<p>Looking to upgrade your <em>Witherbloom Pestilence</em> Commander precon? We're here to give you some upgrade ideas for both budget and non-budget cards, as well as recommendations for cards from the precon that you should cut.</p>
<p>If you're looking for an analysis on what's in the deck and how to play it, <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/witherbloom-pestilence-secrets-of-strixhaven-precon-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">check out the Precon Guide here</a>.</p>


https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/SOSWitherbloomUPGRADE.png

<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Excalibur II" href="#" target="_blank">Excalibur II</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Excalibur II"></div></div>
<p>This Equipment is perfect for Dina. The deck gains life all the time, and Excalibur will get a charge counter every time it does, whether it's equipped or not. Then once it's loaded up with counters, equip it to any creature for Dina to sacrifice for huge benefits.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ravenous Squirrel" href="#" target="_blank">Ravenous Squirrel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ravenous Squirrel"></div></div>
<p>This rodent comes down early and can grow over the long game, with some repeatable card draw thrown in.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bogwater Lumaret" href="#" target="_blank">Bogwater Lumaret</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bogwater Lumaret"></div></div>
<p>We want to gain life as frequently as possible, and this Spirit Frog does exactly that.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gyre Sage" href="#" target="_blank">Gyre Sage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gyre Sage"></div></div>
<p>An excellent ramp source for us to put +1/+1 counters on.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Illusionist&#039;s Bracers" href="#" target="_blank">Illusionist&#039;s Bracers</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Illusionist&#039;s Bracers"></div></div>
<p>This is somewhat interchangeable with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rings of Brighthearth" href="#" target="_blank">Rings of Brighthearth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but Bracers is a bit more mana efficient. It's also a cheaper card to buy.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Evolution Witness" href="#" target="_blank">Evolution Witness</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Evolution Witness"></div></div>
<p>A repeatable source of recursion for bringing back creatures to sacrifice. Or other important cards we want to have again.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Managorger Hydra" href="#" target="_blank">Managorger Hydra</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Managorger Hydra"></div></div>
<p>It just gets bigger and bigger, until it eventually becomes a serious combat threat - or a juicy target for Dina to sacrifice.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Forgotten Ancient" href="#" target="_blank">Forgotten Ancient</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Forgotten Ancient"></div></div>
<p>Similar to Managorger Hydra, except this one gives out its counters to other creatures that might want them more.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jenova, Ancient Calamity" href="#" target="_blank">Jenova, Ancient Calamity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jenova, Ancient Calamity"></div></div>
<p>The more counters we put on Jenova, the more counters she'll put on other creatures, leading to a serious amount of cards drawn when we sacrifice them.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirkwood Bats" href="#" target="_blank">Mirkwood Bats</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirkwood Bats"></div></div>
<p>There's a lot of token making in this deck, so we may as well use them to speed up the game.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Savra, Queen of the Golgari" href="#" target="_blank">Savra, Queen of the Golgari</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Savra, Queen of the Golgari"></div></div>
<p>Pests are a large part of the token output of this deck. They also happen to be both black and green, meaning we get both of Savra's effects when we sacrifice them.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="South Wind Avatar" href="#" target="_blank">South Wind Avatar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="South Wind Avatar"></div></div>
<p>Here's a new one from <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/tmt" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</em></a>. Dina will give us life equal to the power of the creatures she sacrifices, so we might as well get life from their toughness too. Not to mention that nice bit of life drain when we gain life.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ageless Entity" href="#" target="_blank">Ageless Entity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ageless Entity"></div></div>
<p>The important part of the ability here is "that many." Most effects will only give a single counter whenever we gain life, no matter how much we gain, but this Elemental gets them for each point of life gained.</p>
<p>This means it's another creature that'll get huge just from playing the deck.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sengir, the Dark Baron" href="#" target="_blank">Sengir, the Dark Baron</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sengir, the Dark Baron"></div></div>
<p>Speaking of getting huge, Sengir here just loves when other creatures die. And it's <em>any </em>creatures, not just ours. And since he has flying, he's also a really significant combat threat.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jumbo Cactuar" href="#" target="_blank">Jumbo Cactuar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jumbo Cactuar"></div></div>
<p>Easily the most fun, and funniest, card we could add here. Go to combat and declare Jumbo Cactuar as an attacker, making its power 10,000. Then sacrifice him with Dina, which will gain us ten thousand life and ten thousand +1/+1 counters on another creature.</p>
<p>I'm not adding it here, but if you throw a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Walking Ballista" href="#" target="_blank">Walking Ballista</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> into this, you'll be able to end the game on the spot.</p>


