Jeskai Striker is already one of the most complete spellslinger precons in Tarkir: Dragonstorm, but Shiko and Narset, Unified reward a more precise style of play than simply casting as many instants and sorceries as possible. Their Flurry ability cares specifically about the second spell you cast each turn, turning careful sequencing into either a free spell copy or another card.
Shiko and Narset cost and arrive as a 4/4 with flying and vigilance. Whenever you cast your second spell each turn, you copy that spell if it targets a permanent or player and may choose new targets for the copy. If you do not copy a spell this way, you draw a card instead. That means the deck is not forced to make every second spell target something; a non-targeting second spell still produces value.
The best Jeskai Striker upgrade therefore focuses on casting inexpensive setup spells, preserving enough mana to double-spell during multiple turns and choosing second spells that become exceptional when copied without weakening the deck when Shiko and Narset are unavailable.
The Stock Deck Already Has an Excellent Spellslinger Core
Jeskai Striker needs far less reconstruction than many precons. The stock list already gives you Ponder, Preordain, Opt, Consider, Faithless Looting and Expressive Iteration, providing exactly the cheap spells needed to control which spell becomes your second cast of the turn. A one-mana cantrip can quietly prime Flurry before the real payoff arrives.
The payoff engines are equally impressive. Archmage Emeritus converts instants and sorceries into cards, Storm-Kiln Artist converts them into Treasure, and Whirlwind of Thought provides another steady stream of card advantage. Monastery Mentor, Third Path Iconoclast, Young Pyromancer and Manaform Hellkite ensure all of that spellcasting eventually becomes a battlefield rather than merely a large hand.
Veyran, Voice of Duality deserves particular attention. When Shiko and Narset’s Flurry ability is triggered by casting an instant or sorcery, Veyran can cause that triggered ability to trigger an additional time. A targeted second spell can therefore receive multiple copies, while a qualifying second spell that is not copied can generate additional draw from those Flurry triggers. Veyran is not simply another generic spellslinger creature here; she is one of the strongest cards already sitting in the precon.
The stock deck even contains excellent second-spell payoffs. Prismari Command, Electrodominance, Narset’s Reversal, Sublime Epiphany and Magma Opus can all become dramatically more powerful when duplicated at the correct moment. The upgrade therefore does not need a new identity. It needs to make that existing engine cheaper and easier to sequence.
Best Jeskai Striker Upgrades
Expedite is almost tailor-made for Flurry. For , it gives a creature haste and draws a card, making it perfectly acceptable as an ordinary spell. If it becomes your targeted second spell, Shiko and Narset copy it, allowing the copy to target another creature and effectively turning one mana into two haste effects and two cards.
Shelter fills a more defensive version of the same role. It gives a creature protection from a chosen color until end of turn and draws a card. When copied through Flurry, it can protect two creatures while drawing twice, giving the deck a cheap way to protect its commander and another important engine such as Veyran, Voice of Duality or Archmage Emeritus.
Boros Charm is particularly interesting because different modes interact with Flurry differently. Its 4-damage mode targets a player, so using it as your second spell creates another copy that can hit the same or a different player. The double-strike mode targets a creature and can similarly be copied onto another legal target. The indestructible mode does not target anything, so if that mode is your second spell, Shiko and Narset do not copy it and you draw a card instead. That flexibility makes Boros Charm much better here than a simple damage spell.
Hinata, Dawn-Crowned attacks the deck’s mana problem from another direction. Spells you cast cost less for each target, allowing expensive multi-target spells to become dramatically cheaper. Jeskai Striker already contains effects that distribute their value across several permanents, so Hinata makes it easier to cast a cheap first spell and still have enough mana for a high-impact second one.
Jeska’s Will provides the explosive mana needed for the deck’s biggest turns. Its first mode targets an opponent, meaning it can qualify for Shiko and Narset’s copy ability. If you control your commander when you cast Jeska’s Will, you may choose both modes, and the copy retains those chosen modes while allowing a new legal target for the targeted portion. One carefully sequenced Flurry can therefore generate an enormous amount of red mana while also providing access to additional cards.
The common theme is not simply “cheap spells.” The strongest upgrades are cheap spells that remain useful on their own but become disproportionately powerful when deliberately positioned as spell number two.
What Should You Cut?
