Which budget deck is cheapest?

[Ifflejink]

Which budget deck, besides Stompy, is the cheapest to build? As in a deck that doesn't contain any card that costs more than $5 and is still decent in a powerless, random meta. Right now High Tide, Fluctuator (there's a new decklist I'm working on), and Easter Tendrils seem like the vheapest, viable budget decks. If anyone has idea, feel free to post them.

[Blackest Lotus]

Well Goblin Sligh is pretty cheap, except for the damn Fetchlands. Damn expensive fetches. Everything else, though, is less than five dollars.

[DURESSTHIS]

ok heres one 4 u

cteatures
4 gorilla shamens  $4.00
4 hippies   $4.00

instants
4 lighting bolts $2.00
4 dark rits $1.00
4 red elemental blast $4.00

sorceries
1 demonic tutor depending on what condition as little as $5.00
4 chain lightnings $25.00
4 sink holes $40.00
4 hymm to tourrocks $2.00
4 duresses  $1.00

artifacts
2 cursed scrolls $40.00
4 tangle wires $20.00

4 badlands $40.00
4 sulfirious springs $20.00
4 waiste lands $20.00
3 mountains $.30
3 swamps $.30
 

grand total $236.60 most people have that in trade cards that they dont use the only thing in this deck i had to really search for were the 4 mox mox monkeys the rest i either had or i got over the period of one month going to big tournmants and trading with people

Use freakin' punctuation next time! - Bram

[FireFall26]

If you are going to spend that much money, you can make a good deck.

[Josvandoesburg]

Well Goblin Sligh is pretty cheap, except for the damn Fetchlands. Damn expensive fetches. Everything else, though, is less than five dollars.

Goblin Piledrivers are quite expensive too, and Piledrivers are pretty much essential in Gobbo Sligh.

[Cpkrug]

I think that goblins are the way to go.  I would recommend running blood moon and challice to level out the playing field.  Piledrivers are going to be difficult to find for <$5.  Good luck.

[Ric_Flair]

Mono Blue Fish is probably the cheapest deck that can win.  Goblin Sligh and Ankh just cannot win in today's metagame, while Fish remains viable, though this is largely based on a Powered or semi Powered metagame.  In a lesser metagame, just about anything can win.  I am working on a Vintage version of RDW that is cheap and more effective than Ankh Sligh.  The thread can be found here:

http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15090&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

Another thing to consider is the ability to transfer cards from your budget deck to a less budget deck.  For example if you build Fish you already have your Forces of Will for your next, less budget deck.  With this consideration in mind again Fish is your best choice.  Sligh decks basically have NO cards that transfer into more powerful decks, aside from Mox, Lotus, Wastes and Strip.  Sui Black is another deck that has some transfer cards, but not as many as Fish.  Sui is probably not as good as Fish either.  

The last thing to keep in mind is that nearly all tournaments are 5 proxy events so don't be afraid to proxy Power and the like.  It will make your deck much, much stronger.  

I would also not spend too much time making budget decks.  Always operate with an eye towards upgrading your deck.  Budget is fun and all, but at the end of the day it is the inherently weaker road to travel.  Use your budget deck as a stepping stone for better stuff later on.  I started a thread on upgrading budget stuff that you can find here:

http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14978

Upgrading is not as expensive as people would have you believe.  Managing resources and always looking for deals is more important than money when it comes to getting Power.  Even people on a shoe string budget, like myself, can get Power.

One final point, going after dual lands is a good idea and it too is not as hard as people think.  First, you can basically eliminate all of the non-blue dual lands.  Taigas and Bayous are also okay, but clearly not as useful, overall, as blue duals.  This means you only need a playset of Volcanics, Tundras, Trops, and Underground Seas.  With these 20 lands you can make a good number of excellent decks.  After that I would recommend picking up Taigas, as they help make a number of good aggro decks.  But you can basically ignore all of the remaining duals, as generally speaking, they suck.  Another thing to keep in mind is that while you can't buy duals in packs anymore (or at least for reasonable prices) you can trade in print cards for duals quite easily.  Chrome Mox and Exalted Angel can easily be converted into dual lands.  I have even managed to trade a Bird for a dual once.

[Ifflejink]

DURESSTHIS: That decklist is simply horrendous. First off, it runs Sinkholes, which are too expensive. Second, it runs Cursed Scrolls, which are to expensive and too slow, and simply a worse option than Grim Lavamancer in today's meta. Lastly, it's terrible.

Ric_Flair: Thank you or your commentary. You make a good point about the budget situation as a whole. Actually, I'm two cards away from completeing Fish right now, and nine cards away from completeing budget Landstill. This was to help find a deck for a friend, and he simply can't afford FOW.

