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Top Ten Budget Commanders #2

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Hello awesome people! I hope that you are having an amazing day today! Last week I counted down 13 of the best cheap rare and mythic legendary dorks to be your Commanders. Many classic Commanders aren't even that pricey anymore. Now my decision rule was to run things cheaper than a buck. Also, they cannot have been recently released since in print booster rares tend to be cheaper.

I loved it loads, so get ready for another injection of talent in the cheap end of the pool that are all under a buck!

Let's get your budget on!

Honorable Mention #1 (#26 Overall) - Sevinne, the Chronoclasm

Sevinne, the Chronoclasm

0.49! One of the headlines of the Commander 2019 line, this Jeskai 5-drop is just a 2/2 but he's a powerful option with two ways to build around him. The most common is the latter ability. When you cast your first spell with flashback each turn, copy it. That adds White to an Izzet deck archetype from Innistrad block. Good stuff! Or you have the former ability to prevent all damage death to him. That means all damage, from combat to burn is prevented. Since he is in Red you can toss mass damage sweepers and keep him around, like Blasphemous Act or Rolling Earthquake.

You can easily build around those two abilities. I call the deck with the sweeping and keeping your stuff safe "Sweep and Keep." Run White dorks that prevent damage or protection from Red stuff like Soltari Priest. Then you sweep the board and win in the red zone with your survivors. For this archetype, I could not recommend Pyrohemia more. What two options are hitting next?

Honorable Mention #2 (#25 Overall) - X Matters Rosheen Meanderer AND Zaxara, the Exemplary

Rosheen Meanderer
Zaxara, the Exemplary

$0.49 AND 0.99 respectively. The first X-spell matters legendary dork was Rosheen. I included a bunch of X stuff when I built around the Meanderer in 2020, and at four mana for an on-curve 4/4 that taps for four, this is a huge mana ramper in the right deck. Then Zaxara was released and they have a massive 8,052 decks on a cheaper 4 mana 2/3 with deathtouch body in three colors. The second option can tap for two mana, and then when you cast spells with X in their cost you make a free X-sized Hydra dork with that X cost. Nasty dork making for free on a four mana ramper. There are 14,511 decks in this archetype. I have a Budget Commander built around Zaxara here a year later in 2021, so I have built around both of these under a buck dorks for your consideration. I'm surprised that Zaxara isn't Gruul so you cannot play these in the same brew!

Honorable Mention #3 (#24 Overall) - Talrand, Sky Summoner

Talrand, Sky Summoner

Just 49 cents! Your cast instants and sorceries make 2/2 flyers. Win con! I built a budget deck around him here (waaaay back in 2013). Then you can easily build around him without any dorks, just him and sorceries and instants. He's very strong at leading a mono-Blue Spellslinger brew where you cast instants and sorceries and collect triggers like this one. He wins and he's great in the 99 of any Blue Spellslinger like Izzet or Jeskai.

#10. (#23 Overall) - Oona, Queen of the Fae

Oona, Queen of the Fae

You can activate her without tapping her to spend X and one to start to exile the top X cards of your foe's library. Note that this exiles, not mills, so they cannot reanimate or cast it. Then you choose a color, and each card of that color makes a 1/1 flyer. So, this is a win con with the beater, a token maker, a mill leader, a Faerie leader and a mana sink in just one card!!! See why it's here? I hope so too as well. Our next leader is the opposite colors.

#9. (#22 Overall)) - Selvala, Explorer Returned

Selvala, Explorer Returned

$0.49 for this three-drop Selesnya 2/4 from a Conspiracy set! You can tap her, and each player reveals the top card of their library. Was it a nonland? They gain a life and make mana! Then they draw. This is a Howling Mine in the Command Zone with the ability to ramp too. You can build around it with top of library manipulation like Sensei's Divining Top and then Sylvan Library or scry to make that mana. Then you can drop stuff like Group Hug classics like Temple Bell and Heartbeat of Spring and draw and have everyone make the mana! It's very strong at keeping you alive since people won't kill you if they are getting the goods from her.

#8. (#21 Overall) - Sidisi, Brood Tyrant

Sidisi, Brood Tyrant

Now let's move to a fun three-color, four-cost 3/3 that led the first set in a wedge set! This set gave the wedge colors mechanical identities that were equal to the two mana ones of the Ravnica Guild. Sidisi leads the self-milling of her three-color combo. When she ETBs or attacks, mill three of yours. Then when you mill a dork make a free 2/2 Zombie. She is very good at the milling fun times with things in her color like Bitter Revelation, Satyr Wayfinder and Traumatize. Love this Naga loads!

#7. (#20 Overall) - Wyleth, Soul of Steel

Wyleth, Soul of Steel

Our first Boros equipment and aura hitting at just 99 cents! This was in a Commander deck and this three-mana trample 2/2 is in a strong 3110 decks over at EDHREC. Cheap and playable. He's the second most-played Boros Equipment deck ever printed, and that's the fifth most-played archetype. Cheap and powerful! He is played for his second ability - when you swing, you draw a card for each aura and equipment on him. That's strong card flow - don't sleep on that innate trample either. He's very strong at the Voltron, Auras, and Equipment brews. He hit the halfway mark on our list! Next is our final one before the Top Five, and it's also designed for Commander and from a Commander deck too, but which one?