Jeskai Striker starts with only eighteen creatures, which is appropriate for a spellslinger deck, but several of those creatures are expensive enough to interfere with double-spelling. Transcendent Dragon is flavorful and powerful in a slower game, but six mana is a major investment when the commander rewards leaving enough resources available to cast multiple spells in the same turn.
Caldera Pyremaw has a similar issue. It provides a substantial body and useful text, but five mana competes directly with turns where you could instead cast a setup spell followed by meaningful interaction. As the average spell cost falls, expensive creatures that do not directly amplify Flurry become easier to remove.
Velomachus Lorehold has an exciting attack trigger but asks for seven mana before it can begin generating value. The stock deck has enough large spells already, and Shiko and Narset provide card advantage without requiring another expensive legendary creature to survive and attack.
Shiny Impetus is useful political interaction, but enchanting one opposing creature and producing occasional Treasure is less attractive once the deck becomes focused on efficient spell sequencing. Jeskai has enough direct interaction that this slot can become a card that contributes more consistently to Flurry.
Finally, Temple of Epiphany is a reasonable first mana-base cut. Scry 1 is useful, but entering tapped is a real cost when the deck wants to preserve small pockets of mana throughout the turn cycle. Once double-spelling becomes the central plan, a single unavailable mana can be the difference between triggering Flurry and passing without value.
A clean first round of changes would therefore be:
Out: Transcendent Dragon, Caldera Pyremaw, Velomachus Lorehold, Shiny Impetus, Temple of Epiphany
In: Expedite, Shelter, Boros Charm, Hinata, Dawn-Crowned, Jeska’s Will
Those changes lower the curve without stripping away the deck’s most interesting stock cards, making the second-spell engine substantially easier to control.
Your Second Spell Does Not Have to Target Anything
The original version of this guide treated Flurry almost as though casting a non-targeting second spell were a mistake. Shiko and Narset, Unified are much more forgiving than that.
When you cast your second spell, Flurry always triggers. If that spell targets a permanent or player, the spell is copied and you may choose new legal targets for the copy. If you do not copy a spell this way, you draw a card instead. A second-spell Ponder, Frantic Search or Time Wipe therefore does not waste your commander trigger. It simply converts Flurry into card advantage rather than spell duplication.
If the second spell does target a permanent or player, you do not get to choose the card instead because you would prefer it. Shiko and Narset must copy the spell when the condition is satisfied. That makes sequencing even more important because you should decide before casting your first spell whether the turn is trying to create a specific copy or simply extract another card from Flurry.
This flexibility is one of the reasons the precon does not need to replace every non-targeting instant and sorcery. Frantic Search, Big Score, Mana Geyser and other useful spells remain perfectly playable even when they are occasionally spell number two.
The goal is not to make every second spell target something. It is to make sure every second spell is worth casting.
Flurry Works on Every Player’s Turn
The words “each turn” may be the most important part of Shiko and Narset’s ability. Flurry does not only reward the second spell you cast during your own turn. The count resets when another player’s turn begins.
That gives instant-speed spells enormous value. During your turn, Ponder followed by a targeted payoff can trigger Flurry. On the next opponent’s turn, you might cast Consider followed by Pongify. On another opponent’s turn, one piece of interaction followed by Narset’s Reversal can produce another trigger.
You should not force two spells onto every opponent’s turn merely because the commander allows it. Burning interaction on irrelevant permanents wastes cards and mana. But a deck with enough one-mana cantrips and inexpensive responses can naturally reach two spells far more frequently without sacrificing card quality.
This is also where Archmage Emeritus, Storm-Kiln Artist and Whirlwind of Thought become particularly dangerous. Instead of generating value during one explosive main phase, they can keep paying you while you participate in the entire turn cycle.
The strongest Jeskai Striker turns often belong to your opponents.
Copies Are Not Cast Spells
Shiko and Narset copy the second spell. They do not cast the copy, and that distinction changes which stock payoffs benefit from Flurry itself.
Young Pyromancer, Monastery Mentor and Third Path Iconoclast reward you for casting spells. The original spell you cast will trigger them, but the Flurry copy does not represent another cast and therefore does not automatically give you another token from those abilities.
Other cards are specifically designed to notice copies. Archmage Emeritus has magecraft and triggers whenever you cast or copy an instant or sorcery spell. Storm-Kiln Artist works the same way, creating Treasure from both the original spell and an applicable spell copy.
That difference makes these two stock cards even better than they first appear. If your second spell is an instant or sorcery that Flurry copies, Storm-Kiln Artist can help refund the mana spent while Archmage Emeritus turns the sequence into even more cards.
Veyran, Voice of Duality goes further. When casting or copying an instant or sorcery causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, Veyran causes it to trigger an additional time. That can amplify Shiko and Narset themselves when the second spell is an instant or sorcery, as well as the other magecraft-style engines surrounding them.
Understanding which effects care about casting and which care about casting or copying prevents the deck from accidentally overestimating what one Flurry trigger actually produces.
The First Spell Should Usually Be Cheap and Boring
In many Commander decks, casting a one-mana cantrip feels like a minor setup action. In Jeskai Striker, it gives you direct control over the commander’s most important trigger.
Ponder, Preordain, Opt and Consider are already excellent because they improve card selection. With Shiko and Narset on the battlefield, they can also become deliberate spell-number-one enablers. Spend one mana, replace or improve the card you used and leave almost your entire mana base available for the actual Flurry payoff.
Instant-speed enablers are especially valuable because they support the plan on opponents‘ turns. Opt and Consider can sit in your hand until something worth responding to actually happens. If an opponent presents a dangerous creature, the cantrip becomes spell one and Pongify can become spell two, potentially removing two creatures for very little mana.
The mistake would be filling the deck with weak zero- and one-mana cards purely to trigger Flurry. The stock list already gives you enough high-quality cheap spells. Every enabler should either replace itself, improve your hand or serve another legitimate role.
You are not trying to cast two bad spells.
You are trying to make the first spell cheap enough that the second good spell becomes free twice.
Targeted Spells Become Much More Flexible
The most obvious Flurry targets are removal spells. Pongify can remove two creatures instead of one, while a copied Swords to Plowshares can answer two of the best creatures on the battlefield for a single white mana. Abrade can similarly provide excellent value when its chosen mode has a target.
But targeted utility spells can be just as impressive. Expedite and Shelter replace themselves, meaning a copied version can create card advantage while also affecting two creatures. Boros Charm can duplicate damage or double strike depending on the mode selected.
There is an important limitation with modal spells. The copy keeps the modes chosen for the original spell. If you cast Boros Charm using its damage mode, the Flurry copy also uses the damage mode; you cannot change the copy into indestructible or double strike. You may change legal targets, but not the choices that were already made when the original spell was cast.
The same idea applies to X spells such as Electrodominance. When a spell with X is copied, the copy retains the value chosen for X. That makes large targeted spells particularly attractive because you pay the expensive cost once and Flurry receives the same X value for free.
This is where the commander can convert careful setup into enormous mana advantage.
Do Not Cut Every Expensive Spell
Lowering the average mana cost is important, but taking that lesson too far would remove some of the best reasons to play Shiko and Narset in the first place.
Magma Opus costs eight mana, but it can target several permanents or players and produces an enormous collection of effects. It can also be discarded earlier for to create a Treasure token, meaning a copy stranded in your opening hand still contributes to reaching the late game. Once enough mana is available, copying Magma Opus represents the kind of swing few cheap spells can replicate.
Sublime Epiphany is similarly expensive but extraordinarily flexible. The deck does not need ten six- and eight-mana spells, yet keeping a few spectacular Flurry payoffs gives the late game a ceiling beyond repeatedly copying one-mana removal.
Electrodominance is another keeper because X carries over to the copy. The card can become increasingly dangerous as Storm-Kiln Artist, Mana Geyser and Jeska’s Will generate larger pools of mana.
The right balance is therefore not “everything must cost one or two.” Cheap spells control the sequence; expensive spells provide the reason that sequence matters.
The Mana Base Needs Untapped Mana More Than Extra Utility
Jeskai Striker already has a respectable three-color mana base. Command Tower, Adarkar Wastes, Battlefield Forge, Shivan Reef, Cascade Bluffs, Rugged Prairie, Glacial Fortress, Clifftop Retreat, Sulfur Falls and Exotic Orchard give the stock deck a solid base.
Its artifact ramp is also unusually deep. Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Azorius Signet, Boros Signet, Izzet Signet, Fellwar Stone and Talisman of Progress provide more than enough acceleration for a commander costing four mana.
The main issue is that Flurry makes
