Cut-Rate Commander | Explorers of the Deep Precon Upgrade Guide
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Cut-Rate Commander - Precon Upgrade Guide for the Explorers of the Deep Precon from Lost Caverns of Ixalan & its commander - Hakbal of the Surging Soul #mtg #edh #commander #mtgixalan #mtglci
Hey folks! Submitted for your approval, we have the 4th and final precon upgrade guide for Lost Caverns of Ixalan - this time covering the Explorers of the Deep Precon and its face commander - the famed River Herald Scout - Hakbal of the Surging Soul.
In this upgrade, since the build already has a absolutely fantastic creature creature lineup and support pieces for our mefolk and +1/+1 counter gameplan right out of the box - we'll be spending just a bit of time refining our creature lineup with some powerful tribal entries that we not included in the base build to generate us more value and improve the builds constancy even further, add in a handful of tribal and +1/+1 counter support pieces to supplement the gameplan a bit more, then use the remainder of our budget to overhaul the build removal, ramp, and landbase to help bring our mana base down to bring it more in line with our low curve, aggressive playstyle - leaving us with a build that will easily be able to drown our opponents in a value of value and buffed up merfolk bodies.
Let me know if the comments below if you agree with my choices and/or what you would add to the deck instead. Also, be sure to stick around until the end to see how to enter the giveaway for your chance to win and how to unlock sweet upgrades for it too!
Decklist - archidekt.com/decks/5907708/e...
All art used is copyright of Wizards of the Coast
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CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:02 - Commander & Playstyle
06:18 - Upgrades
15:30 - Breakdown
20:10 - Closing Thoughts - เกม
Hey folks! Below is the complete list of suggested changes, sidegrades, and further upgrades I went over in the video for your convenience. Let me know in the comments if you agree/disagree with my chances or if there were any other cards I should have considered instead!
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Merfolk - Lords
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Coralhelm Commander >>> Vodalian Hexcatcher
Merfolk Cave-Diver >>> Lord of Atlantis
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Merfolk - Tutors
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Vorel of the Hull Clade >>> Forerunner of the Heralds
Prime Speaker Zegana >>> Merrow Harbinger
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Merfolk - Payoffs
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Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood >>> Seahunter
Thassa, God of the Sea >>> Titan of Littjara
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Merfolk - Tokens
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Curse of the Swine >>> Deeproot Pilgrimage
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+1/+1 Counters Matter
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Aetherize >>> Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
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Recursion
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Temple of the False God >>> Genesis
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Core - Ramp
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Explore >>> Rampant Growth
Simic Signet >>> Cultivate
Commander’s Sphere >>> Thought Vessel
Sage of Fables >>> Court of Bounty
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Core - Targeted Removal
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Ruinous Intrusion >>> Pongify
Ravenform >>> Nature's Claim
Commit // Memory >>> Simic Charm
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Lands
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Simic Growth Chamber >>> Yavimaya Coast
Temple of Mystery >>> Flooded Grove
Llanowar Reborn >>> Dreamroot Cascade
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Sidegrades
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Merrow Harbinger >>> For the Ancestors
Titan of Littjara >>> Wanderwine Prophets
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Upgrades
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Reflections of Littjara >>> Roaming Throne
Quandrix Command >>> Raise the Palisade
Court of Bounty >>> Burgeoning
Thought Vessel >>> The Great Henge
UNDA THE SEA 🌊
In this case it really is better down where it's wetter (mainly because its where all the draw and ramp is!).
Never played commander until I got into it with some friends last month (played standard magic and stopped in 2015) and just from the few videos I have watched for the decks you upgraded for a minimal cost, you do a great job. Explanations for why you switch stuff out, the better options, the stats for the deck after upgrade. We'll done. It all makes sense. I made sure to play the decks before upgrading them and I figured some of the cards were clunky or didn't fit for the play style and your upgrades are well thought out and make it possible for small upgrades with big performance changes and at a price point that almost anyone can do(which is the majority of players who want several decks that do quite well). Bravo!
Hey 👋 im still new to magic even though I've been playing it for over 10 years. A friend of mine recently gave me this deck. I just wanted to say that I'm having a blast playing it :)
Would absolutely love an ahoy mateys upgrade that focuses on Don Andres as the commander
Just watched so many vidoes covering the same content before I found this one and oh man, how superior are these suggestions! Great content @Grazzet MTG!
One of the most in-depth upgrade videos I’ve seen
Just picked up this precon and i'm super hyped to see how this goes. Your Ratadraik list still makes me archenemy half the time.
A minor note 19:30 Burgeoning doesn't work with land based ramp unless our opponents ramp by playing more lands each turn with cards like Exploration (another great add for this deck). Burgeoning states when an opponent plays a land, not when a land enters on an opponent's battlefield. Most likely 2-3 lands pr. turn cycle - still a great include.
So many seem to be sleeping on Cave-diver, that thing becomes a monster quickly if the table cant answer it fast. Add in it just naturally pumps every turn with Hakbal online and as your board grows, its also great removal bait in the early game. For even more evil can flash in Jadelight Spelunker with Singer of Swift Rivers and do some nasty combat tricks with it. Dont even want to get into what Topography Tracker turns it into, needless to say my group has learned to remove it on sight at this point.
Love those Upgrades,in my deck are almost the Same as your video,i Ve added a cavern of Souls to the Lands and for recursion i Ve Put in a gaea's Blessing.
So when explore,i can Put all the stuff i don't Need in that Moment, in my Graveyard,then when explore gaea's Blessing,goes into the Graveyard,the whole Graveyard shuffle s Back in the Deck.
And go again,finding what you Need the Most in those specific Moments
the professor would be amazed by these upgrades!
Nice Upgrade Video. One Upgrade you should consider is Wildgrowth walker. You want to go pretty aggressive with this deck, so the 9-15 life you get with this per turn are really useful, not getting in alpha strike range by yourself.
Good call. Once I looked that up I was shocked at how useful that could be in this deck
What would you swap out for wildgrowth walker?
looks like a great add... what would you cut for it?
Thank you so much! Wildgrowth Walker has been the MVP in a couple of rounds now. Keeping me alive just long enough, to play my wincons.
As always great video. I was still on the fence about getting this precon. I would vote for a build with Xolatoyac
Yes, Syr Ginger!! Can’t wait. A very well deserved break, it will be too. Enjoy it! Thanks Grazzet.
Hi! I’ve been watching a lot of your videos and I absolutely love the layout and explanations of all the reasons for each upgrade to help balance out the deck! I was curious if you had any ideas for a Reap the tides upgrade or might be thinking of possibly doing one in the future?
im def keeping cave diver in
I love it how your voice is calm and monotonous for the entire duration of the video and then you instantly go mental when The great henge comes up. And you get more invested every time you mention it in a video. I completely forgot about it and when I heard the change in your voice it instantly clicked for me and I was like “Oh s**t here we go!”. Priceless.
Also, considering that you always have such a backlog of brews and have had problems keeping up the pace (no judging here mate, I completely get it), have sou considered switching up your concept?
I mean, WotC is provoking you not only by not reprinting The great henge to the ground, but also by issuing enough precons at such a pace that you can barely do precon upgrades for one set before the new one getting out. I love your brews and how you started with original brews some 3 years ago, but as it is now, I don’t think this model is sustainable for you. If you focused on precon upgrades and maybe added a brew here and there (preferably some of your personal favourite decks), I think that could work better for you.
Again, I love your content, but I clearly see that it’s been troublesome lately and you might be better off changing something. Take care of yourself bro. Cheers!
Just got this from a MagicCon random precon battle event and am excited to upgrade it. It reminds me of my favorite precon deck (Upgrades Unleashed), but this one has more ramp, card selection, and blue protection.
Thanks for reminding me I need a great henge for Ruric Thar Grazz 👍
Great job on the video was glad to see this deck upgrade for my personal favorite. Just one quick question what would be a good card to slot out for vorinclex monstrous to make our merfolk even more heavy hitters? Thank you
Great video.
Great upgrade
That's funny, was just noodling through a Nicaban explore deck when I realized that's kinda what this precon does. Lunchtime viewing set!
Welcome to the abominable hedge!
The great henge slander was great 😂
Love the build as always but i have to give credit to your increasing amounts of hatred for the great henge is always a fun listen at the end of the video😂
Man this deck is so powerful right out of the box - you can get wide and tall real quick if the other players don’t target Hakbal
this pre con is so strong
Court of bounty is a great recommendation. I question cutting lands since explore is a mechanic that works well with a higher land count.
I think Scouting Trek would be useful since you can stack a bunch of lands on top of your library and then explore them all into your hand.
Great upgrade, my list is an Little diferent , but i change my mind thanks
Glad yo hear you enjoyed it!
Throwing a vote for my new favorite smiley boy, Xolatoyac🎉
lol, he recommends getting rid of him.
Nice video, i added in 2 leviathains as well they are 8 mana but have game ending text almost, for fun and an extra wincon. [Stormtide leviathan and slinn voda the rising deep] what do people think good or bad?
I just got Tishanas Tidebinder and i was wondering if she fits in this deck. and if so, wich card should i replace? Also very good Video!
I gotta vote for Don Andres. Stealing spells is fun for everyone!!
Yay finally!
Hope it was worth the wait!
@@GrazzetMTG always is!
I love your videos! Learned a lot and especially the quick lore bits around the commander are super helpful in relating to the decks :) Keep up the amazing work!
