The study by Torruella et al. (2023) provides a comprehensive phylogenomic analysis of neglected flagellated protists, including 22 newly sequenced transcriptomes of early-branching protists such as apusomonads, ancyromonads, and *Metetora*. The analyses support the monophyly of Opimoda, one of the largest eukaryotic supergroups, with CRuMs being sister to the Amorphea (including amoebzoans, breviates, apusomonads, and opisthokonts). The ancyromonads and malawimonads form a clade, suggesting an early branching lineage after the Opimoda-Diphoda split. The authors infer that the last common ancestor of Opimoda likely had an excavate-like feeding groove, and that the loss of flagella in Amorphea facilitated the evolution of amoeboid shapes, novel feeding modes, and multinucleated cells, which may have contributed to the subsequent evolution of fungal and metazoan multicellularity. The study highlights the importance of including a broader taxonomic sampling of deep-branching protists in phylogenetic analyses to stabilize the eukaryotic tree of life.The study by Torruella et al. (2023) provides a comprehensive phylogenomic analysis of neglected flagellated protists, including 22 newly sequenced transcriptomes of early-branching protists such as apusomonads, ancyromonads, and *Metetora*. The analyses support the monophyly of Opimoda, one of the largest eukaryotic supergroups, with CRuMs being sister to the Amorphea (including amoebzoans, breviates, apusomonads, and opisthokonts). The ancyromonads and malawimonads form a clade, suggesting an early branching lineage after the Opimoda-Diphoda split. The authors infer that the last common ancestor of Opimoda likely had an excavate-like feeding groove, and that the loss of flagella in Amorphea facilitated the evolution of amoeboid shapes, novel feeding modes, and multinucleated cells, which may have contributed to the subsequent evolution of fungal and metazoan multicellularity. The study highlights the importance of including a broader taxonomic sampling of deep-branching protists in phylogenetic analyses to stabilize the eukaryotic tree of life.