(Dihada, Binder of Wills |Art by Nestor Ossandon Leal)

Hello friends! I’m Andy from the Scrap Trawlers, and we’re your EDHREC guides for all things preconstructed. Last time I took you on a scenic tour through the Legends’ Legacy precon from Dominaria United, which is helmed by the planeswalker Dihada, Binder of Wills. Today we’re revisiting that deck and giving it a little more oomph. I’ll show you the handful of new cards I’d add to this deck to make it stronger and faster, while not making too much of a dent in your checkbook. Then we’ll cap it all off by showing you some of the pricier additions for those less budget conscious. 

Here’s the original deck list:

Alright, let’s upgrade!

Outside the Box

As a recap, Dihada, Binder of Wills is a white, black, and red planeswalker that buffs a legendary creature with some keyword abilities for her plus 2 ability and digs through your top 4 cards for legends for her minus 3. She also has a minus 11 ability to steal all your opponents’ permanents for a turn. I really like Shanid, Sleepers’ Scourge and the card advantage it provides, but since we’re not looking to completely overhaul the deck so much as just tune it up, I want to keep Dihada in the driver’s seat. Shanid is definitely staying in the 99 though.

Overall, I was happy with the direction of the precon list. It wants to drop creatures and turn them sideways. So what we need to do is speed it up just a tad, and also make our combat wins a bit more explosive. The deck also had a bunch of new legends shoehorned into it that really didn’t jibe with the deck. So we had a few easy cuts, and maybe a few difficult ones as well. 

In You Go

I had hoped to increase the number of legendary creatures in the deck by at least 5, but it turns out that was a lot more difficult than I’d anticipated. For starters, there aren’t a lot of legends that are good, low-cost, aggro, and effective at all points in the game. Also, I didn’t want to sacrifice other important functions in the deck, like ramp and removal, to make room for them. So while I only increased the creature count by one, I did manage to get more synergy in the creatures, and lower cost.

So let’s see what we added! Arni Brokenbrow isn’t a legend I was too keen on when he was released in Kaldheim, but I think for what this deck is trying to do, his Boast ability, when combined with Dihada buffing him, actually makes a lot of sense. The haste is a huge bonus for this deck that’s looking to swing big and swing often. 

Speaking of which, you know what aggro decks like to do most? Attack, of course! So let’s make it double trouble, with Karlach, Fury of Avernus. We’re already loving on the keyword abilities, so throwing in first strike is absolutely hot here.

Next up we have Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer and Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose. Rem loves to swing, while also protecting you and your stuff. And Vito just loves all that lifelink that Dihada is passing around.

The deck already has Alesha, Who Smiles at Death for some graveyard recursion, but with these aggro piles it helps to have more since you’re always vulnerable to board wipes and spot removal. So I added another unsung and forgotten legend, this one from Core Set 2019, Isareth the Awakener. A 3/3 with deathtouch for just 3 mana is fantastic stats-wise, and adding on the ability to bring back creatures of whatever size you’re willing to pay for will assure that you’ll keep having a threatening presence on the board.

For non-creature additions, I threw in Despark because the deck was a bit short on cheap, instant-speed removal. Obsidian Obelisk and Relic of Legends speed the deck up, something it sorely needed. And Search for Glory, an extremely under-valued tutor, grabs any legend out of the deck. 

Lastly, I added two finishing moves to the deck. Both cards get your opponents’ creatures out of the way so you can swing in unabated. One is, nicely enough, also a legendary creature. It’s Kardur, Doomscourge. One of my absolute favorite cards for the 99 from the last two years. I’ve thrown this dude in any deck I can, and it always pays off. Your opponents will spend a whole round battling each other, dropping their life totals, and tapping their creatures. When it comes back to you, there’s nothing left but to sail on through the open battlefield. But wait, there’s more! Another go-to card for me is Bond of Discipline. This card shoves aside all of your opponents’ creatures so you can walk right up and smack their pretty faces. It’s especially nice with Vito in play.

Don’t Let the Door Hit Ya…

We’ve added 11 cards, so now comes the tough part of letting 11 go. The new legends that got the axe are: Verrak, Warped Sengir, Bladewing, Deathless Tyrant, and Moira, Urborg Haunt. Verrak has those nice keywords that we enjoy, but 3 mana for a 2/2 just didn’t cut it, especially since the life pay ability has zero relevance to the list. Bladewing is great for decks with full graveyards, but that’s not what we’re doing here. And the 7 mana cost was just helping to slow the deck down. Then there’s Moira, who really should find a home in an aristocrats deck.

A few older creatures got the cut as well. Garna, the Bloodflame got cut for the same reason as Moira. We’re not really playing ways to sacrifice our own creatures, and I don’t want to hold her up for a board wipe. And Teshar, Ancestors’ Apostle is a fantastic creature, but just not effective enough in this list.

The Circle of Loyalty was only in the original deck because it was legendary. Not a good enough reason to keep it. Hedron Archive and Mobilized District were replaced by the two mana rocks we added. Hero’s Blade is just not relevant to the deck. Primevals’ Glorious Rebirth is thematically perfect, but far too costly. And Ambition’s Cost I cut to leave room for the legends and drop the average mana value. I was definitely sad to see these last two go.

Binder of Bills

Alright, so you don’t care about budget. Or maybe you just have lots of expensive cards lying around. Here’s some ideas of ways to power up the deck on the pricier side.

For big legendary creatures, I’m throwing in Aurelia, the Warleader, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, and Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. Adding them all is going to hurt your mana curve, so maybe pick your one or two favorites. You can also offset their cost by throwing in a Mox Amber, which goes great with your legendary deck.

Looking to do even more with Dihada? How about turning her into a creature with Luxior, Giada’s Gift? When she becomes a creature, she can then target herself with her plus 2 ability. And, bingo bango, commander damage is back on the menu. Or maybe you just wanna buff up an extra creature each turn? The Chain Veil’s got you covered there.

To sweeten things up for Shannid, we’ll add Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep, and Eiganjo Castle, with the latter two being useful for helping your creatures in battle.

Karlov of the Ghost Council is perfect for this deck. It’s cheap, works well with Dihada, and adds a legendary creature into a removal slot. But if you’re looking to go big on removal, then you can’t do better than Ruinous Ultimatum.

And finally, Teferi’s Protection is never not good if you got the money for it.

New and Improved

Here’s my upgraded deck list:

We’ve lowered the average mana value from 3.52 to 3.32. Not a huge drop, but enough to give the deck just a little more pep. We took out some of the new legends that are better suited elsewhere and found homes for a few underloved creatures. We also ramped up the power with a few finishers. All for just a little over $10! 

What else would you put in this deck? Sound off in the comments below. The precons are never-ending these days, so be sure to check back here often for more Scrap Trawlers primers and upgrade guides. You can also catch us making budget EDH content over on YouTube and Twitch. Until next time, remember to budget…before you buy it.