Wretched Ranks upgrade guide, the Foundations Commander Gisa precon
Wretched Ranks is the black deck in the Foundations Commander line. $29.99, out since October 2 beside Reality Fracture. Ghoulcaller Gisa leads it, mono-black, all Zombies.
We ran the stock list through our bracket analyzer. Bracket 2, estimated win around turn 8.5. Zero Game Changers, zero tutors, one fast mana source (Sol Ring), zero combos. It reads Zombie Tribal with a reanimator engine. That is a real precon. It does what it says and it does it slowly.
Gisa has been around since 2014, so EDHREC already has 5,778 Gisa decks. Most of them were built long before this precon existed, which makes them a good guide to what the commander actually wants. Every swap below comes from those decks, and every tier went through the same analyzer.
How the deck works
Make Zombies. Sacrifice big things to make more Zombies. Swing with a board your opponents can't block.
Gisa's ability costs one black mana and a tap. You sacrifice another creature and get a 2/2 Zombie token for each point of its power. Sacrifice a 6/6 Grave Titan and you get six Zombies. Sacrifice a 3/3 and you get three. You can do it at instant speed, so the classic play is to sacrifice a creature that is about to die anyway, in response to removal or a board wipe.
The rest of the deck feeds that loop from both ends. Lords like Death Baron, Lord of the Accursed, Cemetery Reaper and Undead Warchief make every Zombie bigger, and a bigger token means more tokens when Gisa eats it. Endless Ranks of the Dead and Army of the Damned flood the board. Death triggers on Undead Augur, Vengeful Dead and Midnight Reaper pay you for every creature you sacrifice. Gravecrawler, Zul Ashur and Open the Graves bring the bodies back.
One thing new players miss. Gisa wants power, not just bodies. A cheap creature with high power is worth more to her than a fancy creature with low power. That drives most of the upgrades below.
The stock decklist
Commander (1)
- Ghoulcaller Gisa
Creatures (31)
- Ayara, First of Locthwain
- Carrion Feeder
- Cemetery Reaper
- Champion of the Perished
- Cryptbreaker
- Death Baron
- Diregraf Colossus
- Eternal Taskmaster
- Fleshbag Marauder
- God-Eternal Bontu
- Grave Titan
- Graveborn Muse
- Gravecrawler
- Gray Merchant of Asphodel
- Headless Rider
- Josu Vess, Lich Knight
- Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
- Liliana's Reaver
- Lord of the Accursed
- Lord of the Undead
- Midnight Reaper
- Mire Triton
- Noxious Ghoul
- Razorlash Transmogrant
- Soulless One
- Undead Augur
- Undead Butler
- Undead Warchief
- Vengeful Dead
- Wight of Precinct Six
- Zul Ashur, Lich Lord
Instants (5)
- Consumed by Greed
- Consuming Corruption
- Go for the Throat
- Tendrils of Corruption
- Withering Torment
Sorceries (9)
- Ambition's Cost
- Army of the Damned
- Cemetery Recruitment
- Moan of the Unhallowed
- Mutilate
- Necrotic Hex
- Night's Whisper
- Sign in Blood
- Syphon Flesh
Enchantments (7)
- Bad Moon
- Endless Ranks of the Dead
- Liliana's Mastery
- Marchesa's Decree
- Open the Graves
- Oversold Cemetery
- Phyrexian Arena
Artifacts (8)
- Arcane Signet
- Bontu's Monument
- Charcoal Diamond
- Commander's Sphere
- Infernal Idol
- Mind Stone
- Patchwork Banner
- Sol Ring
Lands (39)
- Barren Moor
- Bojuka Bog
- Castle Locthwain
- Geier Reach Sanitarium
- Memorial to Folly
- 33 Swamp
- Witch's Cottage
Open the stock list in the analyzer.
What to cut first
EDHREC shows which stock cards Gisa players already leave out. These are the lowest inclusion rates in the deck.
| Card | In Gisa decks |
|---|---|
| Mire Triton | not in EDHREC's lists |
| Eternal Taskmaster | not in EDHREC's lists |
| Marchesa's Decree | 6.0% |
| Moan of the Unhallowed | 6.3% |
| Infernal Idol | 6.7% |
| Ambition's Cost | 9.9% |
| Tendrils of Corruption | 9.9% |
| Consumed by Greed | 11.2% |
| Syphon Flesh | 11.7% |
| Wight of Precinct Six | 12.8% |
| Razorlash Transmogrant | 13.3% |
Mire Triton and Eternal Taskmaster are two-mana Zombies with two power. Gisa turns them into two tokens, which is barely a trade. Marchesa's Decree makes you the monarch in a deck that would rather attack than defend the crown. Tendrils, Consumed by Greed and Syphon Flesh are clunky removal at three to five mana. Infernal Idol is a three-mana rock that only makes black. Heraldic Banner costs the same and pumps your team.
Tier 1. About $8, the day-one swaps
Eight swaps for $8.46. This is the tier we would do on day one.
| Cut | Add | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mire Triton | Plague Belcher | 5/4 menace for three, in 39.8% of Gisa decks. Put its -1/-1 counters on a token, then feed Gisa five power. |
| Eternal Taskmaster | Rotting Regisaur | A 7/6 for three. The upkeep discard stops mattering the turn Gisa turns it into seven Zombies. |
| Marchesa's Decree | Village Rites | One mana, sacrifice a creature, draw two. Instant speed, so it saves a creature from removal too. 42.5%. |
| Moan of the Unhallowed | Victimize | The most-played card not in the box, at 50.7%. Sacrifice a token, get back two creatures. |
| Infernal Idol | Heraldic Banner | Same three-mana black rock, and it gives every black creature +1/+0. More power means more tokens. |
| Tendrils of Corruption | Feed the Swarm | Two mana, kills a creature or an enchantment. Mono-black has very few ways to hit enchantments. 48.8%. |
| Consumed by Greed | Tragic Slip | One-mana instant removal. Once you've sacrificed something that turn it kills almost anything. |
| Syphon Flesh | Unbreathing Horde | Enters with a counter for every other Zombie you control and every Zombie in your graveyard. Often a 6/6 for three. |
The analyzer still says Bracket 2, around turn 8.5. That is fine. Speed stays put while the deck gets cheaper threats, cheaper removal and more power for Gisa to eat.
