Mirko, Obsessive Theorist costs {1}{U}{B}. It is a 1/3 with flying and vigilance, and whenever you surveil it gets a +1/+1 counter. At the beginning of your end step, you may return a creature card with power less than Mirko's from your graveyard to the battlefield with a finality counter on it. Every surveil makes Mirko bigger, and a bigger Mirko returns bigger creatures.
The precon already has the surveil engines, including Doom Whisperer, Unshakable Tail, Otherworldly Gaze and Sinister Starfish. 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 Mirko decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Mirko decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Revenant Recon precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Not enough cheap surveil
Candlestick, Snarling Gorehound, Hidden Grotto, Diresight and Sinister Sabotage all surveil for one to three mana, and each surveil is a counter on Mirko. Matoya and Starving Revenant draw whenever you surveil. They are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.
Cards that use Mirko's counters
Soul Diviner and Hexavus draw cards or grow by removing counters from Mirko and your other creatures.
Cards outside the lists and expensive cards
Foreboding Steamboat, Final-Word Phantom and Marvo are not cards Mirko, and Sphinx of the Second Sun costs eight decks usually play.
The 14 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.

Foreboding Steamboat is a five-mana Vehicle that exiles two of each player's creatures. It is not a card Mirko decks usually play.
Soul Diviner is a 2/3 Zombie Wizard for {U}{B}. For a tap and a counter from an artifact, creature, land or planeswalker you control, you draw a card. Mirko's counters become cards, and it is the highest-scoring card the precon leaves out.

Final-Word Phantom is a 1/4 flash flier for {2}{U} that gives you flash during each opponent's end step. It is not a card Mirko decks usually play.
Matoya, Archon Elder is a 1/4 Warlock for {2}{U}. Whenever you scry or surveil, you draw a card. Every surveil is a card as well as a counter on Mirko.

Marvo, Deep Operative is a 1/8 for {3}{U}{B} that clashes whenever it attacks. It is not a card Mirko decks usually play.
Twilight Diviner is a 3/3 for {2}{B}. It surveils 2 when it enters, and whenever one or more other creatures enter or are cast from a graveyard you create a token copy of one of them, once each turn. It surveils, and it copies what Mirko returns.

Everflowing Chalice is a mana rock that costs {2} for each counter. It is played in about one Mirko deck in eight, in a deck with Sol Ring, Arcane Signet and other rocks.
Candlestick is a one-mana Clue Equipment. The equipped creature gets +1/+1 and surveils 2 whenever it attacks, and you can sacrifice it for {2} to draw a card. Mirko flies and attacks, and two surveil is two counters.

Ransom Note is a one-mana Clue that surveils once and can goad or cloak. It is played in about one Mirko deck in ten.
Snarling Gorehound is a 1/1 menace Dog for {B}. Whenever another creature you control with power 2 or less enters, you surveil 1. A one-drop that surveils for every cheap creature.

Hostile Desert is a land that becomes a 3/4 if you exile a land card from your graveyard, and the deck has few lands to exile. It is played in about one Mirko deck in eight.
Hidden Grotto is a land that surveils 1 when it enters, taps for {C}, and for {1} and a tap makes mana of any color. A land that is also a counter on Mirko.

Deep Analysis draws two cards for four mana and has flashback. It is played in about one Mirko deck in seven.
Diresight costs {2}{B}: surveil 2, then draw two cards and lose 2 life. A cheaper draw spell that surveils twice.

Amphin Mutineer is a four-mana 3/3 that gives a creature's controller a 4/3 Salamander Warrior. It is played in about one Mirko deck in six.
Starving Revenant is a 4/4 for {2}{B}{B}. When it enters you surveil 2, then for each card you put on top you draw a card and lose 3 life, and with descend 8 it drains whenever you draw. A big body that surveils.

Sphinx of the Second Sun is an eight-mana 6/6 flier that gives you an extra beginning phase. It is played in about one Mirko deck in five.
Hexavus is a six-mana flying artifact creature that enters with six +1/+1 counters. For {1} each you remove a counter to give another creature a flying counter, and you remove counters from your other creatures to grow it. Counters are cards for Soul Diviner, and Mirko's counters can fuel it.

Counterpoint is a five-mana counterspell that casts a spell from your graveyard for free. It is played in about one Mirko deck in six.
Sinister Sabotage costs {1}{U}{U} at instant speed: counter target spell and surveil 1. A cheaper counterspell that is also a counter on Mirko.

