Felothar the Steadfast costs {1}{W}{B}{G}. Each creature you control assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power, your creatures can attack as though they did not have defender, and for {3}, a tap and another sacrificed creature you draw cards equal to its toughness and discard cards equal to its power. Every wall becomes an attacker.
The precon already has the walls and the mana walls, including Overgrown Battlement, Axebane Guardian and Wall of Blossoms. Each swap below pairs a cut with an add, and every card is scored with the same numbers the Oracle uses to build decks: synergy and inclusion from the Felothar decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Felothar decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Abzan Armor precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Not enough cards that reward toughness
Doran, Besieged by Time, Fecund Greenshell, Bedrock Tortoise and Ghalta the Immovable are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out. Each makes toughness cheaper, bigger or more useful.
Lifegain pieces with no payoff
Rhox Faithmender, Indulging Patrician, Wall of Limbs and Betor, Ancestor's Voice all reward gaining life, but the deck has few lifegain sources. They are each played in about one Felothar deck in five or fewer.
Top-end fliers that do nothing for the plan
Protector of the Wastes is a six-mana Dragon that exiles two artifacts or enchantments, and Staff of Compleation is a $4 artifact that is played in about one Felothar deck in eleven.
The 11 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Staff of Compleation costs three and taps for mana, proliferates or draws for life each time. It is played in about one Felothar deck in eleven.
Doran, Besieged by Time costs {1}{W}{B}{G}: each creature spell you cast with toughness greater than its power costs {1} less. Almost every wall in the deck is cheaper, and it is a good body to hold the discount.
Protector of the Wastes is a 5/5 flying Dragon for {4}{W}{W} that exiles up to two artifacts or enchantments controlled by different players. It is played in about one Felothar deck in eight.
Tree of Perdition is a 0/13 defender for {3}{B}. {T}: exchange target opponent's life total with its toughness. Use it on an opponent above 13 life and they drop to 13, and the Tree's toughness becomes their old total, which Felothar turns into combat damage.
Rhox Faithmender is a 1/5 lifelinker for {3}{W} that doubles your lifegain. It needs a lifegain deck, and is played in about one Felothar deck in five.
Crystal Barricade is a defender artifact creature for {1}{W}: you have hexproof. A two-mana wall that protects you from targeted spells and gives Felothar another body that deals damage equal to its toughness.
Betor, Ancestor's Voice is a 3/5 flying lifelinker for {2}{W}{B}{G} that grows creatures and returns creatures based on life gained and lost. It is played in about one Felothar deck in six.
Fecund Greenshell is a 4/6 reach Turtle for {3}{G}{G}. Whenever it or another creature you control with toughness greater than its power enters, you look at the top card of your library and put it onto the battlefield tapped if it is a land, or into your hand if not. With ten lands your creatures also get +2/+2. A big wall that draws a card from every other wall.
Indulging Patrician is a 1/4 flying lifelinker for {1}{W}{B} that drains for 3 at the end step if you gained 3 or more life. It is played in about one Felothar deck in five.
Bedrock Tortoise is a 0/6 Turtle for {3}{G}. During your turn your creatures have hexproof, and each creature with toughness greater than its power assigns combat damage equal to its toughness. A second Felothar, and it protects your team while it attacks.
Wall of Limbs is a 0/3 Zombie Wall for {2}{B} that gets +1/+1 counters when you gain life. It is played in about one Felothar deck in six.
Ghalta the Immovable is a 0/7 for {8}{W} that costs {X} less where X is the greatest toughness among your creatures. Your creatures can attack as though they did not have defender, and each creature with toughness greater than its power assigns damage equal to its toughness. With a few walls out it costs a handful of mana, and it is a third Felothar.
Hornet Nest is a 0/2 defender for {2}{G} that makes flying deathtouch Insects when it is dealt damage. It is a great blocker, but only played in about one Felothar deck in four.
Stalwart Shield-Bearers is a two-mana defender: other creatures you control with defender get +0/+2. Every wall is two toughness bigger, and with Felothar each deals two more damage.
Arasta of the Endless Web is a 3/5 reach Spider that makes a 1/2 Spider whenever an opponent casts an instant or sorcery. It is played in about three Felothar decks in ten.
Stoneskin costs {2}{W} with flash: enchanted creature gets +0/+10. With Felothar it is +10 damage at instant speed, and it is a flash Aura that saves a creature from damage.
Wakestone Gargoyle is a 3/4 flying defender for {3}{W} that lets your defenders attack for {1}{W}. It is played in about one Felothar deck in four, and Felothar already lets creatures attack as though they had no defender.
