Because crime doesn’t pay.
Try typing the effect you need into the advanced search feature atScryfall, and sort by price.
Often you’ll find a good substitute for far less.
Some prints can also have vastly different prices, so check for the cheapest one!
Proxies are not allowed in sanctioned tournaments, and some players don’t want to play with proxies.
If you’re playing for fun with your friends, ask!
Alchemist’s Apprentice, by David Palumbo
You might get to build your dream deck for pennies.
Even if they charge, you won’t have to pay for shipping.
The Best Budget Archetypes
Some deck archetypes are reliably cheap and strong for their price point.
Alchemist’s Apprentice, by David Palumbo
This is becauseboth colors interact with artifacts in unique wayswhich, when combined, make a legitimate threat.
Gleaming Geardrake, a 2/2 flying artifact Drake, is going to be one of your hardest hitters.
This deck contains no sideboard, because the strategy is all-in, with little room for deviation between games.
The sideboard for this deck primarily revolves around stopping interaction.
Since you’ll be playing instants to protect him, he’ll just keep getting stronger.
He also makes all of your instants and sorceries less expensive to cast.
Most of your spells are instants, sokeep mana freewhen you’ve got the option to.
Even if you don’t have any counters in your hand, let your opponent assume that you do.
Red Deck Wins
Red Deck Wins is a classic Magic archetype that’s been around for decades.
While it waxes and wanes with set rotations, it’s consistently among the top-performing budget deck archetypes.
The entire deck is below five mana, and mostly runs around two mana.
Play Magic: The Gathering’s Commander format without breaking the bank,
Zoetic Glyph, by Yeong-Hao Han
Recruitment Officer, by Johan Grenier
Monstrous Rage, by Borja Pindado
Tolarian Terror, by Vincent Christiaens
Thundering Raiju, by Xavier Ribeiro
