Prismari Artistry Upgrade Guide: 16 Easy Changes to Level Up Your Deck

Muddle, the Ever-Changing | Illustration by Andrew Mar

In Arizona, the classic thing to do for Arizona State and the University of Arizona is to road trip the few hours to the other campus and repaint the giant “A” on their mountain in your own enemy colors. I don’t know enough AZ history to tell you when that happened last, but if there were Prismari students around, that’s the kind of thing they’d do. A big, defiant gesture.

Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven Commander Deck - Prismari Artistry (100-Card Deck, Deck Box + Accessories)

• 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
• MAKE BOLD, VIOLENT CHOICES—Let your creativity run wild with Rootha as your artist-in-residence and cast expensive, bombastic spells. Bigger spells let you generate bigger Elementals poised to attack, so pull out all the stops and go for broke!
• 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

$49.99

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That’s Prismari Artistry, too. Go big or go home with massive spells and payoffs for what, on its face, seems like a sketchy strategy in a game that is getting faster with more card efficiency.

This isn’t a deck for the timid, to be sure, but it has some awesome stuff and plays like no other deck. A few key inexpensive changes and you can whip this into fighting shape.

Prismari Artistry Deck Overview

Red and blue spells decks have a key question to answer: Do you build around lots of cheap spells or a few big spells? The classic Izzet () version of this is a lot of cheap spells, usually with card draw. It’s what animates decks that use cards like Tolarian Terror or commanders like Veyran, Voice of Duality.

The other version, most associated with Prismari and the first Strixhaven set, focuses on higher mana value spells. That’s a potentially riskier strategy because it can be slower and easier to disrupt. But it worked with the Final Fantasy 4+ mana deck, anchored by cards like Shantotto, Tactician Magician.

We’re doubling down on this Prismari core idea with the Prismari Artistry deck, anchored by commander Rootha, Mastering the Moment. There are other payoffs for the mana value of the spells you cast in this precon, with reprints like Manaform Hellkite and new cards like Renegade Bull.

It’s exciting to see another entry in the big spells roster, as it’s definitely a hard deck to pilot, and I’m happy to see more resources for it. That said, the deck needs a few adjustments to sharpen its focus.

Upgrade Plan

Right off the bat, note that this is a super solid choice for anyone that wants to stretch into the Izzet space in EDH. But there are two issues with the precon. The first is that you need more high mana value spells that you can cast more cheaply, to maximize the triggers you can get from Rooth or your other payoffs. And second, you need a few more payoffs! Simple enough!

A rules caveat if you buy this deck! If you’re new to the mana value game, what’s important to note is that things that reduce the actual cost you pay don’t reduce the mana value of the spell. So cascade actually casts a spell. It’s free, but it actually casts it, unlike replicate, which copies the spell. So cascade triggers your commander, but a replicate spell doesn’t. But other effects that alter a spell’s practical cost, including cards like Goblin Electromancer and other alternate cost mechanics like affinity or delve work.

A trap with commanders like this are split cards like Fire // Ice or even rooms from Duskmourn. Take a breath, now. The mana value of a split card or room is the total of all the mana costs of both sides. Except when you cast it. When you cast a split card, you generally choosing one of the two sides/spells to cast (unless it allows you to cast both, as with fuse cards). So the mana value of Fire // Ice in your hand, your graveyard, or library is 4. But when you cast it, the mana value becomes 2, whichever side you choose. These kinds of cards may be great in this deck, but you won’t get the full mana value when you cast the lefthand side of Expansion // Explosion.

This guide should serve to highlight cards you might not have been thinking of previously, and I’ll try to keep the costs down while noting a few expensive alternatives if you’re looking to go for it. Vivi Ornitier, for example, would be great in lots of ways for this deck, but it’s not exactly cheap right now (if ever!).

Ovika, Enigma Goliath

Suggested Cut: Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer

Let’s start with the payoffs you need to add. Ovika, Enigma Goliath is a good commander on its own in this space, and it gives you a nice go-wide pop for expensive spells. It’s sort of an alternate commander, so it’s not so bad that it costs so much and will come down pretty late.

And Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer is starting to feel like the Roy Kent of precons, everywhere. No synergies for this 6-drop aside from winning more by making some of your big tokens into copies of even bigger tokens. That is win-more soup. If somehow this is your only copy of this card, it’s good in lots of other decks!

Mizzix of the Izmagnus

Suggested Cut: Galazeth Prismari

Mizzix of the Izmagnus is an accelerant instead of a payoff. There are a few cards in the deck already that give you a price break off spells, the classic Goblin Electromancer effect, but this is about as good a card that does that as you can get.

Galazeth Prismari likes artifacts. I get that it’s in this deck for, like, respect, but we’re looking for some Ws here.

Zaffai, Thunder Conductor

Suggested Cut: Harmonic Prodigy

The captain of the Prismari precon that rolled out with the first set from Arcavios, Zaffai, Thunder Conductor gives you a tiny magecraft card selection boost while you hunt for your big spells. It can spew large tokens when you really get your deck going, and it can also just randomly end someone’s night with the direct damage. There are a few other cards that make big tokens in response to big spells, like Deekah, Fractal Theorist, but that seems like a fragile strategy given a deck like this doesn’t quite have enough protection from board wipes.

There are only eight targets for Harmonic Prodigy to be able to double up with, which isn’t enough. We need more synergies!

Livaan, Cultist of Tiamat

Suggested Cut: Mirrorwing Dragon

That fear makes me hesitant about Erratic Cyclops and similar cards, but Livaan, Cultist of Tiamat seems worth it, given that it can spread the wealth. I’ve seen it make an attack lethal with some instants to cast after combat starts.

I get that the idea with Mirrorwing Dragon is to use the target spells to go wild on tokens and win with Brudiclad, but that’s such an unlikely win in general. But the fact that there are only three spells in the entire deck that can target the dragon outside wasting a removal spell means this dragon needs to be ported to a deck where it can fly.

Ral, Monsoon Mage / Ral, Leyline Prodigy

Suggested Cut: Solemn Simulacrum

Another Goblin Electromancer that you can flip and get a lot of value. I don’t know how many Izzet planeswalkers you might want for this deck, given the struggles of planeswalkers in Commander, but Ral, Monsoon Mage seems like a good bet here.

Okay, no, Sad Robot (Solemn Simulacrum) is the Roy Kent of precons. This isn’t how we want to ramp.

Mizzix’s Mastery

Suggested Cut: Archmage Emeritus

This deck will fill your graveyard with big spells. Mizzix's Mastery can go off big time under those conditions.

It’s a tough call that pains me to cut Archmage Emeritus! But this card wants to go in a cheap spells deck, not this one. I can’t see spending turn 4 on this card in this build.

Brass’s Bounty

Suggested Cut: Chain Reaction

As we turn toward more high mana value spells we can get out cheaply, I wanted to take a moment to highlight a few spells that are good accelerants, as they sort of feel free to cast while also generating good triggers for Rootha and Ovika. Brass's Bounty is one.

I don’t think a board wipe helps you, especially because you need a lot of your key creatures on the field for your spells to matter, so Chain Reaction moves over to some Izzet control deck instead.

Rewind

Suggested Cut: Blasphemous Act

Here’s another, from a series of cards that untap the lands it cost to cast them. There are a few more besides Rewind, but some countermagic would be nice, and the mana value is high enough here to matter. There are other free spells that untap lands if you’re looking into this space. But be careful: Time Spiral costs more than this precon!

Look, this deck is a bit fragile. If you have to cast a board wipe, because you’re packed with expensive spells, I don’t know how you get back in the game. Maybe you cast Blasphemous Act for 1 and then can restart if you have a lot of good cards in hand, but, again, you won’t be double-spelling after that, and I don’t see this as a winning strategy. You're an artist piloting this deck, not a brawler!

Finale of Revelation

Suggested Cut: Rousing Refrain

Finale of Revelation gives some card draw, X-spell flexibility, and a Reliquary Tower effect if that fits your build.

