Animated Army Upgrade Guide

Quick verdict

Animated Army is a ramp deck whose expensive artifacts and enchantments double as an army, which gives it a clear plan and a lot of raw stopping power once it gets going. Bello, Bard of the Brambles turns every non-Equipment artifact and non-Aura enchantment with mana value 4 or more into a 4/4 indestructible creature with haste on your turn, and each one draws a card when it connects. The box spends too many slots on creatures and lands that don't help that plan, it has almost nothing to keep Bello alive, and the mana base enters tapped more often than a ramp deck can afford.

TurnZero HQ rates Animated Army 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 Animated Army decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.

How the precon plays

Bello, Bard of the Brambles only works during your turn. While it is your turn, each non-Equipment artifact and non-Aura enchantment you control with mana value 4 or greater is also a 4/4 Elemental creature with indestructible and haste, plus "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, draw a card." On opponents' turns those permanents go back to being plain artifacts and enchantments, which means creature removal and creature board wipes cast on their turns can't touch them.

So the deck ramps hard and plays big permanents. Rampant Growth , Cultivate , Farseek , Sol Ring , Arcane Signet and a stack of other rocks get you to four and five mana early, and then cards like Rain of Riches , Berserkers' Onslaught , Gratuitous Violence , Thran Dynamo and Hedron Archive each add a 4/4 attacker on top of whatever they already do. Wildsear, Scouring Maw gives enchantment spells you cast from your hand cascade, so many of those enchantments bring a second free spell with them.

The damage multipliers are where the games end. Berserkers' Onslaught gives your attackers double strike, Gratuitous Violence doubles the damage your creatures deal, and both are animated themselves on your turn. Two of them on the battlefield turns a handful of 4/4s into lethal damage very quickly, and each hit draws a card along the way.

What works out of the box

Bello, Bard of the Brambles ↗

Turns every artifact and enchantment with mana value 4 or more into a hasty, indestructible 4/4 on your turn that draws a card when it deals combat damage to a player.

Berserkers' Onslaught ↗

Gives your attackers double strike, and on your turn it is a 4/4 attacker itself. Each double-striking animated permanent draws two cards when it connects.

Gratuitous Violence ↗

Doubles the damage your creatures deal. With a few animated permanents attacking, it turns a strong attack into a lethal one.

Rain of Riches ↗

Makes two Treasures on arrival, gives your first Treasure-paid spell each turn cascade, and attacks as a 4/4 on your turn.

Thran Dynamo ↗

Four mana for three colorless every turn, and it has mana value 4, so it also becomes one of Bello's attackers.

Blasphemous Act ↗

Deals 13 damage to each creature, and since you cast it on your own turn, your animated permanents are indestructible and survive it.

What needs improvement

A noticeable share of the creatures don't feed Bello. Tendershoot Dryad and Brightcap Badger // Fungus Frolic build a Saproling board, Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma discounts creature spells with power 4 or more when the deck's best threats are noncreature spells, and Grothama, All-Devouring hands every opponent cards when it leaves. Each of those slots could be another four-mana artifact or enchantment that attacks for Bello.

Bello is also the whole engine, and the deck has no way to protect it. Without Bello your animated permanents are just artifacts and enchantments, so one removal spell on your commander stops the attack. The land base adds to the problem with several lands that always enter tapped, which slows the ramp the deck depends on. See how to build a Commander mana base for what to aim for.

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. Fill the creature slots with more big permanents

Every artifact or enchantment with mana value 4 or more is a hasty attacker that draws cards once Bello is out. Creatures that don't animate add less to this deck than one more permanent that does.

What to look for Non-Equipment artifacts or non-Aura enchantments with mana value 4 or greater that are worth having even without Bello: mana, card draw, or a bonus for your whole team.

Cut, for example

✕

Tendershoot Dryad Makes a 1/1 Saproling each upkeep, which builds a token board this deck isn't trying to build. It is also a creature, so Bello does nothing for it.

✕

Brightcap Badger // Fungus Frolic A Saproling and Fungus mana engine that the rest of the deck doesn't support. Its slot is better spent on a permanent Bello animates.

✕

Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma Discounts creature spells with power 4 or more, but the deck's real threats are artifacts and enchantments, which it doesn't help cast.

