Precon Upgrade Guide
Adaptive Enchantment Upgrade Guide
What to cut, what to add, and how to play the Bant enchantments precon from Commander 2018, commanded by Estrid, the Masked.
Commander 2018
Adaptive Enchantment
A planeswalker commander leaning on Auras, with real payoff once the graveyard fills up. Out of the box, before any upgrades. How we rate precons
Buy Adaptive Enchantment on TCGplayer →Quick verdict
Adaptive Enchantment is an enchantress deck: most of its cards are enchantments, and several of its creatures draw a card or make a token whenever you cast one. Estrid, the Masked untaps every enchanted permanent, which doubles the mana from land Auras like Wild Growth and Overgrowth , and its Mask tokens protect your creatures. The deck is slowed by a mana base made almost entirely of tapped lands, a handful of creatures that ignore enchantments, and removal that is mostly board wipes.
TurnZero HQ rates Adaptive Enchantment a 3 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 Adaptive Enchantment decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.
How the precon plays
Estrid, the Masked is a four-mana planeswalker that can be your commander. Its +2 untaps each enchanted permanent you control, so a land with Overgrowth on it taps for mana twice in one turn. Its -1 makes a Mask Aura token with umbra armor on another permanent, which saves it from being destroyed once. Its -7 mills seven cards and returns every enchantment card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
The engine is enchantments that draw cards. Enchantress's Presence draws whenever you cast an enchantment, Eidolon of Blossoms draws whenever one enters, and Tuvasa the Sunlit draws on your first enchantment each turn. Herald of the Pantheon makes them cost one less.
The finishers are creatures loaded up with Auras. Sigil of the Empty Throne makes a 4/4 Angel for every enchantment you cast, Ajani's Chosen makes a Cat for every enchantment that enters, and Bruna, Light of Alabaster pulls every Aura in play, in hand and in the graveyard onto itself when it attacks.
What works out of the box
Estrid, the Masked ↗
Untaps every enchanted permanent, so land Auras produce their extra mana twice. Mask tokens give your best creature umbra armor.
Sigil of the Empty Throne ↗
A 4/4 flying Angel for every enchantment spell you cast. In this deck that is most of your spells.
Enchantress's Presence ↗
Draws a card whenever you cast an enchantment. It keeps your hand full for the whole game.
Tuvasa the Sunlit ↗
Three mana, draws on your first enchantment each turn, and grows with every enchantment you control.
Winds of Rath ↗
Destroys every creature that isn't enchanted. Your Aura-wearing creatures survive, and most opponents' don't.
Bruna, Light of Alabaster ↗
When it attacks or blocks, it collects Auras from the battlefield, your hand and your graveyard. A single attack can turn it into a huge threat.
What needs improvement
The mana base is the biggest problem. Apart from Command Tower , Forge of Heroes and the two basic-land fetchers, every nonbasic land enters tapped: three bouncelands, three gainlands, Meandering River , Tranquil Expanse , Woodland Stream , Seaside Citadel , Krosan Verge and Mosswort Bridge . For a three-color deck that wants its two-mana enchantments early, that is a lot of lost tempo. The land and mana base guide covers better options.
A few cards don't help the plan. Hydra Omnivore , Cold-Eyed Selkie and Elderwood Scion are creatures that do nothing with enchantments, and Dictate of Kruphix gives every opponent an extra card each turn. The removal is mostly wipes; spot answers are limited to Bant Charm , Reclamation Sage and Dismantling Blow .
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. Fix the tapped mana base
Almost every land in the deck enters tapped. Untapped duals let you cast a two-mana enchantress and a one-mana land Aura on the same early turns.
What to look for Dual lands in any two of green, white and blue that usually enter untapped.
Cut, for example
Meandering River Enters tapped and has no other upside. A checkland makes the same colors untapped.
Tranquil Expanse Enters tapped with no upside, like Meandering River.
Woodland Stream Enters tapped with no upside, the third of these plain taplands.
Add, for example
2. Draw more from every enchantment
The deck plays enough enchantments to support several draw engines, but it has only a few. More cheap enchantresses mean every Aura replaces itself.
What to look for Creatures or enchantments costing three or less that draw a card when you cast an enchantment or when one enters.
Cut, for example
Hydra Omnivore A six-mana 8/8 with no evasion and nothing to do with enchantments.
Cold-Eyed Selkie Draws cards on combat damage, but only gets through when an opponent controls an Island or your Auras make it big enough.
Dictate of Kruphix Every player draws an extra card each turn. Opponents get as much from it as you do.
Add, for example
Argothian Enchantress ↗
Two mana with shroud: draws a card whenever you cast an enchantment.
Sythis, Harvest's Hand ↗
Two mana: you gain 1 life and draw a card whenever you cast an enchantment. It is an enchantment itself.
Setessan Champion ↗
Three mana: draws a card and grows with a +1/+1 counter whenever an enchantment enters under your control.
Mesa Enchantress ↗
Three mana: you may draw a card whenever you cast an enchantment.
3. Use enchantments as removal
The deck's answers are mostly board wipes. Removal that is also an enchantment draws a card from your enchantresses and handles one threat without touching your board.
What to look for Cheap Auras that neutralize a creature or any permanent, or one-mana instant removal.
Cut, for example
Phyrexian Rebirth Destroys all creatures, including your own enchanted ones. Winds of Rath is the better wipe for this deck.
Elderwood Scion A five-mana 4/4 whose only bonus is making Auras on it cheaper. Better Aura carriers come with draw or evasion.
Add, for example
Kenrith's Transformation ↗
Two-mana Aura: a creature loses all abilities and becomes a 3/3 Elk, and you draw a card.
Song of the Dryads ↗
Three-mana Aura that turns any permanent into a Forest. It answers commanders, planeswalkers and artifacts.
Swords to Plowshares ↗
One-mana instant that exiles a creature. Its controller gains life equal to its power.
4. Add more land Auras for Estrid to untap
Estrid's +2 untaps every enchanted permanent, including enchanted lands and creatures. More cheap land Auras and enchantment mana creatures turn that into a burst of mana each turn.
What to look for One- or two-mana Auras that make a land tap for extra mana, or enchantment creatures that tap for mana.
Cut, for example
Ground Seal A cantrip that stops cards in graveyards from being targeted, which also turns off Silent Sentinel 's recursion.
Win conditions
The upgraded deck wins with a few large, protected creatures and a stream of tokens. Sigil of the Empty Throne and Ajani's Chosen make a body for each enchantment, umbra Auras and Estrid's Masks keep the key creatures alive, and Winds of Rath clears every unenchanted creature on the opponents' side. Bruna, Light of Alabaster or a creature wearing Octopus Umbra and Epic Proportions usually finishes the game.
Who should buy this precon
A moderate deck for a player who likes building up a board over several turns and drawing lots of cards. The draw triggers are easy to follow, but you have to decide which creature to load with Auras, when to use Estrid's +2 versus its -1, and how to play around removal aimed at your Aura target.
Checked against the printed decklist on October 10, 2026.
Track how the upgrades actually perform.
TurnZero HQ keeps a win rate per deck version, so you can change a few cards, play some games, and see the difference instead of guessing.
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