Nahiri, the Lithomancer costs {3}{W}{W} and is a Legendary Planeswalker that can be your commander. Its +2 creates a 1/1 white Kor Soldier creature token and lets you attach an Equipment you control to it, its -2 puts an Equipment card from your hand or graveyard onto the battlefield, and its -10 creates the Stoneforged Blade. Every turn Nahiri hands your best equipment to a fresh body.
The precon already has the best equipment, including Argentum Armor, Masterwork of Ingenuity, Skullclamp, Sword of Vengeance, Loxodon Warhammer and Kemba, Kha Regent. 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 Nahiri decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Nahiri decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Forged in Stone precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Not enough equipment payoffs
Puresteel Paladin, Sram, Senior Edificer, Danitha Capashen, Paragon, Stone Haven Outfitter and Balan, Wandering Knight draw cards or reduce costs for Equipment. They are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.
Flyers and enchantments outside the lists
Midnight Haunting, Loreseeker's Stone, Armistice, Sacred Mesa, Adarkar Valkyrie, Celestial Crusader, Flickerwisp, Geist-Honored Monk, Serra Avatar, Skyhunter Skirmisher, Twilight Shepherd and Whitemane Lion are not cards Nahiri decks usually play.
Few creatures that find equipment
Relic Seeker, Armored Skyhunter and Danitha, Benalia's Hope find or attach Equipment as soon as they enter or attack.
The 12 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Midnight Haunting is a three-mana instant that makes two 1/1 flying Spirits. It is not a card Nahiri decks usually play.
Puresteel Paladin is a 2/2 Human Knight for {W}{W}. Whenever an Equipment you control enters, you may draw a card, and with metalcraft your Equipment have equip {0}. A two-drop that draws from every Equipment and makes them free to move, and the highest-scoring card the precon leaves out.
Loreseeker's Stone is a six-mana artifact that draws three cards for {3} and a tap. It is not a card Nahiri decks usually play.
Colossus Hammer is an Equipment for {1}. Equipped creature gets +10/+10 and loses flying, and it has equip {8}. A one-mana Equipment that Nahiri can attach for free to a Kor Soldier.
Armistice is a three-mana enchantment that draws a card for {3}{W}{W}. It is not a card Nahiri decks usually play.
Sram, Senior Edificer is a 2/2 Legendary Dwarf Advisor for {1}{W}. Whenever you cast an Aura, Equipment or Vehicle spell, you draw a card. A two-drop that draws a card from every Equipment you cast.
Sacred Mesa is a three-mana enchantment that makes Pegasus tokens. It is not a card Nahiri decks usually play.
Danitha Capashen, Paragon is a 2/2 Legendary Human Knight for {2}{W} with first strike, vigilance and lifelink. Aura and Equipment spells you cast cost {1} less. A three-drop that carries Equipment well and makes it cheaper.
Adarkar Valkyrie is a six-mana 4/5 flying, vigilance Angel. It is not a card Nahiri decks usually play.
Stone Haven Outfitter is a 2/2 Kor Artificer Ally for {1}{W}. Equipped creatures you control get +1/+1, and whenever an equipped creature you control dies, you draw a card. A two-drop Kor that rewards every Equipment you attach.
Celestial Crusader is a four-mana 2/2 flash flyer with split second. It is not a card Nahiri decks usually play.
Danitha, Benalia's Hope is a 4/4 Legendary Human Knight for {4}{W} with first strike, vigilance and lifelink. When it enters, you may put an Aura or Equipment card from your hand or graveyard onto the battlefield attached to it. A five-drop that returns an Equipment from the graveyard.
Flickerwisp is a three-mana 3/1 flyer that blinks a permanent. It is not a card Nahiri decks usually play.
Balan, Wandering Knight is a 3/3 Cat Knight for {2}{W}{W} with first strike. It has double strike as long as two or more Equipment are attached to it, and for {1}{W} you attach all Equipment you control to it. A four-drop that gathers all your Equipment.
Geist-Honored Monk is a five-mana creature whose size equals your creature count, and it makes two Spirits. It is not a card Nahiri decks usually play.
Armored Skyhunter is a 3/3 flying Cat Knight for {3}{W}. Whenever it attacks, you look at the top six cards of your library and may put an Aura or Equipment card from among them onto the battlefield, attaching an Equipment to a creature. A four-drop flyer that puts an Equipment onto the battlefield every attack.
Serra Avatar is a seven-mana creature whose size equals your life total. It is not a card Nahiri decks usually play.
Heavenly Blademaster is a 3/6 Angel for {5}{W} with flying and double strike. When it enters you may attach any number of Auras and Equipment you control to it, and other creatures you control get +1/+1 for each Aura and Equipment attached to it. A six-drop that gets bigger with each Equipment.