Copy Catchers ({1}{U}) is one of the lowest-scoring cards in the precon, at 14 in the Oracle: it is in 14% of Mirko decks with 14% synergy. It reads: Flying. Whenever you surveil, you may pay {1}{U}. If you do, create a token that's a copy of this creature.
Fain, the Broker ({2}{B}) scores 43: it is in 43% of Mirko decks with 42% synergy. It reads: {T}, Sacrifice a creature: Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature. {T}, Remove a counter from a creature you control: Create a Treasure token.

Brainstorm ({U}) is one of the lowest-scoring cards in the precon, at 14 in the Oracle: it is in 32% of Mirko decks with 3% synergy. It reads: Draw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order.
Power Conduit ({2}) scores 40: it is in 41% of Mirko decks with 40% synergy. It reads: {T}, Remove a counter from a permanent you control: Choose one :. • Put a charge counter on target artifact. • Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.

Thought Vessel ({2}) is one of the lowest-scoring cards in the precon, at 19 in the Oracle: it is in 38% of Mirko decks with 7% synergy. It reads: You have no maximum hand size. {T}: Add {C}.
Gossip's Talent ({1}{U}) scores 39: it is in 41% of Mirko decks with 38% synergy. It reads: Whenever a creature you control enters, surveil 1. {1}{U}: Level 2. Whenever you attack, target attacking creature with power 3 or less can't be blocked this turn. {3}{U}: Level 3.

Whispering Snitch ({1}{B}) is one of the lowest-scoring cards in the precon, at 20 in the Oracle: it is in 20% of Mirko decks with 20% synergy. It reads: Whenever you surveil for the first time each turn, this creature deals 1 damage to each opponent and you gain 1 life.
Sword of Once and Future ({3}) scores 34: it is in 35% of Mirko decks with 34% synergy. It reads: Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has protection from blue and from black. Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, surveil 2.
The full swap list
Cut
- Foreboding Steamboat
- Final-Word Phantom
- Marvo, Deep Operative
- Everflowing Chalice
- Ransom Note
- Hostile Desert
- Deep Analysis
- Amphin Mutineer
- Sphinx of the Second Sun
- Counterpoint
- Copy Catchers
- Brainstorm
- Thought Vessel
- Whispering Snitch
Add
- Soul Diviner
- Matoya, Archon Elder
- Twilight Diviner
- Candlestick
- Snarling Gorehound
- Hidden Grotto
- Diresight
- Starving Revenant
- Hexavus
- Sinister Sabotage
- Fain, the Broker
- Power Conduit
- Gossip's Talent
- Sword of Once and Future
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Doom Whisperer$5.89
Played in 86% of Mirko decks. A 6/6 flier that surveils 2 for 2 life, as often as you can afford. - Unshakable Tail$0.34
Surveils when it enters and every upkeep, and investigates when creature cards are put into your graveyard from your library. - Otherworldly Gaze$0.32
Surveil 3 for {U}, and again with flashback. - Sinister Starfish$0.10
A 0/3 that surveils 1 for a tap every turn. - Pile On$0.34
Destroys a creature or planeswalker, and surveils 2, for convoke.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Buried Alive$2.55
Puts three creature cards into your graveyard for Mirko to return. It costs more than a budget upgrade should. - Grave Researcher$1.87
Surveils every upkeep, and its adventure reanimates a creature from any graveyard.
Revenant Recon already has the surveil engines. The upgrade is cheap surveil, cards that draw whenever you surveil, and cards that spend Mirko's counters, in place of cards outside the lists and expensive ones. These fourteen swaps cost about $16 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Mirko, Obsessive Theorist from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Revenant Recon precon?
Using data from 9,391 Mirko decks, the highest-scoring additions are Soul Diviner (for Foreboding Steamboat), Twilight Diviner (for Marvo, Deep Operative) and Matoya, Archon Elder (for Final-Word Phantom). The full list has 14 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Revenant Recon?
All 14 swaps cost about $15.78 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-27). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Buried Alive ($2.55) and Grave Researcher ($1.87).
What should I cut from Revenant Recon?
The weakest cards for this commander are Foreboding Steamboat, Final-Word Phantom and Everflowing Chalice. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Revenant Recon?
Keep Doom Whisperer, Unshakable Tail, Otherworldly Gaze, Sinister Starfish and Pile On. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Mirko do?
Mirko, Obsessive Theorist costs {1}{U}{B}. It is a 1/3 with flying and vigilance, and whenever you surveil it gets a +1/+1 counter. At the beginning of your end step, you may return a creature card with power less than Mirko's from your graveyard to the battlefield with a finality counter on it. Every surveil makes Mirko bigger, and a bigger Mirko returns bigger creatures.
More Murders at Karlov Manor Commander upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Mirko, Obsessive Theorist decks (9,391 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 Mirko decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is high for many surveil cards because few decks play them outside a surveil 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.













