Osgir, the Reconstructor costs {2}{R}{W} and is a 4/4 Legendary Giant Artificer with vigilance. For {1} and a sacrificed artifact, a target creature you control gets +2/+0 until end of turn, and for {X} and a tap, as a sorcery, you exile an artifact card with mana value X from your graveyard to create two tokens that are copies of it. Sacrificed artifacts become two copies, so every cheap artifact doubles itself.
The precon already has the artifact payoffs and the recursion, including Ichor Wellspring, Sculpting Steel, Bronze Guardian, Daretti and Dispatch. Each swap below pairs a cut with an add, and every card is scored with the same numbers the Oracle uses to build decks: synergy and inclusion from the Osgir decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Osgir decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Lorehold Legacies precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Not enough cheap artifacts and cost reducers
Foundry Inspector, Myr Retriever, Mishra's Bauble and Soul-Guide Lantern are cheap artifacts to sacrifice and copy, and Oswald Fiddlebender and Mystic Forge turn them into better ones. They are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.
Expensive creatures and situational spells
Bosh costs eight and Hellkite Igniter seven, and the deck has 14 nonland cards at mana value six or more. Secret Rendezvous, Excavation Technique and Monologue Tax are each played in about one Osgir deck in five to eleven.
Creatures that do nothing for an artifact deck
Hoard-Smelter Dragon and Pia Nalaar are not cards Osgir, and Laelia is played in about one Osgir deck in twelve decks usually play.
The 11 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Hoard-Smelter Dragon is a six-mana 5/5 flyer that destroys artifacts. It is not a card Osgir decks usually play.
Foundry Inspector is a 3/2 Construct artifact creature for {3}. Artifact spells you cast cost {1} less. A three-drop that makes every artifact cheaper, and the highest-scoring card the precon leaves out.
Pia Nalaar is a three-mana 2/2 that makes a Thopter and can make a creature unable to block. It is not a card Osgir decks usually play.
Oswald Fiddlebender is a 2/2 Legendary Gnome Artificer for {1}{W}. For {W}, a tap and a sacrificed artifact, as a sorcery, you search your library for an artifact with mana value 1 greater and put it onto the battlefield. A two-drop that turns a cheap artifact into a better one.
Secret Rendezvous is a three-mana sorcery that makes you and an opponent each draw three cards. It is played in about one Osgir deck in eleven.
Demand Answers costs {1}{R}, with an additional cost of sacrificing an artifact or discarding a card. You draw two cards. A two-mana instant that turns an artifact into two cards.
Laelia, the Blade Reforged is a three-mana 2/2 haste creature that exiles the top card of your library each attack. It is played in about one Osgir deck in twelve.
Myr Retriever is a 1/1 Myr artifact creature for {2}. When it dies you return another target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand. A two-drop that is an artifact to sacrifice and brings another artifact back.
Unstable Obelisk is a three-mana rock that can destroy a permanent for {7}. It is played in about one Osgir deck in seventeen.
Mishra's Bauble costs {0}. For a tap and a sacrifice, you look at the top card of target player's library and draw a card at the beginning of the next turn's upkeep. A free artifact that is always ready to be sacrificed to Osgir, and it replaces itself.
Boros Locket is a three-mana rock that taps for {R} or {W} and can draw two cards. It is played in about one Osgir deck in eleven.
Mystic Forge costs {4}. You may look at the top card of your library any time and cast artifact spells and colorless spells from the top of your library, and for a tap and 1 life you exile the top card. A card engine for a deck made of artifacts.
Sanctum Gargoyle is a four-mana 2/3 flyer that returns an artifact from your graveyard to your hand. It is played in about one Osgir deck in eleven.
Zirda, the Dawnwaker is a 3/3 Legendary Elemental Fox for {1}{R/W}{R/W}. Abilities you activate that aren't mana abilities cost {2} less to activate, but not less than one mana, and for {1} and a tap target creature can't block. A three-drop that makes Osgir's abilities cost {2} less to activate.
Excavation Technique is a four-mana sorcery with demonstrate that destroys a nonland permanent. It is played in about one Osgir deck in nine.
Reckless Handling costs {1}{R}. You search your library for an artifact card, reveal it, put it into your hand, shuffle, then discard a card at random, and if an artifact card was discarded you deal 2 damage to each opponent. A two-mana tutor for an artifact in a deck of artifacts.
Bosh, Iron Golem is an eight-mana 6/7 trampler that sacrifices artifacts to deal damage. It is played in about one Osgir deck in seven.
