Last updated on July 10, 2026
Killian, Decisive Mentor | Illustration by Billy Christian
2026 has been a packed year with seven sets, four of which have released. The sets released so far have come with a slew of precons to kickstart your Commander collection or simply start a new archetype. If you’ve been eyeing a precon, these are my takes on the best of the year so far.
Blight Curse
Commanders: Auntie Ool, Cursewretch, The Reaper, King No More
Themes: -1/-1 counters, blight, proliferate
Notable Reprints: Massacre Girl, Known Killer, Ignoble Hierarch, Fire Covenant, Flourishing Defenses
Blight Curse has some of the traditional weaknesses of a precon—a clunky mana base, questionable cards like Liliana, Death Wielder, but it gets past one of the biggest: a lack of focus.
Blight Curse only cares about -1/-1 counters. It contains 90% of the cards the archetype wants, like Blowfly Infestation and Flourishing Defenses. This completeness is appreciated; you need to make minimum upgrades to keep Blight Curse with you. And even those upgrades have variety; will you add Yawgmoth, Thran Physician and push the decks towards infinite combos, or snag Maha, Its Feathers Night for a more traditional midrange game plan?
- RETURN TO THE LAND OF LIGHT AND SHADOW—Lorwyn returns, not as it once was, but a world split in two. Explore this dual-aspect plane filled with enchanting creatures and embrace the powers of order and chaos.
- READY-TO-PLAY COMMANDER DECK—Pick up and play Magic’s most popular multiplayer format
- CONTENTS—100-card Blight Curse deck with 12 new cards (including 2 foil Mythics), deck box, 10 double-sided token cards, strategy insert, reference card
Dance of the Elements
Commanders: Ashling, the Limitless, Mass of Mysteries
Themes: Elementals, enters abilities
Notable Reprints: Selvala, Heart of the Wilds, Fury, Endurance, Titan of Industry, Timeless Lotus
It’s hard to ignore the face commander of Dance of the Elements, Ashling, the Limitless—not only is it powerful, Ashling’s the most popular commander of 2026 so far. There are more gaps in this deck than Blight Curse. For example, the evoke Commander deck doesn’t have flicker spells, and Wizard’s refusal to print a decent mana base shows in a 5-color precon with an astonishing 16 basic lands.
But the rest of the deck is great. At the very least, it has the elementals you’d want, like Maelstrom Wanderer, Risen Reef, Yarok, the Desecrated, and so on. When it comes to upgrades, Ashling invites niche synergies with cards like Grave Sifter and Faces of the Past, so you can get extremely creative with the upgrades. Or you can keep it simple: Fix that mana base, get in some flicker effects, and see how long your pod can endure against the elements.
- RETURN TO THE LAND OF LIGHT AND SHADOW—Lorwyn returns, not as it once was, but a world split in two. Explore this dual-aspect plane filled with enchanting creatures and embrace the powers of order and chaos.
- READY-TO-PLAY COMMANDER DECK—Pick up and play Magic’s most popular multiplayer format
- CONTENTS—100-card Dance of the Elements deck with 12 new cards (including 2 foil Mythics), deck box, 10 double-sided token cards, strategy insert, reference card
The Fantastic Four
Commanders: Invisible Woman, Human Torch, The Thing, Mister Fantastic, Crystal, Inhuman Princess, Power Pack
Themes: Noncreature spells, combat, spellslinger
Notable Reprints: Clever Concealment, Taunt from the Rampart, Quantum Misalignment
The first thing to figure out with The Fantastic Four is which of the six potential commanders should lead the deck. As printed, I recommend Mister Fantastic as it’s stronger than Human Torch or The Thing, and the deck isn’t built to properly use the others.
I appreciate the unique spin on spellslinger here. Caring about casting noncreature spells before combat is a unique twist on well-explored space with plenty of ways to capitalize on it—most notably extra combats, which often come from instants and sorceries like Seize the Day. It also makes tracking triggers easy, which is perfect for a product aimed at new players.
