Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas costs {2}{R}{W} and is a 3/3 Legendary Giant Soldier with double strike and vigilance. Whenever you cast a creature spell with mana value 5 or greater you get an experience counter, and Kalemne gets +1/+1 for each experience counter you have. Every big Giant you cast makes Kalemne bigger.
The precon already has the Giant lords and the big finishers, including Sunrise Sovereign, Borderland Behemoth, Stinkdrinker Daredevil, Hamletback Goliath, Inferno Titan and Sun Titan. 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 Kalemne decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Kalemne decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Wade into Battle precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Not enough Giants and Giant payoffs
Calamity Bearer, Realm-Cloaked Giant, Quakebringer, Giant Harbinger, Boldwyr Aggressor and Grasping Giant are Giants or double the damage Giants deal. They are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.
Dragons and enchantments outside the lists
Dawnglare Invoker, Dream Pillager, Fumiko the Lowblood, Hostility, Hunted Dragon and Sandstone Oracle are not cards Kalemne, and the precon's enchantments and artifacts that remain, such as Curse of the Nightly Hunt, Rite of the Raging Storm and Seer's Sundial, score low decks usually play.
Few Giant removal spells
Crush Underfoot and Squash turn any Giant into removal, and Squash costs only two mana when you control one.
The 12 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Dawnglare Invoker is a three-mana 2/1 flyer with an eight-mana ability. It is not a card Kalemne decks usually play.
Calamity Bearer is a 3/4 Giant Berserker for {2}{R}{R}. If a Giant source you control would deal damage to a permanent or player, it deals double that damage instead. A four-drop Giant that doubles the damage from every Giant, and the highest-scoring creature the precon leaves out.
Dream Pillager is a seven-mana 4/4 flying Dragon. It is not a card Kalemne decks usually play.
Realm-Cloaked Giant is a 7/7 Giant for {5}{W}{W} with vigilance, and its adventure Cast Off costs {3}{W}{W} and destroys all non-Giant creatures. A seven-drop Giant that is also a sweeper that spares your Giants.
Fumiko the Lowblood is a four-mana 3/2 Legendary Human Samurai that forces opponents to attack. It is not a card Kalemne decks usually play.
Quakebringer is a 5/4 Giant Berserker for {3}{R}{R} with foretell {2}{R}{R}. Your opponents can't gain life, and at the beginning of your upkeep it deals 2 damage to each opponent. A five-drop Giant that pings every turn, even from the graveyard if you control a Giant.
Hostility is a six-mana 6/6 haste creature that turns your spell damage into Elementals. It is not a card Kalemne decks usually play.
Giant Harbinger is a 3/4 Giant Shaman for {4}{R}. When it enters you may search your library for a Giant card, reveal it, then shuffle and put it on top. A five-drop Giant that finds your next Giant.
Hunted Dragon is a five-mana 6/6 flying, haste Dragon that gives an opponent three Knights. It is not a card Kalemne decks usually play.
Boldwyr Aggressor is a 2/5 Giant Warrior for {3}{R}{R} with double strike. Other Giants you control have double strike. A five-drop Giant that gives every other Giant double strike.
Sandstone Oracle is a seven-mana 4/4 flying artifact creature. It is not a card Kalemne decks usually play.
Crush Underfoot is a Kindred Instant — Giant for {1}{R}. You choose a Giant creature you control, and it deals damage equal to its power to target creature. A two-mana instant that turns any Giant into removal.
Curse of the Nightly Hunt is a three-mana Aura Curse that forces a player's creatures to attack. It scores 6 in the data.
Squash costs {4}{R}, or {1}{R} if you control a Giant. It deals 6 damage to target creature or planeswalker. A cheap instant removal spell for a deck full of Giants.
Rite of the Raging Storm is a five-mana enchantment that gives every player a 5/1 Lightning Rager each upkeep. It scores 8 in the data.
Surtland Flinger is a 4/6 Giant Berserker for {3}{R}{R}. Whenever it attacks, you may sacrifice another creature, and when you do it deals damage equal to that creature's power to any target, doubled if the sacrificed creature was a Giant. A five-drop Giant that turns a spare creature into damage.
Breath of Darigaaz is a two-mana sorcery that deals 1 damage, or 4 with kicker, to each creature without flying and each player. It scores 9 in the data.
Swathcutter Giant is a 5/5 Giant Soldier for {4}{R}{W} with vigilance. Whenever it attacks, it deals 1 damage to each creature defending player controls. A six-drop Giant in exactly Kalemne's colours that chips the whole opposing board.
Meteor Blast is a sorcery that deals 4 damage to each of X targets. It scores 10 in the data.
Grasping Giant is a 5/7 Giant for {5}{W} with vigilance. Whenever it becomes blocked by a creature, you exile that creature until Grasping Giant leaves the battlefield. A six-drop Giant that removes any blocker.
Seer's Sundial is a four-mana artifact that draws on landfall for {2}. It scores 11 in the data.
Oathsworn Giant is a 3/4 Giant Soldier for {4}{W}{W} with vigilance. Other creatures you control get +0/+2 and have vigilance. A six-drop Giant that gives your whole team extra toughness.
Herald of the Host is a five-mana 4/4 flying, vigilance Angel with myriad. It scores 11 in the data.
Curious Colossus is a 7/7 Giant Warrior for {5}{W}{W}. When it enters, each creature target opponent controls loses all abilities, becomes a Coward in addition to its other types, and has base power and toughness 1/1. A seven-drop Giant that shrinks the entire opposing board.
The full swap list
Cut
- Dawnglare Invoker
- Dream Pillager
- Fumiko the Lowblood
- Hostility
- Hunted Dragon
- Sandstone Oracle
- Curse of the Nightly Hunt
- Rite of the Raging Storm
- Breath of Darigaaz
- Meteor Blast
- Seer's Sundial
- Herald of the Host
Add
- Calamity Bearer
- Realm-Cloaked Giant
- Quakebringer
- Giant Harbinger
- Boldwyr Aggressor
- Crush Underfoot
- Squash
- Surtland Flinger
- Swathcutter Giant
- Grasping Giant
- Oathsworn Giant
- Curious Colossus
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Sunrise Sovereign$0.49
Played in 75% of Kalemne decks. Gives other Giants +2/+2 and trample. - Borderland Behemoth$0.39
Played in 69% of Kalemne decks. Gets +4/+4 for each other Giant you control. - Stinkdrinker Daredevil$0.20
Played in 69% of Kalemne decks. Makes Giant spells cost {2} less. - Hamletback Goliath$0.20
Played in 66% of Kalemne decks. Grows whenever another creature enters. - Inferno Titan$0.26
Played in 65% of Kalemne decks. Deals 3 damage divided among up to three targets when it enters or attacks.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Stonehewer Giant$7.66
A five-mana Giant that fetches an Equipment and attaches it to a creature. It costs more than a budget upgrade should. - Aurelia, the Warleader$2.72
A six-mana flying, vigilance, haste Angel that untaps your creatures and adds an extra combat phase. It costs more than a budget upgrade should.
Wade into Battle already has the Giant lords, the big finishers and Kalemne's experience counters. The upgrade is cheap Giants and Giant payoffs, in place of off-plan dragons, enchantments and high-cost creatures that Kalemne decks leave out. These twelve swaps cost about $5 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Wade into Battle precon?
Using data from 1,045 Kalemne decks, the highest-scoring additions are Realm-Cloaked Giant (for Dream Pillager), Calamity Bearer (for Dawnglare Invoker) and Quakebringer (for Fumiko the Lowblood). The full list has 12 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Wade into Battle?
All 12 swaps cost about $4.70 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-28). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Stonehewer Giant ($7.66) and Aurelia, the Warleader ($2.72).
What should I cut from Wade into Battle?
The weakest cards for this commander are Dawnglare Invoker, Dream Pillager and Fumiko the Lowblood. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Wade into Battle?
Keep Sunrise Sovereign, Borderland Behemoth, Stinkdrinker Daredevil, Hamletback Goliath and Inferno Titan. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Kalemne do?
Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas costs {2}{R}{W} and is a 3/3 Legendary Giant Soldier with double strike and vigilance. Whenever you cast a creature spell with mana value 5 or greater you get an experience counter, and Kalemne gets +1/+1 for each experience counter you have. Every big Giant you cast makes Kalemne bigger.
More Commander 2015 upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas decks (1,045 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 Kalemne decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is very high for many Giant cards because almost no decks play them outside a Giants 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.