Hello folks! I hope your day is going well!

We've just finished up our spoilers of Theros: Beyond Death, and I wanted to build a quick deck around a certain recently spoiled uncommon leader for you: Eutropia the Twice-Favored!

Here she is! Note that she's cheap at three mana and has the Constellation ability that will both permanently pump creatures as well as giving them flying for a turn. That suggests to me a few fun themes for a Simic build.

1. Enchantments Matter. We have to have enough enchantments to make this trigger work.
2. +1/+1 Counters Matter. We want to make sure that we have some fun ways to use and build up a team of counters.
3. Evasion Matters. If we are giving flying to something, then I want to make sure that this flying counts, and it's not just a superfluous ability.

I need to look at these three abilities to make this work. I am also inspired to push myself into a new place too.

A budget-minded place.

See what she is pre-ordering for? Exactly!

Can I make her the newest addition to my Budget Commander Series and have her entire amount come in under $32.39 for anything other than basics? I think so!

What leaps into my mind?

Armorcraft Judge does! This is the first card I thought of when I saw Eutropia! As you can see, this will reward a going-wide with the counters as you'll net loads of cards!

Hmmm.... I'm thinking of adding a super-secret #4 to the options listed above. See if you can notice it:

I'm running all three Guildmages. All three have useful ways of helping counters, and can move them around to help play havoc with combat math. All are a quarter each, and are 2-drop Wizards for the cause. I am also running Simic Fluxmage that has a similar style of play and cheap cost (both mana and price tag).

Is it counter manipulation that I'm adding in? Not per se. Nope! That's useful, but that's not where I'm looking for some more fleshing out.

I don't know if you noticed, but I am running those cards for this reward:

Sage of Fables brings many rewards. It gives free counters to your leader and other Wizards. It lets you pull counters off to draw cards. Now, even though it 's an uncommon, it'll cost you two dollars for the near mint copy here at CoolStuffInc because it's never been reprinted and is a good tribal enabler. It'll work here too.

Here are a few more Wizards that fit the theme nicely.

Zegana is a bulk rare with a powerful battlefield presence, bringing more card flowing and trampling to my creatures, the ability to Adapt, and that Wizard type as well! At almost 10% of my budget, Master Biomancer is a pricey card, but it's totally on theme. It'll will dole out counters for days! Everything that arrives gets many a counter! And since cards like Armorcraft Judge will draw you cards for having more counters out there, the Biomancer also plays well with our team.

Want a fun little Wizard card that can send something into the air for free or draw cards? Okay! Given the nice card-drawing, a free equipment onto Eutropia can turn her into a 9/9 flying Wizard easily occasionally.

Want to use your creatures to make mana in order to do things and spit out some cool Diviner's Wand (and other) repeatable effects? Sure! We got you! The first can also put counters on your people as well as Rishkar on arrival, so both can help the team out.

Want another Europia? Sure! Setessan Champion plays into the same space, so I am adding in her as well. Notice that she'll put the counter on herself, but she'll draw you some sweet cards, so she's a solid entry.

Ready for enchantments? Okay!

Pop those peepers at Oath of the Ancient Wood. It was printed once, a long time ago, in a set few people bought. Despite that, it's a bulk rare probably because it's hard to find the best fit for it. It feels like one of 200 cards for most Commander builds that might get pulled sometimes but almost never make the final cut. There are lots of decks that like counters that don't have enough enchantments. There are lots of decks that care about enchantments that may not feel the +1/+1 counter provides enough gas. Their loss is our gain!

Hydra's Growth is also an enchantment that plays with +1/+1 counters as well! I'm confident that you can see its value here as well, right? Right! I mean who doesn't want their counters to be double on a certain dork?

Your daddy has arrived. This thing will give you some extra mana sinking for counters, and will let you load up on growths for itself so you can win that game. It's awesome here!

Want some cool auras with enters-the-battlefield effects? Okay! We can draw some cool cards with Abundant Growth and Flight of Fancy. Load up with counters or make some dorks! They will give you valuable additions to the deck to keep on punching those clocks for justice.

Want to bounce some enchantments so we can recast them? Okay! You can recur a key enchantment with this triad, and then recast it. If you recast a Flight of Fancy repeatedly, you'll draw loads of cards and trigger many enchantment effects such as your leader. Two of these will do them repeatedly, while the cheaper Drake familiar is a one shot, although you can bounce a foe's enchantment as well.

Want some enchantments we can crack for effects? Okay! Here we can sacrifice for lands or destruction of stuff. I tried to use these instead of instants/sorceries with the same effect where possible, as I really wanted to push my enchantment options. You won't see Krosan Grip or Cultivate style cards in here, instead these are rocking the utility beats.

Want some enchantment dorks? Okay! Renata in particular is a great additional option for the handing out of counters on arrival for any of your folks. And Callaphe can help to protect your folks a little, while also providing a cheap body along with Boon Satyr among others.

Did you want some more enchantment dorks that add to the deck's options? Sure thing! We can still a dork with the admittedly slower Hypnotic Siren or draw loads of cards with the massively overprinted Eidolon of Blossoms. They will jump right on in for the cause!

Want some weirder things?

Sure thing! Reality Acid is a great way to kill anything from lands to dorks to artifacts to planeswalkers. Enchant, then watch it die a few turns later. Now, Reality Acid can be bounced or flickered and then the enchanted permanent will be sacrificed as well! You remember the bounce shenanigans from earlier, right? Right! Meanwhile Annex will steal a land for the cause. Feel encouraged to steal a good one! Take that over-powered powerhouse such as Academy Ruins or Volrath's Stronghold. Take a Temple of the False God if you need it.

Want some bulk rares that will push your theme? Okay!

Now I want to dip into my final theme. Cards that will want flying. I want to add in some fun cards here that will add in some cool combat triggers in order to justify your deck's desire of flying. Both of these have combat triggers for themselves and others, and are enchantments to boot.

Archetype + Bident of Thassa? Nasty! You will be drawing all of the cards! (Note it's a Wizard...)

Who's a quarter? You are! And like some of the above cards, it enjoys your swinging at a Cursed player.

I also tossed in a few other useful combat triggers. Cephaid Consatble will love being a 2/2 flyer for a turn, bouncing two permanentn on arrival (and is a Wizard so he'll get one on arrival if you control Sage of Fables.) Skyship Plunderer is also useful to make sure you can add in some counters for your 'walkers or other dorks with it on smashery.

Want to see my deck?

Eutropia's Commander Budget Favor | Commander | Abe Sargent

• Commander (1)
• 1 Eutropia the Twice-Favored

• Creatures (34)
• 1 Archetype of Imagination
• 1 Armorcraft Judge
• 1 Avatar of the Resolute
• 1 Boon Satyr
• 1 Callaphe, Beloved of the sea
• 1 Cephalid Constable
• 1 Combine Guildmage
• 1 Crowned Ceratok
• 1 Drake Familiar
• 1 Eidolon of Blossoms
• 1 Frilled Mystic
• 1 Herald of the Pantheon
• 1 Hypnotic Siren
• 1 Master Biomancer
• 1 Mowu, Loyal Companion
• 1 Nimbus Naiad
• 1 Nylea's Colossus
• 1 Nyx Herald
• 1 Perplexing Chimera
• 1 Renata, Called to the Hunt
• 1 Riptide Chimera
• 1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
• 1 Sage of Fables
• 1 Shimmering Chimera
• 1 Simic Fluxmage
• 1 Simic Guildmage
• 1 Skatewing Spy
• 1 Skyship Plunderer
• 1 Thassa's Emissary
• 1 Trollbred Guardian
• 1 Trygon Predator
• 1 Whitewater Naiads
• 1 Zegana, Utopian Speaker
• 1 Zameck Guildmage

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter

• Instants (3)
• 1 Inspiring Call
• 1 Unity of Purpose
• 1 Wrap in Vigor

• Sorceries (2)
• 1 Kruphix's Insight
• 1 Storm the Citadel

• Enchantments (22)
• 1 Abundant Growth
• 1 Ancestral Mask
• 1 Annex
• 1 Ashiok's Erasure
• 1 Bident of Thassa
• 1 Bred for the Hunt
• 1 Curse of Predation
• 1 Durable Handicraft
• 1 Ever-Watching Threshold
• 1 Fists of Ironwood
• 1 Flight of Fancy
• 1 Hydra's Growth
• 1 Kenrith's Transformation
• 1 Krasis Incubation
• 1 New Horizons
• 1 Oath of the Ancient Wood
• 1 Omen of the Hunt
• 1 Omen of the Sea
• 1 Rancor
• 1 Reality Acid
• 1 Seal of Primordium
• 1 Simic Ascendancy

• Artifacts (3)
• 1 Diviner's Wand
• 1 Simic Locket
• 1 Talisman of Curiosity

• Lands (34)
• 13 Island
• 14 Forest
• 1 Blighted Woodland
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Simic Growth Chamber
• 1 Simic Guildgate
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse
• 1 Thornwood Falls
• 1 Woodland Stream

Buy This Deck Export text format

And there we are! My target was $32.39

Where did I hit? Six cents cheaper! ($32.33)

Now, please remember that the prices of these can shift. For example, I only used bulk rares, uncommons and commons from Theros: Beyond Death. But if Ashiok's Erasure booms and is worth two dollars a month from now, the price will shift. Card prices on the secondary market are always in a state of flux. But the core idea of getting a mega-cheap build like this without having the break your wallet still stands, even if it ebbs a little over my expected budget as card values shift.

By building this cheap budget build, you are Thrice Blessed! Once by Thassa, Once by Nylea, and Once by your Wallet!

Anything I missed? Anything that inspired your own Eutropia build? Just let me know!

Other places you could look might include Bow of Nylea, Growing Rites of Itlimoc, Hardened Scales, Courser of Kruphix, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove, Path of Discovery, Vigor, Song of the Dryads, Kalonian Hydra, Imprisoned in the Moon, Karn's Bastion, Sylvan Library, and many more. You could loop enchantments with Cloudstone Curio. Herald of Secret Streams? Love it!

But I just ran out of space financially. Cards like Herald and Bow are cheaper, they are just a little past this project, but might be great targets for you! I usually just lean into bulk rares, and cheaper commons and uncommon for these projects (some uncommons or commons like Swords to Plowshares can be too much for these builds).

Appendix

If you enjoyed today's gonzo counters/Wizards/saboteur/enchantments Simic deck, great! Here are the first 51 Budget Commander Options for your wallet-friendly happiness and joy:

1. We kicked things off with Brion Stoutarm came in at $37.71
2. Next up was Ghave, Guru of Spores, with a budget of $36.48, is a lot of fun!
3. Talrand, Sky Summoner - $49.37. I increased the budget for this project due to the nature of the challenge, and it's the only entry in the series where the cost is increased rather than decreased.
4. Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius is the next for our list rocking that $36.37 pricetag.
5. Princess Lucrezia and Riven Turnbull feature in this fun throwback Commander deck that is just $35.68.
6. Roon of the Hidden Realm demonstrates one of the Commander 2013 dorks in a $35.29 shell.
7. Vhati il-Dal runs the table for just $35.17. It's also one of the more unique entries in this project.
8. With all of the latest draconic lovin', Bladewing the Risen comes just a few cents less at $35.13. http://www.gatheringmagic.com/abesargent-042114-budget-commander-8-budget-bladewing/
9. Lu Xun, Scholar General may not be a powerhouse, but there's enough utility under here to spark a very interesting EDH deck for just $35.07.
10. Bosh, Iron Golem was a fun mono-red artifact centric deck that hits $35.06. That's right, one cent cheaper! It's a fun and different take on artifacts than good ol' Brago will be next.
11. Brago, King Eternal is featured with a different artifact theme and a $35.04 budget.
12. Let's finally get below that $35 mark with Lin Sivvi and her rebel horde! $34.98 for the witness.
13. Wedges are cool. So is Teneb, the Harvester! $34.94 gets us a deck that wins and has fun.
14. Who likes Surrak Dragonclaw? Who likes making a face-smashing deck for just $34.83? This guy!
15. Tolsimir Wolfblood? $34.73? Selesnya aggro? We've got it in spades!
16. Alesha, Who Smiles at Death is ready to bring some serious recursion, beats, and a modest budget to boot at $34.62.
17. Want to Dragon up your deck? Why not roll with Dragonlord Kolaghan for $34.47.
18. Who's thumping those mono-green beats with the Yeva, Nature's Herald stylings? Who clocks in at just $34.39? This article!
19. Want to donate some stuff, play some politics, and draw a ton of cards? Then check out this Zedruu the Greathearted deck that came in at $34.29.
20. I have a notion that a Five Color deck would be a fun budget challenge. Horde of Notions is a blast of Elemental fun that clocks in at $34.17. Check it out!
21. Five color doesn't have to end with tribes. There are so many options that this Five Color Cromat deck with a bit of a smash-y board presence is ready to introduce itself to the red zone, and to winning. It also is just $34.20.
22. Sometimes it's really nice to see how far we can push a popular commander with a cheaper budget. That's where this Nekusar, the Mindrazer deck comes in, clocking in at $34.03
23. With a budget of just $33.98, this Daxos of Meletis deck is pretty cool without being too expensive. Check it out!
24. We have a Snake flavored Kaseto, Orochi Archmage deck with a lot of fun, Snakes, and budget goodness at $33.91.
25. Nahiri, the Lithomancer is calling for an equipment and Solider focused mono-white build that's just $33.85.
26. Who's Born to be Wild? Mina and Denn are! Check out this Gruul Smash deck with lands and fun for just $33.75.
27. Gods are cool, especially when they make you berries, fruits, and tasty veggies. Karametra, God of Harvests might fetch you a lot of lands and good times, but she won't set back your wallet. Check out her budget build, clocking in at $33.74
