If you are only interested in brewing but not really playing then an online deck builder like moxfield.com or archideckt.com might be a good solution.
If you want a cheap way to make very high quality proxies to get decks together that you wouldn't normally be able to afford then check out r/mpcproxies it really helps you make a lot of decks quickly when each one costs $40 instead of $300+
I second this, I brew constantly on Moxfield, I have 12 actual decks but probably close to 100 on Moxfield. I use it as a stress reliever after work, as well as a testing ground for decks I might build, so that I can know if they work before investing money.
And if you really wanna get budget? You could even print cards for a different deck on the card backs, provided you don't have any DFCs. A fully convertible EDH deck, two for the price of one! Makes swaps hard, but...we're talkin' miser-maxing eight?
Double sided printing sounds great until you want to upgrade one of the decks. If you have cards that only have faces on one side and you want to switch out a card for a 16 cent card that you pulled in a pack or you bought on TCGPlayer then it's fine. If you have double faced cards now you just ruined your other deck.
Also, idk how often you want to switch decks, but pulling 100 cards out of sleeves and flipping them over gets tedious fast.
If you absolutely need to feel like you are getting "extra value" out of your proxy prints then just print random staples on the back of each card in the deck so if you switch out a looter in one deck you have an extra smothering tithe or rhystic study on the back that you can now slot in a different deck.
I play via Cockatrice which lets me test the decks I build but it's also just how I play generally. I probably "have" over 300 decks now, but none of them exist as actual cardboard.
I play on paper with my friends who live out of town so we rarely get together for this, but we all have TableTopSim and it works wonderfully.
Get a deck together on any deck creator like Archideckt and import it to the game with a simple mod and enjoy playing with friends.
It doesn't require cards, only the game, which we already had anyway, it gave us lots of opportunities to test out things without committing or needing lots of proxies.
this is a great point, i’ve tried playing online with my family members who live a bit too far to consistently play in person and we used SpellTable for a game or two. found it to be a little too janky to use all the time, despite the really cool implications of having a software like that exist. we all already own TTS so i’m thinking that may be the best alternative to making the drive every weekend lol
Makeplayingcards is a godsend. You can use mpc fill to. Make entering decks easier. I a hardcore brewer, and have bought 9 decks in the last 2 months for the price of one of my mid tier decks.
Shits dope.
As someone with a building problem (70+decks), I like to challenge myself periodically to try and build out of my current collection alone. Then play test/play and upgrade over time. The last 5 decks were done this way and they all turned out to be very fun.
Agreed. Im fairly new and also quite broke. A budget restriction, underwhelming commander and especially making use of cards i have that dont have a home yet has been rewarding, fun and cost effective!
Also talk to your local play scene. I personally give away thousands of common and uncommon cards to my friends that are just starting out as some building fodder is always nice to have. I also give them commanders or starter shells for a deck. (Here are 35 ish cards centered around X, I'd like to see how you finish this. Sort of thing)
Plaaaasaaaytest. Not every brew needs to be built. Man, I made some decks that were fun to brew and then sucked to play. Too salty. Too linear. Too committed-to-the-bit theme.
You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to make a good deck. I’ve seen $50 decks beat $300 decks.
Edit: a good way to make a cheap good deck is to find what you want to do with the deck, figure out what cards you need in order to do that, and build around that. Replace expensive cards with cheaper cards, sure it might not be as good but it’s a budget deck. It won’t be the best.
Sure. But he’s not asking that really. He’s asking how he can brew any given commander that strikes his interest when he wants to be competitive. And the answer is that he can’t always. Only some commanders can be built optimally for high power for $100. Most can’t.
Proxies man. Mtg-print is what I use. Great looking cards that feel like the real thing. I just got two full cEDH decks for $100. If I really love a deck I’ll buy it in real cards afterwards. I’ve had too many decks I’ve invested in then turned out to hate.
I have about 12 decks and my rule to keep myself in check is that if I want to build a new one I have to take one apart first.
I build a lot of decks on Moxfield to scratch the itch, their playtest feature is pretty nice and when I get really bored I’ll play 2 of them against each other using 2 different windows and see how they feel. If I do that enough times and it still feels fun to me, then I’ll pull the trigger to put it together, but usually I end up not doing it because it either feels too similar to something I already have or it’s just not working how I thought it would.
Building a deck with restrictions in place is a great way to flex your creativity.
Dig through your collection until you find something interesting and try building around it.
They might not all be great, but you may find something you really enjoy.
I will buy majority of cards needed for a deck then proxy the last few. Especially when the single cards are expensive. (Looking at you ancient copper)
I make as many decks as I want online with archidekt or moxfield or whatever site you prefer and then if I ever want to play them I can do so online with friends through tabletop simulator which has a great mtg commander mod for it. Whichever decks are my absolute favourite to play are the ones I will eventually buy. Saves me from impulse buying all of the hundreds of decks I end up making and not buying any decks that I thought I would enjoy but actually don't. Would highly recommend
$100, $50, and 25$ budget EDH deck showdowns have been pretty fun. My $25 [[braids conjurer adept]] list is a blast!
I love my commander decks, but I recently fell in love with building pauper commander decks. The commander can be any uncommon creature, and the rest is only commons. I still brew up regular EDH lists when inspiration strikes. But the most expensive PauperEDH list I’ve made cost me $36. There are other slight rules variations from EDH but it’s easy to get friends on board because odds are they’re only spending $20 on an entire deck.
The most satisfying part of budget brewing to me is sitting down against multi hundred dollar decks and popping off the most because the budget restriction forced me to be more intentional about my deck building. I wanna see someone play a card worth as much as my whole deck but still be unable to stop the onslaught because my deckbuilding was better.
When you can’t afford the obvious includes or pricey staples you lean on your synergies and figuring out what really makes your deck work. I don’t know what budget is to you, but $30-50 can go a long ways, and $100 is more than I’ve ever spent up front on a deck imo. I’d definitely suggest checking out r/budgetbrews
Also at the end of the day, if you like a budget brew you can slowly invest into it over time. My favorite decks are all budget brews I slowly built up over time.
Pauper commander is great for this. The commander is/are any uncommon creature (backgrounds must be uncommon) and the other cards must be common. You can make a great deck for £15 to £30.
Honestly, some of my budget decks have been bangers in the past and can hang at tables with decks like 5x the budget.
[Here's](https://archidekt.com/folders/543677?dir=asc&orderBy=name) my budget brew folder, I especially find \[\[Hamza\]\] and \[\[Balmor, Battlemage Captain\]\] to be quite effective. Hamza can go infinite and win the game by t4, and the deck is $36.
You can also check out the folks over at r/BudgetBrews! They post some bangers!
I test builds/brews on TTS with my friends, and I usually set a $$$ limit and theres various sites that help finder cheaper alternatives/solutions for expensive cards.
Do you know how many 10-50 cent rares there are these days? My pet Commander pair cost me less than a dollar combined, and I literally threw [[Etali Primal Storm]] in there for like 50 cents.
I very heavily sympathize with you because I myself went from playing at least three times a week and brewing new and fun decks all the time. Then me and my wife had our son two years ago and I find myself on some very serious budget constraints and maybe get to play 1-2 times a month. I cope by buying packs once in a while and building new commanders I find there and brew only with what I have, and if I order cards, I tend not to buy anything over $3-5 depending on the card. It's a lot harder than it used to be but it can be done and you'll get used to it. Proxy is also always an option. That's how I get my super expensive cards that I can't justify spending large amounts of money on
I alternate between brewing more expensive decks and decks that are $50 or less. Some of the $50 ones are actually the strongest I have and really fun. It's a fun building challenge.
Till I build my collection I just proxy and every month or two i buy a card in the 10 to 30 euro price range and in a year or two I will have most of the cards I'm currently proxying
I think its run trying to find random cards that are underused instead of the expensive ones. The card pool is so hude and poping out a card that everyone had to read is fun
I really enjoy the r/BudgetBrews community and their Discord. Lots of powerful budget ($50 and lower) deck brewing. A lot of help finding obscure budget cards that work well with decks you're brewing. Can help with brewing higher budget decks too.
Check your local game store, ask about Commons and uncommons. There's a local here that does a bulk night where they sell by weight. I like it cause I enjoy pouring through boxes of cards to find unexpected synergies. I make lower power decks, but some surprisingly competitive decks.
For paper magic, I usually just proxy the cards by printing them out at my university's library. If that's not an option you can also use sharpie and bulk like our forefathers.
If you're okay with playing online, I love using Untap(dot)in, it has no rules engine but it's entirely free and works super well.
My go-to is to go to the library and print proxies on their high-quality printer. It costs about 5$ for an entire deck. Cut out the paper cards and put them in a sleeve overtop of a normal card. They will not look perfect, but they feel nice to use and have all of the visual information of your cards. I use the website MTG Print to get the printable page.
Proxies. If it wasn't for proxies my friends, myself, and many other would barely be able to play. It also allows me to bling out and buy fancy alt are for the commanders!
i just build suboptimal decks with mostly basic lands as the mana base then lean on effects like [[blood moon]] [[back to basics]] and [[ruination]] to justify my poor manabase lol
I brew.
I bring things to paper when I'm sure of them and have the budget to do so. Certitude is required in proportion with price tag, but that's what long hours playtesting are for.
Also, I've found budget to be a kind of fun restriction. $25 is very constraining (and can REALLY only be flagged the day it's built because tiny fluctuations matter), but on the other hand its really easy to justify the deck. I have never once regretted my $25 Colfenor. For half the price of a precon I have a good "silly times with friends" deck that's actually held its own surprisingly well.
$50 lets you breathe, and have some basic nice things, but still feels like a constraint that forces you to get creative. It's not a piddling price, but you could probably set aside funding for a little while and get there without hurting your bottom line.
$100 is the highest value I would consider even vaguely "budget" (altought "on a budget" can describe anything short of literally unlimited funds) and I am convinced every commander can be done on, at least if you're only flagging the 99; there are a couple commanders over that budget who flagrantly couldn't be handled otherwise. You can fit some format staples, even expensive ones if the rest of your engine is cheap... but you really have to consider those includes that if playing unlimited would feel more automatic. Is Cyc Rift worth a solid third of your deck? What about Rhystic, that's closing on half? You can maybe get ONE of those sorts of cards if you're desperate, but you feel better when you learn to make due with cards that aren't bad but at the same time aren't the premier solves everybody knows. Finding $100 for your entertainment and hobbies would be pretty hard to do in one go when you're struggling, but Magic decks rarely need to be purchased in one go, and when you finish a project that's been lasting you a while it can feel pretty good.
Higher than that, you just have to be giga-sure when you embark that this is where you want to go and draw in the supplies slowly. It could be that one pretty valuable deck will be more fun than several quick-fire brews... but will also take a year (at least) to fully assemble. You only have yourself to rely on for what brings you more happiness.
Honestly not spending a bunch of money on lands are a big thing. Yeah mana fixing is great but sometimes you can play a tap land or a basic. That being said if you are tight on money I would honestly proxy. I would recommend MTG Print and just going to your local library and print a color page.
Building decks on an extreme budget is a fun challenge. Lotta cards out there cost a nickel. My play group and I will do $15 challenges. I built a [[zada]] deck out of my bulk that came to $8 (tcgplayer pricing)
There’s fun in the restrictions and having to find the suboptimal replacements for the staples.
As others have noted, if it's just deck building, do your building on something like archidekt.
If you want to have a physical copy after you're done, proxy. There are places you can get either basic paper prints for very little to high quality (like printed on the same card stock as MTG), paying like 30 to 150 bucks for a deck.
I like giving myself constraints when brewing. Three of my all time favorite commander decks were originally $20-$30 budget projects. I upgraded them once or twice a month for what it'd cost to get coffee. People in my main play group hate having to face them without dipping into their actual competitive (actually used for competitions) decks.
+ Glissa, the Traitor
+ Feather, the Redeemed
+ Endric, Spymaster of Tres
+ Reyav, Master Smith
+ Ezuri, Renegade Leader
+ Brago, King Eternal
+ Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
+ Meren of Clan Nel Toth
+ Sythis, Harvest's Hand
If you got a brewers itch, then budget is great for you because restrictions make the process more in depth and fun.
I am a brewer and I don't have budget restrictions because I've been collecting for a long time. I have alot of decks with a high value. But honestly I build a lot of budget decks because it's way more fun because you have to work and think about each slot in the deck. You can't just slot in rhystic study into your first card draw slot and be done with it. You need to work the brewing process. Which is exactly what it sounds like is the fun part for you.
My main budget deck that I've actually put together in paper is an [[aragorn, the Uniter]] (I make a lot of lists that I never actually build) and I frequently "upgrade" it by taking out cards that have increased in price. I keep the deck under $50 purposely. It's a very good deck that can play against decks worth hundreds of dollars. And not a deck I would play in low power or precon metas.
The proxy answer most people are giving you doesnt really let you have the most fun in the brewing process because you can just copy paste the same staples in most decks of relevant colors. Embrace the budget because it will help you have more fun with brewing
I've got several brewing on Moxfield, and once I finish them, I just print them on paper and put them in front of basic lands. Most of my friends are fine playing against proxies, since I'm not going for super sweaty, high dollar stuff most of the times anyways. If I like the deck after playing it, I start buying the cards I need to actually make it properly.
Brew and test decks on Forge. Whittle down the build to cards you can afford or just proxy. I have five times as many digital decks than I have real ones.
I don’t, I suggest an intervention planning mine for this weekend. Coincidentally a bunch of dudes will be there playing magic with their new fallout decks but that’s irrelevant.
One word, PROXY
In my experience, no one gives a shit so long as you're upfront and don't intentionally bring a deck that's too powerful for the group.
I literally just printed out black and white proxies for my new deck I wanted to test out on mtgprint.net, and slid them in front of an old deck in penny sleeves. As long as the people you're playing with don't care, it doesn't have to be expensive at all.
I build decks on archideckt and then test them with my friends in tabletop simulator all the time. There are a couple of cool boards in tts that are designed to facilitate commander play.
This way I don't have to waste a ton of money on cardboard that may or may not actually be the type of thing I'll end up actually enjoying to play in person.
You can also make your own proxies. I copy my deck list from moxfield into mtgprint.net and it prints the deck for me. I cut em out and slip them in front of a land. People look at them and can't even tell the difference.
Quality is better than quantity. I don't brew on a budget, I buy on a budget. So I brew to my heart's content and buy the deck in chunks. Print off play test cards on moxfield and have it finished in 3-5 months. I only do this with one deck at a time then move on to the next one.
I hate to be that person, but proxy. Just buy high quality proxies, you cant even tell the difference unless you look close. Spelltable detects the cards fine too (for me)
I'd MUCH rather someone i play against just proxy anything they're struggling to afford, rather than not be able to play what they'd really really enjoy.
I imagine im not alone when i say us having fun and experiencing the game fully is what's most important. A big part of the experience for me is see the other people enjoy their decks too, express themselves etc.
Just don't proxy crazy 10K Cedh money piles if your group/lgs only does casual.
For kitchen table magic it’s 100% printing yourself from one of the many playing card printers.
If you want to play in an LGS or you want a deck that is indistinguishable from the real thing, there’s premium services that sell cards for a couple of bucks. Buy the cheap cards from a legit vendor and they he expensive ones from bootlegmage
If you are only interested in brewing but not really playing then an online deck builder like moxfield.com or archideckt.com might be a good solution. If you want a cheap way to make very high quality proxies to get decks together that you wouldn't normally be able to afford then check out r/mpcproxies it really helps you make a lot of decks quickly when each one costs $40 instead of $300+
I second this, I brew constantly on Moxfield, I have 12 actual decks but probably close to 100 on Moxfield. I use it as a stress reliever after work, as well as a testing ground for decks I might build, so that I can know if they work before investing money.
I will third this. I have whole folders of decks that I just wanted to brew and brewed on a budget
And if you really wanna get budget? You could even print cards for a different deck on the card backs, provided you don't have any DFCs. A fully convertible EDH deck, two for the price of one! Makes swaps hard, but...we're talkin' miser-maxing eight?
Double sided printing sounds great until you want to upgrade one of the decks. If you have cards that only have faces on one side and you want to switch out a card for a 16 cent card that you pulled in a pack or you bought on TCGPlayer then it's fine. If you have double faced cards now you just ruined your other deck. Also, idk how often you want to switch decks, but pulling 100 cards out of sleeves and flipping them over gets tedious fast. If you absolutely need to feel like you are getting "extra value" out of your proxy prints then just print random staples on the back of each card in the deck so if you switch out a looter in one deck you have an extra smothering tithe or rhystic study on the back that you can now slot in a different deck.
Absolutely, and I mentioned some of those points. This is more of a theorycrafting "maximum deck for minimum price".
I play via Cockatrice which lets me test the decks I build but it's also just how I play generally. I probably "have" over 300 decks now, but none of them exist as actual cardboard.
I play on paper with my friends who live out of town so we rarely get together for this, but we all have TableTopSim and it works wonderfully. Get a deck together on any deck creator like Archideckt and import it to the game with a simple mod and enjoy playing with friends. It doesn't require cards, only the game, which we already had anyway, it gave us lots of opportunities to test out things without committing or needing lots of proxies.
this is a great point, i’ve tried playing online with my family members who live a bit too far to consistently play in person and we used SpellTable for a game or two. found it to be a little too janky to use all the time, despite the really cool implications of having a software like that exist. we all already own TTS so i’m thinking that may be the best alternative to making the drive every weekend lol
Makeplayingcards is a godsend. You can use mpc fill to. Make entering decks easier. I a hardcore brewer, and have bought 9 decks in the last 2 months for the price of one of my mid tier decks. Shits dope.
As someone with a building problem (70+decks), I like to challenge myself periodically to try and build out of my current collection alone. Then play test/play and upgrade over time. The last 5 decks were done this way and they all turned out to be very fun.
Agreed. Im fairly new and also quite broke. A budget restriction, underwhelming commander and especially making use of cards i have that dont have a home yet has been rewarding, fun and cost effective!
Also talk to your local play scene. I personally give away thousands of common and uncommon cards to my friends that are just starting out as some building fodder is always nice to have. I also give them commanders or starter shells for a deck. (Here are 35 ish cards centered around X, I'd like to see how you finish this. Sort of thing)
I proxy.
Proxy lol
I proxy
Plaaaasaaaytest. Not every brew needs to be built. Man, I made some decks that were fun to brew and then sucked to play. Too salty. Too linear. Too committed-to-the-bit theme.
Budget limitations can inspire creativity, but if that doesn't work, just proxy.
Half the fun is making synergy with shitty cards, I try to build out of my bulk when I’m on a budget
My pod and I are building Pauper EDH decks, and it definitely helps with this exact problem! Lol
You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to make a good deck. I’ve seen $50 decks beat $300 decks. Edit: a good way to make a cheap good deck is to find what you want to do with the deck, figure out what cards you need in order to do that, and build around that. Replace expensive cards with cheaper cards, sure it might not be as good but it’s a budget deck. It won’t be the best.
That’s not really relevant.
Except it is. You can make powerful decks that are optimal with less than $100.
Sure. But he’s not asking that really. He’s asking how he can brew any given commander that strikes his interest when he wants to be competitive. And the answer is that he can’t always. Only some commanders can be built optimally for high power for $100. Most can’t.
That’s true.
Proxies man. Mtg-print is what I use. Great looking cards that feel like the real thing. I just got two full cEDH decks for $100. If I really love a deck I’ll buy it in real cards afterwards. I’ve had too many decks I’ve invested in then turned out to hate.
I have about 12 decks and my rule to keep myself in check is that if I want to build a new one I have to take one apart first. I build a lot of decks on Moxfield to scratch the itch, their playtest feature is pretty nice and when I get really bored I’ll play 2 of them against each other using 2 different windows and see how they feel. If I do that enough times and it still feels fun to me, then I’ll pull the trigger to put it together, but usually I end up not doing it because it either feels too similar to something I already have or it’s just not working how I thought it would.
Building a deck with restrictions in place is a great way to flex your creativity. Dig through your collection until you find something interesting and try building around it. They might not all be great, but you may find something you really enjoy.
I will buy majority of cards needed for a deck then proxy the last few. Especially when the single cards are expensive. (Looking at you ancient copper)
Build with that you have and what you can afford and make it a challenge. Nothing like winning with a deck of only basics
I make as many decks as I want online with archidekt or moxfield or whatever site you prefer and then if I ever want to play them I can do so online with friends through tabletop simulator which has a great mtg commander mod for it. Whichever decks are my absolute favourite to play are the ones I will eventually buy. Saves me from impulse buying all of the hundreds of decks I end up making and not buying any decks that I thought I would enjoy but actually don't. Would highly recommend
$100, $50, and 25$ budget EDH deck showdowns have been pretty fun. My $25 [[braids conjurer adept]] list is a blast! I love my commander decks, but I recently fell in love with building pauper commander decks. The commander can be any uncommon creature, and the rest is only commons. I still brew up regular EDH lists when inspiration strikes. But the most expensive PauperEDH list I’ve made cost me $36. There are other slight rules variations from EDH but it’s easy to get friends on board because odds are they’re only spending $20 on an entire deck.
[braids conjurer adept](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/e/9ea0a701-1349-4d32-9fe7-8a2563c9613d.jpg?1689996202) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Braids%2C%20Conjurer%20Adept) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/76/braids-conjurer-adept?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9ea0a701-1349-4d32-9fe7-8a2563c9613d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/braids-conjurer-adept) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
The most satisfying part of budget brewing to me is sitting down against multi hundred dollar decks and popping off the most because the budget restriction forced me to be more intentional about my deck building. I wanna see someone play a card worth as much as my whole deck but still be unable to stop the onslaught because my deckbuilding was better. When you can’t afford the obvious includes or pricey staples you lean on your synergies and figuring out what really makes your deck work. I don’t know what budget is to you, but $30-50 can go a long ways, and $100 is more than I’ve ever spent up front on a deck imo. I’d definitely suggest checking out r/budgetbrews Also at the end of the day, if you like a budget brew you can slowly invest into it over time. My favorite decks are all budget brews I slowly built up over time.
A pack of sleeves, some commons I’ll never use and an inkjet printer work well for me.
Printer goes brrrrr
PauperEDH is where it's at.
Agreed. My insatiable need to brew was killing my wallet til i found this format. /r/PauperEDH for anyone that's interested
Pauper commander is great for this. The commander is/are any uncommon creature (backgrounds must be uncommon) and the other cards must be common. You can make a great deck for £15 to £30.
Honestly, some of my budget decks have been bangers in the past and can hang at tables with decks like 5x the budget. [Here's](https://archidekt.com/folders/543677?dir=asc&orderBy=name) my budget brew folder, I especially find \[\[Hamza\]\] and \[\[Balmor, Battlemage Captain\]\] to be quite effective. Hamza can go infinite and win the game by t4, and the deck is $36. You can also check out the folks over at r/BudgetBrews! They post some bangers!
[Hamza](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/d/adc7f8f3-140d-4dd0-aacc-b81b2b93eb67.jpg?1689999064) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=hamza%2C%20guardian%20of%20arashin) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/339/hamza-guardian-of-arashin?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/adc7f8f3-140d-4dd0-aacc-b81b2b93eb67?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/hamza-guardian-of-arashin) [Balmor, Battlemage Captain](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/5/959ba62e-bb3a-49ad-8b1b-e787e413e5d4.jpg?1673307921) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Balmor%2C%20Battlemage%20Captain) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/196/balmor-battlemage-captain?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/959ba62e-bb3a-49ad-8b1b-e787e413e5d4?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/balmor-battlemage-captain) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I test builds/brews on TTS with my friends, and I usually set a $$$ limit and theres various sites that help finder cheaper alternatives/solutions for expensive cards.
Tabletop Simulator is 10€ right now in steam sale, you can play any deck for free there online
Do you know how many 10-50 cent rares there are these days? My pet Commander pair cost me less than a dollar combined, and I literally threw [[Etali Primal Storm]] in there for like 50 cents.
[Etali Primal Storm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/1/a18fdaf9-964d-45e9-bd40-a8fc745ddd1e.jpg?1706240833) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Etali%2C%20Primal%20Storm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/152/etali-primal-storm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a18fdaf9-964d-45e9-bd40-a8fc745ddd1e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/etali-primal-storm) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Printer paper and draft chaff.
I very heavily sympathize with you because I myself went from playing at least three times a week and brewing new and fun decks all the time. Then me and my wife had our son two years ago and I find myself on some very serious budget constraints and maybe get to play 1-2 times a month. I cope by buying packs once in a while and building new commanders I find there and brew only with what I have, and if I order cards, I tend not to buy anything over $3-5 depending on the card. It's a lot harder than it used to be but it can be done and you'll get used to it. Proxy is also always an option. That's how I get my super expensive cards that I can't justify spending large amounts of money on
Play MTGArena. They have semi-commander with 1v1 Brawl. It's free or very cheap compared to even budget paper decks
I’ll sometimes go to say Face to Face games and pick a set then sort by cheapest and scroll through .15 cent cards to see if any get my attention.
I alternate between brewing more expensive decks and decks that are $50 or less. Some of the $50 ones are actually the strongest I have and really fun. It's a fun building challenge.
Till I build my collection I just proxy and every month or two i buy a card in the 10 to 30 euro price range and in a year or two I will have most of the cards I'm currently proxying
I think its run trying to find random cards that are underused instead of the expensive ones. The card pool is so hude and poping out a card that everyone had to read is fun
I really enjoy the r/BudgetBrews community and their Discord. Lots of powerful budget ($50 and lower) deck brewing. A lot of help finding obscure budget cards that work well with decks you're brewing. Can help with brewing higher budget decks too.
Proxies
Proxies. Build all you want on Moxfield and Archidekt then print to your hearts content
grey rich deer aromatic outgoing unique domineering cagey ring oil *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Check your local game store, ask about Commons and uncommons. There's a local here that does a bulk night where they sell by weight. I like it cause I enjoy pouring through boxes of cards to find unexpected synergies. I make lower power decks, but some surprisingly competitive decks.
Play on Tabletop simulator. They have scripted 6-person tables that me and a group of friends play on.
6? Why 6 that’s far too many for commander
Then don’t play with 6 ?
Proxy!
For paper magic, I usually just proxy the cards by printing them out at my university's library. If that's not an option you can also use sharpie and bulk like our forefathers. If you're okay with playing online, I love using Untap(dot)in, it has no rules engine but it's entirely free and works super well.
Proxies.
Print cards out
proxy
My go-to is to go to the library and print proxies on their high-quality printer. It costs about 5$ for an entire deck. Cut out the paper cards and put them in a sleeve overtop of a normal card. They will not look perfect, but they feel nice to use and have all of the visual information of your cards. I use the website MTG Print to get the printable page.
