Nalia de'Arnise costs {1}{W}{B} and is a 3/3 Human Rogue. You may look at the top card of your library any time and cast Cleric, Rogue, Warrior and Wizard spells from the top, and at the beginning of combat on your turn, if you have a full party, you put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control and they gain deathtouch until end of turn. A party is up to one each of Cleric, Rogue, Warrior and Wizard.
The precon already has the party payoffs, including Burakos, Party Leader, Squad Commander, Harper Recruiter, Stick Together and the changelings. 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 Nalia decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Nalia decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Party Time precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Party members that do nothing
Pontiff of Blight and Priest of Ancient Lore are not cards Nalia, and Magus of the Balance, Butcher of Malakir, Corpse Augur and Calculating Lich are each played in about one Nalia deck in five or fewer decks usually play.
Missing party payoffs
Coveted Prize and Deadly Alliance cost less for every creature in your party, one tutors and one removes a creature or planeswalker. They are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.
Cheap members that make value
Oketra's Monument, Gisa, Glorious Resurrector, Dark Confidant, Envoy of the Ancestors and Metastatic Evangel are Clerics, Wizards or tokens that draw, reanimate or make Warriors.
The 9 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.

Pontiff of Blight is a six-mana 2/7 Zombie Cleric that gives your creatures extort. It is not a card Nalia decks usually play.
Coveted Prize costs {4}{B}, minus {1} for each creature in your party. You search your library for a card, and with a full party you may cast a spell with mana value 4 or less from your hand for free. A tutor that is two to five mana, and the highest-scoring card the precon leaves out.

Priest of Ancient Lore is a 2/1 Dwarf Cleric for {2}{W} that gains 1 life and draws a card. It is not a card Nalia decks usually play.
Oketra's Monument is a legendary artifact for {3}. White creature spells you cast cost {1} less, and whenever you cast a creature spell you create a 1/1 white Warrior with vigilance. A Warrior for the party with every creature, and cheaper white creatures.

Firja's Retribution is a four-mana Saga that makes a 4/4 flying Angel Warrior and gives it abilities. It is played in about one Nalia deck in nine.
Envoy of the Ancestors is a 2/3 Human Cleric for {2}{W} with outlast {W}. Modified creatures you control have lifelink, and every Nalia counter makes one. A Cleric that is also a lifelink engine.

Skullclamp is a one-mana Equipment that draws two cards when the equipped creature dies. It is played in about one Nalia deck in three, but it does not fill a party slot or make Warriors.
Gisa, Glorious Resurrector is a 4/4 Human Wizard for {2}{B}{B}. If a creature an opponent controls would die it is exiled instead, and at your upkeep you put all creature cards exiled with Gisa onto the battlefield under your control with decayed. A Wizard that steals the creatures that die.

Magus of the Balance is a 2/2 Human Wizard for {1}{W} that needs {4}{W} and a sacrifice to do anything. It is played in about one Nalia deck in seven.
Universal Automaton is a 1/1 artifact creature for {1} with changeling. It is every creature type, so it is a Cleric, a Rogue, a Warrior and a Wizard at once. One mana for a full party's worth of types.

Butcher of Malakir is a seven-mana 5/4 flying Vampire Warrior. It is played in about one Nalia deck in five.
Metastatic Evangel is a 3/1 Phyrexian Human Cleric for {1}{W}. Whenever another nontoken creature enters under your control, you proliferate, adding a counter to each +1/+1 counter Nalia has given out. A two-mana Cleric that adds counters.

Corpse Augur is a 4/2 Zombie Wizard for {3}{B} that draws cards when it dies. It is played in about one Nalia deck in five.
Deadly Alliance costs {4}{B}, minus {1} for each creature in your party, at instant speed. It destroys target creature or planeswalker. Removal that costs as little as one mana with a full party.

Calculating Lich is a six-mana 5/5 Zombie Wizard with menace. It is played in about one Nalia deck in five.
Dark Confidant is a 2/1 Human Wizard for {1}{B}. At the beginning of your upkeep you reveal the top card of your library, put it into your hand and lose life equal to its mana value. A cheap Wizard that draws a card every turn, and Nalia reveals the top card anyway.

Dire Fleet Ravager ({3}{B}{B}) is one of the lowest-scoring cards in the precon, at 22 in the Oracle: it is in 22% of Nalia de'Arnise decks with 21% synergy. It reads: Menace, deathtouch. When this creature enters, each player loses a third of their life, rounded up.
Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion ({2}{W}) scores 59: it is in 61% of Nalia de'Arnise decks with 57% synergy. It reads: If you would put one or more counters on a creature or planeswalker you control or on yourself, put that many plus one of each of those kinds of counters on that permanent or player instead. Choose a Background.
The full swap list
Cut
- Pontiff of Blight
- Priest of Ancient Lore
- Firja's Retribution
- Skullclamp
- Magus of the Balance
- Butcher of Malakir
- Corpse Augur
- Calculating Lich
- Dire Fleet Ravager
Add
- Coveted Prize
- Oketra's Monument
- Envoy of the Ancestors
- Gisa, Glorious Resurrector
- Universal Automaton
- Metastatic Evangel
- Deadly Alliance
- Dark Confidant
- Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Burakos, Party Leader$4.15
Played in 88% of Nalia decks. Counts as a Cleric, Rogue, Warrior and Wizard, and makes Treasure and drains when it attacks. - Squad Commander$0.25
Makes a Kor Warrior for each creature in your party, and pumps your team with a full party. - Harper Recruiter$0.24
A flier that finds a Cleric, Rogue, Warrior and Wizard when it attacks. - Stick Together$0.27
Each player keeps only a party of creatures and sacrifices the rest. - Changeling Outcast$1.47
A one-mana creature that cannot block and cannot be blocked, and is every creature type.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire$3.64
A deathtouch Rogue that tutors a card to the top of your library with boast. - Oona's Blackguard$0.34
A flying Rogue that makes other Rogues enter with counters.
Party Time already has the party payoffs and the changelings. The upgrade is cheap party members that draw, reanimate and make Warriors, plus two spells that cost less with a full party, in place of expensive Wizards, Clerics and a Saga. These nine swaps cost about $14 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Nalia de'Arnise from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Party Time precon?
Using data from 2,819 Nalia de'Arnise decks, the highest-scoring additions are Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion (for Dire Fleet Ravager), Coveted Prize (for Pontiff of Blight) and Envoy of the Ancestors (for Firja's Retribution). The full list has 9 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Party Time?
All 9 swaps cost about $14.22 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-27). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire ($3.64) and Oona's Blackguard ($0.34).
What should I cut from Party Time?
The weakest cards for this commander are Pontiff of Blight, Priest of Ancient Lore and Firja's Retribution. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Party Time?
Keep Burakos, Party Leader, Squad Commander, Harper Recruiter, Stick Together and Changeling Outcast. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Nalia de'Arnise do?
Nalia de'Arnise costs {1}{W}{B} and is a 3/3 Human Rogue. You may look at the top card of your library any time and cast Cleric, Rogue, Warrior and Wizard spells from the top, and at the beginning of combat on your turn, if you have a full party, you put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control and they gain deathtouch until end of turn. A party is up to one each of Cleric, Rogue, Warrior and Wizard.
More Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Nalia de'Arnise decks (2,819 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 Nalia de'Arnise decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is moderate to high for many of these cards because few decks play them outside a party 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.








