Winter, Cynical Opportunist costs {2}{B}{G}, is a 2/5 deathtouch creature, and whenever it attacks you mill three cards. With delirium, at your end step you may exile cards from your graveyard that have four or more card types among them and put a permanent from among them onto the battlefield with a finality counter. Every attack fills the graveyard, and every end step reanimates.
The precon already has the mill and the reanimation, including Nyx Weaver, Grisly Salvage and Stitcher's Supplier. 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 Winter decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Winter decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Death Toll precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Not enough cheap mill and delirium enablers
Drag to the Roots, Millikin, Shigeki and Buried Alive are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out. Each fills the graveyard or becomes cheaper with delirium.
Cards that do nothing for the graveyard
Suspicious Bookcase, Inscription of Abundance and Burnished Hart do not put cards into the graveyard or use it.
A top-heavy deck
Eleven nonland cards have a mana value of six or more. Cheaper cards that mill, like Millikin and Skull Prophet, get the delirium going sooner.
The 9 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Suspicious Bookcase is a two-mana defender that makes a creature unblockable for {3} and a tap. It is played in about one Winter deck in eight.
Drag to the Roots is an instant for {2}{B}{G} that destroys a nonland permanent, and costs {2} less if there are four or more card types in your graveyard. A removal spell that costs two mana once delirium is on.
Inscription of Abundance is a green instant with three modes, and kicker lets you choose all of them. It is played in about one Winter deck in six.
Syr Konrad, the Grim is a 5/4 for {3}{B}{B}. Whenever another creature dies, a creature card is put into a graveyard from anywhere other than the battlefield, or a creature card leaves your graveyard, it deals 1 damage to each opponent, and for {1}{B} each player mills a card. Every creature you mill pings the table.
Carrion Grub is a 0/5 for {3}{B} that gets +X/+0 where X is the greatest power among creature cards in your graveyard, and mills four. It is played in about one Winter deck in five.
Buried Alive costs {2}{B}: search your library for up to three creature cards and put them into your graveyard. It fills the graveyard with exactly the creatures you want to reanimate, and gets delirium going.
Moldgraf Millipede is a five-mana creature that mills three and grows for each creature card in your graveyard. It is played in about one Winter deck in five.
Shigeki, Jukai Visionary is a 1/3 enchantment creature for {1}{G}. For {1}{G}, a tap and returning it to your hand, you reveal the top four cards, put a land onto the battlefield tapped, and put the rest into your graveyard. It also has channel to return cards from your graveyard to your hand. A two-drop that mills four every turn.
Harmonize draws three cards for four mana. It is played in about one Winter deck in four, but it does nothing for the graveyard.
Millikin is a two-mana artifact creature: {T}, mill a card: add {C}. A mana creature that mills a card every turn.
Burnished Hart is a three-mana artifact creature that sacrifices itself for two basic lands. It is played in about one Winter deck in four.
Skull Prophet is a {B}{G} creature that taps for {B} or {G}, or taps to mill two cards. A two-drop that ramps or fills the graveyard on every turn.
Into the Pit lets you cast spells from the top of your library by sacrificing a nonland permanent as an additional cost. It is played in about one Winter deck in four.
Hedge Shredder is a 5/5 Vehicle for {2}{G}{G} with crew 1. Whenever it attacks you may mill two cards, and whenever land cards are put into your graveyard from your library they go onto the battlefield tapped. A big attacker that mills and ramps.
Gnarlwood Dryad is a 1/1 deathtouch Dryad Horror for {G} that grows with delirium. It is played in about one Winter deck in five.
Ripples of Undeath costs {1}{B}. At the beginning of your first main phase you mill three cards, then may pay {1} and 3 life to put one of them into your hand. A two-mana enchantment that fills the graveyard for delirium and refills your hand.
Scavenging Ooze is a 2/2 for {1}{G} that exiles cards from graveyards, which empties the graveyard Winter wants full. It is played in about one Winter deck in four.
Six is a 2/4 reach legendary Treefolk for {2}{G}. Whenever it attacks you mill three cards and may put a land from among them into your hand, and on your turn nonland permanent cards in your graveyard have retrace. A creature that mills and recasts.
The full swap list
Cut
- Suspicious Bookcase
- Inscription of Abundance
- Carrion Grub
- Moldgraf Millipede
- Harmonize
- Burnished Hart
- Into the Pit
- Gnarlwood Dryad
- Scavenging Ooze
Add
- Drag to the Roots
- Syr Konrad, the Grim
- Buried Alive
- Shigeki, Jukai Visionary
- Millikin
- Skull Prophet
- Hedge Shredder
- Ripples of Undeath
- Six
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Nyx Weaver$0.24
Played in 83% of Winter decks. Mills two cards at every upkeep, and can exile itself for a card. - Grisly Salvage$0.14
Reveals the top five cards, puts a creature or land into your hand and the rest into the graveyard. - Demolisher Spawn$0.32
A seven-mana trampling, hasty attacker that gets stronger with delirium. - Stitcher's Supplier$0.28
A one-drop that mills three cards when it enters and when it dies. - Reanimate$1.87
One mana to put any creature from any graveyard onto the battlefield.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Archon of Cruelty$2.08
An eight-mana flier that makes an opponent sacrifice a creature or planeswalker and discard a card and lose life whenever it enters or attacks. - Animate Dead$7.14
A two-mana Aura that reanimates a creature from any graveyard.
Death Toll already has the mill and the reanimation. The upgrade is cheap mill pieces and a removal spell that gets cheaper with delirium, and fewer cards that do nothing for the graveyard. These nine swaps cost about $21 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Winter, Cynical Opportunist from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Death Toll precon?
Using data from 6,877 Winter decks, the highest-scoring additions are Ripples of Undeath (for Gnarlwood Dryad), Syr Konrad, the Grim (for Inscription of Abundance) and Six (for Scavenging Ooze). The full list has 9 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Death Toll?
All 9 swaps cost about $21.39 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-27). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Archon of Cruelty ($2.08) and Animate Dead ($7.14).
What should I cut from Death Toll?
The weakest cards for this commander are Suspicious Bookcase, Inscription of Abundance and Gnarlwood Dryad. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Death Toll?
Keep Nyx Weaver, Grisly Salvage, Demolisher Spawn, Stitcher's Supplier and Reanimate. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Winter do?
Winter, Cynical Opportunist costs {2}{B}{G}, is a 2/5 deathtouch creature, and whenever it attacks you mill three cards. With delirium, at your end step you may exile cards from your graveyard that have four or more card types among them and put a permanent from among them onto the battlefield with a finality counter. Every attack fills the graveyard, and every end step reanimates.
More Duskmourn Commander upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Winter, Cynical Opportunist decks (6,877 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 Winter decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is moderate for most of these cards because they are played in many graveyard 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.