Eldrazi Incursion Upgrade Guide

Quick verdict

Eldrazi Incursion is a ramp deck with a strong payoff: once the mana is there, Ulalek, Fused Atrocity doubles nearly every Eldrazi you cast, and doubling the cast triggers on cards like Hideous Taskmaster and Artisan of Kozilek swings games. The trouble is getting there. The deck has a lot of seven-to-ten-mana threats, several tapped lands, and few cheap Eldrazi that let Ulalek copy something early. The upgrades below spend most of their slots on mana and on cheaper Eldrazi.

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

How the precon plays

Ulalek, Fused Atrocity costs five hybrid mana, each of which can be paid with colorless or with one of the five colors. Whenever you cast an Eldrazi spell, you may pay {C}{C}, and if you do, you copy every spell you control and then every other activated and triggered ability you control. Copying an Eldrazi creature spell gives you a token copy of it, and copying its "when you cast" trigger makes that trigger happen twice.

That is why the deck is full of cast triggers. Hideous Taskmaster steals a creature from each opponent, Oblivion Sower takes lands out of an opponent's exiled cards, Artisan of Kozilek returns a creature from your graveyard, and Benthic Anomaly builds a giant copy of the opponents' creatures. With Ulalek and two spare colorless mana, each of these happens twice and you get a second body.

The rest of the deck exists to make that much colorless mana. Eldrazi Temple , Forsaken Monument , Sol Ring , Hedron Archive and the Scion and Spawn token makers like Awakening Zone and Glaring Fleshraker all produce {C}, which pays for both the spells and Ulalek's copy cost. Ugin, the Ineffable makes every colorless spell cheaper and doubles as removal.

What works out of the box

Ulalek, Fused Atrocity ↗

For two colorless mana, each Eldrazi spell you cast is copied along with its cast trigger. Every big Eldrazi becomes two.

Hideous Taskmaster ↗

Its cast trigger steals a creature from each opponent until end of turn, untapped and with haste. Copied by Ulalek, you take two from each player and swing with all of them.

Forsaken Monument ↗

Colorless creatures get +2/+2 and every permanent you tap for {C} makes an extra {C}. It pays Ulalek's copy cost on its own.

Glaring Fleshraker ↗

Three mana, makes a Spawn whenever you cast a colorless spell and pings each opponent whenever another colorless creature enters. Early ramp that turns into a damage engine.

Ugin, the Ineffable ↗

Colorless spells cost two less, its plus ability makes a 2/2 that hands you a card when it leaves, and its minus destroys any colored permanent.

Garruk's Uprising ↗

Gives your team trample and draws a card whenever a creature with power 4 or greater enters. Nearly every Eldrazi here qualifies, and token copies do too.

What needs improvement

The deck's early turns are weak. Much of its creature count costs six or more, and the cheap Eldrazi it does have, like Mutated Cultist and Inversion Behemoth , don't do much once Ulalek copies them. The mana base also has more tapped lands than a five-color deck with this curve can afford.

Interaction is thin for a deck this slow. Crib Swap , Warping Wail , Eldrazi Confluence and Ugin's minus are the only answers to a single threat, and nothing stops an opponent's removal from hitting Ulalek. See how much removal a Commander deck needs for a target count.

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 cheap Eldrazi worth copying

Ulalek only does something when you cast an Eldrazi spell. The deck needs Eldrazi at three to five mana that are good on their own and better as a pair, so Ulalek starts working before the eight-drops arrive.

What to look for Eldrazi creatures or Kindred Eldrazi spells costing five or less, with an enters or cast effect that is worth doubling.

Cut, for example

✕

Inversion Behemoth A 2/9 that swaps power and toughness at the start of combat. The effect is situational and copying it adds little.

✕

Mutated Cultist A 1/3 deathtouch whose cast trigger removes counters from one target. It rarely has a target worth hitting.

✕

Twins of Discord Seven mana for an 8/6 whose evasion depends on guessing odd or even. The deck already has better seven-drops.

