Quintorius, History Chaser is a planeswalker commander. Whenever one or more cards leave your graveyard you create a 3/2 red and white Spirit, his +1 lets you discard a card to draw two and mill one, and his -4 gives your Spirits double strike and vigilance. Every card that leaves your graveyard is a new body.

The precon already has the discard engines and the recursion, including Currency Converter, Containment Construct and Serra Paragon. 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 Quintorius decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Quintorius decks than in decks that could play it.

Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Lorehold Spirit precon guide.

8
Swaps
$6.92
Cost of the adds
37→37
Lands
20→41
Avg Oracle score

What is holding the deck back

Not enough cards that care when cards leave the graveyard

Ark of Hunger, On Wings of Gold and Hardened Academic each trigger whenever one or more cards leave your graveyard, on top of Quintorius himself. They are three of the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.

Sweepers in a Spirit deck

Wave of Reckoning makes each creature deal damage to itself equal to its power, which kills your 3/2 Spirit tokens along with everything else. Tragic Arrogance is another sweeper-style card in a deck with 36 creatures.

Slow lands

Lorehold Campus, Fields of Strife, Sacred Peaks and Temple of Triumph all enter tapped. A deck that wants to start the graveyard engine early can afford fewer of them.

The 8 swaps

Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.

Swap 1 of 8
Secret Rendezvous
Cut
Secret Rendezvous
Sorcery · 1WW
Inclusion12%
Synergy7%
Lift2.2×
Oracle score 9
Ark of Hunger
Add
Ark of Hunger
Artifact · 2RW
Inclusion64%
Synergy57%
Lift8.0×+
Oracle score 60

Secret Rendezvous has you and an opponent each draw three cards. You get the same cards your opponent does, and it is played in about one Quintorius deck in eight.

Ark of Hunger costs {2}{R}{W}. Whenever one or more cards leave your graveyard it deals 1 damage to each opponent and you gain 1 life, and for {T} you mill a card and may play it that turn. It is the highest-scoring card the precon is missing, and it fires on every Quintorius trigger.

Swap 2 of 8
Wave of Reckoning
Cut
Wave of Reckoning
Sorcery · 4W
Inclusion15%
Synergy15%
Lift8.0×+
Oracle score 15
On Wings of Gold
Add
On Wings of Gold
Enchantment · 3W
Inclusion44%
Synergy42%
Lift8.0×+
Oracle score 43

Wave of Reckoning makes each creature deal damage to itself equal to its power. A 3/2 Spirit token dies to its own damage, so it is a sweeper that mostly hits your own board.

On Wings of Gold costs {3}{W}: your Zombies and tokens get +1/+1 and have flying, and whenever one or more cards leave your graveyard you create a 1/1 white Zombie. Every Spirit token flies, and every graveyard trigger makes another body.

Swap 3 of 8
Ao, the Dawn Sky
Cut
Ao, the Dawn Sky
Legendary Creature — Dragon Spirit · 3WW
Inclusion20%
Synergy17%
Lift6.8×
Oracle score 18
Hardened Academic
Add
Hardened Academic
Creature — Bird Cleric · RW
Inclusion42%
Synergy38%
Lift8.0×+
Oracle score 39

Ao, the Dawn Sky is a 5/4 flying Dragon Spirit for {3}{W}{W} with strong death triggers. It is a good card, but it is played in about one Quintorius deck in five and costs five.

Hardened Academic costs {R}{W} and has flying and haste. You can discard a card for lifelink, and whenever one or more cards leave your graveyard it puts a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control. A two-drop that grows on every Quintorius trigger.

Swap 4 of 8
Atsushi, the Blazing Sky
Cut
Atsushi, the Blazing Sky
Legendary Creature — Dragon Spirit · 2RR
Inclusion22%
Synergy19%
Lift6.7×
Oracle score 20
Banon, the Returners' Leader
Add
Banon, the Returners' Leader
Legendary Creature — Human Cleric Rebel · RW
Inclusion40%
Synergy38%
Lift8.0×+
Oracle score 39

Atsushi is a 4/4 flying, trampling Dragon Spirit for {2}{R}{R}. It is played in about one Quintorius deck in five.

Banon, the Returners' Leader costs {R}{W}. Once each turn you may cast a creature spell from your graveyard that was put there from anywhere other than the battlefield this turn, so a discarded or milled creature comes back as a spell. Whenever you attack you may pay {1} and discard a card to draw a card. A two-drop that recasts creatures and triggers Quintorius when it does.

Swap 5 of 8
Naktamun Lorespinner // Wheel of Fortune
Cut
Naktamun Lorespinner // Wheel of Fortune
Creature — Jackal Wizard // Sorcery · 2R // 2R
Inclusion25%
Synergy22%
Lift8.0×+
Oracle score 23
Bag of Holding
Add
Bag of Holding
Artifact · 1
Inclusion43%
Synergy41%
Lift8.0×+
Oracle score 42

Naktamun Lorespinner is a 3/3 for {2}{R} that becomes prepared when a player has one or fewer cards in hand, so you can cast a copy of Wheel of Fortune. It is a very swingy card in a deck with a lot of card flow.

