The 10 Most Fun Budget Commander Decks in Magic Ranked

Last updated on February 15, 2024

Commander's Sphere | Illustration by Ryan Alexander Lee

The unfortunate truth about Magic is that how fun a deck is and how much money it costs seem to have a direct relationship, at least to a certain point. Sure, you don’t have to win to have fun, but you’re also going to have more fun if your deck can actually do something before you lose. If you’re stuck playing your fourth tapped dual land and have a single common creature on the field while your opponents already have their game plan online, you’re probably going to feel like the game is going to end without you participating in it much.

Luckily, spending more money on a deck isn’t the only solution to this problem. While certain builds might require a baseline amount of money to start being fun, there are plenty of other strategies that can work well on a tighter budget. Knowing which commanders and play styles lend themselves to a lower budget is important for knowing how to build a cheaper deck.

For this list, you’re going to see several mono-color and 2-color decks. While these can sometimes provide less flexibility in deck building, they’ll also save you money on a land base. It’s also possible to play multicolor decks on a budget, but it means putting up with some slower mana options. A lot of these decks can also be upgraded, so if you really enjoy one and want to keep building it up, this is a good starting place to test it out.

What Are Fun Budget Commander Decks in MTG?

Command Tower | Illustration by Muhammad Firdaus

Fun budget Commander decks are decks that won’t cost you too much money but can still pull off fun moves. These decks can stand their own in most casual playgroups, so you won’t feel like your lower budget is holding you back from being a part of the game.

I’m considering a budget deck to be any deck less than $100, including basic lands. While this might seem like a lot, it’s only an average of one dollar per card in Commander. It’s worth double checking the decklist on a site like MTG Goldfish since prices are always changing.

Honorable Mention: Proxy Any Deck You Want

Before I get into any specific decks, I think it’s worth remembering that Magic is a game. If you’re just playing for fun and not in a sanctioned tournament, remember you can always make proxies for whatever deck you want to play. If there are a few expensive cards holding you back from playing a deck you really want, just talk to your playgroup and see if they’re okay with you simply using a stand-in while you save up. There are also free programs like Cockatrice and Xmage where you can play Commander for free using any card you want.

You shouldn’t have to feel excluded from having fun playing Magic just because you can’t drop a few hundred dollars on a deck. That said, if you aren’t comfortable using proxies or you want to play somewhere that doesn’t allow them, these decks are a good alternative!

#10. Imodane, the Pyrohammer

Imodane, the Pyrohammer | Illustration by Chris Rahn

Imodane, the Pyrohammer is a good deck to start with because it embodies everything I think makes a great fun budget commander. Imodane is mono-red, which is a color I think is easy to have fun with on a low budget. You have some removal, you have forms of card draw, and you even have a bit of ramp with cards like Big Score that can make Treasures.

Imodane can make a specific group of cards that might not otherwise be competitive much more powerful, in this case direct damage spells. While Lightning Axe is an okay card as it is, when it’s suddenly dealing 20 total damage instead of 5 for 1 mana, it becomes a lot more effective. Imodane takes a $0.75 card like Banefire and turns it into a potential game winner.

While City on Fire and Solphim, Mayhem Dominus start to creep up a bit in price, it isn’t a huge deal since this deck runs plenty of cards worth less than a dollar. You also have an incredibly cheap mana base since you’re mostly running basic Mountains.

This may actually be my personal favorite on the list, but I’ll admit to being a bit biased as a big mono-red fan.

#9. Eriette of the Charmed Apple

Eriette of the Charmed Apple | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve

Similar to Imodane, Eriette of the Charmed Apple can make a specific category of cheap cards a lot more powerful, in this case auras. While there are some auras that are a bit more expensive, there are lots of good ones that fit into a deck on a tighter budget. Eriette’s abilities also allow these cards to be a bit more versatile.

A card like All That Glitters is typically just a buff for you, although a significant one to be fair. However, if you put it on one of your opponents’ creatures instead, now you’ve created a massive creature that can only attack your opponents, but a threat that at least one of them will want to keep around. If your other opponents remove the creature, it’s not a huge loss because you’re still taking an opponent’s threat off the board.

Auras like Ossification also work well in this deck because they help to fuel Eriette’s second ability while being more difficult to remove. There’s likely going to be a lot more creature removal at a given table than land destruction, so your opponents need cards that specifically destroy enchantments to get rid of cards like Lithoform Blight or Underworld Connections.

This deck is a lot of fun but is lower on the list because its cost is starting to creep towards the higher end of what I’d consider a “budget” deck. There are some cuts you can probably make to help its cost go down if you need it to be more budget friendly, like Hall of Heliod's Generosity or Ghoulish Impetus.

