Eldrazi Unbound Upgrade Guide

Quick verdict

Eldrazi Unbound has one of the simplest plans of any precon: make a lot of colorless mana, then cast something enormous and get two free spells with it. Zhulodok, Void Gorger gives every colorless spell of mana value seven or more that you cast from your hand two cascade triggers, and the box is full of seven-drops to use them on. The deck's weakness is what those cascades find. Too many of the cheap cards are trinkets like Fireshrieker and Mirage Mirror , so a ten-mana Eldrazi often flips into something that does nothing on its own. Swapping those for strong cheap threats and adding a few more big spells is most of the upgrade.

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

How the precon plays

Zhulodok, Void Gorger is a six-mana 7/4 that does nothing by itself. Its job is the static ability: colorless spells you cast from your hand with mana value seven or greater have cascade twice. Each cascade exiles cards from the top of your library until it finds a nonland card that costs less than the spell you cast, and you may cast that card for free. Because the trigger only cares about cards cast from your hand, the free spells don't cascade again, so the size of the hit depends on what cheaper cards the deck contains.

The first half of a game is ramp. Sol Ring , Thran Dynamo , Hedron Archive , Dreamstone Hedron , the three Urza lands and Forsaken Monument all push you toward seven mana, and Ugin, the Ineffable makes colorless spells cost two less. Darksteel Monolith goes further: once each turn you may pay nothing instead of the mana cost of a colorless spell cast from your hand, and that spell still counts as cast from hand for Zhulodok.

The payoffs are the seven-drops. All Is Dust makes each player sacrifice every permanent that is one or more colors, which in a colorless deck hits only your opponents, and it cascades twice on top of that. Kozilek, the Great Distortion refills your hand when you cast it, It That Betrays and Artisan of Kozilek carry annihilator, and Rise of the Eldrazi destroys a permanent, draws four cards and takes an extra turn.

What works out of the box

Zhulodok, Void Gorger ↗

Two free spells stapled to every colorless seven-drop you cast from your hand. The whole deck is built to feed it.

All Is Dust ↗

A seven-mana sweeper that only hits colored permanents, so your colorless board survives while every opponent sacrifices theirs. With Zhulodok out it also cascades twice.

Darksteel Monolith ↗

Once a turn you can cast a colorless spell from your hand for free. A free Eldrazi from hand still triggers both of Zhulodok's cascades.

Ugin, the Ineffable ↗

Makes every colorless spell cost two less, makes a 2/2 token that replaces itself with a card, and its minus ability destroys any colored permanent.

Forsaken Monument ↗

Doubles the colorless mana from every land and rock that taps for colorless, gives your creatures +2/+2, and gains you life on each colorless spell.

Kozilek, the Great Distortion ↗

When you cast it with fewer than seven cards in hand, you draw up to seven. That refill plus two cascades makes it the deck's strongest single turn.

What needs improvement

Cascade only finds cheaper nonland cards, so the low end of the deck decides how good each cascade is. Right now that low end includes Fireshrieker , Suspicious Bookcase , Mirage Mirror and Myriad Construct , cards that are fine to draw but disappointing as a free spell attached to a ten-mana Eldrazi. Replacing them with cheap threats that matter alone makes every big turn better.

There are also fewer seven-drops than the commander wants. Several of the expensive cards, like Phyrexian Triniform and Metalwork Colossus , are there for their size rather than their effect, and the deck has room for more spells that end the game or swing the board as soon as they are cast.

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. Make every cascade hit something worth having

Each Zhulodok cascade casts the first cheaper nonland card it finds. Low-impact artifacts in the two-to-four range turn a free spell into a wasted one.

What to look for Colorless cards costing six or less that affect the board the moment they resolve: a creature with a strong enters ability, an evasive threat, or a creature that is hard to remove.

Cut, for example

✕

Fireshrieker An equipment that gives double strike for a two-mana equip cost. As a cascade hit it does nothing until you spend more mana on it.

