Obscura Operation Upgrade: Reanimating Spies

Streets of New Capenna is officially here, and with a new set comes new Commander decks. These decks come with new cards and exciting gameplay right out of the box, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be improved. It’s common for players to upgrade their precons, and today we’re covering the one I find most interesting: Obscura Operation.

Obscura Operation is a combat-focused deck that tries to deal as much unblockable damage as possible. While this alone will appeal to many players, there’s a lot more going on in the deck and with the face commander. Kamiz, Obscura Oculus lets you loot and put +1/+1 counters on creatures, as well as give them evasion. When looking at how to upgrade Obscura Operation, it’s important to look at all of the themes and synergies already present. For about $100, I’ve swapped out over 20 cards to power up this deck for your next game night.

Upgrading one of today’s precons is a lot harder than just swapping out the “bad cards” and putting in staples. They’re generally well-built, and you can take the deck in whatever direction excites you most. So without further ado, let me take you my process and show you the new list for Obscura Operation.

Table of Contents:

  1. How Did I Upgrade Obscura Operation
    1. Upgrade Goals
  2. Deck List for Obscura Operation Upgrade
    1. Upgrade List
    2. Additions
    3. Cuts
  3. New Strategy for Obscura Operation
    1. Early Game
    2. Mid Game
    3. Late Game
  4. End Step

How Did I Upgrade Obscura Operation?

My first step in building any EDH deck is taking a look at the Commander. You’re going to have access to this card throughout the game, so I like to build around it to some extent, at least. Kamiz, Obscura Oculus definitely gives us lots of directions to choose from. She draws cards, discards cards, and buffs up your creatures. However, she can only affect two creatures each turn, so you really want to play the right ones.

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Out of all these options, I’m most excited by making creatures unblockable, especially if they give you effects for hitting players. However, I’m also interested in using connive. Connive rewards you for discarding nonland cards, but normally that means you’re losing a resource. If you can utilize your graveyard, though, you can get all upside.

RELATED: MTG Connive: How It Works and What It Does

Looking at the original deck list, we can see a variety of themes in play. The most prevelant is definitely unblockable damage. There are multiple ways to make it so your opponents can’t block, and it has some creatures that give you value when they connect with a player. Some of the creatures, however, just care about having unblocked attackers, like Inkfathom Witch.

There are lots of subthemes present, as well. Some cards want you to draw, others care about +1/+1 counters, others still depend on your graveyard. A few cards also make creature tokens or work better with a wide board.

Upgrade Goals

My main goal for this upgrade was to focus Obscura Operation towards two strategies. First, I wanted more creatures with hit effects. Rather than just care about getting some cheap creatures through, I want to get value and damage.

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Second, I want to add a more robust reanimation package. The deck already has some cards around this, but we can really leverage connive to fuel our graveyard. Plus, we can cheat in great finishers with powerful hit effects.

Lastly, I wanted to improve the foundation of the deck. When it came to the funadmentals of EDH decks (card draw and removal, especially), I found the deck somewhat lacking. It wasn’t terrible, but I felt that there were better options out there.

Deck List for Obscura Operation Upgrade

Now that we know what direction we want to take the deck, let’s take a look at where we’ve landed. Here’s the full list for my Obscura Operation Upgrade, as well as a list of the cards I’ve added and replaced.

These changes will cost you about $100, but feel free to make your own swaps based on your budget.

Upgrade List

New List

Commander (1)
Kamiz, Obscura Oculus

Creatures (28)
Aerial Extortionist
Cephalis Facetaker
Champion of Wits
Chasm Skulker
Daxos of Meletis
Deranged Assistant
Drana, Liberator of Malakir
Dreamstealer
Fallen Shinobi
Ghastlord of Fugue
Ghostly Pilferer
Graveblade Marauder
Looter il-Kor
Millikin
Mindleech Mass
Misfortune Teller
Necropolis Regent
Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer
Priest of Fell Rites
Shadowmage Infiltrator
Sheoldred, Whispering One
Silent-Blade Oni
Skyway Robber
Sun Titan
Syr Konrad, the Grim
Thief of Sanity
Whirler Rogue
Wrexial, the Risen Deep

