Prefer to watch? The full breakdown is on our channel.
Your Zombies should pay you twice: once when the army grows, and again when you cash it in. Ghoulcaller Gisa turns any creature into a pile of 2/2 Zombies equal to its power, and the Wretched Ranks precon gives her a decent army to work with. Our upgrades give her bigger creatures to sacrifice, more payoffs for every death and a way to rebuild after a wipe. There are two packages: an affordable Budget upgrade of 15 swaps and a premium Baller upgrade of 15.
Price date: Budget and Baller picks are based on card prices recorded October 21, 2026, when the video was made (the video was published October 26, 2026). Prices change, so check current prices on the store.
Shop the cards: we put the Budget and Baller cards from this guide in one place. Shop the Wretched Ranks upgrade cards at Arcane Arena. Cards we have in stock are linked below. We ship to US addresses only.
Keep the good bones
Watch this part of the video (0:31)
Gisa's ability is simple: pay one black, tap her and sacrifice another creature, and you get X 2/2 black Zombies, where X is that creature's power. It's an activated ability with no timing restriction, so you can use it at instant speed, in response to removal or at the end of an opponent's turn. The stock deck's Zombies, sacrifice outlets and recursion stay. The upgrades raise the power of what you sacrifice and make every token earn something on the way in and on the way out.
Gisa is Human: the Noxious Ghoul problem
Watch this part of the video (1:07)
Rules check: Noxious Ghoul says that whenever it or another Zombie enters, all non-Zombie creatures get -1/-1 until end of turn. Gisa is a Human Wizard with 4 toughness, and every token she makes is a separate Zombie entering. An activation that makes four or more Zombies with Noxious Ghoul out kills your own commander. Count before you sacrifice, or cut the Ghoul.
Budget upgrade: 15 swaps
Watch this part of the video (1:35)
Each addition replaces a specific stock card. The pairings are on screen in the video.
Bigger bodies, more Zombies
- Rotting Regisaur · a three-mana 7/6. Sacrifice it to Gisa for seven Zombies, and the upkeep discard stops mattering.
- Unbreathing Horde · enters with a +1/+1 counter for each other Zombie you control and each Zombie card in your graveyard. Late in the game, that's a huge sacrifice.
- Plague Belcher · a three-mana 5/4 menace. Put its two -1/-1 counters on a Zombie token, and every other Zombie that dies drains each opponent for 1.
- Swiftfoot Boots · hexproof and haste. Haste matters because Gisa's ability needs her to tap, so she can activate the turn she lands.
- Sting, the Glinting Dagger · +1/+1, haste, and it untaps the equipped creature at the beginning of each combat, including your opponents'. On Gisa, that's an extra activation on every turn.
Make sacrifice pay
- Skullclamp · equip it to a 2/2 Zombie, which becomes 3/1. Sacrifice it and draw two. One of the best cards ever printed for a token deck.
- Mirkwood Bats · whenever you create or sacrifice a token, each opponent loses 1 life. A seven-Zombie activation is seven drain triggers.
- Syr Konrad, the Grim · 1 damage to each opponent whenever another creature dies, yours or theirs.
- Deadly Dispute · sacrifice a token at instant speed: draw two and make a Treasure.
- Victimize · sacrifice one creature and return two creature cards from your graveyard. Get back the big bodies Gisa already ate.
Answer, bank, rebuild
- Feed the Swarm · removal for a creature or an enchantment, paid for in life.
- Supernatural Stamina · +2/+0 and it comes back when it dies. Cast it on a big creature, then sacrifice that creature to Gisa: the extra 2 power counts toward X and the creature returns.
- Living Death · everyone swaps their board for their graveyard. You've been filling yours all game.
- Lashwrithe · living weapon that grows with every Swamp you control, so it's a huge sacrifice for Gisa.
- Crowded Crypt · a mana rock that banks a corpse counter whenever your creatures die, then cashes them in for a fresh wave of Zombies after a wipe.
Three Budget alternatives
Watch this part of the video (4:32)
These are substitutions, not extra buys:
- Morbid Opportunist · instead of Unbreathing Horde. Draws a card the first time other creatures die each turn, which in this deck is every turn.
- Liliana, Death's Majesty · instead of Crowded Crypt. Makes Zombies, reanimates creatures as Zombies, and her ultimate destroys every non-Zombie creature. Careful: Gisa is one of them.
- Graf Harvest · instead of Lashwrithe. One mana: your Zombies get menace, and you can turn creature cards in your graveyard into fresh 2/2s.
Budget: every card in and out
Watch this part of the video (5:04)
In (15): Rotting Regisaur; Unbreathing Horde; Plague Belcher; Swiftfoot Boots; Sting, the Glinting Dagger; Feed the Swarm; Victimize; Skullclamp; Mirkwood Bats; Syr Konrad, the Grim; Deadly Dispute; Supernatural Stamina; Living Death; Lashwrithe; and Crowded Crypt.
Out (15): each addition replaces one stock card. The full in-and-out screen is in the video at 5:04. Keep your cuts, because six of them come back in the Baller build.
Baller upgrade: 15 swaps
Watch this part of the video (5:23)
Invest in the mana engine
- Cabal Coffers · adds a black for each Swamp you control.
- Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth · makes every land a Swamp, which supercharges Coffers and Crypt Ghast.
- Crypt Ghast · each Swamp taps for an extra black, and extort drains on every spell you cast.
- Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx · black mana equal to your devotion, and a Zombie deck is full of black pips.
- Phyrexian Tower · sacrifice a creature for two black. It's a second sacrifice outlet that's also a land.
- Thousand-Year Elixir · lets Gisa activate the turn she arrives, and can untap her for a second activation.
Control what dies and what returns
- The Meathook Massacre · a sweeper you size yourself. Afterwards, every creature of yours that dies drains each opponent for 1, and every opposing creature that dies gains you 1 life.
- Liliana, Dreadhorde General · draws a card whenever a creature you control dies. With Gisa, that's a card for every Zombie you cash in.
- Roaming Throne · name Zombie: your other Zombies' triggered abilities trigger an additional time. Plague Belcher drains twice.
- Reanimate · one mana to return the best creature card from any graveyard.
- Deadly Rollick · free if you control a commander: exile target creature.
Skullclamp; Sting, the Glinting Dagger; Plague Belcher; and Living Death stay from the Budget build.
Three Baller alternatives
Watch this part of the video (8:22)
- Black Market Connections · instead of Crypt Ghast. Each turn it gives you Treasure, cards or 3/2 changelings (they count as Zombies), paid for in life.
- Imp's Mischief · instead of Deadly Rollick. Redirect a single-target spell, such as the removal aimed at Gisa.
- Tomb Tyrant · instead of Liliana, Dreadhorde General. Your other Zombies get +1/+1, and it can return Zombie creature cards from your graveyard.
Baller: every card in and out
Watch this part of the video (8:54)
In (15): Cabal Coffers; Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth; Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx; Phyrexian Tower; Crypt Ghast; Thousand-Year Elixir; The Meathook Massacre; Roaming Throne; Liliana, Dreadhorde General; Skullclamp; Sting, the Glinting Dagger; Plague Belcher; Living Death; Reanimate; and Deadly Rollick.
Out (15): the matching stock cuts are on screen in the video at 8:54.
Upgrading in stages
Watch this part of the video (9:10)
Built Budget first? Skullclamp; Sting, the Glinting Dagger; Plague Belcher; and Living Death carry straight over. The other Budget picks come out for eleven new Baller cards, and six stock cards you cut for Budget go back in: Josu Vess, Lich Knight; Consumed by Greed; Eternal Taskmaster; Moan of the Unhallowed; Syphon Flesh; and Wight of Precinct Six.
Which build fits your table?
Watch this part of the video (9:46)
Budget turns Gisa into a real engine. Bigger creatures to sacrifice, a drain or a card for every token, and a way back after a wipe, all in an easy weekend project. Baller adds a mana engine that pays for multiple activations a turn, plus total control over what dies and what returns. If your table plays a lot of sweepers, Baller is where this deck stops caring.
A note on prices
We keep prices off this guide on purpose, because singles move constantly and any number here would be stale within a week. The Budget package is built to be genuinely affordable and the Baller build is the premium version. For current, live prices on any of these cards, check them at the store. The Budget and Baller picks reflect prices recorded October 21, 2026.
Build it
Want the full walkthrough with the reasoning on every card? Watch the video here. When you are ready to build, shop the cards: every upgrade from this guide at Arcane Arena. We ship to US addresses only.
More Budget vs Baller upgrade guides
Each one has a Budget upgrade and a Baller upgrade for a Commander precon, with every swap explained.
- Quandrix Unlimited Upgrade Guide (Zimone, Infinite Analyst)
- Tramplesaurus Rex Upgrade Guide (Ghalta, Primal Hunger)
- Reign of Dragons Upgrade Guide (Lathliss, Dragon Queen)
- Multiverse Reforged Upgrade Guide (Jace, Multiverse Architect)
Earlier Budget & Baller guides: Doom Prevails and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Budget & Baller.
Which precon should we upgrade next? Tell us, and we will put it on the table.
Unofficial fan content. Magic: The Gathering is © Wizards of the Coast. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast. Card and synergy data from EDHREC and Scryfall.