Welcome back to another precon guide on EDHREC. Today we’re upgrading the Hail, Caesar precon from Universes Beyond: Fallout. 

In case you missed it, go check out my review of the precon, where I gave it a middling grade due to rough starts, some weak new cards, and an out-of-place backup commander. Can we speed this deck up and make it into a token powerhouse?

For the Emperor!

What’s in the Original Deck?

Hail, Caesar is led by Caesar, Legion’s EmperorCaesar, Legion’s Emperor, a 4/4 Human Soldier for four mana that lets you sacrifice a creature when you attack to choose two of the three options below:

• Make two 1/1 Soldier tokens tapped and attacking
• Draw a card and lose a life
• Caesar deals damage to an opponent equal to the number of creature tokens you control

So we’re looking to sacrifice creatures but also have as many creature tokens as possible. Sounds a bit contradictory, but we'll make it work.

Our backup commander is Mr. House, President and CEOMr. House, President and CEO. He’s a 0/4 artifact Human that makes you a 3/3 Robot creature token whenever you roll a result of four or higher on a die, plus a Treasure if you rolled six or higher. And you can tap him with four mana to roll a d6, plus an additional d6 if you spent Treasure mana to activate him. He’s one of only two cards in the deck that roll dice, and one of three that makes Treasure. Sadly, he'll be among the first cuts.

Here’s the original list:

Let’s tune up.

What Budget Cards Can We Add to Hail, Caesar?

We’ll break our upgrade up into two parts: one budget ($5 or less) and one non-budget (>$5).

In playtesting I had a hard time finding cheap ramp and making black mana in the early game. So we’ll give the deck a Fellwar StoneFellwar Stone and a Chromatic LanternChromatic Lantern. I’m also adding a land, since the precon was a little skimpy at 36. Kher KeepKher Keep seems the most on-theme with making a token for cheap. It also comes into play untapped, so that’s a big plus. I also felt that Caesar could use a bit of protection beyond General’s EnforcerGeneral’s Enforcer, so Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots will get added as well.

The coolest upgrade we can give this deck is Isshin, Two Heavens as OneIsshin, Two Heavens as One. This guy doubles all of your attack triggers, which covers a lot more than just Caesar. MacCready, Lamplight MayorMacCready, Lamplight Mayor will drain opponents for four if they attack us with big creatures. The Training ability on Elder Arthur MaxsonElder Arthur Maxson will trigger twice. Paladin Elizabeth TaggerdyPaladin Elizabeth Taggerdy will draw an extra card and potentially put another creature on the board. Fervent ChargeFervent Charge will give your attackers +4/+4. And so on.

For even more tokens, we’ll add Call the CoppercoatsCall the Coppercoats and Finale of GloryFinale of Glory for a quick hit of bodies for the Legion. The deck is overflowing with Humans, so Horn of GondorHorn of Gondor is a great addition. We'll have a lot of nontoken attackers, so Mardu AscendancyMardu Ascendancy giving us a Goblin for each of them will pay off nicely. Requiem AngelRequiem Angel will basically replace all of our dying creatures with another creature (except the Spirits it makes, of course). And Thalisse, Reverent MediumThalisse, Reverent Medium gives us a Spirit token for each token we make (including Junk!), which is as close as we're going to get to Anointed ProcessionAnointed Procession on a budget.

Mirkwood BatsMirkwood Bats hits each opponent for one life whenever we make or sacrifice a token, which will speed us along to victory nicely. Neyali, Suns’ VanguardNeyali, Suns’ Vanguard gives our tokens double strike and adds some card advantage when our tokens attack. And Idol of OblivionIdol of Oblivion can draw us a lot of cards for just two mana.

These soldiers won’t be spared: Aradesh, the FounderAradesh, the Founder, Black MarketBlack Market, Boomer ScrapperBoomer Scrapper, Butch DeLoria, Tunnel SnakeButch DeLoria, Tunnel Snake, Heroic ReinforcementsHeroic Reinforcements, Legate Lanius, Caesar’s AceLegate Lanius, Caesar’s Ace, Luck BobbleheadLuck Bobblehead, Mr. House, President and CEOMr. House, President and CEO, Mysterious StrangerMysterious Stranger, Ruthless RadratRuthless Radrat, Sierra, Nuka’s Biggest FanSierra, Nuka’s Biggest Fan, Survivor’s Med KitSurvivor’s Med Kit, The Nipton LotteryThe Nipton Lottery, Vault 11: Voter’s DilemmaVault 11: Voter’s Dilemma, Vault 75: Middle SchoolVault 75: Middle School

Here’s the budget upgraded list:

And some other cards to consider: City on FireCity on Fire, Grafted ExoskeletonGrafted Exoskeleton, Launch the FleetLaunch the Fleet

What Are Some Good Expensive Cards We Can Add to Hail, Caesar?

The Legion thrives, so let’s look at some cards to add that will require more denarius and aureus.

We’ll up our token game even more, with Adeline, Resplendent CatharAdeline, Resplendent Cathar for more Humans, BitterblossomBitterblossom to provide flyers, which is something the deck is lacking, and Myrel, Shield of ArgiveMyrel, Shield of Argive who is especially good with all the Soldiers we're making. Anointed ProcessionAnointed Procession and Ojer Taq, Deepest FoundationOjer Taq, Deepest Foundation double and triple our creature tokens, respectively. If you've got the money, they're a no-brainer.

I really want our tokens to be able to attack and survive, so we’ll add Iroas, God of VictoryIroas, God of Victory, which will prevent all damage dealt to our attackers, in addition to making them harder to block with menace.

Since we’re dropping so many creatures on the board, Purphoros, God of the ForgePurphoros, God of the Forge seems like an easy inclusion. His pump ability will also come in handy.

And last, I thought the deck could use a big combat finisher, so we’ll give it a Moonshaker CavalryMoonshaker Cavalry to send our army to glorious victory.

The weak will be left behind: Battle of Hoover DamBattle of Hoover Dam, Corpse KnightCorpse Knight, Finale of GloryFinale of Glory, Requiem AngelRequiem Angel, Thalisse, Reverent MediumThalisse, Reverent Medium, Wasteland RaiderWasteland Raider, White Glove GourmandWhite Glove Gourmand, Yes Man, Personal SecuritronYes Man, Personal Securitron

Here’s our non-budget upgraded list:

And some more cards to consider: Divine VisitationDivine Visitation, Dolmen GateDolmen Gate, Grand CrescendoGrand Crescendo, InkshieldInkshield, Mondrak, Glory DominusMondrak, Glory Dominus, Sword of the AnimistSword of the Animist, Virtue of LoyaltyVirtue of Loyalty, Warleader’s CallWarleader’s Call

For the Son of Mars!

That’s it for our upgrade of Hail, Caesar. What do you think? Did I make this deck better? Did I miss anything? Do you feel icky when you play decks led by bad guys? Let me know in the comments below. And keep checking back for more precon guides, here on EDHREC.

More Precon Fun:

Scrappy Survivors Fallout Precon Review

Scrappy Survivors Fallout Precon Upgrade Guide

Political Puppets Precon Upgrade

Andy Zupke

Andy's been playing Magic on and off since Fallen Empires. He loves to travel, drink, eat, and spend time with family and friends.