Hello happy readers! I hope that your day is going to go amazingly well! Today I want to hit up my Budget Commander series for a very popular leader that I think can be built cheaper to be budget-friendly.

Before we begin, what is this series all about? Awesome question! In this series, I take the concept of budget cards very truthfully, and take the idea of a budget as well. Each deck must come in under the previous one's budget, and the first one way back at #1 was just $37.71. To get to this price, I look for the cheapest version of the card, near mint, here at CoolStuffInc.com, and we don't count basics as you have those and if not, a friend will give them to you for free!

Please note that secondary prices change and shift over time, so from this writing to when it's published to when you read it, the market may have shifted, and the price be very different. Happens all the time! But the key core budget concept still exists even if the details shift a bit here and there.

Today I am building around Zaxara, the Exemplary. Over at EDHREC.com there are a full 4043 decks registered with this leader and that's the 22nd highest played leader from any color combo. It combines the heavy popular Simic color combo with Black. As you can see, this 2/3 has deathtouch to trade up, and can tap for 2 mana of a color, so it ramps. Then as you cast spells with an X in its cost you make a Hydra dork with a size equal to the mana cost of the X spell. Also note that despite the heavy use of Zaxara, it's just $1.49 for the cheapest copy here, which is pretty cheap considering just how heavy its play is.

To be fair, I already have a real-life X Spells matters brew in Gruul around Rosheen Meanderer. I built is last year and you can find it here. Therefore, I have some idea of what an X spell deck can do. This creature includes Green for ramp and Hydras and the other colors for interaction. I wish that this added in Red to Simic for X burn spells rather than Black, but we'll be fine. Ready?

My previous deck came in at $32.56, so this deck has to come in cheaper!

Bulk rare attack! As you can see, this Hydra rare duo is pretty nice and add some fun to the X-matters machine! I don't care whose face is smashed, as long as someone is. The non-Goat is a bit pricier than the other half with three mana but gives you the ability to send counters to Zaxara as well as itself. Not bad later in the game when you want to make a game winning Commander kill. I also tossed in the mega cheap Rogue's Passage to help with that game winner.

I added in a ton of Hydras, but let's head elsewhere for this deep dive.

$0.98 for them both. Each of these legendary dorks heads into a different direction. Verazol is a powerful Simic leader for Commander and can arrive with X stuff equal to the mana you used to cast it, not the amount spent in X, which gives it +1/+1 here. Ignore the kicker ability. And then Ol' Stickfingers is here as a fun Golgari Horror that will reveal X spells and dig from your library that many dorks and then the dorks heads to your graveyard and the rest to your deck. Its power and toughness are at a Mortivore level of fun. Nice pair!

Bulk rares redux. The first is a nice X that also, again, gives you counters equal to the mana used not the X effect, and then you can pull off counters to prevent damage from your encountered stuff, which is very likely to be a lot of stuff in this brew. And then the second creature has a nice cast trigger to reveal the X cards from your library and put a nonland one with a cheaper cost than its X onto the battlefield which is nice card flow in this brew. Love this pair's power and synergy with the deck!

Another bulk rare worth running is Gadwick, the Wizened. Gadwick the Awesome is a powerful card drawing creature in X form and will both draw you X cards as well as make a Hydra with your leader is you control it, which I hope you will. Powerful stuff!

$0.25 each! One of the ways that I do a budget deck build is I do a search here on CoolStuffInc.com for cards that meet my needs under a certain price. For example, we are playing one copy of every X Cost creature in my colors that costs under a buck. The usual price for uber-bulk rares here is $0.49, but there are, sometimes, heavily printed rares that have just a quarter, and this duo has that done. They are also pretty good in Commander and this deck specifically. The Shatter is a Mind Twist for just one more mana. That's pretty nice and gives you a way to spank an opponent who hoards their hand. The Spring is a Braingeyser that cannot target your foes in order to kill them by decking, so it's a little less flexible, but Braingeyser is a card that can cost 3 or 4 dollars depending on condition, and this is a quarter. I'll take it. Love the power of this pair here!

Check out this powerful Standard-legal cheapy. It wants to sit at X = 4. If you do that then you'll get all of its stuff! Scry 1! Draw a card! Unsummon a dork! Make a 4/4 Elemental token! And you'll net a trigger from your Commander as well. Please note that if you need a bigger trigger then you certainly can increase the X, although there's no mechanical need to do so. Enjoy it!

All these powerful, flexible spells are under a buck. Command can force a foe to lose X life, recur a dork from the graveyard to your battlefield (unlikely since most have X in their cost and won't be useful), drop a dork -X/-X and fearify a team. I see you doing options 1 and 3 a lot. -X/-X removal is good since it gets past indestructible issues. Erebos's card's top ability plays like that combo as well, and you'll gain life this time instead of losing it. It's also an instant and one fewer to start the X. The latter ability is a nice way to hose graveyards and abuse that's rampant at the kitchen table, and I tossed in another pair of dorks that play into this metagame we'll look at later. And check out the Nylea sorcery which can grab a ton of lands from your deck - note that nowhere is the word "basic" in that ability. The other ability can sweep flyers, and we don't have that many of those here. Love this trio a lot here!

Bulk rare! This powerhouse can require all three colors of mana, but it's a powerful adjunct to your deck. Good Wealth!

Huh. I was surprised when I saw this doubler of +1/+1 counters on your dorks was actually on budget. It's also something that you may want to get back with Profane Command. Love this powerful stroke of genius a lot in a deck like this one! The enchantment is my most expensive card here at a cost of $1.99. As counters are placed on your dorks, you place that many growth counters on this fun thing. Have 20 or more? Win the game! This is this deck's Laboratory Maniac.

Have you seen the power of the Burst? As you can see, it's a nice Spell Blast that can counter a card and trigger Zaxara and bring it back to your hand for another go around the bin. Buyback in a deck with cast trigger on your Commander is a key to winning the game. The Dreams is a nice, better Recall that doesn't discard cards to make it work. Getting a cheap Regrowth effect that is on queue with an X it to trigger Zaxara is pretty keen to sheen. Good pair with synergy for the build.

I only have three planeswalkers in my brew, so let's look at the Simic ones first. With Kiora you'll draw loads of cards with her ETB trigger to draw cards from 4+ powered things with your Hydras and friends. Use her -1 on a mana rock or dork or land to get another mana from it. The Nissa is clearly here since she is the first X-spell planeswalker. Her +2 to Scry 2 is pretty nice, and her - to draw a card or dork from your deck works nicely. Since most Hydra and friends have lower costs, you could easily draw one with just 3 or 4 loyalty on her. She's awesome!

I also added the $1 Ob Nixilis Reignited that is heavily played and printed in Commander decks. He can +1 to draw cards, and -3 to destroy a dork, rare in this budget brew. Good card flow and removal packed into a 5-mana walker of the planes. Good trio!

$0.75. This is a Manalith that will tap for any color of mana for your team. It's also a cast trigger that puts two charge counters on here for each time you cast an X spell ,and then it can tap to make that many charge counters of colorless mana but they can only be used for X costs which should be used pretty commonly. Just one X spell gives you two mana and it spirals up from there. And don't forget Horizon Stone. Tap all your things for mana and then it's gets saved as colorless, which is good for X costs. I really like tapping for mana on a foe's end of turn step, and then you untap and go on going on.

Check out this fun pair of recently printed X cards. The former is a nice new "Innistrad Block" uncommon that can coven into a +1/+1 counter for free on one of your dorks. Love it loads here! The latter is a nice trampler that can, when it dies, split into a half that big copy of itself which is pretty nifty. It's a lot of fun here!

Check out this uncommon 1/2 from Crimson Vow! As you can see, it taps for any color of mana and can grow up to a nice 4/4 size like it's predecessor, Werebear. Pretty cool, right? Note the power of tapping for any color with Villainous Wealth.

Here are the two cards that also hose graveyards I mentioned above, both are also from Crimson Vow. The first is another Manalith and you can, if needed, tap two and itself to exile a card from a graveyard which is nice at instant speed. See also the Lantern, which can exile a target card on arrival and be sacrificed for another mana to exile stuff from all graveyards. We aren't running any major recursion here so there's nothing much to care about, just pop it, draw a card, and keep on hosing those graveyards at instant speed.

And there we go! Ready for my decklist?

X Marks the Hydra | Commander | Abe Sargent

• Commander (1)
• 1 Zaxara, the Exemplary

• Creatures (22)
• 1 Altered Ego
• 1 Capricopian
• 1 Contortionist Troupe
• 1 Corpsejack Menace
• 1 Cryptic Trilobite
• 1 Feral Hydra
• 1 Gadwick the Wizened
• 1 Genesis Hydra
• 1 Ivy Elemental
• 1 Krakilin
• 1 Llanowar Elves
• 1 Nimbus Swimmer
• 1 Ochre Jelly
• 1 Old Stickfingers
• 1 Reclusive Taxidermist
• 1 Skyrider Elf
• 1 Stumpsquall Hydra
• 1 Ugin's Construct
• 1 Vastwood Hydra
• 1 Verazol, the Split Current
• 1 Wildwood Scourge
• 1 Wren's Run Hydra

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 1 Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner
• 1 Nissa, Steward of Elements
• 1 Ob Nixilis Reignited

• Spells (25)
• 1 Clash of Wills
• 1 Condescend
• 1 Cultivate
• 1 Damnable Pact
• 1 Diabolic Tutor
• 1 Dissipate
• 1 Diviner's Portent
• 1 Dominate
• 1 Erebos's Intervention
• 1 Logic Knot
• 1 Migration Path
• 1 Mind Shatter
• 1 Mind Spring
• 1 Multiple Choice
• 1 Nylea's Intervention
• 1 Peregrination
• 1 Profane Command
• 1 Putrefy
• 1 Rampant Growth
• 1 Spell Blast
• 1 Spell Burst
• 1 Syncopate
• 1 Thassa's Intervention
• 1 Wildest Dreams
• 1 Villainous Wealth

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Simic Ascendancy

• Artifacts (8)
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Darksteel Ingot
• 1 Elementalist's Palette
• 1 Everflowing Chalice
• 1 Honored Heirloom
• 1 Horizon Stone
• 1 Lantern of the Lost
• 1 Zagoth Crystal

• Lands (40)
• 1 Blighted Woodland
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Dimir Aqueduct
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Gateway Plaza
• 1 Golgari Rot Farm
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Opulent Palace
• 1 Path of Ancestry
• 1 Rupture Spire
• 1 Simic Growth Sanctuary
• 1 Temple of the False God
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse
• 9 Forest
• 9 Island
• 9 Swamp

Buy This Deck Export text format

Cards to consider include Lair of the Hydra; Cabal Coffers and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth; Karn's Bastion; Zagoth Triome; Agadeem's Awakening; Deepglow Skate; Hydroid Krasis; Exsanguinate.

Our budget from last time was $32.56, and this came in at $32.54, just two cents cheaper! Enjoy!

APPENDIX

If you enjoyed today's Mono-Blue toughness-matters budget brew, great! Here are the first 61 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. I built a fun +1/+1 counter and enchantment-matters build around Eutropia the Twice-Favored for $32.33. Don't you wanna check it out?
53. I took the Skirmish deck I designed, Defy Death, and turned it into a Commander deck featuring Tariel, Reckoner of Souls for $32.28. Take a look and see what you think!
54. I created a fun token creature deck around Akim, the Soaring Wind from Commander 2020. It came in at $32.27! Enjoy it here!
55. I built a Mono-Blue scry and flying matters deck around the partners Eligeth, Crossroads Augur and Siani, Eye of the Storm, that came in under $32.23. It was fun! You can find it here!
56. I love a good crazy Commander to build around, like Hans Eriksson. My version of him ran cards like enrage led Dinosaurs, and mid-range cards you'd want to drop onto the battlefield with aplomb. The deck came in at $32.29. Want to check it out?
57. For my Selensya fans I built this crazy life gain and going wide build around Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn! It came in at $32.27 just two cents fewer than #56! Enjoy it here!
58. I built a big spells matter and ramp Simic deck around partners from Commander Legends Brinelin, the Moon Kraken and Gilanra, Caller of Wirewood. It features X spells like Hydras and big spells a go go! The budget? Just $32.73! Check it out here.
59. If you want to check out a cheap Orzhov +1/+1 Counters Matter brew, great! I've got you covered! I built around Shaile, Dean of Radiance and Embrose, Dean of Shadow. The total for this awesome build is $32.68. You can view it here.
60. This deck came in at $32.65 and it's a Peasant version Axelrod Gunnsaron from the first set that introduced legendary stuff. This one lets you use the version from Legends instead of Chronicles and it's a powerful Rakdos deck that uses ways to trigger Axelrod's ability like giving him ping effects like Fire Whip, deathtouch ones like Bladebrand, and I built the rest of the deck around deathtouchers and pingers. You can check it out here.
61. Coming in at $32.60 was this mono-Black Jerren, Corrupted Bishop deck that cared about the Human tribe and going aggro. You can find it here!
62. I was excited to write a mono-Blue toughness-matters brew around Geralf, Visionary Stitcher. It came in at $32.56.