Divine Convocation - Upgrade Guide

by
Scrap Trawlers
Scrap Trawlers
Divine Convocation - Upgrade Guide
(Kasla, the Broken HaloKasla, the Broken Halo | Art by Martina Fackova)

Hello friends! And welcome back to EDHREC for another Scrap Trawlers precon upgrade guide. I’m Andy, and today I’m kicking the Divine Convocation precon from March of the Machine right in its slow rear end. In my primer we looked at how the deck moved at a crawl, hindered by its high average mana value and its poor ramp and card draw. So to upgrade this list we’re gonna kick out some high MV cards, and get this precon closer to the well-oiled machine that it should be. And since my LGS won’t accept “tapping our friends” to pay for things, we’re gonna budget for our upgrades. But don’t worry, I’ll recommend some more pricey cards as well for all you ballers out there. 

Fall From Grace

This precon is led by Kasla, the Broken HaloKasla, the Broken Halo, a 5/4 Angel Ally with Convoke, vigilance, haste, and flying. And whenever we Convoke a spell, Kasla lets us scry 2 and draw a card.

Kasla, the Broken Halo

Here’s the original decklist:


Divine Convocation

View on Archidekt

Commander (1)

Instants (11)

Creatures (28)

Sorceries (7)

Artifacts (9)

Enchantments (4)

Planeswalkers (1)

Lands (39)

Kasla, the Broken Halo

As you may remember from the Primer, I had some serious issues with this commander. Particularly, the six mana cost was too cumbersome for a white/blue/red deck with poor ramp. I know Kasla has Convoke, but the precon just wasn’t making enough early creatures to make that matter.

Saint Traft and Rem Karolus

So we’re bringing in the relief pitcher for this upgrade! By switching over to Saint Traft and Rem KarolusSaint Traft and Rem Karolus, we’re getting our commander out more quickly, making tokens more consistently, and moving away from the deck’s reliance on Kasla for card advantage.

Must Go Faster

Third Path Iconoclast
Monastery Mentor
Saheeli, Sublime Artificer

My main goal with the upgrade was to get creatures out faster. And for that I wanted to add some cheap token-makers. First up is a hot new staple from The Brothers’ War, Third Path IconoclastThird Path Iconoclast. It doesn’t get much more efficient than this two-mana Monk who gives us a free creature whenever we cast any noncreature spell. Next is Saheeli, Sublime ArtificerSaheeli, Sublime Artificer, one of the best planeswalkers from War of the Spark. And we can’t say no to Monastery MentorMonastery Mentor, who is now, thanks to getting reprinted in March of the Machine, actually budget playable!

The precon also needed some more help in the card draw/advantage department, so in goes Rumor GathererRumor Gatherer, Faithless LootingFaithless Looting, and PreordainPreordain. And, of course, we can’t forget one of the best Jeskai cards ever printed, Jeskai AscendancyJeskai Ascendancy. Although we’re not going to be using it to combo off with this list, its ability to untap all your creatures is a no-brainer with all of our Convoke spells. Also, it makes our creatures bigger! Why wasn’t this in the precon?

The deck needed more color to its ramp spells, so I’ve added Fellwar StoneFellwar Stone and Ornithopter of ParadiseOrnithopter of Paradise. The thopter is great as a mana source, or as a creature to tap for Convoke spells. 

Rumor Gatherer
Witty Roastmaster
Jeskai Ascendancy

And last, I added in Witty RoastmasterWitty Roastmaster to dish out some extra pain when our tokens enter. Because what’s better than Impact TremorsImpact Tremors? Two of them!

Cost Cutters

We’ve added 10 awesome cards to this list, so of course 10 not-so-awesome cards have got to go. For my cuts, I mostly focused on getting rid of cards that were either too high in MV, or just not effective in the deck.