Betor, Kin to All is a 5/7 flying Spirit Dragon for {2}{W}{B}{G}. At your end step it draws a card if your creatures have total toughness 10 or greater, untaps them all at 20 and makes each opponent lose half their life at 40. A deck built on toughness gets a card engine and a finisher in one.
Zetalpa, Primal Dawn is an eight-mana 4/8 with flying, double strike, vigilance, trample and indestructible. It is played in about one Felothar deck in three, but it costs eight.
MacCready, Lamplight Mayor is a 1/3 Human Advisor for {W}{B}. Whenever a creature you control with power 2 or less attacks it gains skulk, and whenever a creature with power 4 or greater attacks you, its controller loses 2 life and you gain 2 life. Felothar's low-power walls become hard to block, and it punishes anyone who attacks you with a big creature.
Wall of Reverence is a 1/6 flying defender for {3}{W} that gains you life at your end step. It is played in about one Felothar deck in three.
The Walls of Ba Sing Se is a 0/30 legendary artifact creature Wall for {8} with defender, and your other permanents have indestructible. With Felothar it deals combat damage equal to its toughness, so a 0/30 hits for 30, and your whole board survives a wrath. It is the most expensive swap in this guide.
The full swap list
Cut
- Staff of Compleation
- Protector of the Wastes
- Rhox Faithmender
- Betor, Ancestor's Voice
- Indulging Patrician
- Wall of Limbs
- Hornet Nest
- Arasta of the Endless Web
- Wakestone Gargoyle
- Zetalpa, Primal Dawn
- Wall of Reverence
Add
- Doran, Besieged by Time
- Tree of Perdition
- Crystal Barricade
- Fecund Greenshell
- Bedrock Tortoise
- Ghalta the Immovable
- Stalwart Shield-Bearers
- Stoneskin
- Betor, Kin to All
- MacCready, Lamplight Mayor
- The Walls of Ba Sing Se
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Overgrown Battlement$0.29
Played in 92% of Felothar decks. A defender that taps for {G} for each creature you control with defender. - Axebane Guardian$0.15
Taps for mana equal to the number of creatures you control with defender, in any combination of colors. - Crashing Drawbridge$0.82
A two-mana defender that gives your creatures haste. - Sylvan Caryatid$1.12
A hexproof defender that taps for any color. - Wall of Blossoms$0.22
A defender that draws a card when it enters, and it is also a body for Felothar.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Smile at Death$2.48
Returns up to two creature cards with power 2 or less from your graveyard each upkeep. - Brave the Sands$3.55
Gives your creatures vigilance, and each can block an additional creature, which keeps your walls home while they attack.
Abzan Armor already has the walls and the mana. The upgrade is cards that make toughness cheaper, bigger and more useful, and fewer lifegain pieces and top-end fliers that do nothing for the plan. These eleven swaps cost about $45 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Felothar the Steadfast from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Abzan Armor precon?
Using data from 21,445 Felothar the Steadfast decks, the highest-scoring additions are Tree of Perdition (for Protector of the Wastes), Betor, Kin to All (for Wakestone Gargoyle) and Doran, Besieged by Time (for Staff of Compleation). The full list has 11 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Abzan Armor?
All 11 swaps cost about $44.79 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-27). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Smile at Death ($2.48) and Brave the Sands ($3.55).
What should I cut from Abzan Armor?
The weakest cards for this commander are Staff of Compleation, Protector of the Wastes and Rhox Faithmender. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Abzan Armor?
Keep Overgrown Battlement, Axebane Guardian, Crashing Drawbridge, Sylvan Caryatid and Wall of Blossoms. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Felothar the Steadfast do?
Felothar the Steadfast costs {1}{W}{B}{G}. Each creature you control assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power, your creatures can attack as though they did not have defender, and for {3}, a tap and another sacrificed creature you draw cards equal to its toughness and discard cards equal to its power. Every wall becomes an attacker.
More Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Felothar the Steadfast decks (21,445 of them when this was written, 2026-10-27) that play the card. Synergy is how much more often they play it than other decks in the same colours. Oracle score is synergy × 0.6 plus inclusion × 0.4, the same blend The Oracle uses to rank cards for a deck. Lift compares how often the card appears in these decks with how often it could, capped at 8× here; it is shown for context and does not change the score.
Two cautions. Players who run the precon unmodified count as Felothar the Steadfast decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is moderate for most of these cards because defenders are played in many decks, so use lift to compare cards, not to judge one in isolation. Prices are the cheapest non-foil paper printing on TCGplayer (via Scryfall), in USD, and move daily.