The preconstructed Commander deck built around Bello, Bard of the Brambles gives new players a working shell — Legendary Creature — Raccoon ...
The preconstructed Commander deck built around Bello, Bard of the Brambles gives new players a working shell — Legendary Creature — Raccoon Bard, colour identity green, red — whose exact text is:
During your turn, each non-Equipment artifact and non-Aura enchantment you control with mana value 4 or greater is a 4/4 Elemental creature in addition to its other types and has indestructible, haste, and "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, draw a card."
Upgrading a precon is not about replacing it. It is about finding the roles the shell performs weakly — ramp, card draw, interaction, and closing power — and swapping the weakest cards in each role for stronger ones that serve the same job. This guide works by role, which is the honest way to upgrade any prebuilt deck without inventing a decklist you have not verified.
What to cut, by role
Cut cards that duplicate a role you already perform better, cards whose mana cost belongs to a later turn than the role needs, and cards that only function when the game is already going well. Work one role at a time, keep a written list of every swap, and play games between rounds of changes — a precon upgraded on evidence stays coherent, while one rebuilt in a single evening often loses the charm that made it fun.
What to add, by role
Real upgrade candidates that serve this commander's plan include: Garruk's Uprising (mana cost {2}{G}; Enchantment; rarity: uncommon; most recent printing listed by Scryfall: Lorwyn Eclipsed Commander): When this enchantment enters, if you control a creature with power 4 or greater, draw a card.
Creatures you control have trample. (Each of those creatures can deal excess combat damage to the player or planeswalker it's attacking.)
Whenever a creature you control with power 4 or greater enters, draw a card. Greater Good (mana cost {2}{G}{G}; Enchantment; rarity: rare; most recent printing listed by Scryfall: Marvel Super Heroes Commander): Sacrifice a creature: Draw cards equal to the sacrificed creature's power, then discard three cards. Return of the Wildspeaker (mana cost {4}{G}; Instant; rarity: rare; most recent printing listed by Scryfall: Lorwyn Eclipsed Commander): Choose one —
• Draw cards equal to the greatest power among non-Human creatures you control.
• Non-Human creatures you control get +3/+3 until end of turn.
Build and check your list with the MTGBrew AI deck builder, and browse every card mentioned here in the MTGBrew card database on MTGBrew.
If this topic is on your bench, keep going with Rules: Eminence, Command Zone Abilities, and Why Edgar Markov Plays Differently — it covers the neighbouring decisions from a different angle, and the two pieces together give you a fuller picture than either one alone.
Keep reading
Keep reading: Rules: Eminence, Command Zone Abilities, and Why Edgar Markov Plays Differently and Ash Barrens in Commander: The Land Slot That Quietly Fixes Games.
A sane upgrade order
Protect the plan, but do not smother it. A small protection package earns its keep when your commander is the engine; beyond that, extra protection spells dilute the very strategy they are guarding. The same discipline applies to interaction: run enough answers to stop a game-ending threat, and spend the remaining slots on cards that move your own plan forward.
Start with the mana base and the draw package, then interaction, then finishers. That order feels unglamorous and wins the most games, because a deck that always makes its land drops and always has cards in hand gets to show you what its exciting cards can actually do.
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