<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heroic Intervention" href="#" target="_blank">Heroic Intervention</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heroic Intervention"></div></div>
<p>The precon was seriously lacking in protection spells, so we'll throw in the best one in these colors.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ayara, First of Locthwain" href="#" target="_blank">Ayara, First of Locthwain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ayara, First of Locthwain"></div></div>
<p>A fantastic card for all of the black creatures we'll be making, including the Pest tokens. With some incidental card draw thrown in.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER" href="#" target="_blank">Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards side-by-side"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER"></div></div>
<p>Possibly the best Aristocrats card printed in the last five years, Sephiroth is going to do some amazing things with Dina.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doubling Season" href="#" target="_blank">Doubling Season</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Doubling Season"></div></div>
<p>The deck makes lots of tokens and lots of counters. So Doubling Season is a no-brainer, even if it is boring.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sanguine Bond" href="#" target="_blank">Sanguine Bond</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose" href="#" target="_blank">Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enduring Tenacity" href="#" target="_blank">Enduring Tenacity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sanguine Bond"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Enduring Tenacity"></div></div>
<p>Draining life from opponents whenever we gain life is going to make the game end much more swiftly.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exquisite Blood" href="#" target="_blank">Exquisite Blood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Exquisite Blood"></div></div>
<p>This enchantment combos with any of the three cards mentioned above to end the game immediately. Keep in mind if you add this and the above cards to the deck you're automatically moved into <a href="https://edhrec.com/guides/edhrec-guide-to-commander-brackets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bracket 4</a> territory. If that's not where you want to be, then skip this one.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Polluted Bonds" href="#" target="_blank">Polluted Bonds</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Polluted Bonds"></div></div>
<p>Draining life from our opponents for doing normal game actions ensures our ever-increasing life total.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seedborn Muse" href="#" target="_blank">Seedborn Muse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Seedborn Muse"></div></div>
<p>Why activate Dina just once per turn rotation when we can do it <em>four</em> times?</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Liliana, Dreadhorde General" href="#" target="_blank">Liliana, Dreadhorde General</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Liliana, Dreadhorde General"></div></div>
<p>One of the best Aristocrats planeswalkers out there. The repeatable card draw and token making are exactly what we want. Don't expect opponents to let us get to nine loyalty for that ultimate, though.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vein Ripper" href="#" target="_blank">Vein Ripper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vein Ripper"></div></div>
<p>Lots of creatures die in Commander games. Why not profit off of that?</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vigor" href="#" target="_blank">Vigor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vigor"></div></div>
<p>Protect our creatures in combat (or against <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blasphemous Act" href="#" target="_blank">Blasphemous Act</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>) while also making them bigger sacrifice targets for Dina? Yes please.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Skullspore Nexus" href="#" target="_blank">The Skullspore Nexus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Skullspore Nexus"></div></div>
<p>Easily castable for just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Skullspore Nexus ensures that we have big creatures to sacrifice or attack with.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherflux Reservoir" href="#" target="_blank">Aetherflux Reservoir</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aetherflux Reservoir"></div></div>
<p>With all this life gain happening, we may as well throw in the death laser. It's particularly lethal if we can pull of the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jumbo Cactuar" href="#" target="_blank">Jumbo Cactuar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> move mentioned earlier.</p>


<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gorma, the Gullet" href="#" target="_blank">Gorma, the Gullet</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gorma, the Gullet"></div></div>
<p>Cutting the backup commander from a precon always feels bad. Gorma isn't even a bad commander, or a bad card. It's just not great for this deck.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gilded Goose" href="#" target="_blank">Gilded Goose</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gyome, Master Chef" href="#" target="_blank">Gyome, Master Chef</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gilded Goose"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gyome, Master Chef"></div></div>
<p>You're either a <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/food" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Food deck</a> or you aren't. This deck is not, so these two cards don't make any sense to include.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia" href="#" target="_blank">Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia"></div></div>
<p>Getting potentially one 2/2 on each of our turns doesn't do enough for this deck. We have more efficient and powerful token makers.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ophiomancer" href="#" target="_blank">Ophiomancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ophiomancer"></div></div>
<p>This is out for the same reasons as Jadar.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nether Traitor" href="#" target="_blank">Nether Traitor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nether Traitor"></div></div>
<p>This card is <em>only</em> good if we dump a bunch of counters on it. We'd rather spend our mana making a lot of small creatures than bringing this guy back repeatedly.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodghast" href="#" target="_blank">Bloodghast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bloodghast"></div></div>
<p>Similar to Nether Traitor, it's nice that it can keep coming back, but not significant enough when it's on the battlefield.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teacher&#039;s Pest" href="#" target="_blank">Teacher&#039;s Pest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Teacher&#039;s Pest"></div></div>
<p>This is slightly better than Nether Traitor, since it gains life, but only slightly.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Night&#039;s Whisper" href="#" target="_blank">Night&#039;s Whisper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Night&#039;s Whisper"></div></div>
<p>It's more important for us to include repeatable card draw than this single-use small burst.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stensian Sanguinist" href="#" target="_blank">Stensian Sanguinist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stensian Sanguinist"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exsanguinate" href="#" target="_blank">Exsanguinate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is certainly not a bad card for this deck. The problem is that Stensian Sanguinist relies on combat to get prepared, and this really isn't a combat deck.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Witherbloom Charm" href="#" target="_blank">Witherbloom Charm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Witherbloom Command" href="#" target="_blank">Witherbloom Command</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Witherbloom Charm"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Witherbloom Command"></div></div>
<p>Modal spells can be fantastic inclusions in Commander for their flexibility. Unfortunately, neither of these is terribly good.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Trudge Garden" href="#" target="_blank">Trudge Garden</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Trudge Garden"></div></div>
<p>What happens if we don't have the extra <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> to spend? Then this card does absolutely nothing. Will a couple of 4/4s in a game be nice to have? Sure. But we're relying too much on having open mana.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ohran Frostfang" href="#" target="_blank">Ohran Frostfang</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ohran Frostfang"></div></div>
<p>This isn't a combat deck, so we shouldn't base our card draw off of combat.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Casualties of War" href="#" target="_blank">Casualties of War</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Casualties of War"></div></div>
<p>The deck has enough removal, and this one's a bit too expensive.</p>


dina

Witherbloom Pestilence Precon Upgrade Guide

A New Commander Brew with Dina, Essence Brewer