Can't Afford Expensive Commander Staples? - Play These Instead

Commander may be the single most fun format in Magic: The Gathering. There are multiple players, a huge card pool, deal-making (and breaking), and huge dynamic swings in games. It's an amazing format for the social gathering aspect of the game and gameplay alike. The only complaint about EDH that I regularly hear is that it can be quite expensive at times. While budget decks are more than doable, there are certain cards that just don't have an affordable counterpart. Or is there?

Today I will be going over budget alternatives to expensive commander stapes. I'll be covering the top-played/most-expensive cards in each color in WUBRG order. Regardless of your preferred commander, playstyle, or budget, you can have access to the effects that you need to play the way you want. However, I must say, if one card is expensive and a similar card is cheap, there's a reason. So, these are great alternatives but you'll usually be sacrificing something.

With that out of the way, let's jump right into some budget commander staples.

White

White is a color that has gotten a lot of support in EDH in the last year or so. Unfortunately, a lot of these new cards have pretty hefty price tags.

Monologue Tax

Monologue Tax comes in at around $4 and is a stellar replacement for Smothering Tithe (currently around $23) if you want this sort of effect in your deck. Granted, players may not cast multiple spells per turn as often as they draw cards, but this card more than pulls its weight and can create quite a bit of treasures. Furthermore, there are actually a few areas where I like Monologue Tax better.

For example, there is no way for opponents to circumvent you creating treasures by paying for the trigger. Next, Monologue Tax gets better and better the longer the game goes since players are more likely to cast multiple spells per turn in the late game. Whereas, players are more likely to have expendable mana to pay for Tithe triggers as the game goes on.

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As mentioned above, White has somewhat recently gained access to better card draw and mana ramp that is on flavor for the color and maintains the integrity of the color pie by saying "Opponents can't do certain things and if they do, you can draw a card or create a treasure." If you need budget ramp in White or are building a treasure-based deck, this is an amazing option.

Eerie Interlude

Eerie Interlude ($2.00) is a card that I run in almost every deck it'll fit into. For three mana, you can effectively phase all of your creatures out of the game. I love this card as a replacement for Teferi's Protection, which costs around $22. Let's be clear, Interlude isn't an exact replica but depending on what portion of Teferi's Protection you're interested in, it does a great impersonation.

If you're sleeving up Teferi's Protection to save your creatures, I like Interlude quite a lot. Furthermore, if you're running creatures with enter or exit the battlefield abilities Eerie Interlude can generate massive value that you'd miss out on otherwise since ETB/LTB abilities don't trigger when a creature phases in or out.

This is the primary reason that I use this as a replacement over things like Selfless Spirit, Make a Stand, or Rootborn Defenses. There's also the upside of getting around -x/-x effects like Toxic Deluge and sacrifice effects like Torment of Hailfire. There's no other single card that does everything Teferi's Protection does but if you're trying to save your creatures on a budget look no further than this.

Nomads' Assembly

This is a bit of a spicy one - I use this as my budget replacement for Anointed Procession, which is running $40. Now, I know what you're thinking... This isn't exactly the same effect. You're right. But as someone who plays a lot of tokens in EDH, trust me, sometimes it feels the same and at times, it's even stronger. The only thing is, you've got to get used to playing with it.

Procession has the long-lasting ability to double your tokens as you create them. Nomads' Assembly can create massive amounts of tokens in one giant turn but it requires some, well assembly. First, you'll obviously want to cast this when you have a large board. When you do, you're essentially doubling however many creatures you have at the time.

Where this really shines,is that you get to cast it again for free. So, assuming your board survives until your next upkeep, you'll be trippling your board by the time its all said and done. However, you can't count on untapping with all the creatures. So, when I run this card I pair it with some good instant speed token producers.

With cards like Raise the Alarm, Release to Memory, Grand Crescendo, Entrapment Maneuver, and Call the Coppercoats you can save mana and create a board presence on your end step to ensure you get value off of your second casting. There is a lot of play in this $0.40 card. So, if you're looking to double up on tokens, give it a try.

Blue

Blue is a great color for EDH. It has the best card draw and some of the best interaction in the game. With very good cards, comes some very high price tags as well. Let's look at some budget options.

Mystic Remora

This is not a well-kept secret when it comes to budget commander cards. Mystic Remora is the little brother and cheaper version of Rhystic Study. They do effectively the same exact thing other than the Remora only triggers for non-creature spells and you'll have to pay mana each turn to keep it around. Considering the price difference between the two is around $35, this downside is negligible in most match-ups.

