There are nearly countless deck options in Magic: The Gathering – There are many strategies and different ways to build each one. Depending on the archetype and the format, many decks are pretty expensive. And considering how much I hear about the game being pay-to-win these days, I’d like to show off the best budget mtg decks for 2023 in various formats.
- Standard – Mono-Blue Tempo ($32), Mono Red ($70), & Abzan Toxic ($95)
- Pioneer – Red Deck Wins ($85), Lotus Field Combo ($90), Spirit Aggro ($125)
- Modern – 8-Rebirth ($50), Mono-Red Prowess ($130), Plating Affinity ($141),
- Commander – Undead Unleashed Precon ($47), Elven Empire Precon ($75), Necron Dynasties Precon ($75)
Let’s break things down a little further with the general mentions out of the way. I’ll cover how the decks’ work, key cards, complete deck lists, and alternative options where applicable. Regardless of your format, you have some excellent budget mtg decks in 2023 to give you lots of bang for your buck. So, without further ado, let’s jump in.
Standard
We’ll start with the Standard format, which is usually one of the more expensive ones. However, this particular meta has some great, very cheap options. Here are the best budget decks for Standard.
Mono-Blue Tempo
Mono-Blue tempo is doing well in the current meta and is extremely budget-friendly. The deck plays tons of counterspells and cheap interaction (like Fading Hope) to control the pace of the game and tempo out opposing strategies. Then, stick a hard-to-deal-with threat when enemy resources are dwindling and the opponent is on the back foot.
The finishers for the deck are – Haughty Djinn and Tolarian Terror. Both are hard to remove if you play smart and hold up mana for counterspells as you cast them. Sometimes this will mean not casting them on curve, and that’s ok. You’re the tempo player, and time is usually on your side. You want to avoid running your threats out and directly into removal – Do this, and you’ll wrack up the W’s without breaking the bank.
Decklist
Mono-Blue Tempo
| Creature (8) 4 Haughty Djinn 4 Tolarian Terror Instant (28) 2 Consider 3 Ertai’s Scorn 2 Essence Capture 4 Fading Hope 4 Make Disappear 2 March of Swirling Mist 2 Negate 2 Shore Up 2 Spell Pierce 1 Syncopate 4 Thirst for Discovery Land (24) 23 Island 1 Otawara, Soaring City | Sideboard (15) 1 Blue Sun’s Twilight 4 Delver of Secrets 1 Disdainful Stroke 1 Essence Capture 2 Faerie Mastermind 1 Flow of Knowledge 2 Impulse 1 March of Swirling Mist 2 Witness Protection |
Mono-Red Aggro
Mono-Red Aggro is almost synonymous with the thought of budget decks because it’s one of the best options in MTG. They’re streamlined, aggressive, and demand your opponent to have answers or be steamrolled. This particular version is focused on creatures with haste that can come out of the gate guns blazing and only get stronger from there.
Aside from pure aggro, the deck has some lovely synergies. Creatures like Bloodthirsty Adversary, Phoenix Chick, and Shivan Devastator all get or give put +1/+1 counters and make extremely explosive turns with Thundering Raiju. Of course, the counters also make their attacks hit harder, which is a powerful combination.
Related: Best Red Removal In MTG
It also has the resiliency and reach because it can cast creatures (Squee, Dubious Monarch, Phoenix Chick) from the graveyard to win through removal. Lastly, all of this is backed up by a lovely suite of burn spells and removal of its own.
Decklist
Mono-Red Aggro
| Deck (23) 2 Shivan Devastator 4 Monastery Swiftspear 4 Bloodthirsty Adversary 2 Feldon, Ronom Excavator 4 Squee, Dubious Monarch 4 Thundering Raiju 3 Phoenix Chick Instant (8) 4 Play with Fire 4 Lightning Strike Sorcery (3) 2 Strangle 1 Nahiri’s Warcrafting Enchantment (4) 4 Kumano Faces Kakkazan Land (22) 18 Mountain 3 Mishra’s Foundry 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance | Sideboard (15) 1 Call In a Professional 3 Brotherhood’s End 2 Rending Flame 4 Furnace Punisher 4 Lithomantic Barrage 1 Unlicensed Hearse |
Abzan Toxic
Abzan Toxic is my kinda deck. It’s grimy, gritty, and gindy. This will be your best budget deck if these adjectives describe how you play MTG. This is a toxic deck at heart, and that’s how it wants to close out games, but it fully embraces a midrange approach. Every creature in the deck has toxic and Grafted Butcher & Slaughter Singer make combat damage a possibility.
