Cut-Rate Commander | Deadly Disguise Precon Upgrade Guide

[@GrazzetMTG]

Hey folks! Please see below for the full list of upgrade suggestion made in the video, check out the link in the description for the full decklist, and let me know in the comments if you agree with my changes, disagree, and/or what changes you think I missed! ------------------------------- Lands ------------------------------ Boros Garrison >>> Forest Gruul Turf >>> Forest Selesnya Sanctuary >>> Forest Temple of Triumph >>> Forest Temple of Abandon >>> Plains Temple of Plenty >>> Mountain ------------------ Ramp ----------------- Fell the Mighty >>> Farseek Dusk//Dawn >>> Cultivate Wild Growth >>> Kodama's Reach ----------------- Draw ----------------- Lifecrafter's Bestiary >>> Guardian Project Decimate >>> Yarus, Roar of the Old Gods Ransom Note >>> Ugin, the Ineffable ----------------- Anthems ----------------- Tesak, Judith’s Hellhound >>> Mirari's Wake Neheb, the Eternal >>> Glorious Sunrise Mirror Entity >>> Jetmir, Nexus of Revels Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa >>> Kamahl, Heart of Krosa Saryth, the Viper’s Fang >>> Thunderfoot Baloth Temple of the False God >>> Beastmaster Ascension ----------------- Face Down ----------------- Nervous Gardener >>> Unyielding Gatekeeper Thelonite Hermit >>> Pyrotechnic Performer Broodhatch Nantuko >>> Aurelia's Vindicator ---------------------------- Sidegrades ---------------------------- Cultivate >>> Expose the Culprit Glorious Sunrise >>> Temur Sabertooth ---------------------------- Additional Upgrades ---------------------------- Scourge of the Throne >>> Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite Imperial Hellkite >>> Aura Shards Welcoming Vampire >>> The Great Henge

[@Josh-Fischer9804]

I personally get Wizards wanted to try something different here doing a Naya morph deck but in my opinion I feel that was a mistake as Bant would've been the way to go as blue has one of the highest volumes of morph support cards in all of Magic: the gathering only being equated by Selesnya but hey what can you do and I would've preferred a commander that turns our creatures back face down to reuse our triggers over and over again as their are plenty of ways to turn them face up but not all that many to turn them back face down and red isn't all that supportive of morph overall from the cards I've seen

[@rileyburgis]

​yeah I agree. Hopefully in the future there will be more support for "morph" or cards that flip a face up to face down we control to reuse commander but otherwise solid precon. I want to buy this omg

[@chrisw.735]

Great input, thanks a lot! Bonus points for "man yells at tree" :D

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@shanemccullen2172]

😂 I love the endlessly growing animosity for the Great Henge

[@GrazzetMTG]

My hatred for that stupid tree will never be quelled.....

[@lucaswyver3714]

I can't wait to see the Judith build! I think she'll be awesome. I'd love to see you cover the new Aurelia as well! Keep up the great work!

[@matthews5692]

I’ve had better luck stripping out all the green ramp for more lands and some impulse card draw and face down creature cast reducers. The deck wants to set up a lot faster with a turn 2 Kaust then turn 3 morph to get the value chain going. As long as you can reliably hit your land drops each turn, the deck functions a lot smoother with a more aggro approach to playing your morphs each turn and getting in damage/face up triggers. In the meantime when your mana base has grown enough you can play more morph interaction/value to use in the mid to late game, which makes it even more fun and surprising to you opponents.

[@GrazzetMTG]

That's fair - taking the build in a more all our aggro direction can certainly be effective - though personally I like to play more conservatively to be able to use our more disruption focused face downs to hamper our opponents plays - which has saved my life a few times when testing this build and gotten me the win - and winning through big alpha strikes (though still getting in with evasive morphs to get the draw off Kaust when we can). There's nothing really wrong with either playstyle though - different strokes for different folks and all that!

[@Zeromus5555]

I 110% agree. In all the games I've played the 2 mana and 3 mana ramp feels dead. Kaust turn 2, first Morph turn 3, just to get things rolling. Turn 4 ramp like Skyshroud Claim isn't bad though.

