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Thread: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

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    [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    Instead of making a ton of threads, I'm going to store/update my budget decks here. Hopefully others might find it useful, and perhaps I might get feedback about card choices. I obviously can't promise the decks will be optimal, but I can promise they will be well tested. I'm looking to present not just the usual choices (Affinity, Elves, Dredge, etc.), but other decks for which serious budget lists aren't often considered. I hope to provide decks which are reasonable choices for small to medium sized tournaments. With enough budget decks to choose from, you should be able to find one that is very well-positioned in a specific metagame (which is one of the nicer parts about small/medium sized tournaments). Many of these decks have hundreds of versions floating around on these forums, and I recognize that my version just might not be your cup of tea. Nonetheless, my versions are standard enough that they'll point you in the right direction, even if you arrive at something slightly different in the end.

    Many people sneer at budget decks. I think that's silly. I look at budget-building as a serious construction challenge. In fact, it is way more fun to construct for budget decks than the sky-is-the-limit sort of construction. Beyond the fun in budget-building, I think its actually useful for format development and drawing more people to Legacy. It's useful to have well-constructed budget lists available, and that's certainly a reasonably possible goal in a format that doesn't have rotating card sets. I look at budget decks as an entry point to the competitive format -- obviously, at a very competitive level, they will be lacking in performance.

    I think a huge percentage of players who like Legacy aren't invested in Legacy and can't always afford to build perfectly optimal decks. As for myself, there are plenty of cards I don't own, and besides proxies/MWS, I actually do want to play some decks I don't have (nor have the ability to borrow). Note that I'm not exactly sure 'what counts as a budget deck', but I know it when I see it (drawing that line isn't simple; in my view, it has some grey area). In constructing budget decks, my goal is usually to get the most bang for my buck; so, rather than building to a specific financial ceiling, I try to build for efficiency. That means I take short-cuts, use slightly less optimal but far cheaper cards when I can, but also that I use cards which are pricey but can't be substituted if and when necessary.

    For budget decks which are cheaper versions of expensive Legacy decks, the aim is also to buy and build around the cheap cards in the shell, allowing for future growth in the ability to purchase the expensive cards if so desired. Obviously, this isn't always possible. Some decks rely too heavily upon their expensive cards to do this. Conversely, some decks are simply cheap, and thus fall into the category of being a budget deck in my eyes, but are what I believe to be fairly optimal, regardless of ceiling.

    Some of you will think these are actually too expensive to be called budget decks. Anyone seeking an even cheaper deck need only ask -- give me a price ceiling and a description of the deck you want to play, and I'll build and test it for you.


    peace,
    4eak


    As there are so many decks, I'm trying to classify them (for the sake of comparison, and for the ease of finding them) by role. Here is an index:

    I - Combo Decks:
    LED-Less Belcher
    Dredge
    Reanimator
    Combo Elves
    Hive Mind
    Spiral Tide
    TES

    II - Aggro (and Aggro-Combo) Decks:
    Affinity
    Burn/Sligh
    Mono Green Infect

    III - Aggro-Control Decks:
    Merfolk
    Mono Black Aggro-Control
    GW or Maverick
    WW (Death and Taxes)
    UR Delver/Counterburn/Blue Sligh

    IV - Dedicated Control Decks:
    MUC (Permanent-based)
    CounterTop Thopter
    Mono White Control
    UW "Stoneblade" Control

    V - Prison (Combo-Control):
    Enchantress
    Dragon Stompy
    Pox

    VI - Difficult to Classify:
    Mono Red Goblins



    I - Combo Decks:

    LED-Less Belcher
    The LED version is probably already considered a budget deck. Removing the LED's makes it even cheaper. Admittedly, mulligans hurt worse, and losing the +3 mana card makes certain plays more difficult. I tried adding black to make up for this, but I find the consistency of G/R too good to dilute.


    Dredge
    This is what I use with no ceiling; it is just a cheap, good deck.


    Reanimator
    The mana-base is exceptionally hard to build for this deck. Daze relies upon Islands (to the point that I think it is reasonable to go -4 Drowned Catacomb for +2 Island + 2 Swamp), and you need a very explosive start which is unhindered by coloring issues. Honestly, many builds may spring for fetches and 1-2 Water Grave, adding Brainstorm to the deck. There is a significant price jump to do this, even if you go for non-Polluted Delta fetches. Even further, I think a green splash is absolutely necessary in the optimal non-budget build, but that is out of the question in budget. Beyond a very expensive mana base, FoW and Thoughtseize are obviously missing. Lim-Dul's is a pimp.


