Precon Upgrade Guide
Tinker Time Upgrade Guide
What to cut, what to add, and how to play the Temur artifact tokens precon from March of the Machine, commanded by Gimbal, Gremlin Prodigy.
March of the Machine
Tinker Time
Artifact synergies stack up over a few turns. Out of the box, before any upgrades. How we rate precons
Buy Tinker Time on TCGplayer →Quick verdict
Tinker Time is an artifact token deck that rewards variety: Treasure, Clues, Food, Thopters, Servos and more. Gimbal, Gremlin Prodigy makes a Gremlin at each of your end steps with a +1/+1 counter for every differently named artifact token you control, and it gives your artifact creatures trample. The deck has good token makers like Academy Manufactor and Tireless Tracker , but it carries several seven- and eight-mana cards, a few sweepers that hit its own tokens, and little protection for Gimbal.
TurnZero HQ rates Tinker Time 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 Tinker Time decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.
How the precon plays
Gimbal, Gremlin Prodigy is a five-mana 4/4 that gives your artifact creatures trample. At the beginning of your end step, it creates a 0/0 red Gremlin artifact creature token and puts X +1/+1 counters on it, where X is the number of differently named artifact tokens you control. A board with a Treasure, a Clue, a Food and a Thopter makes a 4/4 Gremlin, and once a Gremlin token is out, its name counts toward the next one.
Most of the deck exists to make those different token names. Academy Manufactor turns any Clue, Food or Treasure into one of each, Tireless Tracker and Tireless Provisioner add Clues, Food or Treasure on every land drop, and Gilded Goose , Whirler Rogue , Pia and Kiran Nalaar and Saheeli, Sublime Artificer add Food, Thopters and Servos. Sandsteppe War Riders uses the same count to bolster each combat.
The payoffs turn a wide artifact board into damage or cards. Master of Etherium grows with every artifact, Thopter Spy Network draws when your artifact creatures connect, and Rashmi and Ragavan makes a Treasure and steals a free spell from an opponent's library the first time you cast a spell each turn.
What works out of the box
Gimbal, Gremlin Prodigy ↗
Makes a Gremlin every end step that grows with your token variety, and gives all your artifact creatures trample.
Academy Manufactor ↗
Whenever you would make a Clue, Food or Treasure, you make one of each instead. That alone adds three names to Gimbal's count.
Tireless Provisioner ↗
Three mana, and every land drop makes a Food or a Treasure, so it ramps and feeds Gimbal at the same time.
Tireless Tracker ↗
Investigates on every land drop and grows when you crack a Clue. Card draw and a new token name in one creature.
Sandsteppe War Riders ↗
A 4/4 trampler that bolsters by your number of differently named artifact tokens at each combat, using the same count as Gimbal.
Thopter Spy Network ↗
Makes a flying Thopter every upkeep while you control an artifact, and draws a card whenever your artifact creatures deal combat damage to a player.
What needs improvement
The deck spends too many slots on very expensive spells. Dance with Calamity costs eight, Junk Winder , Workshop Elders and Brass's Bounty cost seven before reductions, and Ichor Elixir and Fractured Powerstone are colorless rocks whose planar dice text never matters in a normal game. Gimbal wants cheap token makers on the battlefield before it arrives on turn five.
Some of the interaction works against the plan. Vampires' Vengeance deals 2 damage to each non-Vampire creature, which kills your own Thopters and Servos, and Perplexing Test can bounce all tokens, including yours. Gimbal itself has no protection, and the deck's whole engine stops when it is removed.
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 cheap creatures that bring new token names
Gimbal counts different names, so a one-mana creature that makes a Blood or Map token is worth a full counter on every Gremlin. Several cheap makers do more than one eight-mana spell.
What to look for Creatures or permanents costing three mana or less that create an artifact token with a name your deck does not already make, or that add an extra token whenever you make one.
Cut, for example
Dance with Calamity Eight mana and a random result. On many turns it casts little, and the same mana could have cast three token makers.
Junk Winder Affinity for tokens helps, but it is still a large Serpent that does not make any artifact tokens of its own.
Add, for example
Voldaren Epicure ↗
One mana: pings each opponent for 1 and makes a Blood token, a name the deck otherwise rarely makes.
Spyglass Siren ↗
A one-mana flier that makes a Map token, another new name for Gimbal's count.
Peregrin Took ↗
Every time you make tokens, you also make a Food. Each Treasure, Clue or Thopter comes with an extra artifact.
2. Ramp with lands instead of colorless rocks
Gimbal needs green, blue and red, and the deck's colorless rocks do not help cast it. Two-mana land ramp also triggers Tireless Tracker and Tireless Provisioner for an extra token.
What to look for Ramp costing two mana or less that puts a land onto the battlefield or adds colored mana. See how much ramp a Commander deck needs.
Cut, for example
Ichor Elixir Four mana for two colorless, with a planar dice ability that only matters in Planechase.
Fractured Powerstone A colorless two-mana rock with a die roll you will not use in a normal game.
Temple of Mystery Always enters tapped. The deck has enough tapped lands already.
Add, for example
3. Swap the sweepers for spot removal
This deck's board is mostly small artifact creatures, so damage sweepers and mass bounce hurt you as much as anyone. Cheap targeted removal deals with the threat without touching your tokens.
What to look for Instant-speed removal costing two mana or less that hits a single creature or artifact. See how much removal a Commander deck needs.
Cut, for example
Vampires' Vengeance Deals 2 damage to each non-Vampire creature, which wipes out your Thopters, Servos and small Gremlins.
Perplexing Test One mode bounces every creature token, which erases your own board. The other bounces nontoken creatures, including Gimbal.
4. Keep Gimbal on the battlefield
Gimbal is the engine, and every turn it is off the battlefield is a Gremlin the deck never makes. Cheap protection keeps it making tokens.
What to look for Cheap equipment or instants that give Gimbal hexproof or indestructible, or protect the whole board at once.
Cut, for example
Thopter Assembly Six mana for a flier that returns to your hand when you have no other Thopters. It is slow, and this deck usually has other Thopters out.
Workshop Elders Seven mana. Its flying anthem is strong, but the deck rarely has seven mana to spare before the game turns.
Win conditions
The upgraded deck wins with a growing army of artifact creatures. Each end step Gimbal, Gremlin Prodigy adds a larger Gremlin, Master of Etherium pumps the rest of your artifact creatures, and Gimbal's trample stops chump blocks from soaking up damage. Rise and Shine overloaded turns every Treasure, Clue and Food into a 4/4 for one big attack, and Thopter Spy Network keeps the cards coming while you get there.
Who should buy this precon
A moderate deck for a player who enjoys tracking a board full of small pieces. You need to count your differently named tokens each end step, decide when to crack a Clue or a Treasure (cracking one can lower Gimbal's count), and plan around three colors. It suits someone who likes engines and math more than someone who wants to attack with one big creature.
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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