Introduction
The best upgrades for MTG Divine Convocation deck will help you boost the power level of this incredible March of the Machine deck. March of the Machine, the climax of the long-running Phyrexia arc, will release alongside five Commander decks.
Like all Commander precon decks, these are ready to play right out of the box but there’s also a lot of room to optimize and improve them.
This article will focus on how to improve Divine Convocation, the Jeskai deck built around the Convoke mechanic.
The Game Plan
Divine Convocation’s Commander Kasla, the Broken Halo makes the deck’s game plan abundantly clear. Kasla is a six mana 5/4 Angel Ally with Flying, Haste, and Vigilance in Jeskai colors. Kasla has Convoke and also rewards you for casting other cards with Convoke by allowing you to Scry 2 and then draw a card.
This Commander screams “play a lot of cards with convoke” about as loudly as possible. The deck is packed full of Convoke cards like Hour of Reckoning and Seraph of the Masses. As a reminder, Convoke is an ability that allows you to tap down creatures in play to have them generate one mana of a color in their identity to help pay the cost of the card with Convoke.
This means that the deck also wants to go very wide and generate a lot of tokens so that there are lots of creatures in play to pay Convoke costs with. Cards like Secure the Wastes and Nadir Kraken rapidly pump out creature tokens to assist with this.
For players not so keen on Kasla, the Broken Halo, the deck also contains two sub-commanders that can be used as alternatives. Saint Traft and Rem Karolus is a three mana 3/4 that generates an increasingly powerful series of tokens whenever it is tapped down. The card also untaps itself whenever it is tapped down to pay a Convoke cost. This card is an ideal Convoke enabler, as it can generate mana of any of the deck’s three colors and also rewards you with tokens that can be used to either attack or pay future Convoke costs.
Kykar, Wind’s Fury was originally printed in Core Set 2020 but has been put into this deck as a potential replacement commander. Kykar is a 4 mana Jeskai 3/3 Flying Bird Wizard. Whenever Kykar’s controller casts a non-creature spell, Kykar creates a 1/1 flying spirit token. These tokens can be sacrificed to generate Red mana, but in this deck it is probably better to use them to Convoke. Kykar is a good inclusion in this deck, but it’s probably better to keep it out of the Command Zone as Kasla, the Broken Halo, and Saint Traft and Rem Karolus are much more directly aligned with the deck’s strategy.Budget Upgrades for MTG Divine Convocation deck
Zephyr Singer
Zephyr Singer is a new card released in March of the Machine which seems tailor made to go in this deck. This Siren Pirate is a 3/4 vigilant flyer with Convoke, that gives every creature that Convoked it a Flying Counter. Zephyr Singer’s ability to lift the creatures that pay for it up into the air is certain to come in handy, and give relevance to a group of less impactful creatures. The fact that this card has Vigilance also means that it can attack and then later be used Convoke something itself.
Knight-Errant of Eos
Knight-Errant of Eos is another new March of the Machine card that was seemingly designed for this deck and then not put into it. The Knight Errant searches the top six cards of your deck for two creatures with mana value X or less, where X is the number of creatures that convoked it. This is a pretty good effect that keeps your hand loaded with creatures and your momentum rumbling along as the game continues.
Tilonalli’s Summoner
While possibly a slightly gimmicky card, that takes a little while to get going, there are few token generators more fun than Tilonalli’s Summoner. A two mana 1/1 that allows you to pay red and X in order to generate X attacking 1/1 Red elemental tokens whenever it attacks. If you don’t have 10 permanents in play, these tokens are exiled at the end of turn, but considering the tokens include themselves and lands in this count this is rarely an issue. In a best case scenario, Tiolnalli’s Summoner acts as a, slower, color-shifted copy of Secure the Wastes. Even in a worst case scenario, this card forces an opponent to waste a removal spell on a 1/1. Using Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive to Make Tilonalli’s Summoner, and the tokens it generates, unblockable is a recipe for fun.
Finale of Glory
Divine Convocation needs lots of creature tokens in play to generate as much mana as possible via Convoke. The deck already has several tools to achieve this such as Secure the Wastes and Path of the Ghosthunter. Finale of Glory is another tool that can accomplish this. Granting Finale of Glory Convoke through cards like Wand of the Worldsoul also turns it into a win condition, as it makes it much easier to reach the 12 mana required to use the card to generate Angel tokens.
