Bello, Bard of the Brambles costs {1}{R}{G}. During your turn, each non-Equipment artifact and non-Aura enchantment you control with mana value 4 or greater is a 4/4 Elemental creature with indestructible, haste, and "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, draw a card." Every big artifact and enchantment is a hasty, indestructible attacker.
The precon already has the damage doublers and the mana, including Berserkers' Onslaught, Gratuitous Violence and Unnatural Growth. 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 Bello decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Bello decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Animated Army precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Not enough enchantments to animate
Gruul War Chant, Glorious Sunrise, Sight of the Scalelords, Raiding Schemes and Case of the Locked Hothouse are all enchantments with mana value 4 or more, so each becomes a 4/4 attacker on your turn. The precon leaves them out.
Creatures Bello does not need
Etali, Grumgully, Brightcap Badger and Rampaging Baloths are good creatures, but Bello turns artifacts and enchantments into attackers, and each of these is played in about one Bello deck in four or fewer.
A heavy top end
Eleven nonland cards cost six or more. Cheaper permanents with mana value 4 or 5 are animated by Bello just as well.
The 11 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.

Burnished Hart is a three-mana artifact creature that sacrifices itself for two basic lands. At mana value 3, Bello does not animate it, and it is played in about one Bello deck in eleven.
Gruul War Chant costs {2}{R}{G}: attacking creatures you control get +1/+0 and have menace. It is an enchantment with mana value 4, so Bello makes it a 4/4 attacker, and its menace makes every attacker harder to block.

Etali, Primal Storm is a six-mana 6/6 that casts spells from the top of each library when it attacks. It is played in about one Bello deck in five.
Glorious Sunrise costs {3}{G}{G}: at the beginning of combat on your turn, choose one: creatures get +1/+1 and trample, a land taps for {G}{G}{G}, draw a card if you control a creature with power 3 or greater, or gain 3 life. A mana value 5 enchantment that is also a 4/4 on your turn, and makes your team bigger or draws every combat.

Grumgully, the Generous gives each other non-Human creature you control a +1/+1 counter as it enters. It is a good card, but it is played in about one Bello deck in six.
Eidolon of Blossoms is a 2/2 for {2}{G}{G}: whenever it or another enchantment you control enters, you draw a card. In an enchantment-heavy deck, it is a card for each one.

Harmonize draws three cards for four mana and does nothing else. It is played in about one Bello deck in four.
Sight of the Scalelords costs {4}{G}: at the beginning of combat on your turn, creatures you control with toughness 4 or greater get +2/+2 and vigilance. Every animated 4/4 Elemental is a 6/6 with vigilance, so each swing is much bigger.

Rampaging Baloths is a six-mana 6/6 trampler that makes a 4/4 Beast for every land. It is a fine card, but it is played in about one Bello deck in four.
Raiding Schemes costs {3}{R}{G}: each noncreature spell you cast has conspire, so you can tap two untapped creatures that share a color with the spell to copy it. A mana value 5 enchantment, and a copy of every removal spell, ritual or enchantment you cast.

Brightcap Badger is a 3/4 for {3}{G} that makes a Saproling each end step. It is played in about one Bello deck in five, and the deck has no other Fungus or Saproling support.
Collective Inferno costs {3}{R}{R} with convoke: choose a creature type as it enters, and all damage dealt by sources you control of that type is doubled. Choose Elemental and every animated artifact and enchantment hits twice as hard.

Grothama, All-Devouring is a 10/8 for {3}{G}{G} that forces every other creature to fight it when it attacks. It is played in about one Bello deck in five.
Skitterbeam Battalion is an artifact creature with prototype {3}{R}{R} as a 2/2 trampler with haste: when you cast it, you create two tokens that are copies of it. Three hasty attackers for five mana, and an artifact for Bello.