    Combo Elves
    // Primary Mana Engine - 31
    15 Forest
    4 Llanowar Elves
    4 Fyndhorn Elves
    4 Priest of Titania
    4 Elvish Archdruid

    // Secondary/Combo Mana Engine - 11
    4 Quirion Ranger
    3 Heritage Druid
    3 Nettle Sentinel
    1 Wirewood Symbiote (also removal mitigation)

    // Card Quality/Quantity Engine - 16
    4 Elvish Visionary
    4 Glimpse of Nature
    4 Green Sun's Zenith
    4 Living Wish

    // Bombs - 2
    1 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
    1 Regal Force

    // Sideboard
    SB: 1 Wirewood Symbiote
    SB: 1 Heritage Druid
    SB: 1 Nettle Sentinel
    SB: 1 Regal Force
    SB: 1 Gaea's Cradle (worth the price tag)
    SB: 1 Elvish Skysweeper
    SB: 1 Ghost Quarter (wants to be Wasteland)
    SB: 1 Vexing Shusher
    SB: 1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn (worth the price tag)
    SB: 1 Terastodon
    SB: 1 Caller of the Claw
    SB: 1 Bojuka Bog
    SB: 1 Phyrexian Revoker
    SB: 1 Wickerbough Elder
    SB: 1 Viridian Shaman
    I've gone through many evolutions with this deck (who hasn't tried dozens of elf decks?). I continue to find that most mono green decks are improved by and rely upon Living Wish. Elf-Combo is no exception. I've taken IBA's wishlist (and adjusted the main accordingly) because I've found it is better than what I had. Noteworthy, the aggro-component is largely cut from the deck, although it is still quite capable of over-running a lot of decks with sheer numbers of little dudes. The combo role of elves has surpassed any aggro-versions in my testing, and that is largely due to Green Sun's Zenith (badass card). Summoner's Pact is out; I've had a lot of bad experiences with the card, and I'm glad GSZ takes its place.


    Hive Mind
    // Mana Sources - 23
    4 Scalding Tarn
    2 Misty Rainforest
    2 Watery Grave
    1 Steam Vents
    4 Crystal Vein
    5 Island
    1 Mountain
    4 Lotus Petal

    // Show and Tell - 7
    4 Show and Tell
    3 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

    // Namesake Combo - 10 (*obviously, you Show&Tell your Hive Mind into play all the time)
    4 Hive Mind
    2 Slaughter Pact
    4 Pact of the Titan

    // Card Quality - 12
    4 Lim-Dul's Vault
    4 Ponder
    4 Brainstorm

    // Permission - 8
    4 Pact of Negation
    4 Misdirection

    // Sideboard
    SB: 4 Leyline of Sanctity
    SB: 2 Dispel
    SB: 2 Pyroblast
    SB: 1 Wipe Away
    SB: 1 Summoner's Pact
    SB: 1 Intervention Pact
    SB: 4 Mental Misstep
    Fairly expensive budget deck, but quite dangerous. Misdirection is very often just as good as Force of Will, particularly when you simply want to force through your Show and Tell or Hive Mind. LDV is a pimp in this deck -- it is the best use of LDV I can remember since Flash. I think this deck breaks a lot of the rules for 'combo' decks in general. Like Dredge, many normal types of combo hate aren't all that effective against it; although, a metagame prepared against the deck can do quite well against Hive Mind (just as enough GY hate with a mix of other control features can muscle Dredge out of a metagame). We are lacking Force of Will, Intuition, Monoliths, USea, Volcanics, Ancient Tomb, City of Traitors, perhaps better fetches, perhaps the last Emrakul, and a sideboard which goes with Intuition (including Llawan, Traps, etc.). Obviously, the deck still has a ton of room to grow.


    Spiral Tide
    // Lands - 19
    2 Scalding Tarn
    2 Misty Rainforest
    15 Island

    // Cantrips - 12
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Preordain
    4 Ponder

    // Tutors - 8
    1 Intuition
    4 Merchant Scroll
    3 Cunning Wish

    // Protection - 8
    4 Misdirection
    3 Spell Pierce
    1 Pact of Negation

    // The Combo - 13
    3 High Tide
    3 Turnabout
    4 Time Spiral
    3 Meditate (could be Ideas Unbound as well)

    // Sideboard
    SB: 2 Wipe Away
    SB: 1 Slaughter Pact
    SB: 1 Rebuild
    SB: 1 Blue Sun's Zenith
    SB: 1 Snap
    SB: 1 Brain Freeze
    SB: 1 Repeal
    SB: 1 High Tide
    SB: 1 Meditate
    SB: 1 Flusterstorm
    SB: 1 Turnabout
    SB: 1 Surgical Extraction
    SB: 1 Pact of Negation
    SB: 1 Ravenous Trap
    Upgrades include more fetches and Force of Will. Imho, this deck shines in slower metagames. It is resilient, consistent, and flexible. It just happens to be slow. This is a deck that requires a skilled pilot, but happens to be very good (much better than many people realize) if you can achieve proficiency. This is not a deck which can evolve into another.