- ASSEMBLE EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES—Bring the might of the Marvel Universe to the battlefield as you combat your friends with a ready-to-play deck featuring your favorite Marvel super heroes
- JOIN MARVEL’S FIRST FAMILY—Solve any problem the world throws at you with the virtuous versatility of the Fantastic Four and a flurry of noncreature spells. Protect yourself with the Invisible Woman’s Walls while building your noncreature engine—then it’s time to stretch, flame on, and clobber
- 30 NEW COMMANDER CARDS—Each ready-to-play deck includes 30 Commander cards entirely new to Magic: The Gathering
- 4 FANTASTIC FOIL BORDERLESS CARDS—This deck contains a Legendary card with special Borderless art for all 4 members of The Fantastic Four! Choose any one of the four to play as your commander.
- EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Magic’s most popular multiplayer play format, Commander is an action-packed, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue (best with 3–5 players)
Quandrix Unlimited
Commanders: Zimone, Infinite Analyst, Primo, the Unbounded
Themes: +1/+1 counters, X-spell, hydras
Notable Reprints: Unbound Flourishing, Open the Way, Three Visits, Ozolith, the Shattered Spire, Kami of Whispered Hopes, Guardian Augmenter
Quandrix Unlimited is one of the few precons I personally owned. I thought it was fine when I picked it up, and playing has only made me love it more. There are glaring omissions, like instants to trigger Zimone on opposing turns, and questionable cards like Zimone, All-Questioning and Zimone, Quandrix Prodigy, but it’s worth taking the time to upgrade.
I also like that the upgrade paths are divergent: You could keep Zimone in the command zone and look to cards like Syncopate and Distorting Wake to push the deck towards control or slap Primo in the driver’s seat and lean into hydras and other creatures with +1/+1 counters in lieu of a power/toughness box. The deck is poised to take either path gracefully.
- FACE YOUR GREATEST TEST YET—The hallowed halls of Strixhaven welcome you back to school! Choose your college of magical study and expand your education in the greater world of Arcavios as you stand against mysterious threats plaguing the plane
- RUN THE NUMBERS—Formulate the equation for victory with Zimone as your constant variable. Cast X-spells for +1/+1 counters and ever-increasing discounts, supercharging your brainy brawling to towering new tiers!
- 2 FOIL BORDERLESS COMMANDERS—Every Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck includes 2 Traditional Foil Mythic Rare Legendary Creature cards featuring Borderless art that can be played as your commander
- INTRODUCES 12 COMMANDER CARDS—Each deck introduces 12 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
- THRILLING MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
Silverquill Influence
Commanders: Killian, Decisive Mentor, Scriv, the Obligator
Themes: Goad, auras, enchantments
Notable Reprints: Land Tax, Sheltered by Ghosts, Animate Dead, Ghostly Prison, Inkshield
Mixing auras and group hug/slug creates an engaging brew, and it’s a design space Wizards has been exploring since Wilds of Eldraine’s Eriette of the Charmed Apple. I’m thrilled to see them continue it in Silverquill Influence as it’s more engaging than most Voltron commanders.
The themes get a little messy here, with goad and enchantress and group hug all overlapping to some degree; a good start for upgrading will be zeroing in on one theme or another. It also suffers from some wildly low-value cards—why run Shadrix Silverquill, or Tomik, Wielder of Law? Surely we don’t need Silverquill Campus in 2026?
Despite those flaws, this deck feels like a testament to Wizards stepping up their precon game. It’s messy, like the other decks highlighted here, but there are solid reprints, good commanders, and the weak includes are lesser embarrassing than in years past. Precons have come a long way in 2026, and I hope to see them improve further as the year goes on.
- FACE YOUR GREATEST TEST YET—The hallowed halls of Strixhaven welcome you back to school! Choose your college of magical study and expand your education in the greater world of Arcavios as you stand against mysterious threats plaguing the plane
- INSTIGATE A WAR OF WORDS—Weaponize your words with Silverquill standout Killian, who encourages the rest of the table to attack targets that aren’t you. Tap, goad, and control creatures with every enchantment you cast while you sit back, draw cards, and savor the mayhem
- 2 FOIL BORDERLESS COMMANDERS—Every Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck includes 2 Traditional Foil Mythic Rare Legendary Creature cards featuring Borderless art that can be played as your commander
- INTRODUCES 12 COMMANDER CARDS—Each deck introduces 12 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
- THRILLING MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
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