Precon Upgrade Guide
Forces of the Imperium Upgrade Guide
What to cut, what to add, and how to play the Esper squad and tokens precon from Warhammer 40,000 Commander, commanded by Inquisitor Greyfax.
Magic: The Gathering Warhammer 40,000
Forces of the Imperium
Tokens and taxes: grindy rather than fast. Out of the box, before any upgrades. How we rate precons
Buy Forces of the Imperium on TCGplayer →Quick verdict
Forces of the Imperium is a go-wide deck with a lot of good individual cards and a commander that helps every creature on the board. Inquisitor Greyfax gives your other creatures +1/+0 and vigilance, taps a blocker each turn and makes a Clue while doing it, and squad creatures let you pay extra for token copies. The deck's problem is that several of its biggest spells destroy its own board, a few cards are slow or do little, and the mana base leans on lands that enter tapped.
TurnZero HQ rates Forces of the Imperium 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 Forces of the Imperium decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.
How the precon plays
Inquisitor Greyfax is a four-mana 3/3 with vigilance. Your other creatures get +1/+0 and vigilance, so the whole team can attack and still block. For {1} and a tap, Greyfax taps a creature an opponent controls and you investigate, creating a Clue you can sacrifice for two mana to draw a card. That's a blocker removed for a turn and a card later, every turn.
The deck fills the board with squad creatures. Squad lets you pay {2} any number of extra times as you cast a creature, and you get a token copy for each payment, so Ultramarines Honour Guard , Vanguard Suppressor and Zephyrim become three or four bodies in the late game. Marneus Calgar draws a card whenever tokens enter, including squad copies and Greyfax's Clues, and Defenders of Humanity , Company Commander and Thunderhawk Gunship add more Astartes and Soldiers.
Once the board is wide, For the Emperor! gives everything +2/+2, vigilance and lifelink for a turn, and Commissar Severina Raine drains each opponent for every other attacker. Knight Paladin and Reaver Titan deal damage to each opponent directly.
What works out of the box
Inquisitor Greyfax ↗
Pumps and gives vigilance to every other creature, and each turn taps an opposing blocker while making a Clue. It improves every creature the deck plays.
Marneus Calgar ↗
Draws a card whenever one or more tokens enter under your control. Squad copies, Astartes tokens and Greyfax's Clues all trigger it.
Ultramarines Honour Guard ↗
An anthem on a squad creature. Each copy gives your other creatures +1/+1, so two copies give everything else +2/+2.
Commissar Severina Raine ↗
Each opponent loses life equal to the number of other attacking creatures. With a wide board, it's a big drain every attack.
Vexilus Praetor ↗
Gives your commanders protection from everything, and it has flash, so you can hold it up to save Greyfax from removal.
Birth of the Imperium ↗
Makes an Astartes per opponent, makes each opponent sacrifice a creature, then draws two cards for each opponent with fewer creatures than you.
What needs improvement
Two of the box's biggest sorceries destroy your own board. Hour of Reckoning destroys all nontoken creatures, including Greyfax, Calgar and every squad original, and Exterminatus destroys every nonland permanent. A deck that wins by going wide needs answers that leave its own creatures alone.
A few other cards don't pull their weight. Launch the Fleet and Deploy to the Front are a weak token maker and a seven-mana one, Cybernetica Datasmith hands an opponent a 4/4 each time you use it, and Neyam Shai Murad and Redemptor Dreadnought are midrange bodies that don't use Greyfax's Clues or the token plan. The mana base also has three gain lands, Arcane Sanctum and Memorial to Glory , all of which enter tapped.
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. Answer threats without wiping your own board
This deck's advantage is a wide board pumped by Greyfax. Removal that hits one target keeps that board intact, while the box's sweepers wipe it out along with everyone else's.
What to look for Instant-speed removal for three mana or less that handles any nonland permanent, or at least the big threats.
Cut, for example
Hour of Reckoning Destroys all nontoken creatures. Greyfax, Calgar and the original squad creatures all die, and only your tokens are left.
Exterminatus Seven mana to destroy every nonland permanent, yours included. It is a reset button the deck rarely wants to press.
Add, for example
Anguished Unmaking ↗
Three mana at instant speed to exile any nonland permanent, for 3 life.
Despark ↗
Two mana at instant speed to exile any permanent with mana value 4 or more. It answers most of the threats you'll worry about.
Generous Gift ↗
Three mana to destroy any permanent at instant speed. Its controller gets a 3/3 Elephant in return.
2. Get more from every token
Squad creatures, Astartes tokens and Soldiers are the core of the deck, and Calgar draws each time tokens enter. Cards that double or pump tokens make every one of those cards stronger.
What to look for Enchantments that double the tokens you make, pump creature tokens, or reward creatures entering.
Cut, for example
Launch the Fleet Gives creatures a Soldier token when they attack this turn, at a mana cost per target. It's a small effect for the card it costs.
Deploy to the Front Seven mana for 1/1s equal to the number of creatures on the battlefield. Too expensive for what it does in this deck.
Cybernetica Datasmith Draws you a card each turn, but gives an opponent a 4/4 Robot every time. The opponent's Robot can't block, though it can still attack you.
Add, for example
Anointed Procession ↗
Doubles every token you make. Each squad payment creates two copies, and Greyfax makes two Clues.
Intangible Virtue ↗
Creature tokens you control get +1/+1 and vigilance. With Greyfax out, every token attacks with an extra +2/+1.
Cathars' Crusade ↗
Puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control whenever a creature enters. A squad creature with two copies triggers it three times.
3. Turn Greyfax's Clues into a card engine
Greyfax investigates every time it taps a blocker, which makes it a steady source of Clues. Cards that make more Clues or more tokens from each investigate turn that into real card advantage, and every extra token triggers Calgar.
What to look for Cheap creatures or artifacts that add Clues or other tokens whenever you investigate.
Cut, for example
Neyam Shai Murad Swaps graveyard permanents with an opponent when it connects. It's slow, it helps the opponent too, and it doesn't fit the token plan.
Redemptor Dreadnought A five-mana 4/4 trampler that needs a creature in your graveyard to get bigger. The deck has better five-drops.
4. Untap the three-color mana base
Greyfax wants a mana open each turn for its tap ability, and squad wants extra mana on top of a creature's cost. Lands that enter tapped cost the deck both.
What to look for Two-color lands in the deck's pairs that enter untapped. Ones with basic land types can also be revealed for Port Town and Choked Estuary .
Cut, for example
Dismal Backwater Enters tapped for 1 life. An untapped dual is worth more than the life.
Scoured Barrens The same tapped gain land in white-black.
Tranquil Cove The same tapped gain land in white-blue.
Add, for example
Win conditions
The upgraded deck wins by attacking with a wide board. Cast squad creatures with extra copies, add tokens with Defenders of Humanity and Anointed Procession , and attack with everything while Inquisitor Greyfax taps the biggest blocker. Commissar Severina Raine drains each opponent for every attacker, and For the Emperor! or Cathars' Crusade turn the attack into lethal damage. Reaver Titan and Knight Paladin deal direct damage when the board alone isn't enough.
Who should buy this precon
A good fit for a player with some Commander experience who likes going wide and attacking. Squad asks you to decide each turn how many copies to pay for, and Greyfax's tap ability means you need to keep a mana open and pick the right blocker. The deck is fair and steady, which suits casual tables well.
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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