Freecon Commander

Welcome to my third article here on Deckstats about budget, Commander and Co. In the last two articles we talked about a 15 € Modern deck and a budget variant of the currently very popular Instant Reanimator, today we will talk about Commander, the most popular format. I asked myself the question.

How to get a Commander Deck for free

The headline might sound a bit sensational, but it’s actually legal. 

Commander has become the most popular format in recent years. Not only is it perfect for casual players and beginners, allowing you to build your favorite deck even if you’re inexperienced and have an amusing round of Magic at a table with veterans. While there’s a small group of competitive deck builders whose decks cost as much as a small car, the majority of players build their decks however they like. Commander decks for beginners usually cost around €40, and with a few upgrades from preconstructed decks, you can quickly reach €60 – €100. But what if you could get a competitive Commander deck with a little effort for practically free? Wouldn’t that be ideal for getting friends interested? Or even for yourself to start with the most popular format of modern times for free? Let’s start from the beginning.

How to Get a Commander Deck for Free

I’ve been working as a trader for many years, and the secondary market is not just a term, but also my daily bread. I not only observe market trends but also look for sealed products where you can make a profit by opening them (Disclaimer: I do this professionally, not privately).

When I recently got the Secret Lair Commander Deck “It’s Raining Cats and Dogs,” I was amazed to find that just the special foil variants of the included cards almost make up the entire price of the deck. For example, the Sol Ring from the mentioned deck costs around €40, while I can buy the same card for around €1. So, just by replacing an artwork, I can save €39? What about budget alternatives for high-priced cards from preconstructed decks?

Finding the Ideal Deck for the “Freecon Commander” Project

I found it quite quickly, as one of the preconstructed decks from recent years, called “Party Time,” had gained value very quickly.

Price-wise, we’re looking at an individual card value of around €80.

With a little research, you can already find the deck starting at €45 including shipping (at the time of writing this article). So theoretically, you could sell cards from the deck and replace them with cheaper variants to end up at zero cost. Additionally, Party Time is ranked highly in many top lists thanks to the “Venture” mechanic, making it one of the strongest preconstructed decks.

Now let’s see which cards are high-priced and could be replaced:

Black Market Connection and Mutavault already total nearly €25. So, you still need around €20 plus the purchase value of the alternatives for the deck. Is the deck still competitive if you replace all the expensive cards? Does expensive necessarily mean that the cards are good? Are you not removing the good cards by doing this? Instead, the question to ask is: Why is a card high in price and what alternatives are there? Due to its high playability in Legacy, Seasoned Dungeoneer is priced at over €4, but its little sister, White Plum Adventurer, is definitely a good replacement for your free Commander deck, as it was banned in Legacy due to its power level. So, the goal of this guide is not to optimize the deck but to show you cheaper alternatives so that you end up with similar or even the same effects for the deck, ultimately breaking even.

Here are the cards I would exchange:

Black Market Connection €15.10 -> Oath of the Grey Host €0.08

Mutavault €8.48 -> Mishra’s Factory €0.19

Maskwood Nexus €5.64 -> Birthing Boughs €0.13

Grim Hireling €5.60 -> Mari the Killing Quill €0.89

Skullclamp €5.19 -> Infiltration Lens €1.00

Seasoned Dungeoneer €4.15 -> White Plume Adventurer €2.87

Castle Loctwain €3.44 -> Mariposa Military Base €0.39

Deep Gnome Terramancer €2.39 -> Loyal Warhound €0.91

Selfless Spirit €1.81 -> Selfless Glyphweaver // Deadly Vanity €0.26

War Room €1.60 -> Arch of Orazca €0.22

Bojuka Bog €1.19 -> Tormod’s Crypt €0.52

https://deckstats.net/decks/250489/3500346-freecon-commander-deck

Total: €54.59 -> Savings of €7.46, total of €47.13 

In the end, we manage to save even €2.13 more than originally planned with cheaper variants. And that’s how you get your “Freecon Commander Deck” for €0.

A quick note in conclusion: It should be clear by now that not all cards have the same effects, but as with Mishra’s Factory compared to Mutavault, there are alternatives. The question is, is Mutavault’s effect so much better that a price difference of around €8 makes a difference?

I hope you enjoyed my guide. In the next article, I’d like to talk about “Salty Cards”, what exactly they are and why you shouldn’t add too much salt to your soup. Feel free to leave me a comment, check out my socials https://linktr.ee/patricktiedtke and send the article to your friends. Thank you very much for your attention. 

Thank you very much, Patrick