Budget Alternatives to Commander Staples

Here are some budget-friendly cards that will function similarly to the pricey staples you see everywhere! We don't need money to win!
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Video Segments:
0:00 - intro
0:55 - Doubling Season
5:39 - Cyclonic Rift
9:39 - Teferi's Protection
13:12 - Forces
16:12 - Phyrexian Altar
20:13 - Damnation
22:58 - Wheel of Fortune
28:55 - The Great Henge
32:05 - Eldrazi Titans
36:30 - Craterhoof Behemoth

[@trumpetperson11]

You guys are right, I should replace all my staples with Grave Titan.

[@demilembias2527]

replace them all with Sengir Aristocrat

[@danielsniff6405]

That's impossible, because you can't replace grave titan with grave titan

[@jamesoakley9333]

That would be so OP.

[@Buberte]

@@danielsniff6405 😂

[@epicness877]

This is practically everything the channel's been leading up to! Definitely going through some awesome strides with this channel, yall seriously are fantastic fanatics outdoing yourselves regularly! Whether they come daily or monthly or whatever I always look forward to sitting down with you guys :)

[@NitpickingNerds]

This is the nicest comment ever! Thanks so much :D

[@davidhowell1415]

I agree. I will admit that at first when I found the channel the hand talking really bothered me but I got used to it and really like the content. So to me it’s called the hand talking duo

[@RecoveringSpartan]

It's fun to watch you rant about pests when Spawning Pit makes spawns

[@NitpickingNerds]

In the back of my head, I was thinking "are they even pests?" I didn't expect Joe to go off like that 😂

[@zachariahpoltergeist4516]

Thank you for this. Even though I have a handful of the expensive cards, it gets tiresome seeing every other channel casually suggest $25+ cards like it's no big deal. That could be a whole workday for some of us!

[@jonasdietrich8109]

Yeah same, my budget limit is usually a few singles that are at most 10€ (~11$) each. And if decide to buy a more expensive one, then I usually sell some other cards or other stuff that I clearly don't need anymore. Also no shocklands or fetchlands. And even then MTG isn't exactly the cheapest hobby.

[@ianchandler4903]

That logo-flickering-sputtering-light-sound at the end of each video puts me in some sort of relaxed tranquil state everytime 👌

[@NitpickingNerds]

We are hypnotizing you to click on the next video

[@arthurvandenbergh1881]

I was surprised to not see Vorinclex as a replacement for doubling season but then I found out it’s like 30 dollars itself already 😅

[@NitpickingNerds]

I was shocked too! Craziness

[@ephraimmann]

Doubling season is a replacement for vorinclex 💀

[@kennethdixoniii4113]

“They are insects, not pests” says the guy who has obviously never had to deal with termites. 😂

[@NitpickingNerds]

We haven't dealt with termites and it shows :(

[@WilliamSpragge]

Another plus to “Foil” is you pitch the cards to your graveyard instead of exiling like FOW. Great for graveyard decks :)

[@rteishe]

A benefit about End Raze Forerunners over Crathoof that's been relevant for me before is that if an opponent manages to fog or teferi's protection out, etc when go for the strike...End Raze leaves you a much better body on the field for next time. Craterhoof post etb is just a vanilla 5/5, forerunners at least leaves you a vigilant, trampling 7/7

[@ajax4709]

Yeah, I only have a craterhoof because I happened to pull one in the innistrad set when I was like 12

[@zachariahpoltergeist4516]

Also, since they all got vigilance, they're still available to block!

[@urahara64360]

I do have the forerunner but I went with thunderfoot baloth as my main craterhoof replacement. He gives a +2/+2 to all my creatures and trample. He does have the slight downside of only gaining that ability when my commander is out but that's not really a problem.

[@DontWatchjustforstor]

Really enjoyed that you labeled your sections. Makes it much easier to find the cards relevant to my decks. Thank you very much

[@thomasagen9922]

Alright I’m gonna say it. I like Grave Titan. He’s an absolute force in my araumi deck

[@thoop6795]

Thats actually an ok use for him tbh

[@sirmegallot3276]

I won a game with grave titan once. I get it that there are better things you can usually do for 6 mana but its still a good card.