Bag of Holding costs {1}. Whenever you discard a card it exiles that card from your graveyard, and {2}, {T} loots. Each discard takes a card out of the graveyard, which triggers Quintorius, and later you can return everything it exiled to your hand.

Swap 6 of 8
Fateful Tempest
Cut
Fateful Tempest
Sorcery · 2R
Inclusion25%
Synergy23%
Lift8.0×+
Oracle score 24
Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant // Phoenix, Warden of Fire
Add
Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant // Phoenix, Warden of Fire
Legendary Creature — Human Noble Wizard // Legendary Enchantment Creature — Saga Phoenix · 1RW
Inclusion33%
Synergy30%
Lift7.9×
Oracle score 31

Fateful Tempest is a council's dilemma sorcery: everyone votes, you mill or exile cards, and it deals damage based on what was milled. It does not do much for a deck that wants cards to leave its graveyard.

Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant costs {1}{R}{W}: when he enters you discard up to two cards and draw that many. Later, for {3}{R}{W} and a tap he becomes a Phoenix Saga that deals 2 damage to each opponent twice and returns creature cards from your graveyard to the battlefield.

Swap 7 of 8
Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus
Cut
Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus
Legendary Artifact — Equipment · 3
Inclusion28%
Synergy24%
Lift5.8×
Oracle score 25
Pursue the Past
Add
Pursue the Past
Sorcery · RW
Inclusion33%
Synergy26%
Lift4.7×
Oracle score 29

Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus is a legendary Equipment that creates a Germ and ramps when the equipped creature attacks. It is played in about one Quintorius deck in four, and it does nothing for the graveyard.

Pursue the Past costs {R}{W}: gain 2 life, then you may discard a card to draw two. It has flashback {2}{R}{W}, and casting it from the graveyard takes it out, which makes a Spirit. Two Quintorius triggers from one card.

Swap 8 of 8
White Orchid Phantom
Cut
White Orchid Phantom
Creature — Spirit Knight · WW
Inclusion27%
Synergy25%
Lift8.0×+
Oracle score 26
Ghost Vacuum
Add
Ghost Vacuum
Artifact · 1
Inclusion49%
Synergy47%
Lift8.0×+
Oracle score 48

White Orchid Phantom is a 2/2 flying, first strike Spirit for {W}{W} that destroys a nonbasic land when it enters. Most tables do not have a good target.

Ghost Vacuum costs {1}: {T} exiles a card from a graveyard, and your own cards leaving trigger Quintorius. For {6}, a tap and a sacrifice it puts each creature card it exiled onto the battlefield as a 1/1 flying Spirit. It is a graveyard engine that also makes Spirits.

The full swap list

Cut

  • Secret Rendezvous
  • Wave of Reckoning
  • Ao, the Dawn Sky
  • Atsushi, the Blazing Sky
  • Naktamun Lorespinner
  • Fateful Tempest
  • Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus
  • White Orchid Phantom

Add

  • Ark of Hunger
  • On Wings of Gold
  • Hardened Academic
  • Banon, the Returners' Leader
  • Bag of Holding
  • Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant
  • Pursue the Past
  • Ghost Vacuum

What to keep

These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.

If you want to spend more

These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.

The verdict

Lorehold Spirit already plays the discard engines and the recursion. The upgrade is more cards that fire whenever something leaves the graveyard, fewer sweepers that hit your own Spirits, and a couple of cheap card-flow pieces. These eight swaps cost about $7 in total.

Want a full 100-card list built around Quintorius, History Chaser from today's data?

Build with The Oracle →

Frequently asked questions

What are the best upgrades for the Lorehold Spirit precon?

Using data from 10,657 Quintorius decks, the highest-scoring additions are Ark of Hunger (for Secret Rendezvous), Ghost Vacuum (for White Orchid Phantom) and On Wings of Gold (for Wave of Reckoning). The full list has 8 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.

How much does it cost to upgrade Lorehold Spirit?

All 8 swaps cost about $6.92 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-27). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Restoration Seminar ($3.89), Cool but Rude ($5.26) and Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury ($2.67).

What should I cut from Lorehold Spirit?

The weakest cards for this commander are Secret Rendezvous, Wave of Reckoning and Ao, the Dawn Sky. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.

Which cards should I keep in Lorehold Spirit?

Keep Currency Converter, Containment Construct, Serra Paragon, Sevinne's Reclamation and Hofri Ghostforge. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.

What does Quintorius do?

Quintorius, History Chaser is a planeswalker commander. Whenever one or more cards leave your graveyard you create a 3/2 red and white Spirit, his +1 lets you discard a card to draw two and mill one, and his -4 gives your Spirits double strike and vigilance. Every card that leaves your graveyard is a new body.

More Secrets of Strixhaven Commander upgrade guides

All precon upgrade guides

How the numbers work

Inclusion is the share of Quintorius, History Chaser decks (10,657 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 Quintorius decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is high for nearly every Strixhaven and graveyard card here because they are rarely played outside 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.