Hello folks!

I hope you are having a good Tuesday today!

Last week I was away on vacation, so I wanted to write something that was still current, yet something that I could pen ahead of time. Something interesting and fun. I was poring over various Commanders recently released that would inspire my next Budget Commander deck.

So what is this series?

Great question!

The goal of this series is to push back against the idea that Commander has to be expensive. It doesn't. While a handful of cards are worth too much money, it's true, we also have tons of cheaper cards. By now, with around 15000 unique cards in print, there will always be a cheaper option for your deck. Always.

This series was inspired by some "budget" series trying to make a Commander deck under $200 or $100 at times. As someone who has been unemployed for multiple sections of my life while trying to balance my Magic habit, trust me, a deck that costs triple digits is not a budget-friendly option. That way lies madness.

Thus, this series entered the picture. My first article had a budget of $37.71 and featured Brion Stoutarm. I looked at the cheapest near mint printing at coolstuffinc.com, without regard to cheaper versions or sales. When CSI had a price of 4 for this number (such as four for $0.79),I just divided it by four for my pricing, so that card counted as twenty cents of my budget. Everything but basics had to fit under my budget. The goal of each article is to come under budget of previous ones. Now, the budget can shift from when I write it to when it's edited to when it is published to when you read it. Prices aren't locked in. But the budget concept remains. My most recent deck clocked in at $32.89.

I found my guy in Dominaria.

This deck is inspired by Slimefoot, the Stowaway.

As an uncommon from Dominaria, it's very cheap to afford and build a deck around. In fact, I was surprised that the other potential Saproling leader was also cheap! You can pick up both for a cheap cost over at coolstuffinc.com right now. I felt called into the territory of Thallids and Fungi.

Today I wanted to do three things:

Here we go!

Slimefoot's Revenge -- Commander | Abe Sargent

• Commander (1)
• 1 Slimefoot, the Stowaway

• Creatures (25)
• 1 Acidic Slime
• 1 Deathspore Thallid
• 1 Mycoloth
• 1 Rot Shambler
• 1 Savage Thallid
• 1 Skullmulcher
• 1 Sporecrown Thallid
• 1 Sporesower Thallid
• 1 Sporemound
• 1 Sporoloth Ancient
• 1 Thallid
• 1 Thallid Devourer
• 1 Thallid Germinator
• 1 Thallid Omnivore
• 1 Thallid Shell-Dweller
• 1 Thallid Soothsayer
• 1 Thelon of Havenwood
• 1 Thelonite Hermit
• 1 Thorn Thallid
• 1 Undergrowth Scavenger
• 1 Utopia Mycon
• 1 Verdant Force
• 1 Verdeloth the Ancient
• 1 Vitaspore Thallid
• 1 Yavimaya Sapherd

• Instants (10)
• 1 Consume Strength
• 1 Golgari Charm
• 1 Grim Affliction
• 1 Natural End
• 1 Putrefy
• 1 Return to the Earth
• 1 Second Harvest
• 1 Spore Cloud
• 1 Sprout Swarm
• 1 Wrap in Vigor

• Sorceries (16)
• 1 Creeping Mold
• 1 Cultivate
• 1 Death Mutation
• 1 Fungal Sprouting
• 1 Grim Flowering
• 1 Jarad's Orders
• 1 Life's Legacy
• 1 Morbid Bloom
• 1 Nature's Spiral
• 1 Primal Growth
• 1 Rampant Growth
• 1 Reap and Sow
• 1 Regrowth
• 1 Saproling Migration
• 1 Spontaneous Generation
• 1 Vigor Mortis

• Enchantments (8)
• 1 Deathreap Ritual
• 1 Fungal Plots
• 1 Golgari Germination
• 1 Moldervine Cloak
• 1 Necrogenesis
• 1 Nettlevine Blight
• 1 Night Soil
• 1 Path of Discovery

• Artifacts (3)
• 1 Druidic Satchel
• 1 Golgari Signet
• 1 Sarpadian Empires, Vol. VII

• Lands (36)
• 14 Swamp
• 15 Forest
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Foul Orchard
• 1 Golgari Guildgate
• 1 Golgari Rot Farm
• 1 Grim Backwoods
• 1 Jungle Hollow
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse

Buy This Deck Export text format

I came in at $32.80

Consider a card like Rampant Growth or Cultivate, both of whom have flavor that suits Fungi. Now contrast that to spells like Kodama's Reach or Journey of Discovery. Many land fetching cards are conceived as explorative in nature, as opposed to growing things, which works better for this deck.

Similarly, take the removal spell, Death Mutation.

This spell kills something and then sprouts Saprolings from its death. Not only does that fit the deck mechanically as it makes Saprolings, but also flavorfully, as it depicts the cycle of Life and Death. Fungi understand that life comes from death. The two are tethered together in a perfect dance. There is nothing wrong with a good death, such as one that serves the community. In death, life emerges.

For a similar reason, check out Life's Legacy:

Isn't that a great way of exhibiting the cycle of life? People die, but their legacy lives on in the life of others. And you draw cards to exhibit that.

Because our leader can harness the death of Saprolings, I wanted to ensure that we had enough ways to ensure that they could die on your timetable, not on your opponents. The good thing about Saprolings is that a lot of the dorks that make them also have built-in sacrifice effects for various things.

Examples of this interplay include Thallid Devourer and Thallid Germinator, but there are many more!

We also have cards in here like Fungal Plots to draw cards or Utopia Mycon to make mana. And each one of those deaths of your buddy Saprolings is the sounding of a little clock that slowly but inexorably winds toward your opponent's death. If your foes don't pay attention, their life will have dropped without them noticing to a significant degree.

Another direction I considered were mass-saving effects. I don't want my stuff to bite it before its time, as their Spore counters may not have been used yet. Thus you'll notice both Wrap in Vigor and Golgari Charm here to give the team mass regeneration.

You'll notice that my support cards run from Regrowth to Return to the Earth to Creeping Mold to Putrefy, all of which fit my flavor-tastic requirements. Cards that I wanted but didn't feel right included Whirlwind, Solemn Simulacrum, and Ravenous Chupacabra.

Feel free to take a look at the rest of the deck! I'm sure you'll find something useful there.

Note that if I was using Thelon of Havenwood as my Commander, I would have jumped all over the bulk rare Ashes of the Fallen:

That is an amazing addition for Thelon! Make all of your critters Fungus, so you have more exiling options to toss counters on your stuff. You will invariably have some non-Fungi in your deck, from support cards like Eternal Witness or Solemn Simulacrum to Shriekmaw and Acidic Slime. Wouldn't it be nice if those were Fungi in the 'yard so you could yank them out to Spore counter up? I think so!

You could toss in a ton of death triggers like Grave Pact, Fecundity, Zulaport Cutthroat and such. That way every time one of your precious Saprolings dies, you can punish the fools who slew them!

I had to cut Tendershoot Dryad as it was $5. Sorry!

Stuff like Coat of Arms, Heirloom Blade, Eldrazi Monument, Winding Constrictor, or Stoneforge Masterwork didn't feel like they were on flavor. I didn't include them.

There are a few cards that you'd want to target later if you didn't own a copy, such as Doubling Season or Elvish Farmer or Genesis or Nemata, Grove Guardian. Nemata is a surprising $15 dollars, the Farmer is on the Reserve List and thus has a bigger price-tag, and Doubling Season works great with both the counters on the Thallids and their Saproling generation. I also like Heroic Intervention here as well, despite its cost.

And that's it! I hope that you enjoyed our little trek through all things cheap and Commander-y. See anything in here that you liked? Anything you want to try out? I hope that you enjoy the build!

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.
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.