The MTG/Fallout Universes Beyond collaboration brings four full commander precons themed around the iconic video game series. We recently got an early look at the decks and some info about how they’ll play. Today, I’ll review everything we currently know about the Fallout commander precons and make some guesses about what we don’t.
There are four Fallout commander decks, and they will be released on March 8, 2024. Here’s the basic info:
| Deck Name | Color Identity | Theme |
| Scrappy Survivors | Red, Green, White (Naya) | Aura & Equipment Reanimation |
| Mutant Menace | Black, Green, Blue (Sultai) | Mill / +1/+1 Counters |
| Hail, Caesar | Red, White, Black (Mardu) | Aristocrats (Sacrifice) |
| Science! | Blue, White, Red (Jeskai) | Energy Counters / Artifacts |
Aside from the info above, I’ll cover the commanders and talk about some possible cards I’d expect to see in each build. Additionally, I’ll look at the cards from a Fallout perspective – What characters the cards are meant to represent and how the mechanics bring the feel of the wasteland to life in Magic: The Gathering. So, let’s get started!
Updated: 2/22/24 – Newest MTG Fallout Spoilers Added
Scrappy Survivors
Primary Commander
Dogmeat is a three-mana 3/3 dog that cares about attacking with equipped or enchanted creatures. There are two abilities here that support that theme. First, when Dogmeat enters the battlefield, you mill five cards and return an aura or enchantment from your graveyard to your hand. This ensures you’ll have a reliable source of them throughout the game.
The payoff (beyond whatever the aura or equipment does) is that whenever a creature suited up with an aura or equipment attacks, you create a “junk” token. You can tap and sac junk tokens to exile the top card of your library and have the option to cast it until the end of the turn.
Commanders that can give you card advantage are usually powerful, and Dogmeat does that in two ways – The ETB allows you to see several cards per turn and choose the one you want. And you’ll make junk tokens for each attacker you have that meets the requisite.
Lastly, Dogmeat is both an enabler and a payoff for the deck, which is phenomenal. He gives you a reason to play auras and equipment and the means to do so – All you have to do is find some creatures to slap your recured spells onto, and you’re set. A loyal companion indeed!
Fallout Lore
One of Fallout 4’s most beloved companions, Dogmeat is a fierce German Shepherd and the epitome of a faithful friend. You meet him early in the game on the hunt for Shaun, your missing son. He’s pretty much your first companion, and let me tell you, he’s a lifesaver out there in the wasteland.
He may not have the dialogue or complex backstory some other companions do. However, he’s excellent at sniffing out enemies, finding hidden items, and being a four-legged friend in the wasteland. Plus, he can carry your stuff, which is incredibly helpful when hoarding scrap materials and weapons.
And he’ll fiercely protect you in battles, taking on raiders, mutants, and ghouls without a second thought. The mechanics on the card don’t scream Fallout, but the game certainly has many ways to build up and customize your vault dweller. So, that’s on flavor. And the “ever-loyal” is undoubtedly true for the character.
Cards I Expect To See
Here’s a short list of some general card ideas that I would think to go in a deck like Dogmeat – All are perfect fits mechanically. That said, I’m excited to see how flavorful WOTC gets with the card choices. I’m talking about something that represents the power armor suits!
- Sram, Senior Edificer
- Puresteel Paladin
- Blackblade Reforged
- Danitha Capashen, Paragon
- Tanglespan Lookout
- Sythis, Harvest’s Hand
- Enchantress’s Presence
- All That Glitters
Decklist
As of now, we don’t have the decklists. As soon as they’re revealed, you’ll find them here.
Mutant Menace
Primary Commander
The Wise Mothman is a nasty commander. A four-mana 3/3 with flying may not be anything to write home about these days, but it’s respectable. And the abilities here are where the money’s at. When it enters the battlefield, each player gets a rad counter. What’s a rad counter?
At the start of each player’s pre-combat main phase, they’ll mill a card for each rad counter they have. For each non-land permanent milled this way, the player loses one life and one rad counter. I’m sure there will be plenty of ways to give players rad counters. As of now, though, the ones given to each player on the ETB from the Mothman are the only ones we’ve seen.