[@loganator326]

"69 cents, a nice price I'd say" I see what you did there. Also, Nice.

[@PraetorGix]

Noice

[@NitpickingNerds]

We are hip with the memes

[@austinblankenship7631]

69 cents and 420 dollars :^)

[@22freedom33]

My wallet needed this, thanks!

[@NitpickingNerds]

We got you

[@ultimateretroasd]

Talking about Doubling Season, don't forget about tokens where I found myself that instead of spend a whole turn playing DS for future tokens, it is more efficient make tokens early in the game and then populate them or play second harvest

[@willstebbins5338]

Or just play Adrix and Nev, Twincasters. It has ward 2 so it’s at least a little protected, and you can get an entire token-doubling deck (and upgrade it) for less than the price of DS

[@Grooove_e]

What about Primal Vigor? Isn't that literally the same thing as doubling season except it only effect +1/+1 counters instead of all types of counters?

[@OzzyOsgir]

My dudes this was a good one 👍🏻 more of these please. I’d love to be more budget friendly in the future.

[@twilightcall06]

My only quibble with your list is the Eldrazi Titans. It's really hard to replace their graveyard reshuffle effect on the original Ulamog and Kozilek, which is the primary reason I even include one in my decks. I agree that there's better and cheaper big monsters to use as finishers.

[@belugawhale8128]

For the Titans, I don't even care about the creature, just the text that shuffles my graveyard into my deck. Still a great video!

[@supplanter_j5946]

Just to note for those who don’t know, Adrix and Nev, Twincasters work as a replacement for doubling season for tokens (it’s actually better for tokens being 4 mana and having ward 2) but of course it requires being simic+

[@robbiestrong-morse730]

I wouldn't say better given it gets hit by far more wraths and removal spells.( though ward 2 does make that harder).

[@monkeygaming2859]

Nitpicking correction here is you referred multiple times to Emrakul as “he” it’s stated in lore and in cards that Emrakul is a “she or her”

[@NitpickingNerds]

Joe ALWAYS misgenders Emrakul and I love to correct him for it

[@austinblankenship7631]

Great video! I love foil and sometimes makes it in my not budget lists. Foil in Rielle is chef's kiss

[@NitpickingNerds]

Foil in Rielle feels like cheating lol

[@austinblankenship7631]

I love Rielle because she makes those sorts of cards so busted! If you had told me three years ago my play group would be whining over how busted Attunement looked I would have said you were nuts XD

[@6slade]

Give me more mono-white staples grades! I know you guys loved that series, and I did too! Thanks for all the videos, glad I found and have been binging you guys lately.

[@djbisson9819]

Love budget options this will come in handy thanks Joe and BZ

[@NitpickingNerds]

Keep an eye peeled for em!

[@richmondlau5945]

Thanks. I love these budget alternative videos since like you guys mentioned, I'm just looking for x effect

[@aconejeros666]

Let me tell you that i've been watching all your most recents videos, GREAT CONTENT! I wish I've know your channell before, you are doing an amazing work.

[@mordecairasputin8110]

I seriously appreciate videos like this for us newbs

[@NitpickingNerds]

Happy they can help!

[@rhcpdrummer4203]

Great video love this also a great free counter is Daze of my fav's if they are tapped out.

[@waitingwarrior4203]

Love the content. For real keep it up!

[@keiharris332]

Thanks for showing me eerie interlude. Dodge board wipe and get ETB triggers to go off in one card!

[@blackmountain1983]

Hey guys, as a huge fan who even watches your videos with the sound off, I think you should double check your language settings. For some reason my captions are trying to translate it to Vietnamese 😅. Might be an issue on my end.

[@skotmatthews8940]

Just out of curiosity I checked mine and yea the only caption option is "auto-generated Vietnamese"... very curious as to why🤔 I blame KZbin

[@kaerr_blockbuster]

thank you for the effort and work you put into your content. will there be another video like this ?

