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Budget Commander #42: Muldrotha's Fun Times

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Just look and revel in her majesty:

When I looked over the legendary options from Dominaria, I knew that Muldrotha would be my choice to lead my first Commander Deck, and note that it's also cheap too (2 bucks).

My Budget Commander series requires that each deck come in under the budget of the previous one, so I need a build that is under $32.94 over on coolstuffinc.com.

Muldrotha, the Maker of Happy Abes.

During each of your turns, you may play up to one permanent card of each permanent type from your graveyard. (If a card has multiple permanent types, choose one as you play it.)

She is my leader. She's perfect . . . 

So, I want to do several things here:

  1. Emphasize lands that go to my graveyard so I can always be able to play a land in case I don't have any in my hand at the time. (Or it's the best option)
  2. Emphasize creatures, artifacts, enchantments, that can sacrifice themselves while helping the team, so they can be re-cast.
  3. Cycle things to the yard so I can cast them normally later

Are you ready?

Here we go!

Muldrotha's Budget -- Commander | Abe Sargent


This is the first time I've had 3 planeswalkers in my budget build, but I emphasized them early because you can cast them again with your Commander after they inevitably die, and I am spending around $10 of my budget on them, but I think they work here marvelously.

As you can see though, to make that work I have to emphasize a lot of lesser known cards, and commons/uncommons. But that's okay, the keys I wanted to use to unlock this deck are already common, like the Font cycle, or Spellbombs, Armillary Sphere, and Evolving Wilds. See also mega cheap uncommons like Baloth Null, Rise from the Grave, and Wild-Field Scarecrow.

Target $32.94, Result -- $32.89

Note that you can cast something like Perplexing Chimera as an enchantment and then Satyr Wayfinder as your creature so you net two dorks.

This deck has a lot of great cards of various types. Let's begin with enchantments.

I knew I wanted to look at Seals and Fonts for this deck going in, and there were among the first cards I tossed in. They are cheap and highly playable.

Let's take a looksee:

Seal of Doom
Seal of Primordium

Font of Fertility
Font of Fortunes
Font of Return

Consider these five cards for a moment. None of them are going to make the next "Commander's Essential List" but they all work. They destroy stuff, create card advantage, or fetch lands. All of them work. And in a deck where you can play one of these five dorks every main phase from your graveyard? That's the sort of long term advantage you want. Imagine casting and sacrificing Seal of Doom every main phase? Or Seal of Primordium? Everything in here works. Now I didn't find any of the Vessel cycle to warrant including (The best was likely Vessel of Nascency), but these five are great additions to my Muldrotha deck.

Muldrotha rocks!

And that isn't all in the enchantment section of the deck either.

Crop Sigil
Compulsion

This is Crop Sigil, and I want you to see just how good it is here. It helps to fill up your graveyard a little bit each turn to help your Commander have enough options to cast again. It also will get you to delirium very quickly, and then, when you need, you can sacrifice it to pull back two cards from your graveyard as a double Regrowth. We've talked about how I wanted lands and dorks that self-sacrifice, so you know it'll be loaded with goodies, right? Right!

One of my favorite tricks in this deck is Compulsion, by the way. It can self-sacrifice for a card, so it has that going for it. But it also can be used to discard a card from your hand to draw a card, and then play the discarded card. For example, imagine you just drew Crop Sigil, and now you want to cast it. Great! Discard it to Compulsion for 1u and draw a card. Now cast it with your leader out for g. Result? You drew a card and still cast your enchantment for the turn. That is a cool result!

This also seems like a good shell to try out some Sagas from Commander, as they will die after being out there for a turn or three. We'll start with The Eldest Reborn, which seems pretty useful, all things considered. Casting an Edict effect, forcing discards, and reanimating something good are great, and then recurring it and using it over and over again is greater.

I also tossed in a few enchantment-triggers like Eidolon of Blossoms and Thoughtrender Lamia. You don't have to play a lot of enchantments in this deck to rack up those triggers again and again!

And those are just enchantments!

Muldrotha wins with other permanents too!

We have value in lots of other places too! Artifacts? Sure!

Courier's Capsule
Executioner's Capsule

Wild-Field Scarecrow
Armillary Sphere
Horizon Spellbomb
Nihil Spellbomb
Commander's Sphere
Mind Stone

These are all great examples of useful and cheap cards you can collect for your Commander deck. All of them have obvious roles, such as sacrificing for a land, cards, or killing a dork. My favorite here might be Nihil Spellbomb, as replaying it over and over again will take out other graveyard shenanigans while also getting you cards.

