(Ellivere of the Wild Court | Art by Dmitry Burmak | Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice | Art by Randy Vargas | Sythis, Harvest's Hand | Art by Ryan Yee)

Hey friends, Beth, Queen of Cardboard here with another Precon Upgrade article. Today we'll tackle Virtue and Valor, the Selesnya precon from Wilds of Eldraine. 

As a casual Commander player, I'll be looking for cards that are on theme with the deck, allow for silly plays, and were missed in the original deck list. The biggest issue with this deck was the introduction of a new mechanic, Role tokens, but not using all of the roles available in Wilds of Eldraine. We're going to take a look at what we can include and why these Roles may or may not be the best fit for you.

It's no secret that Enchantress is a popular deck theme. In fact, going through my decks, I have no less than three Enchantress decks, two of them being from the most recent sets, Wilds of Eldraine and Commander Masters. So how do we build this deck in a way that feels fresh and new? Let's get into it.

Virtuous Anthems

Taking a look at the given commander in the deck, Ellivere of the Wild Court, you'll notice that she has something no other Role-giver has: the ability to give Virtuous Roles.

If you don't have the ability to flip your phone upside down to read the token, Virturous is a token enchantment - Aura Role that gives the enchanted creature +1/+1 for each enchantment you control. This is an extremely strong enchantment that Ellivere gives to another target creature when she enters the battlefield or attacks. Knowing that we want more enchantments on the battlefield, I'm looking at a go-wide strategy with multiple anthem effects that lean towards pumping our creatures based on the number of enchantments we control. The deck already comes with some great options, like Ethereal Armor, Eidolon of Countless Battles, and Ancestral Mask.

Playing the deck proved to me that Mantle of the Ancients was not only a perfect fit for this deck, but almost single-handedly won me the game several times. In addition to the great options the deck already included, I added All That Glitters and Helm of the Gods. These two options are perfectly on theme with the deck and add value to anything we've got on the board state. I also found a spot here for Hope Against Hope, giving us +1/+1 for each creature on board. I kept Giant Inheritance from the original list because I liked its anthem effect, the ability to give the enchanted creature a Monster Role, and its self-recursion.

If You Blink You'll Miss It

Depending on the board state, you may not be interested in using Elliver in combat as often as some of the other creatures, since she can't target herself with her ability. So including a blink package to take advantage of her ability while keeping her on the sidelines is a no-brainer. Enchantment cards like Teleportation Circle, Skybind, and Far Traveler not only help the enchantment anthem effects, but also allow you to remove Ellivere from the battlefield and return her for another ETB trigger. Blinking the commander at instant speed with cards like Ephemerate and Cloudshift also saves her from targeted removal, giving both value and protection.

Some other creatures in the deck that can also take advantage of blinking are Sun Titan, Syr Armont, the Redeemer, Gylwain, Casting Director, Cursed Courtier, and Eidolon of Blossoms. Don't forget about Siona, Captain of the Pyleas, as her ETB allows for a mini-tutor, looking at the top seven cards of your deck for an Aura. If you're looking to switch out the commander in this deck, this is the pick I'd make.

Filtering through your deck for all of your Auras is a quick way to end the game, and it helps that Siona creates a 1/1 Human Soldier token each time an Aura is attached to a creature. Unlike some other cards seen recently, this ability is not limited to once per turn, and there are plenty of ways to take advantage of it. If you're looking to add a two-card infinite combo to this deck, adding Shielded by Faith will give you infinite ETB and infinite creature tokens.

Instant Satisfaction

The Virtue and Valor precon originally came with seven non-permanent spells. This felt incredibly low and something that needed a bit of help. A large amount of the blink package mentioned above will help protect the board state, but I also included cards that added to either our flavor, Roles, or some more interaction with our opponents.

These new spells might seem a little expensive, but the added value and flavor to the deck are worth it.

Tough Cuts

With this deck, there weren't a lot of cards that felt unnecessary, and I went over the list multiple times trying to prune here and adjust there. Even if you choose not to cut all of these cards, I'm confident that the cuts made here helped the deck in the end. There are so many Enchantress cards available that it could be built differently 100 times.