Open the tier 1 list in the analyzer.
Tier 2. About $25 more, the Gisa package
Five more swaps. These are the cards that make a Gisa deck feel like a Gisa deck.
| Cut | Add | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Liliana's Reaver | Liliana, Dreadhorde General | Draws a card every time one of your creatures dies, and her +1 makes a Zombie. In 38.0% of Gisa decks. |
| Ambition's Cost | Mirkwood Bats | Every token you make or sacrifice drains each opponent for 1. Sacrifice Grave Titan to Gisa and that's six. |
| Razorlash Transmogrant | Tomb Tyrant | Another Zombie lord, and late in the game it brings a Zombie back from the graveyard each turn. |
| Wight of Precinct Six | Lightning Greaves | Gisa has to tap. Greaves gives her haste so she works the turn she lands, and shroud keeps her alive. 33.9%. |
| Geier Reach Sanitarium | Unholy Grotto | A land that puts a Zombie from your graveyard back on top of your library. 31.4%. |
Liliana is $10.52 of that $24.80. She's the best single card in this whole guide for this deck.
The analyzer still says Bracket 2, now around turn 8.6. That's a tenth slower, which is noise. Two cheap creatures came out for a six-mana planeswalker and an equipment. The analyzer now reads the plan as Zombie Tribal with an aristocrats engine, which is exactly what Gisa is.
Open the tier 2 list in the analyzer.
Tier 3. About $64 more, the serious-but-casual upgrade
Three swaps. Two of them are the expensive staples Gisa players run, and you will use both in every other black deck you build.
| Cut | Add | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Josu Vess, Lich Knight | Grave Pact | Every creature you sacrifice makes each opponent sacrifice one too. With Gisa, your board grows while theirs shrinks. 29.6%. |
| Undead Butler | Skullclamp | Put it on a 2/2 token, sacrifice the token, draw two. One mana to equip. 29.8%. |
| 1 Swamp | Cabal Coffers | Taps for one black for each Swamp you control. With 30-plus Swamps that's Army of the Damned on turn six. In 45.2% of Gisa decks. |
Still Bracket 2, around turn 8.4. Zero Game Changers, no new tutors, no fast mana beyond Sol Ring. You draw a lot more cards and every Gisa activation hurts the table. If you want a cheaper tier 3, Grave Pact alone is the swap that matters most.
Open the tier 3 list in the analyzer.
A combo warning
Phyrexian Altar is in 21.4% of Gisa decks and we left it out on purpose. Gravecrawler plus Phyrexian Altar plus another Zombie is a loop. Sacrifice Gravecrawler for one black, cast it again from the graveyard for that black, repeat forever. With Diregraf Colossus out that's infinite Zombies. With Vengeful Dead or Plague Belcher out it drains the table. Our analyzer lists it as a combo but doesn't move the bracket for it, since it needs that third Zombie on the board. Your table may not be so forgiving. If your group plays Bracket 2, skip the Altar or tell them first.
We also skipped Dark Ritual (56.3%). It's a great card, but it's fast mana, and this guide keeps tiers 1 to 3 at Sol Ring.
Take it to Bracket 3
For players who have outgrown the precon. Bracket 3 allows up to three Game Changers. These are the three Gisa decks run most. Demonic Tutor is in 16.2% of decks, Bolas's Citadel in 11.5% and Vampiric Tutor in 10.7%.
| Cut | Add | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Necrotic Hex | Demonic Tutor | Two mana, find any card. Usually Grave Pact or Cabal Coffers. |
| Consuming Corruption | Vampiric Tutor | One-mana instant tutor. Puts the card on top of your library. |
| Commander's Sphere | Bolas's Citadel | Play cards off the top of your library for life instead of mana. Gray Merchant gets your life back. |
Bracket 3, estimated win around turn 6.5. The analyzer flags all three as Game Changers, and three is the limit. Add a fourth and the deck is Bracket 4 by the rules. The two tutors also count as tutors, so tell your table before the game. That's almost two turns faster than tier 3. Tutors find Coffers or Grave Pact far more often than you'd draw them.
Vampiric Tutor is $54.03 of the $82.12. If you only buy one, buy Demonic Tutor.
Open the Bracket 3 list in the analyzer.
The numbers
| List | Bracket | Est. win turn | Game Changers | Added cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | 2 | 8.5 | 0 | - |
| Tier 1 | 2 | 8.5 | 0 | $8.46 |
| Tier 2 | 2 | 8.6 | 0 | +$24.80 |
| Tier 3 | 2 | 8.4 | 0 | +$64.44 |
| Bracket 3 | 3 | 6.5 | 3 | +$82.12 |
Analyzer runs and prices come from our app and Scryfall on October 13, 2026. EDHREC inclusion rates from the same day, out of 5,778 Gisa decks.
The other Foundations Commander decks
- Calling All Angels, Giada
- Keen Engineering, Sai
- Reign of Dragons, Lathliss
- Tramplesaurus Rex, Ghalta
Upgrade yours
Your copy probably doesn't look exactly like ours by week two. Paste your list into the bracket checker and it tells you where you landed. If you link your collection, you can tell our upgrade and build tools to use cards you already own first.
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