Living Energy Precon Upgrade Guide - Aetherdrift

by
Andy Zupke
Andy Zupke
Living Energy Precon Upgrade Guide - Aetherdrift

Welcome back for another precon guide here on EDHREC. The Aetherdrift preconstructed Commander decks have been fully revealed, so that means we have work to do. No precon is perfect out of the box, so it’s up to us to take these decks and crank up the power. And today we’ll be doing that with the Living Energy deck, led by Saheeli, Radiant CreatorSaheeli, Radiant Creator.

In case you missed it, go check out our review of the preconstructed deck here. This one got a very good review from me, owing to how fun the deck plays, as well as some spectacular new cards. All it really needs is a bit more power.

Let’s tune up.

What’s in the Original Deck?

Living Energy is green, blue, and red (Temur) and led by Saheeli, Radiant CreatorSaheeli, Radiant Creator, a 4/4 Human Artificer that gives us an energy whenever we cast an artifact or Artificer spell. And at the beginning of our combat steps, we can pay three energy to make a token copy of any permanent we control, and the token becomes a 5/5 artifact creature with haste. The token gets sacrificed at the end step.

Saheeli, Radiant Creator
Pia Nalaar, Chief Mechanic

Our backup commander is Pia Nalaar, Chief MechanicPia Nalaar, Chief Mechanic, a 2/4 Human Artificer that gives us two energy whenever one or more of our artifact creatures deal combat damage to a player (max of six energy in a four-player game). And at our end step we can pay as much energy as we want to create an X/X Vehicle token with flying and crew 2, where X is the amount of energy we spent.

Here’s the original deck list for Living Energy:


(DRC) - Living Energy

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Commander (1)

Creatures (27)

Artifacts (20)

Sorceries (6)

Instants (5)

Planeswalkers (1)

Enchantments (2)

Lands (38)

Saheeli, Radiant Creator

What Budget Cards Can We Add to Living Energy?

As always, we’ll break this upgrade guide into two parts, the first part for budget cards (under $5 per card) and the second for non-budget cards ($5 and up).

There were several great energy cards that weren’t included in the deck, so let’s take a look at the best ones for our strategy. First up is Aether RefineryAether Refinery, which doubles our energy output. And, if we need it, we can also pump energy into it to make a creature token. I’m not a fan of this one’s mana value, but it’s hard to argue with doubling all of our energy.

Izzet GeneratoriumIzzet Generatorium doesn’t technically double our energy, but whenever we make any amount, it gives us one extra. We can also use it to draw cards if we spend the required four energy in a turn.

Aether Refinery
Izzet Generatorium
Gonti’s Aether Heart

Next is Gonti’s Aether HeartGonti’s Aether Heart, which gives us two energy whenever an artifact enters. Since we’re trying to make a token with Saheeli every turn, it feels like a solid inclusion. Oh, and you can get an extra turn. Who doesn’t like those? We also have HELIOS OneHELIOS One which can be tapped for an energy, or can be used to blow up a permanent.

The largest chunk of our budget upgrades is for adding to the artifact synergies in the deck. First up is Arcbound CrusherArcbound Crusher, a modular creature that gets a +1/+1 counter whenever an artifact enters our field. If we use Saheeli to copy the Crusher, it’ll come in as a 5/5 with a +1/+1 counter, and we can put that counter on any other artifact creature when we sacrifice the token at the end step. Meanwhile the non-token Crusher is gonna get swole really quickly.

The precon was a bit lacking in recursion, so we’re bringing in both Scrap WelderScrap Welder and Daretti, Scrap SavantDaretti, Scrap Savant. Both of these can sacrifice our tokens to bring back artifacts we lose.

For card advantage, Sarinth SteelseekerSarinth Steelseeker is hard to beat at just two mana, especially since it’s an Artificer. Granted, it doesn’t put anything in our hands besides land, but also being able to drop stuff in the yard that we don’t want to see on our next draw step is huge.

Molten GatekeeperMolten Gatekeeper mimics Reckless FireweaverReckless Fireweaver’s damage output, and is an artifact itself. And to put out even more damage, we’re throwing in Kappa CannoneerKappa Cannoneer. This Turtle Warrior is an artifact creature that gets a +1/+1 counter and becomes unblockable whenever we drop an artifact. Seems like it’ll do some big things in this list, especially with that ward protection.

We’ll also add to the deck's token generation with Adrix and Nev, TwincastersAdrix and Nev, Twincasters doubling all of our tokens. Combine ChrysalisCombine Chrysalis gives all of our tokens flying, making combat a breeze. Schema ThiefSchema Thief makes us a copy of an opponent’s artifact when it hits them, which can probably be considered a decent ramp source if we’re copying mana rocks. And Encroaching MycosynthEncroaching Mycosynth turns all of our nonland permanents and spells we cast into artifacts.