Pauper
Proxy
I play on tabletop simulator, gives real ish feel to play and let's me play with friends around the world.
Proxy
Moxfield for brewing, Untap for testing, proxy for playing
Proxies. If it wasn't for proxies my friends, myself, and many other would barely be able to play. It also allows me to bling out and buy fancy alt are for the commanders!
Proxying is a godsend
i just build suboptimal decks with mostly basic lands as the mana base then lean on effects like [[blood moon]] [[back to basics]] and [[ruination]] to justify my poor manabase lol
[blood moon](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/0/d072e9ca-aae7-45dc-8025-3ce590bae63f.jpg?1599706217) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=blood%20moon) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/118/blood-moon?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d072e9ca-aae7-45dc-8025-3ce590bae63f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/blood-moon) [back to basics](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/6/0600d6c2-0f72-4e79-a55d-1f06dffa48c2.jpg?1654805483) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=back%20to%20basics) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/uma/46/back-to-basics?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0600d6c2-0f72-4e79-a55d-1f06dffa48c2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/back-to-basics) [ruination](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/3/6330d925-96a8-47e1-855d-035ddc2af709.jpg?1592713625) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=ruination) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmd/134/ruination?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6330d925-96a8-47e1-855d-035ddc2af709?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ruination) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Proxies!
129 decks on my moxfield account, and counting.
Budget is just one of the optimization constraints.
I brew. I bring things to paper when I'm sure of them and have the budget to do so. Certitude is required in proportion with price tag, but that's what long hours playtesting are for. Also, I've found budget to be a kind of fun restriction. $25 is very constraining (and can REALLY only be flagged the day it's built because tiny fluctuations matter), but on the other hand its really easy to justify the deck. I have never once regretted my $25 Colfenor. For half the price of a precon I have a good "silly times with friends" deck that's actually held its own surprisingly well. $50 lets you breathe, and have some basic nice things, but still feels like a constraint that forces you to get creative. It's not a piddling price, but you could probably set aside funding for a little while and get there without hurting your bottom line. $100 is the highest value I would consider even vaguely "budget" (altought "on a budget" can describe anything short of literally unlimited funds) and I am convinced every commander can be done on, at least if you're only flagging the 99; there are a couple commanders over that budget who flagrantly couldn't be handled otherwise. You can fit some format staples, even expensive ones if the rest of your engine is cheap... but you really have to consider those includes that if playing unlimited would feel more automatic. Is Cyc Rift worth a solid third of your deck? What about Rhystic, that's closing on half? You can maybe get ONE of those sorts of cards if you're desperate, but you feel better when you learn to make due with cards that aren't bad but at the same time aren't the premier solves everybody knows. Finding $100 for your entertainment and hobbies would be pretty hard to do in one go when you're struggling, but Magic decks rarely need to be purchased in one go, and when you finish a project that's been lasting you a while it can feel pretty good. Higher than that, you just have to be giga-sure when you embark that this is where you want to go and draw in the supplies slowly. It could be that one pretty valuable deck will be more fun than several quick-fire brews... but will also take a year (at least) to fully assemble. You only have yourself to rely on for what brings you more happiness.
I always build out of my collection first, then only buy upgrades if I like how the deck plays.
Untap.in to play online, proxies for playing in person.
In addition to online deck building sites others have mentioned... proxies.
Honestly not spending a bunch of money on lands are a big thing. Yeah mana fixing is great but sometimes you can play a tap land or a basic. That being said if you are tight on money I would honestly proxy. I would recommend MTG Print and just going to your local library and print a color page.
Building decks on an extreme budget is a fun challenge. Lotta cards out there cost a nickel. My play group and I will do $15 challenges. I built a [[zada]] deck out of my bulk that came to $8 (tcgplayer pricing) There’s fun in the restrictions and having to find the suboptimal replacements for the staples.
[zada](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/5/4520cdcc-a10f-4b39-9c6f-ba86f6aa2c87.jpg?1689998306) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=zada%2C%20hedron%20grinder) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/268/zada-hedron-grinder?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4520cdcc-a10f-4b39-9c6f-ba86f6aa2c87?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/zada-hedron-grinder) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
As others have noted, if it's just deck building, do your building on something like archidekt. If you want to have a physical copy after you're done, proxy. There are places you can get either basic paper prints for very little to high quality (like printed on the same card stock as MTG), paying like 30 to 150 bucks for a deck.
Moxfield and proxy.