✕

Suspicious Bookcase A 0/4 wall whose ability makes a creature unblockable for three mana. Rogue's Passage already does that from a land slot.

✕

Mirage Mirror Becomes a copy of something for two mana each turn. It needs mana every time, which the deck would rather spend on its big spells.

Add, for example

Thought-Knot Seer ↗

A four-mana 4/4 that looks at an opponent's hand and exiles their best nonland card. A strong free spell from any cascade.

Reality Smasher ↗

A five-mana 5/5 with trample and haste that taxes opponents a card for targeting it. It attacks the turn it arrives.

Wurmcoil Engine ↗

A six-mana 6/6 with deathtouch and lifelink that leaves two 3/3s when it dies. It holds the board even against removal.

2. Add more seven-drops that end the game

Zhulodok only rewards spells of mana value seven or more. The more of those the deck has, the more often its big turns include two extra spells.

What to look for Colorless spells of mana value seven or greater that do something powerful when cast or when they resolve, so they matter even if they are answered right away.

Cut, for example

✕

Myriad Construct A four-mana 4/4 whose kicker only matters against nonbasic lands. It is below the cascade threshold and too small to win.

✕

Investigator's Journal Draws a card for two mana and a tap each turn. The mana is better spent reaching seven, and it is a weak cascade hit.

Add, for example

Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger ↗

When you cast it, exile two target permanents. It is indestructible, and each attack exiles the top twenty cards of the defending player's library.

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon ↗

An eight-mana planeswalker whose minus ability exiles every colored permanent at or below the chosen mana value, which leaves your colorless board untouched.

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth ↗

Draws four cards when you cast it and has annihilator 4. Even if it is removed, the cards and the two cascades stay.

3. Reach seven mana a turn sooner

Every turn the deck spends below seven mana is a turn Zhulodok does nothing. A few faster sources pull the first big spell forward.

What to look for Rocks, lands or creatures that make two or more colorless mana, or lands that help cast big Eldrazi in particular.

Cut, for example

✕

Endless Atlas Only draws once you control three lands with the same name. With so many one-of utility lands, that depends on drawing several Wastes.

✕

Mage-Ring Network A storage land that is slow to build up and otherwise taps for a single colorless mana.

Add, for example

Basalt Monolith ↗

Comes down for three and taps for three colorless, so the turn after you cast it you can be at seven mana with four lands.

Ugin's Labyrinth ↗

A land that taps for two colorless once you exile a seven-drop with it, and returns that card to your hand when you are ready to cast it.

Kozilek's Channeler ↗

A five-mana 4/4 that taps for two colorless mana. It is also a solid free spell off a cascade.

4. Draw cards without symmetrical effects

Most of the deck's card draw is lands with expensive activations or effects that also help opponents. A couple of colorless draw engines keep your hand stocked with big spells.

What to look for Colorless cards that draw more than one card over a game, ideally without giving opponents the same benefit.

Cut, for example

✕

Geier Reach Sanitarium Every player draws and discards, which helps the opponents filter their hands as much as it helps you.

Add, for example

Mind's Eye ↗

Each time an opponent draws a card, you may pay one to draw as well. Across a multiplayer table that adds up to several cards a round.

Kozilek's Command ↗

An instant with four modes. You can scry and draw, exile a creature, make mana-producing Spawn, or exile graveyard cards, choosing two each time.

Win conditions

The upgraded deck wins by casting a seven-drop every turn from turn five or six on and letting each one bring two more spells with it. All Is Dust and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon clear the colored permanents off the board, after which annihilator from It That Betrays or Kozilek, Butcher of Truth and a large attacking team finish opponents. Rise of the Eldrazi adds an extra turn when the game is close.

Who should buy this precon

A good first colorless deck. The plan is easy to follow (make mana, cast the biggest thing in your hand) and cascade does the deciding for you, so there are few choices to get wrong. It suits a player who enjoys huge creatures and big turns, and it is a poor fit for someone who wants to interact on every opponent's turn.

Checked against the printed decklist on October 10, 2026.