Some friends and I have decided to start trying out commander as a way to play multiplayer games, but not all of them have the money to build expensive decks so we decided to impose a restriction. No single card in the deck can cost more than $2 (based on the mid price on magiccards.info). I consider myself to be an ok deckbuilder, but since I've never played commander I don't know what interactions are worth pursuing. I've been trying to read up on it understand better, but I figured it would be worth asking the community, so.....
1 What general would be fun to use but also hold up well against non-budgeted decks (if that combo is possible)?
2 What are some good interactions with suggested generals?
1. Consult The Top 50 Cards List and Hidden Gems threads for bargain treasures. Just ignore the Sol Rings and Mana Drains and take note of the Willbenders and Crystal Balls. Seeing some of the most powerful, most affordable cards in the format will give you cool ideas and help form a solid framework when building your deck.
2. If there is an effect you really want for your deck that doesn't meet your budget constraint, look for alternatives with similar mechanics. For example, don't feel boxed into a one- or two-color deck just because you can't buy fetches and duals; solid mana fixing is available in the form of Vivid lands, green land ramp, etc.
3. Look to other budget decks for ideas! Ghooosts built a Wrexial, the Risen Deep deck for under $30 that apparently wins many games in his playgroup (link here). I built a Pauper-legal Child of Alara deck (link here) that manages to hold its own amidst a table full-powered EDH decks.
4. Read Blackjack's guide to EDH/Commander, which QDI already linked to. It's really quite good.
A tribal elf deck can be incredibly vicious while still working on a budget. It's what I worked on most recently. It also has some fun infinite mana shenanigans. Though I doubt it would work well in multiplayer games past 5+ players, I haven't really tested it that much.
I'm not a huge fan of Gwafa, I've played it and its ability hasn't been of too much use when I've used it. The colors (blue and white) are really great for EDH. Having some control options is always good, and many of them are fairly inexpensive.
And of course, check out the threads the above posters showed, that'll be a good place to start. Good luck.
I'd like to echo Icarus's sentiment that U/W is solid, but Gwafa Hazid might be a bit lacking. Have you considered Hanna, Ships Navigator? You can grab Mindslaver while it's still $1.88, and Decree of Silence is also quite affordable! Recurring both of these gives you a backbreaking Stage 3 plan for when games go long, which they certainly will.
Sorry I didn't suggest a general like you asked in my previous post; it totally slipped my mind.
Since he always gets brought up whenever someone's looking for a budget, Uril the Miststalker is very easy/cheap to make.
Out of the generals I've used, the ones that seem most budget friendly so far:
Arcum Dagsson, which I just built, only has a few cards over $2 and most are uncessary (i.e. inkmoth nexus is great since it's both land and artifact creature, but it's not a super game-changing card). My version is watered down to avoid infinite combos, too, you can make a turn-5-win version for like $10 total (Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth + Diviner's wand).
Zirilan of the claw is more casual, less douchey, and way cooler imo. He also functions as a toolbox, but a less stupidly overpowered one and more of a sweet ridiculous one.
Child of alara can be fairly pricey, but there are good cheap recursion cards and the general is just absolutely brutal.
Merieke Ri Berit is a lot better with good tutors, but even without she's a real house. She might be my favorite general, she's a little less budgety than the others, though.
Anyway, all my decklists are in my sig to take a look. Which reminds me, Sygg, river cutthroat would probably be good too.
Green is an amazing color if you're on a budget. Without access to powerful (expensive) acceleration like Sol Ring, Mana Vault, and Mana Crypt, and fixing like fetches and duals, being able to play a near infinite amount of 2-mana acceleration/fixing spells is very powerful.
It's recommended that you branch into 3 colors if possible. This will give you access to more powerful cards, while 1-2 colors might leave you short when you find that some of the most powerful cards in those colors are outside your budget. 2 colors is definitely better than one though.
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I'd like to echo Icarus's sentiment that U/W is solid, but Gwafa Hazid might be a bit lacking. Have you considered Hanna, Ships Navigator? You can grab Mindslaver while it's still $1.88, and Decree of Silence is also quite affordable! Recurring both of these gives you a backbreaking Stage 3 plan for when games go long, which they certainly will.
Sorry I didn't suggest a general like you asked in my previous post; it totally slipped my mind.
I also recommend this. I personally for UW play Grand Arbiter, but this is risky in that it draws a lot of hate. Hanna is a great option, a lot less annoying to your opponents (so they won't immediately go after you, though one of the joys of blue is being able to keep people from attacking you whether they want to or not) while still being a powerful general. If you want to do UW, I'd go with that.
Also, Decree of Silence is an absolutely brilliant thing to play. I had originally figured it wouldn't hurt my opponent's much, but those 3 counters can really hold everyone else off from playing spells for several turns. As a general rule, they will much rather stay under lockdown than lose their valuable spells, and particularly in multiplayer they'll hope someone else will sacrifice their cards first. - then if you can recur it with your general... that's just beyond awesome.