#8. Muldrotha, the Gravetide

Muldrotha, the Gravetide | Illustration by Jason Rainville

Muldrotha, the Gravetide is a very versatile commander. Being able to cast cards from your graveyard can be used well with dredge or other self-mill mechanics, aristocrats, and sacrifice mechanics. It can also just help keep any strategy consistent, since it’s harder to permanently remove your cards from the game.

This deck makes use of cards like Aether Spellbomb and Executioner's Capsule which can be sacrificed for additional benefits. Thanks to Muldrotha, you’ll be able to use these effects multiple times. In a higher budget Muldrotha deck, this would also mean running fetch lands, but here I’ve used the cheaper alternatives like Grixis Panorama and Evolving Wilds which are still more effective when they can be played back out of the graveyard.

You also have a few sources of self-mill like Stitcher's Supplier and Satyr Wayfinder. This is almost as good as additional card draw in a Muldrotha deck, without being as pricey. Cards like these or Wood Elves that have helpful ETB effects are also more useful than usual since you can sacrifice them and cast them again for another activation.

#7. Archelos, Lagoon Mystic

Archelos, Lagoon Mystic | Illustration by Dan Scott

Archelos, Lagoon Mystic solves one of the main problems that a lot of budget decks have, and that’s the need to use slower mana sources. Multicolor lands that have ways to come in untapped cost way more than something like Jungle Hollow or Guildgates. Thanks to Archelos’s ability, you’ll be able to slap these down untapped as though they were original dual lands instead.

Archelos can also slow down your opponents, as long as you have a good way to tap your commander down without needing to risk an attack. Cards like Loam Dryad and Saruli Caretaker are good ways to both tap Archelos while also getting a good benefit from it. Suddenly your opponents feel like they’re running your cheap mana base instead of their own.

Because Archelos makes ramp spells like Nissa's Pilgrimage or Circuitous Route so much better, it’s a good commander for a lands build like this one. Cards like Scute Swarm and Avenger of Zendikar can be very impactful when you’re dropping multiple lands on a turn.

Big spells like Army of the Damned or X spells like Villainous Wealth are also good payoffs for a deck that drops a lot of lands.

#6. Animar, Soul of Elements

Animar, Soul of Elements | Illustration by Peter Mohrbacher

Animar, Soul of Elements is the type of commander that can perform well at various budgets and levels of competitiveness. Having protection from black and white also keeps this commander safe from a lot of the best removal spells.

Since Animar’s ability only gets better the more counters it has, proliferate abilities on cards like Karn's Bastion and Contentious Plan are good ways to add more counters to it. Hardened Scales is especially helpful, as you’ll get two counters for each creature instead of just one.

X creatures like Stumpsquall Hydra and big colorless creatures like Artisan of Kozilek are no-brainers in an Animar deck, as they benefit the most from this commander’s cost reduction.

#5. Krenko, Mob Boss

Krenko, Mob Boss | Illustration by Karl Kopinski

While you can certainly make a more powerful Krenko, Mob Boss deck than this one, you really can’t go wrong with just slapping a bunch of low mana value goblins together into a deck. There are also just so many fun and flavorful goblin cards to choose from that it can be a lot of fun just putting a deck like this together by looking for your favorite ones.

Goblins like Goblin Trashmaster and Goblin King are incredibly effective in a Krenko deck because even the smallest buff has a big impact when spread across a lot of tokens. Quest for the Goblin Lord is another good way to buff your tokens.

Cards like Goblin Grenade and Goblin Barrage give you other ways to make use of your tokens besides just attacking with them. Goblin Bombardment can be especially powerful since it costs no mana to activate. If an opponent tries to wipe the field of your goblins, you can just sacrifice them all at instant speed and deal damage to players as you see fit. If your army is big enough, you can even just sacrifice a chunk of it to take that player out while keeping the rest.

#4. Jared Carthalion, True Heir

Jared Carthalion, True Heir | Illustration by Lius Lasahido

Jared Carthalion, True Heir is a fun budget commander, not just because it performs well, but also because the way it works is a lot of fun. Your goal with this build is to make sure you’re the monarch and then do as much damage to Jared as you possibly can to buff it up.

Board wipes like Blasphemous Act or Solar Blaze that you’d usually run anyway suddenly become ways to both clear out enemy threats while buffing your commander. Similarly, fight cards like Pit Fight won’t just act as removal, but can also help give Jared a significant number of counters as long as you’re the monarch.

Cards like Pariah and Gideon's Sacrifice allow you to redirect damage to Jared, keeping you safe while it continues to get bigger. You can also use cards like Guilty Conscience or Brave the Sands to help buff Jared while also using it as an effective blocker since combat damage won’t finish it off.