Currently, Goblin Sligh seems to be the best option. It's fast, it's dirt cheap, and it works great unless Chalice hits the table, but sideboarding can take care of that. Thank you all for your insight.

[Josvandoesburg]

Goblin Sligh is indeed the way to right now when you want to play budget in a mixed metagame. Blood Moons, Pyrostatic Pilars, CotV, Artifact hate and PoP all are great weapons against almost all top tier decks.

Fish is only viable in a control-oriented environment, and even then, Fish relies heavily on red and therefore needs V. Islands and the like.

[Ric_Flair]

This was to help find a deck for a friend, and he simply can't afford FOW.

If your friend can't afford Force of Will, it may be time to reconsider playing Vintage.  I got my Forces of Will in October of 2003 for $5 each.  I am sure that you can find them between $5 and $10 a piece.  If that is too much, then Magic as a whole and Vintage especially, are too expensive.  Saying your friend wants to play Vintage but cannot afford Forces of Will is like saying you like racing RC cars but you can't afford batteries.  At some point there has to be some spending of money and the price of Force of Wills is not too high.

There comes a point when you just have to realize that this hobby, like all hobbies, requires SOME expenditure of cash.

[Tha Gunslinga]

This was to help find a deck for a friend, and he simply can't afford FOW.

If your friend can't afford Force of Will, it may be time to reconsider playing Vintage.  I got my Forces of Will in October of 2003 for $5 each.  I am sure that you can find them between $5 and $10 a piece.  If that is too much, then Magic as a whole and Vintage especially, are too expensive.  Saying your friend wants to play Vintage but cannot afford Forces of Will is like saying you like racing RC cars but you can't afford batteries.  At some point there has to be some spending of money and the price of Force of Wills is not too high.

There comes a point when you just have to realize that this hobby, like all hobbies, requires SOME expenditure of cash.

Online, it's almost impossible to find FoW for less than $10 per, unless you're getting trashed ones.

When I first got into Magic, I was effectively playing Vintage, since I got older cards.  I would have had a hard time convincing myself to pay $6 for a Force, let alone $24 for a playset.  Over time, I grew older and had more money to spare.  Now I have almost everything that's necessary for Type 1.  I proxied in the beginning, and still do occasionally.  Just because you can't afford some of the cards doesn't mean you shouldn't be playing Type 1.  It just means you need to save up, trade up, and wait.

[Ric_Flair]

Force of Will for $10 or less each:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3171616235&category=38293

Closed January 28, 2004 for $8.51

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3171616176&category=38293

Closed January 28, 2004 for $8.50

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3171616122&category=38293

Closed January 28, 2004 for $9.00

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3171270293&category=19115

Closed January 28, 2004 for $36.01 for 4 Force of Wills

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3171300032&category=38293

Closed January 28, 2004 for $38.00 for 4 Force of Wills


Suffice to say it is not impossible.  It is not even improbable.  In fact, I think that the ebay results show that is MORE likely to find Force of Wills for less than $10.00 a piece.  Even if you buy from SCG, a place that is usually the most expensive on the web, they have them for $14 and $12 respectively.  Not prohibitively expensive.  That is the price of a Wrath of God, generally speaking.

I think the issue about not wanting or being able to spend money IS a relavant consideration.  If you don't want to spend the money, then you can't play.  It is that simple.  That doesn't mean that you need to be able to afford a Lotus to play Magic, but if you can't afford 4 cards that are less than $10 each, then you need to be saving money for food and not playing Magic.  I guess I look at it like this:  if you are so uncommitted as to not be willing to spend, through wise management of resources, $40 then Magic ain't your game.  It always costs money.  ALWAYS.  

I understand the budget players that complain about Power.  Power is expensive.  I can even sympathize with those who protest about Drains.  But when you say that you can't get or afford dual lands or Forces there is a problem.  Either you are really that poor, in which case you should spend your money on more necessary things, or you don't want to commit to the game.  Even playing sealed deck all the time is going to cost money, usually $25 a shot.  If Forces are out of your league, Magic is not the game for you.  It is too expensive, regardless of format.  Many T2 cards are worth more or cost more than Force does, and that is the cheapest format there is.  This is not an elitist comment, just some real world observations.

[Raven Fire]

Suffice to say it is not impossible.  It is not even improbable.  In fact, I think that the ebay results show that is MORE likely to find Force of Wills for less than $10.00 a piece.

Yup.  The current eBay pricelists have FoW at $9.93.  It may not be much under $10, but that is the average ending price.

ps - Josvandoesburg, Mono-blue Fish decks still exist.  Not running Fetches and Volcanics really stabilizes the mana base.