Add, for example

Thought-Knot Seer ↗

Four mana, a 4/4 that looks at an opponent's hand and exiles a nonland card. A copy from Ulalek takes a second card.

Reality Smasher ↗

Five mana for a 5/5 with trample and haste that punishes targeted removal. With Ulalek you get two attackers the turn it lands.

Matter Reshaper ↗

Three mana, and when it dies it puts a cheap permanent from the top of your library onto the battlefield or into your hand. A low-risk early Eldrazi.

2. Ramp faster in the first three turns

Ulalek wants five mana for itself and two more for every copy. The deck's rocks lean expensive, so it often reaches its big turn a turn or two later than it should.

What to look for Mana rocks or ramp costing two or three mana that produce colorless mana, since nearly every payoff here can use it.

Cut, for example

✕

Dreamstone Hedron Six mana for a rock that taps for three. By the time you can cast it, you should be casting Eldrazi instead.

Add, for example

Mind Stone ↗

Two mana, taps for {C}, and cashes in for a card late in the game when you no longer need the mana.

Thought Vessel ↗

Two mana for {C} and no maximum hand size, which helps on the turns Ulalek's copies draw you extra cards.

Worn Powerstone ↗

Three mana and it taps for two colorless from the next turn on. That is enough to pay Ulalek's copy cost by itself.

3. Untap the mana base

Five colors plus a commander that wants spare colorless mana means every tapped land costs tempo. The Temples and a few utility lands come in tapped or add only colorless with nothing extra.

What to look for Lands that enter untapped and produce any color, or that fetch a basic. The painlands already in the box show the target: untapped and flexible.

Cut, for example

✕

Temple of Silence A tapped land that makes white or black. Scry 1 is a small reward for losing a turn of mana in a five-color deck.

✕

Temple of Malady Same problem in black and green. Untapped lands that make any color do more here.

✕

Tomb of the Spirit Dragon Taps for colorless and can gain a little life. Its ability rarely matters, and it can't help cast a colored spell.

Add, for example

Mana Confluence ↗

Untapped, makes any color for 1 life. In a five-color deck that is the simplest possible fix.

Prismatic Vista ↗

Fetches any basic land untapped for 1 life, including Wastes if you want more colorless.

Fabled Passage ↗

Fetches a basic and untaps it once you have four lands, which is most of the game.

4. Answer threats and protect the big turn

This deck spends its first several turns building mana, so it needs a few cheap answers to an opponent who gets there first, and a way to stop removal aimed at its expensive creatures.

What to look for Cheap instant-speed removal that hits any creature or permanent, and protection that works on a large Eldrazi.

Cut, for example

✕

Suffer the Past Exiles graveyard cards and drains a little life. It is graveyard hate the deck can live without, and it doesn't answer anything on the battlefield.

✕

Eldrazi Monument Flying and indestructible for the team, but it eats a creature every upkeep. This deck has too few creatures early to feed it.

Add, for example

Swords to Plowshares ↗

One mana, exiles any creature at instant speed. The most efficient answer the deck can play.

Chaos Warp ↗

Three mana, shuffles away any permanent. It handles enchantments and planeswalkers the deck otherwise can't touch.

Not of This World ↗

An Eldrazi instant that counters a spell or ability targeting your permanent, and it costs nothing when the target is a creature with power 7 or more.

Win conditions

The deck wins with large Eldrazi in pairs. Get to seven or eight mana, cast something like Hideous Taskmaster or Ulamog's Crusher with Ulalek's copy paid, and attack with annihilator and trample until the table runs out of permanents. Selective Obliteration and All Is Dust clear the way, since they leave colorless permanents alone. The upgrades above get you to that turn sooner and keep it from being undone by one removal spell.

Who should buy this precon

Good for a player who likes ramping into huge creatures and doesn't mind a slow start. Ulalek's trigger is simple to use, but getting value from it means planning mana a turn ahead and knowing which cast triggers to stack, which is why the deck rates as moderate to learn. It hits hard once it is running, so expect it to draw attention at the table.

Checked against the printed decklist on October 10, 2026.