Skyhunter Skirmisher is a three-mana 1/1 with flying and double strike. It is not a card Nahiri decks usually play.
Maul of the Skyclaves is an Equipment for {2}{W}. When it enters it attaches to target creature you control, and the equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has flying and first strike. A three-mana Equipment that attaches itself, even when it enters from Nahiri's -2.
Twilight Shepherd is a six-mana 5/5 flyer with persist. It is not a card Nahiri decks usually play.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion is a {4}{W}{W} planeswalker. Its +1 creates three 1/1 white Soldier tokens, its -3 destroys all creatures with power 4 or greater, and its -7 gives your creatures +2/+2 and flying. A six-mana planeswalker that makes three bodies for your Equipment.
Whitemane Lion is a two-mana 2/2 flash creature that returns a creature to your hand. It is not a card Nahiri decks usually play.
Relic Seeker is a 2/2 Human Soldier for {1}{W} with renown 1. When it becomes renowned, you may search your library for an Equipment card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. A two-drop that fetches an Equipment.
The full swap list
Cut
- Midnight Haunting
- Loreseeker's Stone
- Armistice
- Sacred Mesa
- Adarkar Valkyrie
- Celestial Crusader
- Flickerwisp
- Geist-Honored Monk
- Serra Avatar
- Skyhunter Skirmisher
- Twilight Shepherd
- Whitemane Lion
Add
- Puresteel Paladin
- Colossus Hammer
- Sram, Senior Edificer
- Danitha Capashen, Paragon
- Stone Haven Outfitter
- Danitha, Benalia's Hope
- Balan, Wandering Knight
- Armored Skyhunter
- Heavenly Blademaster
- Maul of the Skyclaves
- Elspeth, Sun's Champion
- Relic Seeker
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Argentum Armor$2.57
Played in 70% of Nahiri decks. +6/+6 and destroys a permanent each attack. - Masterwork of Ingenuity$1.16
Played in 66% of Nahiri decks. Copies any Equipment on the battlefield for {1}. - Skullclamp$4.67
Played in 63% of Nahiri decks. Draws two cards whenever the equipped creature dies, which is great with Kor tokens. - Sword of Vengeance$1.22
Played in 54% of Nahiri decks. Gives +2/+0, first strike, vigilance, trample and haste. - Kemba, Kha Regent$0.20
Played in 43% of Nahiri decks. Makes a 2/2 Cat each upkeep for each Equipment attached to it.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Batterskull$3.37
A five-mana living weapon with +4/+4, vigilance and lifelink that can return to your hand. It costs more than a budget upgrade should. - Stonehewer Giant$7.66
A five-mana Giant that fetches an Equipment and attaches it every turn. It costs more than a budget upgrade should.
Forged in Stone already has the best equipment, Kemba and Nahiri's attach engine. The upgrade is cheap creatures that draw cards and reduce costs for equipment, in place of flyers, tokens and enchantments that Nahiri decks leave out. These twelve swaps cost about $6 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Nahiri, the Lithomancer from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Forged in Stone precon?
Using data from 916 Nahiri decks, the highest-scoring additions are Puresteel Paladin (for Midnight Haunting), Colossus Hammer (for Loreseeker's Stone) and Sram, Senior Edificer (for Armistice). The full list has 12 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Forged in Stone?
All 12 swaps cost about $5.85 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-28). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Batterskull ($3.37) and Stonehewer Giant ($7.66).
What should I cut from Forged in Stone?
The weakest cards for this commander are Midnight Haunting, Loreseeker's Stone and Armistice. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Forged in Stone?
Keep Argentum Armor, Masterwork of Ingenuity, Skullclamp, Sword of Vengeance and Kemba, Kha Regent. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Nahiri do?
Nahiri, the Lithomancer costs {3}{W}{W} and is a Legendary Planeswalker that can be your commander. Its +2 creates a 1/1 white Kor Soldier creature token and lets you attach an Equipment you control to it, its -2 puts an Equipment card from your hand or graveyard onto the battlefield, and its -10 creates the Stoneforged Blade. Every turn Nahiri hands your best equipment to a fresh body.
More Commander 2014 upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Nahiri, the Lithomancer decks (916 of them when this was written, 2026-10-28) 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 Nahiri decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is high for many equipment cards because few decks play them outside an equipment deck, so use lift to compare cards, not to judge one in isolation. A card the commander's decks do not usually play counts as 0 in the average score. Prices are the cheapest non-foil paper printing on TCGplayer (via Scryfall), in USD, and move daily.