Virtue and Valor Cuts

View on Archidekt

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Creatures (16) 1 Ajani's Chosen 1 Aura Gnarlid 1 Celestial Archon 1 Danitha Capashen, Paragon 1 Knickknack Ouphe 1 Liberated Livestock 1 Loamcrafter Faun 1 Ox Drover 1 Paradise Druid 1 Setessan Champion 1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty 1 Starfield Mystic 1 Sylvan Ranger 1 Tanglespan Lookout 1 Timber Paladin 1 Tithe Taker Enchantments (11) 1 Angelic Destiny 1 Careful Cultivation 1 Daybreak Coronet 1 Enchantress's Presence 1 Fertile Ground 1 Pollenbright Wings 1 Spectral Steel 1 Timely Ward 1 Utopia Sprawl 1 Verdant Embrace 1 Warbriar Blessing

Powerful Change

Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice is a card that I've wanted to use in a deck since it was released. It's inexpensive and doubles the value of your Aura casts. With 14 available in the deck aside from the Role tokens, this can get out of control extremely fast. Speaking of out-of-control, Calix, Guided by Fate is going to double the amount of enchantments you have at the ready by copying them when combat damage is dealt by Calix or ANY enchanted creature you control. Sythis, Harvest's Hand is a staple that I included to replace the non-enchantment card draw the deck included previously.

Check out the updated deck list below.

Virtue and Valor Precon Upgrade

View on Archidekt

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Commander (1) 1 Ellivere of the Wild Court Instants (12) 1 Acrobatic Maneuver 1 Beast Within 1 Cloudshift 1 Cosmic Intervention 1 Eerie Interlude 1 Ephemerate 1 Flicker of Fate 1 Generous Gift 1 Heroic Intervention 1 Lae'zel's Acrobatics 1 Royal Treatment 1 Swords to Plowshares Sorceries (8) 1 Against All Odds 1 Austere Command 1 Curse of the Werefox 1 Retether 1 Return Triumphant 1 Rishkar's Expertise 1 Unfinished Business 1 Winds of Rath Enchantments (19) 1 All That Glitters 1 Ancestral Mask 1 Armadillo Cloak 1 Bear Umbra 1 Ethereal Armor 1 Far Traveler 1 Flickerform 1 Giant Inheritance 1 Hope Against Hope 1 Indomitable Might 1 Karmic Justice 1 Kenrith's Transformation 1 Mantle of the Ancients 1 Sage's Reverie 1 Skybind 1 Snake Umbra 1 Songbirds' Blessing 1 Sterling Grove 1 Teleportation Circle Artifacts (4) 1 Arcane Signet 1 Conjurer's Closet 1 Helm of the Gods 1 Sol Ring Creatures (22) 1 Archon of Sun's Grace 1 Archon of the Wild Rose 1 Calix, Guided by Fate 1 Charmed Clothier 1 Cursed Courtier 1 Danitha, New Benalia's Light 1 Destiny Spinner 1 Eidolon of Blossoms 1 Eidolon of Countless Battles 1 Gylwain, Casting Director 1 Jukai Naturalist 1 Kodama of the West Tree 1 Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice 1 Sanctum Weaver 1 Siona, Captain of the Pyleas 1 Spellbook Vendor 1 Sun Titan 1 Syr Armont, the Redeemer 1 Sythis, Harvest's Hand 1 Transcendent Envoy 1 Umbra Mystic 1 Yenna, Redtooth Regent Lands (34) 1 Canopy Vista 1 Castle Ardenvale 1 Command Tower 13 Forest 1 Fortified Village 1 Hall of Heliod's Generosity 1 Krosan Verge 1 Myriad Landscape 11 Plains 1 Sungrass Prairie 1 Temple of Plenty 1 Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree

In Conclusion

When I first looked at this precon, I was tempted to remove the Role mechanic entirely. I wasn't sure I cared for it, especially since my previous Enchantress decks all wanted multiple enchantments. I was intimidated by the amount of triggers I had to keep up with, and it was "new." Playing the deck makes it clear that Roles are useful and the Virtuous Role is complete gas. It leaves me wondering if they'll be used more in the future and how I'll implement their abilities into other decks.

This deck currently comes in around $100 with upgrades, and I think that's pretty perfect for those looking to spice it up a little without breaking the bank.

If you're looking to read more about Wilds of Eldraine, please check out these articles:

• EDH Jank Center - 10 CARDS YOU MISSED FROM: WILDS OF ELDRAINE
• Fae Dominion - Precon Upgrade Guide
• The Command Zone - The Best Wilds of Eldraine Cards (In The 99) | The Command Zone 559 | MTG EDH Magic Commander

Let me know what changes you made to this deck in the comments and I'll see you next time with the Dr. Who x Magic the Gathering precon guides.

Beth Queen of Cardboard

Beth is an casual Commander player who's passionate about silly decks, creating safe community spaces, and crowns. She loves to travel and play magic with friends. When not playing Magic, she's probably snuggling her dogs or playing some video games.