Commander Precon Decklists & Upgrade Guides

How to upgrade a Commander precon

A precon is a foundation, not a finished deck. It ships with the staples and roughly the right mix of ramp, draw, and removal — but it's deliberately broad: many are built to support two directions at once (often with an alternate commander in the same colours), and all are padded with filler to stay cheap and beginner-friendly. The biggest gains come from focus — pick one plan and commit: cut the off-theme filler and the cards pulling the other way, trade slow tapped lands for leaner on-theme cards, and lower the curve. Clone any precon on Farseek and you work through those changes with an AI that reads your actual 99, instead of a one-size-fits-all upgrade list.

Upgrading also moves a deck up the power scale. Most precons start at Bracket 2, and a single Game Changer, one extra-turn spell, or a combo your tutors can find will push the deck into Bracket 3. If you're tuning for a specific table, it's worth knowing where you land: how the Commander bracket system works.

What are Commander precons?

Preconstructed Commander decks — “precons” — are ready-to-play 100-card decks Wizards of the Coast builds around a legendary commander. Each is themed around a strategy (tokens, +1/+1 counters, reanimator, group hug, and so on) and arrives legal and balanced straight out of the box, often with new cards you can't get anywhere else. They're the most popular way into the format.

Common questions

How do I upgrade a Commander precon?

Most precons already include the staples — Sol Ring, Command Tower, an Arcane Signet — and a reasonable count of ramp, draw, and removal, so upgrading is rarely about adding more of those. The biggest gain is focus: many precons are built to support two directions at once — often with an alternate commander in the same colours — so they hedge. Pick the plan you want to amplify and cut what works against it: the off-theme filler and the cards pulling toward the other direction. Then trade slow tapped lands and overcosted cards for leaner, on-theme ones and a lower curve. On Farseek you clone the precon and the AI runs that pass on your exact 99 — naming the cuts and swaps for the direction you choose.

What should I cut from a precon?

Start with off-theme cards, vanilla creatures, and expensive do-nothings, swapping one-in, one-out so you stay at 100. There’s no limit on how much you change — it’s your deck. Farseek flags the weakest cards for your specific build and suggests what to play instead.

How much does it cost to upgrade a precon?

A focused $20–$50 pass in singles noticeably improves most precons, with around $25 a common starting point. The biggest gains are usually the cheap ones — a cleaner mana base and more interaction matter more than expensive bombs.

Are Commander precons worth it?

Yes, as a starting point. A precon is a complete, legal, ready-to-play 100-card deck for roughly $50–$70 — cheaper than buying the same cards as singles — and it makes a strong base to upgrade from rather than building from scratch.

Can you play a precon straight out of the box?

Yes. Every precon is a complete, Commander-legal 100-card deck with a commander and tokens, balanced to play against other precons as-is. They feel underpowered against heavily tuned decks, which is where a few upgrades help.

What bracket are Commander precons?

The large majority are Bracket 2 (Core) under the official Commander bracket system: no Game Changers, no two-card infinite combos, no mass land denial, and games that run past turn 8. They are built for fair, casual tables, not cEDH. A handful arrive at Bracket 3 straight out of the box, and it takes surprisingly little to get there: a single Game Changer, or a two-card combo your deck can reliably assemble, will push a precon out of Bracket 2. A couple of the strongest reach Bracket 4. Every precon in the catalog shows its bracket, so check rather than assume.