With that out of the way, let’s move on to the next portion of the text. Whenever one or more nonland cards are milled, you put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to X target creatures, where X is the number of nonland cards milled this way. The first thing that comes to mind for me is proliferating.
Not only can you proliferate the +1/+1 counters you put on your creatures, but also the rad counters on players. Furthermore, this g/b/u color combination has all the tools it could want in this department. In my experience, precons like this are very powerful!
Another thing I want to mention is that this card will fuel the Dogmeat deck I covered above. It wants to fill its graveyard with nice auras and equipment to toolbox back to its hand. Having another Fallout commander deck that will help mill cards is something to note.
Fallout Lore
The Mothman that helms this deck comes from Fallout 76. What makes the Mothmen so intriguing is their unpredictability. There are a few different Mothmen and secs, and encountering different ones can have various outcomes – From the creature minding its business to attacking players on sight. I remember my first eerie encounter in the game.
I was wandering around the woods, scavenging for supplies, and saw the “Mothman’ health bar off in the distance. Bethesda (the game studio that makes Fallout) did a great job creating mystery, intrigue, and suspense with the classic folklore character.
The “Wise Mothman” has purple eyes and is worshiped much like a deity by many in-game characters. It can even bless your character with XP boosts if you align with its sect. That said, I think that’s where the tie-in to MTG comes in. After all, it boosts up your creatures quite a bit. I’m certainly excited to see what other Cryptids we get.
Cards I Expect To See
Of all the Fallout precons, this one is the one I’m least sure of. There are just too many ways to build it – Counters, proliferation, and leaning heavily into the rad counters are all possible. Then, there’s the mill. Will the Mothman be the only way to mill cards? Probably not. Will there be a bunch of other mill payoffs? Who knows?
As for now, I’m most confident about the +1/+1 counters and proliferation. So, let’s start there.
- Corpsejack Menace
- Master Biomancer
- Winding Constrictor
- Evolution Sage
- Scavenging Ooze
- Thrummingbird
- Experimental Augury
- Bioshift
- Tezzeret’s Gambit
Decklist
As of now, we don’t have the decklists. As soon as they’re revealed, you’ll find them here.
Hail, Caesar
Primary Commander
Caesar, Legion’sEmperor is a four mana 4/4, in Mardu colors that does a lot. Whenever Caesar attacks, you have the option to sacrifice another creature. If you do, you get to choose any two of the following options:
- Make two 1/1 red and white Soldier creature tokens with haste that are tapped and attacking
- You draw a card, and you lose one life
- Caesar, Legion’s Emperor, deals damage equal to the number of creature tokens you control to a target opponent
First, a free way to sac a creature every turn is more than welcome in an aristocratic build, and Caesar gives you that. This first line of text is a great start. Moving on to the options – Making tapped and attacking tokens is pretty aggressive, and churning out bodies means you’ll never lack sac fodder.
Drawing a card at the cost of one life is a great deal. As mentioned, commanders that can draw you cards are generally very powerful, and being able to choose the card draw and another option makes it even better. Now, each attack can be “make two 1/1s and draw a card”, which is a solid deal.
Related: All MTG Commander Precons – The Complete Guide
Lastly, is “deals damage equal to the number of creature tokens you control to a target opponent”, which is also very strong. If you look at this in the worst-case scenario, it’ll always be capable of at least two damage. You attack, make two tokens as one selection, and deal damage equal to those two to an opponent. Overall, it’s not bad for getting in extra damage.
However, what’s really going to break ol Caesar is cards like Anointed Procession, Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation, and Mondrak, Glory Dominus. Now, the first option on the card makes four to six tokens, and the last option can be a significant amount of damage.
Fallout Lore
Caesar is quite the figure in Fallout: New Vegas. He’s the leader of Caesar’s Legion, an authoritative (and often brutal) faction that mirrors themselves after the Roman Empire. You’ll often hear Caesar’s name whispered in fear and reverence throughout the Mojave Wasteland.
Some folks in the game see him as a dictator, others as a visionary trying to restore order to the world. The guy’s got this whole grand vision of creating a new Rome, you know, complete with slavery, strict hierarchy, and all that jazz. You’ll see these Legion soldiers in their Roman-style armor, and they’ve got a distinct way of doing things, to put it mildly.
