Precon Upgrade Guide
Buckle Up Upgrade Guide
What to cut, what to add, and how to play the Azorius Vehicles precon from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, commanded by Kotori, Pilot Prodigy.
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
Buckle Up
Reconfigure timing rewards gearing up before combat. Out of the box, before any upgrades. How we rate precons
Buy Buckle Up on TCGplayer →Quick verdict
Buckle Up is a Vehicles deck that solves the usual Vehicles problem. Kotori, Pilot Prodigy gives every Vehicle you control crew 2, so a 2/1 can crew Parhelion II or Shorikai, Genesis Engine . That turns the deck's expensive-to-crew Vehicles into real threats early. The weak points are a pair of mass removal spells that hurt you badly, few ways to protect a board of artifacts, and a handful of cards that don't help you crew or attack.
TurnZero HQ rates Buckle Up 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 Buckle Up decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.
How the precon plays
Kotori, Pilot Prodigy does two things. Every Vehicle you control has crew 2 in addition to its printed crew cost, so any creature or pair of creatures with total power 2 can turn it on. At the beginning of combat on your turn, one artifact creature you control gains lifelink and vigilance until end of turn, which usually means your biggest crewed Vehicle attacks, gains you life, and stays untapped to block.
The deck has Vehicles at every size. Smuggler's Copter and Mobilizer Mech come down early, Skysovereign, Consul Flagship and Surgehacker Mech deal damage to creatures when they arrive, and Parhelion II attacks with two 4/4 Angels in tow. Colossal Plow normally needs crew 6, but with Kotori it costs two power to crew like everything else.
Support comes from creatures that make crew bodies and draw cards. Prodigy's Prototype and Shorikai, Genesis Engine make Pilot tokens that crew as if they had 3 power, Aeronaut Admiral gives Vehicles flying, and Thopter Spy Network and Research Thief draw cards when artifact creatures connect.
What works out of the box
Kotori, Pilot Prodigy ↗
Gives every Vehicle crew 2, so one small creature crews even the largest Vehicle, and gives one artifact creature lifelink and vigilance each combat.
Shorikai, Genesis Engine ↗
Draws two and discards one for {1} each turn and makes a Pilot token every time. It is a card engine that never has to attack.
Parhelion II ↗
A 5/5 flier with first strike and vigilance that makes two attacking 4/4 Angels each time it attacks. Kotori makes its crew 4 a crew 2.
Skysovereign, Consul Flagship ↗
Deals 3 damage to an opponent's creature or planeswalker when it enters and every time it attacks. Removal on a 6/5 flier.
Prodigy's Prototype ↗
Makes a Pilot token whenever your Vehicles attack, so the deck keeps growing its supply of crew.
Thopter Spy Network ↗
Makes a flying Thopter every upkeep while you control an artifact and draws a card whenever your artifact creatures deal combat damage to a player.
What needs improvement
Two removal spells punish you more than your opponents. Cataclysmic Gearhulk makes every player keep one artifact and one creature and sacrifice the rest, which wrecks a deck made of artifacts. Organic Extinction costs ten before improvise and destroys every nonartifact creature, including Kotori and most of the crew you need to turn Vehicles on.
The deck has little protection against an artifact wipe or a board wipe, and a Vehicles deck has many eggs in one basket. It also carries a few cards that don't fit the crew plan, like Jace, Architect of Thought , Armed and Armored (whose Equipment half needs a Dwarf), and Release to Memory .
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. Add more cheap crew
With Kotori out, any creature with 2 power crews any Vehicle. Every cheap creature you add is another Vehicle turned on each turn.
What to look for Two-mana creatures with 2 or more power, ideally ones that do something extra when they crew or when they enter.
Cut, for example
Release to Memory Exiles one opponent's graveyard and makes Spirits for the creatures in it. How much it does depends entirely on what that player has lost.
Mirage Mirror Costs {2} every turn to copy something until end of turn. Slow, and it isn't a creature or a Vehicle on its own.
Add, for example
Gearshift Ace ↗
A 2/1 first striker for two mana that crews any Vehicle alone with Kotori out, and gives the Vehicle first strike when it does.
Loyal Warhound ↗
A 3/1 vigilance creature for two mana that puts a basic Plains onto the battlefield tapped if an opponent has more lands. Ramp and crew in one card.
2. Protect the artifacts instead of wiping them
The box's mass removal hurts this deck most of all. Protection that keeps your own board alive does more for a Vehicles deck than a wipe ever will.
What to look for Instants that save your whole board from a wipe, or counterspells that stop one. Cards that protect noncreature artifacts too are the most useful, since an uncrewed Vehicle isn't a creature.
Cut, for example
Cataclysmic Gearhulk Each player keeps one artifact, one creature, one enchantment and one planeswalker. In an artifact deck you lose far more than anyone else.
Organic Extinction Ten mana before improvise to destroy every nonartifact creature, including Kotori and your crew. It strands your Vehicles.
Swift Reconfiguration Turns a creature into a Vehicle with crew 5. As removal it is soft, because the owner can still crew it with 5 power, and the deck has better uses for a slot.
3. Get cards from your Vehicles
The deck runs out of gas once its Vehicles are down. Vehicles that draw cards or replace themselves keep the hand full without spending slots on off-plan cards.
What to look for Vehicles or artifacts that draw cards on their own or when your creatures connect, ideally for four mana or less.
Cut, for example
Jace, Architect of Thought Its card selection lets an opponent split the piles, and its +1 only shrinks attackers. It doesn't interact with Vehicles at all.
Armed and Armored Turns Vehicles into creatures for a turn, but its Equipment half only works with a Dwarf, and the box has just one.
Add, for example
Reckoner Bankbuster ↗
Two mana for a 4/4 Vehicle that draws a card for {2} three times, then makes a Treasure and a Pilot. Card draw that is also an attacker.
The Indomitable ↗
A 6/6 trampling Vehicle that draws a card whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player. Each crewed Vehicle that connects draws.
Smuggler's Buggy ↗
A 5/5 Vehicle with crew 2 that hides a card when it enters and casts it for free when the Buggy deals combat damage to a player.
4. Tighten the mana base
Two-color decks still feel a land that needs extra mana or enters tapped. A land that also helps cast or animate Vehicles fits better.
What to look for White-blue lands that usually enter untapped, or utility lands that help Vehicles.
Cut, for example
Skycloud Expanse Needs another mana to make two colors, so it can't produce colored mana on its own the turn you play it.
Win conditions
The deck wins with large Vehicles in the air. Crew Parhelion II , Skysovereign, Consul Flagship or Shorikai, Genesis Engine with a single small creature thanks to Kotori, Pilot Prodigy , give the biggest one lifelink and vigilance, and attack. Aeronaut Admiral gives every Vehicle flying for a fast finish. The upgrades add more crew, keep cards coming, and protect the board instead of wiping it.
Who should buy this precon
A good pick for a player who has a few games behind them and wants something different from a plain creature deck. Vehicles add one step each turn (deciding who crews what), and Kotori makes that step easy, so the deck is approachable. It plays at a steady middle power level and is fun to upgrade with any new Vehicle that comes out.
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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