Extreme Budget: Talrand

[Hawk]

I wanted to see what the CHEAPEST deck we could build that would still be viable in a medium-powered metagame, and decided to start with Talrand, Sky Summoner. Talrand gives an easy win condition and a clear direction in one cheap package. The goal here is to see if we can get the deck under $25.

Talrand, Extreme Budget Edition

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Commander: 1

1 Talrand, Sky Summoner

Creatures: 16

1 Hedron Crawler

1 Manakin

1 Sea Scryer

1 Silver Myr

1 Vodalian Arcanist

1 Loyal Drake

1 Naiad of Hidden Coves

1 Wavebreak Hippocamp

1 Archaeomancer

1 Murmuring Mystic

1 Niblis of Frost

1 Mnemonic Wall

1 Shipwreck Dowser

1 Soulblade Djinn

1 Scourge of Fleets

Instants and Sorceries: 37

1 Cerulean Wisps

1 Clairvoyance

1 Keep Safe

1 Mizzium Skin

1 Opt

1 Peek

1 Portent

1 Select for Inspection

1 Twisted Image

1 Blink of an Eye

1 Disdainful Stroke

1 Expel from Orazca

1 Flood of Recollection

1 Into the Roil

1 Impulse

1 Lofty Denial

1 Negate

1 Radical Idea

1 Secrets of the Golden City

1 Scour all Possibilities

1 Think Twice

1 Borrowing 100,000 Arrows

1 Dissipate

1 Exclude

1 Winged Words

1 Wizard's Retort

1 Dismiss

1 Gust of Wind

1 Sleep

1 Talrand's Invocation

1 Hieroglyphic Illumination

1 Baral's Expertise

1 Ojutai's Summons

1 Spin into Myth

1 Rise from the Tides

1 Repeal

1 Mind Spring

Enchantments: 5

1 Favorable Winds

1 Military Intelligence

1 Ominous Seas

1 Trail of Evidence

1 Reconnaissance Mission

Artifacts: 5

1 Corrupted Grafstone

1 Runechanter's Pike

1 Heraldic Banner

1 Mana Geode

1 Midnight Clock

Land: 37

1 Lonely Sandbar

1 Memorial to Genius

35 Island

Approximate Total Cost:

The idea is pretty simple and classic - ramp into Talrand, and attach a 2/2 Flying Drake onto every instant and sorcery you cast. The deck runs as many "cantrips" as it can muster to ensure that you can make a drake for 1 or 2 mana at instant speed and also draw another instant or sorcery. You can quickly overwhelm opponents, and use cards like Soulblade Djinn, Favorable Winds, or Heraldic Banner to let your drakes punch a bit harder and end the game a bit faster. You've also got the option of sticking Runechanter's Pike on a threat to close things out if it gets hairy.

As a budget deck, the deck's ramp is sub-par and it doesn't get to run any true creature kill or boardwipes; those are the first places to upgrade.

Better ramp: Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Sapphire Medallion, Sky Diamond, Jace's Sanctum will all prove useful and powerful.

Targeted removal: The usual blue suspects; Rapid Hybridization, Pongify, Reality Shift, and Imprisoned in the Moon.

Boardwipes: Curse of the Swine was just a bit out of budget; Cyclonic Rift and Evacuation moreso. These will help the deck comeback or blowout games a bit better.