[@Galchoo1]

Damn, you sneaky with that thumbnail! Amazing vid as always! Outro especially! Now for the poll... hm. Judith seems to be Rakdos Spellsling, which would be a pretty unique idea if it wasn't for that one archer we already had. The Green Thing loves Toughness, wow, so original. Yeah, I am going with the Viashino for this one, as I can easily imagine him be like "Look, I am sorry, but Daddy wants to Rift the board." before exiling you. Day 291 of waiting for the face reveal... has there been a poll you wish could have ended up differently?

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it as usual and thanks for voting! Looks like Kylox is bringing up the rear in the polls at the moment, but we'll see how this changed throughout the week to see if we can claw his way back up to the top. As for polls that didn't quite go my way.... That is a hard question but I think I would have liked to tackle a Don Andres, the Renegade over Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood (though I enjoy both of them as commanders) and, to a lesser extent, to do another commander every time a Boros commander wins a poll (since the videos don't seem to do as well when covering Boros commanders for some reason).

[@serrotnodnarB]

⁠@@GrazzetMTGit's never too late to build Don Andres 👀

[@ak2298]

What do you think about this precon compared to the others of the set? I’m asking because I think this precon is the most interesting and unique out of the four. Quite a few reviews I saw said it’s the worst out of the set

[@jorgecarbajal1910]

I know Tetzin gnome champion already lost, but it would be really cool to see a build made by you. 😊

[@JustAnOldStone]

Great content! Solid advice for upgrades and well delivered too! Though I gotta say, I thought you were an AI from how you spoke beforehand. Then we got to the Great Henge 😆

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad you enjoyed it! And yeah, my cadence when when recording is certainly a bit robotic sounding - by my hatred for that stupid tree makes me lose all by professionalism!

[@JustAnOldStone]

@@GrazzetMTG I honestly like hearing the "Man behind the Mask", but GrazzetMTG is good too 👍

[@ak2298]

Just found your channel and have to say - super good and thoughtful quality content! 🍀 I have a question about the mechanic : ) So I control Kaust, Eyes of the Glade or as well Ugins Mastery…What happens when I use their abilities on manifested non-creature spells that get turned face up?! So for example if I manifested a Sol Ring into that 2/2 Creature and I attack my opponent with it…can I use Kaust to flip it? And let’s assume that works and I did flip it after blockers got declared, then the 2 damage disappear nothing happens to the opponents creature and I get the Sol Ring? Thanks a lot 🍀

[@nickatwork]

Gotta vote for The Pride! Walls are already pretty cheap to begin with and big butt typal and evasion with payoff for huge draw seems like such a blast.

[@GrazzetMTG]

Thanks for voting! This genetic abomination is most certainly good at drawing us a whole lot of cards and butts has a LOT of support, so I can see it being a fun build around.

[@AllChipDamage]

Nice deck tech. I think disguise is still slow but I guess I need to see this in action 😊

[@TheAdaoo7]

It can be. But also the first game i played, i had the commander and an 8/8 with trample on the field by turn 3 or 4 lol

[@Maecii]

Kaust can be really fun commander but I have the feeling the deck needs more good creatures, like Krosan Skyscraper or the vanilla 9/9 are just oldschool and probably not useable anymore. I am more interested in Judith. I saw super funny strategies around Vito, blasphemous act and some protection. That would be the kind of chaos I like. :D

[@GrazzetMTG]

Eh, personally I find the creature quality to be fine if the build has enough ways to enable them. I mean, turning a vanilla 13/13 sideways so that it can be chumped isn't that impressive, but then revealing a face down card to be a trample granter can change that right quick. And thanks for voting! Judith's ability to tack on deathtouch and lifelink to our instants/sorceries is certainly one I want to play around with more to see what we can do with it.

