Daretti, Scrap SavantDaretti, Scrap Savant | Art by Dan Murayama Scott

When I got into the Commander format, one of my favorite ways to engage was through the pre-constructed decks.

I didn’t buy one every year, but sometimes I’d buy multiple. Sometimes I’d skip on a deck or release and then check back on it and its cool new designs, wondering if I’d made a mistake or if I should try to pick it up quickly before it spiked. Basically a weird, chronic FOMO. I wanted to do something about this, and one way I thought might help would be answering a question: how often do precons hold real value?

It’s one thing to see pre-order prices and the occasional Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection — it’s another to look at a spreadsheet full of data that says "not worth it".

So I embarked on a strange journey — I built a spreadsheet dedicated to the singular task of breaking down the various strange elements of pre-constructed decks. It’s evolved over time to answer more and more questions, like color combinations and themes. At the end of each year, I would check the prices of the pre-constructed decks and record them. I’ve found a lot of interesting trends, not just in prices, but in the construction of the decks themselves. I’d like to share some of those finds here!

As always, my analysis is limited to mass market releases. As of the end of 2026, there will have been 165 decks, but not all the 2026 decks have been revealed at time of writing.

Not All Color Combinations Are Created Equally

Commander is truly a three-color format: this has been true since its humble origins as Elder Dragon Highlander. The first two years of deck releases were three-color. How does this shake out?

Most mono-color decks will get their second-ever full set of Commander pre-constructed decks this year, with black having gotten a third, while four-color decks only have one apiece, save for two exceptions:

• (Thanks to the Fantastic Four precon)
• (Thanks to the upcoming Reality Fracture precon)

That’s a grand total of 18 decks amongst the bunch.

Two-color combinations have a total of 57 decks, with Simic having the most at 8 and Azorius having the least at 4. The rest clock in at 5 or 6.

Three-color combinations rule the roost at 83 decks. Jeskai is the most popular combination of all at 13, with Esper and Naya tying for second at 10 apiece. Bringing up the rear, it’s Sultai , Abzan , and Jund in a three-way tie at six decks each.

Finally, there have been four decks and only one colorless deck.

From this, I actually pulled the popularity of individual colors! The following list is their rankings and number of decks they’re featured in. It’s pretty close, but there’s an interesting disparity of 10 decks between blue and green, which is surprising given the reputation of green as the beginner friendly color and blue as being for more experienced players.

1. Blue: 79
2. Red: 77
3. White: 76
4. Black: 71
5. Green: 69

Most Common Themes

I talked here about the themes which haven’t been seen yet, but what about the themes we have seen? Amongst the 150+ decks, there are 75 themes that have been done, some of them multiple times.

Here’s the top 10 most common themes!

#10: Unnatural/Artifacts & Enchantments (5 decks)

Being a touch indecisive, this theme is about using not one but two permanent types. The blending allows for a wider swath of powerful individual cards but gives up on the power of individually hyper-synergistic cards like Argothian EnchantressArgothian Enchantress and Scrap TrawlerScrap Trawler. This is catching some overlap with the Noncreature Spell and Delirium-style decks, and certainly gets a boost from the batching of Equipment and Auras. The most definitive crack at it is Animated Army from 2023. Despite being called unnatural, this theme almost always includes green.

#9: Reanimator (5 decks)

Focused on bringing creatures back from the graveyard, this black-centered theme debuted in 2015’s Plunder the Graves with Meren of Clan Nel TothMeren of Clan Nel Toth and most recently came back in 2025’s Revival Trance with Terra, Herald of HopeTerra, Herald of Hope.

#8: Lifedrain (5 decks)

This is more than just a lifegain deck, it seeks to either pay life or actively burn the opponent while doing so. The theme requires black in some capacity, with green and white being good supports. This theme debuted in 2017’s Vampiric Bloodlust with Licia, Sanguine TribuneLicia, Sanguine Tribune most directly calling it out, though she would be overshadowed by Edgar MarkovEdgar Markov, as the Vampire type does this naturally. 2021’s Witherbloom Witchcraft solidified how the theme would look going forward, with this year’s Witherbloom Presence showing it off again.

