Precon Upgrade Guide
Ruthless Regiment Upgrade Guide
What to cut, what to add, and how to play the Mardu Humans precon from Commander 2020, commanded by Jirina Kudro.
Commander 2020
Ruthless Regiment
Straightforward tribal aggro, the easiest of the five. Out of the box, before any upgrades. How we rate precons
Buy Ruthless Regiment on TCGplayer →Quick verdict
Ruthless Regiment is a straightforward go-wide deck. You play Humans, Jirina Kudro gives each of them +2/+0, and you attack. That simplicity makes it one of the easier Commander 2020 decks to pick up. The box weakens it with board wipes that hit your own creatures as hard as anyone's, three goad auras that do nothing for Humans, and a mana base with too many lands that enter tapped for a deck that wants to curve out.
TurnZero HQ rates Ruthless Regiment a 1 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 Ruthless Regiment decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.
How the precon plays
Jirina Kudro gives every other Human you control +2/+0, which turns 1/1 Soldier tokens into 3/1 attackers. When Jirina enters, it makes a 1/1 Human Soldier for each time you've cast a commander from the command zone this game, and the cast that put it there counts. The first cast makes one token, and each recast after removal makes one more than the last.
The deck fills the board fast. Thraben Doomsayer makes a Human every turn, Trynn, Champion of Freedom makes one at your end step if you attacked, and Increasing Devotion makes five at once. Under Jirina those are real threats. Adriana, Captain of the Guard gives every attacker melee, and Shared Animosity gives each Human more power for every other Human attacking.
There is a sacrifice angle too. Zulaport Cutthroat and Bastion of Remembrance drain opponents as creatures die, Skullclamp turns 1/1 tokens into two cards each, and Xathrid Necromancer replaces dying Humans with 2/2 Zombies.
What works out of the box
Jirina Kudro ↗
Every other Human you control gets +2/+0. The deck's many 1/1 tokens become 3/1 attackers the moment Jirina is out.
Skullclamp ↗
Equip it to a 1/1 token, which dies at once, and draw two cards for one mana. The deck makes enough tokens to draw a large part of its library.
Shared Animosity ↗
Each attacking Human gets +1/+0 for every other attacking Human. A wide attack of ten creatures gives each one +9/+0.
Adriana, Captain of the Guard ↗
Gives every creature you control melee, so each one gets bigger for each opponent you attack that combat.
Thraben Doomsayer ↗
Taps to make a 1/1 Human every turn. It is a steady token engine that Jirina, Skullclamp and the sacrifice payoffs all use.
Crackling Doom ↗
Three mana at instant speed: each opponent sacrifices their biggest creature and takes 2 damage. It gets around indestructible and hexproof.
What needs improvement
The removal suite includes several cards that hurt you more than your opponents. Magus of the Disk destroys every artifact, creature and enchantment, and Citywide Bust kills Titan Hunter , Frontier Warmonger and Adriana, Captain of the Guard along with whatever you aimed it at. A go-wide deck wants answers that leave its own board alone.
The mana base has about a dozen lands that enter tapped, plus Temple of the False God , which does nothing early. A Humans deck wants to play a creature on turns one through four, and a tapped land on turn two or three costs it a whole play. See the land and mana base guide for what to look 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. Lean harder into Humans and tokens
The three goad auras take slots from the deck's actual plan. Cheap Humans and token support make every Jirina turn more dangerous.
What to look for One- to three-mana Humans that grow, make tokens or slow opponents down, or cheap enchantments that pump tokens. A card that is a Human counts twice under Jirina.
Cut, for example
Martial Impetus A goad aura for an opponent's creature. The +1/+1 to other attackers is small next to a real anthem.
Parasitic Impetus Another goad aura. It drains 2 life per attack, but it spends three mana on an opponent's creature.
Shiny Impetus The Treasure is nice, but the aura still makes an opponent's creature bigger and does nothing for Humans.
Add, for example
Champion of the Parish ↗
A one-mana Human that gets a +1/+1 counter whenever another Human enters. In a token deck it grows every turn.
Thalia, Heretic Cathar ↗
A three-mana Human with first strike. Opponents' creatures and nonbasic lands enter tapped, which slows their blockers and their mana.
Intangible Virtue ↗
Two mana: creature tokens you control get +1/+1 and vigilance. With Jirina, each Soldier token attacks as a 4/2.
2. Trade symmetrical wipes for one-sided answers
A go-wide deck loses more than anyone to its own board wipe. Spot removal and a wipe that spares Humans fit the plan much better.
What to look for Cheap instant-speed removal for one threat, or a mass removal spell that leaves your Humans alive.
Cut, for example
Magus of the Disk Destroys every artifact, creature and enchantment, including your whole board and your equipment.
Citywide Bust Kills creatures with toughness 4 or greater, which includes several of your own best creatures.
Add, for example
Swords to Plowshares ↗
One mana at instant speed to exile a creature. Its controller gains life equal to its power.
Mortify ↗
Three mana at instant speed to destroy a creature or an enchantment.
Kindred Dominance ↗
Seven mana: name Human and destroy every creature that isn't one. A board wipe that leaves your army standing.
3. Draw cards without helping opponents
Two of the box's draw cards give opponents cards or creatures. Card draw that only helps you keeps the deck fueled after the first wave of Humans.
What to look for Repeatable draw that triggers on its own or when your creatures die, ideally on a Human body.
Cut, for example
Humble Defector Draws two cards and then gives itself to an opponent, who uses it to draw two of their own.
Magus of the Wheel Every player discards and draws seven. It refills opponents as much as you, and a go-wide deck often has an empty hand to begin with.
4. Untap the mana base
A typal aggro deck wants to play a Human every turn from turn one. Tapped lands make those early turns slower.
What to look for Two-color lands in red, white and black that usually enter untapped.
Cut, for example
Temple of the False God Taps for nothing until you control five lands, which makes it a dead land in the turns that matter most for an aggro deck.
Shadowblood Ridge Needs another mana to produce two colors, so it can't make colored mana alone on the turn you play it.
Add, for example
Win conditions
The deck wins by attacking with more Humans than opponents can block. Build a board of tokens and cheap Humans, land Jirina Kudro for +2/+0, and swing with Shared Animosity or Adriana, Captain of the Guard adding more. Zulaport Cutthroat and Bastion of Remembrance finish off players when blockers trade. The upgrades keep the board intact by replacing self-destructive wipes and add pressure in the early turns.
Who should buy this precon
One of the best Commander 2020 decks for a new player. The plan is easy to follow: play Humans, keep Jirina on the battlefield, and attack. Most cards do one obvious thing, and the few decisions, like when to sacrifice a token or which opponent to attack, are easy to learn in a game or two. Experienced players will find it a solid, straightforward deck to upgrade.
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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