Bright-Palm, Soul AwakenerBright-Palm, Soul Awakener | Art by Mila Pesic

Hello Everyone! I’m Levi from The Thought Vessel, and today I want to talk about precons.

Precons are a great way to get new players right into the game as a jumping-off point, since they can get a fully functional deck immediately that they can upgrade and change as they learn more about the game. While this is the main point of these decks, in recent years, Wizards of the Coast has also shown their ability to highlight certain mechanics and round them out by printing support pieces for them.

Today, we’re going to look back at some really neat Commander precons that covered mechanics that I wish we would revisit, as there is still a lot of space to explore.

One quick note here, we are talking about mechanics, not keywords. While several decks have a mechanic revolving around a keyword, there are others that I really wanted to make sure we were able to talk about that work from a mechanical concept instead. With our ground rules established, we begin our list with an honorable mention.

Honorable Mention: Otrimi, the Ever-PlayfulOtrimi, the Ever-Playful: Mutate

Mutate is a mechanic that I really go back and forth with. On one hand, mutate is a really interesting mechanic that can create some very unique situations. The other side of this, however, is that mutate can create a lot of one-off situations that can be an absolute nightmare for a new player just trying to get into the game. What happens if my mutated creature is blinked? What happens if it is flipped over with a card like IxidronIxidron? These unique situations that really don't mesh with the rest of Magic make things complicated. I like complicated things, but I understand that this probably isn’t a good thing in the big picture. So, we are keeping mutate as an honorable mention.

10. Eshki, Temur's RoarEshki, Temur's Roar: Big Mana Stompy

There’s something special about Stompy decks in Commander, as it’s a lot harder to make this type of archetype work in other formats. Playing battlecruiser Magic and throwing out super-powerful creatures that are too slow for other formats is a foundational trait of a game we love. When Eshki was spoiled, I was thrilled since it could do so much. It tends to lean towards Dragons, but it could be built for Dinosaurs, Sea Creatures, Gods, or simply big creatures that we like.

Having commanders and cards that incentivize players to play the big splashy stuff in a format that is always creeping toward lower mana curves and faster wins should be encouraged, and I want to see more.

9. Gavi, Nest WardenGavi, Nest Warden: Cycling

I’m sure this precon sold very well. Not because it was particularly good, but because it was the original printing of the Game Changer Fierce GuardianshipFierce Guardianship. Cycling is a mechanic where cards can be discarded and replaced with a new drawn card for a specific cost. Some cards have an effect when they are cycled, but that isn't the case with every cycling card. It has been in Magic for quite some time, and Gavi, Nest Warden was a commander who was trying to provide enough payoff and enablement to be viable.

While Gavi is a step in the right direction, the community at large decided that getting one free cycle per turn and a 2/2 Dinosaur token simply wasn’t enough of a payoff. I really like the idea of cycling, so I would love for Wizards of the Coast to go back to the drawing board and design a cycling commander for the modern era.

8. Omo, Queen of VesuvaOmo, Queen of Vesuva: Everything Counters

With Modern Horizons 3, we got four new Commander decks that each embodied a different type of deck in Modern’s history. These were Energy, Eldrazi, Tarmogoyf, and Tron. Omo was the Tron commander and had an interesting way to solve the issue of how to get Urza's TowerUrza's Tower, Urza's Power PlantUrza's Power Plant, and Urza's MineUrza's Mine into play without loading up a precon with a bunch of tutor spells. The answer to this problem was everything counters. A land or creature with an everything counter had every available type. So, one Urza’s Power Plant could also count as Urza’s Tower and Urza’s Mine.

Outside of the main precon build, this was also a very fun commander to build around with a lot of typal lord creatures like Lord of AtlantisLord of Atlantis and Priest of TitaniaPriest of Titania. Omo can be built in a variety of different ways and can really let new players explore what is out there and connect with synergies that a lot of commanders simply don’t. I would love to see everything counters return to Magic again in an expanded capacity. Maybe we will have the ability to put everything counters on enchantments to build a Shrines deck outside of or a Bobblehead deck from Fallout with a bit more support and synergy. We’re just scratching the surface on what is possible with this, and I am hungry for more.

7. Valgavoth, Harrower of SoulsValgavoth, Harrower of Souls: Burn/Group Slug

Villain decks are good for Magic and Commander as a whole. Sometimes, designers can go too far. I’m looking at you, Tergrid, God of FrightTergrid, God of Fright. In the case of Valgavoth and the secondary commander The Lord of PainThe Lord of Pain, though, I think things are just right. Damage doesn’t steal resources from players or constantly remove things. It simply wants to bring everyone down to zero. Some players love sitting in their chair like a villain from James Bond. Archenemy is a format for this very reason.

Tossing out damage can help bring games to a close that might otherwise take over an hour. While it might not be the best deck for every game, it can definitely be a refreshing change of pace. There is a lot more room to explore in this space, and I would anticipate we may see some developments as we continue to get Universes Beyond sets with characters that fit the theme.