While we're in this category, I would also like to offer a niche option that's even cheaper - Insight. If one or more players in your pod play Green, you can draw a lot of cards with this $1.40 uncommon from Tempest. Obviously, if no one in your group plays Green, go with Remora instead.

Flood of Tears

I'll be honest with you, I don't play Cyclonic Rift in my decks. It's a great card. However, I find that this is one of the more replaceable staples in the format. My replacement of choice is Flood of Tears. It hits your side of the board too but if it bounces four or more of your things it compensates you by letting you put any permanent card from your hand directly to the battlefield.

This means you can immediately redeploy your biggest threat or cheat something else altogether into play. In my experience, when this works out it leaves you just as far ahead of opponents as Rift usually does. That said, it won't be every time and that's why Cyclonic Rift is $40 and Flood of Tears is $0.40. But for those on a budget, this will do the job just fine and will save you $39.

Unwind

If you would like to play, Fierce Guardianship but don't want to pay $61 for it, I have a solution. Unwind is that solution. Are there upsides to Fierce Guardianship that aren't present on Unwind? Sure. Unwind can never be cast if you truly have zero mana. You'll always have to save that three mana for the initial cast. However, you'll get that investment back afterward so the end result is a pseudo free counterspell.

This is one of the staples that's hard to find a budget replacement for where you aren't sacrificing some power. Fierce Guardianship will almost always be better. But for those of us playing on a budget, saving $61 is going to be more important than the upside is. This is also a great replacement for Force of Will and Force of Negation as well.

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Another option that I want to mention here is buying the Timeless Wisdom Commander Precon. It contains a copy of Fierce Guardianship inside and at the time of writing this article costs around $70. So, if you are planning on splurging on a copy, consider getting the precon instead and you'll pretty much be getting the rest of the deck for free.

Black

Much like Blue, Black is one of the stronger colors in Commander. It has great removal, card draw, and the best tutors in the game. As a result, there are some very expensive cards in Black as well. Let's start with a budget version of a classic tutor.

Profane Tutor

This is a newer card that I'm quite fond of. The text on the card is identical to that of Demonic Tutor. However, you have to suspend it, so there is a two-turn delay for you to cast it - Other than that, it's the same card. Now don't get me wrong, the flexibility of being able to cast the card on turn two is great and Demonic Tutor is the all-around stronger card. That said, considering it's $37 and its suspend counterpart is around $2 I think this is one of the best alternatives to an expensive staple out there.

Furthermore, there are actually some pros to the suspend cost as well. For example, if you're playing an Abaddon the Despoiler deck or simply play Bloodbraid Elf, you can cast Profane Tutor for free at times by cascading into it. If you're playing cEDH or in an extremely competitive group, the downside of waiting will be greater. For the vast majority of players, I find this is a fine replacement to tutor up your win-con or board wipe.

Black Sun's Zenith

This is a great card even if you're not on a budget. That said, it's a great option for people who would like to play Toxic Deluge but can't abide by the $17 price tag. So, what makes Black Sun's Zenith a good alternative? Well, I think one of the biggest upsides is that Zenith also reduces the creature's power. This allows both cards to take down indestructible threats, which is great.

Unmarked Grave

Black has a ton of reanimation, recursion, and graveyard synergy. So, being able to tutor up a card and pitch it into your graveyard is great for a lot of decks. That said, the premier spell for doing so is Entomb. While at a price of $7, it isn't out of budget range for some people, for others it is. Furthermore, newer players may not be familiar with all their options, and saving even a few dollars on a card can allow you to redirect those funds into other portions of your deck.

So, if you're looking to get those reanimation targets into the graveyard and ready to cheat into play, consider sleeving up Unmarked Grave instead. There are a few downsides - First, it can't search for legendary creatures. Next, it costs two mana instead of one and lastly, it's sorcery speed. That said, considering the next best choices are Vile Entomber and Corpse Connoisseur, the downsides aren't too bad.

Red

 Red is the hardest color to find budget replacements for the high-dollar stapes. The color doesn't have as many expensive cards in general as others but the ones it does have are quite expensive and nigh on irreplaceable. That said, I still have a few good options for you.

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Bolt Bend

Sometimes you'd really rather not have that opposing removal spell hit your win condition. It would be better if it were pointed at something else instead. Luckily, there are cards that can make that happen. Deflecting Swat is the best amongst them but it cost about $60. However, I find Bolt Bend to be my favorite of the budget options.

