Precon Upgrade Guide
Living Energy Upgrade Guide
What to cut, what to add, and how to play the Temur energy and artifacts precon from Aetherdrift, commanded by Saheeli, Radiant Creator.
Aetherdrift
Living Energy
Energy counters need tracking alongside life. Out of the box, before any upgrades. How we rate precons
Buy Living Energy on TCGplayer →Quick verdict
Living Energy turns every artifact you cast into fuel. Saheeli, Radiant Creator gives you an energy counter for each artifact or Artificer spell, and at the start of each combat you can spend three to make a hasty 5/5 copy of one of your permanents. The deck has plenty of artifacts to keep that going, but its curve tops out with several cards that cost seven or more, its removal is mostly board wipes that hurt you too, and it has little to protect Saheeli or the board.
TurnZero HQ rates Living Energy 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 Living Energy decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.
How the precon plays
Saheeli, Radiant Creator is a four-mana 4/4. Whenever you cast an Artificer or artifact spell, you get an energy counter. At the beginning of combat on your turn, you may pay three energy to create a token copy of a permanent you control. The copy is a 5/5 artifact creature with haste in addition to its other types, and you sacrifice it at the next end step.
That copy is the deck's engine. Copying a creature with a strong enter ability, like Combustible Gearhulk , Rogue Refiner or Whirler Virtuoso , gives you that ability again every turn along with a 5/5 attacker. Copying a mana rock or Thopter Spy Network works too, since anything you control becomes a creature.
The rest of the deck feeds energy and artifacts. Sai, Master Thopterist and Pia and Kiran Nalaar make Thopters, Era of Innovation and Whirler Virtuoso turn energy into cards and tokens, and Pia Nalaar, Chief Mechanic pays you energy for artifact creatures hitting a player, then turns it into a flying Vehicle at your end step.
What works out of the box
Saheeli, Radiant Creator ↗
Energy for every artifact or Artificer you cast, and a hasty 5/5 copy of your best permanent each combat. It repeats enter abilities every turn.
Sai, Master Thopterist ↗
A 1/1 flying Thopter for every artifact spell, and a way to turn spare artifacts into cards. It is also an Artificer for Saheeli.
Whirler Virtuoso ↗
Three energy when it enters and a Thopter for every three you pay. A good copy target for Saheeli, since each copy brings three more energy.
Combustible Gearhulk ↗
A 6/6 first striker whose enter ability draws three cards or deals damage. Copying it with Saheeli repeats that choice every turn.
Thopter Spy Network ↗
A Thopter each upkeep as long as you control an artifact, and a card whenever artifact creatures hit a player. The Thopters keep it fed.
Pia Nalaar, Chief Mechanic ↗
Energy whenever artifact creatures deal combat damage to a player, and a flying Vehicle at your end step sized by the energy you spend.
What needs improvement
Too many cards sit at the top of the curve. Triplicate Titan costs nine, Aethersquall Ancient and Aetherwind Basker cost seven, and Aetherflux Conduit costs six and needs fifty energy to do its main thing. Saheeli wants a steady stream of cheap artifacts, and these cards slow that down.
The removal mostly hits everyone. Chain Reaction and Blasphemous Act wipe your own Thopters and Artificers along with the opponents' creatures, and Druid of Purification lets each player pick something to destroy. The deck needs targeted answers, and some protection for Saheeli, who is the main source of energy. See how much removal a Commander deck needs for a number to aim for.
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 removal that runs on energy
The deck's answers are mostly board wipes that also kill your own small artifacts. Cheap targeted removal that spends energy uses the resource you're already making.
What to look for Instant-speed removal costing two mana or less, ideally one that gives or spends energy so leftover counters are never wasted.
Cut, for example
Chain Reaction Deals damage to every creature equal to the number of creatures out. In a Thopter deck, it kills more of your board than anyone else's.
Druid of Purification Each player chooses an artifact or enchantment they don't control to destroy, so opponents can target your artifacts too.
Add, for example
2. Trade the biggest spells for cheap artifacts
Saheeli gives energy for each artifact spell, not for its mana value. Three cheap artifacts are worth three energy, while one nine-drop is worth one and arrives late.
What to look for Artifacts and Artificers costing three mana or less, especially ones that make later artifacts cheaper or bring their own energy.
Cut, for example
Triplicate Titan Nine mana is too much for this deck, even for a 9/9 that leaves three Golems behind.
Aetherflux Conduit Six mana, and its draw-seven ability needs fifty energy. Most games are over before that.
Aethersquall Ancient Seven mana for a 6/6 flier whose bounce ability also returns your own creatures.
Add, for example
Etherium Sculptor ↗
A two-mana Artificer that makes artifact spells cost one less. It gets energy from Saheeli and speeds up every artifact after it.
Foundry Inspector ↗
A three-mana artifact creature with the same cost reduction. Two of these make many artifacts nearly free.
Aethersphere Harvester ↗
A three-mana flying Vehicle that brings two energy and needs only one power to crew, which a Thopter has.
3. Untap the mana base
A three-color deck that wants to cast Saheeli on turn four can't afford many lands that enter tapped. The precon has several.
What to look for Dual lands that enter untapped in the early turns, either by paying life or by checking for basic land types.
Cut, for example
Temple of Epiphany Always enters tapped. Scry 1 doesn't make up for the lost tempo in the first few turns.
Sheltered Thicket Always enters tapped, and its cycling is a late-game option you seldom need.
4. Protect Saheeli and the board
Saheeli is where most of the energy comes from, and a board of Thopters is easy to sweep away. A couple of cheap protection spells keep the engine running.
What to look for Instants costing one or two mana that give hexproof or indestructible to one creature or the whole board.
Cut, for example
Conjurer's Closet Five mana to blink one creature each turn. Saheeli already repeats enter abilities by copying, for energy rather than a card slot.
Decoction Module An energy per creature and a four-mana bounce. Slow for what it does.
Win conditions
The upgraded deck wins by attacking with Thopters and a fresh 5/5 copy from Saheeli each turn, while Thopter Spy Network and Pia Nalaar, Chief Mechanic turn those hits into cards and more energy. Lightning Runner can spend eight energy for an extra combat, and Aetheric Amplifier can double your energy when you need a big turn. The changes above mainly make the deck faster and less likely to lose its board.
Who should buy this precon
A good pick for a player who likes artifacts and doesn't mind tracking a resource. Energy counters, a temporary copy each combat and several tokens add up to more to keep track of than a typical precon, which puts it at a moderate difficulty. Someone who wants a simple creature deck with few decisions will find this one busier than they'd like.
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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