Graveyard Overdrive Upgrade Guide: 17 Easy Changes You Can Make

Last updated on June 30, 2024

Disa the Restless | Illustrated by Jana Schirmer

Modern Horizons 3 had plenty of engrossing strategies, but the one I saw with the most hype was the Graveyard Overdrive Commander precon, a typal deck built around one of Magic’s most iconic creature types: the lhurgoyf!

The most famous goyf in Magic is the (retired) king of the Modern format, Tarmogoyf. The former king is a mere token this Jund commander, Disa the Restless, creates. While this precon packs plenty of power, you can also improve upon precons.

Let’s figure out what strategies to keep and what needs to leave the Graveyard Overdrive deck!

Deck Overview

Glorious Sunrise | Illustration by Andreas Zafiratos

Graveyard Overdrive, one of Modern Horizons 3 Commander precons, cares about self-mill to fuel the lhurgoyf! This deck plays hard around its commander, Disa the Restless, one of the 32 new commanders that Modern Horizons 3 brings to the format. Self-mill buffs the Tarmogoyf tokens and lets Disa reanimate all the other lhurgoyfs in the deck.

The deck also has a sacrifice subtheme present in the top-end like Ziatora, the Incinerator and Izoni, Thousand-Eyed. It makes sense to find a way to get creatures in the graveyard, but it’s a little tenuous.

I overall enjoy this deck. Like any precon, Graveyard Overdrive has a few holes that need patching, but it offers a solid foundation with a concise, easily understandable game plan.

Upgrade Plan

My first goal with this upgrade is cutting the sacrifice cards. I don’t think the deck supports that archetype well enough to bother with, especially since the whole self-mill/fuel the lhurgoyf strategy could use more work. The only sacrifice card I’m keeping is Siege-Gang Lieutenant because creating two hasty tokens works well with Disa the Restless.

I’m also swapping out a handful of the brand-new cards. This deck has a handful of cards that will be powerful in Commander but don’t meaningfully strengthen this deck’s strategy. Those, plus the weak cards that always crop up in precons, are getting cut for more relevant, thematic cards.

I’m adding cards that work with the central self-mill strategy. The deck lacks a handful of EDH staples that would make it much stronger. I’m also bolstering the ramp suite and the top end to ensure we have ways to end the game.

Finally, I tried to bolster the number of enchantments in the deck, especially with enchantment creatures. Those multitype cards are important to grow the goyf faster than your opponents can deal with.

Glorious Sunrise

Suggested Cut: Deathreap Ritual

Deathreap Ritual is mediocre even in dedicated sacrifice decks. If you can trigger it every end step in a Commander game, you have some spice, but that’s a pretty big ask in a deck where the sacrifice synergies are a subtheme.

Glorious Sunrise has a lower ceiling but a far sturdier floor. You should always have a creature with 3 power to draw with, and I love the flexibility. Giving your creatures trample also synergizes with Disa the Restless, making this green enchantment a well-rounded card advantage engine.

Nyx Weaver

Suggested Cut: Stitcher's Supplier

Stitcher's Supplier is the only card that made me hesitate to cut the sacrifice synergies because it’s just that efficient, but it wasn’t worth keeping the subtheme, and I don’t think you should play the Supplier without a means of sacrificing it.

Nyx Weaver mills cards slowly but consistently and counts as two card types when milled, plus you can cash this Golgari () spider in for a card later in the game. It’s not spectacular, but it's what this deck needs.

Shigeki, Jukai Visionary

Suggested Cut: Accursed Marauder

I’m a big fan of Fleshbag Marauder effects, and I can’t wait to see what we can do with Accursed Marauder, the first version of this effect that costs 2 mana. That said, the effect is too low-impact for Commander unless you’re specifically building around it with cards like Meren of Clan Nel Toth.

Shigeki, Jukai Visionary fits this deck much better. It counts as two card types when milled, ramps while filling the graveyard, and refills your hand late in the game. You’ll practically always be happy to see this legendary green creature.

Underrealm Lich

Suggested Cut: Gluttonous Hellkite

While I love the design of Gluttonous Hellkite, this deck doesn’t want to sacrifice creatures. It wants to fill the graveyard, which makes Underrealm Lich a slam-dunk inclusion. I don’t know why this zombie elf shaman wasn’t in the deck to begin with, and cutting one of those sacrifice cards works well.

Breach the Multiverse

Suggested Cut: Ziatora, the Incinerator

Ziatora, the Incinerator, offers sacrifice decks lots of direct damage. But I want to swing with my lhurgoyfs! Breach the Multiverse mills enough cards that the ‘goyfs become as large as they will while throwing a ton of power onto the board.

Incarnation Technique

Suggested Cut: Garruk, Apex Predator

I’ve never been impressed with Garruk, Apex Predator. It just costs too much mana and doesn’t even synergize with this deck’s strategies. Incarnation Technique works with this deck’s synergies and should have a greater impact on the game, all for less mana.

