Urza, Chief Artificer costs {3}{W}{U}{B} and is a Legendary Creature with affinity for artifact creatures. Artifact creatures you control have menace, and at the beginning of your end step you create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with "This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control." Every turn the board gets another Construct that grows with every artifact.
The precon already has the artifact creatures and the payoffs, including Etherium Sculptor, Sai, Thopter Spy Network and Losheel. 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 Urza decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Urza decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Urza's Iron Alliance precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Too few cost reducers and mana creatures
Foundry Inspector, Ornithopter of Paradise, Silver Myr, Gold Myr and Leaden Myr make artifacts cheaper or add mana. They are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.
A top end that Urza decks skip
Hexavus, Marionette Master, Wire Surgeons and Phyrexian Rebirth all cost six, and the deck has 13 nonland cards at mana value six or more. Hexavus and Marionette Master are not cards Urza decks usually play.
Small creatures outside the lists
Alela, Chrome Courier, Filigree Attendant, Wreck Hunter, Sanwell and Scholar of New Horizons are not cards Urza, and 36 of the 99 cards are creatures decks usually play.
The 12 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Hexavus is a six-mana artifact creature that enters with six +1/+1 counters, and it can move counters to give other creatures flying. It is not a card Urza decks usually play.
Foundry Inspector is a 3/2 Construct artifact creature for {3}. Artifact spells you cast cost {1} less. A three-mana body that makes every artifact cheaper, and the highest-scoring card the precon leaves out.
Marionette Master is a six-mana 1/3 that fabricates 3 and makes opponents lose life when your artifacts die. It is not a card Urza decks usually play.
Ornithopter of Paradise is a 0/2 flying Thopter artifact creature for {2}. For a tap it adds one mana of any color. A cheap artifact creature that fixes all three colors.
Wreck Hunter is a two-mana 2/2 with flash that makes tapped Powerstone tokens for each nonland card that went to a graveyard from the battlefield this turn. It is not a card Urza decks usually play.
Silver Myr is a 1/1 Myr artifact creature for {2} that taps for {U}. A two-drop that is an artifact creature and ramps you.
Scholar of New Horizons is a two-mana creature that removes a counter to search for a Plains. It is not a card Urza decks usually play.
Gold Myr is a 1/1 Myr artifact creature for {2} that taps for {W}. It counts as an artifact creature for Urza's affinity and as an artifact for the Constructs.
Sanwell, Avenger Ace is a two-mana 3/1 that casts a Vehicle or artifact creature from the top six cards whenever it becomes tapped. It is not a card Urza decks usually play.
Leaden Myr is a 1/1 Myr artifact creature for {2} that taps for {B}. The third color of mana, on a body that counts as an artifact.
Kayla's Music Box is a two-mana Legendary Artifact that exiles the top card of your library face down so you may play it later. It is not a card Urza decks usually play.
Mystic Forge costs {4}. You may look at the top card of your library at any time and cast artifact spells and colorless spells from the top of your library, and for a tap and 1 life you exile the top card. A card engine for a deck of artifact spells.
Chrome Courier is a three-mana 1/1 flying Thopter that digs two cards deep. It is not a card Urza decks usually play.
Emry, Lurker of the Loch is a 1/2 for {2}{U} with affinity for artifacts. When it enters it mills four cards, and for a tap you may cast a target artifact card from your graveyard this turn. A cheap creature that recasts your artifacts.
Filigree Attendant is a four-mana flyer whose power is the number of artifacts you control. It is not a card Urza decks usually play.
Padeem, Consul of Innovation is a 1/4 Legendary Creature for {3}{U}. Artifacts you control have hexproof, and at the beginning of your upkeep, if you control the artifact with the greatest mana value or tied for it, you draw a card. A creature that protects the board and draws cards.
Alela, Artful Provocateur is a four-mana 2/3 flyer that makes Faerie tokens when you cast artifact or enchantment spells. It is not a card Urza decks usually play.
Urza, Prince of Kroog is a 2/3 Legendary Creature for {2}{W}{U}. Artifact creatures you control get +2/+2, and for {6} it makes a token copy of target artifact you control, except it's a 1/1 Soldier in addition to its other types. A four-drop that makes every artifact creature bigger.