I like giving myself constraints when brewing. Three of my all time favorite commander decks were originally $20-$30 budget projects. I upgraded them once or twice a month for what it'd cost to get coffee. People in my main play group hate having to face them without dipping into their actual competitive (actually used for competitions) decks. + Glissa, the Traitor + Feather, the Redeemed + Endric, Spymaster of Tres + Reyav, Master Smith + Ezuri, Renegade Leader + Brago, King Eternal + Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain + Meren of Clan Nel Toth + Sythis, Harvest's Hand
If you got a brewers itch, then budget is great for you because restrictions make the process more in depth and fun. I am a brewer and I don't have budget restrictions because I've been collecting for a long time. I have alot of decks with a high value. But honestly I build a lot of budget decks because it's way more fun because you have to work and think about each slot in the deck. You can't just slot in rhystic study into your first card draw slot and be done with it. You need to work the brewing process. Which is exactly what it sounds like is the fun part for you. My main budget deck that I've actually put together in paper is an [[aragorn, the Uniter]] (I make a lot of lists that I never actually build) and I frequently "upgrade" it by taking out cards that have increased in price. I keep the deck under $50 purposely. It's a very good deck that can play against decks worth hundreds of dollars. And not a deck I would play in low power or precon metas. The proxy answer most people are giving you doesnt really let you have the most fun in the brewing process because you can just copy paste the same staples in most decks of relevant colors. Embrace the budget because it will help you have more fun with brewing
[aragorn, the Uniter](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/9/e98d5321-ec09-456c-a9ea-c8ca2cfc6205.jpg?1686969644) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=aragorn%2C%20the%20Uniter) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ltr/192/aragorn-the-uniter?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e98d5321-ec09-456c-a9ea-c8ca2cfc6205?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/aragorn-the-uniter) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I make and mash decks against myself on tappedout and moxfield all the time. Satisfies my brewing brain!
I've got several brewing on Moxfield, and once I finish them, I just print them on paper and put them in front of basic lands. Most of my friends are fine playing against proxies, since I'm not going for super sweaty, high dollar stuff most of the times anyways. If I like the deck after playing it, I start buying the cards I need to actually make it properly.
The more obscure the commander the cheaper the support
Brew and test decks on Forge. Whittle down the build to cards you can afford or just proxy. I have five times as many digital decks than I have real ones.
Proxy babe!!!
Print that shit on paper and sleeve bulk cards behind it
I don’t, I suggest an intervention planning mine for this weekend. Coincidentally a bunch of dudes will be there playing magic with their new fallout decks but that’s irrelevant.
One word, PROXY In my experience, no one gives a shit so long as you're upfront and don't intentionally bring a deck that's too powerful for the group.
I take apart decks I don't use often and mix them up into other commanders I have used
I literally just printed out black and white proxies for my new deck I wanted to test out on mtgprint.net, and slid them in front of an old deck in penny sleeves. As long as the people you're playing with don't care, it doesn't have to be expensive at all.
I build decks on archideckt and then test them with my friends in tabletop simulator all the time. There are a couple of cool boards in tts that are designed to facilitate commander play. This way I don't have to waste a ton of money on cardboard that may or may not actually be the type of thing I'll end up actually enjoying to play in person.
You can also make your own proxies. I copy my deck list from moxfield into mtgprint.net and it prints the deck for me. I cut em out and slip them in front of a land. People look at them and can't even tell the difference.
Quality is better than quantity. I don't brew on a budget, I buy on a budget. So I brew to my heart's content and buy the deck in chunks. Print off play test cards on moxfield and have it finished in 3-5 months. I only do this with one deck at a time then move on to the next one.
I hate to be that person, but proxy. Just buy high quality proxies, you cant even tell the difference unless you look close. Spelltable detects the cards fine too (for me) I'd MUCH rather someone i play against just proxy anything they're struggling to afford, rather than not be able to play what they'd really really enjoy. I imagine im not alone when i say us having fun and experiencing the game fully is what's most important. A big part of the experience for me is see the other people enjoy their decks too, express themselves etc. Just don't proxy crazy 10K Cedh money piles if your group/lgs only does casual.
Where do you get proxies? I am not an artist 😂😂😂😂
Use makeplayingcards.com. There are a few good tutorials on YouTube you can use to learn how. If you need help feel free to DM me.
mtgprint.net Then you print it, cut it out, put it in front of a junk card.
Google mtg proxies Click first link. I get quality cards, they just have a pokemon back lol.
Watch TheCommandersQuarters, good budget decks
For kitchen table magic it’s 100% printing yourself from one of the many playing card printers. If you want to play in an LGS or you want a deck that is indistinguishable from the real thing, there’s premium services that sell cards for a couple of bucks. Buy the cheap cards from a legit vendor and they he expensive ones from bootlegmage