Add, for example

Coat of Arms ↗

Each creature gets +1/+1 for each other creature that shares a type with it. On your turn every animated permanent is an Elemental, so a board of five of them becomes five 8/8s. It also pumps opponents' shared types, so watch the table.

Zendikar Resurgent ↗

Doubles the mana from your lands and draws a card whenever you cast a creature spell. On your turn it is also a 4/4 attacker.

Mind's Eye ↗

Lets you pay one mana to draw whenever an opponent draws, and as a five-mana artifact it attacks for Bello too.

2. Keep Bello on the battlefield

Without Bello the deck's attackers stop being creatures. One removal spell on the commander at the wrong time can undo the whole turn, and the box has nothing that prevents it.

What to look for Cheap equipment or instants that give Bello hexproof, shroud or indestructible. Instants that protect every permanent you control also cover your artifacts and enchantments.

Cut, for example

✕

Grothama, All-Devouring A 10/8 that lets other creatures fight it, then makes every player draw for the damage they dealt when it leaves. It feeds opponents as often as it helps you.

✕

Grumgully, the Generous Puts a +1/+1 counter on your other non-Human creatures as they enter. The deck makes few creatures that benefit, so it is a 3/3 for three most games.

Add, for example

Heroic Intervention ↗

Two mana at instant speed: your permanents gain hexproof and indestructible until end of turn. It saves Bello and the artifacts and enchantments from a wipe or a targeted answer.

Lightning Greaves ↗

Equip for zero mana gives Bello shroud and haste, so it can attack the turn it comes down and can't be targeted.

Swiftfoot Boots ↗

Hexproof and haste for Bello. Unlike shroud, hexproof still lets you target your own commander.

3. Untap more of your lands

A ramp deck that wants to cast four- and five-mana permanents on curve loses tempo every time a land enters tapped, and the box has several that always do.

What to look for Red-green dual lands that enter untapped all or most of the time. Lands that tap for one color only and enter tapped are the first to go.

Cut, for example

✕

Wooded Ridgeline A dual that always enters tapped and does nothing else. Any untapped red-green land is better.

✕

Forgotten Cave Enters tapped, taps for red only, and its cycling costs mana you would rather spend ramping.

Add, for example

Stomping Ground ↗

Enters untapped for 2 life and counts as both a Mountain and a Forest, which turns on Rootbound Crag too.

Rockfall Vale ↗

Enters untapped once you have two other lands, which in a Commander game is almost always.

Thornspire Verge ↗

Always enters untapped and taps for red, and for green too once you control a Mountain or Forest.

4. Close games out with one big turn

The deck builds a board of 4/4s, but it often has to attack several turns in a row while opponents chip at it. A spell that pumps the whole team ends the game in the turn Bello animates everything.

What to look for Spells or permanents that give your whole team a large boost, trample, or extra damage on the turn you attack.

Cut, for example

✕

Evercoat Ursine A five-mana 6/5 trampler whose hidden cards only come out on combat damage. It doesn't interact with Bello at all.

✕

Burnished Hart Three mana plus three more to fetch two lands. The deck already has plenty of ramp that is cheaper or comes in faster.

Add, for example

Overwhelming Stampede ↗

Your creatures gain trample and get +X/+X, where X is the greatest power you control. Even with only 4/4s out, that is +4/+4 and trample to every attacker.

Return of the Wildspeaker ↗

At instant speed, either gives non-Human creatures +3/+3 or draws cards equal to the greatest power among them. Both modes are strong with Bello out.

Shared Animosity ↗

Each attacker gets +1/+0 for every other attacker that shares a creature type. Your animated permanents are all Elementals, so a wide attack grows fast.

Win conditions

The upgraded deck still wins by attacking with its own permanents. Ramp into a few artifacts and enchantments with mana value 4 or more, land Bello, Bard of the Brambles , and swing with hasty, indestructible 4/4s that draw cards as they connect. Berserkers' Onslaught , Gratuitous Violence and a team pump like Overwhelming Stampede turn that attack into lethal damage. Because the animated permanents aren't creatures on opponents' turns, the board also survives most creature wipes in between.

Who should buy this precon

A friendly pick for a newer player who likes ramping into big things and attacking. The plan is easy to follow: play mana, play expensive permanents, cast Bello, attack. The main thing to learn is which of your permanents count for Bello, and that they only become creatures on your turn. Players who want to answer opponents' plays will want the protection and pump upgrades first.

Checked against the printed decklist on October 10, 2026.