25 Commander Decks Under $25!
Hey friends! A while back I did 50 decks under $50 and the response was great, so I decided to follow up with 25 more decks, this time under $25! All the deck lists are found here, let me know what you think!
Abdel Adrian & Candlekeep Sage
Upgrades: honestly not much point in upgrading this deck, it's already got all the key cards. I think Panharmonicon and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines are worthy upgrades. Otherwise generic staples like Farewell and Fierce Guardianship will boost the deck marginally.
Armix & Ich-Tekik
Upgrades: Glissa, the Traitor, Their Name Is Death, Deadly Dispute, Marionette Master, Tireless Provisioner, Ruthless Technomancer, Kuldotha Forgemaster, Junk Diver, and Triplicate Titan are the big ones. Then Beast Within, all the artifact lands, all the untapped mana-fixing lands, etc.
Borborygmos
Edric
Upgrades: all the extra turn spells, Spellstutter Sprite, all the good super cheap countermagic like Fierce Guardianship, and all the mana-fixing untapped lands.
Eligeth & Esior
Etrata
Upgrades: Satoru, the Infiltrator, Roaming Throne, Arcane Adaptation and Maskwood Nexus, and Cover of Darkness. I expect a few more big upgrades with the Assassin's Creed set release.
Gonti
Haldan & Pako
Upgrades: bring the land count down to 38 as you add more ramp, protection, evasion, and double damage / extra combats. Things like Sol Ring, Swan Song, Tamiyo's Safekeeping, Psychotic Fury, Canopy Cover, and Seize the Day are the type of cards you want to include. Also two or so extra wipes like Blasphemous Act.
Hamza
Upgrades: Bristly Bill, Spine Sower, Incubation Druid, Gyre Sage, Arwen, Weaver of Hope, Defiler of Vigor, Kodama of the West Tree, Biophagus, Damning Verdict, The Ozolith, The Great Henge, Cathars' Crusade, Tribute to the World Tree, Beast Whisperer, Heroic Intervention, Teferi's Protection, better lands
Legolas
Light-Paws
Malcolm & Breeches
Upgrades: Glint-Horn Buccaneer is the single biggest upgrade because it's a 2-card combo with Malcolm. Then you can add more Pirate changers like Arcane Adaptation and Artificial Evolution and more pingers like Kessig Flamebreather but it's not really necessary. Instead I'd recommend more protection and interaction like Blasphemous Act and Counterspell, maybe flexible tutors like Mystical Tutor, more card draw, and dropping the land count down to like 38. You want to play control while protecting Malcolm, then close the game by casting your combo.
Nelly Borca
Ognis
Upgrades: Mastermind Plum, Crime Novelist, Samut, Vizier of Naktamun, Song of Totentanz, Atalan Jackal, Professional Face-Breaker, Xorn, Jolene, the Plunder Queen, Korvold, Fae-Cursed King, Ingenious Artillerist, Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest, Hellkite Tyrant, Cavern-Hoard Dragon, Beast Within, Chaos Warp, Heroic Intervention, Great Train Heist, Seize the Spotlight, Revel in Riches, mana-fixing lands
Rokiric
Talrand
Teysa
Upgrades: Braids, Arisen Nightmare, Academy Manufactor, Mondrak, Glory Dominus, Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation, Delney, Streetwise Lookout, Sanctum of Stone Fangs, The Meathook Massacre, Krark-Clan Ironworks, Smothering Tithe, Tarrian's Soulcleaver, Vito, Fanatic of Aclazotz, Ayara, First of Locthwain, Crypt Ghast, Priest of Forgotten Gods, Creeping Bloodsucker, Marionette Master.
The Council of Four
Upgrades: Howling Mine, Dictate of Kruphix, and Kami of the Crescent Moon are all staples. Faerie Mastermind is an extra Council in the deck. Because it draws so many cards, Reliquary Tower, Thought Vessel, and Decanter of Endless Water are all strong inclusions, probably Spellbook too.
Three Dog
Vadrik
Valduk
Verazol
Winota
Zada
Upgrades: Molten Duplication, Storm-Kiln Artist, Runaway Steam-Kin, Ruby Medallion, Crimson Wisps, Plague Myr, Simian Spirit Guide, Brightstone Ritual, Seething Song, Desperate Ritual, Deflecting Swat, Tibalt's Trickery, Chaos Warp, Pyretic Ritual, Mana Geyser, Twinflame, Jeska's Will, Blood Moon, Magus of the Moon, Defense Grid, Veilstone Amulet
Zimone & Dina
How To Upgrade
The best way to upgrade decks is to playtest them first and then make adjustments based on your meta.
But let's say you have a bunch of expensive cards and want to juice up these decks without testing them first. What do you take out? The rule of thumb is to take out a card that fulfills a similar role. So if you want to add a Fierce Guardianship then take out Negate, or you have a fetchland then take out a basic.
Please don't cut all the lands to add nonland cards. That will make you (and me) sad. The only exceptions are the $10 brews Pako, Malcolm, and Gonti. All of those work a ton better when you're at around 38 lands; the higher land count is to save money.
That's all! You can email me specific questions at tomer@mtggoldfish.com or just to let me know how your experience with the decks go, I love to hear how they end up working in different playgroups!
