MTG Salvation

Building a cube doesn't have to cost a fortune. When I first built my own cube out of draft leftovers another user was kind enough to post a list on my cube thread of budget cube staples. I found this incredibly helpful in upgrading the power level of my cube without breaking the bank as I was first starting out, as 40 good cards that cost $.50 each will have a much bigger impact on the cubing experience than a single card that costs $20. That list is a bit dated now due to power creep and price fluctuations, so I've decided to update it to include some of the top notch cheap cube cards that have come out more recently to help newer cube owners have a starting point/shopping list for cards.

All of the cards on this list are cards that I've either seen in multiple MTGS users' lists, the latest Power Rankings (but only the top 5 of each guild, and the #1 card from each tri-color category), or the Cubetutor 360 average cube list (http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/492), and they all have at least one tournament legal edition available that costs less than $2 USD based on current TCG Mid pricing. In fact, the overwhelming majority cost less than $1, and at least half are less than $.50. I think it's fair to say that all of these cards are cube staples, or are close enough to be worth a serious look as budget alternatives for some of the more expensive staples. These cards aren't just cheap, they've beaten out some tough competition to earn slots in many of the tightest cube lists in the cube community, so I'm happy to recommend them as good value that should be efficient, powerful, and/or versatile enough to be worth a slot in your cube for years to come.

This list is an ongoing project intended to be a resource for new and cash-strapped cube managers. As new cards and reprints come out, new archetypes emerge, and card prices fluctuate I appreciate any suggestions for new cards for inclusion as well as cuts of any cards that no longer belong on this list.


















I've done my best to err on the side of inclusiveness, but feel free to suggest any other solid budget cube cards I may have missed.

One last tip for anyone cubing on a budget: I am only listing tournament-legal versions of cards here, but if that's not a hard requirement for you, you might consider World Championship Edition versions of cards. They're WOTC printed MTG cards, but with non-standard backs that are made for casual-only play. WCE cards have gold borders on the front, and keep in mind that because the backs are different, don't buy these unless you're using opaque sleeves. Nevertheless, this is a way to get some older cube staples at a fraction the price of their tournament-legal counterparts. I wouldn't be running Wasteland, Rishadan Port, Force of Will, or Survival of the Fittest without these.

this is the best thing for new cube designers. thanks for putting this together!

My pleasure! I couldn't find any lists of budget cube cards that had been updated more recently than the past year and a half or so. Finding that list of top 100 budget cards led to a massive leap forward for my cube in the first few months or so after I'd built it, so I wanted to pay it forward a bit.

Yeah, there's some good work here! Well donne!

I'm surprised by how good the list looks; this is a great resource, and it's not hard for people to add in a few money cards that they might have lying around from their collection.

Thanks for the kudos, guys. I've gotten so much help on this board with building my cube I'm glad to put something out there that can help newer cubers.

This is awesome, dude, and deserves more attention, maybe someone could even pin it.

That's not a bad idea, and I do plan to keep updating this as new sets and reprints come out.

I've updated the list for Modern Masters 2015. Welcome aboard, Mystic Snake!

Lightning Bolt still hasn't quite cracked the $2 TCG mid mark, but you can get it for less if you shop around.

Burning of Xinye's FTV reprint also technically doesn't make the list yet, but it's not hard to find it for less than $2.

I somehow missed this the first time around. Excellent work. It would be nice to get a $2-$5 and $5-$10 compilation as well for the next steps up.

Alesha, Who Smiles at Death and Yasova Dragonclaw are both easily under 2 dollars

True, and thanks for pointing this out. I'm actually waiting on the final results of this year's Power Rankings to add any new additions that make it there that also qualify as budget before I add them. I'm pretty sure they'll make it as Wedge/Shard cards, but I want to see the community agree that they're staples before I add them to this list.

It would be nice to get a $2-$5 and $5-$10 compilation as well for the next steps up.

I like this idea, too. I'm a bit busy now with the end of the semester, but in a couple of weeks I should have the time to devote to that. I've been looking for an excuse to highlight some of the budget planeswalkers that are out there for less than $5!

I've updated the list to show new additions from this year's Power Rankings as well as some pre-rotation/post MM2 price dips:

WWW

Soldier of the Pantheon
Fiend Hunter
Condemn
Faith's Fetters

UUU

Frost Titan
Thirst for Knowledge
Compulsive Research


RRR

Chandra's Phoenix
Feldon of the Third Path
Pyroclasm
Devil's Play

GGG

Avacyn's Pilgrim
Strangleroot Geist

WUBRG

Gerrard's Verdict
Mortify
Putrefy
Edric, Spymaster of Trest
Sagu Mauler
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
Yasova Dragonclaw

XXX

Everflowing Chalice
Advantageous Proclamation
Backup Plan
Double Stroke
Power Play


Lands:

Paliano, the High City

This is really an awesome resource for new cubers. Good job, Spike Rogue.

I'm going to wait about a month or so for the dust to settle to start adding ORI cards to this list, but the reprinting of enemy painlands is great news for anyone building a cube on the cheap. Enemy painlands already make the cut even in many cubes where price isn't an issue because Scars lands (e.g. Seachrome Coast) and Worldwake manlands (e.g. Celestial Colonnade) don't have enemy guild versions available.

Caves of Koilos, Yavimaya Coast, and Battlefield Forge have all cracked the $2 TCG mid mark. Shivan Reef and Llanowar Wastes haven't dipped below $2 yet, but even they're less than $2.50 TCG mid now. Now that the majority of the painlands are below $2, I'm also adding the allied painlands to the list that make the cut: Sulfurous Springs, Karplusan Forest, and Brushland. Adarkar Wastes and Underground River are also pretty close at less than $2.50 apiece.