Domri, Anarch of Bolas is a three-mana planeswalker that gives your creatures +1/+0, adds mana or fights. It is played in about one Bello deck in four.
Case of the Locked Hothouse costs {3}{G}: you may play an additional land each turn, and once you control seven lands you may look at the top card of your library any time and play lands and cast creature and enchantment spells from the top. A mana value 4 enchantment that is also a card advantage engine.

Evercoat Ursine is a 6/5 trampler for {4}{G} with two hideaway abilities. It is played in about one Bello deck in five.
Asceticism costs {3}{G}{G}: creatures you control have hexproof, and for {1}{G} you regenerate a creature. It is a mana value 5 enchantment, so Bello makes it a 4/4 indestructible attacker on your turn, and every animated permanent is protected from removal.

Spine of Ish Sah is a seven-mana artifact that destroys a permanent and returns to your hand when it dies. It is played in about one Bello deck in five.
Nature's Will costs {2}{G}{G}: whenever one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to a player, you tap all lands that player controls and untap all of yours. A mana value 4 enchantment that Bello animates, and every connecting attack untaps your lands for a second main phase.

Tendershoot Dryad is a five-mana 2/2 that makes a Saproling at each upkeep. It is played in about one Bello deck in five.
Sanctum Weaver is a 0/2 enchantment creature for {1}{G} that taps for X mana of one color, where X is the number of enchantments you control. In a deck of Auras, Sagas and big enchantments it pays for the four- and five-drops that Bello turns into attackers.
The full swap list
Cut
- Burnished Hart
- Etali, Primal Storm
- Grumgully, the Generous
- Harmonize
- Rampaging Baloths
- Brightcap Badger
- Grothama, All-Devouring
- Domri, Anarch of Bolas
- Evercoat Ursine
- Spine of Ish Sah
- Tendershoot Dryad
Add
- Gruul War Chant
- Glorious Sunrise
- Eidolon of Blossoms
- Sight of the Scalelords
- Raiding Schemes
- Collective Inferno
- Skitterbeam Battalion
- Case of the Locked Hothouse
- Asceticism
- Nature's Will
- Sanctum Weaver
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Berserkers' Onslaught$0.36
Played in 89% of Bello decks. Attacking creatures you control have double strike. - Gratuitous Violence$0.99
Doubles all damage your creatures would deal. - Unnatural Growth$1.56
Played in 90% of Bello decks. Doubles the power and toughness of each creature you control at the beginning of each combat. - Warstorm Surge$0.46
Whenever a creature you control enters, it deals damage equal to its power to any target. - Thran Dynamo$2.05
Taps for three colorless mana, enough for most of your four- and five-mana permanents.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Mana Reflection$2.17
Doubles all your mana, which pays for your biggest enchantments sooner.
Animated Army already has the damage doublers and the mana. The upgrade is more enchantments and artifacts with mana value 4 or more for Bello to animate, and cards that make them bigger, in place of creatures that do not use his ability. These eleven swaps cost about $28 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Bello, Bard of the Brambles from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Animated Army precon?
Using data from 26,464 Bello decks, the highest-scoring additions are Asceticism (for Evercoat Ursine), Nature's Will (for Spine of Ish Sah) and Glorious Sunrise (for Etali, Primal Storm). The full list has 11 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Animated Army?
All 11 swaps cost about $27.55 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-27). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Mana Reflection ($2.17).
What should I cut from Animated Army?
The weakest cards for this commander are Burnished Hart, Etali, Primal Storm and Grumgully, the Generous. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Animated Army?
Keep Berserkers' Onslaught, Gratuitous Violence, Unnatural Growth, Warstorm Surge and Thran Dynamo. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Bello do?
Bello, Bard of the Brambles costs {1}{R}{G}. During your turn, each non-Equipment artifact and non-Aura enchantment you control with mana value 4 or greater is a 4/4 Elemental creature with indestructible, haste, and "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, draw a card." Every big artifact and enchantment is a hasty, indestructible attacker.
More Bloomburrow Commander upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Bello, Bard of the Brambles decks (26,464 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 Bello decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is moderate for most of these cards because they are played in many Gruul 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.