Sorceries (9)
Austere Command
Jailbreak
Living Death
Reanimate
Sevinne’s Reclamation
Treasure Cruise
Unburial Rites
Victimize
Writ of Return

Instants (9)
Change of Plans
Counterspell
Despark
Dovin’s Veto
Lethal Scheme
Obscura Charm
Swords to Plowshares
Utter End
Void Rend

Artifacts (13)
Arcane Signet
Azorius Signet
Currency Converter
Dimir Signet
Fellwar Stone
Lightning Greaves
Mask of Riddles
Mask of the Schemer
Orzhov Signet
Sol Ring
Strionic Resonator
Swiftfoot Boots
Wayfarer’s Bauble

Enchantments (4)
Life Insurance
Reconnaissance Mission
Smuggler’s Share
Teferi’s Ageless Insight
Lands (36)
Arcane Sanctum
Caves of Koilos
Choked Estuary
Clearwater Pathway // Murkwater Pathway
Command Tower
Darkwater Catacombs
Esper Panorama
Exotic Orchard
Fetid Heath
Island
Myriad Landscape
Obscura Storefront
Path of Ancestry
Plains
Prairie Stream
Raffine’s Tower
Rogue’s Passage
Shipwreck Marsh
Skycloud Expanse
Sunken Hollow
Swamp
Tainted Isle

Additions

Creatures (9)
Deranged Assistant
Dreamstealer
Ghastlord of Fugue
Millikin
Mindleech Mass
Necropolis Regent
Priest of Fell Rites
Sheoldred, Whispering One
Syr Konrad, the Grim

Sorceries (5)
Living Death
Reanimate
Sevinne’s Reclamation
Unburial Rites
Victimize

Instants (4)
Counterspell
Despark
Dovin’s Veto
Void Rend

Artifacts (1)
Lightning Greaves

Enchantments (2)
Reconnaissance Mission
Teferi’s Ageless Insight
Lands (4)
Caves of Koilos
Clearwater Pathway // Murkwater Pathway
Shipwreck Marsh
Tainted Isle

These additions mostly fall into one of three categories. First, I’ve added more threatening creatures. If we’re going to try to reanimate big baddies and make them unblockable, they need to be worth all that effort.

Second, I’ve added a more robust reanimation package. There are seven new cards that bring creatures back from the graveyard, as well as more cards that take advantage of the yard. Cards like Syr Konrad, the Grim and Sevinne’s Reclamation especially come to mind.

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Lastly, I’ve improved the base of the deck. Hopefully, these changes will help make everything run smoother. I prefer Counterspell over An Offer You Can’t Refuse, Living Death over Nightmare Unmaking, and so on.

Cuts

Creatures (9) (9)
Alela, Artful Provocateur
Archon of Coronation
Custodi Lich
Daring Saboteur
Dragonlord Ojutai
Identity Thief
Inkfathom Witch
Nadir Kraken
Tivit, Seller of Secrets

Sorceries (4) (4)
Dusk // Dawn
Nightmare Unmaking
Profane Command
Stolen Identity

Instants (3) (3)
An Offer You Can’t Refuse
Commit // Memory
Obscura Confluence

Artifacts (2) (2)
Commander’s Sphere
Quietus Spike

Enchantments (1) (1)
In Too Deep
Lands (6) (6)
Ash Barrens
Creeping Tar Pit
Port Town
Thriving Heath
Thriving Isle
Thriving Moor

I’ve cut a lot of cards that didn’t seem to pull their weight, or were better fits in other decks. Dusk//Dawn, for example, is a great card, but we don’t have many small creatures worth getting back.

You may have also noticed that we’ve lowered the deck’s land count. While 38 is fine, I think this deck draws enough cards that it should have less mana troubles than the average deck. This deck also doesn’t rely on big mana: it wants to cheat big creatures into play, not cast them. If you miss a land drop or two in the late game, it shouldn’t be a big problem.