#7: Sacrifice (6 decks)

Let’s move out of the tied-for-last range! This is all about sacrificing permanents for direct value. It’s a core black theme, and it shows: all six include the color. This is the more general version of the archetype and doesn’t include Aristocrats strategies (if one lumped them in together, they’d jump up to the number four spot at 10, if you’re curious). This debuted in 2013’s Power Hungry and has most recently appeared in this year’s aforementioned Witherbloom Presence, which pulled serious double duty.

#6: Equipment (7 decks)

Trending towards a Voltron strategy, this theme is all about casting the creature-boosting artifact type. Every deck with this theme has had white, with red and green both tied for second. It debuted in 2014’s Forged in Stone but the first proper Boros Equipment deck wouldn’t come out until 2020’s Armed for Battle. Its most recent appearance was last year's incredibly popular Limit Break.

#5: Spellslinger (8 decks)

Caring about instants and sorceries, decks with this theme have had the highest amount of color combo repetition. Debuting in 2015’s Seize Control, three of the decks were Izzet , while the other four included those colors. Black, white, and green have each been a third color added on, green having only been included once in the unique Arcane Maelstrom. It most recently was used in 2025’s Jeskai Striker, though one might argue Scions and Spellcrafts could count.

#4: +1/+1 Counters (9 decks)

This theme is steadily blending with Keyword Counters for a more general Counters theme, but for now I’m willing to keep them separate. Debuting back in the origin point with 2011’s Counterpunch, this is a mainstay that continues with this year’s Turtle Power, expanding all the way to five-color.

#3: Graveyard (12 decks)

Now we’re hitting double-digit territory! The graveyard is another wide-open theme, first seen in 2011’s Devour for Power as a general value/pseudo-reanimator, with the most recent appearance being Lorehold Spirit, which cares about cards leaving the graveyard by any means necessary. Very cool!

#2: Artifacts (12 decks)

Technically tied with the graveyard for second, artifacts is the permanent type most frequently cared about. You can easily make an artifact deck in every single color combination, although blue and red are the most commonly seen. The first deck to use this theme was 2013’s Eternal Bargain, thanks to being Esper and lacking for other options. The first deck to use the theme in earnest would be 2014’s Built from Scratch. The newly released Wakanda Forever is taking the deck in a new color combination: Selesnya , which is exciting!

#1: Tokens (18 decks)

Swinging in hot, it’s the tokens archetype! It’s been in an array of combinations, only repeating Simic , Mardu , and Esper , for a total of 15 unique color sets. This versatility is due to how the different colors can interact with tokens, be it going wide, going tall, using them as fodder, or even focusing on noncreature tokens to unusual ends! 2013’s Power Hungry held a strong subtheme, with 2016’s Open Hostility doing it as a focus. It’s evolved over time in great ways.

Is It Worth It?

I’ve taken up a lot of time here, but I did want to inject one final bit here from the original impetus of the spreadsheet: prices. I’ll not bore you with a crazy amount of details here, just a few odds and ends.

The average value of every deck released from 2011-2025 is $90. The primary outliers are the Universes Beyond decks, which have more original designs (closer to 40 new cards on average rather than the typical 10-15) and higher price points. The trend of those decks, by the way, is to have around $300 pre-order prices before crashing to $70-$80 for a year or two before rebounding. If there are any unique cards from those decks that are in the $5-15 range, pick ‘em up before they get higher. This is holding true for Turtle Power, which had preorder prices close to $600, with $99 of that being reprints. As of May, it had $79 in value. We’ll see how it shakes up over time.

Finally, a question about the $20 decks like Reap the Tides or Phantom Premonition. I was curious about their effects on prices. By and large, they kept very little value, largely averaging closer to $40 in 2025, aside from the Elven Empire, which smashed all the way up to $117 last year. These decks occasionally had pre-order prices comparable to other Magic IP deck releases, so it’s interesting to see. (And may go to show one reason they were discontinued in favor of the higher MSRP models.) This held true for the all reprint intro decks like First Flight, which had around $30 in value as of the end of last year.

Whew!

And that’s a wrap for now. Let me know if you enjoyed this unusual data dive and if there are other questions about pre-constructed decks you might have! It’s been a great way to celebrate 15 years of my favorite Magic product. Here’s to 15 more!

Read More: