Abzan Armor Upgrade Guide

Quick verdict

Abzan Armor turns a pile of walls into an attacking army, and it does that reliably because the trick lives on the commander. Felothar the Steadfast lets your defenders attack and makes every creature you control deal damage equal to its toughness, so a 0/4 wall hits for 4. The deck already has plenty of mana creatures and cheap walls that draw cards. Where it falls short is a mana base full of lands that enter tapped, a plan that stops working when Felothar is removed, and very little protection against a board wipe.

TurnZero HQ rates Abzan Armor a 2 out of 5 on difficulty and a 3 out of 5 on power, as it comes in the box. That is our editorial read, not an official Wizards rating. The full hundred cards are on the Abzan Armor decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.

How the precon plays

Felothar the Steadfast is a four-mana 0/5 with three abilities. Each creature you control assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power, and your creatures can attack as though they didn't have defender. Its last ability costs {3}, tapping it and sacrificing another creature: you draw cards equal to the sacrificed creature's toughness, then discard cards equal to its power. Sacrificing a 0/4 wall draws four cards and discards none.

The early turns are about walls that also do something. Wall of Omens , Wall of Blossoms and Carven Caryatid replace themselves when they enter, and Overgrown Battlement and Axebane Guardian tap for more mana the more defenders you have. Arbor Adherent taps for mana equal to the greatest toughness among your other creatures, which gets large quickly in this deck.

Once Felothar is out, the walls turn sideways. Tree of Redemption attacks for 13, Indomitable Ancients for 10, and Canopy Gargantuan adds counters equal to each creature's toughness every upkeep. Wingmantle Chaplain and Rampart Architect keep adding bodies, and Behind the Scenes gives the team skulk so your low-power walls can't be blocked by bigger creatures.

What works out of the box

Felothar the Steadfast ↗

Turns every defender into an attacker that hits for its toughness, and doubles as a card-draw outlet when you sacrifice a high-toughness creature.

Arbor Adherent ↗

Taps for mana equal to the greatest toughness among your other creatures. Next to a 0/5 or bigger, it is one of the strongest ramp pieces in the box.

Overgrown Battlement ↗

Two mana, and it taps for one green mana per defender you control. With three or four walls out it accelerates you into the top of the curve.

Canopy Gargantuan ↗

Each upkeep it puts +1/+1 counters on every other creature equal to that creature's toughness, so a 0/4 wall becomes a 4/8. In a toughness deck that is a huge jump in damage.

Wingmantle Chaplain ↗

Makes a 1/1 flier for each defender when it enters and another for each defender that follows. It gives the deck evasive damage on top of the walls.

Wall of Blossoms ↗

Two mana for a 0/4 that draws a card. Under Felothar it attacks for 4, and later it is a clean four-card sacrifice.

What needs improvement

The mana base is slow. Three temples, Radiant Grove , Sandsteppe Citadel , Path of Ancestry and Bojuka Bog all enter tapped, and a deck that wants to cast a two-mana wall on turn two and Felothar on turn four can't afford to lose those turns.

The plan also leans hard on one card. Without Felothar the Steadfast the walls can't attack, and the only backups are Assault Formation , Baldin, Century Herdmaster on your turn, and Walking Bulwark one creature at a time. A second and third source of the same effect means a removal spell on your commander slows you down rather than stopping you.

Upgrade ideas

Each upgrade below starts from something the deck does poorly and says what a replacement card has to do. The cards named are examples, not the only answer: if you own something else that does the same job, or a newer printing does it better, it goes in the same slot. Make one change at a time and play a few games between them, so you can tell which change helped. The general method is in how to upgrade a Commander precon →

1. Untap more of your lands

Seven lands in this deck enter tapped every time, and the cheap walls are what keep you alive early. Untapped dual lands let you cast them on curve.

What to look for Lands that make two of your colors and enter untapped on turn one or two, such as painlands, shocklands or checklands for color pairs the deck is missing.

Cut, for example

✕

Temple of Silence Always enters tapped. The scry 1 does not make up for losing a turn-two play.

✕

Temple of Plenty Same problem as the other temples: a tapped land in a deck that wants to curve out with two-drops.

✕

Radiant Grove A tapped green-white dual with no upside. The deck already has several green-white lands that can enter untapped.

Add, for example

Caves of Koilos ↗

Taps for colorless for free, or white or black for 1 damage. It always enters untapped, and the life loss matters little in a deck with this much toughness and lifegain.

Llanowar Wastes ↗

The black-green painland. Untapped every time, which the deck's tapped black-green lands are not.

Brushland ↗

The green-white painland, a clean replacement for a green-white land that enters tapped.

2. Back up Felothar with more toughness payoffs

When Felothar is removed, most of the deck's damage goes with it. Extra copies of its first ability keep the walls hitting hard while you recast your commander.

What to look for Creatures or enchantments that make your creatures deal combat damage equal to toughness, or let defenders attack, ideally for four mana or less.

Cut, for example

✕

Arasta of the Endless Web Makes 1/2 reach Spiders only when opponents cast instants or sorceries. It is a fine blocker but does nothing for the toughness plan.

✕

Nyx-Fleece Ram A 0/5 that gains 1 life each upkeep. It is a body for Felothar, but the cards below are bodies that also keep the plan running without it.

Add, for example

Doran, the Siege Tower ↗

Three mana: each creature assigns combat damage equal to its toughness. It affects every player's creatures, so watch for opponents with big-butt blockers, but in this deck you have far more toughness than anyone.

Ancient Lumberknot ↗

Four mana, and each of your creatures with toughness greater than its power deals damage equal to its toughness. That covers nearly every wall in the deck.

Belligerent Brontodon ↗

A 4/6 that gives your whole team Felothar's damage rule. It costs seven, so treat it as a top-end backup rather than a curve play.

3. Protect the board from a wipe

The deck commits a lot of creatures to the board, and a single destroy-all effect resets it. Right now nothing in the box protects the team at instant speed.

What to look for Instant-speed effects that give all your creatures indestructible or hexproof for three mana or less, so you can keep the mana up while still developing.

Cut, for example

✕

Colfenor's Urn Exiles your toughness 4 or greater creatures as they die and returns them once three are stored. It is slow, and it does nothing the turn a wipe resolves.

✕

Staff of Compleation A three-mana rock that charges life for each mode. It is flexible but does each job worse than a dedicated card.

Add, for example

Heroic Intervention ↗

Two mana at instant speed: your permanents gain hexproof and indestructible until end of turn. It answers most board wipes and any single removal spell.

Flawless Maneuver ↗

Gives your creatures indestructible until end of turn, and costs nothing if you control a commander. You can hold it up while tapping out for walls.

4. Swap clumsy removal for clean answers

The box has good spot removal in Swords to Plowshares and Infernal Grasp , but some of its interaction is awkward to use without hurting your own board.

What to look for Instant-speed removal for two or three mana that can hit any kind of permanent, since problem artifacts and enchantments are as common as problem creatures.

Cut, for example

✕

Tip the Scales Sacrifice a creature and all creatures get -X/-X equal to its toughness. Sacrificing a big wall kills most of your own board too, and a small one kills little.

Add, for example

Assassin's Trophy ↗

Two mana at instant speed: destroy any permanent an opponent controls. The basic land it gives them is a small price.

Beast Within ↗

Three mana to destroy any permanent at instant speed. The 3/3 it leaves behind is no threat to a wall of 0/5s.

5. Turn a wide board into cards

Felothar's sacrifice ability draws well, but it costs a creature and four mana. A one-shot draw spell that counts your creatures refills your hand after a big turn without shrinking the board.

What to look for Card draw that scales with the number of creatures you control, or that triggers as creatures enter.

Cut, for example

✕

Reunion of the House Seven mana to return creatures with total power 10 or less. It is on theme with power-0 walls, but it is a sorcery that only helps after you have already lost the board.

Add, for example

Shamanic Revelation ↗

Draws a card for each creature you control. With six or seven walls out, that is a full new hand for five mana.

Guardian Project ↗

Draws a card whenever a nontoken creature enters with a name you don't already have on the battlefield or in your graveyard. Almost every wall in the deck is a one-of.

Win conditions

The deck wins by attacking with walls. Get Felothar the Steadfast or one of its backups out, then swing with creatures like Tree of Redemption and Indomitable Ancients that hit for 10 or more. Canopy Gargantuan and Shalai, Voice of Plenty grow the team further, and Wingmantle Chaplain 's fliers and Blight Pile 's drain add damage your opponents can't block. The upgrades keep that plan working when the commander or the board is removed.

Who should buy this precon

A friendly first Commander deck for someone who likes building a board and swinging with it. The core rule is easy to remember (toughness is damage), and most turns are about casting a wall and attacking. It suits a player who enjoys a sturdy, defensive start more than one who wants fast combos or lots of interaction.

Checked against the printed decklist on October 10, 2026.