ManaBuilder
    Sai, Master Thopterist
    Precon Upgrade Guide

    Keen Engineering Upgrade Guide (Foundations Commander)

    U manaReleased October 2, 2026

    Keen Engineering is a mono-blue precon led by Sai, Master Thopterist, built around casting artifacts and building a board of flying Thopters. This guide makes ten swaps totaling $47.76 to improve card access, interaction, and consistency without moving away from that artifact-token plan.

    See which upgrades you already own
    Last updated: October 20262 min read

    The full decklist

    100 cards, led by Sai, Master Thopterist.

    Commander (1)

    • 1 Sai, Master Thopterist

    Lands (40)

    • 1 Buried Ruin
    • 1 Darksteel Citadel
    • 1 Foundry of the Consuls
    • 34 Island
    • 1 Lonely Sandbar
    • 1 Remote Isle
    • 1 War Room

    Instants (6)

    • 1 Aetherize
    • 1 Counterspell
    • 1 Launch Mishap
    • 1 Negate
    • 1 Pull from Tomorrow
    • 1 Thirst for Knowledge

    Artifacts (19)

    • 1 Adaptive Omnitool
    • 1 Aether Spellbomb
    • 1 Arcane Signet
    • 1 Cultivator's Caravan
    • 1 Forsaken Monument
    • 1 Hedron Archive
    • 1 Ichor Wellspring
    • 1 Mazemind Tome
    • 1 Mind Stone
    • 1 Mind's Eye
    • 1 Misleading Signpost
    • 1 Nettlecyst
    • 1 Nevinyrral's Disk
    • 1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
    • 1 Sol Ring
    • 1 Soul-Guide Lantern
    • 1 Tamiyo's Logbook
    • 1 Thopter Fabricator
    • 1 Thought Vessel

    Creatures (29)

    • 1 Broodstar
    • 1 Chief of the Foundry
    • 1 Darksteel Juggernaut
    • 1 Duplicant
    • 1 Etherium Sculptor
    • 1 Foundry Inspector
    • 1 Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut
    • 1 Kappa Cannoneer
    • 1 Master Transmuter
    • 1 Master of Etherium
    • 1 Memory Guardian
    • 1 Meteor Golem
    • 1 Myr Battlesphere
    • 1 Myr Retriever
    • 1 Ornithopter of Paradise
    • 1 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
    • 1 Palladium Myr
    • 1 Psychosis Crawler
    • 1 Research Thief
    • 1 Scrawling Crawler
    • 1 Shimmer Dragon
    • 1 Shimmer Myr
    • 1 Silver Myr
    • 1 Spire Golem
    • 1 Steel Hellkite
    • 1 Steel Overseer
    • 1 Thought Monitor
    • 1 Vedalken Archmage
    • 1 Whirler Rogue

    Enchantments (3)

    • 1 Fall from Favor
    • 1 Propaganda
    • 1 Thopter Spy Network

    Sorceries (2)

    • 1 All Is Dust
    • 1 Thoughtcast

    What to cut / what to add

    These swaps keep Sai’s artifact-and-Thopter plan intact while putting more emphasis on card access, flexible interaction, and rebuilding after losses. The cuts aren’t all cards that lack synergy: casting Adaptive Omnitool, Tamiyo’s Logbook, Mind’s Eye, or Cultivator’s Caravan with Sai in play earns a Thopter. That’s worth giving up in those slots because the replacement package prioritizes supporting the engine over simply adding another artifact. Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut is also a commander-rewarded payoff, but its slot shifts toward finding the artifact you need rather than retaining another payoff.

    Cut

    • Adaptive Omnitool

      Adaptive Omnitool

      Make room for Skullclamp.

    • Tamiyo's Logbook

      Tamiyo's Logbook

      Make room for Urza, Lord High Artificer.

    • Mind's Eye

      Mind's Eye

      Make room for Mystic Forge.

    • Fall from Favor

      Fall from Favor

      Make room for Resculpt.

    • Launch Mishap

      Launch Mishap

      Make room for Three Steps Ahead.

    • Cultivator's Caravan

      Cultivator's Caravan

      Make room for Liquimetal Torque.

    • Memory Guardian

      Memory Guardian

      Make room for Forensic Gadgeteer.

    • Scrawling Crawler

      Scrawling Crawler

      Make room for Stridehangar Automaton.

    • Darksteel Juggernaut

      Darksteel Juggernaut

      Make room for Scrap Trawler.

    • Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut

      Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut

      Make room for Whir of Invention.

    Add

    • Skullclamp

      Skullclamp

      Skullclamp turns Sai's expendable 1/1 Thopters into two cards apiece.

    • Urza, Lord High Artificer

      Urza, Lord High Artificer

      Urza converts every artifact token into mana while adding a scalable Construct payoff.

    • Mystic Forge

      Mystic Forge

      Mystic Forge provides cheaper repeatable card access from an artifact-heavy library.

    • Resculpt

      Resculpt

      Resculpt cleanly exiles either a creature or artifact at instant speed.

    • Three Steps Ahead

      Three Steps Ahead

      Three Steps Ahead is a flexible counterspell that can also copy an artifact or filter cards.

    • Liquimetal Torque

      Liquimetal Torque

      Liquimetal Torque accelerates a turn earlier and can turn opposing permanents into artifacts.

    • Forensic Gadgeteer

      Forensic Gadgeteer

      Forensic Gadgeteer generates a Clue for every artifact cast and discounts artifact activations.

    • Stridehangar Automaton

      Stridehangar Automaton

      Stridehangar Automaton doubles down on Sai's token plan by adding Thopters and pumping them.

    • Scrap Trawler

      Scrap Trawler

      Scrap Trawler recovers sacrificed artifacts and creates a resilient recursion engine.

    • Whir of Invention

      Whir of Invention

      Graaz is a commander-rewarded artifact payoff, but Whir finds the best artifact directly at instant speed.

    Card images and card data courtesy of Scryfall. Magic: The Gathering is © Wizards of the Coast. ManaBuilder is unaffiliated with Wizards of the Coast.

    Keen Engineering FAQ

    Frequently Asked Questions

    It’s worth considering if you enjoy an artifact-heavy deck that builds a flying token board. Out of the box, Sai gives your artifact spells extra value through Thopters and lets you sacrifice two artifacts to draw a card. The upgrade priorities point to weaker spots in efficiency, flexible interaction, and sustained card access. The roughly $48 of swaps on this page address those weaknesses while keeping the same core plan.
    Sai, Master Thopterist leads the deck. Whenever you cast an artifact spell, he creates a 1/1 colorless Thopter artifact creature token with flying. You can also pay one generic and one blue mana and sacrifice two artifacts to draw a card.
    The ten additions total $47.76 at the supplied prices. Urza, Lord High Artificer is the largest individual expense at $16.18.
    Not automatically. Your Thopters are flying creatures as well as artifacts, so sacrificing them gives up board presence. Sai’s draw ability costs two artifacts and mana for one card; weigh that card against keeping your creatures available for combat.

    How to Build a Commander Deck

    Step by step: pick a commander, follow color identity, fill the quota template.