Saskia the Unyielding costs {B}{R}{G}{W} and is a 3/4 Legendary Human Soldier with vigilance and haste. As Saskia enters you choose a player, and whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, it deals that much damage to the chosen player. Every creature that connects hits the chosen player a second time.

The precon already has the ramp and haste enablers, including Farseek, Iroas, God of Victory, Boros Charm, Rampant Growth and Lightning Greaves. 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 Saskia decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Saskia decks than in decks that could play it.

Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Open Hostility precon guide.

11
Swaps
$20.99
Cost of the adds
36→36
Lands
0→19
Avg Oracle score

What is holding the deck back

Not enough attackers and attack payoffs

Aurelia, the Law Above, Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate, Samut, Voice of Dissent, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar and Shanid, Sleepers' Scourge all do more when you attack. They are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.

Situational creatures and sorceries outside the lists

Ankle Shanker, Brutal Hordechief, Charging Cinderhorn, Dauntless Escort, Den Protector, Korozda Guildmage and Managorger Hydra, along with Clan Defiance, Grave Upheaval, Lavalanche and Treacherous Terrain, are not cards Saskia decks usually play.

Only a flat pool of upgrades

Saskia decks are spread across many different builds, so no single card is in most of them. The swaps below are chosen for what each card does with Saskia, not because every deck plays it.

The 11 swaps

Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.

Swap 1 of 11
Clan Defiance
Cut
Clan Defiance
Sorcery · XRG
Not a card this commander's decks usually play, so it scores below the cards that are
Cultivate
Add
Cultivate
Sorcery · 2G
Inclusion44%
Synergy9%
Lift1.3×
Oracle score 23

Clan Defiance is a sorcery with X damage modes. It is not a card Saskia decks usually play.

Cultivate costs {2}{G}. It puts a basic land onto the battlefield tapped and another into your hand. A three-mana ramp spell that fixes four colours.

Swap 2 of 11
Grave Upheaval
Cut
Grave Upheaval
Sorcery · 4BR
Not a card this commander's decks usually play, so it scores below the cards that are
Aurelia, the Law Above
Add
Aurelia, the Law Above
Legendary Creature — Angel · 3RW
Inclusion26%
Synergy12%
Lift1.8×
Oracle score 18

Grave Upheaval is a six-mana sorcery that reanimates a creature from any graveyard, and it has basic landcycling {2}. It is not a card Saskia decks usually play.

Aurelia, the Law Above is a 4/4 Legendary Angel for {3}{R}{W} with flying, vigilance and haste. Whenever a player attacks with three or more creatures you draw a card, and whenever a player attacks with five or more you deal 3 damage to each of your opponents and gain 3 life. A hasty five-drop that draws when you attack with a team.

Swap 3 of 11
Treacherous Terrain
Cut
Treacherous Terrain
Sorcery · 6RG
Not a card this commander's decks usually play, so it scores below the cards that are
Shanid, Sleepers' Scourge
Add
Shanid, Sleepers' Scourge
Legendary Creature — Human Knight · 1RWB
Inclusion24%
Synergy11%
Lift1.8×
Oracle score 16

Treacherous Terrain is an eight-mana sorcery that deals damage equal to each opponent's lands, and it has basic landcycling {2}. It is not a card Saskia decks usually play.

Shanid, Sleepers' Scourge is a 2/4 Legendary Human Knight for {1}{R}{W}{B} with menace. Other legendary creatures you control have menace, and whenever you play a legendary land or cast a legendary spell, you draw a card and lose 1 life. A four-drop that gives Saskia menace and draws when you cast legendary spells.

Swap 4 of 11
Lavalanche
Cut
Lavalanche
Sorcery · XBRG
Not a card this commander's decks usually play, so it scores below the cards that are
Annie Joins Up
Add
Annie Joins Up
Legendary Enchantment · 1RGW
Inclusion31%
Synergy9%
Lift1.4×
Oracle score 18

Lavalanche is a sorcery that deals X damage to a player and each of their creatures. It is not a card Saskia decks usually play.

