Grave Danger Decklist & Guide: Gisa and Geralf Precon

Overview

Grave Danger is a Zombie tribal deck that treats the graveyard as a second hand. Gisa and Geralf is a four-mana Human Wizard that mills four cards when it enters, and once during each of your turns you may cast a Zombie creature spell from your graveyard. Because most of the deck is Zombies, milling is a benefit rather than a cost.

The 99 cards are 29 creatures, 1 planeswalker, 9 artifacts, 4 enchantments, 5 instants, 12 sorceries and 39 lands. 26 of the creatures are Zombies, with lords such as Diregraf Captain, Cemetery Reaper, Lord of the Accursed and Liliana's Mastery that make them bigger. Token makers such as Lazotep Reaver, Gleaming Overseer and Eternal Skylord amass Zombie tokens, and the deck can sacrifice, recast and reanimate its Zombies over and over.

Key Cards

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Diregraf Captain

Lord · Drain

A 2/2 for {1}{U}{B}. It has deathtouch, other Zombie creatures you control get +1/+1, and whenever another Zombie you control dies, target opponent loses 1 life. It makes your Zombies bigger and turns each death into damage.

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Gray Merchant of Asphodel

Drain · Devotion

A 2/4 for {3}{B}{B}. When it enters, each opponent loses X life, where X is your devotion to black, and you gain life equal to the life lost. In a heavily black deck it is a big life swing, and it can be recast from the graveyard with Gisa and Geralf.

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Cemetery Reaper

Lord · Token Maker

A 2/2 for {1}{B}{B}. Other Zombie creatures you control get +1/+1, and for {2}{B} and a tap it exiles target creature card from a graveyard and creates a 2/2 black Zombie creature token. It both pumps the team and keeps making more Zombies.

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Army of the Damned

Token Maker · Flashback

A sorcery for {5}{B}{B}{B}. Create thirteen tapped 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens, and it has flashback {7}{B}{B}{B}. It is a very large payoff that works with every lord in the deck.

Playing the Deck

The early game is about cheap Zombies and mana. Champion of the Perished, Lazotep Reaver, Mire Triton, Undead Augur and Withered Wretch are cheap, Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Dimir Signet and Talisman of Dominance ramp you, and Gisa and Geralf mills four cards for the graveyard plan. Lord of the Accursed and Cemetery Reaper pump the first Zombies.

The middle of the game is about casting Zombies from the graveyard and building an army. Gleaming Overseer, Vizier of the Scorpion, Eternal Skylord and Liliana's Mastery make tokens, Open the Graves makes a Zombie token whenever a nontoken creature you control dies, and Liliana, Untouched by Death drains when it mills a Zombie. Havengul Lich and Gravespawn Sovereign bring back creatures from graveyards, while Undead Augur draws a card when a Zombie you control dies and Midnight Reaper draws when a nontoken creature you control dies.

The deck finishes with a huge swing. Gray Merchant of Asphodel drains, Army of the Damned creates thirteen Zombies, Josu Vess, Lich Knight can kick for eight Zombie Knights, and Zombie Apocalypse returns all your Zombies from the graveyard and destroys all Humans, including your own Gisa and Geralf. Necromantic Selection is a one-time sweeper that gives you the best creature, and Grimoire of the Dead can reanimate every creature from every graveyard.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths: The deck has a strong plan that works even after it has been attacked, since its graveyard can replace its board. It also has real interaction, including Murder, Cruel Revival, Feed the Swarm, Sinister Sabotage and Undermine, and many lord effects, so a few Zombies can quickly become a large army.

Weaknesses: Graveyard hate such as exile effects can be a problem, and many of the best cards are expensive. The deck's board wipes also hit your own Zombies, and a deck with so many small Zombies can be slow against fast starts.

Want to improve it? See the Grave Danger upgrade guide: twelve swaps with the data behind each one.

Verdict

Grave Danger is a flavourful and resilient Zombie deck with a clear tribal plan and a lot of recursion. It is a good choice for players who like graveyard strategies, and it has plenty of room to be improved with better removal and mana.

Want to see what a fully optimised Gisa and Geralf build looks like? Try the Oracle.

✦ Build with The Oracle

Frequently Asked Questions

What cards are in the Grave Danger decklist?
The Grave Danger precon is a 100-card Commander deck led by Gisa and Geralf. The full Grave Danger decklist, with every card, current prices and a button to copy the list into your deck builder, is on this page.

When was Grave Danger released?
Grave Danger was released on December 2, 2022 as part of Starter Commander Decks.

Who is the commander of Grave Danger?
Grave Danger is led by Gisa and Geralf, a Dimir (U/B) legendary creature.

How many creatures are in Grave Danger?
The 99 cards besides Gisa and Geralf include 29 creatures.

How many lands does Grave Danger have?
Grave Danger has 39 lands in the 99 cards besides Gisa and Geralf, including basic lands.

Full Decklist

All 100 cards from the out-of-the-box Grave Danger precon, with current prices. Click any card to expand it.

Fetching decklist…

Gisa and Geralf (commander), Choked Estuary, Command Tower, Dismal Backwater, 13 Island, Jwar Isle Refuge, Salt Marsh, Submerged Boneyard, Sunken Hollow, 18 Swamp, Temple of Deceit, Cruel Revival, Lazotep Plating, Murder, Sinister Sabotage, Undermine, Arcane Signet, Commander's Sphere, Dimir Signet, Grimoire of the Dead, Heraldic Banner, Sol Ring, Talisman of Dominance, Unstable Obelisk, Wayfarer's Bauble, Army of the Damned, Crippling Fear, Deep Analysis, Distant Melody, Enter the God-Eternals, Feed the Swarm, Necromantic Selection, Necrotic Hex, Pilfered Plans, Syphon Flesh, Victimize, Zombie Apocalypse, Cemetery Reaper, Champion of the Perished, Diregraf Captain, Eternal Skylord, Fleshbag Marauder, Geralf's Mindcrusher, Gleaming Overseer, Gravespawn Sovereign, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Havengul Lich, Josu Vess, Lich Knight, Laboratory Drudge, Lazotep Reaver, Liliana's Devotee, Liliana's Standard Bearer, Lord of the Accursed, Lotleth Giant, Loyal Subordinate, Midnight Reaper, Mire Triton, Overseer of the Damned, Scourge of Nel Toth, Spark Reaper, Unbreathing Horde, Undead Augur, Vela the Night-Clad, Vengeful Dead, Vizier of the Scorpion, Withered Wretch, Curse of Disturbance, Liliana's Mastery, Open the Graves, Vampiric Rites, Liliana, Untouched by Death.