[@Sivarias]

Just to let you know, there are a few other free counterspells that are alternatives to the blue forces: Thwart: bounce 3 islands (a terrible cost, but it's great for game ending stacks on a budget) Misdirection: Exile a blue card to redirect for free, can be used to end counter wars, or to protect your commander from spot removal Commandeer: Exile 2 blue spells to gain control of a spell (if it's a permanent, it comes into play on your side of the field, and if it targets you can reselect targets. The best use I've seen is stealing a decree of pain. Everything dies, but now I get to draw 20 >:))

[@drongobrat6471]

This is a great video. I had no idea phyrexian altar was so expensive cuz it had gone down to 10 when ultimate masters came out, and I just assumed it stayed there

[@NitpickingNerds]

It is CRAZY how much it spiked!

[@contrateorico]

Amazing video, guys!

[@PawzBrownMTG]

Great video guys I knew some of these but not all

[@austinmairet1772]

Spawning pit makes spawn artifact creature tokens. I’m pretty sure strixhaven is the first time pest became an actual creature type

[@bamit11]

The card Nuisance Engine from OG Mirrodin made 0/1 artifact Pest creature tokens.

[@vanDaalstad]

This is pretty much exactly the kind of video I asked for not too long ago, git some good alternatives for the super pricey staples

[@NitpickingNerds]

Hope you enjoyed!

[@SvviftDeath]

Another budget option for The Great Henge is Guardian Project. Unless you're building for tokens every creature will draw you a card and if you have bounce/flicker effects it gets even better.

[@marcomx8069]

A good replacement for the behemoth is Marton Stromgald, I have it in my Hazezon Tamar deck, since I have by default a ton of haste inablers

[@ZachtheUnbowed]

Cant forget about Conclave mentor and thermopod as some awesome budget alternatives! I would also recommend trying out Dead of Winter if you have some snow lands laying around.

[@tprocess1993]

You guys should make another vid about terrible “Just you wait” cards 😂

[@pauldyson8098]

Put Frontier Siege in my enchantress deck because I didn't have a spare Smothering Tithe and because Siege is way cheaper. Turns out the Dragons mode isn't completely dead in a deck that makes flying angel tokens. I like that you are talking about budget like this. There are times when you want a "less good" version of something. Noyan Dar wants to run weird boardwipes that don't kill your animated lands, so Supreme Verdict (arguably the best Wrath ever) is out.

[@josedcordero]

Etali has won me a game in such a huge fashion. Because of my fancy for foils these budget options kinda get pricier. Thanks for the video!

[@wesleymclain9146]

Hate to break it to you but Kozilek, the Great Distortion absolutely can go into every deck; the only reason he isn't expensive like the others is because he doesn't have the shuffle-titan clause which is one of the only reason the others generally get played.

[@Omnivxrse]

Well no, not every deck can reliably generate 2 colorless mana, and not ever deck wants a 10 drop creature anyway

[@AndrewWoodford]

I’ve really been enjoying Spectral Deluge as a one sided wipe. Even in decks with Cyclonic Rift.

[@matthewallen9148]

Profaner of the Dead is one of my favorite budget replacements for Cyclonic Rift. Only hits creatures but also only hits your opponents and that's usually all you need for an alpha strike

[@patrickbartholomay6513]

Great content Nerds

[@skotmatthews8940]

Love the "shenans" callback! Gotta respect continuity😂

[@johnnyd1988]

for Cyclonic Rift replacements, i feel that Flood of Tears is underrate as well. yes its a bit expensive at sorcery speed, but the potential to cheat something into play is nice too ^^

[@NitpickingNerds]

We like flood of tears! The dream is putting out Omniscience 😍

[@jasonbuchanan7974]

Now I have to get a copy of flood of tears for my Grand Arbiter deck. Thanx for the suggestion.

