Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge costs {1}{U}{B}{R} and is a 1/3 Legendary Vampire Wizard with flying. When it enters, each player exiles the top X cards of their library, where X is the amount of mana spent to cast Jeleva, and whenever Jeleva attacks you may cast an instant or sorcery spell from among cards exiled with it without paying its mana cost. The more mana you spend, the more free spells are waiting.
The precon already has the Grixis sweepers and a few free-spell enablers, including Cruel Ultimatum, Swiftfoot Boots, Army of the Damned, Decree of Pain, Nightscape Familiar and Crosis's Charm. 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 Jeleva decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Jeleva decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Mind Seize precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Not enough free-spell and cost-reduction cards
Aminatou's Augury, Spelltwine, Goblin Electromancer, Cormela, Glamour Thief and Double Vision cast spells for free, reduce their cost or copy them. They are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.
Sweepers and symmetrical draw outside the lists
Fissure Vent, Incendiary Command, Infest, Molten Disaster, Phthisis, Prosperity, Skyscribing, Strategic Planning and Tempt with Reflections are not cards Jeleva decks usually play.
Few three-colour Signets
Izzet Signet, Dimir Signet and Rakdos Signet each fix two of Jeleva's three colours for cheap, and Signets are a standard part of a three-colour deck.
The 9 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Fissure Vent is a five-mana sorcery that destroys an artifact or a nonbasic land. It is not a card Jeleva decks usually play.
Aminatou's Augury costs {6}{U}{U}. You exile the top eight cards of your library, may put a land card from among them onto the battlefield, and until end of turn may cast a spell of each nonland card type from among the exiled cards without paying their mana costs. An eight-mana sorcery that casts several free spells.
Incendiary Command is a five-mana sorcery with four modes. It is not a card Jeleva decks usually play.
Spelltwine costs {5}{U}. You exile target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard and one from an opponent's graveyard, copy those cards, and cast the copies if able without paying their mana costs. A six-mana sorcery that casts two free spells.
Infest is a three-mana sorcery that gives all creatures -2/-2. It is not a card Jeleva decks usually play.
Izzet Signet costs {2}. For {1} and a tap it adds {U}{R}. A two-mana rock that fixes two of Jeleva's three colours.
Molten Disaster is a sorcery that deals X damage to each creature without flying and each player. It is not a card Jeleva decks usually play.
Goblin Electromancer is a 2/2 Goblin Wizard for {U}{R}. Instant and sorcery spells you cast cost {1} less. A two-drop that makes every instant and sorcery cheaper.
Phthisis is a seven-mana sorcery with suspend that destroys a creature. It is not a card Jeleva decks usually play.
Cormela, Glamour Thief is a 2/4 Legendary Vampire Rogue for {1}{U}{B}{R} with haste. For {1} and a tap it adds {U}{B}{R} to cast instants and sorceries, and when it dies you return an instant or sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand. A four-drop in exactly Jeleva's colours that makes lots of mana for spells.
Prosperity is a sorcery that makes each player draw X cards. It is not a card Jeleva decks usually play.
Brainstorm costs {U}. You draw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library. A one-mana instant that digs deep.
Skyscribing is a sorcery that makes each player draw X cards. It is not a card Jeleva decks usually play.
Double Vision is an enchantment for {3}{R}{R}. Whenever you cast your first instant or sorcery spell each turn, you copy that spell and may choose new targets for the copy. A five-mana enchantment that doubles your first spell every turn.
Strategic Planning is a two-mana sorcery that looks at three cards and puts the rest in the graveyard. It is not a card Jeleva decks usually play.
Dimir Signet costs {2}. For {1} and a tap it adds {U}{B}. A two-mana rock that fixes two of Jeleva's three colours.
Tempt with Reflections is a four-mana sorcery that copies a creature you control and may copy it for opponents too. It is not a card Jeleva decks usually play.
Etali, Primal Storm is a 6/6 Legendary Elder Dinosaur for {4}{R}{R}. Whenever it attacks, you exile the top card of each player's library and may cast any number of spells from among those cards without paying their mana costs. A six-drop that casts free spells every attack.
The full swap list
Cut
- Fissure Vent
- Incendiary Command
- Infest
- Molten Disaster
- Phthisis
- Prosperity
- Skyscribing
- Strategic Planning
- Tempt with Reflections
Add
- Aminatou's Augury
- Spelltwine
- Izzet Signet
- Goblin Electromancer
- Cormela, Glamour Thief
- Brainstorm
- Double Vision
- Dimir Signet
- Etali, Primal Storm
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Cruel Ultimatum$0.26
Played in 45% of Jeleva decks. Makes an opponent sacrifice, discard and lose life while you draw and gain. - Swiftfoot Boots$1.80
Played in 58% of Jeleva decks. Gives Jeleva hexproof and haste so the attack trigger happens. - Army of the Damned$0.39
Played in 39% of Jeleva decks. Makes thirteen Zombies, and has flashback. - Decree of Pain$0.33
Played in 32% of Jeleva decks. Destroys all creatures and draws a card for each, or can be cycled. - Nightscape Familiar$0.43
Played in 40% of Jeleva decks. Makes blue and red spells cost {1} less.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Kess, Dissident Mage$3.65
A four-mana flyer that lets you cast an instant or sorcery from your graveyard each turn. It costs more than a budget upgrade should. - Fevered Suspicion$1.60
An eight-mana sorcery that casts opposing spells for free, with rebound. It costs more than a budget upgrade should.
Mind Seize already has the Grixis sweepers, Cruel Ultimatum and Jeleva's free-spell attack trigger. The upgrade is cheap spell enablers and Signets, in place of sweepers and symmetrical draw spells that Jeleva decks leave out. These nine swaps cost about $3 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Mind Seize precon?
Using data from 3,229 Jeleva decks, the highest-scoring additions are Aminatou's Augury (for Fissure Vent), Brainstorm (for Prosperity) and Spelltwine (for Incendiary Command). The full list has 9 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Mind Seize?
All 9 swaps cost about $3.28 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-28). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Kess, Dissident Mage ($3.65) and Fevered Suspicion ($1.60).
What should I cut from Mind Seize?
The weakest cards for this commander are Fissure Vent, Incendiary Command and Infest. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Mind Seize?
Keep Cruel Ultimatum, Swiftfoot Boots, Army of the Damned, Decree of Pain and Nightscape Familiar. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Jeleva do?
Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge costs {1}{U}{B}{R} and is a 1/3 Legendary Vampire Wizard with flying. When it enters, each player exiles the top X cards of their library, where X is the amount of mana spent to cast Jeleva, and whenever Jeleva attacks you may cast an instant or sorcery spell from among cards exiled with it without paying its mana cost. The more mana you spend, the more free spells are waiting.
More Commander 2013 upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge decks (3,229 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 Jeleva decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is high for many free-spell cards because few decks play them outside a spellslinger 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.