In this issue of Proxy Power Up, we’ll be taking a look at the EXTREMELY popular Veloci-ramp-tor precon commander deck led by Pantlaza, Sun-Favored. If you were one of the lucky ones that was able to snag this pre-con deck before it sold out just about everywhere – congrats! For good reason, this deck has been highly sought after and difficult to find.
Out of the box, it is already extremely powerful. That said, as is the case with most precon decks, there are a handful of cards that don’t fully fit the deck’s theme or strategy. Let’s take a look at 9 cards we would swap out and the 9 cards from our Veloci-Ramp-Tor Precon Uprade Pack that we would replace them with.
The Skullspore Nexus:Â The Skullspore Nexus can end up being REALLY cheap in the mid to late game and gives you a nice way to start finishing off opponents by doubling up the size of your big, tramping dinos! This is also really nice board wipe insurance.
Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant: This will quickly become your favorite card in the deck. Playing a hand full of big dinosaurs for “free” is about as fun as it sounds! Combine this with a haste-enabler and this becomes a sweet finisher.
Bonehoard Dracosaur:Â At first read, this card seems really strong. After a few games with it, I can say that it is even better than it reads. Bonehoard Dracosaur is not only a good-sized flyer with first strike, but the real power comes from the additional card selection + quick accumulation of 3/1 dinos and treasures to keep ramping into your HUGE game-ending spells!
Guardian Project:Â A commader staple in just about any creature-based commander deck, Guardian Project is right at home in the Veloci-Ramp-Tor precon as well.
Huatli, Poet of Unity // Roar of the Fifth People:Â Huatli, Warrior poet is definitely a card that you actively want to transform as the front side doesn’t pack much of a punch. That said, the “Roar of the Fifth People” saga on the back of this card can be game-ending and snowballs REALLY quickly!
Polyraptor: THIS is a payoff for all your enrage enablers. Get your copy tokens ready!
Gishath, Sun’s Avatar:Â Okay… THIS might become your favorite card in the deck. Haste means that this insanely powerful (and fun) effect can come out of nowhere and flood your board with dinosaurs!
Intrepid Paleontologist: A solid mana dork that helps you ramp early & then provides some recursion in the late-game, making the intrepid paleontologist a SOLID include.
Etali, Primal Conqueror // Etali, Primal Sickness: Not only do you get the “Etali effect” as an ETB instead of an attack trigger with this version of Etali, but the back side of this card (Etali, Primal Sickness) is a quick way to close out opponents with poison counters!
Pick up our Veloci-Ramp-Tor (Pantlaza) Proxy Precon Upgrade Pack HERE.
Earthshaker Dreadmaw: Colossal Dreadmaw 2.0. Memes aside, there are much better bodies for 6-mana. While the upside of drawing multiple cards could be nice, there are more consistent options for card draw available.
Savage Stomp: This is a slow, conditional removal/fight spell that you can only cast at sorcery speed. The upside isn’t high enough for the possibility of getting blown out while casting this.
Itzquinth, Firstborn of Gishath: Itzquinth, while cute, just doesn’t get it done in commander. This has been a really solid draft card for me in limited, however, the body is too small & the removal is far too conditional to be a powerful and consistent option.
Ixalli’s Lorekeeper: This deck has PLENTY of ramp (hence the name Veloci-RAMP-tor). And conditional ramp/mana fixing on an easily removable is never great. There are plenty of better options to ramp up to your big, splashy creatures!
Majestic Heliopterus: Giving one of your big Dinos flying could be a useful way to push damage through, however, there are much more efficient ways to give your large creatures evasion and/or trample to help close out games. Plus your opponents can see this coming from a mile away. At 4 mana, this is an easy cut.
Zetalpa, Primal Dawn: Zetalpa has basically become WOTC’s unofficial mascot for any commander precon that contains white. While it IS an expensive Dino, there are lots of options for more fun and powerful dinosaurs to play.
Raging Swordtooth: Raging Swordtooth may be a decent way to trigger your creature’s “enrage” effects, however, the upside isn’t worth the floor of this simply being a 5/5 for 5 with Trample.
Raging Reisaur: Similar to Raging Swordtooth, Raging Regisaur’s ceiling is a way to trigger enrage abilities on multiple turns, however, the floor on this one is an even less impressive vanilla 4/4 for 4.
Plains: Yes, I know that suggesting removing a land from a precon might be a hot take, but 39 lands in a ramp deck is simply WAY too many. In fact, with some minor upgrades to the mana base, you could probably get away with multiple cuts here. #sorrynotsorry
For affordable mana base upgrades, make sure to check out our land packs HERE.
Pick up our Veloci-Ramp-Tor (Pantlaza) Proxy Precon Upgrade Pack HERE.