How to Upgrade Your Strixhaven Commander Deck in MTG

As useful as Magic: The Gathering Commander precons are, it always feels like there's untapped potential within each one, and it only takes a few well-chosen cards to really unlock it.

We'll take a look at three key upgrades for each Secrets of Strixhaven Commander deck, explaining why we chose them and what they do to improve the deck and take it to the next level. Within each set of upgrades there will be a cheap, a mid-range, and an expensive upgrade, just to make sure we have all our bases covered.

Prismari artistry

Shark Tycoon – $1.50-14

Cheap and cheerful, Shark Tycoon is surprisingly dynamic for an enchantment that will cost you less than two dollars. You can hard cast this spell for six mana, you gain an enchantment that creates X/X flying shark tokens every time you cast a non-creature spell, where X is equal to the mana cost of that spell.

With a push, you can cycle Shark Tycoon for X plus two mana, and when you do, you create a flying shark token with a power and toughness equal to X.

Rebellion – $8-18

A bomb of a spell if you can pull it off, Insurrection gives you control over all creatures on the battlefield, freeing them, and giving them haste until the end of the turn.

If someone at the table looks a little too dangerous, this is the best way to use your own creatures against them. Sure, it's not easy to find the eight mana you need to cast this spell, but it's fun to have in hand when you manage to create an opening to cast it.

Improv Capstone – $13-26

In some ways, it's quite surprising that this new Paradigm spell didn't make it into Commander decks in the first place, but considering we've already seen its impact in Standard, it could really be a game changer in Commander.

Yes, it costs seven mana, but it gives you several free spells to cast each turn, if you're lucky. It's a win-win in so many ways, so make sure you do everything you can to resolve it, as there will likely be some resistance when you cast it.

Removals

Here are some cards you may want to remove to make room for these upgrades.

• Solemn Simulacrum
• Surge to victory
• Twinflame
• Chaos Warp
• Prismari Charm

Quandrix Unlimited

Broodguard Elite – $0.20

The cheap upgrade for Quandrix Unlimited that we bring is the Broodguard Elite. Distorting this creature into play for a high cost is a surefire way to quickly get counters on Zimone, which then has a knock-on effect for other X-cost spells you want to cast.

Don't let its low cost fool you. In this deck, this card has the potential to be extremely impactful, especially if you can get it into your hand early.

Double – $5-50

You have to do some mental math to make sure you know exactly how many tokens Doppelgang will spawn, but this is a great card that can take a threat from another player and let you in on the fun. It has also appeared more in Standard, which is a surprise, but in Commander, where mana tends to flow a little more freely, it can be extremely problematic for your opponents.

Calonian Hydra – $5-29

There are already some great Hydra cards in the deck, but Kalonian Hydra is such an obvious upgrade that we just couldn't leave it off our list.

It can only go in with four +1/+1 counters on it, but that double the dishes on all of your creatures when it attacks. Throw in the fact that it has Trample, and you've got yourself another ferocious green creature that will strike fear into your opponents.

Removals

Here are the cards you might want to consider swapping out for some of our featured upgrades, especially given that there's already so much ramp in this deck; some of these cards just aren't as impactful.

• Eureka moment
• Quandrix's Apprentice
• Open the way
• The Curse of the Pig
• Zimone, everyone questioning

Silver Quill Influence

Ethereal Armor – $0.40

Another example of a card seemingly perfect for a deck but not included to begin with, Ethereal Armor gives a creature +1/+1 for each enchantment you control and also gives it First Strike.

This card causes all sorts of problems in Standard as part of the Mono-White Auras deck, and it will be right at home here given the amount of enchantments you're likely to have in play at any given time.

Light Paws, Emperor's Voice – $2-20

This two-mana creature may not look like much when it enters the battlefield, but it has great interaction potential with your auras.

When an aura enters play while Light Paws is on the battlefield, you can search your deck for another aura with a mana value equal to or less than the one you cast and it's attached to Light Paws, then shuffle your library.

There is additional context on this card that allows you to select a card that isn't already on the battlefield, but since Commander is a singleton format it's not necessary to be aware of.

Sigarda's Aid – $16-66

What's better than casting big game-changing auras and gear? Throwing them at instant speed, of course! Resolving this enchantment is the key to making Silverquill Influence a truly problematic deck. By playing this spell, you then gain access to all new strategic approaches.

Sigarda's Aid also allows you to bypass any equipment attachment costs, as you can attach equipment you play to a creature you control when they enter play.

Removals

The following cards are good to remove from this deck when choosing your upgrades, even if you don't follow our recommended choices:

• Interested duelist
• Agonized Unmaking
• Firemane Commando
• Breena, the demagogue
• Mangara, the diplomat

Witherbloom plague

Blech, Loafing Plague – $0.49

We start with a creature that leans heavily towards the life gain and +1/+1 counter strategies that are possible with this deck. Each time you gain one or more life, you put a counter on Blech and each pest, bat, bug, snake, or spider you control.

Vito, Dusk Of The Thorn Rose – $9-59

Vito is a black and Golgari Commander staple. Vito has a lot of potential and fits well with the existing strategies for this precon.

You can choose to try to create an endless life loss combo or have him be an absolute threat dishing out targeted chip damage over and over again.

As an added bonus, for five mana, you can activate his ability and give all your creatures Lifelink, as on the right

Sephiroth, Fabled Soldier/One Winged Angel – $25-93

Perhaps a bit of a left field choice, Sephiroth leans towards both the sacrificial nature of the Witherbloom deck and the life gain aspect as well.

He'll knock your opponents away every time a creature you control dies, and once that's happened four times, he'll transform and give you an emblem so his ability becomes permanent.

Even better, once Sephiroth transforms, he can start sacrificing creatures when he attacks, so if you've built up a large pest army or general token army, you can use it to your advantage in these situations.

Removals

If you're looking for cards to remove from the Witherbloom Pestilence deck, here are the ones we see as the bottom of the pack:

• Gilded Goose
• Down traitor
• Blood ghost
• The whisper of the night

Lorehold Spirit

Ghost Vacuum – $3-20

This isn't exactly an extra-budget addition, as the price of the Ghost Vacuum increased recently due to its increased play in other formats, but it's still under $5 and a worthwhile investment.

Ghost Vacuum allows you to exile a card from a graveyard when you tap it. This is useful if you target your own graveyard, as you can activate several abilities that relate to cards leaving your graveyard.

You can then pay six mana and sacrifice Ghost Vaccum to put any creature you've banished with it onto the battlefield under your control, only they're a 1/1 flying spirit in addition to their other types. The fact that the creatures come back as spirits means they benefit from any buffs and abilities you already have on the board.

Janitor's Talent – $8.49-10

This enchantment class from Bloomburrow has a real purple patch in Standard, so it's only right that it can have a similar impact in a token-heavy Commander deck.

This card allows you to draw a card each time a token you control enters play, once per turn. It's level two, which costs one mana, lets you copy a token you control.

Finally, its level three ability, which costs four mana to unlock, gives all creatures you control +2/+2.

Esper Sentinel – $65-92

This is by far the highest upgrade we've picked across all five decks, at least in terms of the cheapest you can buy it for, but there's a good reason why.

Esper Sentinel is a one-mana 1/1 that lets you draw a card every time an opponent casts their first non-creature spell each turn, unless they pay mana equal to Esper Sentinel's power.

Removals

While not the strongest of the Strixhaven Commander precon decks, there aren't too many obvious removals to choose from, but here are some of our picks:

• Moonshaker Cavalry
• Secret meeting
• Lorehold Charm
• Primary research
• Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus