Short answer: The best Wakanda Forever upgrades are Chimil, the Inner Sun and Swords to Plowshares (each in 47% of T’Challa decks on EDHREC), plus Bronze Guardian, a 35-cent artifact that gets huge next to your Vibranium tokens. All 10 adds in this guide cost about $37.17 together on TCGplayer, and six of them cost under $10 combined. They replace the 10 precon cards T’Challa players cut most often, starting with Divine Visitation and Palace Jailer.
Updated October 24, 2026 · Play rates from EDHREC (4,694 T’Challa, the Black Panther decks) · TCGplayer market prices checked October 24, 2026
Who this is for: You own the Wakanda Forever precon, or you’re about to buy it (about $41 on TCGplayer), and you want a first round of upgrades that keeps its artifact plan. Every swap below is one-for-one, so you can make them in any order. We ranked Wakanda Forever the best of the four Marvel decks out of the box in all 4 Marvel Super Heroes precons, ranked.
How does the T’Challa deck win?
T’Challa, the Black Panther ({1}{G}{W}, 2/2) has two abilities. Whenever he enters or attacks, you create a tapped Vibranium token: an indestructible artifact that taps for colorless mana you can only spend on artifact spells. And whenever you cast an artifact spell with mana value 4 or more, he gets two +1/+1 counters.
So the deck ramps into big artifacts, and every big artifact makes T’Challa bigger. The best upgrades are artifacts that cost 4 or more (so Vibranium mana pays for them and T’Challa grows), cards that count your artifacts, and protection for the board you build. The alternate commander in the box, Shuri, the Black Panther, has lifelink, draws a card when she attacks if you control three or more artifacts, and with six or more artifacts she also gives your creatures +2/+2 for the turn.
What are the best Wakanda Forever upgrades?
Here are the 10 cards to add, ranked by how many T’Challa, the Black Panther decks on EDHREC play them. None of them come in the precon, and six of the ten are artifacts. Click any card to check its price on TCGplayer.
1. Chimil, the Inner Sun
What it does: Spells you control can’t be countered. At the beginning of your end step, discover 5: exile cards from the top of your library until you hit a nonland card with mana value 5 or less, then cast it for free or put it into your hand.
Why it fits T’Challa: A free spell at the end of every one of your turns. It’s an artifact, so your Vibranium tokens can pay for it, and at six mana it also puts two +1/+1 counters on T’Challa.
Play rate and price: In 47% of T’Challa, the Black Panther decks on EDHREC. Market price $8.30 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
2. Swords to Plowshares
What it does: Exile target creature. Its controller gains life equal to its power.
Why it fits T’Challa: One mana to remove any creature at instant speed, which leaves the rest of your mana free for artifacts. It’s tied for the most-played add in T’Challa decks.
Play rate and price: In 47% of T’Challa decks on EDHREC. Market price $1.25 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
3. Bronze Guardian
What it does: Double strike, ward {2}. Other artifacts you control have ward {2}. Its power is equal to the number of artifacts you control.
Why it fits T’Challa: Every Vibranium token T’Challa makes adds 1 power, and double strike counts it twice. Ward {2} on all your other artifacts makes them harder to remove. It costs 35 cents.
Play rate and price: In 44% of T’Challa decks on EDHREC. Market price $0.35 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
4. Heroic Intervention
What it does: Permanents you control gain hexproof and indestructible until end of turn.
Why it fits T’Challa: Artifact decks can lose everything to a single board wipe. Hold up two mana for this and your whole board survives. The cheapest printing is a borderless Marvel Universe version.
Play rate and price: In 43% of T’Challa decks on EDHREC. Market price $9.23 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
5. Jhoira’s Familiar
What it does: Flying. Historic spells you cast cost {1} less. (Artifacts, legendaries and Sagas are historic.)
Why it fits T’Challa: Almost everything in this deck is an artifact or legendary, including T’Challa himself, so most of your spells get cheaper. At four mana it also triggers T’Challa’s counters.
Play rate and price: In 41% of T’Challa decks on EDHREC. Market price $1.40 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
6. Path to Exile
What it does: Exile target creature. Its controller may search their library for a basic land and put it onto the battlefield tapped.
Why it fits T’Challa: A second one-mana answer next to Swords to Plowshares. There’s even a version with Marvel art from the Marvel Super Heroes Commander set (shown here) if you want it to match the deck.
Play rate and price: In 41% of T’Challa decks on EDHREC. Market price $1.15 for the cheapest printing (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
7. Mystic Forge
What it does: You may look at the top card of your library any time, and you may cast artifact and colorless spells from the top of your library. {T}, pay 1 life: exile the top card of your library.
Why it fits T’Challa: In a deck this full of artifacts, it works like drawing an extra card most turns. Vibranium mana can pay for anything you cast off the top, since it’s all artifacts.
Play rate and price: In 40% of T’Challa decks on EDHREC. Market price $2.59 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
8. Thousand Moons Smithy
What it does: When it enters, create a Gnome Soldier artifact creature token whose power and toughness equal the number of artifacts and creatures you control. At the beginning of your first main phase, you may tap five untapped artifacts and/or creatures to transform it into Barracks of the Thousand, a land that makes another Gnome whenever you cast an artifact or creature spell with its mana.
Why it fits T’Challa: Every Vibranium token makes the Gnomes bigger, and they’re also the easiest way to pay the tap-five cost to transform it. At four mana it triggers T’Challa too.
Play rate and price: In 37% of T’Challa decks on EDHREC. Market price $2.91 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
9. Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar
What it does: Your opponents can’t cast spells during your turn. Whenever one or more creatures you control with power greater than their base power deal combat damage to a player, draw a card.
