Upgrading a precon on a budget

A preconstructed Commander deck (a "precon") is the easiest way into the format: 100 cards, ready to play, built around a commander. Precons are designed to be balanced against each other, so they all have a few weak spots. Fixing those spots is the cheapest way to make a deck feel much better.

Step 1: play it first

Play the deck as it comes, three or four times. Notice what goes wrong. Do you run out of cards? Get stuck on mana? Lose to one big creature? Your upgrades should fix the problems you actually have, not ones you read about.

Step 2: fix the mana

Precons often have too many lands that enter tapped, and not enough cheap ramp.

• Add two or three cheap mana rocks such as Arcane Signet, or the Talisman and Signet cycles in your colors.
• In green, add land-search spells like Rampant Growth, Cultivate and Kodama's Reach.
• Replace a couple of slow lands with basics or untapped duals you can afford.

These upgrades are cheap and make every game smoother. See Mana bases for Commander for the numbers.

Step 3: add card draw

If your hand is empty by turn six, add repeatable card draw: a creature or enchantment that draws whenever something your deck does a lot happens. Every color has budget options; search for cards in your colors with "draw a card" and "whenever".

Step 4: sharpen the removal

Swap expensive or narrow removal for cheap, flexible removal: two-mana spells that handle creatures, artifacts or enchantments. Keep two or three board wipes.

Step 5: cut the off-plan cards

Precons include cards that don't quite fit the commander's plan. Each time a card sits in your hand doing nothing, mark it. Replace it with a card that directly supports what your commander does.

How to spend wisely

• Swap ten cards at a time, then play again. It's easier to see what helped.
• Budget staples first. Ramp, draw and removal upgrades cost a few dollars each and matter more than one expensive card.
• Watch your bracket. Adding Game Changers moves your deck up a bracket; that's fine, but tell your table. See Commander brackets explained.

Track it on Podtable

Import your precon into the Podtable deck builder (paste the list from the box or a deck site), and it shows the deck's price, mana curve and which cards you already own. The Need tab lists the cards you still have to get, and Test hand shows sample openers as you make changes.

Next: Building your first Commander deck shows the full template precons are built around.