A big part of your game plan revolves around staying the monarch, so you’ll need a good defense and offense to maintain it. Entangler allows Jared to block as many oncoming creatures as you want, as long as they don’t have evasion. Meanwhile cards like Loxodon Warhammer and Haunted Cloak can make it easier for you to do combat damage and get the monarch status back if you lose it.

#3. Doran, the Siege Tower

Doran, the Siege Tower | Illustration by Rob Alexander

Doran, the Siege Tower has a simple ability, but one that can easily give you a big advantage. With Doran on the field, you can play a cheap creature like Giant Ox and suddenly have a massive threat early in the game. Doran’s effect also impacts your opponents' creatures, so there may be times when something they’re running will be significantly weakened. For example, Doran makes something like Scoria Elemental a lot worse.

Apart from low-mana-high-toughness creatures, you also have cards like Abzan Beastmaster that gives you other benefits for having the toughest creatures on the field. You also have Catapult Fodder who quickly transforms into Catapult Captain and gives you a way to do some direct damage. While it doesn’t name toughness specifically, a card like Brave the Sands works well with extra tough creatures.

Toughness buffs can also be cheaper than power buffs. For example, Stoneskin is easier to get on a creature than Colossus Hammer, but it has the same effect in this deck thanks to Doran.

This deck is already pretty budget friendly, but there’s also a single card that makes up almost half its price; Timber Protector is worth about $23 at the time of writing. While it’s a good way to keep your commander and several other creatures in this deck safe, if you want to pay only $30 for this deck instead, you know what to cut.

#2. Alela, Artful Provocateur

Alela, Artful Provocateur | Illustration by Grzegorz Rutkowski

Alela, Artful Provocateur allows you to go wide without actually running that many creatures. Instead, you can focus on casting artifacts and enchantments while also filling your board up with flying tokens. Cards like Favorable Winds and Intangible Virtue help to make your tokens stronger. This, coupled with their natural evasion, can make this deck hard to deal with in casual pods.

You can use Mirrodin Besieged to create even more token creatures when you play artifacts, and Sigil of the Empty Throne does the same with enchantments. Bitterblossom gives you tokens each turn for free. These plus Alela ensure you have a steady stream of creatures on the field.

Cards like All That Glitters and Mace of the Valiant can be pretty effective in this deck, allowing you to buff Alela up and threaten opponents with commander damage. You can also get opponents to open themselves up to your attacks by using Bident of Thassa, allowing you to swing out with all your tokens and do some serious damage.

If you have some extra money to stretch the budget of this deck, you can add Moonshaker Cavalry as a good finisher and still keep the total price under $100. That said, I think this deck still performs pretty well as built.

#1. Jhoira of the Ghitu

Jhoira of the Ghitu | Illustration by Kev Walker

Jhoira of the Ghitu’s ability to suspend any card gives you a lot of fun options when it comes to deckbuilding. You can essentially slap a bunch of high mana value cards with splashy effects into the deck and watch your opponents’ faces as they realize what’s coming in just a few turns. This Jhoira is unique in that it has a very powerful effect, but it doesn’t need to stay on the field to see it through. As long as you suspend some good cards before Jhoira’s gone, you’ll still be set up pretty nicely.

Some cards like Tyrant of Discord or Tidal Force are difficult to hard cast, and so don’t see as much play, making them cheap. However, thanks to Jhoira it’s a lot easier to get them on the field. While cards like Niv-Mizzet, Parun or Arcanis the Omnipotent might get played more often, it’s still nice to have a way to avoid their restrictive cost and possibly get them out more quickly.

Aside from big creatures, this deck also has some very splashy spells like Aminatou's Augury or Mnemonic Deluge. One with the Multiverse is one of the better cards in this deck, as it gives you a significant advantage each turn and you can cheat it out early with Jhoira.

This deck also has built-in ways to benefit from casting big spells. Ovika, Enigma Goliath can make you quite a few tokens thanks to this deck’s steep mana curve. Wild-Magic Sorcerer gives one of your suspended cards cascade each turn which could easily give you a second massive spell for free.

Commanding Conclusion

Sol Ring | Illustration by Mike Bierek

Arguments about Magic being pay-to-win or the idea of spending thousands on a deck can be very discouraging for newer players looking to pick up the game. It can also make veteran players feel stuck with the decks they already have, afraid of sinking the same amount of money into a new build. It’s always good to keep in mind fun budget options like these that can help you get started in the game or keep it fresh and exciting while not breaking the bank.

Which is your favorite budget commander? Ready to add a little more knowledge and improve your EDH deckbuilding? What’s the least you’ve ever spent on a Commander deck? Do you think precons are also fun budget decks? Let me know in the comments or on Draftsim’s X (formerly Twitter).

Thank you for reading and see you next time!