For cards that I just don’t think are functional enough, I’m taking out Duergar Hedge-MageDuergar Hedge-Mage, Improbable AllianceImprobable Alliance, Goblin MedicsGoblin Medics, and Angel of FinalityAngel of Finality. The Hedge-Mage is laughably ineffective in a deck that doesn’t do much fetching of basic lands. While Improbable Alliance is cheap, its token-making ability is terribly inefficient, as is its card draw (six mana?!) Angel of Finality is fine, and grave-hate is certainly a legit reason to include it in a deck. But without consistent flickering abilities in the deck it’s just not very useful. And Goblin Medics doesn’t deal enough damage.

Duergar Hedge-Mage
Joyful Stormsculptor
Ichor Elixir

For costly cards, I’ve cut Joyful StormsculptorJoyful Stormsculptor, Flight of EquenautsFlight of Equenauts, Chant of Vitu-GhaziChant of Vitu-Ghazi, and Austere CommandAustere Command. Flight and Chant are both Convoke cards, and I really hated to cut them, since that’s the deck’s whole theme, and it’s already lacking in those cards. But they really just bloated the top end of the mana curve with very weak effects. Stormsculptor is five mana for three creatures, which isn’t a bad ROI, I just needed it to cost less. And Austere Command is a perfectly good card, it’s just too expensive for this list.

And last, I cut Battle ScreechBattle Screech and Ichor ElixirIchor Elixir. I know Elixir plays with the Planechase cards, but this deck really needed more colored mana. And cheaper ramp. Battle Screech was just not good enough, even with the Flashback potential.

Top Shelf

Looking to blow your tax return on upgrading this precon? I’ve got you covered. How about some Gods? Purphoros, God of the ForgePurphoros, God of the Forge doubles the Impact TremorsImpact Tremors effect, and Heliod, God of the SunHeliod, God of the Sun gives all of our creatures vigilance (great with Convoke) while also being a mana sink for some token creation.

Purphoros, God of the Forge
Bennie Bracks, Zoologist
City on Fire

We’ve got a few pricier Convoke cards as well, with Bennie Bracks, ZoologistBennie Bracks, Zoologist, Clever ConcealmentClever Concealment, and, from the main March of the Machine set, City on FireCity on Fire.

There’s some low MV creatures like Esper SentinelEsper Sentinel and Ragavan, Nimble PilfererRagavan, Nimble Pilferer that give us some potential card advantage. And for extra card draw we can throw in Rhystic StudyRhystic Study and Staff of the StorytellerStaff of the Storyteller

The manabase could also use a real boost, so add in some high-end lands like Raugrin TriomeRaugrin Triome, Steam VentsSteam Vents, Spectator SeatingSpectator Seating, and Flooded StrandFlooded Strand.

Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Staff of the Storyteller
Teferi’s Protection

And let’s not forget to protect ourselves, with Teferi’s ProtectionTeferi’s Protection and MeekstoneMeekstone.

Faster. Stronger.

Here’s the final upgraded decklist:


Divine Convocation Upgraded

View on Archidekt

Commander (1)

Planeswalkers (2)

Creatures (28)

Sorceries (7)

Enchantments (4)

Artifacts (9)

Instants (10)

Lands (39)

Saint Traft and Rem Karolus

We added 10 cards, upping the card advantage and ramp, while lowering the mana curve and switching to our lower-cost commander, and we did it for less than $8. This just goes to show that this game is for everyone, whether your deck budget is $50 or $500, we can all play and have a good time. Our final list here is more streamlined, and will hold its own at more tables.

Make sure to check back for more precon guides from us Scrap Trawlers. Lenny and Bert are hard at work making the guides for the other decks from this set, so don’t miss those. You can also check out our budget content over on Twitch and YouTube and follow us on Twitter

Until next time, remember to budget…before you buy it.

Scrap Trawlers

Scrap Trawlers is a Magic: The Gathering budget EDH streaming and video group, with gameplay, deck techs, chats, and more. Catch our videos at youtube.com/scraptrawlers. Andy, Lenny, and Bert.

EDHREC Code of Conduct

Your opinions are welcome. We love hearing what you think about Magic! We ask that you are always respectful when commenting. Please keep in mind how your comments could be interpreted by others. Personal attacks on our writers or other commenters will not be tolerated. Your comments may be removed if your language could be interpreted as aggressive or disrespectful. You may also be banned from writing further comments.