Also: Is that your real voice or are you using a voice generator?
Glad you enjoyed it!
And yes, that is my real voice.
@@GrazzetMTG Thanks for the reply! I have a suggestion for future videos: My playgroup and I have been trying out a new format we put up lately and it's actually really fun and a fresh wind: We call it Arti-Brew (artisan + Homebrew). We use the whole EDH cardpool but only uncommons and commons. Maybe that's something for 1-2 videos for you :)
@@GrazzetMTG Also: Another variant we discovered to be truly fun and refreshing: EDH but with only 15 rares and 3 mythic rares (including the commander). You may exchange 1 Mythic for 2 rares and vice versa (only once).
I5t would be fun to see a Tetzin, gnome champion
Hey there, I'm a rather new player and have thus far been borrowing decks from other players in my pod. Now I wanted to get started with some decks of my own but don't have the biggest budget, abt 200€, absolute max 250€ but I wanted to get like 3-4 decent decks, while my pod doesn't mind proxies I'd prefer not to run too many in case I'm playing somewhere else, so in terms of upgrqdeability as well as out of the box playability I was considering a few precon combos, most of the time it's quite a bit cheaper to buy all 4(or 5 in MoM ig) decks of a set than it is to buy several single precons, from my testing so far I've enjoyed a few of each of the mentioned sets precons, so I was mostly looking into the baldur's gate, the ixalan, the Warhammer, the MoM and the doctor who precon sets, would you have any recommendations which to go with? Heard a lot of good abt the previous ones but the ixalan precons just seem like so much more value from what I've heard
For reference, the baldur's gate set goes for 120, Warhammer 170, ixalan 135, doctor who 130, MoM 100 and I'd also need to buy sleeves in my budget, boxes I can take the cardboard ones for now
Grab an exit from exile deck it’s the best deck straight from the box. Follow this page’s upgrade guide for it and you will have an insane deck lots of fun.
How you can upgrade it further? Any more guides on this?
In Australia these upgrades you recommended equate to approx $360 AUD 😂
I'll be honest with you @grazzetmtg I have a Great Henge that I am thinking about putting in a deck. So this deck maybe the deck it goes in.
rootwater thief would be evil in this deck
I mean, it would be an on theme way for us to completely destroy combo decks at least (provided we know what combo pieces to exile).
What was wotc thinking when they made the great henge ?
The answed : I like moneyv
Sad thing is that the deck was printed as a merfolk good stuff deck where Kumena shines as the face commander rather than an alternate. The original precon deck list should have been designed around making the explore mechanic more exciting and fun.
💚🔱💙
Is there any upgrade that annoys you more than The Great Henge, Grazzet?
Finding Nemo
Just keep swimming (towards value!).
Does this silly fishman out simic Asei?
This sure is one fishy deck... not sure if it's as deep as it claims to be. Washed up puns aside, amazing deck as always!
That said, I am a bit too tired and busy for a funny remark regarding the next techs... which kinda sucks. Blood. (Ba-dum-tss)
Day 810 of waiting for the face reveal. What's the worst hand you've ever had in an EDH game?
I guess our opponents will end up sleeping with the fishes!
Don Andres all the way, I need more thievery in my life 😩
Calling temple a terrible land is ridiculous
Maybe its a bit harsh, but personally I feel that Temple of the False God is one of the worst lands ever printed. It is a land that literally taps for no mana for the first 4 turns of the game (unless you have other means of land based mana acceleration), and that's assuming you even make all your land drops. Sure, it may technically ramp you if you draw it in the mid to late game, but the risk of drawing it in the early game where it is most critical for you to make your land drops is far too much of a downside (in my opinion) to make it worth running.
@GrazzetMTG it only requires 4 other lands, even in a 3 land opening hand if it's one of them it's still pretty good, unless you get mana screwed and don't draw another land in the first couple turns. Sure that can happen but I really never found that rare occurrence to outweigh the potential ramp it gives. It also becomes very efficient with land untap effects. It's something I run in every deck except 5 color. But even that's because I'm too cheap to buy Shocks and fetches for more than 2 of my decks and I have several 5 color decks. To me its an edh staple on the level of talismans and commander sphere, just below sol ring and command tower. The only non 5 color commander decks that shouldn't run it are non basic land hare/ ld heavy decks and basic land centric decks. The chances of drawing it before you have 4 lands in play and not drawing any others are so small that it's basically irrelevant. Now maybe cedh or a particularly competitive meta is different, I wouldn't know. I've never been fond of competitive play and have only played infrequently over the past few years. Most of my experience is from the first commander deck to that Egyptian set. So I guess it's possible that something has replaced it but I can't imagine any card could do so without being expensive which I would consider a demerit for a staple card.