Cards like Crawling Chorus and Skrelv’s Hive can churn out toxic bodies and help persevere through removal. Skrelv, Defector Mite, and Tyvar’s Stand pull double roles in the deck as they can be used on offense and defense.
Decklist
Abzan Toxic
| Creatures (25) 4 Venerated Rotpriest 4 Crawling Chorus 3 Grafted Butcher 4 Slaughter Singer 4 Skrelv, Defector Mite 3 Bloated Contaminator 3 Jawbone Duelist Instant (4) 3 Destroy Evil 1 Soul Partition Enchantment (8) 4 Skrelv’s Hive 4 Tyvar’s Stand | Lands (23) 4 The Seedcore 2 Plains 3 Overgrown Farmland 2 Caves of Koilos 1 Brushland 3 Mirrex 4 Razorverge Thicket 1 Secluded Courtyard 1 Llanowar Wastes 2 Forest Sideboard (15) 2 Surge of Salvation 1 Destroy Evil 2 Knockout Blow 4 Light the Way 2 Annex Sentry 3 Tamiyo’s Safekeeping 1 Jawbone Duelist |
Pioneer
Red Deck Wins
Pioneer red deck wins feels like good old-fashioned mono-red. The core of the deck is Monastery Swiftspear and Monastery Swiftspear paired with plenty of instants and sorceries to trigger prowess. Ghitu Lavarunner and Bloodfeather Phoenix also has synergy alongside them. And who doesn’t love Viashino Pyromancer and Bonecrusher Giant?
For burn spells, these lists have Play with Fire, Wizard’s Lightning, Light Up the Stage, Skewer the Critics. Wizard’s Lightning is playable here thanks to Viashino Pyromancer, Ghitu Lavarunner, and Soul-Scar Mage all being wizards.
Red Deck Wins
| Creature (20) 1 Bloodfeather Phoenix 3 Viashino Pyromancer 4 Ghitu Lavarunner 4 Monastery Swiftspear 4 Soul-Scar Mage 4 Bonecrusher Giant Instant (9) 1 Spikefield Hazard 4 Play with Fire 4 Wizard’s Lightning Sorcery (8) 4 Light Up the Stage 4 Skewer the Critics Enchantment (4) 4 Kumano Faces Kakkazan Land (19) 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance 4 Den of the Bugbear 4 Ramunap Ruins 10 Mountain | Sideboard (15) 2 Burning Hands 1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance 1 Goblin Chainwhirler 1 Hazoret the Fervent 1 Kari Zev’s Expertise 2 Obliterating Bolt 1 Redcap Melee 2 Rending Volley 2 Roast 1 Roiling Vortex 1 Fry |
Lotus Field Combo
Lotus field combo is one of the best budget decks in 2023 if you play Pioneer. It’s also one of the more competitive options you could build. It revolves around copying Lotus Field with Thespian Stage. Then Lotus Field (and the copy from Thespian Stage) can be untapped with Hidden Strings and Vizier of Tumbling Sands to produce massive amounts of mana.
Once your lands are in play and producing mana, the deck can pull several wincons from the sideboard, which is always fun. With Granted and Mastermind’s Acquisition to grab Approch of the Second Sun and/or Omniscience to close out games. If you’re interested in this deck, you can buy the Lotus Combo Challenger Deck and add a few lands from the list below that aren’t included.
Lotus Field Combo
| Creature (11) 4 Vizier of Tumbling Sands 4 Arboreal Grazer 3 Fae of Wishes Instants (6) 4 Opt 2 Dig Through Time Sorcery (19) 4 Pore Over the Pages 4 Strategic Planning 4 Sylvan Scrying 4 Hidden Strings 2 Peer into the Abyss 1 Mastermind’s Acquisition Land (24) 2 Island 4 Forest 4 Botanical Sanctum 2 Barkchannel Pathway 4 Thespian’s Stage 4 Lotus Field 4 Yavimaya Coast | Sideboard (15) 1 Negate 1 Tormod’s Crypt 1 Blink of an Eye 1 Void Snare 3 Thought Distortion 2 Shifting Ceratops 1 Sweltering Suns 1 Approach of the Second Sun 1 Omniscience 1 Peer into the Abyss 2 Wilt |
Spirit Aggro
Mono-Blue Spirit aggro is a tribal deck built around creatures with the spirit creature type. The deck is aggressive – There are plenty of low-costed evasive threats and Supreme Phantom, which makes your creature hit harder. That said, the deck does a great job at playing a tempo game and interacting with opposing decks while attacking the life total.