Kappa Cannoneer
Adrix and Nev, Twincasters
Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer

We have to give special mention to one of the strongest token makers in Magic, Brudiclad, Telchor EngineerBrudiclad, Telchor Engineer. When I saw Saheeli, Brudiclad was the first thing that popped into my mind. The scenarios that can play out with these two on the field are extraordinary. For example: we go to combat and Saheeli and Brudiclad trigger. We resolve Saheeli first, making a copy of Kappa CannoneerKappa Cannoneer. Then make the Myr token with Brudiclad, and turn all of your tokens into Turtle Warriors that can become unblockable. Only the token made by Saheeli has to be sacrificed, so you’re still left with an army of Turtles.

For one last upgrade we’ve got Garruk’s UprisingGarruk’s Uprising, which gives all our creatures trample and draws us a card whenever we make a big creature, including Saheeli's tokens. Not bad, eh?

These are the cards we’re cutting to make room:

And here’s our budget upgraded deck list:


Living Energy Precon Budget Upgrade

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Commander (1)

Artifacts (22)

Sorceries (4)

Instants (3)

Creatures (28)

Enchantments (3)

Planeswalkers (1)

Lands (38)

Saheeli, Radiant Creator

I found way too many cards that can do great things in this deck. Sadly, I couldn’t add them all. But maybe you’d like to try some of them in your upgrade.

What Non-Budget Cards Can We Add to Living Energy?

Now we’ll take our budget upgraded list and sub in a few pricier cards for those of you interested in spending a bit more.

For more tokens, we’ve got Parallel LivesParallel Lives to double them all, and Simulacrum SynthesizerSimulacrum Synthesizer to give us Constructs whenever we drop artifacts with MV three or greater. This includes token copies we make with Saheeli, if the thing we copied has a higher MV. And if we don’t want to sacrifice our tokens at the end step, then Sundial of the InfiniteSundial of the Infinite can make sure they stick around.

Roaming ThroneRoaming Throne is a stupidly powerful card for typal decks. And really, this deck isn’t even all that focused on typal strategies, but it’s still gonna be a monster. If we name Artificer, Saheeli’s abilities will all trigger twice, meaning we get twice as much energy from her and two combat step triggers, so we can make an extra token if we have the energy. And that’s just Saheeli! Reckless FireweaverReckless Fireweaver is also an Artificer, and will throw out two damage for each artifact entering with Roaming Throne out. Brudiclad will make an extra Myr, Sai, Master ThopteristSai, Master Thopterist and Loyal ApprenticeLoyal Apprentice will make twice as many Thopters. Pia Nalaar will give us four energy when we hit opponents. You get the picture.

Simulacrum Synthesizer
Sundial of the Infinite
Cyberdrive Awakener

For bigger combats, we’re adding in Banner of KinshipBanner of Kinship and Cyberdrive AwakenerCyberdrive Awakener, both of which are great targets to be copied with Saheeli. Banner can pick Artificers or Thopters, depending on how your board is looking at that point in the game. And Awakener’s ETB effect is likely to be game over, especially if we’re using Saheeli to copy it every turn.

And our last pricey addition is Arcum DagssonArcum Dagsson, which lets us sacrifice our artifacts to tutor up more noncreature artifacts to drop on the field. Aetherflux ConduitAetherflux Conduit, PanharmoniconPanharmonicon, and Aetherworks MarvelAetherworks Marvel are all great targets. Also, if Encroaching MycosynthEncroaching Mycosynth is on the field, you can tutor up any nonland, noncreature permanent.

Here are the cards we’re cutting for this bougie list:

And now our final upgraded list:


Living Energy Precon Non-Budget Upgrade

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Commander (1)

Sorceries (4)

Artifacts (23)

Instants (2)

Creatures (27)

Enchantments (4)

Planeswalkers (1)

Lands (38)

Saheeli, Radiant Creator

For a few more pricey cards to consider:

Energize

That’s it for our upgrade of Living Energy from Aetherdrift. We took a really solid, fun deck, and gave it a bit more oomph with some extra tokens and more artifact synergy.

So? Did I make this deck better? Any cards I missed? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Bluesky at Zupkeep. And make sure to stay tuned for our guides to the other Aetherdrift deck, Eternal Might, coming at you in a couple of days, right here on EDHREC.

More Precon Goodness:

Andy Zupke

Andy's been playing Magic on and off since Fallen Empires. He loves to travel, drink, eat, and spend time with family and friends.

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