Getting into Commander can be tough if you don't want to spend a lot of money doing it. With one hundred card slots to fill and almost every fancy rare in the game to choose from, things can become expensive quickly. Fortunately, I'm here to help you solve that problem. Using one of the Gods from Theros, I've put together a fully functional Commander deck without breaking my usual budget. In fact, as I write this, the entire deck can be purchased on CoolStuffInc.com for about $50.

So, what God did I choose to head up this project? Well, it's no secret that I'm a fan of decks that win in unusual ways, and Purphoros, God of the Forge seemed to be a great opportunity to do something a little different. Token decks are fairly common in Commander. Most of them use green spells such as Beastmaster Ascension to pump up all the creatures, attacking for large amounts of damage.

With Purphoros, however, you don't need to attack at all. Just playing the tokens is enough to kill your opponents. One of the big advantages to Purphoros is that he deals damage to all of your opponents simultaneously. This means that all you need to do to win is make creatures enter the battlefield twenty times. It sounds like a bit of a tall order at first, but it's easier than you might think given the proper tools.

Makin' Bacon (by which I Mean Tokens)

For the incremental token-producers, it starts with the lands. Kher Keep and Springjack Pasture can make a token now and then if you have nothing else to do. Although the tokens are expensive compared to the other spells, including these cards in the deck is almost a freebie—their only downside is producing colorless mana.

Throne of Empires won't be making five Soldiers here, but it's a pretty decent price even for just one. Trading Post requires 1 life to do the same thing, but it adds on a few extra abilities. Myr Turbine takes that extra 1 mana up front, but it then gives you free tokens for as long as it remains on the battlefield.

Orochi Hatchery requires a huge initial investment if you want to make anything worthwhile out of it. Paying 6 mana will get you an okay source of creatures, but reach 8 or 10, and the Hatchery starts to become really impressive. Making five creatures every turn with Purphoros on the battlefield will end the game in short order.

Rakka Mar is basically a creature version of Throne of Empires. Although she is more vulnerable to removal, her creatures are 3/1s, making them more relevant in combat. Goblin Assault gives you a free token every upkeep, but unless one opponent is severely lacking in the creature department, those tokens won't last long.

Kazuul, Tyrant of Cliffs will makes tokens whenever a creature attacks you, unless your opponent pays his hefty 3-mana tax. This works even better as a deterrent than it does as a token-maker in convincing opponents to send their creatures elsewhere.

Spawnsire of Ulamog can do something similar, allowing you to spend 4 mana to create two tokens, which can then be sacrificed to recoup half of your mana investment. Thus, every 2 mana you put in gives you 4 damage from Purphoros. Rapacious One makes Spawn tokens as well, but it does it when you hit your opponents, made easier by the trampling 5/4 body.

Although there won't be many large creatures in the deck, it doesn't take much to make Elemental Mastery awesome. Stick it on a creature with 5 or more power, and you're getting more than your mana's worth out of the deal, even if an opponent kills it. If it does make it back around to your turn, that's just a sweet little 10-damage bonus.

Tooth and Claw and Spawning Pit give you one token in exchange for sacrificing two. Normally, that’s not a good deal, but when all you care about is that first moment of existence, it's actually pretty sweet. Either of them will let you trigger Purphoros almost twice as many times with the same number of creatures.

Pentavus, Tetravus, and Thopter Squadron allow you to turn +1/+1 counters into tokens and back again, triggering Purphoros each time. As long as the creature's alive, you'll never run out of damage.

Minion Reflector and Mimic Vat take advantage of your creatures that produce tokens, giving you multiple uses of the same card. In fact, putting this next card on a Mimic Vat is a recipe for disaster, at least as far as your opponents' life totals are concerned.

One-Shot Kill

Goblin Marshal, Emrakul's Hatcher, and Myr Battlesphere all make reasonable numbers of creatures for their costs, and they look great when imprinted on a Mimic Vat. Thopter Assembly also effectively produces five tokens for 6 mana, and it returns to your hand to do it again if you run out.

Goblin Offensive makes tokens equal to the amount of mana you can pump into it, and Warbreak Trumpeter is a less effective backup. Firecat Blitz has a flashback that, while costly, can allow you to end the game out of nowhere. Tempt with Vengeance will almost never be successful in coercing your opponents to but in, but even alone, it's the best card of the bunch. Snake Basket lets you wait a turn or two before popping it off, using all your mana at once for pure token-making power.

Goblin Rally and Skittering Invasion make a pretty good number of creatures, and Rally the Horde can go on forever if you're lucky. Empty the Warrens becomes more effective the more cheap spells you have to cast, but it's pretty stellar with even one storm copy. Mogg Infestation and Hellion Eruption turn your army of tokens into a better one, triggering Purphoros numerous times in the process.

For the Love of Mana

Everflowing Chalice and Dreamstone Hedron make extra mana to power your X spells permanently. On the other hand, Battle Hymn and Mana Geyser can make huge amounts of mana for one turn, powering out a massive spell.

