Keen Engineering Commander Deck Upgrade Guide

Fall from Favor taps a creature and makes you the monarch, which gives the whole table a reason to attack you. It is in about one Sai deck in fourteen.

Efficient Construction costs {3}{U}: whenever you cast an artifact spell, create a 1/1 flying Thopter. That is exactly what Sai does, so with both out every artifact spell makes two Thopters.

Pull from Tomorrow is an X spell that draws and discards, and it does nothing for the artifact count.

Stridehangar Automaton is a three-mana artifact creature: Thopters you control get +1/+1, and whenever artifact tokens would be created under your control, they are created plus an extra 1/1 flying Thopter. Every Thopter from Sai and Efficient Construction brings another one.

Psychosis Crawler is a five-mana artifact creature whose size is the number of cards in your hand. In a deck that wants to empty its hand, it is usually a small body.

Skullclamp costs {1}, and equip is {1}: equipped creature gets +1/-1, and when it dies you draw two cards. Put it on a 1/1 Thopter and every token is a card. It is a very strong card, and played in more than half of Sai decks.

Mazemind Tome scries or draws for {2} and a tap each time, and runs out after a few uses.

Emry, Lurker of the Loch has affinity for artifacts, so she is cheap once you have a few. She mills four cards when she enters, and you can tap her to cast an artifact card from your graveyard. That recasts a Sol Ring or any artifact that has been destroyed, and it is an artifact spell for Sai.

Cultivator's Caravan is a three-mana rock that crews for 3, in a deck with ten other mana sources.

Hangarback Walker is an artifact creature for {X}{X} that grows with {1} and a tap, and makes a Thopter for each +1/+1 counter when it dies. It is flexible on any turn, a good Skullclamp target, and an artifact spell that triggers Sai.

Mind's Eye costs five and only draws if you pay {1} each time an opponent draws, so it is slow and expensive.

Chief Engineer costs {1}{U} and gives your artifact spells convoke: each creature you tap pays for {1} (or one mana of its colour). With Sai's Thopters on the table, you can cast artifacts for almost nothing, and each one triggers Sai again.

Scrawling Crawler makes each player draw a card at your upkeep and costs each opponent 1 life whenever they draw. It gives every opponent a card each turn, which is risky in a pod.

Sharding Sphinx is a 4/4 flying artifact creature for {4}{U}{U}. Whenever an artifact creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may create a 1/1 blue Thopter with flying. Every Thopter you already have makes more Thopters.

Nevinyrral's Disk is a board wipe that also destroys all artifacts, so it hurts a deck made of artifacts more than almost any opponent.

Tezzeret, Artifice Master is a five-mana planeswalker: +1 creates a 1/1 flying Thopter, and 0 draws a card, or two if you control three or more artifacts. A planeswalker that makes a Thopter each turn and draws every turn.

This is the first of two land swaps. Remote Isle enters tapped and cycles for {2}, in a deck with 40 lands.

Seat of the Synod is an artifact land that taps for {U}. It adds to every artifact count (affinity, Master of Etherium) and counts as one of the two artifacts you can sacrifice to Sai.

The second land swap, taking the deck from 40 to 38 lands. Lonely Sandbar enters tapped and cycles for {U}.

Retrofitter Foundry costs {1}. For {2} and a tap it makes a Servo, and it turns Servos into Thopters and Thopters into bigger Constructs. It is an artifact that makes artifact tokens every turn, feeding Skullclamp, Stridehangar Automaton and Sai's sacrifice.

Propaganda ({2}{U}) is one of the lowest-scoring cards in the precon, at 6 in the Oracle: it is in 25% of Sai decks with -7% synergy. It reads: Creatures can't attack you unless their controller pays {2} for each creature they control that's attacking you.

Mystic Forge ({4}) scores 44: it is in 50% of Sai decks with 40% synergy. It reads: You may look at the top card of your library any time. You may cast artifact spells and colorless spells from the top of your library. {T}, Pay 1 life: Exile the top card of your library.

Spire Golem ({6}) is one of the lowest-scoring cards in the precon, at 6 in the Oracle: it is in 6% of Sai decks with 6% synergy. It reads: Affinity for Islands. Flying.

Ornithopter ({0}) scores 41: it is in 46% of Sai decks with 38% synergy. It reads: Flying.

Skysovereign, Consul Flagship ({5}) is one of the lowest-scoring cards in the precon, at 10 in the Oracle: it is in 11% of Sai decks with 10% synergy. It reads: Flying. Whenever Skysovereign enters or attacks, it deals 3 damage to target creature or planeswalker an opponent controls. Crew 3.

Idol of Oblivion ({2}) scores 39: it is in 42% of Sai decks with 38% synergy. It reads: {T}: Draw a card. Activate only if you created a token this turn. {8}, {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Create a 10/10 colorless Eldrazi creature token.

Memory Guardian ({4}{U}) is one of the lowest-scoring cards in the precon, at 11 in the Oracle: it is in 11% of Sai decks with 10% synergy. It reads: Affinity for artifacts. Flying.

Bident of Thassa ({2}{U}{U}) scores 39: it is in 47% of Sai decks with 34% synergy. It reads: Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card. {1}{U}, {T}: Creatures your opponents control attack this turn if able.