Standard on a budget

Deck Help forum

Posted on Nov. 8, 2011, 1:34 a.m. by obeythepoof

Hey everybody!I've been derping around in Limited for a while, unwilling to drop the cash for Standard. But with the diverse Standard currently, I figured now would be a better time then ever to start. BUT, my college tuition keeps telling me I gotta look budget.

So, I was wondering what people's suggestions would be for a solid deck <$50. I have a collection of cards from across the sets, but not enough to make any one deck. I'm interested to hear people's input!

Gamer7129 says... #2

So under fifty bucks... Hmm. Well, a graveyard manipulation deck with Splinterfright and Boneyard Wurm is he first deck idea to come to mind. The deck would feature cards like Armored Skaab and Mulch to get creatures into the grave, and Reclaim and Noxious Revival to reset the cards you want. Merfolk Looter will be a must. I'll leave the rest to you, since building is half the fun, but there's one idea.

I guess another would be a test subject deck. It's point is to get card:Ludevic's Test Subject  FlipMTG Card: Ludevic's Abomination out and flipped ASAP. It would run Thrummingbird and card:Tezzeret's Gambit for prolif early. You could run Grand Architect to give test subject a purpose before it flips. You might want to run negate to deal with Ratchet Bomb because as soon as it hits, your flipped subject is history. If you run architect, you might consider Mindslaver or Steel Hellkite because they are some cool budget finishers or stallers. Once again, I leave the rest to you. I wish you the best of luck inyour budget endeavor.

November 8, 2011 2:12 a.m.

Gamer7129 says... #3

So under fifty bucks... Hmm. Well, a graveyard manipulation deck with Splinterfright and Boneyard Wurm is he first deck idea to come to mind. The deck would feature cards like Armored Skaab and Mulch to get creatures into the grave, and Reclaim and Noxious Revival to reset the cards you want. Merfolk Looter will be a must. I'll leave the rest to you, since building is half the fun, but there's one idea.

I guess another would be a test subject deck. It's point is to get card:Ludevic's Test Subject  FlipMTG Card: Ludevic's Abomination out and flipped ASAP. It would run Thrummingbird and card:Tezzeret's Gambit for prolif early. You could run Grand Architect to give test subject a purpose before it flips. You might want to run negate to deal with Ratchet Bomb because as soon as it hits, your flipped subject is history. If you run architect, you might consider Mindslaver or Steel Hellkite because they are some cool budget finishers or stallers. Once again, I leave the rest to you. I wish you the best of luck inyour budget endeavor.

November 8, 2011 2:12 a.m.

Gamer7129 says... #4

Oops, sorry for the triple post.

November 8, 2011 2:13 a.m.

IAmKingTony says... #5

Werewolves could be a fun option. Mayor of Avabruck  Flip  FlipMTG Card: Howlpack Alpha I believe in the only one that's over $5. They're not the most reliable option but the possibility is there that you could really do well with them. The flip really catches people off-guard because one turn they're looking at a few 1 and 2 power creatures and the next turn you're swinging for 30 damage that they mostly can't stop.

If you make this deck, non-Werewolf cards you will want would be Silver-Inlaid Dagger (uncommon) and Darkthicket Wolf (common)

Speaking of the flip, look at Delver of Secrets  Flip  FlipMTG Card: Insectile Aberration and Civilized Scholar  Flip  FlipMTG Card: Homicidal Brute.

Good luck!!

November 8, 2011 3:17 a.m.

xo2 says... #6

Tempered Steel is around $5 and the rest of the deck is mostly commons and uncommons. The ones that'll cost anything are Memnite and Mana Leak if you go blue. Contested War Zone is only a dollar or so also. It's been in several top 8s recently. :)

November 8, 2011 7:41 a.m.

Miasma says... #7

Infect is also a pretty cheap way to go (unless it's black). U/G or G/W could be made really cheap nowadays.

November 8, 2011 8:23 a.m.

Miasma says... #8

"G/R" sorry

November 8, 2011 8:24 a.m.

obeythepoof says... #9

Wow! Thanks for all the suggestions!

I like the Splinterfright idea, although it does seem very weak to Nihil Spellbomb , which I see tons of decks packing. Perhaps there is an interesting way to combat this. The only thing coming to mind is Stony Silence , which is off color and not very efficient. One idea I did have, in addition to the graveyard-creatures, would be using that Civilized Scholar  Flip  FlipMTG Card: Homicidal Brute and Cackling Counterpart combo (Token can loot, then untap, and loot again since it doesn't transform) to mill a bunch of creatures into your yard, while searching for a one-of of something like Spider Spawning , Back from the Brink , Harvest Pyre , or something. Legitimate? Or am I stretching the idea to far?

I've actually been a huge fan of Grand Architect decks, but struggled to find consistency. card:Ludevic's Test Subject  FlipMTG Card: Ludevic's Abomination does seem like an interesting choice, as it makes the player have to choose how to play their removals. And, unlike a bunch of the other small blue dudes, I could see this guy be nice in the late game. Like turn 6 drop him and add 2 counters. Next turn flip him. Not a titan, but a lot cheaper. Thanks for the ideas Gamer7129!

On the subject of Werewolves and Delver of Secrets  Flip  FlipMTG Card: Insectile Aberration, I was thinking there could be an interesting draw-go deck here. Instead of dropping a bunch of cash on Snapcaster Mage , packing some werewolves could add some more ground power than just a 2/1. I like the Civilized Scholar  Flip  FlipMTG Card: Homicidal Brute combo in here too. Either way, was thinking one of 2 ideas.1) Red werewolves: similar to UR Delver decks. This allows for burn spells, Reckless Waif  Flip  FlipMTG Card: Merciless Predator, Kruin Outlaw  Flip  FlipMTG Card: Terror of Kruin Pass, and Instigator Gang  Flip  FlipMTG Card: Wildblood Pack to make an aggressive and answer heavy deck.

2) Green Werewolves: Primarily since Mayor of Avabruck  Flip  FlipMTG Card: Howlpack Alpha seems like a beating. Perhaps the use of Moonmist (which is an instant) to use as a surprise flip-and-win. Would probably be less creature heavy, but I'm not sure.

Do either of those sound legitimate?

I do like Tempered Steel a lot as well. Going budget as possible, I feel like a decent deck could be made for around $30. Although I am struggling to find a replacement for Hero of Bladehold . Ideas?

I have been looking at infect for a long time, specifically Mono Black. Inkmoth Nexus used to be the only thing that made it expensive. Now, it's hitting around $80 bucks without probably it's best card. Perhaps an all-in G or U infect might be the better way to go for the price.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I would love anymore more ideas people would like to bounce around!

November 9, 2011 12:11 a.m.

This discussion has been closed