    TES
    // Lands - 14
    1 Watery Grave
    1 Steam Vents
    4 Scalding Tarn
    4 Gemstone Mine
    4 City of Brass

    // Additional Mana - 20
    4 Chrome Mox
    4 Lion's Eye Diamond
    4 Lotus Petal
    4 Rite of Flame
    4 Dark Ritual

    // Combo & Engine - 2
    1 Tendrils of Agony
    1 Ad Nauseam

    // Tutoring - 8
    4 Burning Wish
    4 Infernal Tutor

    // Card Quality - 8
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Ponder

    // Protection - 8
    4 Duress
    4 Silence

    // Sideboard
    SB: 1 Grapeshot
    SB: 1 Ill-Gotten Gains
    SB: 1 Tendrils of Agony
    SB: 2 Empty the Warrens
    SB: 1 Shattering Spree
    SB: 1 Past in Flames
    SB: 2 Chain of Vapor
    SB: 1 Diminishing Returns
    SB: 1 Deathmark
    SB: 4 Xantid Swarm
    This is a step up from Belcher. It is far more flexible and resilient (sporting protection). It is also much more expensive, but you get what you pay for with this deck. There aren't a lot evolutions or upgrades for this deck. There is some room to grow though: upgrades include a more expensive manabase and a few other random possibilities.


    II - Aggro (and Aggro-Combo) Decks:

    Affinity
    I like this speedy version. Notable pieces which aren't in the list (but would be on an unlimited budget) are Mox Opal, Aether Vial, and Tezz -- build up to these.


    Burn/Sligh
    Classic. It works well enough. While certainly adjustable, it's pretty close to the ceiling of what can be done with these cards. The next step would be to evolve towards a fast-version of Zoo. Grim is expensive, but it is worth the money. Some may feel inclined to drop a land or two, which I can understand.


    Mono Green Infect
    // Mana Sources - 22
    10 Forest
    4 Pendelhaven
    4 Elvish Spirit Guide
    4 Lotus Petal

    // Infect Creatures - 16
    4 Glistener Elf
    4 Blight Mamba
    4 Ichorclaw Myr
    4 Necropede

    // Strictly Pump - 16
    4 Prey's Vengeance
    4 Giant Growth
    4 Rancor
    4 Invigorate

    // Protection Pump - 6
    2 Ranger's Guile
    4 Vines of Vastwood

    // Sideboard
    SB: 4 Nature's Claim
    SB: 2 Ranger's Guile
    SB: 2 Apostle's Blessing
    SB: 4 Tormod's Crypt
    SB: 3 Dismember
    Like Dredge, this is really close to what I think the optimal deck looks like. I've ended up going for a slightly less combo playstyle with this deck after testing (moving away from cards like Mutagenic Growth and Berserk) -- the deck has more staying power than one might initially presume. I can easily see metagames where going for the pure combo is simply better. The mana-base is explosive because you really want a turn 1 infect creature, but I'm pretty picky about which pump spells to play. I wouldn't play Berserk anyways at this point (horror of all horrors!). Rancor is a pimp. Pretty simple deck. Don't underestimate your ability to win combat wars. Noteworthy, the very top-end, non-budget build is likely a UG or UGb build, but it really isn't much better (not worth the money, in my view).


    III - Aggro-Control Decks:

    Merfolk
    Stacking lords with minimal permission does win a lot more games than people want to admit. Fish is a good deck. This is actually close to what I believe the optimal build might be. I don't even care for mutavaults in the end, but I know most do. The big-money cards, FOW and Wasteland, are well worth buying, in my opinion.


    Mono Black Aggro-Control
    // Land - 22
    22 Swamp

    // Dudes and BB - 19
    3 Bitterblossom
    4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
    4 Vampire Nighthawk
    4 Dark Confidant
    4 Phyrexian Revoker (This guy is absolutely sick in this deck)

    // Hand Control - 8
    4 Hymn to Tourach
    4 Inquisition of Kozilek

    // Board Control - 11
    2 Umezawa's Jitte
    1 Batterskull
    4 Doom Blade
    4 Go for the Throat

    // Sideboard
    SB: 4 Duress
    SB: 4 Ratchet Bomb
    SB: 4 Leyline of the Void
    SB: 3 Engineered Plague
    This deck is very close to being what I consider optimal. Wasteland is the major expense which has been spared. BB, Jitte, and Confidant are expensive, but I think you get a lot of mileage out of them for the price. Ratchet bomb is an expensive card, but mono black has very few options to certain top-decked cards types (can't use discard in those cases); it is a necessary evil. Batterskull is excellent (you easily to get 5 lands).


    GW or Maverick
    // Mana Production - 23
    4 Horizon Canopy
    4 Razorverge Thicket
    4 Windswept Heath
    1 Temple Garden
    5 Forest
    3 Plains
    1 Dryad Arbor
    1 Nantuko Monastery

    // Usual Suspects - 16
    4 Noble Hierarch
    4 Mother of Runes
    4 Knight of the Reliquary
    4 Swords to Plowshares

    // SFM Package - 7
    4 Stoneforge Mystic
    1 Umezawa's Jitte
    1 Batterskull
    1 Sword of Body and Mind (could be another Sword pretty easily)

    // Hatebears and Utility GSZ-Targets - 9
    4 Qasali Pridemage
    4 Phyrexian Revoker
    1 Gaddock Teeg

