Gisa's Bidding MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityUncommon
TypeSorcery
Abilities Madness

Key Takeaways

  1. Multiplying zombie tokens, Gisa’s Bidding boosts battlefield presence and triggers synergies for dominant decks.
  2. The card’s potential to amplify sacrificial strategies makes it a valuable addition for strategic deckbuilding.
  3. Flexible casting at instant speed lets players adapt to game changes, maintaining the element of surprise.

Text of card

Put two 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens onto the battlefield. Madness (If you discard this card, discard it into exile. When you do, cast it for its madness cost or put it into your graveyard.)

"Soft dirt makes for light work."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Gisa’s Bidding provides a significant edge by creating multiple zombie tokens. This influx of creatures can overwhelm opponents and set up for powerful synergies within your deck. Its ability to populate the board with additional bodies can turn the tide in your favor, contributing to a denser battlefield presence.

Resource Acceleration: By furnishing additional creatures, Gisa’s Bidding effectively becomes a catalyst for strategies that capitalize on sacrificing creatures. It fuels these tactics at an expedited rate, leading to faster execution of your game plan and providing fodder for various sacrificial effects that may require creatures.

Instant Speed: The card’s instant speed grants you the flexibility to cast it at the most opportune moment. Whether it’s at the end of your opponent’s turn to maintain the element of surprise or in response to an opponent’s action that would leave you with an unpopulated board, Gisa’s Bidding ensures that you can adapt quickly to the evolving state of the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Gisa’s Bidding requires you to discard a card to activate its effect. This can be a significant pitfall when your hand is already dwindling, especially in tight games where every card counts.

Specific Mana Cost: Gisa’s Bidding demands a specific arrangement of mana colors to cast, namely black mana. This can restrict the card’s inclusion in a multi-colored deck or make it challenging to play on curve if your mana base is not properly tuned.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a need for four mana, which includes three generic and one black, Gisa’s Bidding comes with a steep cost compared to other cards within the same mana range. Players may find that other options could provide similar or better utility at a lower investment, making the card a less appealing choice in competitive scenarios.


Reasons to Include Gisa’s Bidding in Your Collection

Versatility: Gisa’s Bidding is a card capable of seamlessly integrating into various deck types. With its ability to create multiple zombie tokens, it’s an excellent addition to decks centered around sacrifice strategies, swarm tactics, or even as defensive fodder to protect life totals.

Combo Potential: This card shines within combos, particularly with cards that thrive on death triggers or token generation. Its synergy with undead lords or graveyard-centric strategies can quickly turn the tide of the game in your favor, capitalizing on both quantity and quality of creatures.

Meta-Relevance: As the game evolves, the presence of numerous creature-based strategies remains constant. Gisa’s Bidding provides an efficient way to populate the board, which is crucial in outpacing opponents, making it a relevant choice in a dynamic competitive environment.


How to beat

Gisa’s Bidding is a potent card that can quickly build a formidable zombie army in MTG. As it’s a sorcery, it can only be cast during your main phases, so timing your plays appropriately can thwart your opponent’s strategy. To overcome the card, efficient removal spells are essential. Board wipes like Wrath of God or Damnation can clear the zombies en masse, negating the advantage Gisa’s Bidding provides. For a more pinpoint approach, spot removal spells such as Fatal Push or Path to Exile can also disrupt your opponent’s board presence.

Graveyard hate is another effective strategy. Cards like Rest in Peace or Relic of Progenitus can exile Gisa’s Bidding along with any zombies generated from the graveyard, diminishing their overall impact. Additionally, countering the spell as it’s cast with counterspells like Counterspell or Mana Leak ensures that the zombie tokens never hit the battlefield. Lastly, creature-based strategies can include blockers with death-touch to deter attacks or lifelink to outpace the damage done by zombie tokens. By preparing your deck with these countermeasures, you can significantly increase your chances of success against Gisa’s Bidding and the swarm of zombies it brings forth.


