Welcome back to another precon guide here on EDHREC. Today we’re upgrading Revenant Recon, the Commander deck from Karlov Manor. In case you missed it, go take a look at the Review for this deck, where we went over what the deck does and how to play it.

I gave this deck a middling review, due to the disappointing new cards and completely out-of-place backup commander. If we get rid of the chaff and add in more ways to Surveil, we’ll have Mirko getting swole and bringing back big creatures way faster and more consistently.

Let’s tune up.

What’s In the Original Revenant Recon Deck?

This deck is black and blue (Dimir), and led by Mirko, Obsessive Theorist, a 1/3 flying, vigilant Vampire Detective. Whenever you Surveil, Mirko gets a +1/+1 counter, and at your end step you can bring a creature back from your graveyard if its power is less than Mirko’s, and it comes with a Finality counter.

Our backup commander is Marvo, Deep Operative, a 1/8 Octopus Rogue that Clashes when it attacks. Whenever you win a Clash, you can draw a card and cast a spell from your hand for free if its mana value is eight or less.

Here’s the original decklist for Revenant Recon:

What Budget Cards Can We Add to Revenant Recon?

We’ll break our upgrade up into two parts, one budget ($5 or less) and one non-budget (>$5).

It’s in our best interest to Surveil as often as possible. Instants and sorceries are one-time effects; we need more repeatable Surveil outlets to get our mana’s worth. 

Snarling Gorehound is quite possibly the best one-drop this deck could ask for. It gives you a Surveil trigger whenever a creature with power two or less enters the battlefield. With this list, that’s fifteen creature cards. That’s not a huge amount, but the fact that Mirko himself triggers it is great to give Mirko a counter as soon as he enters. Let’s also keep in mind that Mirko will bring back a creature every turn, which can often trigger Gorehound. Also, there’s Grave Titan.

Sanguine Spy can Surveil for the cost of one mana and a creature sacrificed. The sacrifice is no biggie, since we’re bringing creatures back anyway. Cruel Witness Surveils whenever we cast a noncreature spell, which is about a third of the deck. Laser Screwdriver can Surveil for two mana, but has other activated abilities that can also suit our needs. And there’s The Grim Captain’s Locker from Lost Caverns of Ixalan, which can Surveil for free once per turn or give you another outlet to return a large creature from the grave for a discount.

The precon was low on ramp, so we’re adding Wayfarer’s Bauble, Burnished Hart, and Solemn Simulacrum. (Laser Screwdriver also fits this need.) Hart and Simulacrum are great targets for Mirko to resurrect in the early game.

To deal with Finality counters, we’re adding Power Conduit and Heartless Act. Conduit is even better here than it was for my Ahoy Mateys Upgrade, since Mirko is all about those +1/+1 counters. Sadly, in the weeks since I wrote that Upgrade Guide, Nesting Grounds has gone over $5. So look for it below in the non-budget upgrade section.

The deck needed a bit of protection, so we’re adding Swiftfoot Boots to put Mirko at ease. Tale’s End is also making an appearance strictly to counteract our deck’s biggest weakness: grave hate. It’s one of only a handful of cards that can stop a Bojuka Bog.

Onto our last few upgrades. We’ve got Ayara, First of Locthwain, which gives us a nice trigger when black creatures enter our board, and some potential card draw. Starving Revenant Surveils on entry and drains our opponents if we draw cards while our graveyard is full. Corpse Connoisseur can fetch any creature from our library and put it in the graveyard, and he does it every time he enters the battlefield. Last is Gray Merchant of Asphodel. I’m pretty bored with this card, having lost dozens of games to it myself. But I don’t think I could stand all the negative comments if I didn’t add it here.

To the underworld goes: Everflowing Chalice, Ransom Note, Thoughtbound Phantasm, Black Sun’s Zenith, Copy Catchers, Curate, Dimir Spybug, Disinformation Campaign, Ephara’s Dispersal, Final-Word Phantom, Phyrexian Arena, Deep Analysis, Counterpoint, Foreboding Steamboat, Discovery // Dispersal, and yes, Marvo, Deep Operative

Here’s the budget upgraded list:

Here are some cards that I wanted to add but couldn’t find room for: Coastal Bulwark, Eloise, Nephalia Sleuth, House Guildmage, Search for Azcanta, Braids, Arisen Nightmare, Plaguecrafter

What Are Some Good Expensive Cards We Can Add to Revenant Recon?

Looking to spend a little extra coin to power up this precon? I’ve got you covered here. I already mentioned Nesting Grounds, which has sadly crept up in price over the last month (likely due to Finality counters showing up two sets in a row).

Lightning Greaves is going to sub out Swiftfoot Boots, since it’s just more efficient and we don’t have a lot of reasons to target Mirko, other than Power Conduit. Phantasmal Image comes in as another 0/0 for Mirko to target in the yard, with the benefit of being cheap if we want to just cast it. Entomb grabs a card from our library and throws it in the yard for very little cost and at instant speed. No-brainer. Panharmonicon doubles our ETB triggers, which happen on 16 of our permanents. Not a huge portion of the deck, made better with all our recursion.

Sheoldred, Whispering One is definitely a “good stuff” card, with a high, and justified, salt score. But it works great with our recursion plan.

Last is Dimir Strandcatcher, a new card from the Clue product. It Surveils when you attack and can potentially draw you some cards. There’s no price data on this card yet, so I played it safe and put it in the non-budget section. 

Out go: Temple of the False God, Baleful Strix, Swiftfoot Boots, Starving Revenant, Twilight Prophet, Vizier of Many Faces, and Dream Eater

Here’s the non-budget upgrade list:

Surveil Prevails

That’s it for our Upgrade Guide for Revenant Recon. What do you think? Did I make this deck any better? Any cards I missed? Was I too hard on poor Marvo? Let me know in the comments. And keep checking back for more precon guides, here on EDHREC.

More Precon Guides:

Deadly Disguise Precon Review

Deadly Disguise Upgrade Guide

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.