    // Card Quantity & Quality - 5
    4 Green Sun's Zenith
    1 Eternal Witness

    // Sideboard
    SB: 1 Bojuka Bog
    SB: 1 Kataki, War's Wage
    SB: 3 Worldly Tutor
    SB: 3 Krosan Grip
    SB: 2 Choke
    SB: 2 Tormod's Crypt
    SB: 1 Scavenging Ooze
    SB: 1 Cold-Eyed Selkie
    SB: 1 Ethersworn Canonist
    This started much cheaper, but frankly, the money cards are really worth it. I originally tried to use less than 4x Noble Hierarch and Knight of the Reliquary. It can be done if you want to make it cheaper, but I think it is worth picking up the full playset. This performs surprisingly close to what the tier 1 Maverick builds performs like. Let me gush over Phyrexian Revoker some more -- I love this card, and I have no problem going to 4x with it. Future improvements range from 4x Savannahs, 2x more fetches (depending on where you go with the build), Wastelands, 1-2x Karakas, 1x Maze of Ith, 1x Terravore, 1x Rishadan Port, 1-4x Tarmogoyf (depends on who you ask and what metagame you find yourself), 1-2x Elspeth, 1-3x Sylvan Library, 2-4x PtE, E-tutor board, and honestly, so many more possibilities. There is still a lot of room to grow with this deck.


    WW (Death and Taxes)
    // Lands - 21
    21 Plains

    // SFM Package - 7
    4 Stoneforge Mystic
    1 Umezawa's Jitte
    1 Batterskull (considerably better in Legacy than many people realize)
    1 Sword of Body and Mind (a budget option, acceptably powered, decent pro's)

    // Raw Beatdown - 8
    4 Serra Avenger
    4 Mirran Crusader (even moreso than Avenger, very bomby wth equipment)

    // Control and Taxes - 16
    4 Swords to Plowshares
    4 Phyrexian Revoker
    4 Leonin Relic-Warder
    4 Mangara of Corondor

    // Anti-Control and Tempo - 8
    4 AEther Vial
    4 Mother of Runes

    // Sideboard
    SB: 4 Mana Tithe
    SB: 4 Enlightened Tutor
    SB: 1 Oblivion Ring
    SB: 1 Ethersworn Canonist
    SB: 1 Ensnaring Bridge
    SB: 1 Serenity
    SB: 1 Tormod's Crypt
    SB: 1 Relic of Progenitus
    SB: 1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
    White weenie can't be just plain beatdown. Of the many WW variants I've played, this is the best budget version I found; this is a budget variant of Death & Taxes. It lacks mana-denial elements in Wasteland and Port, and the power of Karakas. Until you go for the mana-denial package, Path to Exile is a reasonable card, btw. I think cards like Flickerwisp are more powerful than they seem on paper, but don't bring enough to the table in this deck. I don't like Jotun Grunt either. Jitte and Batterskull are the best equipment in the game; SoB&M isn't amazing, and I'd much prefer Fire & Ice or Light & Shadow.


    UR Delver/Counterburn/Blue Sligh
    This deck is surprisingly close to my non-budget build. Improvements would be FoW's in the side, 3-4 more fetches, 3-4 Volcanic Islands (although, it runs great on even 1 Volcanic and some number of Steam Vents). Possible improvements might include Fireblast (which is very dependent upon running Duals), changes to the number of SSnares, Grim Lavamancers, Surgical Extraction, and Snapcaster (which I'm not impressed by, but other might still prefer). Wasteland, of course, may still be worth using in this deck, although, I'm preferring not to play it so far (Price of Progress is damn good).


    IV - Dedicated Control Decks:

    MUC (Permanent-based)
    // Islands - 24
    24 Island

    // Beef - 3
    2 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
    1 Call the Skybreaker

    // Board Control and Tempo - 13
    1 Capsize
    3 Propaganda
    3 Powder Keg
    3 Vedalken Shackles
    3 Back to Basics

    // Permission - 12
    4 Counterspell
    4 Spell Snare
    4 Mana Leak

    // Draw - 8
    4 Impulse
    4 Fact or Fiction

    // Sideboard
    SB: 3 Echoing Truth
    SB: 3 Relic of Progenitus
    SB: 3 Spell Pierce
    SB: 3 Blue Elemental Blast
    SB: 3 Pithing Needle
    I'm forgoing a stack-based approach because it relies upon FoW more than the permanent based, imho. I was careful in my choice of win-cons; some may prefer a different configuration, but this is what I think works best. Going to 4 on any of the 3-of's is quite reasonable in non-budget builds, but because of serious diminishing returns to multiples, I think it isn't a very efficient use of money to go for the 4th of any of these. Obviously, the deck is missing FoW and Jace. Cryptic command is also missing. Foil is another budget card which you might consider as a substitute for Spell Snare or Mana leak.


