Was it just two months ago when Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty was released? We missed out on the Commander Deck reviews for that, but we’re back for Streets of New Capenna to cover the original annual Commander event, where 5 pre-constructed (aka precon) decks were the main highlight of the year for the legion of Commander fans around the world. We’ve just reviewed “Cabaretti Cacophony,” and now we have our second precon deck – “Obscura Operation!”

That world has changed (with Commander decks now accompanying every new Standard format release), and so has our ways of looking at them. The “Accessibility” category has been removed as lately there have been no problems with supply, no matter how popular a deck may be. “Playability” has also been renamed to “Power Level” to provide more clarity on what the category is focused on.

Power Level: How likely the deck can hold its own and win against the other recent precon decks?

Value: How good is the deck in terms of financial value of reprints, as well as future potential gain?

Upgradability: How easily can this deck be upgraded and optimised with a small budget? A high potential for upgrades will lead to better scores.

Beginner Friendliness: How easily can a beginner pick up and learn the mechanics of the deck?

And with that, our operation is a go. Let’s get right into the review!

“Obscura Operation” Preconstructed Deck

Overview

Obscura Operation relies on two mechanics for a smooth operation. The first is Connive, brand new with Streets of New Capenna, and the second stage is to give Double Strike to one of your attacking Creatures. Its Commander Kamiz, Obscura Oculus does both! Like with most other precon decks, the Commander is a rather important piece to get things moving.

Check out the full deck list!

Power Level

There are quite a few hoops to jump through before you get the most value out of Obscura Operation. First you’ll need to have your Commander Kamiz, Obscura Oculus on the Battlefield with preferably one other Creature. Kamiz can target itself to be ‘unblockable,’ so it’s best if your other Creature has some sort of evasion such as Fear or Flying.

But once you have these key assets in play, there’s plenty of reward. The Connive (draw a card, then discard a card) trigger even adds a +1/+1 counter onto Kamiz (or whomever you target) if you discard a non-Land card. The other Creature with Double Strike will either finish off a blocker or deal substantial damage to the opponent.

One problem here (and we believe it was intentionally designed this way), is that the Creature you choose to gain Double Strike cannot be the one to receive the +1/+1 counter or be made unblockable. This considerably lowers the power level of this deck. Luckily some Creatures (e.g. Cephalid Facetaker and Looter il-Kor) have built-in evasion and these are the ones you want to target to receive Double Strike.

The deck also has a number of sub-themes that you can explore if Kamiz is taken off the board. Thief of Sanity, Fallen Shinobi and Dragonlord Ojutai can all steal cards from the opponent for your own use. There’s also a few ways to reanimate any (or all) of your dead or discarded Creatures with Sun Titan, Profane Command, and Dusk // Dawn

These multiple lines of attack make Obscura Operation a deadly combination of fun and effectiveness in getting the job done.

Value

It appears that the Obscura Operation runs a tight crew, as this precon deck has some of the more valuable cards among the New Capenna precon deck.

One of the brand new cards is Smuggler’s Share, a nice ramp card for white and currently the highest priced on the market. It brings back memories of last year’s Archaeomancer’s Map that was also found in a Commander 2021 precon deck. Then we have In Too Deep, a nice control Aura that has potential because of its Split Second ability. This card could easily double in price a year from now.

The reprint value is a little lacklustre, considering there isn’t a Hellkite Tyrant like in previous precon decks. However you’ll still find this deck worth your initial outlay with cards like Silent-Blade Oni, Strionic Resonator and Swords to Plowshares, all of which will find plenty of use in many other Commander decks .

Upgradability

Much like building a Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow deck, the Obscura Operation could use with more Creatures that can’t be blocked. Changeling Outcast is a cheap favourite, and Aqueous Form is an Aura that can also clear the path for some of your bigger Creatures like Sun Titan or Dragonlord Ojutai.

Cunning Survivor is a cheap Common that can work well with the Connive ability. When you Connive and discard a card, Cunning Survivor also can’t be blocked, and incidentally can also be the Creature that is given Double Strike! Similarly, Cephalid Pathmage offers a lot of flexibility, either being unblockable itself, or Sacrificing itself for another Creature.

The new Farewell from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is a good all-round sweeper that can replaced Austere Command for the same Mana cost. Since you’ll need to watch out for the opponents’ sweeper spells as well, we would recommend adding in a Negate and take out Stolen Identity since there isn’t much here to support a copy theme.

Beginner Friendliness

The tricky business of Obscura Operation is planning how and which Creatures attack in order to trigger the Commander Kamiz’s ability. A beginner can easily make the less optimal decision if there isn’t guidance from friends or fellow players.

There are also a bunch of more complicated mechanics such as Ninjutsu that beginners will need to be careful as they navigate the Combat phase. To our surprise, the deck features quite a wide range of mechanics – Cipher, Phasing, Fear and Shadow – that are less-often seen but nothing that can’t be solved with a simple one-line explanation.

Other than that, Obscura Operation is a classic beatdown using unblockable Creatures, or those with Double Strike. The newer player will need some assistance for sure, but it wouldn’t be the most complicated precon deck to have ever graced the hands of a Magic player.

Final Verdict