This means that the entire cycle is now available for around $20, which makes them the best bang for your buck for mana fixing for any cube designer who is concerned about cost. They come into play untapped, they make colored mana the turn they come into play, and I've found that on average players take less damage from painlands than they do from Ravnica shock duals (e.g. Hallowed Fountain) because they can always be used for colorless mana without taking damage.

For anyone building a cube, this cycle is cheaper than ever, and you can expect to keep them in your cube for a very long time.

While everyone's still excited about Battle for Zendikar coming out, and paying overinflated pre-order prices, this is also a really good time for budget cubers to pick up bargains on cards that are rotating out of Standard as well as cards whose prices have taken a beating due to recent reprints. There are also some great Origins cards that are performing well (or in the case of Priest of the Blood Rite, holding a place adequately until something better gets printed).

UUU: Whirler Rogue

BBB: Priest of the Blood Rite, Malicious Affliction

RRR: Goblin Glory Chaser, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Lightning Bolt

GGG: Hornet Queen

xxx: Skullclamp

Please feel free to suggest anything I may have missed.

They are not slam down inclusions and a little bit pricier but a lot of people enjoy playing with Stormbreath Dragon and Elspeth, Sun's Champion. It would also be a good time to pick up a Brimaz, though he hasn't fallen by as much as I thought he would.

Their dollar value is pretty low but I think the best way to acquire them will be by trading away your BFZ opens that you don't plan on using. This weekend is likely the peak in price and interest for most of them so trading away that "tango" land for an Elspeth AND a Stormbreath seems long term fun positive EV.

And second that painlands are a fantastic pick up right now.

Yeah, planeswalkers that have rotated out of Standard and have been reprinted in a Duel Deck are often really good value. Kiora, the Crashing Wave almost makes this list, the Duel Deck foil is $2.69 TCG Mid right now. Jace, Architect of Thought isn't a staple, but it's perfectly playable, and since the Duel Deck foil is still less than $2.50 it's a solid budget replacement for Jace, the Mind Sculptor.

The Theros Temples have also gotten much cheaper thanks to rotation, selling for $1-4 apiece. They're not as good as lands that don't ETB tapped, but that scry can go a long way towards making up for the drawback. You could do a lot worse for budget placeholder fixing if you're not ready to shell out for fetches or shocks right now.

It would also be a good time to pick up a Brimaz, though he hasn't fallen by as much as I thought he would.

It's such an efficient creature and a good Tiny Leaders general I can't say I'm that surprised it hasn't fallen more. Still, it's nice to see it's finally under $10.

Unfortunately, this update is pretty short, as most of the best cube cards from Battle for Zendikar are mythic rares and chase rares for Standard. However, Expedition Envoy and Hedron Archive are two rock solid uncommons that are good enough to make the tightest of cubes, even though you can probably find them in the draft chaff boxes at your LGS.

In eternal card budget news, Shivan Reef and Llanowar Wastes have also cracked the $2 mark. Reprinting a land twice in two years will do that. Also, not so unexpectedly, Unexpectedly Absent is also well below the $2 mark. Since commanders can no longer be tucked, this card no longer does what it was supposed to do in the format it was printed for, but it's still a fantastic tempo and removal spell for cube.

You might have found it cheaper, but it's not below $2 TCG mid yet, $2.36 as of this writing. It looks like the price has been fairly steadily declining, so unless it does something incredible in a big tourney soon it'll probably get below $2. It definitely pays to shop around.

I just got wrecked by Woodland Wanderer in last weekend's draft, so I definitely agree that Woodland Wanderer is a house.

As long as the OP wants to keep this data fresh, it deserves to be sticky-d.

That would be my pleasure. I'll have an update in the next day or two about Commander 2015 reprints as well as cards from BFZ that are good for cube, as well as cards from BFZ that are great for cube, but have stayed cheap (like the aforementioned Woodland Wanderer - now at $.89 TCG Mid.)

This thread is a great resource, and I've referred multiple new cube managers to come browse through it.

Here's a quick update based on Battle for Zendikar and Commander 2015 reprints. Green's the big winner in BFZ with midrange powerhouse Woodland Wanderer and the much awaited value 6-drop Greenwarden of Murasa. I'm also adding Scythe Leopard to the list as an essential for anyone supporting green aggro. BFZ even brings us a budget green dual land in Lumbering Falls which has lumberingly fallen below the $2 TCG mid mark. Unfortunately, Shambling Vent continues to shamble along at around $5.

Commander 2015 has brought down the prices of several cube staples (most notably Eternal Witness and Lightning Greaves), but not below $2, and all of the new C15 cards that have received any discussion for cube are well over $2 right now. The only cube staple reprinted in C15 that's less than $2 that wasn't already on the list is Worn Powerstone. This reprint also brings Sol Ring below $2, but I don't recommend it for unpowered cubes, which pretty much any budget cube will be. Here's why.

I'm also cutting Wall of Omens and Bloodsoaked Champion from the list, as their prices are now over $2.

Good call on Hero's Downfall, I'd missed that. It's gone down quite a bit since I last checked Theros block post-rotation prices. I'm not running Great Oak Guardian in my own cube, but it seems to have enough advocates in its SCD thread that it probably merits inclusion as well if I'm including Greenwarden. You could do a lot worse than either as a placeholder for Primeval Titan.

I've added both.