28. She beats with auras and fun, sailing over her foes. It's Bruna, Light of Alabaster! She's bringing a strong game at a cheap $33.69.
29. Rosheen Meanderer at $33.63 clocks in with a bunch of X spells and activations with a different take on the classic Elf-Ball deck.
30. We take a look at a very old school sort of guy, Boris Devilboon, from the original Legends set, and then build a $33.58 deck around our good demonic friends.
31. It's time for a bit of an Orzhov Control loving, built around Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts and featuring a ton of removal, control, and more, all for the low, low price of $33.56.
32. Captain Sisay leads a fun, legendary infused deck that has a lot of great cards and synergy, but a light price, checking in at $33.46.
33. Ertai, the Corrupted sacrifices creatures and enchantments to counter spells. For $33.35, we have a great control-esque deck with some groovy sacrificing love.
34. With a modest budget of $33.32, Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis have a fun event and morph focused theme, without running a bunch of cards from their Commander 2016 Appearance. Check them out!
35. Built around the Old-School combo of Prodigal Sorcerer and Fungusaur, this Commander deck features a number of cards that deal damage to your own creatures so they get better. It clocks in at a humble $33.26.
36. With a Golgari Toughness-Matters theme, this Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper deck won't hurt your budget, but will do some damage for $33.15.
37. Grenzo, Dungeon Warden goes all crazy with graveyard and deck restocking shenanigans for a cheap $33.12. We even have an infinite combo in here!
38. Commander 2017 brings some powerful new options for Commander players everywhere. I put together a multiplayer-friendly control deck around Mathas, Fiend Seeker for just $33.10.
39. Don't you love the Izzet madness of Arjun, the Shifting Flame? No deck has more card drawing, or card drawing triggers, than this one! It clocks in at $33.04.
40. It doesn't have to be Halloween for you to enjoy the Monster Mash. Here we have a Grusilda, Monster Mash deck that enjoys mashing your dorks together, but not mashing your budget. It clocks in at $32.98
41. Don't Shatter your Budget with this build of the Shattergang Brothers, who's sacrificial ways won't sacrifice wallet, and just cost $32.94.
42. I saw Muldrotha, the Gravetide and I just fell in love with that face. Who wouldn't? Here's a graveyard abuse deck that won't break your bank, just your battlefield. And maybe some friendships. It was $32.89.
43. Who likes some Saprolings and having Fungal Fun? I do! Slimefoot, the Stowaway leads this cheap, flavorful deck that clocks in at $32.80. Every addition to the deck has to support the flavor of the Fungal concepts!
44. Who wants to untap and en-creature Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle? Who wants a fun budget build that's just $32.77? ME!
45. Next up is a budget build of Emmara, Soul of the Accord which is cheap and clocks in at $32.77. Check out it's token majesty!
46. I randomly selected Kefnet the Mindful for a random Commander challenge, and was inspired to combine my two series and build a Budget Commander deck around card-drawing and fun times with Kefnet! Check it out and it's $32.73 glory.
47. Let's build a fun graveyard and mono-Green build around my second Portal: Three Kingdoms leader - Hua Tuo, Honored Physician. I really like this build, and for just $32.65, I hope you will too!
48. I built a fun budget Burn and Life gain deck around Firesong and Sunspeaker for a price tag of only $32.57! Want to check it out?
49. I built a fun deck around the partners Gorm the Great and Virtus the Veiled. This deck ran some cool cards, including the old school Basilisk and Lure combos. But it only cost $32.51. Don't you wanna check it out? Of course ya do!
50. For my 50th Budget Commander article, I decide to do something crazy! Let's build a Warrior themed deck around a very expensive Najeela, the Blade-Blossom, rather than my normal way of a budget leader. We come in at $42.45. You know you want to read it...
51. Want a Naya Gold deck? Literally? Built around the multicolored loving Rienne, Angel of Rebirth. It clocks it at $32.39. I know you want to find out how I ever could do that! Check it out!
52. That's this article you silly goose; it ain't here yet!