Cards like Gisa's Bidding

Gisa’s Bidding is a unique spell in the pantheon of creature generation within Magic: The Gathering. It often draws comparisons to other cards such as Moan of the Unhallowed which also creates two 2/2 zombie tokens. Where Gisa’s Bidding distinguishes itself is its madness cost, allowing for a slight mana reduction if discarded and then cast.

Another peer card is From Under the Floorboards. This card similarly benefits from madness and produces zombie tokens but adds a life gain aspect for each zombie created. However, it does come at a higher base mana cost. Raise the Draugr offers a different angle, allowing for the retrieval of creatures directly from your graveyard to your hand rather than the battlefield, emphasizing strategy over immediate board presence.

Ultimately, each of these cards brings its own flavor and strategic advantages to the undead arsenal of MTG. While Gisa’s Bidding may not provide the versatility of reanimation like Raise the Draugr or the life gain of From Under the Floorboards, its potential for cost-effective creature generation through madness makes it a noteworthy contender in zombie-themed decks.

Moan of the Unhallowed - MTG Card versions
From Under the Floorboards - MTG Card versions
Raise the Draugr - MTG Card versions
Moan of the Unhallowed - MTG Card versions
From Under the Floorboards - MTG Card versions
Raise the Draugr - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Gisa's Bidding by color, type and mana cost

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Devouring Greed - MTG Card versions
Stench of Evil - MTG Card versions
Mind Warp - MTG Card versions
Fatal Lore - MTG Card versions
Final Strike - MTG Card versions
Persecute - MTG Card versions
Ancient Craving - MTG Card versions
Stream of Acid - MTG Card versions
Unmask - MTG Card versions
Reprocess - MTG Card versions
Befoul - MTG Card versions
Agonizing Memories - MTG Card versions
Mutilate - MTG Card versions
Extinction Event - MTG Card versions
Terisiare's Devastation - MTG Card versions
Damnation - MTG Card versions
Profane Prayers - MTG Card versions
Endemic Plague - MTG Card versions
Zombify - MTG Card versions
Cranial Extraction - MTG Card versions
Devouring Greed - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Gisa's Bidding MTG card by a specific set like Shadows over Innistrad and Shadows over Innistrad Remastered, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Gisa's Bidding and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Gisa's Bidding Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2016-04-08 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by Jason Felix.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-04-08Shadows over InnistradSOI 1142015NormalBlackJason Felix
22023-03-21Shadows over Innistrad RemasteredSIR 1132015NormalBlackJason Felix

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Gisa's Bidding has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Gisa's Bidding card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2016-04-08 A spell cast for its madness cost is put onto the stack like any other spell. It can be countered, copied, and so on. As it resolves, it’s put onto the battlefield if it’s a permanent card or into its owner’s graveyard if it’s an instant or sorcery card.
2016-04-08 Cards are discarded in a Magic game only from a player’s hand. Effects that put cards from a player’s library into that player’s graveyard do not cause those cards to be discarded.
2016-04-08 Casting a spell for its madness cost doesn’t change its mana cost or its converted mana cost. You just pay the madness cost instead.
2016-04-08 Effects that cause you to pay more or less for a spell will cause you to pay that much more or less for its madness cost, too.
2016-04-08 If you choose not to cast a card with madness when the madness triggered ability resolves, it’s put into your graveyard. You don’t get another chance to cast it later.
2016-04-08 If you discard a card with madness to pay the cost of a spell or activated ability, that card’s madness trigger (and the spell that card becomes, if you choose to cast it) will resolve before the spell or ability the discard paid for.
2016-04-08 If you discard a card with madness while resolving a spell or ability, it moves immediately to exile. Continue resolving that spell or ability—the card is not in your graveyard at this time. Its madness trigger will be placed onto the stack once that spell or ability has completely resolved.
2016-04-08 Madness works independently of why you’re discarding the card. You could discard it to pay a cost, because a spell or ability tells you to, or even because you have too many cards in your hand at the end of your turn. You can’t discard a card with madness just because you want to, though.
2016-04-08 When you cast a card with madness, it was still discarded. If it was discarded to pay a cost, that cost is still paid. Abilities that trigger when a card is discarded will still trigger.

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