Valgavoth, Harrower of SoulsValgavoth, Harrower of Souls | Art by Chris Cold

Hello, and welcome back to How to be New, a series for players who determine their deck's power level not by the cards in it, but by how long of a day they just had at work.

Today, I'm continuing my look at Commander precons (the preconstructed Commander decks made and released by Wizards of the Coast alongside most sets). This time, I'll be talking about a few precons that I'd recommend for more intermediate players looking to take that next step in Commander.

Rather than teaching you about aspects of Magic: The Gathering as a game, these decks can teach you a little something about winning strategies in Commander, and what decks built towards those win conditions (or wincons, for short) tend to look like.

Some of these are a little pricier than the ones I mentioned in my last article, but they're all from the last few years, and should be findable with relative ease either at your local game store or online.

Play Scrappy Survivors To Learn About Voltron

Though this is a precon I actually haven't played myself, this commander makes such frequent appearances at game stores that I'm very familiar with its MO. It's a strong precon straight out of the box, and with a couple of upgrades, it's an absolute terror.

Dogmeat, Ever LoyalDogmeat, Ever Loyal, is a fantastic commander, and an on-sight threat by my standards. As it enters, it helps you dig for Equipment and Auras to immediately buff it with (and it can come out as early as turn three, which is about as early as you'll typically see a commander take the field). And then it helps you dig further to make it yet stronger each time it attacks.

And you may notice that the deck list is absolutely packed with Equipment and Auras which allow Dogmeat to do allall sortssorts ofof crazycrazy thingsthings.

"What's the big deal?" I hear you, my sweet, naïve child say, "It's a 3/3. Is it going to attack me seven times?"

No. It will attack you on its next turn likely as a 5/5 or more. Next turn it will have deathtouch, lifelink, and hexproof. The turn after, it's a 9/9 with double strike and trample. The next, it's bearing down at you like a Marit LageMarit Lage with furry, pointed ears. And you won't live to see another turn after that one.

In the above paragraph, did you see the opportunity that the table had to remove Dogmeat before he became a world-ending threat? It was there, before the second period in that paragraph. When it was just a scrappy 5/5. If you're lucky, a Voltron commander will sit on the battlefield for two turns before it gets hexproof, shroud, and ward. After that, it will require either a high-level board wipe (supposing that the commander isn't indestructible now tooindestructible now too), or the peeling back of layers of artifact-based protection to finally open a short window for someone at the table to use targeted removal.

And then whoops, the Dogmeat player taps their Sol RingSol Ring and plays Silver Shroud CostumeSilver Shroud Costume and it was all for naught.

On that note, there are a lot of great Voltron commanders, but the one I've found the grossest is Captain America, First AvengerCaptain America, First Avenger. If someone sets that card on the table, just stand up and walk away. Don't even bring your cards with you, just leave. I've never seen it played without finding myself on the business end of the most disgustingly reliable turn five infinite combo I've ever seen.

Suggested Upgrades

You've got Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots, which is excellent. For increased reliability there, add some Lightning GreavesLightning Greaves as well. Apparently putting shoes on a Dog has the opposite effect to putting them on cats. But keep in mind that you can't put anything (Auras or Equipment) on Dogmeat if he has shroud, so make sure Lightning Greaves is the last piece you add to him.

Past that, it's really up to your budget. Sword of War and PeaceSword of War and Peace? The Reaver CleaverThe Reaver Cleaver? Sword of Feast and FamineSword of Feast and Famine? Buster SwordBuster Sword? The sky's the limit on how to make this Dog your friends' problem.

Play Either Temur Roar or Veloci-Ramp-Tor To Learn About Typal

I couldn't pick, so I provided two options here. Both are great decks, and it might just come down to your taste for Dinosaurs vs. Dragons (two similar, yet entirely distinct, hyperfixations).

