Precon Upgrade Guide
Obscura Operation Upgrade Guide
What to cut, what to add, and how to play the Esper unblockable-attackers precon from Streets of New Capenna, commanded by Kamiz, Obscura Oculus.
Streets of New Capenna
Obscura Operation
Connive rewards choosing what to keep each turn. Out of the box, before any upgrades. How we rate precons
Buy Obscura Operation on TCGplayer →Quick verdict
Obscura Operation is a deck of creatures that do something when they hit a player, led by a commander that makes sure one of them gets through every turn. Kamiz, Obscura Oculus makes an attacker unblockable, has it connive, and gives a smaller attacker double strike, so your best trigger lands once or twice each combat. The engine is strong, but the deck plays wipes that clear its own board, a lot of lands that enter tapped, and several expensive spells where cheap threats would do more.
TurnZero HQ rates Obscura Operation 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 Obscura Operation decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.
How the precon plays
Kamiz, Obscura Oculus triggers whenever you attack. A target attacking creature can't be blocked this turn and connives: you draw a card, discard a card, and if the discard wasn't a land, that creature gets a +1/+1 counter. Then you choose another attacking creature with lower power, and it gains double strike until end of turn. Every combat you get a card filtered, a guaranteed hit, and a second creature that deals damage twice.
The creatures are chosen to make that hit count. Thief of Sanity and Fallen Shinobi let you cast cards from an opponent's library, Dragonlord Ojutai and Shadowmage Infiltrator draw, and Silent-Blade Oni casts a spell from the opponent's hand for free. Ninjutsu creatures like Fallen Shinobi can swap in for whichever creature Kamiz made unblockable.
Equipment carries the plan when the creatures are small. Mask of the Schemer makes the equipped creature connive once for each point of damage it deals, and Quietus Spike on a double striker takes half of a player's life twice in one combat.
What works out of the box
Kamiz, Obscura Oculus ↗
One guaranteed unblockable attacker each turn, a connive to sharpen your hand, and double strike on a second attacker. It does all of that from the command zone for four mana.
Fallen Shinobi ↗
Ninjutsu it in for the creature Kamiz made unblockable, and you may play the top two cards of that player's library for free this turn.
Thief of Sanity ↗
A three-mana flier that exiles one of an opponent's top three cards on each hit and lets you cast it with any mana. It steals a card every turn.
Mask of the Schemer ↗
The equipped creature connives for each point of combat damage it deals to a player. On a large unblockable attacker that is several cards of selection and counters a turn.
Quietus Spike ↗
Deathtouch, and a player loses half their life when the equipped creature hits them. With double strike from Kamiz it triggers twice.
What needs improvement
Three of the deck's sweepers work against it. Nightmare Unmaking exiles creatures by power, which often includes your own after a few connive counters, Dusk // Dawn destroys every creature with 3 or more power, and Austere Command needs careful mode choices to avoid your side. A deck that wins by combat wants targeted answers instead.
The mana and curve are slow. Three Thriving lands, Arcane Sanctum , Creeping Tar Pit , Temple of Silence , Path of Ancestry and Myriad Landscape all enter tapped, and cards like Stolen Identity and Writ of Return cost six and five mana for effects that don't add to the combat 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. Swap board wipes for targeted removal
Kamiz wants a board of small evasive creatures that each have a trigger. Wipes that remove creatures by power hit your own team as often as an opponent's.
What to look for Removal costing three mana or less that handles one permanent, ideally anything from creatures to enchantments, so it covers the threats a combat deck can't race.
Cut, for example
Nightmare Unmaking Exiles creatures by comparing power to the number of cards in your hand. It is hard to control, and your connived creatures are often on the wrong side of it.
Dusk // Dawn Dusk destroys every creature with 3 or more power, which includes Kamiz's best attackers once they have counters.
Add, for example
Anguished Unmaking ↗
Three mana at instant speed: exile target nonland permanent, and you lose 3 life.
Vindicate ↗
Three-mana sorcery that destroys any target permanent. It answers whatever is stopping your attacks.
Feed the Swarm ↗
Two mana to destroy an opponent's creature or enchantment. You lose life equal to its mana value.
2. Add cheap creatures that cash in on a hit
The deck's best turns come from having several attackers out early, but too much of the curve sits at five mana and up. Cheap creatures with combat-damage triggers or ninjutsu get the engine going sooner.
What to look for Creatures costing three mana or less that draw or generate value when they connect, or ninjas that can trade in for the attacker Kamiz made unblockable.
Cut, for example
Stolen Identity Six mana for a token copy of one creature or artifact. Cipher can repeat it, but the deck has cheaper ways to win a combat.
Writ of Return Five mana to return one creature from your graveyard tapped. It is slow for what it does.
Identity Thief Exiles a creature only until the next end step and copies it for one turn. Its effect rarely lasts long enough to matter.
Add, for example
Ninja of the Deep Hours ↗
Ninjutsu for two mana, and it draws a card whenever it deals combat damage to a player.
Ingenious Infiltrator ↗
Ninjutsu for two mana, and it draws a card whenever any Ninja you control deals combat damage to a player.
Ledger Shredder ↗
A two-mana flier that connives whenever any player casts their second spell in a turn, so it grows and filters your hand on most turns.
3. Fix the tapped lands
Kamiz costs four mana across three colors, and the deck has eight lands that always enter tapped. Untapped duals get it out on time.
What to look for Dual lands in two of your colors that usually enter untapped, such as check lands that look for a basic land type you already control.
Cut, for example
Thriving Heath Always enters tapped. It fixes two colors, but untapped dual lands do the same without costing a turn.
Thriving Isle Another land that always enters tapped, in a deck that already has too many.
Thriving Moor The same issue as the other Thriving lands.
4. Stop the spells that end your plan
The deck's only counterspells are An Offer You Can't Refuse and a mode on Obscura Charm . A combat deck loses to a board wipe it can't answer, and it has little protection for its creatures.
What to look for Cheap counterspells, or instants that keep your creatures alive through a wipe. Two or three mana is the target.
Cut, for example
Jailbreak Returns a permanent from an opponent's graveyard to that opponent first, then gets you something of equal or lesser value. It helps the table as much as you.
Inkfathom Witch A 1/1 with fear whose ability costs four mana. Kamiz already gets an attacker through each turn.
Win conditions
The upgraded deck still wins through Kamiz's combat trigger. Make your best damage-trigger creature unblockable, give a second attacker double strike, and let cards like Fallen Shinobi and Thief of Sanity pull resources from your opponents each turn. Quietus Spike on a double striker is the fastest finish, cutting a player's life in half twice in one combat.
Who should buy this precon
A good fit for someone comfortable with Commander basics who likes attacking with small evasive creatures and stealing opponents' cards. Kamiz asks you to pick targets and order connives each turn, and ninjutsu adds a timing decision in the middle of combat. It is moderate to play and lands at about the power of a typical precon.
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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