Annie Joins Up is a Legendary Enchantment for {1}{R}{G}{W}. When it enters it deals 5 damage to target creature or planeswalker an opponent controls, and if a triggered ability of a legendary creature you control triggers, that ability triggers an additional time. A four-mana removal spell that also doubles Saskia's trigger.

Swap 5 of 11
Ankle Shanker
Cut
Ankle Shanker
Creature — Goblin Berserker · 2RWB
Not a card this commander's decks usually play, so it scores below the cards that are
Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate
Add
Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate
Legendary Creature — Human Warrior · 1BR
Inclusion31%
Synergy13%
Lift1.8×
Oracle score 20

Ankle Shanker is a five-mana 2/2 haste creature that gives first strike and deathtouch to attackers. It is not a card Saskia decks usually play.

Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate is a 2/2 Legendary Human Warrior for {1}{B}{R} with first strike. Whenever it attacks it gets a +1/+1 counter, and at the beginning of your end step, if you attacked, you return a creature card with mana value less than or equal to its power from your graveyard to the battlefield. A three-drop that grows each attack and brings creatures back.

Swap 6 of 11
Brutal Hordechief
Cut
Brutal Hordechief
Creature — Orc Warrior · 3B
Not a card this commander's decks usually play, so it scores below the cards that are
Samut, Voice of Dissent
Add
Samut, Voice of Dissent
Legendary Creature — Human Warrior · 3RG
Inclusion30%
Synergy14%
Lift1.9×
Oracle score 20

Brutal Hordechief is a four-mana 3/3 that drains whenever a creature attacks. It is not a card Saskia decks usually play.

Samut, Voice of Dissent is a 3/4 Legendary Human Warrior for {3}{R}{G} with flash, double strike, vigilance and haste. Other creatures you control have haste, and for {W} and a tap you untap another target creature. A five-drop that gives the whole team haste, and its double strike hits Saskia's trigger twice.

Swap 7 of 11
Charging Cinderhorn
Cut
Charging Cinderhorn
Creature — Elemental Ox · 3R
Not a card this commander's decks usually play, so it scores below the cards that are
Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
Add
Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
Legendary Creature — Human Knight · 1WW
Inclusion29%
Synergy11%
Lift1.6×
Oracle score 18

Charging Cinderhorn is a four-mana 4/2 haste creature that punishes players who don't attack. It is not a card Saskia decks usually play.

Adeline, Resplendent Cathar is a Legendary Human Knight for {1}{W}{W} with vigilance, whose power equals the number of creatures you control. Whenever you attack, for each opponent, you create a 1/1 white Human token that's tapped and attacking. A three-drop that adds an attacker every turn.

Swap 8 of 11
Dauntless Escort
Cut
Dauntless Escort
Creature — Rhino Soldier · 1GW
Not a card this commander's decks usually play, so it scores below the cards that are
General's Enforcer
Add
General's Enforcer
Creature — Human Soldier · WB
Inclusion24%
Synergy11%
Lift1.9×
Oracle score 17

Dauntless Escort is a three-mana 3/3 that can sacrifice itself to give your creatures indestructible. It is not a card Saskia decks usually play.

General's Enforcer is a 2/3 Human Soldier for {W}{B}. Legendary Humans you control have indestructible, and for {2}{W}{B} you exile a card from a graveyard and, if it was a creature card, create a 1/1 Human Soldier token. A two-drop that makes Saskia, a Legendary Human, indestructible.

Swap 9 of 11
Den Protector
Cut
Den Protector
Creature — Human Warrior · 1G
Not a card this commander's decks usually play, so it scores below the cards that are
Isshin, Two Heavens as One
Add
Isshin, Two Heavens as One
Legendary Creature — Human Samurai · RWB
Inclusion27%
Synergy12%
Lift1.7×
Oracle score 18

Den Protector is a two-mana 2/1 with megamorph. It is not a card Saskia decks usually play.

Isshin, Two Heavens as One is a 3/4 Legendary Human Samurai for {R}{W}{B}. If a creature attacking causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time. A three-drop that doubles your attack triggers, such as Aurelia's.

Swap 10 of 11
Korozda Guildmage
Cut
Korozda Guildmage
Creature — Elf Shaman · BG
Not a card this commander's decks usually play, so it scores below the cards that are
Odric, Lunarch Marshal
Add
Odric, Lunarch Marshal
Legendary Creature — Human Soldier · 3W
Inclusion25%
Synergy11%
Lift1.8×
Oracle score 16

Korozda Guildmage is a two-mana 2/2 with two activated abilities. It is not a card Saskia decks usually play.

Odric, Lunarch Marshal is a 3/3 Legendary Human Soldier for {3}{W}. At the beginning of each combat, creatures you control gain each keyword, such as first strike, haste or menace, that a creature you control already has. A four-drop that spreads Saskia's vigilance and haste to the whole team.

Swap 11 of 11
Managorger Hydra
Cut
Managorger Hydra
Creature — Hydra · 2G
Not a card this commander's decks usually play, so it scores below the cards that are
Rhythm of the Wild
Add
Rhythm of the Wild
Enchantment · 1RG
Inclusion47%
Synergy16%
Lift1.5×
Oracle score 29

Managorger Hydra is a three-mana trampler that grows whenever any player casts a spell. It is not a card Saskia decks usually play.

Rhythm of the Wild costs {1}{R}{G}. Creature spells you control can't be countered, and nontoken creatures you control have riot, so each enters with a +1/+1 counter or haste. A three-mana enchantment that gives every creature haste.

The full swap list

Cut

  • Clan Defiance
  • Grave Upheaval
  • Treacherous Terrain
  • Lavalanche
  • Ankle Shanker
  • Brutal Hordechief
  • Charging Cinderhorn
  • Dauntless Escort
  • Den Protector
  • Korozda Guildmage
  • Managorger Hydra

Add

  • Cultivate
  • Aurelia, the Law Above
  • Shanid, Sleepers' Scourge
  • Annie Joins Up
  • Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate
  • Samut, Voice of Dissent
  • Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
  • General's Enforcer
  • Isshin, Two Heavens as One
  • Odric, Lunarch Marshal
  • Rhythm of the Wild

What to keep

These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.

If you want to spend more

These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.

The verdict

Open Hostility already has the ramp, the haste enablers and Saskia's damage redirection. The upgrade is cheap attackers and attack payoffs, in place of situational creatures and sorceries that Saskia decks leave out. These eleven swaps cost about $21 in total.

Want a full 100-card list built around Saskia the Unyielding from today's data?

Build with The Oracle →

Frequently asked questions

What are the best upgrades for the Open Hostility precon?

Using data from 8,279 Saskia the Unyielding decks, the highest-scoring additions are Rhythm of the Wild (for Managorger Hydra), Cultivate (for Clan Defiance) and Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate (for Ankle Shanker). The full list has 11 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.

How much does it cost to upgrade Open Hostility?

All 11 swaps cost about $20.99 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-28). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Aurelia, the Warleader ($2.72) and Gisela, Blade of Goldnight ($5.51).

What should I cut from Open Hostility?

The weakest cards for this commander are Clan Defiance, Grave Upheaval and Treacherous Terrain. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.

Which cards should I keep in Open Hostility?

Keep Farseek, Sol Ring, Iroas, God of Victory, Boros Charm and Rampant Growth. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.

What does Saskia the Unyielding do?

Saskia the Unyielding costs {B}{R}{G}{W} and is a 3/4 Legendary Human Soldier with vigilance and haste. As Saskia enters you choose a player, and whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, it deals that much damage to the chosen player. Every creature that connects hits the chosen player a second time.

More Commander 2016 upgrade guides

All precon upgrade guides

How the numbers work

Inclusion is the share of Saskia the Unyielding decks (8,279 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 Saskia the Unyielding decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift stays low for these cards because most of them are played in many decks, so use inclusion and synergy to compare cards, not lift. 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.