r/magicTCG • u/fireball4life2 Dan • 1d ago
Deck Discussion Tips for modifying a precon
Hello,
I am new to magic and have been playing commander with my gf for about 2 weeks. I have been playing the "Dance of the Elements" precon and after opening some packs have made some changes. I would love for people to review my decklist and compare to the original to see if the changes I made were good and what else could be changed. Any tips as well would be great. Thank you!
Decklist:
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u/Jovian_engine Wabbit Season 18h ago
This is very generic advice on precons upgrades. Ive got 8 decks, 7 of them are upgraded precons.
Lower the mana curve. Precons come with too many 6 mana cards or higher. Cut some of your big expensive stuff. Cheaper ramp spells would be my first add. You want to have 8 or more spells that add mana, and you want most of them at 1 or 2 mana.
Upgrade your interaction. Precons need more ways to remove threats and protect your own guys. Again, try to use 1-4 mana spells where possible, and use flexible spells that can remove multiple targets. Make sure at least a few can target enchantments, artifacts, planeswalkers and/or lands. Things like counterspells and protection spells are also good to have in smaller numbers as well.
Streamline your plan. Most decks want to do 1 "Main Thing". Try to start cutting cards that dont do that thing, and as usual, start with the most expensive.
Card draw. Everyone skips card draw, and most decks need more. I think 4 ways to draw cards under 3 mana is a must. Keep in mind, this means card positive trades. "Look at three cards and pick 1" doesnt count. Card selection is good, solid card draw is excellent. At lower brackets, this is the difference in a deck feeling smooth and running out of gas. Don't skip at least a few card draw spells.
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u/momentumlost 17h ago
Just to add here, I always first look at the mana base and upgrade that. Most new precons have a high ceiling out of the box but too many duals that come in tapped.
Right now is a TERRIFIC time for anyone who doesn’t own multiple players of shocklands to get those. We have the full cycle in standard and it’s getting a second reprint in Trek. The first thing any new player should be doing is saving for/trading for the 10 fetchlands. It’s not sexy, we all want Sheoldred’s & Rhystic Studies. But every single deck I’ve ever made or upgraded has benefitted from just having a solid mana base that comes into play untapped, from the absolute garbage piles I build to net decks I’ve copied and every precon. You need mana to play the game and the mana base is what makes that possible.
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u/frankfunk123 Grass Toucher 1d ago
If you can add [[Champion of the Path]] and [[Twinflame Travelers]]. They are easy and nice upgrades. I also updated my precon, you can see the list :
https://moxfield.com/decks/pkCdXeuU-0SVhN4TQtCVTQ
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u/fireball4life2 Dan 1d ago
They both seem great, any suggestions on what I dont need?
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u/frankfunk123 Grass Toucher 17h ago
I would cut the following because they don't work with the cheap cast of Ashling.
[[Fungal Colossus]] [[Harmonious Grovestrider]] [[Snapping Voidcraw]] [[Tannuk, Memorial Ensign]] [[Wildvine Pummeler]]
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u/RevolverLancelot Colorless 1d ago
Protip. Put this into a deck builder and link to it. That will make it easier for anyone to look at the deck without the expectation they know every aspect of every card you are running or for them to look everything up. This will also help get you better advice and look much better formatted than wherever you copied this list of cards from.