Even the commanders of these decks do sort of a similar thing. Each is obviously packed to the gills with their creature type of choice. Pantlaza, Sun-FavoredPantlaza, Sun-Favored, the leader of Veloci-Ramp-Tor uses the discover mechanic whenever you put a Dinosaur into play, which sees you draw from the top of your deck until you find a suitable non-land permanent (presumably another Dinosaur) and then allows you to play it for free.

Not to be outdone, when Ureni of the UnwrittenUreni of the Unwritten - who leads Temur Roar - enters or attacks, it lets you search your top eight cards for another Dragon and put it on the battlefield. Given that both Dinosaurs and Dragons tend to live on the higher end of the mana curve as creature types, both of these decks will see you quickly flood your battlefield with beefy bois faster than your opponent can tap their Evolving WildsEvolving Wilds and go find a SwampSwamp.

These are both perfect examples of Typal decks, which are loaded with a certain type of creature, and which benefit from more and more of that type of creature being cast or entering the battlefield under your control. But where Typal decks tend to differ is in what their creature type of choice synergizes to produce. Angel decks tend to be about lifegain. Hydra decks produce a ton of +1/+1 counters. Pirate decks, as you might expect, tend to be about Treasures and stealing. And there's a wonderful tapestry of different creatures who work with each other in all sorts of fun and interesting ways.

Let's take a second to dive into these decks and their kindred affinities. The Dragons in Temur Roar tend to like two things above all else: dealing combat damage and seeing other Dragons enter the battlefield. Creatures like Nesting DragonNesting Dragon, Lathliss, Dragon QueenLathliss, Dragon Queen, and of course Ureni, will help you flood your battlefield with Dragons.

Other Dragons like Scourge of the ThroneScourge of the Throne, Atarka, World RenderAtarka, World Render, and Parapet ThrasherParapet Thrasher ensure that when Dragons do start swinging through the skies, your opponents will feel it.

The Dinosaurs, however, have different proclivities. They show their support for each other generally by buffing the stats of their fellow Dinos. Also, a not-inconsiderable amount of them enjoy taking damage. These qualities are best exemplified by Bellowing AegisaurBellowing Aegisaur, which turns damage to it into +1/+1 counters for its fellows. I also want to give a special shoutout to the most irascible creature I've ever seen, Apex AltisaurApex Altisaur. Apex rolls into the battlefield like The Vixen on season 10 of Drag Race, immediately ready to fight.

And when it's done fighting, it doesn't stay done for long.

Suggested Upgrades

Artifacts like Herald's HornHerald's Horn or Icon of AncestryIcon of Ancestry are both wonderful includes in any Typal deck. I've also recently fallen in love with White Lotus TileWhite Lotus Tile as a fun include in any Typal (or heavy token generation) deck.

But rather than suggesting too many strict upgrades to either of these decks, I'd rather suggest expansions. Typal precon decks come out with relative frequency, so I'd like to point you in some other directions just in case the words "scales" and "big" aren't in your dating profile.

The recently released Dance of the Elements from Lorwyn Eclipsed is an Elemental deck that I've seen played to great success. Most Wanted from Outlaws of Thunder Junction is an outlaw deck, which encompasses several unsavory sorts all under the "outlaw" banner, including Warlocks, Rogues, and Pirates, to name a few.

Heck, the Lost Caverns of Ixalan precons are all Typal, and each worth a look.

Play Endless Punishment To Learn About Soft Skills

"Soft Skills. That sounds sorta like BS. Roman, did you make that up just to have an excuse to talk about this precon?"

No!* There's truly a lot to learn from the Endless Punishment precon from Duskmourn. In fact, there's a powerful lesson to be learned from both of the two commanders in this precon. And each advance our "soft skills," the social skills required to navigate the politics inherent within this four-person, free-for-all format.