    CounterTop Thopter
    This is on the more expensive side of budget decks, but it is fairly cheap as far as viable control decks go. Again, we have to bend over backwards to make the mana-base work. I just don't see this deck operating correctly without fetches, not just for the sake of mana smoothing, but also brainstorm and Top, as they are both so powerful in this deck (8-shuffle effects isn't great, but it is enough). Many non-budget versions can make EE better with additional colors, and that just isn't an option. Besides the mana-base, Jace, Elspeth, and FoW would make fantastic future upgrades (*Moat in some versions as well). The 4th CB/Top has diminishing returns, especially in an e-tutor deck, so I saved money and went to 3. This deck relies upon the Thopter combo very heavily, and I think high quantity/multiples is a perfectly acceptable route. The e-tutor board is fairly standard, and you get a lot of bang for your buck.


    Mono White Control
    // Lands - 25
    4 Mishra's Factory
    4 Scrying Sheets
    1 Kor Haven
    16 Snow-Covered Plains

    // CA Generating, Stalling, Resilient Win-Cons - 9
    3 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
    2 Decree of Justice
    4 Eternal Dragon (While less impressive in Quinn, this is quite strong in this version of MWC)

    // 1-for-1 Board Control - 12
    4 Path to Exile
    4 Swords to Plowshares
    4 Oblivion Ring

    // X-for-1 Board Control - 7
    3 Wrath of God
    4 Austere Command

    // Further Stalling and Forcing Overextension (for the sake of X-for-1's) - 3
    3 Pulse of the Fields

    // Card Quality and Quantity (in conjunction with Snow-engine) - 4
    4 Sensei's Divining Top

    // Sideboard
    SB: 4 Enlightened Tutor
    SB: 1 Relic of Progenitus
    SB: 1 Sacred Ground
    SB: 1 Oblivion Stone
    SB: 1 Story Circle
    SB: 1 Pithing Needle
    SB: 1 Rule of Law
    SB: 1 Arena of the Ancients or 1 Ensnaring Bridge -- both cards do some important work.
    SB: 1 Serenity
    SB: 1 Ghostly Prison
    SB: 1 Leyline of Sanctity
    SB: 1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
    I love this deck. This is probably my favorite deck to play. Good gracious, it wrecks so many decks (*and, obviously, it is completely wrecked by certain combo decks). This is a strict board control deck -- it also belongs in only certain metagames. Play quickly (and you'll need to make sure you opponent does as well). In most cases, I prefer this to Quinn. The cool part is that this is also substantially cheaper than Quinn. There are so many matches where this deck just rocks the fucking house. The deck is not a silver-bullet deck, but it employs an e-tutor sideboard simply because it is so focused on one strategy that e-tutor gives outs to certain strategies that otherwise just wouldn't be available. For those who want to go the Quinn route, obviously cards like Moat, Painter combo, and Chant will be upgrades. If you go my route, then the only major addition will be 4x Maze of Ith (in forcing overextension, and living through the early game). Humility in the sideboard would be nice. A few other sideboard upgrades exist, including Crucible of Worlds instead of Sacred Ground, and others which depend on your specific metagame.


    UW "Stoneblade" Control
    With T2 bannings, this deck is more reasonably priced, even though it is still quite expensive compared to many budget decks. Obviously, Tundras, Strands, 1-2 Swords, Forces, and likely Wastelands and Standstills are missing. This is a very dangerous deck, in my view, and even though it is missing some of the most expensive cards, it still packs quite a punch. Shackles and perhaps some number of Wraths merit consideration as well.


    V - Prison (Combo-Control):

    Enchantress
    // Lands - 22
    13 Forest
    7 Plains
    2 Serra's Sanctum

    // Enchantment Mana Engine - 8
    4 Utopia Sprawl
    4 Wild Growth

    // Enchantress Draw Engine - 8
    4 Argothian Enchantress
    4 Enchantress's Presence

    // Card Quality - 6
    2 Mirri's Guile
    4 Sterling Grove

    // Win Cons - 2
    1 Sigil of the Empty Throne
    1 Words of War

    // Control - 11
    2 Oblivion Ring
    3 Solitary Confinement
    4 Elephant Grass
    2 Runed Halo

    // Anti-Control - 3
    1 Karmic Justice
    2 Replenish

    // Sideboard
    SB: 1 Ground Seal
    SB: 2 City of Solitude
    SB: 2 Choke
    SB: 1 Humility
    SB: 2 Oblivion Ring
    SB: 1 Runed Halo
    SB: 1 Karmic Justice
    SB: 1 Replenish
    SB: 4 Leyline of Sanctity
    This is not a deck which can evolve to be another. It is the sort of deck which viably can be built as a cheaper version and slowly improved to have an expensive mana-base and cards like Moat. While losing your duals/fetches hurts to some extent, it isn't deadly to the deck; in fact, part of what makes Enchantress so good is its near immunity to Wasteland. We run slightly more lands than usual, but this is necessary.


