Overview

Buckle Up is a Vehicle deck that makes crewing easy. Kotori, Pilot Prodigy gives Vehicles you control crew 2, so even your smallest creature can crew your biggest Vehicle, and at the beginning of combat on your turn target artifact creature you control gains lifelink and vigilance until end of turn. Because a Vehicle becomes an artifact creature when crewed, she can give a Vehicle lifelink and vigilance too if you crew it before combat.

The 99 cards are 27 creatures, 1 planeswalker, 20 artifacts, 2 enchantments, 8 instants, 4 sorceries and 37 lands. 15 of the artifacts are Vehicles, including Smuggler's Copter, Skysovereign, Consul Flagship, Shorikai, Genesis Engine and Parhelion II, and the deck is full of cheap artifact creatures such as Gold Myr, Silver Myr and Etherium Sculptor that help crew them. Payoffs such as Aeronaut Admiral, Sram, Senior Edificer and Prodigy's Prototype make Vehicles even better.

Key Cards

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Shorikai, Genesis Engine
Card Advantage · Token Maker
A vehicle for {2}{W}{U}. A Vehicle with crew 8. For {1} and a tap you draw two cards, discard a card and create a 1/1 colourless Pilot creature token that crews Vehicles as though its power were 2 greater. It draws cards and makes crew all by itself.
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Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
Removal · Flying Vehicle
A vehicle for {5}. It has flying and crew 3. Whenever it enters or attacks, it deals 3 damage to target creature or planeswalker an opponent controls, so it removes a threat every turn.
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Prodigy's Prototype
Token Maker · Crew Helper
A vehicle for {1}{W}{U}. A Vehicle with crew 2. Whenever one or more Vehicles you control attack, you create a 1/1 colourless Pilot creature token that crews Vehicles as though its power were 2 greater.
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Parhelion II
Finisher · Token Maker
A vehicle for {6}{W}{W}. It has flying, first strike, vigilance and crew 4. Whenever it attacks, you create two 4/4 white Angel creature tokens with flying and vigilance that are attacking.

Playing the Deck

The early game is about mana and cheap crew. Gold Myr, Silver Myr, Vedalken Engineer, Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Azorius Signet and Fellwar Stone provide mana, and Etherium Sculptor, Foundry Inspector, Myrsmith and Sai, Master Thopterist are cheap artifact payoffs. Smuggler's Copter and Colossal Plow come down early and start attacking.

The middle of the game is about crewing multiple Vehicles each turn. Mobilizer Mech and Peacewalker Colossus make other Vehicles into creatures, Surgehacker Mech deals damage equal to twice the number of Vehicles when it enters, and Aerial Surveyor, Imperial Recovery Unit and Raiders' Karve gain value when they attack. Whirler Rogue, Research Thief and Thopter Spy Network add bodies and cards.

The late game is about huge flyers and a sweeper. Parhelion II, Skysovereign, Consul Flagship and Weatherlight attack in the air, Cyberdrive Awakener gives artifact creatures flying and animates noncreature artifacts, and Kappa Cannoneer grows and cannot be blocked. Cataclysmic Gearhulk and Organic Extinction reset the board, and Dance of the Manse returns artifacts from your graveyard.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths: The deck has an enormous number of artifacts that create value on their own, so it rarely runs out of resources, and its Vehicles dodge sorcery-speed removal because they are not creatures on your opponent's turn. It also has good interaction and protection: Swords to Plowshares, Generous Gift, Reality Shift, Access Denied and Dispatch.

Weaknesses: Artifact removal is a problem for a deck with so many artifacts, and the deck needs creatures to crew its Vehicles, so a sweeper or heavy creature removal slows it down. Several of its best Vehicles, such as Parhelion II, cost a lot of mana.

Want to improve it? See the Buckle Up upgrade guide: twelve swaps with the data behind each one.

Verdict
Buckle Up is a fun deck built around a popular mechanic. It rewards good sequencing with crew and artifacts, and it is a good choice for players who like Vehicles and want a deck that is easy to learn.

Want to see what a fully optimised Kotori, Pilot Prodigy build looks like? Try the Oracle.

✦ Build with The Oracle

Frequently Asked Questions

What cards are in the Buckle Up decklist?
The Buckle Up precon is a 100-card Commander deck led by Kotori, Pilot Prodigy. The full Buckle Up decklist, with every card, current prices and a button to copy the list into your deck builder, is on this page.

When was Buckle Up released?
Buckle Up was released on February 18, 2022 as part of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Commander.

Who is the commander of Buckle Up?
Buckle Up is led by Kotori, Pilot Prodigy, a Azorius (W/U) legendary creature.

How many creatures are in Buckle Up?
The 99 cards besides Kotori, Pilot Prodigy include 27 creatures.

How many lands does Buckle Up have?
Buckle Up has 37 lands in the 99 cards besides Kotori, Pilot Prodigy, including basic lands.

Full Decklist

All 100 cards from the out-of-the-box Buckle Up precon, with current prices. Click any card to expand it.

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