6. Sefris of the Hidden WaysSefris of the Hidden Ways: Venture into the Dungeon

With Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, we got our first exposure to the venture into the dungeon mechanic. This was somewhat expanded on the following year with take the initiative, a mix of venture into the dungeon, and a fan favorite, the monarch. Sefris was the face of building a deck that revolved around venturing into the dungeon. As with most commanders, the community found out how to break Sefris, setting up infinite loops of dungeon diving using a specific dungeon that could cause loss of life or damage until the table was taken out.

It would be nice to see venture into the dungeon revisited in a less exploitable way or in a different color combination. A lot of Dungeon staples are relatively budget-friendly, and there is a lot of room to design further, including new dungeons.

5. Bello, Bard of the BramblesBello, Bard of the Brambles: Obscure

Of all the precon commanders that have come out since 2020, this Raccoon might be my favorite. The deck itself is fine, but I do like commanders that have a deep card pool to explore. For a card to work with Bello, it has to be a non-aura enchantment or a non-equipment artifact. That is it!

There are a variety of ways we could take this deck. Bello could be a Vehicles deck, Enchantress, Stax, Good Stuff, or a combination of all of them. Having precons and commanders that are essentially an archetype all by themselves is really neat, and I want to see more of it.

4. Vrondiss, Rage of AncientsVrondiss, Rage of Ancients: Enrage

This may be cheating a little bit because Vrondiss doesn’t explicitly have the enrage keyword, but the deck certainly acts like it. As either a Dragon-themed deck or a deck fully leaning into enrage triggers with cards like RileRile, I think having triggers based on receiving damage is very interesting. Pinger creatures become more relevant, and blocking can be complicated as opponents have to decide if they want to take the damage or trigger Silverclad FerocidonsSilverclad Ferocidons.

Enrage also has the bonus of teaching newer players about tracking damage and when damage falls off, a lesson that is often overlooked when new players are learning how to play the game. We have gotten Dinosaurs in newer sets, but enrage is a keyword that seemingly is being left behind. That is a shame, and I hope we get the opportunity to revisit it down the road.

3. Davros, Dalek CreatorDavros, Dalek Creator: Villainous Choice

Speaking of being a villain, villainous choice was an absolute home run of a mechanic. It truly feels like a supervillain forcing the hero to choose between catching them or saving the train that is rolling out of control down the tracks. Villainous choice typically forces each opponent to choose between two decisions that they don’t want to make. For Davros, Dalek CreatorDavros, Dalek Creator, the choice is between letting them draw a card or discarding a card. When each opponent has to make these decisions, it can really add up. We have ways to double it up or repeat it, and it keeps the table engaged and part of the conversation while getting to cosplay as a villain at the same time.

Of every mechanic on this list, I think villainous choice has the highest probability of being reprinted, thanks to all of the Marvel sets on the horizon. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see a Doctor Doom or Thanos card with villainous choice. We haven’t seen anything yet, but I am hopeful.

2. Zurgo StormrenderZurgo Stormrender: Mobilize

An important lesson that newer players need to learn is to get into combat and attack when and where they can. Designers have done a pretty good job encouraging aggressive gameplay with damage triggers on cards like Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver and Yuriko, the Tiger's ShadowYuriko, the Tiger's Shadow that help the game move along. Mobilize is another mechanic along these lines, creating extra attackers when creatures are declared in combat. We’ve seen things like this before with mechanics like battle cry, but there is a Mardu elephant in the room.

Whenever a new attack trigger gets printed, the dominant strategy is usually to simply add that card to Isshin, Two Heavens as OneIsshin, Two Heavens as One. Since it can double up attack triggers, it’s an incredibly powerful card in a deck that works fast. We should look into combat triggers in other colors as well. Yes, we did get Wulfgar of Icewind DaleWulfgar of Icewind Dale, but with the token production, it would be interesting to see mobilize expanded toward Abzan or even Selesnya.

1. Bright-Palm, Soul AwakenerBright-Palm, Soul Awakener: Backup

Finally, we have my absolute favorite mechanic to come out in recent years, backup. Backup is an ETB effect that gives a +1/+1 counter to a creature along with another ability. These vary from doubling up counters as we see on Bright-Palm to card advantage and even copying effects. Backup decks are a balance between Blink and +1/+1 counters, as players have to decide between growing their creature with counters or bouncing and blinking them to get another instance of their backup ability. Stacking these effects onto one creature can make for some very interesting gameplay, and we can use +1/+1 counter synergy cards to round out the rest of the deck.

The problem with using those +1/+1 counter synergy cards is that the more that are added to the deck, the less focus is actually put on the backup mechanic itself. This is a problem that the precon Call for Backup actually runs into, as there simply aren’t enough cards with backup in the deck to make it a reliable strategy. It would be an absolute dream to see backup used again since there is still so much potential here.

Wrapping Up

Commander and Magic: The Gathering as a whole is always looking forward to the next step in innovation. There are dozens of different keywords and mechanics that were tried out and simply ignored for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they weren’t fun enough. Other times, they were too confusing for new players. I hope that someday, between all their innovations, Wizards of the Coast takes a second to look back at some of the amazing mechanics of the past to bring new life into some old favorites. Until next time, happy brewing!

Read More: