Upgrading Commander Precon: Silverquill Influence (Killian, Decisive Mentor)

One of the coolest things about Secrets of Strixhaven is how some color combinations got new strategies. We got a Quintorius, History Chaser Boros precon centered around discards, tokens, and reanimates (click here to see more about Lorehold Spirit) and a Killian, Decisive Mentor Orzhov list that is quite unusual, as it isn't centered around Aristocrats like the other Orzhov Commander lists. Instead, it features some pretty heavy board politics.

In this article, we'll show you how to upgrade it and an alternative upgraded list for Scriv, the Obligator, our alternative commander.

Killian Lu is a Silverquill magic student as well as the son of Silverquill's Dean, Embrose, Dean of Shadow. Known for his strong will, he conquered the hearts of his colleagues and the rest of the school staff.

In the past, we got Killian as Killian, Ink Duelist, which is excellent in Orzhov lists centered around auras.

Time went on, and this young magic student evolved considerably. As Killian, Decisive Mentor, he forces each Commander pod to interact more by goading creatures. He can also clear a path for attacks whenever you want by tapping them.

When one or more aura-enchanted creatures you control attack, Killian also rewards you with an extra card.

Killian's alternative commander is Scriv, the Obligator, an Inkling Bird with flying and deathtouch.

Scriv involves even more board politics than Killian. It creates Contract tokens when it comes into play or attacks. These tokens are auras and give enchanted creatures +2/+0 when they attack. If that creature doesn't attack, their controller loses 2 life.

When you open your box, this is what you'll find:

This Killian list follows the same steps as his mentor, Breena, the Demagogue. It plays cards that give you a lot of value if your opponents don't attack you. The idea behind it is to pit your opponents against each other until you build a board that can end the game.

Let's start with the cards that goad and make your opponents attack each other.

Goading Creatures and Setting Up Combat

Silverquill mages are known for using their words as weapons and pitting their opponents against each other. They're very fun.

We can highlight Coercive Impetus out of these cards because it rewards you with an extra card when the creature you enchant with it (and goads) attacks. Ghoulish Impetus comes back into play in the next end step when the creature enchanted with it dies, so it's recursion even for your creatures.

This list plays cards that encourage the rest of the board to attack each other, sure, but it also plays cards that protect you.

Eriette of the Charmed Apple, for instance, is a pretty welcome way to drain life, but it also makes sure creatures you control enchanted with auras won't attack you or your planeswalkers.

As for Nils, Discipline Enforcer, it lets players put +1/+1 counters on creatures they control in your end step. Afterward, it works like a Ghostly Prison, as it forces your opponents to pay a tax to attack you.

In this case, the tax is equal to the number of counters on that creature.

Cards We Added

Sphere of Safety is critical in any deck centered around enchantments. It nerfs enemy creatures according to the number of enchantments under your control, after all.

Kaya's Ghostform protects your creatures and planeswalkers, as it returns them into play when they die or are exiled. Haystack can save one of your creatures from removals by phasing it out.

Nowhere to Run, one of my favorite Duskmourn cards, enters play with flash and disables hexproof and ward, so you can just target whatever you want.

Furthermore, it also gives an enemy creature -3/-3 until the end of the turn when it enters.

Cards We Removed

Combat Calligrapher is another creature that protects you from attacks, but only against other Inklings. As if to make up for this, it also creates a tapped, attacking 2/1 Inkling token for your opponents when they decide to attack someone besides you.

It's a great way to lean on board politics, but we can use better cards in its place.

Buffs

Besides goading creatures, this deck also plays several buffs to make your cards stronger.

Most of the community really liked to see Sheltered by Ghosts being reprinted, and we can say with absolute certainty that it is one of the most powerful auras in this list. It exiles an enemy non-land permanent for as long as it stays in play and also gives the creature enchanted with it +1/+0, lifelink, and ward 2.

Another relevant reprint is Eldrazi Conscription, a powerful card that gives the creature enchanted with it +10/+10 and annihilator 2.

Cards We Added

Auras are usually quite cheap mana-wise, so you'll probably play more than one per turn with this spell. This makes Tempest Technique pretty great, as it has storm, and you can copy it for each spell you cast that turn.

All That Glitters and Ethereal Armor are similar, as they both buff a card by +1/+1 for each enchantment you control.

Cards We Removed

Card Draw

Commanders that draw cards are always welcome, but Killian still needs a little push to keep your hand full at all times and give you enough resources.

An Angelic Destiny is always relevant when it hits the board.

Herald of Amity also stands out because it enters play and immediately lets you get an aura from the top 8 cards in your deck and cast it for free. It also buffs itself according to the number of auras under your control.

You can cast Eidolon of Countless Battles as a creature or, through bestow, as an aura. It also gives itself and something else +1/+1 based on the number of auras and creatures under your control.

Cards We Added

This card is a real staple in enchantment decks. It fits this Killian list like a glove.

Cards We Removed

Recursion

Besides the controversial and coveted Eiganjo Dynastorian, this deck plays cards like:

Cards We Added

Luckily for us, there are many great white support cards to get your enchantments back, and there are many great black support cards to get your creatures back.

Ghostly Dancers returns an enchantment from your graveyard to your hand and also fills your board with 3/1 flying Spirits whenever an enchantment enters play under your control.

As for Sevinne's Reclamation, it became essential in any list that isn't heavy mana-wise because it returns into play any permanent that costs 3 mana or less.

Cards We Removed

Fog spells are always fun, but they are a bit expensive (5 mana), cool as they may be.

Other Additions

Enchantments are everywhere, and there are many cards that interact with them in different ways that we could add to this list.

With Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice, you'll get auras and put them directly on your board. Besides this card, we also recommend you play useful lands like Vault of the Archangel, Hall of Heliod's Generosity, and Godless Shrine.

Cards We Removed

With Scriv, the Obligator as your commander, you can take advantage of a few cards we suggested for this Killian upgrade, like All That Glitters, Ethereal Armor, and Sphere of Safety, which actually create more value with Scriv.

As this Inkling Bird creates Contract tokens when it enters play or attacks, we added a few blink spells, like Conjurer's Closet and Teleportation Circle. We also added a few other cards that double ETB effects, like Delney, Streetwise Lookout and Panharmonicon.

Silverquill Influence might not be the fastest precon in this set, but don't think this makes it weak, vulnerable, or fragile compared to the others. This deck should be a lot of fun and give you interactive matches centered around power dynamics!

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!