That’s assuming you see them at all, though. There are also the frumentarii, these spies, sneaking around everywhere, keeping an eye on things, and reporting everything back to the emperor. Overall, MTG did a great job bringing the character to life on a card. Even if it is a bit run-of-the-mill for a Julius Caesar-inspired card, it might be my favorite from the Fallout Commander precons
Cards I Expect To See
Overall, Caesar is going to care about creating favorable attacks, making tokens, and sacrificing synergies. So, what might that look like in Mardu? Well, let’s take a look.
- Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
- Zulaport Cutthroat, Blood Artist, and or Cruel Celebrant
- Bastion of Remembrance
- Village Rites
- Viscera Seer
- Doomed Traveler
- Young Pyromancer
- Secure the Wastes
- Rootborn Defenses
Decklist
As of now, we don’t have the decklists. As soon as they’re revealed, you’ll find them here.
Science!
Primary Commander
Dr. Madison Li ultimately cares about three things – Casting artifacts, gaining energy counters, and having powerful artifacts in the graveyard to reanimate. Whenever you cast an artifact spell, you’ll earn one energy counter. Then, tapping and paying one energy counter gives a creature a +1 to their power, trample, and haste, which is a pretty aggressive combination.
Moving on, you can tap and draw a card for three energy. There are plenty of good ways to build up energy counters already (take Architect of the Untam, for example), so getting up to three shouldn’t be too hard. And we’ll probably get some lovely new cards from the precon too. If you have nothing in the yard to cheat in with the final option, drawing a card will probably be your go-to move.
Finally, by tapping Dr. Li and paying four energy, you can return an artifact from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped. Cheating on the casting cost for your spells is always a big play in commander, and this won’t be any different. Something else worth noting is that the spells you put into play from the graveyard don’t exile if they die.
Another thing to consider is that this deck also seems to overlap with some of the other strategies. For example, just like the Dogmeat deck, Science!, will benefit from being milled by the Mothman deck, which is interesting—furthermore, Dr. Li will work well with proliferation, just like the Cesear deck.
Fallout Lore
Dr. Madison Li is a name you’ll hear roaming around the Capital Wasteland in Fallout 3. She’s a smart one and a scientist through and through. You might hear her mentioned in hushed tones by folks in the Rivet City, the big ol’ ship that’s been turned into a settlement. She’s known for her work with the Brotherhood of Steel but has a complicated history beyond that.
Overall, her goal is to find ways to improve things and improve life for everyone. She’s got a lot of knowledge about making clean water, advanced technology, and similar things. You can find her working away in the Rivet City’s science lab, usually buried in some experiment. She’s always busy and always seems to have something on her mind.
There’s a big storyline that unfolds when you run into her, and you can end up working with her to help the Brotherhood. You’ll also have to make some choices that involve her, decisions that can change how things turn out… If you’ve played the series, you know how it is.
Li also makes an appearance in Fallout 4 as well. So, if you’ve played three and not four, watch for her.
Cards I Expect To See
It’s pretty clear to see the game plan here. Cast artifacts, get energy, and reanimate big/powerful artifacts. I don’t know exactly what WOTC has in mind for the graveyard portion. However, the energy cards, and to some extent, the artifacts, can be pretty easy to guess. Here are some of my picks:
- Thought Monitor
- Foundry Inspector
- Myr Battlesphere
- Etherium Sculptor
- Solemn Simulacrum
- Emry, Lurker of the Loch
- Decoction Module
- Fabrication Module
- Architect of the Untamed
- Aethersquall Ancient
- Glimmer of Genius
- Servant of the Conduit
Decklist
As of now, we don’t have the decklists. As soon as they’re revealed, you’ll find them here.
MTG Fallout Spoilers
You can see all the card variations and basic lands on the Fallout Spoilers page on Scryfall.
End Step
There you have it, folks, everything there is to know about the fallout commander precons. Even if you aren’t familiar with the games, these decks look fantastic! They’ll be even better if you have played some or all of the games in question here. I’m a big fan of Fallout and excited to see all we get in these decks. I’ll update this as more info is released.
