, or with one turn delay, win the game without any supporting cast. My opinion on Beseech is if your list is like mine, with many powerful but unique effects that are always looking to be combined with others, I would yes. This deck is getting very tight in terms of slot flexibility, as there are certain densities required for everything to function properly, so be careful with what you cut.

• Lokhust Heavy Destroyer: Why? Let's get one thing straight. This card isn't very powerful especially compared to everything else being changed. But I have good reasons, specifically, Lokhust is intended to replace Noxious Gearhulk, which has definitely overstayed its welcome. Due to Nim Deathmantle being cut in this update, Gearhulk is finally out of worthwhile utility. Lokhust is cheaper and, while absurdly mana-intensive, is fully self-sustained with only Glissa. Lokhust earns its slot because it is an incredibly efficient way to return artifacts. While the ceiling on Lokhust is not high, the ease at which it can have Glissa bring back two additional artifacts is worth being aware of. I've found myself tutoring for it many times off of Survival of the Fittest as part of getting combos assembled, for example. Some other changes to this patch have increased its base viability considerably so keep an eye out for them.

• Lotus Petal: Why? Wow it took five years but Lotus Petal finally made it into the list. No I hadn't forgotten about it I swear. But this change is for a good reason, back then EDH was a far slower format where generating mana early wasn't nearly as important as having what you needed to win was. Win conditions weren't so cheap nor as numerious. And longtime Glissa players will remember that Gliss was severely lacking in tools at the time. Today things have changed, we need to be faster and we have a huge selection of options to work with. Also, it doesn't hurt that Petal breaks up the CMC three clump that has plagued Glissa forever and as a bonus makes casting Lokhust multiple times far easier.

• Portal to Phyrexia Why? A bit less obvious than one might think considering the implications of having expensive cards in a Bolas Citadel list, but I assure you it's worth it. Within the context of being Plague Boilers replacement, this was only considered viable due to Beseech the Mirror keeping the hit rate on wipes acceptable. Naturally, the portal brings a lot to the table with the long-awaited ability to buyback nonartifact creatures (Butcher, Orcish, and Steelseeker being the important ones) and giving Kuldotha Forgemaster the much-needed ability to have a tutor option that wiped without further mana investment.

• Terisiare's Devastation: Why? While it pains me to say it as I loved this whole Scapeshift plan, Terisiare's does it far better with the need to apply constant pressure being greater than ever before the ability to turn ramp (which I still contest this is to be treated as) into a wipe is incredible. Furthermore, the ramp being powerstones fuels the Walking Affinity combo often powering it out far sooner than otherwise possible. And because of Beseech, the ability to have another wipe option is incredible. I'll discuss lands in the Scapeshift section.

OUT

• Nim Deathmantle: Why? Deathmantle has always suffered from a case of not being impactful by itself but always strong when Ironworks was down. This meant that while Deathmantle could be incredibly strong, it was often rotting in hand due to the relatively few ways to tutor for Ironworks. Even back then, it was most commonly surpassed by Scrap Trawler, who remains dominant. Thus, I had trended towards having synergistic piles that didn't require completion to impact the game in significant ways (Sensei Top, Grave Pact, and Walking Ballista). And by extension, Deathmantle became even less useful. While its counterpart Ironworks, has always been incredible, even with these changes, Nim has continued to suffer. So, I am forced to conclude that Nim Deathmantle must be retired. Long live Nim Deathmantle. You were an incredible card and enabled over four years of Glissa dominance. Its replacement by Orcish Bowmasters should be a warning of this game's direction.

• ??? At this point, I don't have a set card to be removed to fit Beseech the Mirror. It will be added, but I'm unsure. Possible cards atm are Wurmcoil Engine, Jhoira's Familiar, and Steel Hellkite. These all have strong reasons to remain, so I'll be testing over the next few months.

• Noxious Gearhulk: Why? As previously explained, Noxious has only really stayed around due to the life gain to pad Citedel delving and for the limited ETB synergy across the deck. Lockhust Heavy Destroyer is cheap and has more impact than Gearhulk at the cost of board presence, which is of limited concern. Gearhulk is a relic from a simpler time in EDH, but I would say it's had a good run.

• Chromatic Star: Why? First off, Star is by no means bad. The reason it's being cut isn't an issue with it but rather the overarching problem of not having room for everything I want. I would not fault anybody for keeping it around.

• Plague Boiler: Why? Despite Plague being an arguably worse Oblivion Stone I've had plenty of situations where it has been the reason I'm able to win. Its only crime was it required time, not unlike Nevinyrral's Disk. Similar to Star, I would not say Plague was "bad" specifically in the context of Glissa, but we now have better options. Phyrexian Portal is typically only slightly slower than Plague, and while it's a weaker source of removal, the creature reanimation gives us an out where we might not otherwise have one.

• Scapeshift: Why? Cutting this hurts. I still say that the complex land piles are worth it even today, but Scapeshift can all too often be just slightly slower than it needs to be. While I would not say this needs to be cut, it can be a liability in very competitive games. The Cabal Coffers and whatnot are still in due to the ease Expedition Map can get both parts for you, but I am cutting Deserted Temple as it feels a bit much. Still not sure if that was the right move, but the reduced variance and the slight improvement to shuffle effects with the additional fetch have felt worthwhile.