    Dragon Stompy
    // Mana Production (mostly) - 28
    4 Simian Spirit Guide
    4 Chrome Mox
    4 Ancient Tomb
    4 Crystal Vein
    12 Mountain

    // Disruption - 16
    4 Magus of the Moon
    4 Blood Moon
    4 Chalice of the Void
    4 Phyrexian Revoker

    // "teh" beatdown package - 16
    4 Gathan Raiders
    4 Rakdos Pit Dragon
    4 Taurean Mauler (this slot has flexibility)
    4 Lord of Shatterskull Pass (this slot has flexibility)

    // Sideboard
    3 Tormod's Crypt
    3 Anarchy
    3 Pyrokinesis
    3 Fortune Thief
    3 Stingscourger
    This deck is both on the expensive side of budget decks and has very limited evolutions available. Similar to Belcher, you only really get to avoid one of the expensive mana producers in the budget version. We run 2 more mountains than usual, and this is to make up for lacking City of Traitors. City of Traitors is very expensive. Crystal Vein is not a great substitute, and additional mana sources are required. I'm not a fan of Seething Song in the optimal build, and I think it is even worse when you don't have City. I'd have preferred only 3x Chrome Mox in the budget build, but frankly, the deck would need to find a non-land mana accelerant to replace it, and it just makes more sense to go for the 4th. The sideboard is also missing Ratchet Bomb, which is an optimal card in my view, but too expensive for what you get in this deck. Trinisphere is a common card in this deck, I've too often not liked having it, but others really like it a lot -- please test it out. 3Sphere could easily find itself into the main and side in many metagames.


    Pox
    // Lands - 25
    21 Swamp
    4 Barren Moor

    // Recursive Win Cons - 7
    3 Nether Spirit
    3 Bloodghast
    1 Worm Harvest

    // Symmetry - 19
    4 Innocent Blood
    4 Smallpox
    3 Pox
    4 Culling Scales
    4 Liliana of the Veil

    // Pure Hand Disruption - 9
    4 Hymn to Tourach
    4 Inquisition of Kozilek
    1 Raven's Crime

    // Sideboard
    SB: 3 Perish
    SB: 2 Darkblast
    SB: 3 Duress
    SB: 3 Pithing Needle
    SB: 4 Leyline of the Void
    I think this is the bare minimum Pox build. Liliana is an expensive card, but it keeps this deck on the the map. The deck requires far more money cards to be a viable contender in more diverse metagames. Pricey upgrades including a green (and perhaps white) splash (and all the duals/fetches for it), either Loam or Crucible, Wasteland, Deed, maybe Maelstorm Pulse, possibly Sinkhole/Vindicate, possibly Mox Diamond (depending on the build), and perhaps other win cons. Spike warning: unfortunately, even with upgrades, I think this deck is both limited in evolutions and pretty narrow in terms of the metagames where it belongs.


    VI - Difficult to Classify:

    Mono Red Goblins
    // Lands - 22
    22 Mountain

    // Tempo - 12
    4 AEther Vial
    4 Goblin Lackey
    4 Goblin Warchief

    // Card Quality & Quantity - 8
    4 Goblin Ringleader
    4 Goblin Matron

    // Other Standard Goblins- 6
    4 Goblin Piledriver
    2 Siege-Gang Commander

    // Creature Removal - 10
    4 Mogg Fanatic
    4 Gempalm Incinerator
    2 Stingscourger

    // Artifact Removal - 2
    1 Tuktuk Scrapper
    1 Goblin Tinkerer

    // Sideboard
    SB: 4 Pyrostatic Pillar (*Mindbreak Trap is only slightly more expensive, but perhaps better in this slot)
    SB: 4 Relic of Progenitus
    SB: 1 Goblin Sharpshooter
    SB: 4 Pyrokinesis
    SB: 1 Goblin Tinkerer
    SB: 1 Vexing Shusher
    Some number of Anarchy in the side might be worthwhile as well. Cutting Ports and Wastelands cuts the cost of the deck in half. You lose the ability to play mana-denial, which subseqently translates into a more aggressive and less control oriented build (while, unfortunately, also making Vial less powerful). Otherwise, this is a fairly standard build of Mono Red Goblins (which in itself is a budget version of the RB, RG, and RGB end-game versions of Goblins). I think there is some wiggle room in several slots, particularly depending on the metagame you might have. The Goblins thread in the DTB Forum is a good place to start for those sorts of questions. This is a relatively cheap deck to build. Beyond some very broken starts, it has, of the various aggro decks in Legacy, an unmatched CA/CQ engine which allows it to drown people in the late game sea (even a very cheap, aggressive mono-red build like this maintains that ability to a large extent). Future improvements include not only Wasteland/Port, but also Fetches and Duals, probably for both Green and Black splashes. The splashed spells aren't expensive, but the mana-base will be expensive.
    Last edited by 4eak; 02-09-2012 at 03:59 PM.