By the way, it's worth saying out loud at this point that precons tend to come with a featured commander and an alternate commander, either of which can be used to helm the precon competently. The creature who gets top billing in this deck is Valgavoth, Harrower of SoulsValgavoth, Harrower of Souls. However, everyone who I've talked to about this precon makes the same face when Valgavoth is brought up. The best way I can describe it is like the face one would make when smelling an enemy's fart - a perfect mixture of disgust and disdain.

And it's easy to see why. Valgavoth would be triggering on nearly every turn, growing itself and drawing you cards. It's a nightmare to remove with "Ward - Pay 2 life," and it's hard to block as a flier. It's simply a disgusting commander, and has well-earned its reputation.

If you'd like to run Valgavoth at the helm of this deck, prepare for a powerful lesson in being targeted. It's truly a valuable skill, and worth learning. If you lose your head and start screaming the second the table sees you as a threat and starts turning their sights on you, that's a surefire way to not get invited back to the pod.

However, if we swap in The Lord of PainThe Lord of Pain, this precon's alternate commander, we can instead learn in the opposite direction. The Lord of Pain provides a perfect lesson in how to avoid being targeted. It's clear from the jump that you'll be slinging damage around. Other players tend to hate that, generally. So how can you do so in a way that prevents The Lord of Pain from doing the hokey pokey with your command zone?

It's all about soft skills! Convince the other players that you're going to be fair in how you distribute punishment. Crowdsource feedback, let the other players feel like they have a hand in the decisions you're making.

One of my go-tos is to simply state at the beginning of the game that LOP is not under my control, and will be dealing its damage only to the player with the most life (besides you, naturally, but don't say that part out loud). Anything you can do to be a little less mean than you possibly could have been goes a surprisingly long way towards ingratiating yourself with the players who, turn over turn, you're grinding down to dust.

Spread around punishment. Attack those that others label a problem. These are time-tested tactics used by commander players and politicians alike to distract the masses from identifying a growing gap in prosperity until it's far too late to do anything about it. After all, this damage simply has to go somewhere! And you can't take it yourself! After all, you just shocked in a Blood CryptBlood Crypt, putting you all the way down to 38 life.

Table politics lessons aside, this precon is just so much fun. The cards in it are so great. It doesn't seem possible, but Sadistic Shell GameSadistic Shell Game actually exceeds the expectations brought about by its fantastic name. Rakdos, Lord of RiotsRakdos, Lord of Riots is just begging to be combo-ed into something nutty. Decree of PainDecree of Pain is maybe the saltiest even-handed board wipe I've ever seen. Brash TaunterBrash Taunter, my favorite card of all time, is here for some reason!

And, of course, I mean, Valgavoth, Harrower of SoulsValgavoth, Harrower of Souls is still in the 99. And if you draw it, who could blame you for just tossing it on the field to see what happens?

*Yes!

Suggested Upgrades

I'm honestly surprised that Wound ReflectionWound Reflection isn't in the precon, but it fits in here like a glove (a leather one, plunging a knife into the back of some poor sap). Dipping into your Avatar binder** for Mai, Scornful StrikerMai, Scornful Striker is a fun extra twist of the knife, and Combustion ManCombustion Man from the same set is a nice looming threat to have on the field.

Twinflame TyrantTwinflame Tyrant is a good friend here (or in our Temur Roar deck from before, if you're feeling spicy). Gosh, I didn't even get a chance to mention that Braids, Arisen NightmareBraids, Arisen Nightmare is already in this precon. Man, this deck is so mean and so much fun. Please, use it in good health.

**pile of random cards that keeps getting moved around your desk

Those are a few excellent precons to go with as you take your next steps into Commander. They're not only all a lot of fun, but they can help give you a sense of what strategies and win conditions you're most naturally drawn to. Once you get an idea of what kinds of decks you like to play, you can start to explore other commanders within those same archetypes to build your own decks around (tough, but so rewarding).

Or, you can skip the mess and just lay down some cash to see what the Fantastic Four can do. Whatever your approach, I'll see you at the next Commander night.

And please don't target my Lord of Pain. I'll cry.