For example, Mausoleum Wanderer is an attacker and a counterspell. Rattlechains can be flashed in in response to removal or used as a surprise blocker. Shacklegeist can help circumvent key blockers or stifle utility creatures. Geistlight Snare and Lofty Denial are counterspells that get better thanks to your creature, and considering how many creatures have flash, it’s hard to play around these.
If you like tribal, aggro, or control/tempo, this will be enjoyable for you to pilot, and considering the price tag, it’s one of the most competitive budget MTG decks you could play in Pioneer.
Decklist
Spirit Aggro
| Creature (25) 4 Rattlechains 4 Mausoleum Wanderer 4 Supreme Phantom 4 Spectral Sailor 2 Brazen Borrower 4 Shacklegeist 2 Ascendant Spirit 1 Lantern Bearer Instant (9) 2 Slip Out the Back 2 Lofty Denial 4 Geistlight Snare 1 Spell Pierce Enchantment (4) 4 Curious Obsession Land (22) 3 Faceless Haven 18 Snow-Covered Island 1 Otawara, Soaring City | Sideboard (15) 2 Brazen Borrower 2 Lofty Denial 1 Aethersphere Harvester 2 Cerulean Drake 3 Mystical Dispute 1 Unsubstantiate 1 Into the Roil 1 Unlicensed Hearse 2 Blue Sun’s Twilight |
Modern
8-Rebirth
The namesake card for the deck is Kuldotha Rebirth and its functionally similar counterpart Gleeful Demolition. Both allow you to sacrifice an artifact (or creature) to create several tokens. Three, to be exact, and for only a single mana.
Playsets of Ornithopter, Memnite, Experimental Synthesizer, and Chromatic Star makes sure you can use your token producers early and often and flood the
Oh, and burn spells also slot into this deck perfectly. First is Goblin Grenade, with turns most things in the deck into five damage for a single mana. And then there’s Shrapnel Blast, which can do the same if you sac an artifact and pay one extra mana. Overall, this deck hits incredibly hard, even in powerful formats like Modern.
Decklist
8-Rebirth
| Companion (1) 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring Creature (20) 4 Goblin Bushwhacker 4 Memnite 4 Ornithopter 4 Reckless Bushwhacker 4 Voldaren Epicure Sorcery (12) 4 Gleeful Demolition 4 Goblin Grenade 4 Kuldotha Rebirth Instant (3) 3 Shrapnel Blast Artifact (8) 4 Chromatic Star 4 Experimental Synthesizer Land (17) 4 Castle Embereth 13 Mountain | Sideboard (15) 3 Alpine Moon 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring 3 Pithing Needle 4 Pyrite Spellbomb 4 Smash to Smithereens |
Mono-Red Prowess
If you’re familiar with Modern, you’ll likely recognize this list. If you’re not a Modern player but know the archetype from Pioneer, you’ll at least already understand the concepts, which are the same – Trigger Monastery Swiftspear and Soul-Scar Mage. However, this version also has access to Dragon’s Rage Channeler to add even more value from the burn spells and non-creature spells like Mishra’s Bauble.
Beyond that, it plays the best burn spells and low-CMC, easy-to-cast spells the format offers. Of course, this includes playsets of classics like Lightning Bolt, Lava Spike, Lava Dart, and Skullcrack, as well as a few copies of newer spells like Unholy Heat.
I’ve lost to this deck more times than I can say, usually with decks that cost three or four times as much. If you’re to get wins for cheap, this is amongst the best budget decks for Modern MTG without a doubt.
Decklist
Mono-Red Prowess
| Companion (1) 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring Creature (12) 4 Dragon’s Rage Channeler 4 Monastery Swiftspear 4 Soul-Scar Mage Instant (23) 4 Lava Dart 4 Lava Spike 4 Lightning Bolt 3 Mutagenic Growth 2 Skullcrack 2 Unholy Heat 4 Light up the Stage Artifact (4) 4 Mishra’s Bauble Enchantment (3) 3 Kumano Faces Kakkazan Land (18) 17 Mountain 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance | Sideboard (14) 2 Tormod’s Crypt 2 Grafdigger’s Cage 2 Abrade 2 Rachet Bomb 1 Sheanigans 2 Shrine of Burning Rage 1 Smash to Smithereens 2 Blood Mood |
Plating Affinity
This blue-based Affinity deck wants to power out as many low-cost artifacts as possible and use them to cast creatures for cheap (or even free) thanks to “Affinity for Artifacts.” If you don’t know, this means they cost one less to cast for each artifact you control. This strategy works exceptionally well, is a blast to play, and is quite budget-friendly.