[@VarricsBianca]

I come for the upgrades, I stay for the Great Henge hate 💀

[@Chillzo_o]

Great video

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@geraffe115]

Thinking about running tooth & nail, it that betrays & cataclysmic gearhulk looking at these upgrades in this one, or am I being too ambitious

[@GrazzetMTG]

Tooth and Nail would be a fun one to manifest / cloak then flip over with Kaust to get a Anthem/Trample providing creature into play to alpha strike in with at best or just using it as a tutor at worst, It that Betrays can be a bit awkard to use since it already has to be attacking to be flipped over if its manifested / cloaked, meaning it will miss its 1st annihilator trigger and can be a brick if we draw into it, but is solid otherwise, and Cataclysmic Gearhulk doesn't get is boardwipe if we manifest / cloak it since that doesn't count as ETB, so do keep that in mind.

[@Alistor76]

@@GrazzetMTG Turning Manifested instants and sorceries face up doesn't work. You can't cast them because they're not on the stack, so you reveal what they are and turn them back face down. Cards like Shadow in the Warp, Dream Chisel and mana rocks are better ramp cards than Cultivate and Kodama's Reach for that reason.

[@Zeromus5555]

Its a weird build-around. You dont really wanna play 2 or 3 mana ramp. I want Kaust on turn 2 and a morph on turn 3.

[@GrazzetMTG]

I thought that too, but when testing I found that when going that route I ran out of resources too quickly, leaving me almost if not completely hellbent by the mid-game depending on the morphs I drew into (like disruption morphs I did want to swing in with since I wanted to keep them up for when I needed them). Then I slowed down, added more ramp, and played a less aggressive, more tempo focused playstyle and found it felt a lot smoother - since it gave me the mana I needed to "manually" flip morphs alongside Kausts free flip (which he could use to un-manifest/cloak cards we couldn't otherwise flip back over) and, since is almost all land based ramp, it also helped thin out the deck to more reliable draw into our card advantage sources to fix the running out of steam issue. But that's just what worked for me.

[@Magickingdom364]

You should put shadow in the warp in here from Warrhammer 40k Mtg

[@GrazzetMTG]

Yeah, Shadow in the Warp would make a superb upgrade to the build (due to its $14 price point) since it gives us a free 2 mana discount on the 1st morph we cast each turn and helps soften up our opponents as they cast their spells on top of that. Great suggestion!

[@Magickingdom364]

@@GrazzetMTG Thanks

[@Magickingdom364]

Should swap out a basic land for shadow in the warp

[@roborob6033]

Dream chisel can work, but it did shoot up in price

[@GrazzetMTG]

Yeah, I would have included it in the build but I can really justify recommending paying $5+ for it. The deck doesn't need it that bad and functions perfectly fine without it.

[@akumu2625]

Urza liberator also good in this deck

[@GrazzetMTG]

Good suggestion! Being able to cast our morphs at flash speed is no joke!

[@maxbodifee3263]

I run 4 flash enablers in my Kadena morph. Vivien would fit in this deck

[@akumu2625]

@@maxbodifee3263 yup true, I also run it too

[@SteelTheRobot]

I like flash enablers in Kadena to maximize her discount/draw effect. Seems useful but not as mandatory in a deck that would just be using them to swing in.

[@Zeromus5555]

Temur War shaman is too expensive for what it does and the enchantment that gains you life and can manifest for 4 isnt worth it.

[@GrazzetMTG]

I would disagree in regards to Temur War shaman - the ability to turn every single one of our face downs into a potential targeted creature removal at no additional mana cost is no joke, as even our smaller creatures can pick off our opponent utility creatures and can punch above their weight after we get our anthems online. Plus the free manifest is nice too. And I would also disagree with Mastery of the Unseen - as its passive is okay, but its main draw is its ability to manifest card of the top for 4 mana a pop - which after our changes to our ramp package isn't nearly as expensive as it looks and gives us a mana sink to use at instant speed if we keep mana open to unmorph creatures but end up not using it. Also, it pairs perfectly with Seedborn Muse, which was reprinted in this deck, to manifest us 1 - 2 cards on each of our opponents turns to build up our board even more (which I know doesn't reliable occur, but is still fantastic when it does).