Why it fits T’Challa: T’Challa’s +1/+1 counters put his power above his base 2, so every time he connects, you draw. And your opponents can’t counter your spells or kill your attackers with instants during your turn.
Play rate and price: In 34% of T’Challa decks on EDHREC. Market price $2.37 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
10. Genji Glove
What it does: Equipped creature has double strike. Whenever it attacks in the first combat of the turn, untap it, and you get an additional combat phase after this one. Equip {3}.
Why it fits T’Challa: Put it on T’Challa and he attacks twice a turn, making two Vibranium tokens instead of one. With a pile of counters on him, double strike in two combats ends games fast.
Play rate and price: In 33% of T’Challa decks on EDHREC. Market price $7.62 (TCGplayer, Oct 24). Check today’s price on TCGplayer
How much does it cost to upgrade Wakanda Forever?
| Upgrade | What you get | Cost (Oct 24) |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | The 6 cheapest adds: Bronze Guardian, Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Jhoira’s Familiar, Kutzil and Mystic Forge | $9.11 |
| Full list | All 10 adds above | $37.17 |
| Full list + lands | All 10 adds, plus Temple Garden, Ancient Den and Tree of Tales | $45.99 |
Prices move fast. Follow @HelloNerdsnack on X for price drops and new chase cards.
Prices are TCGplayer market prices for the cheapest English printing of each card. Add the deck itself at about $41, and a fully upgraded Wakanda Forever comes to roughly $87.
Which cards should you cut from Wakanda Forever?
These are the 10 precon cards that the fewest T’Challa decks on EDHREC still play. Three of them push the box’s monarch theme, which is hard to hold onto in a four-player game.
| Cut | Still played in | Why it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Divine Visitation | 17% | Turns creature tokens into 4/4 Angels, but Vibranium tokens aren’t creatures, so it rarely does anything here. |
| Palace Jailer | 20% | Good removal, but the creature comes back as soon as an opponent takes the monarch from you. |
| Queen Mother Ramonda | 26% | Five mana for a 3/5. She only stops small creatures from attacking you, so you usually lose the monarch anyway. |
| Loyal Guardian | 28% | Puts counters on all your creatures, but this artifact deck doesn’t have many creatures to put them on. |
| Martial Coup | 28% | Cast for X = 5 or more (seven mana), it destroys every other creature, including T’Challa. |
| M’Baku, Jabari Chieftain | 30% | Makes an opponent the monarch when there isn’t one, which gives them an extra card every turn. |
| Harmonize | 32% | Plain card draw, and Vibranium mana can’t pay for it. |
| Greater Good | 33% | You sacrifice creatures and discard three cards, which works against a deck that wants T’Challa to keep growing. |
| Coveted Jewel | 34% | The first opponent to hit you with an unblocked attacker takes it and draws three cards. |
| Conduit of Worlds | 36% | Recasting from your graveyard means you can’t cast any other spell that turn. |
“Still played in” is the share of T’Challa, the Black Panther decks on EDHREC that kept the card. A low number means most players took it out.
Which lands should you upgrade?
The precon runs slow fetch lands and a colorless utility land. Three swaps fix that, and two of the new lands are artifacts that count for Bronze Guardian and Thousand Moons Smithy:
| Add | Why | Price | Cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temple Garden | Green-white dual that can enter untapped. In 39% of T’Challa decks. | $5.87 | Terramorphic Expanse |
| Ancient Den | An artifact land that taps for white. In 26%. | $1.79 | Evolving Wilds |
| Tree of Tales | An artifact land that taps for green. In 24%. | $1.16 | Throne of the High City |
The trade-off with artifact lands: a card that destroys all artifacts will take them too. If your table plays a lot of artifact removal, use Gathering Place ($1.15) or Overgrown Farmland ($1.12) instead.
Two more cards worth a slot
- Cosmic Cube (about $6.80, in 29% of T’Challa decks): whenever you attack, look at the top six cards and cast a spell for free if its mana value is no higher than your biggest attacker’s power. A T’Challa covered in counters makes that almost anything.
- Swiftfoot Boots (about $2.26, in 30%): hexproof and haste for T’Challa, so the counters you put on him are harder to lose.
Cut another low-play-rate card for each, such as Trading Post or T’Chaka, Venerable King (both in 37% of T’Challa decks).
Need the deck first? Check today’s price
More Marvel Commander guides
- The Fantastic Four upgrade guide: 10 cards to add, 10 to cut
- Avengers Assemble upgrade guide: 10 cards to add, 10 to cut
- Doom Prevails upgrade guide: 10 cards to add, 10 to cut
- Best budget upgrades for all four Marvel decks, under $30
- The 10 most valuable Marvel Super Heroes cards
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best upgrades for Wakanda Forever?
Chimil, the Inner Sun, Swords to Plowshares and Bronze Guardian are the three most-played additions in T’Challa, the Black Panther decks on EDHREC.
What should I cut from Wakanda Forever first?
Divine Visitation, Palace Jailer and Queen Mother Ramonda. Only 17% to 26% of T’Challa decks on EDHREC still play them.
How much does it cost to upgrade Wakanda Forever?
About $37 for all 10 adds in this guide, about $9 for the six cheapest, or about $46 with three land upgrades, at TCGplayer market prices on October 24, 2026.
Can Vibranium tokens pay for any spell?
No. Vibranium mana can only be spent on artifact spells. That’s why most of the best upgrades for this deck are artifacts.
Sources: play rates from EDHREC’s T’Challa, the Black Panther commander page (4,694 decks) and its Wakanda Forever precon page, checked October 24, 2026; card text from Scryfall; TCGplayer market prices checked October 24, 2026. Card images: Wizards of the Coast and Marvel, via Scryfall.
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