Wire Surgeons is a six-mana 6/5 with fear that gives your artifact creature cards in the graveyard encore. It is played in about one Urza deck in seventeen.
Kappa Cannoneer is a 4/4 Turtle Warrior artifact creature for {5}{U} with improvise and ward {4}. Whenever it or another artifact you control enters, it gets a +1/+1 counter and can't be blocked this turn. A six-drop that your artifacts help cast and that grows with every one.
Phyrexian Rebirth is a six-mana sorcery that destroys all creatures, then makes an X/X Horror. It is played in about one Urza deck in eight.
Cyberdrive Awakener is a 4/4 flying artifact creature for {5}{U}. Other artifact creatures you control have flying, and when it enters each noncreature artifact you control becomes a 4/4 artifact creature until end of turn. A six-drop that gives the whole team flying.
Relic of Progenitus is a one-mana artifact that exiles cards from graveyards. It is played in about one Urza deck in ten.
Dispatch costs {W}. It taps target creature, and if you control three or more artifacts it exiles that creature instead. One mana of removal in a deck with many artifacts.
The full swap list
Cut
- Hexavus
- Marionette Master
- Wreck Hunter
- Scholar of New Horizons
- Sanwell, Avenger Ace
- Kayla's Music Box
- Chrome Courier
- Filigree Attendant
- Alela, Artful Provocateur
- Wire Surgeons
- Phyrexian Rebirth
- Relic of Progenitus
Add
- Foundry Inspector
- Ornithopter of Paradise
- Silver Myr
- Gold Myr
- Leaden Myr
- Mystic Forge
- Emry, Lurker of the Loch
- Padeem, Consul of Innovation
- Urza, Prince of Kroog
- Kappa Cannoneer
- Cyberdrive Awakener
- Dispatch
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Etherium Sculptor$0.37
Played in 85% of Urza decks. A two-mana artifact creature that makes artifact spells cost {1} less. - Sai, Master Thopterist$0.47
Played in 74% of Urza decks. Makes a Thopter whenever you cast an artifact spell. - Thopter Spy Network$0.22
Played in 68% of Urza decks. Makes a Thopter every upkeep and draws cards when your artifact creatures connect. - Losheel, Clockwork Scholar$2.60
Played in 67% of Urza decks. Draws a card when artifact creatures enter and protects attacking artifact creatures. - Thought Monitor$0.26
Played in 65% of Urza decks. A flyer that costs {1} less for each artifact you control and draws two cards.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter$7.13
A flash flyer that lets you cast artifact spells at instant speed. It costs more than a budget upgrade should. - Mirrodin Besieged$4.04
An enchantment that makes a Myr token whenever you cast an artifact spell. It costs more than a budget upgrade should.
Urza's Iron Alliance already has the artifact creatures, the Construct engine and the payoffs. The upgrade is cheap cost reducers, artifact mana creatures and a lower top end, in place of creatures that Urza decks leave out. These twelve swaps cost about $9 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Urza, Chief Artificer from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Urza's Iron Alliance precon?
Using data from 17,176 Urza decks, the highest-scoring additions are Foundry Inspector (for Hexavus), Ornithopter of Paradise (for Marionette Master) and Padeem, Consul of Innovation (for Filigree Attendant). The full list has 12 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Urza's Iron Alliance?
All 12 swaps cost about $9.28 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-28). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter ($7.13) and Mirrodin Besieged ($4.04).
What should I cut from Urza's Iron Alliance?
The weakest cards for this commander are Hexavus, Marionette Master and Wreck Hunter. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Urza's Iron Alliance?
Keep Etherium Sculptor, Sai, Master Thopterist, Thopter Spy Network, Losheel, Clockwork Scholar and Thought Monitor. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Urza do?
Urza, Chief Artificer costs {3}{W}{U}{B} and is a Legendary Creature with affinity for artifact creatures. Artifact creatures you control have menace, and at the beginning of your end step you create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with "This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control." Every turn the board gets another Construct that grows with every artifact.
More The Brothers' War Commander upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Urza, Chief Artificer decks (17,176 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 Urza decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is high for many artifact cards because few decks play them outside an artifact 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.