The 11 best budget Commander decks in MTG, Ranked (2024)

Many players wonder what are MTG best budget commander decks. Commander is one of the most popular formats in all of MTG. The format has decks built with a commander that determines what colours you can play in your deck which consists of 99 cards. You can only play one copy of any card in your deck (excluding basic lands). 

Since decks are created using 100 cards, Commander decks can be on the more expensive side. However, because there have been so many cards released over the years it is possible to build strong decks without having to break the bank. Realistically, the best precon Commander decks will provide you with a cheaper option than building your own deck, though these are the 11 best budget commander decks available in Magic: The Gathering. 

11. Edric, Spymaster Of Trest

Edric, Spymaster Of Trest is a way to encourage your opponents to attack each other as that will draw them cards. This keeps you safe while you build up your card advantage. The best and most budget way to build Edric is with unblockable creatures to guarantee you will always be drawing cards.

Notably, you draw a card for every creature that deals combat damage to an opponent. This means that if you connect with four creatures, you draw four cards. When you combine these unblockable creatures with cards that raise the power of creatures, this can lead to massive damage. Edric can hit the battlefield early and since it benefits your opponents, it discourages others from removing it. 

While you can build Edric on a budget, it is also a great choice to slowly upgrade with stronger cards over time. It is a very competitive commander thanks to its ability to draw you a ton of cards. Edric has multiple ways to build him as well, such as focusing only on combat or investing in extra turn spells.

10. Killian, Ink Duelist

Killian, Ink Duelist has a few different ways you can build it. Since it discounts all spells that target a creature, you can play spells with higher mana values since you can cast them at a discount. While these spells are usually weaker, this makes them much more budget-friendly, and with Killian on the battlefield, it makes them just as good as the stronger, more expensive versions. 

Killian decks can be built very cheaply without having to sacrifice power. Killian itself is a great commander thanks to its lifelink and menace. If you are opting you play a style with stat-boosting effects, Killian’s abilities become even better. 

✓ Johnny’s Tip

Discount Your Auras:

All Auras target a creature when you enchant them which Killian will discount by two. This allows you to build Killian as a “Voltron” strategy built around stacking it with Auras to dish out massive damage. 

9. Minn, Wily Illusionist

There are plenty of ways to draw extra cards on a budget, and these extra card draws turn into 1/1 creatures on the battlefield in Minn, Wily Illusionist decks. Minn triggers every turn, not just your own so if can draw two cards during your opponents’ turns you can create more Illusion tokens. 

Creatures that cost a lot of mana to cast tend to be on the cheaper side since they usually will not be able to be cast. However, with Minn, Wily Illusionist you can cheat these onto the battlefield by having an Illusion die. Miin can be built to focus on flooding the battlefield with Illusion tokens or built around cheating other creatures out from the hand. 

8. Tatyova, Steward Of Tides

What is more budget than not needing to play creatures in the first place? Tatyova, Steward Of Tides turns any land entering the battlefield into a 3/3 creature so long as you have seven or more on the battlefield. Tatyova needs very few cards outside of ramp pieces that put lands directly onto the battlefield from the library. 

Ramp spells are very budget and many of them put multiple lands onto the battlefield. You can build Tatyova, Steward Of Tides with only ramp spells, lands, and counterspells and it will still be powerful without needing to spend much money on the deck. 

You do not need Tatyova on the battlefield until you have seven lands, so until you reach that threshold you can keep it in the command zone so it doesn’t get removed before its effect can start triggering. Even if Tatyova ever gets removed, the lands it turned into creatures will stay creatures as Tatyova’s effect is permanent. The only thing the lands-turned-creature will lose if Tatyova leaves the battlefield is flying. 

7. Wilson, Refined Grizzly

Wilson, Refined Grizzly has a plethora of abilities for just two mana. It is a card that lets you choose a Background, which is an enchantment that grants a commander an effect that stays in the command zone. Wilson can’t be countered either to almost guarantee it hits the battlefield.

✓ Johnny’s Tip

Choosing A Background: 

There are 30 different Backgrounds available to use. The Backgrounds that benefit Wilson are Raised By Giants to give them a base power and toughness of 10/10, Cult Of The Absolute to give it +3/+3, flying, and deathtouch, and Flaming Fist which gives Wilson double strike when it attacks. 

The best budget way to build Wilson is Voltron style. Since Wilson has so many keyword abilities, it hits the battlefield with strong effects that benefit from giving it boosts from Equipment and Auras. 

6. Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor

Curses are a type of Aura that enchants a player and gives them a negative effect. Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor ensures that even if a Curse gets removed, it will come back. Although it is attached to you at first, you can move the Curse to any of your opponents once your upkeep comes around. 

All the Curses available in Lynde’s colours are not expensive, with none exceeding five dollars. Lynde decks play a more controlling style, preventing your opponents from attacking you through creatures and enchantments while spreading Curses to any potential threats on the battlefield. 

5. Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice

Playing cards directly from your library are among the best effects available in Magic: The Gathering. Light-Paws does just this, as whenever an Aura enters the battlefield you can put another Aura from your library onto a battlefield so long as the Aura has a different name. Since in Commander you can only play one of each card anyway, this restriction hardly means anything.

Even the most budget builds of Light-Paws can win the game in just a few turns. Since the deck is very consistent thanks to Light-Paws’ effect, you never have to worry about not drawing into the Auras you need to close out a game. Even though you are locked into Mono-White, the best Auras are white so you don’t have to worry about not playing the best available options, even on a budget.

4. Zada, Hedron Grinder

Zada, Hedron Grinder can close out games in just one turn. The deck is built around flooding the battlefield with cheap creatures, usually through Goblin generators. Whenever you cast a spell that only targets Zada, this spell gets copied and applied to every other creature you control. 

The primary spells you are playing are ones that give a temporary stat boost to a creature. These do not cost much mana to play, and if they are also drawing a card on top of the stat boost you can cast enough spells to deal enough damage to take someone out of the game. Since these spells are getting copied to all your creatures, they all get the benefits and in the case of drawing, they will all draw you cards as well. With a battlefield full of creatures with high power you can swing out at everyone to win the game. 

3. Arcades, The Strategist

While three-colour decks can be a little unfriendly for budget builds due to needing a more complex mana base, Arcades makes up for it because the creatures it runs are only worth a few cents. The deck uses Wall creatures, which have low to no power and high toughness. Arcades turns these into powerful attackers as damage is dealt by toughness and the Walls can attack as if they didn’t have defender (an ability that prevents creatures from attacking). 

Arcades gives you card draw whenever a creature with defender hits the battlefield, ensuring you keep your hand fresh with spells by simply playing your deck. Arcades is a unique deck that turns a rather weak creature type into something very threatening. Since Walls are easy to cast and have such high toughness, they discourage opponents from attacking into you since you can blank attacks easily. 

2. General Ferrous Rokiric

General Ferrous Rokiric can be built with cards in a bulk bin. It turns any multicoloured spell into a 4/4 creature token, and if it was a creature it gives you a two-for-one. General Ferrous Rokiric is easy to cast and even has built-in protection from moncoloured spells and abilities. 

The creatures you play in General Ferrous Rokiric decks cost pennies, making the deck one of the best budget options out there. Even a weak creature can turn into a terrifying board presence because they are coming with a 4/4 along with them. General Ferrous Rokiric’s effect applies to all spells, not just creatures and Boros colours have no shortage of good options to use. Boros has a lot of support for token strategies that can give stat boosts and effects, something General Ferrous Rokiric decks appreciate.

1. Ruxa, Patient Professor

Creatures with no abilities are the cheapest cards you can buy in Magic: The Gathering. Since they do not actually do anything on the battlefield but attack or block, there is little value in them in the modern age (both monetarily and in the game itself). There is a major exception, and that is in Ruxa, Patient Professor decks. 

Ruxa gives a solid stat boost to all creatures with no abilities, but the more important effect is that these creatures can be treated as if they were never blocked in the first place. While they still can be destroyed through combat if they are blocked, their power will still affect the target’s life total. However, it will not target both so you have to choose to assign the combat damage to either the creature blocking it or the opponent you are attacking. 

Ruxa is one of the best budget commander decks because it uses vanilla creatures that are worth close to nothing and is monocoloured so you only need to run basic lands in your deck. 

✓ Johnny’s Annotation:

There is Another:

Jasmine Boreal Of The Seven is another creature that supports creatures with no abilities. It is a Selesnya creature that can tap itself to add a green and white mana for a creature with no abilities. It also prevents creatures with no abilities from being blocked by creatures with abilities. However, it is less budget compared to Ruxa due to being multi-coloured and needing more investment on the land base.

That concludes our list. Commander can be an intimidating format with how big the decks are and how expensive some decks can be. The enormous card pool works to the format’s advantage, as it allows for budget decks to be built. Sometimes you have to sacrifice power for a more budget build, but they have the same effects as the stronger versions. While none of the decks on this list are preconstructed commander decks, those are another great way to get into the format without needing to drop a lot of money on the cards and you will have a full deck to play with straight out of the box.

MTG best budget commander decks tend to be monocoloured as they do not need to play dual lands or lands that tap for multiple colours. They only need basic lands and a few utility lands that can support the archetype the deck is built around. While the highest power levels of Commander require a big investment, because of its more casual nature you can enjoy Commander on a budget without needing to spend too much money.