Political Puppets Upgrade Guide

Quick verdict

Political Puppets is a group hug deck with a clever commander and not many cards that use it. Zedruu the Greathearted draws you a card and gains you life each upkeep for every permanent you own that an opponent controls, but the box has only a few permanents you would want an opponent to have. The rest is walls, attack taxes and symmetrical draw that helps the table as much as you. It needs better gifts, more mana and cheaper answers before Zedruu's card draw turns into a way to win.

TurnZero HQ rates Political Puppets a 3 out of 5 on difficulty and a 2 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 Political Puppets decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.

How the precon plays

Zedruu the Greathearted has two abilities. For {U}{R}{W} you give target opponent control of a permanent you control. At the beginning of your upkeep you gain X life and draw X cards, where X is the number of permanents you own that your opponents control. Each permanent you hand over is an extra card on every one of your turns for as long as they keep it.

The best things to hand over are permanents that hurt whoever controls them. In the box that means Goblin Cadets , which changes control whenever it blocks or is blocked, and Jötun Grunt , whose cumulative upkeep gets harder to pay every turn. The Vow Auras do a different political job: put one on an opponent's creature and it gets bigger but can't attack you. Chromeshell Crab and Vedalken Plotter exchange control of permanents, so they count for Zedruu while taking something of the opponent's in return.

Around that, the deck plays defense. Propaganda , Ghostly Prison and Windborn Muse tax attacks, walls like Wall of Denial and Plumeveil block, and Howling Mine and Vision Skeins keep everyone drawing so nobody looks at you as the threat. The finish comes from stealing boards with Insurrection or Reins of Power , or flying over with Numot, the Devastator and Dominus of Fealty .

What works out of the box

Zedruu the Greathearted ↗

Draws a card and gains a life every upkeep for each permanent you own that an opponent controls. Two or three good gifts make it one of the strongest draw engines in the box.

Propaganda ↗

Opponents pay two mana for each creature that attacks you. In a deck that wants long games, this keeps the attacks pointed at other players.

Chromeshell Crab ↗

When turned face up, it swaps control of a creature you control with one an opponent controls. You take their best creature and Zedruu counts the one you gave away.

Martyr's Bond ↗

Whenever a nonland permanent you control goes to the graveyard, each opponent sacrifices a permanent that shares a type with it. It makes a board wipe on your side cost the table far more.

Dominus of Fealty ↗

A 4/4 flier that takes control of any permanent at the start of your upkeep, untaps it and gives it haste. You borrow the best thing on the table every turn.

Insurrection ↗

Takes every creature on the battlefield until end of turn and gives them haste. Late in the game it is usually lethal for at least one opponent.

What needs improvement

Zedruu has too few good things to give away. Most of the deck's permanents are walls and pillowfort enchantments you want to keep, so in practice Zedruu draws one or two cards a turn at best. Trade Secrets is also in the box but is banned in Commander, so that slot needs filling no matter what.

The mana is thin for a three-color deck with a three-color activation. Several of the mana artifacts are slow: Armillary Sphere puts lands in your hand rather than on the battlefield, and Dreamstone Hedron costs six. Removal is also clunky, with fogs and clash cards like Pollen Lullaby where a one-mana answer would do more. How much removal a Commander deck needs is a good number to build toward.

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. Give away better gifts

Every permanent an opponent controls that you own is a card for you each upkeep. The box has few that you would happily hand over, so Zedruu sits idle or gives away something useful.

What to look for Cheap permanents that hurt their controller, help you while someone else holds them, or move to an opponent on their own so you don't need to pay Zedruu's three mana.

Cut, for example

✕

Trade Secrets Banned in Commander, so it can't be played at all and the slot has to be filled.

✕

Spurnmage Advocate Its tap ability hands an opponent two cards from their graveyard to destroy one attacker. With the attack taxes in this deck, that trade rarely comes up.

Add, for example

Jinxed Idol ↗

Deals 2 damage to its controller every upkeep. Hand it to an opponent and Zedruu counts it, and they need to sacrifice a creature to pass it on.