[@tobipotg]

That was really good guys :D

[@jswksw130130]

Loved it just remember wheel of misfortune is honestly probably the 2nd best wheel effect and it’s like 3$

[@jswksw130130]

In red

[@Zelphiez]

Honestly, at this point I watch your videos just to see how many creative ways you guys can include a jab at grave titan. 😂 don't get me wrong I love how much of a better commander player I've become because of your content but the GT jokes give me life.

[@NitpickingNerds]

Well we wouldn't want you to die, so I guess we'll have to keep making fun of him :P

[@22freedom33]

22:55 instead of Damnation you could use Nightmare Unmaking too, 5 CMC you choose if you exile all creatures with power less than/or equal to thw number of cards in your hand; or exile all creatures with power greater than/or equal to the number of cards in your hand. To me that is a great boardwipe in most black decks, also exiles

[@mr.mammuthusafricanavus8299]

I like using Extinction Event :P

[@22freedom33]

@@mr.mammuthusafricanavus8299 yes, it also exiles almost all tokens when you choose even

[@jonasbley2602]

Glad I'm in the proxy gang

[@xarshoon7157]

Wouldn’t be playing if I wasnt

[@montanax8127]

Good for you, no need to flaunt it.

[@alexbiersner3350]

Thank you for the alternatives. Recently found a 60 card deck that has 3 Henge in the list >.< this will definitely help keep the cost down

[@mella4376]

All is see when I look at ghostway, eerie interlude and teferi's protection is the scarecrow army blinking along with Reaper King, coming to steal everyone else's hopes and dreams (and lands, mostly lands). Brings a tear of joy to my eye every damn time.

[@TahuNuva2008]

It sounds good but they don’t leave and reenter the battlefield with teferi’s protection

[@mella4376]

@@TahuNuva2008 haha revealing which one of the three I don't own whoops

[@TahuNuva2008]

@@mella4376 :)

[@regaleagle6533]

@@mella4376 semesters end from strixhaven and brago are what you are looking for on the blink side. But then on the whoops my scarecrows got murdered side you have like nightmare shepherd or Gerrard

[@kraakatoa4494]

I was extremely fortunate enough to pull a Teferi’s protection Japanese Alt Art from my Japanese Strix box 📦 🎉

[@stevenjoubertofficial]

Budget free sac outlet that also produces mana is Thermopod in Red. Just a little FYI, noticed he wasn’t mentioned in the Phyrexian Altar section.

[@Wojtek36762]

I use River’s Rebuke as a Rift substitute. Not a full board wipe, but if it can push back a player who’s getting ready to go off, it can feel like a public service. I mostly use it in my Kinnan deck that has mana coming out the ears and not much mass removal.

[@georgegividen]

Disrupting Shoal and misdirection are worth mentioning alongside the force cards. Misdirection isn't counter per say, but can occasionally be just as effective or even better.

[@selkokieli843]

I love a cheeky misdirection

[@moxavenger]

Vedalken Orrery vs Tidal Barracuda. Nice video guys.

[@calebburch9816]

Primal vigor is also a great under $20 alternative for doubling season

[@Grooove_e]

Literally the same card it just doesn't affect all types of counters, and If you're using doubling season you're probably just going after +1/+1 anyways

[@WIBYTIEDH]

An honorable mention for the counters doublers is Corpsejack Menace or Winding Constrictor if you're running Golgari or Abzan counters which is pretty underrated. There's also Conclave Mentor (G/W) from M21 that has the same effect as Hardened Scales but when it dies, you gain life equal to its power Another point in favour of Foil over Force of Will is you're discarding instead of casting to exile. A deck like Hakim, Loreweaver or Gisa and Geralf want things pitched into the graveyard to cast or pull out later on and that fuels the engine for free

[@mathieubrebouillet714]

Really useful !

[@NitpickingNerds]

We're super glad!

[@emerson685]

Engulf the shore is actually great in some two and three color decks! I run it in Nymris cause she got that big booty, and it usually ends up being a single sided board wipe except for her. I also have it in Eligeth and Thraximundar for the same reason. If your commanders got big enough toughness and you just want to clean up the board a little bit, it's okay that you only have 4-5 islands!