Traverse the Ulvenwald

Suggested Cut: Swamp

Cutting a Swamp for Traverse the Ulvenwald doesn’t count as cutting a land. I’m replacing a basic land with a tapped land that becomes a spell later (practically an MDFC land). This deck has no trouble enabling delirium to turn this into a cheap Eladamri's Call.

Kodama’s Reach

Suggested Cut: Tempt with Mayhem

I’ve never cared for cards with the tempting offer ability word; they seem mediocre unless you have a silver tongue or one of your opponents is behind and desperate to catch up, neither of which I bank on. This deck doesn’t have compelling instants and sorceries to spell-copy with Tempt with Mayhem. Kodama's Reach fixes, ramps, and draws a card, all of which I’m more interested in.

Three Visits

Suggested Cut: Faithless Looting

Faithless Looting is powerful for graveyard synergies, but this deck has enough self-mill to avoid the card disadvantage. Like many precons, this could use more ramp, so Three Visits comes in as a format staple.

Undergrowth Recon

Suggested Cut: Forest

This deck can handle cutting a couple of lands. Undergrowth Recon turns your self-mill cards into a source of ramp. You even have a few bad fetch lands to recur with it.

Kagha, Shadow Archdruid

Suggested Cut: Izoni, Thousand-Eyed

Izoni, Thousand-Eyed does fine work in a sacrifice deck, which this isn’t. It’s just small and expensive, even if it comes with tokens, so I don’t mind cutting it. Kagha, Shadow Archdruid offers fine card advantage, plus a deathtoucher works well with Disa’s saboteur effect.

Binding the Old Gods

Suggested Cut: Final Act

I always bemoan the number of board wipes in Commander precons, but Graveyard Overdrive did it right with Chandra's Ignition and Find // Finality, both of which play well with chunky Tarmogoyf tokens. Final Act though… this is a creature deck, I don’t want to blow up my creatures, and I’m never using another mode.

Binding the Old Gods offers simple utility. Kill a threat, ramp, then get an enchantment in the graveyard to feed the ‘goyf. This deck even has cards that give your creatures trample to exploit this saga‘s deathtouch chapter.

Gloomshrieker

Suggested Cut: Yavimaya Elder

I love sacrificing Yavimaya Elder, but I’m cutting all the sacrifice cards, and sacrificing the Elder to itself seems rather slow. Gloomshrieker still draws a card while working with the lhurgoyfs as an enchantment creature.

Mesmeric Orb

Suggested Cut: Deadbridge Chant

I always want Deadbridge Chant to do work but it’s so slow. So slow. Mesmeric Orb is the best self-mill enabler in Commander. You run the risk of fueling other graveyard strategies, but this artifact punches well beyond its mana value and fills your graveyard faster than you can blink.

Dreadhound

Suggested Cut: Sawhorn Nemesis

Sawhorn Nemesis doesn’t impress me. It feels like making an enemy with a player just because. Some decks can get away with that, but this deck doesn’t feel aggressive enough to leverage this well.

Dreadhound works beautifully with the self-mill strategies here. It’s effectively a second copy of Syr Konrad, the Grim, which is already one of the deck’s best cards. Pinging your opponents whenever you mill ends games quickly, especially when those pings come with lhurgoyfs attached.

Chaos Defiler

Suggested Cut: Infested Thrinax

Chaos Defiler throws a wrench in somebody’s plan. An artifact creature with trample that destroys two permanents won’t win games alone, but it does enough in this deck to warrant its inclusion.

I find Infested Thrinax interesting, but I’m not sure it’s good. It reads like wrath protection, but when will a Jund () deck hold up 5 mana without it looking suspicious? Maybe I’m just not good enough at reading when my opponents will cast a sweeper, but I find this flash creature suspicious and tricky to use.

Loyal Apprentice

Suggested Cut: Mountain

Loyal Apprentice is a slam-dunk in any red-leaning deck with a commander that wants you to attack or deal combat damage. This red creature spits out a Tarmogoyf every turn alongside a Thopter. Why would you ever play a Mountain over this?

The Final Deck and New Cards

Anger | Illustration by Svetlin Velinov

Hopefully, these upgrades make your experience playing the Graveyard Overdrive deck better. If you want these cards, you can click the shopping cart button on the Upgrades Only list above to fill your TCGplayer cart!

Commanding Conclusion

Chaos Defiler | Illustration by Games Workshop

These changes to the Graveyard Overdrive deck cut the under-supported sacrifice cards and unsynergetic new ones in favor of cards that support the deck’s core self-mill theme as well as a handful of cards that work well with your lhurgoyfs and your Jund commander. You could make even more changes if you were so inclined; you can learn how with our precons upgrade guide!

If you wanted to take this deck in a different direction, you could flesh out the sacrifice theme rather than cutting it. These are perfect colors to incorporate a reanimation strategy fueled by all your self-mill cards. And if you'd like more ideas, check our full guide on how to upgrade Commander precons!

How would you upgrade the Graveyard Overdrive deck? Which Modern Horizons 3 precon do you want to get? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord!

Stay safe and thanks for reading!