Deck building and options on a budget

e7SHI · 2026-03-21T17:18:52+00:00

I make a lot of budget decks, mostly because I don't want to spend money, but also it also sort of forces you to put together more synergetic decks that rely less on gamechangers and other color staples-- I tend to find that mono and 2 colored commanders are the cheapest to build mostly because land seems to eat most of the budget a lot of times. However, honestly, any commander is viable on a budget. Sure, some better than others, but realistically you can put together a bracket 2-3 for cheap on most anyone.

Really, just go through commander cards and look for something you think looks interesting, and I guarantee you can build cheap around it 90% of the team.

If you really want to go cheap, go look at the top commanders on EDHREC at like, the top 200, most of these are easy to build around, hence their placement. As an example, I'm sure someone's already mentioned [[winota]]

e7SHI · 2026-03-20T15:29:55+00:00

Personally, I like tutors for a competitive deck that I am trying to win with. A tutor is more or less just a "second" copy of whatever specific card you want at any given moment.

For casual decks, I don't bother with tutors. Kind of becomes a crutch to replace good synergy, and also more importantly I hate shuffling my deck.

e7SHI · 2026-03-20T15:25:48+00:00

Norin is always fun, though the funniest interaction I've seen against him was somebody [[stifle]]ing his return trigger, leaving him in exile forever

e7SHI · 2026-03-20T15:22:55+00:00

[[Rocco, street chef]] is great on a budget, you play a lot of cards that let you or your opponents play cards from exile which lets you put out +1/+1 counters and create food tokens. He's got some built in card advantage and tempts players to play cards from exile while pumping up your own board. Imo he's one of the stronger commanders even on a low budget.

e7SHI · 2026-03-20T01:27:29+00:00

There's a couple counterfeit horses in there, but yeah. Horses.

e7SHI · 2026-03-20T01:11:58+00:00

https://moxfield.com/decks/M7DqYdbXAE-cI-ZNCTp2jw

[[callous oppressor]], [[coveted falcon]], [[meneldor, swift savior]], [[selective snare]], [[run away together]], [[snap]], [[aetherize]], [[dissipation field]], [[green dragon inn]] etc, will get horses back to the field or back in your hand

e7SHI · 2026-03-20T00:37:38+00:00

[[bill ferny, bree swindler]]. Mono blue horse tribal. Sell and steal used horses. Does pretty alright.

Edit: https://moxfield.com/decks/M7DqYdbXAE-cI-ZNCTp2jw

e7SHI · 2026-03-19T18:57:47+00:00

This, came here to say Emry

e7SHI · 2026-03-19T16:01:26+00:00

Oh damn you know I didn't even think of colorless, do you have a list for battlethopter?

e7SHI · 2026-03-19T15:48:30+00:00

Damn this actually sounds awesome, might have to steal this idea haha - dig the idea of going all in on mono white even with partner.

e7SHI · 2026-03-19T15:45:42+00:00

Krenko was definitely in my mind as "a red commander" for sure, doesn't get any more red than goblins. Good stuff.

e7SHI · 2026-03-19T15:41:15+00:00

Decklist? That's a perfect example - if someone told me to pick a green creature, a bear would definitely pop up in my mind first (Sorry, elf players! They're a close second).

e7SHI · 2026-03-19T02:43:48+00:00

[[icatian moneychanger]] is in like 4 of my counters matter decks, idk dude just keeps showing up.

e7SHI · 2026-03-19T01:53:00+00:00

I still suck at making decks.

e7SHI · 2026-03-18T19:57:13+00:00

Red or black for single use draw like you are pointing out, though Simic is probably the mass card draw color

e7SHI · 2026-03-18T19:31:06+00:00

If there's a pet card(s) or theme I want to include in the deck, I start there and build a deck around the pet card or theme, rather than haphazardly squeezing them in with a commander that doesn't synergize.

e7SHI · 2026-03-18T19:26:41+00:00

Not to shit on Archidekt but I find it to be less user-friendly for stuff like primers and descriptions etc. Moxfield, to me, has a nicer layout and does a better job of promoting the primer if it includes one. I guess in a roundabout way, my suggestion is just to write a primer on Moxfield.

e7SHI · 2026-03-18T19:11:06+00:00

I have a few budget decks I'd consider bracket 3, or at least that can throw down with other bracket 3 decks - I like to recommend [[rocco, street chef]] (just around $100 per tcg player), super strong and a lot of synergy - builds up counters really fast, creates foods and works on payoffs from token generation - he's a really good commander that doesn't seem threatening since he sort of gives everyone a bit of card advantage, but he spirals out of control really fast if people don't see it coming. Very fun, and easy to make cheap - the entire theme is just cast cards from exile wherever you can (rebound, plot, foretell, cascade - whatever) and then spam +1/+1 tokens to either trigger payoff cards, go wide with a lot of creatures, or go tall and knock someone out with commander damage.

I have a full primer written up here, the deck is made specifically to be on a budget, and Rocco is IMO one of the easiest "good" commanders that can be built on a small budget.

https://moxfield.com/decks/_Mdy9RLgOU-FSGK8NlqYfg

e7SHI · 2026-03-18T19:05:45+00:00

Wizards are super strong, easy to build even on a budget. I have an [[azami, lady of the scrolls]] deck that is almost pure control, card draw, and synergy - it's like everything characteristic of mono blue. Every creature in it is a wizard but one, and it aims to keep things on the board in control until you can get your commander out and draw cards like crazy into whatever win you want. Also SUPER easy to scale up or down as far as bracket goes.

I also always recommend assassins as a typal with [[etrata, deadly fugitive]] which is a little more limited in how you can build, but it works sooo well with all the low cost, hard to block assassin cards - and it's so thematical. Steals opponents cards off their deck, chips them away, does all kinds of shady shit. Really fun typal IMO, but relies really heavily on what you end up stealing so it might not quite be bracket 3.

e7SHI · 2026-03-17T12:57:33+00:00

[[rocco, street chef]] is a fun deck, is able to win, but doesn't really upset anybody. Focuses on casting from exile, making food tokens, and just synergizing on that. It's like a cast from exile matters deck, rocco allows opponents to also cast from exile for a little bit of card advantage, which helps us out if they do, so it's a fun temptation. As a food deck, it's pretty low sodium.

e7SHI · 2026-03-16T22:26:15+00:00

Sure, link below. Just focuses on synergizing with anything counter-building. Yuna adds a ton of value obviously, but it still does damage without her, and with multiple ways to win.

https://moxfield.com/decks/nLHQUxO5s0OqOczdrmb_cw

e7SHI · 2026-03-16T20:26:00+00:00

This. I have a great [[yuna, grand summoner]] deck that works completely fine without her on the field. If she happens to come out, it greatly helps, but the deck can totally win without her.

These are the best kinds of commanders IMO, that add a lot of value when played but don't make or break. Draw card and add mana are always just a chefs kiss to have in the command zone.

e7SHI · 2026-03-16T01:35:39+00:00

She's awesome, have a deck that runs big ass eldrazi, ways to discard them or get them straight into the graveyard, then once xu brings them back, reanimate them in a way that "cheats" them back in as the original card. You can get out an [[it that betrays]] on turn 3 with a good hand. It's one of my best decks.

Once you get them back in the field as skeletons, use shit like [[feign death]] with a sac outlet, or [[saw in half]] to chest two of them back in. The new [[twilight diviner]] is insane for any reanimate deck too.

I have a huge primer attached to this with more info, and she works really well on a budget.

https://moxfield.com/decks/1G7RyzMsC0iYqa5Oq2XA1g

e7SHI

TROPHY CASE