[@NitpickingNerds]

That's what I'm saying! Joe is a non-believer

[@emerson685]

@@NitpickingNerds oh man, you got to believe, Joe. Build around the toughness component in particular and it really can feel like a cyclonic rift.

[@TopLevelJiuJitsu]

This was a great video

[@mightymjc10]

Fun fact, the gatherer text for Void Winnower actually says "Yes, your opponent can't even. We know."

[@Froggy67823]

Well I think that shockalnds/duel lands are out of the water...

[@NitpickingNerds]

What do you mean?

[@Froggy67823]

@@NitpickingNerds Not very many cheap WORKING alternatives to shocklands/duellands, which dont have too heavy a downside (enters tapped)

[@jamesgratz4771]

@@Froggy67823 usually it’s enters tapped trash. Lol wizards always prints good lands at rare

[@selkokieli843]

fast lands are almost all expensive but at least there's a number of cheap tapped duals to tutor for with your farseeks etc. kaldheim snow duals, mh2 artifact duals, battle for Zendikar lands... I'm really happy for those!

[@RomantheFox]

Another one for the cyclonic rift on a budget is spectral deluge, does the same thing as another card you mentioned with the added benefit of foretell, so you can pretend it's Saw it Coming.

[@Dracomandriuthus]

Forgot Disrupting Shoal. It's not cheap but it's definitely useable in situations where you absolutely need something. It really does require you have more options available for card draw, but it is another option. There's also Daze

[@jo_ken]

Enjoying the fact I got a wheel of fortune ages ago for like $70 (actually less since I had a good amount of store credit) It’s banged up to hell since the condition I got it up wasn’t great, but still love having the thing. Great seeing these budget cards too since they are definitely great to play as well. 26:17 Humble defector aka Humble Exchange student in my group.

[@vonLuck130]

A decent option for replacing Rift is Wash Out. While a sorcery it can provide you with a one sided wipe to get in and win a game.

[@thomaslepage5941]

I did actually run into a deck that had Eldrazi titan in the decklist and an altar of dementia loop was my only option to win. Dude had the titan in his hand!

[@NitpickingNerds]

Womp Womp 😂

[@kitmarlowe2889]

There's a great interaction with Archaeomancer and Evacuation as long as you have 9 mana. Every turn, say goodbye to your creatures. ;) I like Sunder and Scourge of Fleets, too.

[@kelseyo402]

Me who recently bought doubling season for my chatter-fang deck. 👀 Parallel lives was almost as much so I was convinced by my boyfriend that I can use doubling for more instances if I ever want to put it in a different deck. Was a long consideration period though.

[@cheer90099]

How do I know Chulane is broken? A budget Chulane deck in my pod got Emrakul'd and then won the game two turns later.

[@akumacode]

i love artisan of kozilek. even level 9 and 10 decks have to respect it when i added it to my fresh out the box precon

[@bch9124]

I miss the unrefined rawness and occasional blooper reel action of your early videos, and it was fun to see it happen at the end of this one =)

[@Rastalyn7272]

Magus of the Wheel is so underrated. Good mention and for what it is worth its way good.

[@choppyhen]

Another good one for teferis protection is glorious protector

[@saltyalters]

Overwhelming Stampede is wild. It's in my Ghatla deck. Get out some chump creatures. Maybe lay an Unnatural Growth and cast Stampede. Dragon Throne of Tarkir does the same thing but it's an equip-able artifact that taps your biggest creature so you can do it every combat to be extra mean.

[@ZakMovesMass]

Hey an episode where Beezy doesn't interrupt the other guy every 2 seconds. How refreshing

[@NitpickingNerds]

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[@fatalbert357]

The price tag on Doubling season and Parallel lives is the sole reason I immediately bought Adrix and Nev precon commander deck. Adrix and Nev is one of those cards I anticipate will also approach those levels of prices once they stop selling strixhaven precons. On another side note, Growing Rites of Itlimoc is a semi budget alternative to Gaea's Cradle. Sure, it's approaching 30 dollars compared to its older price tag of sub 10 on release, but I'll take that over what is currently easily over 750. And I can assure you, the decks that run Gaea's cradle will be flipping into Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun just fine without even breaking a sweat.