Akroan Horse ↗

An opponent gains control of it as soon as it enters, with no Zedruu activation needed, and its upkeep trigger gives you and the other players a 1/1 Soldier on their turn.

Puca's Mischief ↗

Every upkeep you may swap a nonland permanent of yours for an opponent's of equal or lesser mana value. Each swap is a gift for Zedruu and a steal for you.

2. Add mana rocks for three-color activations

Zedruu costs four and its gift ability costs {U}{R}{W} on top of that. The deck needs cheap rocks that fix all three colors so you can cast spells and give a permanent away in the same turn.

What to look for Two-mana rocks that make colored mana in blue, red or white. Anything at three mana or more is too slow for this job. The mana rocks guide has more options.

Cut, for example

✕

Dreamstone Hedron Six mana for a rock that taps for three. By the time you can cast it, the turns it would have sped up are gone.

✕

Armillary Sphere Costs two, then two more and a sacrifice, just to put two basic lands in your hand. Slow, and it doesn't put mana on the battlefield.

Add, for example

Arcane Signet ↗

Two mana and taps for any color in Zedruu's identity, with no extra cost.

Talisman of Conviction ↗

Two mana for red or white at the cost of 1 damage, or colorless for free.

Izzet Signet ↗

Two mana; pay one and tap it to add blue and red, which covers two of the three colors Zedruu's ability needs.

3. Cheaper, cleaner removal

The deck's defense leans on fogs and walls, which buy time but never remove the threat. A few one- to three-mana answers let you deal with the creature or enchantment that would otherwise end the game.

What to look for Instant-speed removal for three mana or less that handles creatures, or any nonland permanent. White and red have the cheapest options.

Cut, for example

✕

Pollen Lullaby A fog that only sometimes taps down one player's creatures, depending on a clash. It delays a threat without answering it.

✕

Death by Dragons Six mana to give every other player a 5/5 flying Dragon. In a deck that wants to stay off the radar, that arms the table against you.

Add, for example

Swords to Plowshares ↗

One mana at instant speed to exile any creature. Its controller gains life equal to its power.

Path to Exile ↗

One mana at instant speed to exile any creature, in exchange for giving its controller a basic land.

Generous Gift ↗

Three mana to destroy any permanent, including lands and artifacts. The controller gets a 3/3 Elephant, which fits a deck that likes handing things out.

4. Make the pillowfort pay off

The attack taxes keep you alive, but the top of the curve has big creatures that don't fit the plan. Better taxes and cards that stop a single big attack let you spend the long game drawing with Zedruu.

What to look for Enchantments or artifacts that tax or block attacks on you, cheap enough to cast before the table starts swinging.

Cut, for example

✕

Arbiter of Knollridge Seven mana to set every life total to the highest one. In a deck that gains life every upkeep, it mostly heals the opponents.

✕

Ruhan of the Fomori A 7/7 that attacks a random opponent each combat. Random attacks make enemies you didn't choose, which is the opposite of what a political deck wants.

Add, for example

Sphere of Safety ↗

Creatures can't attack you unless their controller pays X each, where X is the number of enchantments you control. With Propaganda and Ghostly Prison out, that tax is steep.

Norn's Annex ↗

Opponents pay a white mana or 2 life for each creature attacking you or your planeswalkers. You can cast it for life if you are short on white.

Counterspell ↗

Two mana, counters anything. Holding it up stops the board wipe that would clear your walls.

Win conditions

The upgraded deck still wins late. Zedruu keeps your hand full while the attack taxes keep you alive, and gifts like Jinxed Idol chip at whoever holds them. When the table is low, Insurrection or Reins of Power turn the biggest board against its owner, and Dominus of Fealty or Numot, the Devastator finish off what is left in the air.

Who should buy this precon

A good pick for someone who enjoys politics and wants a deck that plays the table as much as the cards. Deciding what to give away and to whom takes some judgment, and the stock deck is not very strong, so it suits a casual group that likes long games. It is a poor fit for a player who wants to attack early and finish fast.

Checked against the printed decklist on October 10, 2026.