Counter Intelligence Precon Upgrade Guide: Inspirit, Flagship Vessel
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Counter Intelligence
- Commander
- Inspirit, Flagship Vessel
- Colors
- White, Blue, Red
- Released
- 1 August 2025
- Card value
- ≈ $66.69
- Key cards
- Swan Song, Ripples of Potential, Phyrexian Metamorph
Counter Intelligence is the Jeskai (white, blue, red) precon from Edge of Eternities Commander, led by the Spacecraft Inspirit, Flagship Vessel. Once you station it with at least one charge counter, Inspirit puts a +1/+1 counter or two charge counters on another artifact at the start of each of your combats, and the deck proliferates those counters to power engines like Darksteel Reactor, Titan Forge and Lux Cannon. At 8+ charge counters, Inspirit becomes a flying 5/5 and your other artifacts gain hexproof and indestructible.
Below you’ll find the full interactive decklist, what the deck does well, where it struggles and our recommended upgrades, split into budget ($4.66), mid-range ($28.38) and premium ($160.70). Start with the cheapest swaps and work your way up.
The decklist
Commander (1)
Creatures (25)
- 1Alibou, Ancient Witness$0.26
- 1Angel of the Ruins$0.34
- 1Chrome Host Seedshark$0.28
- 1Coretapper$0.28
- 1Crystalline Crawler$0.28
- 1Cyberdrive Awakener$1.69
- 1Deepglow Skate$0.35
- 1Depthshaker Titan$0.25
- 1Emry, Lurker of the Loch$0.66
- 1Enthusiastic Mechanaut$0.23
- 1Etched Oracle$0.26
- 1Etherium Sculptor$0.74
- 1Hangarback Walker$0.25
- 1Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain$0.45
- 1Kappa Cannoneer$0.40
- 1Kilo, Apogee Mind$1.48
- 1Mindless Automaton$0.30
- 1Patrolling Peacemaker$0.96
- 1Phyrexian Metamorph$2.32
- 1Steel Overseer$0.35
- 1Surge Conductor$0.32
- 1Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus$2.00
- 1Thought Monitor$0.32
- 1Threefold Thunderhulk$0.29
- 1Thrummingbird$0.25
Instants (8)
- 1Chaos Warp$0.33
- 1Dispatch$0.50
- 1Experimental Augury$0.27
- 1Pull from Tomorrow$0.29
- 1Ripples of Potential$5.30
- 1Swan Song$10.83
- 1Swords to Plowshares$1.70
- 1Thirst for Knowledge$0.25
Sorceries (6)
- 1Chain Reaction$0.29
- 1Fumigate$0.25
- 1Organic Extinction$0.26
- 1Tezzeret’s Gambit$0.32
- 1Universal Surveillance$0.19
- 1Wake the Past$0.27
Artifacts (19)
- 1Arcane Signet$0.55
- 1Astral Cornucopia$0.30
- 1Cloud Key$1.57
- 1Darksteel Reactor$0.31
- 1Empowered Autogenerator$0.28
- 1Everflowing Chalice$0.33
- 1Gavel of the Righteous$0.26
- 1Golem Foundry$0.29
- 1Insight Engine$1.01
- 1Long-Range Sensor$0.28
- 1Lux Artillery$0.29
- 1Lux Cannon$0.24
- 1Moxite Refinery$0.26
- 1Pentad Prism$0.29
- 1Sol Ring$1.86
- 1Solar Array$0.26
- 1Soul-Guide Lantern$0.26
- 1Titan Forge$0.25
- 1Uthros Research Craft$1.98
Enchantments (1)
- 1Resourceful Defense$0.31
Lands (40)
- 1Adarkar Wastes$0.37
- 1Ancient Den$1.52
- 1Battlefield Forge$0.32
- 1Buried Ruin$0.38
- 1Cascade Bluffs$0.33
- 1Clifftop Retreat$0.31
- 1Command Tower$0.45
- 1Evolving Wilds$0.28
- 1Exotic Orchard$0.23
- 1Glacial Fortress$0.28
- 1Glittering Massif$0.30
- 1Great Furnace$2.52
- 1Irrigated Farmland$0.27
- 2Island$0.16
- 1Island$0.22
- 1Karn’s Bastion$2.66
- 1Lonely Sandbar$0.22
- 2Mountain$0.15
- 1Mountain$0.21
- 1Mystic Monastery$0.33
- 2Plains$0.17
- 1Plains$0.19
- 1Radiant Summit$0.40
- 1Razortide Bridge$0.24
- 1Rugged Prairie$0.24
- 1Rustvale Bridge$0.22
- 1Seat of the Synod$0.94
- 1Secluded Steppe$0.27
- 1Shivan Reef$0.34
- 1Silverbluff Bridge$0.28
- 1Skycloud Expanse$0.27
- 1Spire of Industry$0.31
- 1Sulfur Falls$0.32
- 1Temple of Enlightenment$0.27
- 1Temple of Epiphany$0.28
- 1Temple of Triumph$0.30
- 1The Mycosynth Gardens$0.37
Hover a card to see it (tap on mobile). Prices are for the precon printing, via Scryfall.