Frogmite, Sojourner’s Companion, and [c]Thought Monitor all have their cost reduced by your artifacts. Four mana 2/2s and seven mana 4/4s might not look powerful but keep in mind; these will be free bodies (or maybe one mana) often. And the deck has some tricks up its sleeve. Plus, Thought Monitor is a beast thanks to its evasion and card draw.
So, how will you get up the critical mass of artifacts quickly? First, with artifact lands – Between Mistvault Bridge, Tanglepool Bridge, Treasure Vault, and Darksteel Citadel, you have 13 artifact lands in the deck. The contribution there provide to your artifact count is fantastic, and the dual lands are very budget-friendly ways to play multi-color decks, even if the black/green is just a splash.
Aside from the lands, there are nine zero mana plays in four Memnite, four Ornithopter, and a single Welding Jar. With these and the lands mentioned above, you have 22 ways to put artifacts in play without spending any mana.
Once you’ve reduced their cost and gotten your creatures out, you can really turn them into lethal threats with Cranial Plating (which makes them gigantic and can be changed at instant speed), Nettlecyst, and Shadowspear. Lastly, a playset of Urza’s Saga within the budget can tutor up hate pieces and create game-ending construct tokens.
Related: MTG Affinity – How It Works And What It Does
If you’ve seen this list floating around online, maybe you’ve noticed it is usually said to have a price tag of around $260, but it’s much cheaper. I swapped the Orvar, the All-Form, from the sideboard for a cheaper option, and the deck comes to $160 on TCG player. With cart optimization, the deck is $141 shipped to your door.
Decklist
Plating Affinity
| Creature (25) 4 Thought Monitor 4 Sojourner’s Companion 4 Ornithopter 4 Memnite 1 Gingerbrute 4 Myr Enforcer 4 Frogmite Artifact (17) 4 Welding Jar 4 Cranial Plating 4 Springleaf Drum 4 Mishra’s Bauble 1 Shadowspear Sorcery (6) 4 Thoughtcast 2 Forging the Anchor Land (12) 4 Darksteel Citadel 4 Mistvault Bridge 4 Urza’s Saga | Sideboard (15) 1 Aether Spellbomb 1 Relic of Progenitus 1 Pithing Needle 4 Metallic Rebuke 1 Soul-Guide Lantern 3 Nettlecyst 1 Haywire Mite 2 Soulless Jailer 1 Island |
Commander
It’s hard to discuss the best budget decks for Commander and not mention precons. They are the most cost-effective way to get into or play the format. So, today, I have three of the strongest precons for you, all $75 or less, and linked below.
If you want advice on building a budget commander deck from scratch, check out my other article – The Best Budget MTG Commander Decks. I cover budget alternatives to expensive cards, the best commanders to build around on a budget, and more precon options.
Undead Unleashed
Undead Unleashed is a blast and quite powerful right out of the box. At heart, it’s a Zombie Tribal deck with many sacrifice synergies and uses its graveyard as a resource. It wins games with the value generated by its undead masses. The commander, Wilhelt, makes a zombie token with decayed whenever your zombies die. So, each zombie is an attacker while alive and gives you something back when it dies.
It’s very upgradable as well. You can find some small but effective upgrades and more details about the deck here.
Elven Empire
I love this deck – It’s an elf tribal commander build that does so much right. First, the commander, Lathril, Blade of the Elves, makes 1/1 tokens when she deals combat damage. The more damage she deals, the more tokens you make. This makes the deck very hard to deal with in combat because Lathril is usually a single large threat, but the deck also goes wide with tokens.
Oh, and the tap ability here is amazing to activate in response to a
You can find upgrades, strengths out of the box, pros & cons, and more for the deck here.
Necron Dynasties
The Warhammer 40k decks were all pretty powerful; this was the best. What makes it so good? Well, many things, but I think there are a few key factors. It blends artifacts and graveyard synergies perfectly, and both are already powerful by themselves.
From simple mana rocks and artifact creatures to things with Unearth, everything in the deck can generate value and works towards the gameplan. The deck just has so many things it can do each turn and they all work together well. Take Imotekh the stormlord – He gives you two 2/2 bodies anytime an artifact leaves your graveyard. And then pumps something up and gives it evasion.
It’s cards like this that make your
End Step
There you have it my friends – The best budget MTG decks in 2023 for all major formats. If you’re looking to play the MTG on a budget, these decks will be great options and preform well for you without breaking the bank. Until next time, get out there are prove that MTG doesn’t have to be pay-to-win.