[@MuteAspire]

I almost feel like Blossoming Bogbeast is a decent replacement for Pathfinder Ibex if you're really looking to save money (only $0.66). But this video was great and really encourages people to dissect these staples and see what effect they really need from a card.

[@oliviersoable]

Beast whisperer is awesome. thanks the few reprints

[@NitpickingNerds]

We were worried that one would get super high back when it first came out

[@joshualong7837]

Humble defector has a neat little combo with Homeward path

[@MegaAgamon]

For the double tokens effect of Doubling Season a decent budget alternative is Adrix and Nev, Twincasters. They also have a ward 2 and heck if you run simic tokens what better commander is there?

[@PsionicMonk]

Humble defector would be fun with this green creature who has an effect that at the beginning of every end step each player gains control of all cards they own. Brooding Saurian is the name looked it up

[@brianpraamsma2607]

Green sun zenith effects are precisely the reason why henge is so expensive. You have to cast the card to beast whisperer to draw you. I feel like some of the best options were left out that draw a card if the creature is power/toughness higher than x. Those allow you to draw off tokens like rampaging baloths and really lets some cool decks go off.

[@LoganHallard]

Evacuation is also a good alt to cyc rift. That having been said, I actually prefer aetherize and aetherspouts outright (illusionist's gambit is also good). I like keeping my opponents' creatures on board if possible and getting them to attack each other (I usually play a low win con count, and generally try to grind out a win rather than deploy a bomb, so having opponents' with creatures to use against each other works for me), and hold cards like aetherize for that specific moment when they make the difference. I also prefer asymmetric board wipes, and while I don't play a lot of creatures in control decks, the few I do play are usually pretty critically important. Hence why cards like aether gale, hex, or river's rebuke are my go to mass removal spells, over something like perplexing test.

[@01MEGABOB]

void winnower has drawn more ire than almost any other card at my table. it was totally worth every penny. ...and chatterfang kinda likes grave titan...

[@Wistbacka]

Ghalta is absolutely mental in Xenagos. Especially when you have something like Temur Battle Rage or critical hit. Or both. I just added Fiendish Duo, so that lucky 8-drop (Duo + ghalta) will be epic.

[@thehomiee6288]

With soul of the harvest it gets you an extra card if you use kodamas effect after summoning a creature that brings in another

[@NightOfCrystals]

I would add Windfall and Tolarian Winds for Wheel of Fortune. Yes, slightly different effects, but also powerful.

[@nickhughes8179]

Dark Deal, Dragon Mage, Magus of the Wheel, Incendiary Command, Collective Defiance, Whispering Madness, Flux, and Diminishing Returns are all cheap wheel effects

[@bradb8260]

Ya I'm going to be picking up some Foils right now!

[@NitpickingNerds]

Woo! Love that card

[@jameswood2803]

Nice UB Bulls shirt!

[@jasongwinn28]

Phyrexian Altar is due for a reprint. I have Pitiless Plunderer and Ashnod's Altar in my Teysa deck but I still want PA

[@NitpickingNerds]

Friggin PLUNDERER needs a reprint too!

[@jasongwinn28]

@@NitpickingNerds also true. It doesn't have any reprints.

[@Zelphiez]

Another Teysa, Orzhov scion player!? I see you're a man of culture too.

[@Torsav]

Thanks for reminding me to pick up Damn.

[@Ragnaroc90]

For counter spells I would of giving a mention to stubborn denial. yeah its noncreature but those are typically the bigger threat spells.

[@tylerisdrawing9913]

Also, foil puts the cards in the graveyard instead of in exile - may be notable for graveyard decks.

[@Itachi__Uchiha]

Thwart is another free counterspell. The free cost is pretty steep but if its late game or you are blue green it can be a nice budget alternative to force of will.