Oloro, Ageless AsceticOloro, Ageless Ascetic | Art by Eric Deschamps

This week on Precon Remastered, we return to Commander 2013 with the next precon to remake into something more modern. We're taking a gander at the Eternal Bargain precon, the Esper () deck that was split between Lifegain and Artifacts.

Unlike the Derevi deck from last time, remastering this list is a lot more straightforward. Oloro, Ageless AsceticOloro, Ageless Ascetic who will be our commander of choice, is dead set on a Lifegain strategy. However, we'll still have some artifacts for Sydri, Galvanic GeniusSydri, Galvanic Genius to do her thing, but the numbers won't be so high.

The good news is that, to some degree, there's some overlap between the two game plans. The bad news is that it might eat up a good chunk of the budget.

Of, course, saying "budget" is my perfect segue to cover the rules.

The Rules of Precon Remastered

Here are our rules for remastering precons:

1. The value of the deck cannot exceed $120. This will apply to the reprints only, which gets to my first personal quirk.
2. Every card unique to the original precon stays in the deck. All those new cards that get released with precons remain in the list.
3. The land package should closely reflect what we get in precons these days (and, in my humble opinion, they're actually pretty good).
4. For at least until 2020, we're not tied to a particular set, so we're free to choose whatever we want. You can be assured I have ideas for 2020 and beyond, though.
5. Universes Beyond cards are not added. No exceptions, unless they have a in-universe variant.

With that out of the way, let's take a good look at what the precon looked like originally.

Eternal Bargain Original Deck List

At First Glance

Going over the list, we have a decent start, outside of the obvious things I've touched on in previous entries. That said, a good chunk of the new cards don't really serve any purpose in this list, but they still must be kept. The obvious standout is Toxic DelugeToxic Deluge, which has been reprinted in several precons recently.

That's all well and good, but it does command a considerable price tag.

The obvious danger to upgrading this list for Bracket 2, besides the artifact/lifegain overlap, is avoiding the Sanguine BondSanguine Bond and Exquisite BloodExquisite Blood combo. Dealing just one damage or gaining one life will create a loop where we end up killing the table. We can't have that, so it's either we focus on one or the other.

Fortunately, the deck list decided that for us, so that's what we're going with.

The reprint commander, Sharuum the HegemonSharuum the Hegemon will very likely get cut, alongside a great chunk of Artifact support. While we'll have a good number of artifacts, we'll be keeping this list around Lifegain first and foremost.

Eternal Bargain Remastered

The Good Things in Life(gain)

Wow. I never thought I'd see Oloro getting so expensive. The good news is that, under my rules, the new cards don't impact us financially (and I kept thinking otherwise in past articles). This caveat allowed us to include cards that typically wouldn't have made it, like Alhammarret's ArchiveAlhammarret's Archive. In addition, we added a few more effects akin to Sanguine Bond to further capitalize on them.

We also have more payoffs for lifegain, like Exemplar of LightExemplar of Light and Nykthos ParagonNykthos Paragon.

However, where I decided to be a royal jerk is the inclusion of alternative win conditions. Both Test of EnduranceTest of Endurance and Felidar SovereignFelidar Sovereign are laughably easy to pull off.

If it weren't for the new card rule, I would've cut Sydri, Galvanic GeniusSydri, Galvanic Genius for Approach of the Second SunApproach of the Second Sun (the former I'll get to in a moment). These will seriously speed up the clock for our opponents, but might end up being unfair to everyone (and boring for you). In that case, I'd cut them for something much more harmless. It's not like we don't have other ways to win, with cards like ExsanguinateExsanguinate and Space-Time AnomalySpace-Time Anomaly.

That said, it's the artifact lineup that takes the fall. Sydri will become a lot less effective here, and will likely be the first card cut with further upgrades. Perhaps more ramp instead if needed.

Standing Up

If there's anything I took away from this writeup, it's two things: I should be paying more attention to the new card price exemptions (as outlined in the rules), and I might end up making a slight adjustment to the rules, bumping the budget to $150 as opposed to $120, but only time will tell if I need to implement it. Just know that I came really close to doing that.

Anyway, next week lets us revisit Commander (2011) for a different reason. Ironically, if it weren't for the shakeup earlier, a commander I would've already covered. Join me next time where we (finally!) get to take to the skies.