Precon Upgrade Guide
Creative Energy Upgrade Guide
What to cut, what to add, and how to play the Jeskai energy precon from Modern Horizons 3, commanded by Satya, Aetherflux Genius.
Modern Horizons 3
Creative Energy
Energy counters snowball fast; widely regarded as the strongest of the four out of the box. Out of the box, before any upgrades. How we rate precons
Buy Creative Energy on TCGplayer →Quick verdict
Creative Energy has a commander that rewards attacking from the first turn it lands, and a deck full of energy payoffs to spend what it makes. Satya, Aetherflux Genius copies one of your other creatures every time it attacks, so creatures with strong enters effects like Combustible Gearhulk and Solemn Simulacrum get used again each turn. Where the deck falls down is in its mix: three six-mana board wipes in an attacking deck, a run of tapped lands, and several slow artifacts that don't attack or help Satya. Trade those for more enters effects and some protection and it plays much more smoothly.
TurnZero HQ rates Creative Energy a 3 out of 5 on difficulty and a 4 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 Creative Energy decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.
How the precon plays
Satya, Aetherflux Genius is a four-mana 3/5 with menace and haste. Whenever it attacks, you create a token copy of up to one other nontoken creature you control, tapped and attacking, and you get two energy. At the next end step you sacrifice the token unless you pay energy equal to its mana value. Even when you let the token go, any enters-the-battlefield trigger has already happened.
So the deck wants two kinds of cards: creatures whose enters effect is worth repeating, and cards that produce energy so you can keep the good copies. Aethertide Whale gives six energy on entering, which is enough to keep a copy of itself. Whirler Virtuoso , Aether Hub , Solar Transformer and Izzet Generatorium keep the counter count up, and Aether Refinery doubles every energy gain.
The big energy sinks are where the deck closes. Lightning Runner spends eight energy for an extra combat, Blaster Hulk spends eight to split 8 damage, and Gonti's Aether Heart spends eight for an extra turn. Satya alone gives two energy every attack, and copies of energy makers stack on top of that.
What works out of the box
Satya, Aetherflux Genius ↗
Copies your best creature each time it attacks and pays two energy toward keeping the copy. The deck is built around what that copy does on entering.
Combustible Gearhulk ↗
Each copy forces an opponent to choose between giving you three cards or taking damage from a mill. Satya lets you ask the question every turn.
Aethertide Whale ↗
Six energy on entering, which pays for keeping a copy of itself. It also gives you a way to return it to hand to dodge removal.
Lightning Runner ↗
A double strike attacker that turns eight energy into an extra combat with your creatures untapped. With Satya attacking, the second combat makes another copy.
Aether Refinery ↗
Doubles every energy gain and turns spare energy into Aetherborn tokens of any size. It is the card that makes the energy payoffs reliable.
What needs improvement
Three of the deck's answers are board wipes: Localized Destruction , Austere Command and Farewell . An attacking deck can live with one or two flexible wipes, but three is a lot for a commander that wants creatures on the board. The deck is short on cheap spot removal and has nothing that protects Satya from a single removal spell.
The mana base also runs slow. Three Temples, two bounce lands and a tri-land all enter tapped, which makes it hard to cast Satya on turn four and still use the rest of your mana. A few artifacts, like Midnight Clock and Stone Idol Generator , take a turn to set up and don't interact with the attack plan.
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 creatures worth copying
Satya's token is sacrificed unless you pay energy, so the copy's value comes mostly from what happens when it enters. More creatures with strong enters effects mean each attack does something lasting even if the token goes away.
What to look for Creatures with an enters-the-battlefield effect that leaves something behind (cards drawn, a permanent stolen, damage dealt), ideally at five mana or less so keeping the copy is affordable.
Cut, for example
Legion Loyalty Eight mana to give your creatures myriad. It does nothing on the turn it comes down and costs too much for a deck that wants to attack every turn.
Stone Idol Generator Five mana and six energy for one 6/12 at sorcery speed. Energy is better spent on keeping Satya copies or on Lightning Runner.
Hourglass of the Lost A slow mana rock that can later return permanents of one mana value from the graveyard. The setup rarely pays off in this deck.
Add, for example
Mulldrifter ↗
A flier that draws two cards when it enters. A Satya copy draws two more each attack, whether or not you keep it.
Agent of Treachery ↗
Takes control of any permanent when it enters. A copy from Satya steals one more each attack, and the stolen permanents stay even after the token is gone.
Inferno Titan ↗
Deals 3 damage split among up to three targets when it enters and again when it attacks. A Satya copy does both, since it enters attacking.
2. Untap the lands
Satya has haste and wants to attack the turn it comes down. Every tapped land in the opening turns pushes that back.
What to look for Two-color lands in this deck's color pairs that enter untapped most of the time, such as check lands, shock lands or pain lands.
Cut, for example
Temple of Enlightenment Always tapped. Scry 1 doesn't make up for the lost mana in a deck that wants a turn-four Satya.
Temple of Triumph Same tapped land problem in red and white.
Temple of Epiphany Same again in blue and red. Three Temples is too many alongside the bounce lands.
Add, for example
3. Trade a board wipe for spot removal
This deck wins by attacking with creatures, and three wipes means you often blow up your own board. Cheap answers to one threat keep the pressure on instead.
What to look for Instant-speed removal costing three mana or less, ideally able to hit any permanent type.
Cut, for example
Localized Destruction A five-mana wrath that only saves creatures whose power exactly matches the energy you pay. Austere Command and Farewell are more flexible if you want a wipe at all.
Add, for example
Path to Exile ↗
One mana, exiles any creature at instant speed. Pairs with the Swords to Plowshares already in the deck.
Generous Gift ↗
Three mana, destroys any permanent at instant speed. The opponent gets a 3/3, which your attackers can usually handle.
Chaos Warp ↗
Three mana, shuffles away any permanent, including indestructible ones. Red's best catch-all answer.
4. Protect Satya and the board
Everything in this deck runs through Satya attacking. If it eats a removal spell every time it comes down, commander tax adds up fast, and one wipe from an opponent undoes the whole board.
What to look for Cheap equipment or instants that give hexproof or indestructible, so Satya keeps attacking and the team survives a wipe.
Cut, for example
Coveted Jewel Six mana for three cards and a big rock, but any opponent who attacks you unblocked takes it. A deck that taps its creatures to attack can rarely stop that.
Midnight Clock A blue mana rock that eventually reshuffles your hand and graveyard into a new seven. It takes many turns and doesn't help Satya attack.
Add, for example
Swiftfoot Boots ↗
Two mana, gives Satya hexproof. Satya already has haste, but hexproof stops most spot removal.
Flawless Maneuver ↗
Free to cast while you control your commander, and gives your creatures indestructible for the turn. It answers a destroy-based wipe with no mana open.
Boros Charm ↗
Two mana, makes your permanents indestructible for the turn, or gives Satya double strike, or deals 4 damage to a player.
Win conditions
The deck wins with Satya attacking every turn, adding a copied creature to each attack and banking energy for a big payoff. Lightning Runner turns eight energy into an extra combat, Blaster Hulk turns eight into split damage, and Gonti's Aether Heart turns eight into an extra turn. The upgrades above add better creatures to copy and keep Satya on the battlefield long enough to get there.
Who should buy this precon
A good pick for a player who likes tracking a resource and planning a few turns ahead. Energy is one more counter to manage, and each attack asks you to decide which creature to copy and whether to pay to keep it, so the deck is moderately demanding. It rewards players who like attacking every turn rather than waiting for one big play.
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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