It has the same ability to change the target of a single spell and can also redirect activated abilities. The major selling point for Deflecting Swat is of course that you can cast it for free at times. While Bolt Bend will never be completely free, but you can reduce its cost to a single mana if you have a large enough creature. Given that Bolt Bend is only around $1, I think it does an excellent job of replacing the swat for a fraction of the cost.

Reforge the Soul

Wheels are a classic for Red in Commander and are very on flavor for the color. They can also be extremely powerful and disruptive at the right time and in the right builds. Wheel of Fortune is the OG "wheel" effect and the card that gives the effect its name and it is crazy expensive. As of now, the cheapest copy I could find is around $300. Most of that comes from the fact that it is on the Reserved List and is quite a rare card, but still. If you want a great wheel that won't break the bank, look no further than Reforge the Soul.

Functionally, the cards do the same thing. Reforge the Soul costs two more mana at its most expensive but can be one mana cheaper at its best. I've found that if you're playing Izzet (Blue, Red) and have ways to manipulate the top card(s) of your library that it's pretty easy to make the miracle cost work.

Bomat Courier

Ok, this is my attempt to replace one of those cards I mentioned above that does so much that you really can't replicate it. I'm talking about playing this in place of Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer. Now, I know what you're thinking; These effects aren't the same and Ragavan is better. You're correct but hear me out.

Bomat Courier is a great card overall. And just like Ragavan, it can come down on turn one and give you a way to start accruing value. Granted they do so in different ways, but the value almost feels the same at times. If your strategy is a Treasure-based one, you'll take a bit of a hit in that department for sure. However, the caveat is that if you are playing Treasures, you'll likely be playing things that care about artifacts in general too, and Bomat Courier will still contribute there.

Don't get me wrong, if you have Ragavan, play him 10/10 times. However, if you don't and you're not planning on getting one, I think you're hard-pressed to find a better replacement on a single card. For less than a quarter, I really think it's a great budget alternative to the popular staple.

Green

Overall, I think Green is one of the easiest colors to build with on a budget - It has great ramp and powerful creatures. As well a great creature-based card draw that can all be sleeved up for pretty cheap. However, much like Red, it has some incredibly powerful cards and effects that are almost impossible to replicate.

Chatterfang, Squirrel General

This is a pretty crafty workaround for powerhouse effects like Parallel Lives, which currently go for around $40. Here's the thought process here - You will generate double the number of tokens whenever you create one. However, they won't be duplicates of whatever token you made. For example, if you create a 4/4 Rhino token with Chatterfang, Squirrel General in play you'll get a 1/1 Squirrel too.

This is better in go-wide token strategies since they are going for quantity of size anyways. I run this in my budget Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter deck and it works splendidly. The main downside is that it dies to more common removal than its expensive enchantment counterpart. Again, the budget version is not quite as powerful as the full-priced one but in most cases, it does nearly as good a job and only costs around $4.

End-Raze Forerunners

People see this and probably know where I'm going with this one. End-Raze Forerunners is my go-to replacement for the classic Green finisher, Craterhoof Behemoth. And frankly, I think it's one of the better replacements out there. Craterhoof does do more, but not enough for most players to justify spending $30 more.

Honestly, if you've got a decent board of creatures, I think either one is going to do the job of winning you the game pretty easily. I'm of the opinion that when building on a budget, it's better to have a well-rounded deck with the fundamentals covered over a poor version of the deck with a few powerful cards. So, if you're on a budget, run Forerunners and put that extra $30 into the deck elsewhere.

 Wrap In Vigor

Sometimes all you need to secure a victory is for an opponent to not blow up your board. However, just asking nicely probably isn't going to work - It's better to prepare for the worst. The best card to slot into your deck for this effect is probably Heroic Intervention. Unfortunately, Heroic has a "best card for the job" price tag as well, as it's currently around $15.

If you find yourself in need of this type of effect on a budget try Wrap in Vigor instead. I love this as a replacement because it protects your board from targeted removal, board wipes, -x/-x spells, and forced sacrifice just like Intervention does all for around $1.

 Conclusion

There you have it my friends - Budget alternatives to some of Commander's most expensive staples. I hope today's article has given you some fresh ideas to help out with your next budget build and illustrated that MTG's most fun format is more than possible without the format's most expensive cards, So, until next time get out there and play some Commander.