The preconstructed Commander deck built around Kalamax, the Stormsire gives new players a working shell — Legendary Creature — Elemental Din...
The preconstructed Commander deck built around Kalamax, the Stormsire gives new players a working shell — Legendary Creature — Elemental Dinosaur, colour identity green, red, blue — whose exact text is:
Whenever you cast your first instant spell each turn, if Kalamax is tapped, copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copy.
Whenever you copy an instant spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Kalamax.
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: Thousand-Year Storm (mana cost {4}{U}{R}; Enchantment; rarity: rare; most recent printing listed by Scryfall: Foundations): Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, copy it for each other instant and sorcery spell you've cast before it this turn. You may choose new targets for the copies. Expansion // Explosion (mana cost {U/R}{U/R} // {X}{U}{U}{R}{R}; Instant // Instant; rarity: rare; most recent printing listed by Scryfall: Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander): Swarm Intelligence (mana cost {6}{U}; Enchantment; rarity: rare; most recent printing listed by Scryfall: Commander 2021): Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, you may copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copy.
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 Craterhoof Behemoth in Commander and Elf Decks: The Finisher — 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: Craterhoof Behemoth in Commander and Elf Decks: The Finisher and Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm Commander Guide: How the Deck Actually Wins.
A sane upgrade order
The wins rarely come from a single spectacular play. They come from the deck doing its ordinary thing one turn earlier than the table expects, then doing it again while opponents are still setting up. Build for that ordinary game first: enough lands to make your drops, enough ramp to reach your key spells on schedule, and enough card flow that one removal spell slows you down instead of ending you.
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.
COMMENTS