Ashnod's Altar can do something similar, but it instead allows you to sacrifice all your tokens for mana. You can even use it to chain X spells together, using a Firecat Blitz for 5 to power out a Goblin Offensive for 10 and then a Tempt with Vengeance for 20.

Deal (Damage) with It

Soulblast is a mix between the two, but it allows you to take advantage of Purphoros's pump ability to double or triple the amount of damage you're putting out. Burn at the Stake can also deal a huge amount of damage, but like Soulblast, it's limited to a single target.

Mercadia's Downfall is a cheap spell that can give your creatures an incredibly large power boost given the number of nonbasic lands commonly seen in the format. It's even an instant, so you can hold back until after your opponent has declared blockers. It's also worth noting that this can be used when one opponent attacks another for a real surprise.

Comet Storm is another great mana sink that becomes really efficient in multiplayer. With multikicker copying the damage to whatever you want to target, you can hit several troublesome creatures for only one 1 extra mana each.

Kill It with Fire!

Fissure and Aftershock are two of the few red spells that outright kill creatures regardless of size, and they can each be used on another card type if necessary. Spine of Ish Sah, on the other hand, hits every type of permanent, even red's nemesis, the enchantment. Meanwhile, Brittle Effigy is among the only ways to deal with an indestructible creature in this color.

Blasphemous Act will kill anything and everything, and it is sure to be cheap with the number of tokens you'll often be putting out. Although it might kill a few 1/1s on your side, the Purphoros damage is already done, and it can kill much, much larger creatures on the opposite side of the field.

Bouncing Around

Grinning Ignus can return to your hand to return the mana you invested in it back to you. This means that for every red mana you have, you can bounce and recast it, triggering your commander each time.

Portcullis may seem like an odd choice in a token deck, but it can work here. Think about it. You cast a Myr Battlesphere, and it makes four tokens, dealing a total of 10 damage with Purphoros. Everything becomes exiled, and when the Portcullis is eventually destroyed, you deal another 10 damage. Meanwhile, any new creatures your opponents cast will be similarly locked away, without the opportunity to deal damage first.

More Cards Is Better Cards

Staff of Nin will give you an extra card every turn, helping keep up with players using more card-advantage-inclined colors. Illuminated Folio will also work, provided you have two red cards in your hand. Jar of Eyeballs can easily allow you to look through half your deck with the number of creatures that will be dying, and Slate of Ancestry can give you a nice new hand when you're light on cards but heavy on creatures.

Add in a few choice nonbasic lands and a heaping portion of Mountains, and you have yourself a deck. Enjoy.

"The Token Forge"

• Commander (0)

• Creatures (16)
• 1 Chancellor of the Forge
• 1 Emrakul's Hatcher
• 1 Furystoke Giant
• 1 Goblin Marshal
• 1 Grinning Ignus
• 1 Rapacious One
• 1 Spawnsire of Ulamog
• 1 Warbreak Trumpeter
• 1 Myr Battlesphere
• 1 Pentavus
• 1 Tetravus
• 1 Thopter Assembly
• 1 Thopter Squadron
• 1 Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
• 1 Norin the Wary
• 1 Rakka Mar

• Spells (43)
• 1 Battle Hymn
• 1 Comet Storm
• 1 Fissure
• 1 Mercadia's Downfall
• 1 Shattering Pulse
• 1 Soulblast
• 1 Aftershock
• 1 Blasphemous Act
• 1 Burn at the Stake
• 1 Empty the Warrens
• 1 Firecat Blitz
• 1 Goblin Offensive
• 1 Goblin Rally
• 1 Tempt with Vengeance
• 1 Hellion Eruption
• 1 Mana Geyser
• 1 Mogg Infestation
• 1 Rally the Horde
• 1 Vandalblast
• 1 Skittering Invasion
• 1 Elemental Mastery
• 1 Goblin Assault
• 1 Goblin Bombardment
• 1 Goblin Warrens
• 1 Tooth and Claw
• 1 Ashnod's Altar
• 1 Brittle Effigy
• 1 Dreamstone Hedron
• 1 Everflowing Chalice
• 1 Illuminated Folio
• 1 Jar of Eyeballs
• 1 Mimic Vat
• 1 Minion Reflector
• 1 Myr Turbine
• 1 Orochi Hatchery
• 1 Portcullis
• 1 Slate of Ancestry
• 1 Snake Basket
• 1 Spawning Pit
• 1 Spine of Ish Sah
• 1 Staff of Nin
• 1 Throne of Empires
• 1 Trading Post

• Lands (40)
• 32 Mountain
• 1 Forgotten Cave
• 1 Ghost Quarter
• 1 Haunted Fengraf
• 1 Smoldering Crater
• 1 Spinerock Knoll
• 1 Springjack Pasture
• 1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
• 1 Kher Keep

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