Felhide Spiritbinder
Inspired is a, largely forgotten, mechanic from the set Born of the Gods, which happens to synergize excellently with Convoke. Cards with Inspired have a beneficial effect that activates whenever they are untapped. Cards with Convoke allow Inspired cards to get tapped down without needing to attack and put themselves in danger. There are several cards with Inspired that fit nicely into this deck, but Felhide Spiritbinder is possibly the most interesting of them. When Felhide Spiritbinder becomes untapped, its controller can pay two mana in order to generate a hasty enchantment clone token of a creature in play that is exiled at the end of turn. In other words, Felhide Spiritbinder can be tapped down in order to Convoke out a creature like Flockchaser Phantom on one turn and then generate a clone copy of it on the next turn.
Upgrades
Bennie Bracks, Zoologist
Bennie Bracks, Zoologist is a card that does everything that this deck wants. The card has Convoke, the deck’s central mechanic, and it also rewards you for generating tokens, the deck’s most prominent sub-theme. Although a bit expensive, Bennie Bracks is an incredibly synergistic addition to this deck.
Intruder Alarm
Intruder Alarm is an infamous combo enabler that is used in many busted strategies. Divine Convocation, like many decks before it, can make good use of Intruder Alarm. Intruder Alarm prevents creatures from untapping during their controller’s untap step, but instead causes every creature in play to untap when a new creature enters play. Having Intruder Alarm in play means that, once you’ve built up a large enough board state, creatures with a high mana value and convoke can functionally be cast for free. Using all of your lands and all of your creatures to cast Wildfire Awakener, Intruder will then untap all of your creatures, enabling them to be used again to cast something like Seraph of the Masses which will then untap them all ready to be used again. This works particularly well in conjunction with a haste enabler like Ogre Battledriver
Clever Concealment
Once you’ve built up a huge board of creatures, it is important that you’re able to protect it. Clever Concealment offers you the ability to do just that, whilst also being a Convoke spell that synergizes with this deck’s strategy. Phase your creatures out when an opponent plays a board wipe and, when your turn comes around again, you’ll be the only player in town with a decent set of creatures.
Divine Visitation
Many of the tokens generated by cards in this deck are small 1/1s like those generated by Elspeth, Sun’s Champion, and Secure the Waste. The ability to turn the large number of unthreatening 1/1s that are generated by these effects into formidable 4/4 Vigilant flyers should never be underestimated, and Divine Visitation makes a great inclusion in any token-based deck.
City on Fire
City on Fire provides the same damage-tripling effect as Fiery Emancipation but with Convoke . Although two mana more expensive than its Core Set 2021 counterpart, in this deck you’ll be able to get City on Fire out far sooner than you would Fiery Emancipation. City on Fire is also, currently at least, far cheaper than Emancipation. With your damage output tripled, it won’t take long for you to close out the game, although be wary of Reclamation Sages and other effects that destroy Enchantments.Cards To Cut to Upgrade MTG Divine Convocation deck
Wrenn’s Resolve
Just what Wrenn’s Resolve is doing in this deck is a mystery. It’s a random Common self-exile spell from March of the Machine which doesn’t really have anything to do with this deck or its game plan. Swap it for Winged Words which will just outright draw you two cards, rather than exiling them, for the exact same cost if you have your Commander in play.
Flight of Equenauts
Although Flight of Equenauts is a Convoke card, it’s a really bad one. Eight mana to get a 4/5 flyer that has no other effects is an awful deal. Even though many cards in this deck reward you when they are tapped down, you would be much better off using them to Convoke something worthwhile rather than this steaming pile of pegasi.
Goblin Instigator
While this deck does really love creating lots of small creature tokens, spending two mana for two 1/1 tokens just isn’t impactful enough in Commander. Goblin Instigator should be cut straight away.
Shatter the Source
Another Common from March of the Machine which was just shoved into the deck. While Shatter the Source does fit into this deck much better than Wrenn’s Resolve, as it has Convoke, it is still simply an awful card. For six mana this card either deals six damage to a non-player target or it destroys an artifact. If this card could do both of these things at once it might be passable, as it stands there are significantly better things to sink six mana into.
Fractured Powerstone
This card is in all five of the March of the Machine Commander decks in order to encourage players to make use of Planechase mechanics. While this card is bad in all five of the decks, it is particularly bad in Divine Convocation. Your Convoke deck would rather spend two mana to cast a creature spell than this. A two-drop creature provides a relevant board presence, and can be tapped down to generate colored mana for Convoke spells. In contrast, this Mana Rock cannot generate colored mana and does nothing to effect the board.
Conclusion
For players looking to go very wide and then slam out some huge spells, Divine Convocation is an ideal choice. The deck does have some powerful reprints, but it’s best to cut the duds like Fractured Powerstone and Flight of Equenauts before bringing it to the table.
Read more: Best Upgrades for MTG Rebellion Rising Deck