#6. (#19 Overall) - Zedruu the Greathearted

Zedruu the Greathearted

Also clocking in at 0.99 everyone's favorite Zeddy. This four-drop in three colors was in the first Commander set that gave us wedge colors, and it's a 2/4 body with two abilities. In your upkeep, you draw a card for each permanent you own but your foe's control. That's very strong card flow here. Then you can spend three mana to give one of your cards to your foe. She wants to be played with cards that help everyone like Red's Mana Flare or the aforementioned Howling Mine. Or you could run stuff that hurts everyone like Grand Melee. She also wants to probably run things like Bazaar Trader or Donate, or card swapping things like Perplexing Chimera. She just missed out on our Top Five! What Commander from her same Commander set made the next spot on our list?

#5. (#18 Overall) - The Mimeoplasm

The Mimeoplasm

$0.49! Another wedge three color from the Commander set and this time a 5-drop with two ETBs. You exile two creature cards, from any graveyard - the same, yours, your foes, two different, whatever. One becomes a copy. The other gives this +1/+1 counters equal to its power. Good graveyard control or abuse since it's in Black with Buried Alive and Entomb.

If you Buried Alive something like Rotting Regisaur and Spirit of the Night, this become a copy of Spirit with 7 tokens, and with haste. You can probably win with Commander Damage in just two hits. You can easily have fun and abuse this all day long. It opens up lots of way to play around it with the colors of counters, ramp, and recursion. What card from Tarkir Block is next?

#4. (#17 Overall) - Yasova Dragonclaw

Yasova Dragonclaw

Just 50 cents! This three-drop Green 4/2 with trample is in Blue and Red as well. At the beginning of your combat, you can spend three. Then you can steal a creature for the turn that has power less than Yasova's. Then you can attack, it untaps, and has haste, so they can both swing together. Nasty. And then you can steal better stuff as you increase her power. She is in my Commander Cube. I like her leading a "Steal and Sac" archetype in red that steals something temporarily for the turn like Zealous Conscripts or Threaten. Swing. Then sacrifice with a free effect like Goblin Bombardment or Helm of Possession to prevent your foes from getting their stuff back. She's strong at all the fun things you want for a Commander. What Alara Block leader is next?

#3. (#16 Overall) - Rafiq of the Many

Rafiq of the Many

This four-drop 3/3 is hitting our three-spot! He costs bulk rare rates at $0.49. When a dork attacks alone, they get double strike, that means he attacks as a 4/4 with double strike alone, which is a pretty fast Commander Damage clock on a four-drop. This used to be the default Voltron leader since he'd attack by himself and you could add support cards like other exalted things, equipment, auras, and loads more power pumping. He's also in my Commander Cube. Alara block for the win! Next, we are back to Tarkir block at our penultimate spot.

#2. (#15 Overall) - Zurgo Helmsmasher

Zurgo Helmsmasher

Hitting our second to last spot today is this five-cost mythic that's in three colors and costs just $0.75 here at CoolStuffInc.com. It's a 7/2 with haste to win in three turns with Commander Damage. Then he has indestructible on your turn. He attacks every combat, so you cannot keep him back to block save with vigilance. You can give him +1/+1 counters when he is chump blocked and the dork dies so he becomes a faster and faster clock.

He's obviously a powerhouse in multiple shells like Voltron, or just making him unblockable. He's in the Voltron loving and Equipment loving colors of Boros already plus he adds in Black for removal and win cons in his genre like Vorpal Sword or Cranial Plating. He's also in the Treasure colors with Smothering Tithe and Ancient Copper Dragon and the alternate win con in Black to pump up the Plating or Nettlecyst to win in one hit of Commander Damage. He hits the second spot on my second list, quite synergetic. But what two-color card makes my top spot?

#1. Volo, Guide to Monsters

Volo, Guide to Monsters

This bulk rare ($0.49) does! With a massive 7242 decks, he's very strong at Commanding a deck. With his four cost, in the most common two color combo Simic, and with a 3/2 body, he just has one ability. When you cast a creature spell, you make a Copy token of it if it doesn't share a type with your stuff, so you have to run unique creature types. There are practically no restrictions on this card. You just have to cast the spell. Also note that the token will still be legendary if you cast one, and you will just keep one. Also note that this is a cast trigger, so if it's countered, you'll still get a copy! I built a Commander deck around him back in spoiler time of this set, and you can find it here. The unique creature type is a fun way to play around it. If you want a Mono-Green version of this deck from Radagast the Brown just released with a cheap theme in my Budget Commander series, it was just published this week here with some different dorks that cost little money.

And there we go, another look at the best budgetary rares and mythics Commanders under a buck ever printed! Will I hit up this topic again? Maybe!

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