  2. #2
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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    Change log
    • 04-16-2011 - Thread Created
    • 04-16-2011 - Added Burn
    • 04-17-2011 - Added CounterTop Thopters
    • 04-17-2011 - Added Mono Black Aggro-Control, Enchantress
    • 04-21-2011 - Added Dragon Stompy
    • 05-06-2011 - Added MWC
    • 06-09-2011 - Added Mono Green Infect
    • 06-09-2011 - Updated Dredge, Merfolk, MUC, Burn, CounterTop Thopters, Mono Black Aggro-Control
    • 06-16-2011 - Updated Affinity
    • 06-19-2011 - Updated Mono Green Infect, Mono Black Aggro-Control
    • 06-30-2011 - Updated Mono Green Infect
    • 07-03-2011 - Added White Weenie
    • 07-03-2011 - Updated MWC
    • 07-06-2011 - Updated GW/Maverick
    • 07-07-2011 - Updated Merfolk
    • 07-08-2011 - Reorganized main page & Classified decks
    • 07-08-2011 - Added UW "Stoneblade" Control
    • 07-08-2011 - Index Added
    • 07-08-2011 - Added Hive Mind
    • 09-14-2011 - Updated Dredge
    • 09-25-2011 - Updated Dredge, Reanimator, Affinity, Mono Green Infect, Merfolk, Mono Black Aggro-Control, GW/Maverick, White Weenie, MUC, Countertop Thopters, U/W Stoneblade
    • 12-14-2011 - Added UR Delver/Counterburn/Blue Sligh
    • 12-14-2011 - Updated Dredge
    • 01-02-2012 - Added Pox
    • 02-05-2012 - Added TES
    • 02-07-2012 - Updated Mono Red Goblins
    • 02-09-2012 - Updated Mono Green Infect
    Last edited by 4eak; 09-06-2012 at 01:58 AM.

  3. #3
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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    Nice initiative!

    I'm suspect to say, since I like budgets decks my own, I even update a berserkless version of my monogreen aggro (even more budget, sort like monogreen Zoo) to try to keep it into competitive level. Well thought, a thread for all your tryes =)

    A small analysis on the lists would be nice ^^

    GL with the idea
    Last edited by Gui; 04-16-2011 at 01:04 PM.
    If you fail to explain the reason behind your choice, technically, it's the wrong choice.

    Quote Originally Posted by Tacosnape View Post
    It's one of the ten strongest cards in Legacy. And in truth, in any deck you design, you really need to have a good reason -not- to run Wasteland.
    Zerk Thread -- Really, fun deck! ^^

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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    That deck "Ascension" that just popped up in the established section may be worth a peek or two.
    Quote Originally Posted by ktkenshinx View Post
    The Reserved List is a) not legally binding, b) antiquated, c) broken, and d) preventative of maximum game enjoyment. Wizards will remove as many cards from that list as possible to increase the fun of their game. Using market research, they can find a balance between printing enough cards to lower a price from $40 to $15-$20, and not utterly ruining their value. This will be both an economically feasible AND sensible move.
    -ktkenshinx-

  5. #5
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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    I'm not gonna lie, I have nearly every Legacy staple other than the obscure Portal 3 ones, but I still love coming up with budget ideas for Legacy.

    Definitely look forward to the future posts.
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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    @ Gui

    A small analisis on the lists would be nice
    Will do.


    @ bakofried

    That deck "Ascension" that just popped up in the established section may be worth a peek or two
    I've played it several times before it was posted in the Established forum (because it is really a lot fun and a very cool deck, in my view). I actually have some worries about that deck, but I'll revisit them after testing it again.


    peace,
    4eak

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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    Mono-Blue FaerieNinjaStill is pretty cheap, you can even build it without FoW.
    "If you're playing Storm in Legacy, you need to believe that what your deck does is better than what their deck does."

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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    Mono-Blue FaerieNinjaStill
    Unfortunately, I believe Merfolk is just a better deck which plays a similar role at a similar price.


    peace,
    4eak

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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    Goblin Sligh! Lackey, Piledriver, and Chain Lightning are the entire deck.

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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    Goblin Sligh
    I have tried your deck out (the same day you posted it); I thought it was a cool idea. I believe that non-tribal, mono-red Sligh is actually a better deck in that role (and even substantially cheaper). At that price, I think I can build a budget fast-critter Zoo deck (close to Sligh on the spectrum) as well.

    Similarly, if we switch roles, but keep the tribe, the jump from your mono-red Goblin Sligh to mono-red Vial Goblins (sans Wasteland/Port) isn't a major price difference.


    peace,
    4eak

  11. #11
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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    You forgot Burn.
    I am convinced that WotC is "dumbing" the game because of all the stupid posts they come across on MTG-related forums
    Quote Originally Posted by Kyle View Post
    13NoVa plays Force of Will from his hand.
    Finglonger plays Spell Pierce from his hand.
    [10:22:43]  13NoVa: lol
    sure
    Finglonger points from his Dack Fayden to 13NoVa's Sol Ring.
    [10:23:04]  13NoVa: lol dumb ******; nice draws with retard.dec
    stupid cocksucker
    You have been kicked out of the game.

  12. #12
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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    Hehe, I edited Burn/Sligh in at the same time you said that.

    I'm definitely missing a ton of decks, and I will slowly add all of them over time. I have to go through an enormous set of decklists in my MWS folder, and I'm being as selective as I can be.



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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    First of all thank you for the thread. I've always loved your decks.