Trading Post

Much like Compulsion in the enchantment section, I'm sure you noticed a powerful engine in the artifacts. Trading Post. It lets you sacrifice any artifact for a card, which can then be replayed when Muldrotha is rocking the battlefield. You can also sacrifice a dork to recast it and recur a key artifact to your hand that you may not want to cast (or you may want to cast as well. Imagine you used Nihil Spellbomb and want to recur it but you'd also like to get out Seer's Sundial back). It can also play the discard trick for four life and enable you to cast something that was in your hand. It's perfect here!

Muldrotha Rolls!

And that ain't it! Creatures?

I got your creatures!

Caustic Caterpillar
Thrashing Brontodon

Caustic Caterpillar is perfect here as a cheap body that can be sacrificed for a Naturalize. It's a three-mana investment to recast and sacrifice to smash something each turn. Meanwhile Thrashing Brontodon is more expensive to cast, but has a bigger body and a cheap sacrifice, so it's only 4 mana for its iteration. These are exactly the sorts of cheap commons and uncommons that make this deck hum like a pretty kitty.

And they work alongside stuff like Sakura-Tribe Elder or the Scarecrow above. But that ain't all!

I have cycling cards like Krosan Tusker and Shefet Monitor that can be cycled, get you two cards, and then cast as board threats. (see also: Scion of Darkness)You can evoke Mulldrifter for 3 mana each turn to draw two cards. (One of my final cuts from the deck was Mournwhelk as I ran out of cash. Yes, even a bulk common for cents has to respect my budget. I also had to pull Shambling Shell after I realized I had forgotten to add in a card for the budget correctly).

From ways to sacrifice creatures for effects (Stronghold Assassin; Whisper, Blood Liturgist), to cards like Stinkweed Imp we are in a good place, right? Right!

Given how fast delirium will hit here, I have the delirium craziness of the bulk mythic Mindwrack Demon. You get a 4/5 flying, trample, self -milling dork that will be unlikely to hurt yourself later. Torrent Elemental, another bulk mythic, is here just for good stuff, but it's an amazing card. I also wanted to try Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar, but was priced out. Given this deck's love of lands both in the graveyard and in play, it seems like a powerful consideration.

From lands like fetch lands to the trio of 'walkers, we have a lot of depth here. So enjoy!!!

Other ideas that were too pricey for the deck include Defense of the Heart, Dust Bowl, Strip Mine, Pernicious Deed, Oblivion Stone, Expedition Map, Mirrorpool, Traverse the Ulvenwald, Attrition, and maybe Primeval Bounty.

And there we are!

What did you think of my cheap take on Muldrotha? I am about three steps into my Muldrotha Happy Dance. Enjoy!

And if you liked that cheap deck, why not check out some of these older options as well?

APPENDIX

Here are the first 30+Discount Commander Options for your wallet-friendly needs:

  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. [card][card]Bosh, Iron Golem" href="/p/Magic+The+Gathering/[card]Bosh, Iron Golem" href="/p/Magic+The+Gathering/[card][card]Bosh, Iron Golem">[card][card]Bosh, Iron Golem">[card]Bosh, Iron Golem" href="/p/Magic+The+Gathering/[card][card]Bosh, Iron Golem">[card][card]Bosh, Iron Golem[/card] 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. [card]Tolsimir Wolfblood" href="/p/Magic+The+Gathering/Tolsimir Wolfblood" href="/p/Magic+The+Gathering/[card]Tolsimir Wolfblood">[card]Tolsimir Wolfblood">Tolsimir Wolfblood" href="/p/Magic+The+Gathering/[card]Tolsimir Wolfblood">[card]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 [card]Yeva, Nature's Herald" href="/p/Magic+The+Gathering/Yeva, Nature's Herald" href="/p/Magic+The+Gathering/[card]Yeva, Nature's Herald">[card]Yeva, Nature's Herald">Yeva, Nature's Herald" href="/p/Magic+The+Gathering/[card]Yeva, Nature's Herald">[card]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. [card]Karametra, God of Harvests" href="/p/Magic+The+Gathering/Karametra, God of Harvests" href="/p/Magic+The+Gathering/[card]Karametra, God of Harvests">[card]Karametra, God of Harvests">Karametra, God of Harvests" href="/p/Magic+The+Gathering/[card]Karametra, God of Harvests">[card]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.


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