Hey guys,

Mythic cards are notorious for being considered overpowered.  In the past couple of seasons, you couldn't hear about a top deck without celebrities such as Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Lotus Cobra, or Baneslayer Angel.  They're just that good.

Without a doubt, the latest mythic legend to enter the Magic universe is not a weakling.  She possesses decent stats for her cost, but her real strength is her abilities.

In truth, she is not a brand new entry, but rather a corrupted version of her previous incarnation.  Who is she, and why is she awesome?

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

That's right, I'm talking about none other than Ms. Glissa Sunseeker.  In the original block, she is an elf legend that eats up artifacts only if its converted mana cost is equal to the amount of mana in the pool.



In Mirrodin Besieged, she returns as a darker, more black version.  Her new incarnation is as follows:

Image spoiler:


Text spoiler:
Glissa the Traitor GBB
Mythic
Legendary Creature -- Zombie Elf
First Strike, Deathtouch
Whenever a creature an opponent controls is put into the graveyard from the battlefield, return target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand.
3/3

First and foremost, first strike and deathtouch is a vicious combination for opposing creatures.  Any creature that can't outspeed her will enter the graveyard without laying a finger/claw/tentacle on Glissa.  First strike creatures will exchange blows with Glissa with the battling creature still dying from deathtouch.  The rare double striker can safely dispatch Glissa while surviving the skirmish.

Fortunately, there's plenty of removal to keep Glissa in check.  Glissa also sports a toughness of 3, meaning common removal such as Lightning Bolt can take her out.

Her triggered ability is something I consider unusual for a green creature.  While green's philosophy is to restore natural balance by destroying artifacts, Glissa's ability returns specifically artifacts from the graveyard.  While being able to return cards from the graveyard to hand is a specialty of green (Recollect, Nature's Spiral, Regrowth), these cards are umbrella cards meaning that they'll return all types of permanents and not just artifacts.

However, for both flavor and rarity purposes I'm cool with it.

A key thing I want to note is that Glissa herself does not have to destroy creatures to activate her ability.  Rather, she just needs to be in play for her effect to trigger.  So if you enjoy sniping down creatures with Moonglove Extracts and Aeolipiles, Glissa's your woman to bring them back.

Keep an eye out for more Mirrodin Besieged on this website!

See you later,
@shadowsketched