Precon Upgrade Guide
Swell the Host Upgrade Guide
What to cut, what to add, and how to play the Simic +1/+1 counters precon from Commander 2015, commanded by Ezuri, Claw of Progress.
Commander 2015
Swell the Host
Small creatures build experience, which then super-charges one big swing. Out of the box, before any upgrades. How we rate precons
Buy Swell the Host on TCGplayer →Quick verdict
Swell the Host asks you to play lots of small creatures and turns each one into a permanent bonus. Every creature with power 2 or less that enters gives Ezuri, Claw of Progress an experience counter, and at each of your combats Ezuri puts that many +1/+1 counters on another creature. The deck has good small value creatures, but several expensive cards ignore the plan and two of them exile your own creatures, removing the counters you spent the game building.
TurnZero HQ rates Swell the Host 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 Swell the Host decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.
How the precon plays
Ezuri, Claw of Progress is a four-mana 3/3. Whenever a creature you control with power 2 or less enters, you get an experience counter, and experience stays with you even if Ezuri dies. At the beginning of combat on your turn, Ezuri puts X +1/+1 counters on another target creature you control, where X is your experience count. After a few turns, that is a large pile of counters every combat.
Most of the deck's creatures are cheap bodies that replace themselves. Elvish Visionary , Coiling Oracle , Wistful Selkie and Mulldrifter each draw a card and give experience. Sakura-Tribe Elder and Solemn Simulacrum ramp while doing the same.
The best counter targets turn size into cards. Cold-Eyed Selkie draws a card for each point of combat damage it deals to a player, Prime Speaker Zegana enters with counters equal to your largest creature's power and draws that many, and Bident of Thassa draws whenever a creature deals combat damage to a player.
What works out of the box
Ezuri, Claw of Progress ↗
Every small creature you play adds an experience counter, and every combat Ezuri turns them into +1/+1 counters on one attacker.
Cold-Eyed Selkie ↗
A 1/1 with islandwalk that draws a card for each point of combat damage. With Ezuri's counters on it, one hit refills your hand.
Prime Speaker Zegana ↗
Enters with counters equal to your largest creature's power and draws that many cards. After a few Ezuri combats that is a full hand.
Mulldrifter ↗
A 2/2 flier that draws two cards and gives experience, or can be evoked for three mana just for the cards.
Bident of Thassa ↗
Draws a card whenever one of your creatures deals combat damage to a player, so a wide attack is also card draw.
Ezuri's Predation ↗
Makes a 4/4 Beast for each creature your opponents control and has each fight one. It is both a board wipe and an army.
What needs improvement
Two cards in the box work directly against Ezuri. Day of the Dragons and Synthetic Destiny both exile every creature you control, which removes the +1/+1 counters you have been building, and the returned creatures come back without them. A deck that invests in one big creature should avoid resetting it.
The deck also has expensive creatures with power above 2, like Caller of the Pack and Great Oak Guardian , that don't give experience. There is little protection for the creature carrying Ezuri's counters, and the mana base has a Guildgate, a bounce land and several lands that 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. Play more creatures with power 2 or less
Every small creature is another experience counter and another counter on Ezuri's target every combat. Expensive creatures with high power add nothing to that count.
What to look for Creatures with power 2 or less costing three or less that ramp, draw, or put counters on your team.
Cut, for example
Caller of the Pack A seven-mana 8/6. Its power is too high to give experience, and the deck makes its own big creature with counters.
Great Oak Guardian A six-mana 4/5 whose effect is a one-turn pump. It doesn't trigger Ezuri.
Add, for example
Llanowar Elves ↗
One mana, taps for green, and gives an experience counter on turn one.
Birds of Paradise ↗
A 0/1 flier that taps for any color. It ramps, fixes, and gives experience.
Rishkar, Peema Renegade ↗
A 2/2 that puts a +1/+1 counter on two creatures, and each creature with a counter can tap for green.
2. Get more from every counter
Ezuri already puts counters on a creature every combat. Cards that increase those counters or make countered creatures unblockable turn them into damage faster.
What to look for Cheap permanents that add extra +1/+1 counters or that reward creatures with counters on them.
Cut, for example
Day of the Dragons Exiles all your creatures for 5/5 Dragons. The creatures come back only if the enchantment leaves, and without their counters.
Synthetic Destiny Exiles your creatures and replaces them with random ones from your library, removing every counter you placed.
3. Protect the creature carrying the counters
Ezuri tends to put every counter on one creature, and one removal spell or board wipe can undo several turns. Cheap protection and better interaction cover that risk.
What to look for Instants costing three or less that give your creatures hexproof or indestructible, or that remove any permanent.
Cut, for example
Mirror Match Six mana, and it only works during the declare blockers step when you are attacked. It does nothing for your own plan.
Noble Quarry A 1/1 that forces blocks, or a six-mana bestow. The effect rarely matters compared with protecting your best creature.
4. Untap the mana base
The deck wants to cast a cheap creature or two each turn. Lands that enter tapped slow down both the experience count and the draws.
What to look for Green-blue lands that enter untapped in normal play.
Cut, for example
Simic Guildgate Always enters tapped and has no other ability.
Zoetic Cavern Taps only for colorless, and its morph option is a 2/2 for three mana. A colored land does more.
Add, for example
Win conditions
The upgraded deck wins with one large, evasive creature. Build experience with cheap creatures, let Ezuri, Claw of Progress stack counters on a target like Cold-Eyed Selkie each combat, and get it through with Herald of Secret Streams or Kaseto, Orochi Archmage . Overrun and Ezuri's Predation give a wider board a way to finish the game when a single attacker isn't enough.
Who should buy this precon
Best for a player with some Commander experience. The plan is simple to describe, but you have to choose the right Ezuri target each combat and balance casting small creatures against holding up interaction. It is a good deck to learn sequencing, though not the easiest first deck.
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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