What are budget versions of the staples in Magic: The Gathering? Now, staple cards are staples for a reason. They don't really have an equal, hence why they're played over other cards. BUT! What if we tried to get close? We have to start with Green.

Let's look at some budget options for popular cards!

Green Staple Budget Replacement Options

Heroic Intervention Budget Options

Let's start with a card with a somewhat reasonable price point at the time of this article: Heroic Intervention.

It is currently going for $12. It is a card that if you're running Green, you're running it. For one and a Green, all of your permanents gain hexproof and indestructible. Yeah, you heard me. Permanents. At instant speed, you can protect just about everything on your board. Nice try Wrath of God. Nice try Swords to Plowshares. It's an insane card, but it's not always possible to drop $12 for every Green Commander deck you run.

What are the major benefits to Heroic Intervention in Green? It has to be the recovery and protection of creatures. Yes, permanent would be nice I have to reiterate: this will not be a one-to-one replacement, or everyone would be playing it instead.

What are some budget options to play instead of Heroic Intervention? For a mass board wipe, like Fumigate or Damnation, it's going to have to be Wrap in Vigor or Inspiring Call. Both are under a dollar to buy. Wrap in Vigor regenerates all of your creatures. It's one and a Green and at instant speed. It doesn't give anything hexproof or indestructible, but it does keep it from changing zones and keeps them alive. It's just they're tapped. Inspiring Call is more oriented around counters to give them all indestructible, but it also draws cards, which is the trade-off. If you're doing a counters strategy, Inspiring Call would be better.

How does one protect against targeted removal that isn't a destroy effect, like Path to Exile on a budget? Tyvar's Stand ($1.50) and Tamiyo's Safekeeping ($3) might be the answers here. It's good for targeted removal because it gives the creature hexproof. It's good for a board wipe, because it makes the creature indestructible. The only problem is, it's only for creatures and that it only targets one thing. Ideally, it would be your Commander you protect in situations like this, but maybe it can be the value engine you need. At instant speed, you can decide as the situation arises.

Worldly Tutor Budget Options

Similarly, I've selected another reasonably priced staple: Worldly Tutor. It is going for $14. You search for a creature card, reveal it, shuffle your library, and put that card on top. It is essentially to search out your Green win conditions and Worldly Tutor does this for you. How do you tutor a creature on a budget? It has to be Threats Undetected ($0.50) and Defense of the Heart ($7).

Defense of the Heart, I have to admit is still a fairly pricey card, and it's telegraphed. Everyone is going to know what you want to do. If they keep their creature count low enough to remove the card, then you won't get it. It functions in a different way then, functioning as a stax piece, keeping the board low on creatures. Yeah, it's four total mana to cast as well, and you have to wait a full rotation, but the tutor puts the creatures on the battlefield instead of into the hand. Yeah, Worldly Tutor might be better in some ways, but this is definitely worth noting. For, $7 it might not really be budget enough, though

Threats Undetected is the budget option. It makes you jump through a lot of hoops: selecting four creatures of different powers, giving someone else the choice of what you keep, it only going to your hand, and it is at sorcery speed. BUT being able to tutor for the four most insane creature cards in your deck and then keeping two seems like a good value. It also puts it in hand so you don't go down a draw after you play this like Worldly Tutor. Worldly Tutor is better in many ways, but if you want a much cheaper alternative, I suggest this.

Sylvan Library Budget Options

At $25, Sylvan Library is a tough card for many budget Commander players to afford. To be able to draw three cards each draw step, is insane for Green. How do you draw cards on a budget? It has to be Abzan Beastmaster ($0.75) and Colossal Majesty ($1.50)

Abzan Beastmaster and Colossal Majesty draw you an additional card each turn. There are some hoops you have to jump through though. You don't pay life; you just need to have a big creature. For Abzan Beastmaster, you need to have the highest toughness on the battlefield, which might be tough against an Arcades, the Strategist deck. However, in most situations, Green is very good at being the person with the highest toughness and power creatures.

Colossal Majesty just requires you to have a creature with 4 or more power, which isn't tough at all in a Green deck. Both struggle after a board wipe to draw cards, which is when we most likely need draw the most, but for under $5 it's a good way to draw an additional card each turn.

Craterhoof Behemoth Budget Options

At $30, Craterhoof Behemoth is a tough card to get on a budget. It's a card I've struggled to even buy one copy of for the decks that need it. It is a decisive card. Game-ending in most situations. When Craterhoof Behemoth enters the battlefield, creatures you control gain trample and get +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of creatures you control. This can be a complete blowout in a lot of situations. How do you have a big turn like this on a budget? It has to be Overwhelming Stampede ($3.50), Rumbleweed ($2), or End-Raze Forerunners ($0.75).

Overwhelming Stampede is basically Craterhoof Behemoth, except it doesn't add to the creature count. It is three mana less to cast, but you need to already have lethal on board. Additionally, if you have an enters doubler then Craterhoof Behemoth's effect could be doubled. Sadly, Overwhelming Stampede cannot. It is a good cheap alternative though.

Rumbleweed is a little more specific to a land-in-the-grave deck, like Yuma, Proud Protector or Titania, Protector of Argoth. It will cost a lot less to cast with lands in grave, but otherwise, it's an 11-mana spell that gives everything only +3/+3 and trample. It counts itself, which is good, but it might not be decisive either. It does get very close in the decks mentioned above.

Forerunners is by far the cheapest here and the most versatile. For the same eight mana you would play for Craterhoof Behemoth, you get a 7/7 that gives each of your creatures +2/+2, vigilance, and trample until end of turn. It means even after this explosive turn, if there is anyone left, you can still reasonably block the crack-back. It means even the Forerunner can attack because it has haste. It is an excellent replacement for Craterhoof on a budget.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read. I hope this helps in your next deck-building session! @cashinds on X