    What is your stack based MUC build with a white splash? - let's say with 4x Force of Will, Fetchlands, and a few Tundras...it's still quite budget compared to similar decks of that archetyp.
    The thing is that I think that the white splash for StP is a must to be competitive, but on the other hand my budget is limited, so I'm only willed to invest partly „powered“.
    I know you once have posted something like that in the MUC thread.

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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    Burn/Slight can easily use Cursed Scroll, ever tryed?
    If you fail to explain the reason behind your choice, technically, it's the wrong choice.

    Quote Originally Posted by Tacosnape View Post
    It's one of the ten strongest cards in Legacy. And in truth, in any deck you design, you really need to have a good reason -not- to run Wasteland.
    Zerk Thread -- Really, fun deck! ^^

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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    @ Iron Buddha

    If I had Tundras/Flooded Strands to work with, I probably wouldn't go for a white-splashed stack-oriented MUC. I think several UW Control variants are better. As well, I'm not totally clear what counts as reasonable in your budget, which is important. Cards like Elspeth and Jace are fantastic (Jace especially is worth playing), but they also steer the deck away from being oriented to the stack.

    // Lands - 23
    9 Island
    2 Misty Rainforest
    4 Mishra's Factory
    3 Tundra
    1 Plains
    4 Flooded Strand

    // Win Cons - 2
    1 Eternal Dragon
    1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle

    // Permission - 16
    4 Force Spike
    4 Mana Leak
    4 Counterspell
    4 Force of Will

    // Draw - 8
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Fact or Fiction

    // Board Control - 11
    4 Vedalken Shackles
    3 Oblivion Stone
    4 Swords to Plowshares
    Disk is substantially weaker in a format which is accumulating worthy Planeswalkers, which is why I went with O-stone. If B2B matters a lot to you, it can easily be worked into the deck. Again, I think with your resources, it is competitively-speaking, better to go with UW-Control or UW-Landstill if possible. This removes the weaker permission, some of your drawing power, and it relies more upon board control; obviously, that isn't a satisfying answer if you are set on playing Draw/Go.


    @ Gui

    Cursed Scroll has become a lackluster card in Sligh, at least in my experience. I think you win before it matters. I think Cursed Scroll is better in a deck which leans a bit more on the control role; which is not Sligh at all.


    peace,
    4eak

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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    Quote Originally Posted by 4eak View Post
    @ Gui

    Cursed Scroll has become a lackluster card in Sligh, at least in my experience. I think you win before it matters. I think Cursed Scroll is better in a deck which leans a bit more on the control role; which is not Sligh at all.
    The oldschool RDW made great use of it alongside it's mana denial packages, however.

    Also, I feel like you should have a /Flamebreak. Fallout is better in dredge-heavy metas, whereas Break is better against Zoo.
    "If you're playing Storm in Legacy, you need to believe that what your deck does is better than what their deck does."

  17. #17
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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    Yeah, Flamebreak can be a very worth choice. Fallout is only slightly better than Flamebreak in dredge-heavy metas (instant is nice). I think Fallout is even better in Tribal-heavy metas. In addition, Fallout is also better in Countertop-heavy metas (a deck which tends to stabilize at very low life totals, and we need ways to force damage through). Against decks where instant speed matters, like Goblins or Elves, I still prefer Fallout.

    Oddly enough, that "no flying" clause in Flamebreak has bitten me in the ass before. I've had to sweep flyers before, or Bolt+Sweep against Tombstalker. In those cases, you'll appreciate Fallout as well.


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    4eak

  18. #18
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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    I've added CounterTop Thopters.


    peace,
    4eak

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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    I think that White Weenie deck that got 15th at the SCG open in LA is a good option for this thread too. Especially since I'm pretty sure the Sword of Fire & Ice he used should just be another Jitte. Karakas is getting to be a pretty expensive card, but Death & Taxes isn't too far away from that deck, as far as its proximity to other, less budget decks.

    Also, Plateaus are cheap enough that Sligh could splash white pretty affordably... if there was a reason besides Steppe Lynx that was good enough to splash for (I'm thinking 12-14 fetches isn't really 'budget').
    Bless your heart, we must consider Blue/White Tempo's strategy and win percentages in an entirely different deck thread. -4eak

  20. #20
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    Re: [Budget Decks] -- My Attempts

    Aye, I've tried versions of that WW deck (I think there are cards missing which would have improved it).

    I'm going through WW and DnT lists looking for the one that I will eventually recommend. There are several variants that have been pretty good for me in testing. Unfortunately, almost all lists require some combination of Waste/Port/Karakas, which I think is a pretty expensive deck for what you get. Vial and the SFM package make it all the more expensive. I want to recommend a list that doesn't require wastelands, but can easily evolve to use them. Admittedly, I might not find a WW list that I think will be worthy without some land-based tempo tricks.


    peace,
    4eak

    [Edit: Added Mono Black Aggro-Control & Enchantress]
    Last edited by 4eak; 04-17-2011 at 08:45 PM.

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