Moonsilver Key costs {2}. For {1}, a tap and a sacrifice, you search your library for an artifact card with a mana ability or a basic land card. A two-mana artifact that finds a rock or a land and is sacrificial fuel.
Hellkite Igniter is a seven-mana 5/5 flying, haste Dragon that pumps for each artifact. It is played in about one Osgir deck in six.
Soul-Guide Lantern costs {1}. When it enters you exile target card from a graveyard, and it can be sacrificed to exile each opponent's graveyard or, for {1}, to draw a card. A one-mana artifact that is sacrificed to Osgir and replaces itself.
Monologue Tax is a three-mana enchantment that makes a Treasure when an opponent casts their second spell each turn. It is played in about one Osgir deck in five.
Pull from Eternity costs {W}. It puts target face-up exiled card into its owner's graveyard. A one-mana instant that puts the artifact Osgir exiled back into the graveyard, so it can be exiled and copied again.
The full swap list
Cut
- Hoard-Smelter Dragon
- Pia Nalaar
- Secret Rendezvous
- Laelia, the Blade Reforged
- Unstable Obelisk
- Boros Locket
- Sanctum Gargoyle
- Excavation Technique
- Bosh, Iron Golem
- Hellkite Igniter
- Monologue Tax
Add
- Foundry Inspector
- Oswald Fiddlebender
- Demand Answers
- Myr Retriever
- Mishra's Bauble
- Mystic Forge
- Zirda, the Dawnwaker
- Reckless Handling
- Moonsilver Key
- Soul-Guide Lantern
- Pull from Eternity
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Ichor Wellspring$0.28
Played in 79% of Osgir decks. Draws a card when it enters and when it dies. - Sculpting Steel$1.68
Played in 75% of Osgir decks. Enters as a copy of any artifact on the battlefield. - Bronze Guardian$0.21
Played in 70% of Osgir decks. A double striker that gives other artifacts ward {2}. - Daretti, Scrap Savant$0.84
Played in 70% of Osgir decks. Sacrifices an artifact to return another from the graveyard to the battlefield. - Dispatch$0.38
Played in 70% of Osgir decks. Taps a creature, and exiles it with three or more artifacts.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Karn, the Great Creator$3.41
A planeswalker that turns a noncreature artifact into a creature and can fetch an artifact. It costs more than a budget upgrade should. - Rings of Brighthearth$6.58
Copies Osgir's activated abilities for {2}. It costs more than a budget upgrade should.
Lorehold Legacies already has the artifact payoffs, the recursion and Osgir's copy engine. The upgrade is cheap artifacts to sacrifice and copy, plus cost reducers, in place of expensive creatures and situational spells. These eleven swaps cost about $13 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Osgir, the Reconstructor from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Lorehold Legacies precon?
Using data from 4,932 Osgir decks, the highest-scoring additions are Foundry Inspector (for Hoard-Smelter Dragon), Oswald Fiddlebender (for Pia Nalaar) and Mishra's Bauble (for Unstable Obelisk). The full list has 11 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Lorehold Legacies?
All 11 swaps cost about $12.72 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-28). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Karn, the Great Creator ($3.41) and Rings of Brighthearth ($6.58).
What should I cut from Lorehold Legacies?
The weakest cards for this commander are Hoard-Smelter Dragon, Pia Nalaar and Secret Rendezvous. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Lorehold Legacies?
Keep Ichor Wellspring, Sculpting Steel, Bronze Guardian, Daretti, Scrap Savant and Dispatch. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Osgir do?
Osgir, the Reconstructor costs {2}{R}{W} and is a 4/4 Legendary Giant Artificer with vigilance. For {1} and a sacrificed artifact, a target creature you control gets +2/+0 until end of turn, and for {X} and a tap, as a sorcery, you exile an artifact card with mana value X from your graveyard to create two tokens that are copies of it. Sacrificed artifacts become two copies, so every cheap artifact doubles itself.
More Strixhaven Commander upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Osgir, the Reconstructor decks (4,932 of them when this was written, 2026-10-28) that play the card. Synergy is how much more often they play it than other decks in the same colours. Oracle score is synergy × 0.6 plus inclusion × 0.4, the same blend The Oracle uses to rank cards for a deck. Lift compares how often the card appears in these decks with how often it could, capped at 8× here; it is shown for context and does not change the score.
Two cautions. Players who run the precon unmodified count as Osgir decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is high for many artifact cards because few decks play them outside an artifact deck, so use lift to compare cards, not to judge one in isolation. A card the commander's decks do not usually play counts as 0 in the average score. Prices are the cheapest non-foil paper printing on TCGplayer (via Scryfall), in USD, and move daily.