How to Upgrade Your Commander Precon

Every precon has a default commander and a theme. Before you start swapping cards, understand what the deck wants to do. Read the deck's included strategy insert, look at the commander's abilities, and identify the primary win condition. Some precons are better at going wide with creatures, others want to control the board, and some aim to combo off. Your upgrades should enhance the existing strategy, not fight against it.

Every precon has roughly 15-20 cards that are clearly filler. Identify these and replace them with upgrades first. The worst cards in most precons are the overcosted vanilla creatures, the situational combat tricks, and the inefficient removal. Replace those with cards that directly support your commander's strategy. Even a $5 budget can dramatically improve a precon by cutting the 10 worst cards and adding synergistic alternatives.

Precons notoriously skimp on the mana base. They run too many tapped lands, too few rainbow lands, and an excessive number of basics. The single best upgrade for any precon is a better mana base. Start with budget-friendly options: Command Tower, Path of Ancestry, Myriad Landscape, and the relevant bicycle lands. A consistent mana base makes every other upgrade more impactful.

Most precons are light on both ramp and card draw, which makes them feel slow and inconsistent. Your goal should be 10-12 ramp pieces and 10-12 draw effects. Upgrade from 3-mana rocks to 2-mana ones: replace Commander's Sphere with Arcane Signet, add Fellwar Stone, Mind Stone, and Thought Vessel. For card draw, add cheap draw spells like Night's Whisper, Read the Bones, and Ponder/Brainstorm in blue.

Removal and interaction are often the weakest part of precons. You typically get 4-6 removal spells, many of which are inefficient. Upgrade to 10-12 pieces of interaction. Add the premier removal spells in your colors: Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Beast Within, Chaos Warp, Assassin's Trophy, etc. Add at least 2-3 board wipes. Better interaction means you can protect your own game plan and disrupt opponents effectively.

Most precons lack a reliable way to close out the game. Add at least one clear finisher that synergizes with your deck. This could be a powerful overrun effect (Craterhoof Behemoth, End-Raze Forerunners), an infinite combo, or a game-ending planeswalker. The finisher gives your deck a clear path to victory.

After making your upgrades, use Rate My Decks to analyze the result. Our tool will show you your new power score, bracket, and suggest further improvements. Most precons can reach bracket 2-3 with $30-50 of targeted upgrades.