For budget, I'd probably go U/B - Wrexial
or U/W - Grand Arbiter (doesn't have to be a prison/stax deck)
I think those 2 color combinations have pretty good budget options, plenty capable of holding it's own against non-budget decks. And you can always procure a few non-budget cards for a sideboard to use when there isn't a price restriction in place.
When you decide on commander, post a thread, I'd enjoy the opportunity to find cards for it. I like budget challenges.
1 What general would be fun to use but also hold up well against non-budgeted decks (if that combo is possible)?
2 What are some good interactions with suggested generals?
I'm considering using Gwafa Hazid or Tibor and Lumia
1. Consult The Top 50 Cards List and Hidden Gems threads for bargain treasures. Just ignore the Sol Rings and Mana Drains and take note of the Willbenders and Crystal Balls. Seeing some of the most powerful, most affordable cards in the format will give you cool ideas and help form a solid framework when building your deck.
2. If there is an effect you really want for your deck that doesn't meet your budget constraint, look for alternatives with similar mechanics. For example, don't feel boxed into a one- or two-color deck just because you can't buy fetches and duals; solid mana fixing is available in the form of Vivid lands, green land ramp, etc.
3. Look to other budget decks for ideas! Ghooosts built a Wrexial, the Risen Deep deck for under $30 that apparently wins many games in his playgroup (link here). I built a Pauper-legal Child of Alara deck (link here) that manages to hold its own amidst a table full-powered EDH decks.
4. Read Blackjack's guide to EDH/Commander, which QDI already linked to. It's really quite good.
Hope that helps!
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I'm not a huge fan of Gwafa, I've played it and its ability hasn't been of too much use when I've used it. The colors (blue and white) are really great for EDH. Having some control options is always good, and many of them are fairly inexpensive.
And of course, check out the threads the above posters showed, that'll be a good place to start. Good luck.
Sorry I didn't suggest a general like you asked in my previous post; it totally slipped my mind.
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Out of the generals I've used, the ones that seem most budget friendly so far:
Arcum Dagsson, which I just built, only has a few cards over $2 and most are uncessary (i.e. inkmoth nexus is great since it's both land and artifact creature, but it's not a super game-changing card). My version is watered down to avoid infinite combos, too, you can make a turn-5-win version for like $10 total (Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth + Diviner's wand).
Zirilan of the claw is more casual, less douchey, and way cooler imo. He also functions as a toolbox, but a less stupidly overpowered one and more of a sweet ridiculous one.
Geth, lord of the vault: have lands, will travel.
Child of alara can be fairly pricey, but there are good cheap recursion cards and the general is just absolutely brutal.
Merieke Ri Berit is a lot better with good tutors, but even without she's a real house. She might be my favorite general, she's a little less budgety than the others, though.
Anyway, all my decklists are in my sig to take a look. Which reminds me, Sygg, river cutthroat would probably be good too.
WUB Merieke Ri Berit BUW
GWU Phelddagrif 1 2 3 4 UWG
BR Kaervek the Merciless RB
B Chainer, Dementia Master B
WUB Sen Triplets BUW
BG Sisters of Stone Death GB
WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon GRBUW
GWU Angus Mackenzie UWG
R Kumano, Master Yamabushi R
WB Teysa BW
U Higure U
B Geth B
WUBRG Child of Alara 1 2GRBUW
R Zirilan R
U Arcum U
UR Nin RU
BRG Sek'Kuar GRB
U Teferi U
G Melira G
GU Edric UG
BG Glissa GB
Casual
GUB Knacksaw Clique BUG
RWU Sunforger UWR
Green is an amazing color if you're on a budget. Without access to powerful (expensive) acceleration like Sol Ring, Mana Vault, and Mana Crypt, and fixing like fetches and duals, being able to play a near infinite amount of 2-mana acceleration/fixing spells is very powerful.
It's recommended that you branch into 3 colors if possible. This will give you access to more powerful cards, while 1-2 colors might leave you short when you find that some of the most powerful cards in those colors are outside your budget. 2 colors is definitely better than one though.
Currently Playing:
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I also recommend this. I personally for UW play Grand Arbiter, but this is risky in that it draws a lot of hate. Hanna is a great option, a lot less annoying to your opponents (so they won't immediately go after you, though one of the joys of blue is being able to keep people from attacking you whether they want to or not) while still being a powerful general. If you want to do UW, I'd go with that.
Also, Decree of Silence is an absolutely brilliant thing to play. I had originally figured it wouldn't hurt my opponent's much, but those 3 counters can really hold everyone else off from playing spells for several turns. As a general rule, they will much rather stay under lockdown than lose their valuable spells, and particularly in multiplayer they'll hope someone else will sacrifice their cards first. - then if you can recur it with your general... that's just beyond awesome.
or U/W - Grand Arbiter (doesn't have to be a prison/stax deck)
I think those 2 color combinations have pretty good budget options, plenty capable of holding it's own against non-budget decks. And you can always procure a few non-budget cards for a sideboard to use when there isn't a price restriction in place.
When you decide on commander, post a thread, I'd enjoy the opportunity to find cards for it. I like budget challenges.
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