RELATED: Streets of New Capenna Precons: Everything You Need To Know

New Strategy for Obscura Operation

The overall strategy for this deck is to win by making your creatures unblockable. This list runs lots of creatures that reward you for dealing combat damage to players, so they’ll serve as your main value engine (and damage source).

You’ll also try to use discard or mill effects to get finishers into your graveyard. Once you’ve got everything lined up, you can cheat them out with reanimation spells. Most of these big creatures also have abilities that trigger when they hit players, so connecting just once can give you a lasting advantage.

Early Game

At the beginning of the game, your plan is pretty similar to most EDH decks: gather resources and start building your value engine. In this case, you’ll be looking to ramp, fill up your graveyard, and get out some early creatures.

Ideally, your opening hand will have all of your colors, as well as at least one piece of ramp. Deranged Assistant and Millikin are excellent for fueling your graveyard, but many of your other ramp cards also fix your colors. Most of these cards are also two-drops, so you can play Kamiz on turn three if you have no other optiosn. Admittedly, though, it’s best to wait. Kamiz works much better when you already have creatures out, so you don’t need to get her out right away.

Plenty of your cheap creatures can also give you a head-start on your gameplan. Some cards, like Looter il-Kor, let you filter through your deck and fill your graveyard early. Other cards, like Dreamstealer, have nasty saboteur effects that can either spring you forward or set your foes back. Either way, you should look to get your plan going as soon as possible.

Mid Game

Once you’ve got some extra cards, some extra mana, and some potent creatures, it’s time to cast Kamiz, Obscura Oculus. Kamiz really ties the whole deck together, so it’s important to protect her. You’re really relying on her to fill up your graveyard with what you want, as well as sneak creatures past your opponents’ defenses.

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You should also look to leverage your graveyard as soon as you can. Even if you’re not cheating Mindleech Mass into play immediately, lots of your cards interact with the graveyard. You should be mindful of what cards you’re discarding and how you can get the most out of them.

If you’re a political player, this deck gives you lots of chances to make deals. Since your opponents can’t block your creatures, you might be able to get favors out of them in exchange for sending your creatures elsewhere. This is especially true if you have cards like Ghastlord of Fugue out. Even just the threat of six or more damage might bring some players to the bargaining table.

Lastly, there are a few cards in this deck that steal from your opponents. Thief of Sanity and Fallen Shinobi, for example, let you play cards from the top of your opponents’ decks. These creatures give you tons of flexibility, so think about what you need the most when you attack with them. Want a removal spell? Hit the control player. Need some solid creatures? Go after the player running dinosaur tribal. You never know what you’re going to get, but you can try to make some educated guesses.

Late Game

At some point, you’re going to need to close out the game. Thankfully, swinging with big creatures that your opponents can’t block is a great way to do that. Giving something double strike is also pretty scary, especially if it has flying or trample already.

Once you’ve filtered through a good chunk of your deck, you’ll likely see one of your finishers. Whether it’s Silent-Blade Oni or Necropolis Regent, you have access to big creatures with big effects on the game. The deck’s suite of reanimation spells also make these threats resilient. Your opponents can only have so many answers before one of your threats stick around.

If you need that extra bit of reach, you might want to lean into your graveyard even more. Syr Konrad, the Grim has ridiculous finishing power, and even just chipping in for a few points of damage can help you close out games. Living Death can also turn a game on its head. As long as you have the best graveyard (or at least close to it), you can use this to overwhelm your foes.

End Step

By now, you should be armed with the cards and strategy to take this precon to the next level. Obscura Operation is a really interesting take on a combat deck, and I hope you’ve enjoyed this upgrade as much as I have.

Photo of author

Ashley Briggs

I’ve been playing Magic for about five years, and my favorite formats are EDH and limited. Ever since I played my first game of Magic, it has been a major part of my life. Magic has given me an outlet for my creativity, a chance to be competitive, and strengthened many of my closet friendships.