What the deck does well
- A dense, focused artifact package with real counter engines like Darksteel Reactor, Titan Forge and Insight Engine.
- Repeatable proliferate from Kilo, Surge Conductor, Patrolling Peacemaker and Tekuthal keeps every counter growing.
- Solid interaction out of the box: Swords to Plowshares, Swan Song, Fumigate and Organic Extinction.
Where it struggles
- Some top-end cards, like Angel of the Ruins and Threefold Thunderhulk, are slow and barely touch the counter plan.
- Narrow filler such as Mindless Automaton, Soul-Guide Lantern and Cloud Key does little on its own.
- Inspirit has to be stationed before it does anything, so the deck needs creatures to tap early.
Recommended upgrades
Pick a budget tab. Every row tells you which card to take out and what to put in.
Cheap swaps (under $2 each): more proliferate and better counter payoffs.
| Cut | Add | From | Why | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angel of the Ruins | Cayth, Famed Mechanist | $0.40 €0.33 | Makes Servos or counters and spreads counters to your other creatures | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Soul-Guide Lantern | Coalition Relic | $0.38 €0.24 | Ramp that grows with stored charge counters | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Etched Oracle | Reckoner Bankbuster | $0.63 €0.23 | Turns charge counters into cards, every turn | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Experimental Augury | Inexorable Tide | $0.94 €1.17 | Every spell you cast proliferates | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Golem Foundry | Ratchet Bomb | $0.36 €0.38 | A sweeper that gets stronger every time you proliferate | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Pull from Tomorrow | The Seriema | $1.06 €0.46 | Tutors a legendary creature and later becomes a flier | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Chrome Host Seedshark | Prologue to Phyresis | $0.89 €0.49 | Cheap proliferate and a poison counter on each opponent | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Total | $4.66 | |||
Stronger charge-counter engines ($2–$8 each).
| Cut | Add | From | Why | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titan Forge | Energy Chamber | $4.62 €0.54 | A charge counter every upkeep, for free | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Mindless Automaton | Magistrate’s Scepter | $3.37 €2.74 | With enough proliferate, it takes extra turns | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Thirst for Knowledge | Power Conduit | $3.26 €2.25 | Moves counters to where they do the most | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Threefold Thunderhulk | Lost Jitte | $5.59 €4.76 | Charge counters into removal, card draw and +1/+1 counters | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Alibou, Ancient Witness | Dreamtide Whale | $3.33 €3.46 | A cheap big body that helps you station Spacecraft | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Kappa Cannoneer | Walking Ballista | $5.33 €6.73 | Turns your counters into direct damage | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Chain Reaction | Umezawa’s Jitte | $2.88 €3.35 | Proliferate makes every Jitte mode stronger | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Total | $28.38 | |||
Premium upgrades for the strongest version of the deck. None of these are on the official Game Changers list, so the deck stays friendly for most casual tables.
| Cut | Add | From | Why | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depthshaker Titan | Tezzeret the Seeker | $25.76 €11.99 | Tutors artifacts and can turn them all into 5/5s | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Empowered Autogenerator | Unwinding Clock | $18.42 €13.96 | Untaps all your artifacts on every opponent’s turn | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Lux Artillery | Filigree Vector | $11.50 €13.20 | Counters on everything when it enters, and it proliferates on demand | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Hangarback Walker | The Ozolith | $60.71 €31.70 | Keeps your counters safe when creatures die | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Crystalline Crawler | Contagion Engine | $13.04 €9.91 | Shrinks an opponent’s board and proliferates twice a turn | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Universal Surveillance | Sword of Truth and Justice | $31.27 €19.45 | Adds a counter and proliferates every time it connects | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Total | $160.70 | |||
Where to buy the precon
Don’t own the deck yet? Find Counter Intelligence on TCGplayer or on Cardmarket.
Verdict
Counter Intelligence is a strong, coherent precon that mostly needs more repeatable proliferate and fewer off-plan bodies. A dozen cheap swaps turn it into a reliable counter engine that wins through Darksteel Reactor, Lux Cannon or a wide indestructible board.