[@Zeromus5555]

@GrazzetMTG 4 mana is far too much for a 2/2, even in the rare chance it's a good permanent you can flip. And yes, Shaman gives removal, but a lot of the Morph creatures aren't really big enough to remove threats. I've tried the card in both Kadena and Kaust and for 6 mana it's just too expensive.

[@Zeromus5555]

@GrazzetMTG I also try to never think "this 1 card pairs really well with this other card" when list building. It's always fun when you get to do the thing, but it doesn't make running a card worth it.

[@SteelTheRobot]

I think Temur War Shaman is bad in Kadena, since you generally see fewer combative morphs in that deck. Having a fight-on-flip mechanic in the WarMorph deck seems a LOT more useful.

[@BasedWizard-j9f]

I feel like maybe you’re doing the content creator voice a little too hard

[@GrazzetMTG]

I mean, I kinda wish I was doing that intentionally - but that's just how I talk when I'm recording.

[@BasedWizard-j9f]

@@GrazzetMTG hey man not trying to dog you, thought the video was well edited well paced and full of good information

[@tempestofthought]

Really appreciated you going a bit into the background lore for Kaust, lore always gets me excited to build a new commander.

[@GrazzetMTG]

Happy to hear it! Finding lore the the commanders is sometimes a bit tricky and time consuming, so its good to hear that folks enjoy it!

[@TheCrazyhorse88]

Loved the outro xD

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad to hear it!

[@supersalty_9459]

the great Henge skits will never get old, no matter what xD

[@GrazzetMTG]

Happy to hear you enjoy them!

[@supersalty_9459]

@@GrazzetMTG the henge will take our wallets!

[@Zeromus5555]

I think if youre gonna keep the dragon morph in add in 1 more dragon that helps buff or something. Awkward if you draw the scourge of the thrones but then have no target for the hellkite. Id drop Kamahl. Waaaaay too expensive at 8 mana. Maybe Dragonborn Champion for draw or Savage Ventmaw for ramp?

[@GrazzetMTG]

That is a good idea. Having only one target is a bit risky, so having a generically good backup would be solid. I really like your Dragonborn Champion suggestion, since we already have on damage draw effects in the build and the anthems we added would make the damage threshold to proc it much easier to reach. but sadly its price makes it not very budget friendly (it really needs a reprint).

[@Zeromus5555]

@GrazzetMTG I agree. I got all my copies when they were cheap. Ventmaw isn't bad either as it gives enough mana to Morph 2 more times or flip something big up on attack. My issue with it and Throne are their lack of haste and they easily get removed. Another reason why you kinda wanna run Boots (maybe Greaves) and Rythm of the Wild.

[@ak2298]

I actually put in Balefire Dragon, the opponent thinks „I better not block this manifested card, not sure what it is do so I take the damage“…and then gets the whole table burned 😂

[@Zeromus5555]

@ak2298 Ya I think there's a lot of good options. Have a big 6/6 flyer for 3 or less mana that searches draw or ramp seems too good to pass on imo.

[@Zeromus5555]

@GrazzetMTG Guardian Scalelord could be good too. Play it to give a facedown Morph evasion for the turn. Gives the deck a little more recursion, which it's lacking.

[@HalcyonAcorn]

Gotta love the swing from serious to ridiculous!! I’d say the great henge is over priced, but I just dropped $80 on an ancient copper dragon, there’s no need for these cards to have those kind of prices 😡

[@maxbodifee3263]

You bought it for 80 so you are part of the cause..

[@HalcyonAcorn]

@@maxbodifee3263 that is true, but good luck finding it for a reasonable price. It’s the only time I’ve caved and bought a card for that much, needed to complete the ancient dragon set and thus my deck🤷‍♂️ I still don’t think it was justified, call me hypocritical if you like!

[@GrazzetMTG]

That is true.... But as much flack as I give WotC, they have been doing a decent job at reprinting a LOT of cards, which as bottomed out a good number of high prices cards that only had 1 printing and helped bring down the price on popular cards in our format. That dragon cycle though, definitely needs a reprint.

[@HalcyonAcorn]

@@GrazzetMTG yeah, that is true, WotC has been doing a decent job of reprinting, just look at these decks!!