Precon Upgrade Guide
Veloci-Ramp-Tor Upgrade Guide
What to cut, what to add, and how to play the Naya Dinosaur precon from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, commanded by Pantlaza, Sun-Favored.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
Veloci-Ramp-Tor
Ramp into big Dinosaurs, one of the stronger four. Out of the box, before any upgrades. How we rate precons
Buy Veloci-Ramp-Tor on TCGplayer →Quick verdict
Veloci-Ramp-Tor is the most straightforward of the Lost Caverns of Ixalan decks and one of the strongest. Pantlaza, Sun-Favored gives you a free spell off the top of your library once each turn when a Dinosaur enters, sized by that Dinosaur's toughness, and the deck has enough ramp to cast a big Dinosaur every turn from turn four on. Its weak spots are a few small Dinosaurs that make poor discover triggers, almost nothing that protects the board, and a mana base with several lands that always enter tapped.
TurnZero HQ rates Veloci-Ramp-Tor a 2 out of 5 on difficulty and a 4 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 Veloci-Ramp-Tor decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.
How the precon plays
Pantlaza, Sun-Favored is a five-mana 4/4. Whenever it or another Dinosaur you control enters, you may discover X, where X is that creature's toughness, once each turn. Discover exiles cards from the top of your library until it hits a nonland card with mana value X or less, and you either cast it for free or put it into your hand. A Dinosaur with 5 toughness finds a spell costing up to five, and that spell is often another Dinosaur.
The first few turns are about mana. Ixalli's Lorekeeper , Drover of the Mighty and Atzocan Seer make mana, and Farseek , Rampant Growth , Cultivate and Thunderherd Migration fetch lands. Otepec Huntmaster and Marauding Raptor make Dinosaurs cheaper, and Regisaur Alpha gives the rest haste.
The second engine is enrage, which triggers when a creature is dealt damage. Wayta, Trainer Prodigy lets your creatures fight each other cheaply and makes damage-based triggers happen an additional time, so Ripjaw Raptor draws two and Wrathful Raptors deals its damage twice.
What works out of the box
Pantlaza, Sun-Favored ↗
Once each turn, a Dinosaur entering gives you a free spell up to its toughness. With 5- and 6-toughness Dinosaurs, that is a second big creature most turns.
Regisaur Alpha ↗
Gives your other Dinosaurs haste and brings a 3/3 trampler with it. Every big Dinosaur after it can attack right away.
Wayta, Trainer Prodigy ↗
Lets your creatures fight each other for one mana and makes enrage triggers happen twice. It turns Ripjaw Raptor and Ranging Raptors into strong engines.
Earthshaker Dreadmaw ↗
A 6/6 trampler that draws a card for each other Dinosaur you control. It refills your hand late in the game.
Zacama, Primal Calamity ↗
Untaps your lands when you cast it, then uses that mana to remove creatures, artifacts, or enchantments. It answers threats while it attacks.
Akroma's Will ↗
With your commander out, it gives your team flying, double strike, indestructible, lifelink and protection from each color at once. It either wins the game or saves the board.
What needs improvement
A few of the Dinosaurs make poor discover triggers. Majestic Heliopterus has 2 toughness, so it discovers a two-drop at best, and Temple Altisaur spends five mana on a body that mostly prevents damage. Sunfrill Imitator and Deathgorge Scavenger are fine creatures, but neither does much once the bigger Dinosaurs land.
The deck has only Akroma's Will to protect its board, and losing a table of Dinosaurs to a wipe costs most of a game. The mana base also has Thriving Bluff , Thriving Grove , Thriving Heath , Jungle Shrine , Path of Ancestry and Myriad Landscape entering tapped, plus Temple of the False God , which does nothing early.
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. Bigger toughness for bigger discover hits
Pantlaza's discover is sized by toughness, so a 2-toughness Dinosaur wastes the trigger. Swapping small Dinosaurs for big ones makes every discover a real card.
What to look for Dinosaurs with 5 or more toughness, especially ones that cost less than their toughness or that bring their own value when they enter.
Cut, for example
Majestic Heliopterus A four-mana 2/2 flier. Its discover is only 2, and giving another Dinosaur flying on attack does less than a bigger body.
Temple Altisaur Five mana for a 3/4 whose ability prevents damage to your other Dinosaurs. That works against enrage, which wants them to take damage.
Add, for example
2. Protect the board from a wipe
The deck puts its best creatures on the battlefield over several turns, and one wipe resets all of it. Akroma's Will is the only answer in the box.
What to look for Cheap instants that give your creatures indestructible or hexproof, so you can hold them up with a few lands while developing.
Cut, for example
Sunfrill Imitator Copies another Dinosaur when it attacks, but needs a good target and survives combat. A protection spell protects every Dinosaur at once.
Deathgorge Scavenger A 3/2 that exiles one card from a graveyard. Its 2 toughness is a weak discover, and the graveyard hate rarely matters in this deck.
Add, for example
3. Replace the lands that always enter tapped
Seven lands in the box enter tapped or produce nothing early. A ramp deck wants its two-mana ramp spell on turn two, and a tapped land delays that.
What to look for Two-color lands in Naya colors that can enter untapped from the first turn. Lands with basic land types also turn on Clifftop Retreat and the reveal lands. See the land and mana base guide.
Cut, for example
Thriving Bluff Always enters tapped. Its fixing is fine, but an untapped dual land does the same without the lost turn.
Thriving Heath The same problem as Thriving Bluff: a tapped land that fixes two colors.
Temple of the False God Taps for nothing until you control five lands, which makes it a blank in the turns you are ramping.
Add, for example
Stomping Ground ↗
Enters untapped for 2 life and taps for red or green. As a Mountain and a Forest it can be fetched by Farseek and turns on Game Trail.
Temple Garden ↗
Enters untapped for 2 life and taps for green or white. It turns on Fortified Village.
Sacred Foundry ↗
Enters untapped for 2 life and taps for red or white. It turns on Clifftop Retreat and Furycalm Snarl, and Farseek can find it.
4. Add cheap instant-speed removal
Most of the deck's removal is fight effects, which need a big creature on the battlefield and work only on creatures. A couple of cheap instants handle threats the Dinosaurs can't fight.
What to look for Removal costing three mana or less that works at instant speed, ideally able to hit any permanent type. See how much removal a Commander deck needs.
Cut, for example
Progenitor's Icon A three-mana rock in a deck already full of ramp. Its flash ability is rarely worth the slot.
Win conditions
Games are won by attacking with more big Dinosaurs than the table can block. Pantlaza, Sun-Favored keeps adding free creatures, Regisaur Alpha gives them haste, and trample from Quartzwood Crasher , Rampaging Brontodon and Kessig Wolf Run pushes damage through. Akroma's Will or Xenagos, God of Revels can turn one attack into a lethal one.
Who should buy this precon
A good pick for a newer player who wants a powerful deck with a simple plan. Ramp, cast big Dinosaurs, and take a free spell from Pantlaza each turn. The enrage and fight interactions add some depth for players who want it, but they are optional, and the deck is strong enough out of the box to keep up in most casual pods.
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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