MTG Salvation

I believe Modern is the best format for the budget-conscious player to get involved in. You might look at the price of an average Modern deck and find that silly. Well, here's my reason: It is an eternal format. Yes, the average Modern deck is a couple of hundred dollars more expensive than the average Standard deck. But the long term value of Modern cards is much higher as they will never rotate out of the format. Tired of seeing your $25 Standard staples become worth less than $1 after rotation? You won't have to worry about that here. Additionally, once you build a deck in Modern, you can play it forever. So, while the initial cost of Modern is high, the long-term outlook is much, much better than Standard. And in comparison to other eternal formats like Legacy and Vintage, Modern has only a small fraction of the start-up cost.

1) Test, test, test.
There is nothing worse than spending a bunch of money on a deck and then later figuring out that it stinks. If you want to avoid this depressing situation, then make sure you always thoroughly play test before buying. You have to make sure that the deck is good and, perhaps more importantly, that you enjoy playing the deck. Make sure it's a deck you won't get bored of. I suggest that anyone who does not yet have Cockatrice get it right away. The ease of being able to play test whenever I want to on Cockatrice probably has saved me more money than anything else.

2) When buying cards, keep their versatility in mind.
There are other things besides the price of cards that determine whether or not they are a good buy. A major one is versatility. Will you be able to use these cards in multiple decks, or just in one? If you spend $80 on a playset of Arid Mesas, yes that's a lot of money, but that's one of the most useful cards out there. There are tons of decks that use Arid Mesa so buying them might be a very good choice. Daybreak Coronet, on the other hand, is only really used in one deck so unless you're set on playing that deck for a long time t may not be the best buy. This idea can be generalized to decks as well as cards: When deciding to splurge on a deck, ask yourself if the cards in that deck will be useful in other decks, or if they will just sit and gather dust after you're done with that deck?

3) Do not build from the top down!
I'm sure some of you have heard this before, but it's just too important not to mention. One of the biggest mistakes a budget player can make is to take an expensive top tier deck and try to replace all the expensive cards with cheaper ones. Unfortunately, what this often does is leaves you with a vastly inferior version of the deck, as it may be missing many of the key pieces. I'm by no means saying that it's not ok to substitute a card or two when you're close to being done with a deck (nobody is going to think less of you for switching that last Grove of the Burnwillows for a Karplusan Forest) but when you've made so many changes that you've lost the core of the deck, well, that probably won't work so well for you.

4) Know which at budget substitutions are OK and which aren't.
When switching an expensive card for a cheaper one, make sure you aren't losing too much. Example: Inquisition of Kozilek is pretty much always a fine replacement for Thoughtseize. Distress on the other hand, really isn't.

5) Be a smart buyer.
It may be more convenient to buy your cards from your LGS and StarCityGames.com, but you will often be able to find much better prices on Ebay if you are willing to put in the time to do it. Be patient, and look for slightly played/moderately played cards to save a few bucks.

6) Pick up fetchlands whenever you can.
As you will see, fetch lands (Arid Mesa, Scalding Tarn, Marsh Flats, etc) often make up a major portion of a deck's cost. Omitting them will often slow down the deck or make it work not quite right. So if you ever have some spare cash, or a chance to pick them up for a reduced price, I'd highly suggest it. It will make the process of deck building a LOT more comforting.

Here I will maintain a collection of decks that are strong yet easy on the wallet. This section will be continually updated as necessary. It is also by no means all inclusive, so if you know of a deck that is not here, please tell me so I can add it!

Mono-Blue Tron
This is the cheapest version of the "tron" decks. This deck tries to assemble all of the Urza's lands together and then win with a powerful card like Wurmcoil Engine or Sundering Titan. Included in the deck is a "Mindslaver lock" (Mindslaver + Academy Ruins) which will allow you to control all of your opponent's turns. Very cool!
Cost: ~$85
Deck thread: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=486824




Gruul Aggro
This is a straight all-in aggro deck that was born after the releash of Gatecrash. It doesn't require much explaining, just smash face until your opponent is dead.
Cost: ~$220
Deck thread: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=9833299#post9833299 (go down about halfway on the page)



Affinity
Another super fast aggro deck, this time with artifacts. Affinity can have some of the most explosive starts of any deck in the format.
Cost: ~$230
Deck Thread: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=354849




Summer Bloom
I'm not sure if this deck really has an official name, but I've seen it a few times and tried it out and it is very fun to play. Basically, the idea is to use Amulet of Vigor together with Ravnica bounce lands (Gruul Turf, Selesyna Sanctuary, etc) and Summer Bloom to produce absurd amounts of mana in the early game. It also uses "hideaway" lands from Lorwyn to hide some pretty awesome cards, like Time Warp and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. It's a little bit inconsistent but when it goes off it's awesome. Squashing your opponent with an 18/18 Primeval Titan on turn two is pretty fun. More than half of the deck's cost comes from Misty Rainforest, which can be replaced by Yavimaya Coast if you want.
Cost: ~$280




Red Deck Wins/Burn
This is an archetype that has been around for a long time, and will probably stay around. Most modern burn decks splash black and some splash white as well; if you want to go as cheap as possible, you can go mono red if you wish. As with the previous deck, the fetch lands increase the cost significantly.
Cost: ~$300
Deck Threads: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=485910
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=391459



Death and Taxes
A classic mono-white archetype that really can screw with your opponents head. The deck works by "taxing" your opponent (stopping them from searching their library, making them pay more for spells, etc) as well as using efficient removal to win.
Cost: ~$175
Deck thread:http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=336081



Living End
This is a fun combo deck that revolves around its namesake card Living End. The goal is to cycle a bunch of fatties and then play a cascade spell that will hit Living End, killing all of your opponent's creatures and resurrecting your fatties. Fetches add a lot to the cost, but you can definitely play this deck with a more budget-minded mana base. Do not skip the Fulminator Mages however, they are very important to the deck
Cost: ~$235
Deck thread: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=477942