Overview

Energy is one of Magic's most distinctive mechanics: a private resource that accumulates across turns, invisible to opponents, and convertible into a wide range of effects. Living Energy is built around this engine, using Saheeli, Radiant Creator to generate energy and translate it into artifact tokens and powerful constructs over the course of the game.

The racing flavour of Aetherdrift maps naturally onto the deck's play style. Energy rewards efficient sequencing and thoughtful resource management. Casting Artificer and artifact spells feeds the energy pool directly, permanents dying feeds Aetherworks Marvel, and Rampaging Aetherhood and Aetherwind Basker grow from the energy you spend on them. Saheeli herself can spend that stockpiled energy to copy your best permanent for a single explosive combat. The deck rewards players who plan several turns ahead and punishes opponents who underestimate how quickly the energy total can accumulate.

Key Cards

These four cards define the deck's ceiling and represent the pieces most worth protecting and tutoring for.

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Aetherworks Marvel
Win Condition · Energy Payoff
Spend six energy to look at the top six cards of your library and cast any one of them for free. In a deck built to accumulate energy rapidly, this frequently hits a game-ending threat. One of the most powerful energy payoffs ever printed and the deck's primary win condition.
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Whirler Virtuoso
Token Generator · Energy Sink
Enters with three energy and converts three energy into a 1/1 Thopter token with flying. A reliable source of both energy and board presence, Whirler Virtuoso works at any stage of the game. Multiple copies or token doublers can generate an air force from a single energy pool.
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Aetherflux Conduit
Energy Engine · Combo Finisher
A six-mana artifact. Whenever you cast a spell, you get an amount of energy equal to the mana spent to cast it. Tap it and pay fifty energy and you draw seven cards and may cast any number of spells from your hand without paying their mana costs. It turns a long game of casting spells into a game-winning turn.
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Aetheric Amplifier
Mana Rock · Counter Doubler
A three-mana artifact that taps for one mana of any colour. For {4} and a tap, at sorcery speed, you can double the number of each kind of counter on target permanent or double each kind of counter you have, which includes energy. It is both ramp and a way to spike your energy total.

Playing the Deck

The early game is about establishing your mana base and deploying the first energy producers. Servant of the Conduit comes down early, giving you two energy and tapping for mana of any colour by paying one, and Decoction Module gets you energy whenever a creature enters. Green ramp spells accelerate into the more expensive payoffs ahead of curve.

The mid game is about chaining energy producers together. Decoction Module gets energy whenever a creature you control enters, Aethertide Whale gives you six energy when it enters, and Aetheric Amplifier can double the counters on a permanent. At the beginning of combat, Saheeli lets you pay three energy to create a temporary 5/5 artifact copy of any permanent you control, with haste, that sticks around only until your next end step, turning a spare energy stockpile into a surprise attacker for a single turn.

The late game hinges on Aetherworks Marvel or Aetherflux Conduit. Marvel digs six cards deep for the best threat in the deck and casts it for free. Aetherflux Conduit gets energy from every spell you cast, and with fifty energy it draws seven cards and lets you cast any number of spells from your hand for free, allowing the deck to close the game before opponents can respond.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths: High burst potential when Aetherworks Marvel resolves with a large energy pool. Energy is a non-standard resource that opponents cannot interact with directly; there are no spells that drain your energy total. Artifact redundancy means the deck recovers quickly after sweepers, since many pieces are individually functional and each new artifact restarts the energy accumulation.

Weaknesses: Susceptible to artifact hate. Mass artifact removal can dismantle the engine in a single card. Energy generation relies on a critical mass of synergistic pieces, meaning the deck struggles if key cards are countered or destroyed before the engine is established. Some opening hands fail to generate enough energy in the early turns to fuel the ambitious late-game plans.

Want to improve it? See the Living Energy upgrade guide: ten cheap swaps with the data behind each one.

Verdict
Living Energy is a streamlined Temur energy deck that rewards players who enjoy resource management and chaining together artifact synergies. Saheeli ties the strategy together with her ability to copy artifacts and generate additional tokens. Players who enjoyed the original Kaladesh energy mechanic will feel right at home. The deck is genuinely powerful out of the box, with a clear upgrade path that scales all the way to competitive levels by reinforcing the energy engine with higher-value individual pieces.

Want to push the energy engine further? Build a fully synergy-optimised upgrade with the Oracle.

✦ Build with The Oracle

Frequently Asked Questions

What cards are in the Living Energy decklist?
The Living Energy precon is a 100-card Commander deck led by Saheeli, Radiant Creator. The full Living Energy decklist, with every card, current prices and a button to copy the list into your deck builder, is on this page.

Who is the commander of Living Energy?
Living Energy is led by Saheeli, Radiant Creator, a blue, red and green commander.

Which set is Living Energy from?
Living Energy was released in 2025 as part of Aetherdrift Commander.

How can I upgrade Living Energy?
We have a step-by-step upgrade guide for Living Energy that lists specific cards to cut and add, with the reason for each swap.

Full Decklist

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

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