Rousing Refrain has been a bonkers card for me. It can also come down when players’ hands are largely empty. I’m not super buying suspend cards in this deck, and it’s perhaps telling they only packed the precon with one.

Finale of Promise

Suggested Cut: Surge to Victory

While we’re in this space, Finale of Promise is good to cast for relatively cheap to get back some key smaller spells. But it’s bonkers when you cast it late.

If Surge to Victory were an instant, that’d be another story. But it’s just horrible to have to cast this precombat. It’s better in a go-wide deck where you can point your tokens in different directions to help make up for this.

Decaying Time Loop

Suggested Cut: Lightning Greaves

Moving on to spells that you can cast for free, we start with a few interesting Doctor Who cards from The Thirteenth Doctor precon which allow for some free recasting. Decaying Time Loop can fill the graveyard for cards with flashback, if that’s your jam, and the retrace option works well for a free second chance given the card draw piece.

One thing to protect your commander isn’t a strategy. Lightning Greaves is a security blanket here and doesn’t help you to grab the adult win.

Into the Time Vortex

Suggested Cut: Determined Iteration

I can hear the Doctor Who theme song when I look at Into the Time Vortex, but you may be less excited by the crossing of IP streams here. That’s a shame, because this is a lot of pop if you can get to the spot to cast your 5-drops. Two cascade triggers and a rebound. Rootha likes.

So I can get one more giant token with Determined Iteration. Meh. I’d rather do something else on turn 2 in this deck.

Quantum Misalignment

Suggested Cut: Abrade

One more for the Whovians! Quantum Misalignment copies one of the many legends who matter in your deck for triggers, including Rootha, and it does it again!

If I can only have a handful of removal in the deck, none of which I really want to draw as the game goes on, I certainly don’t want to draw Abrade late when I have one or two more turns to win.

Behold the Multiverse

Suggested Cut: Aether Gale

Foretell is another mechanic that can allow a cost break on a higher mana value spell, even if sometimes that cost structure is reversed in those designs. The clearest good card for this deck is Behold the Multiverse, which can be very efficient in terms of cost and time while still hitting with higher mana value when it comes. Spectral Deluge is another useful foretell spell that pays off with the way the costs are distributed, but you need a decent number of islands in the build, so check your deck before, well, you know.

Look, if I want the table mad at me, I’m going to play Cyclonic Rift and be done with it. I’m not going to cast Rift at home, Aether Gale. It still ticks people off, but it’s far, far less useful.

Change of Plans

Suggested Cut: Arcane Denial

X-cost spells feel like a good idea for a deck like this. The mana value of the spell while you cast it is whatever you put into it, but the trouble is most X-spells in these colors are damage spells and counterspells. Cool enough on the counters front if you want to pivot this deck in that direction, but not necessarily a good space for this deck redesign. Change of Plans is a good card for this, and also just to phase out some things for cheap to avoid a board wipe. And at bigger levels, lots of connive triggers is good.

I refuse to play just one counterspell, as much as I love Arcane Denial.

Mistrise Village

Suggested Cut: Island

Mistrise Village is getting up there in price, so you can always pass on this and grab some better dual and utility lands. Precons always ship with less than ideal mana bases. But this card will often come down untapped in this deck, and it’s a good investment in a 4-player game when you need one giant spell to resolve.

The Final Deck and New Cards

And with that, here’s the newly tinkered deck. My upgrades are separated into a separate decklist, and you can snag them by clicking on the shopping cart icon.

Commanding Conclusion

Rootha, Mastering the Moment | Illustration by Lie Setiawan

This is a fun deck. I can’t wait to give it a try. You’ll sometimes get run over with this thing, but when you win (and you will!), it’ll be a thing of beauty that’ll bring a small tear to the ancient eye of Galazeth Prismari himself.

Which direction would you take your upgrade of the Prismari Artistry precon? Would you build around the backup commander, Muddle, the Ever-Changing? Let me know in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Discord. For more from Draftsim, subscribe to our newsletter, or to The Daily Upkeep on YouTube.

Happy deckbuilding, and go paint the town red.

And blue.

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