💰 Total deck price: $51.77 — Budget Commander
Teysa Karlov turns every creature death at your table into extra value: her first ability doubles any “dies” trigger from permanents you control, and her second gives your tokens vigilance and lifelink for free. Pair her with cheap aristocrats payoffs like Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, and Cruel Celebrant, and the whole deck becomes a slow-grinding drain engine most casual tables have never seen at full power.
For $51.77 all-in — commander included — you get a complete 100-card deck that out-values builds costing ten times as much, because the best Orzhov aristocrats pieces have never been chase rares. They’re commons and uncommons printed across the last decade of sets, and this list hunts down the cheapest legal printing of every single one.
Full Decklist — $51.77 Total
Commander: Teysa Karlov — $1.75
Creatures (30) — $25.16
| Card | Qty | Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teysa, Orzhov Scion | 1 | $1.38 | $1.38 |
| Blood Artist | 1 | $2.59 | $2.59 |
| Zulaport Cutthroat | 1 | $1.26 | $1.26 |
| Cruel Celebrant | 1 | $0.75 | $0.75 |
| Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim | 1 | $0.72 | $0.72 |
| Vindictive Vampire | 1 | $0.22 | $0.22 |
| Syr Konrad, the Grim | 1 | $0.99 | $0.99 |
| Midnight Reaper | 1 | $0.20 | $0.20 |
| Grim Haruspex | 1 | $2.57 | $2.57 |
| Morbid Opportunist | 1 | $0.22 | $0.22 |
| Carrion Feeder | 1 | $1.67 | $1.67 |
| Viscera Seer | 1 | $0.51 | $0.51 |
| Woe Strider | 1 | $0.28 | $0.28 |
| Yahenni, Undying Partisan | 1 | $0.28 | $0.28 |
| Reassembling Skeleton | 1 | $0.21 | $0.21 |
| Gravecrawler | 1 | $0.48 | $0.48 |
| Doomed Traveler | 1 | $0.05 | $0.05 |
| Hunted Witness | 1 | $0.22 | $0.22 |
| Ministrant of Obligation | 1 | $0.19 | $0.19 |
| Orzhov Enforcer | 1 | $0.12 | $0.12 |
| Tithe Taker | 1 | $0.33 | $0.33 |
| Falkenrath Noble | 1 | $0.16 | $0.16 |
| Corpse Knight | 1 | $0.36 | $0.36 |
| Pitiless Plunderer | 1 | $2.90 | $2.90 |
| Ophiomancer | 1 | $1.05 | $1.05 |
| Solemn Simulacrum | 1 | $0.28 | $0.28 |
| Sun Titan | 1 | $0.27 | $0.27 |
| Massacre Wurm | 1 | $2.69 | $2.69 |
| Priest of Forgotten Gods | 1 | $0.64 | $0.64 |
| Suture Priest | 1 | $1.57 | $1.57 |
| Creatures subtotal | $25.16 | ||
Removal & Interaction (10) — $5.03
| Card | Qty | Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swords to Plowshares | 1 | $1.07 | $1.07 |
| Path to Exile | 1 | $0.93 | $0.93 |
| Mortify | 1 | $0.20 | $0.20 |
| Vindicate | 1 | $0.30 | $0.30 |
| Feed the Swarm | 1 | $0.21 | $0.21 |
| Tragic Slip | 1 | $0.18 | $0.18 |
| Anguished Unmaking | 1 | $1.64 | $1.64 |
| Utter End | 1 | $0.20 | $0.20 |
| Despark | 1 | $0.23 | $0.23 |
| Bone Splinters | 1 | $0.07 | $0.07 |
| Removal & Interaction subtotal | $5.03 | ||
Board Wipes (2) — $0.63
| Card | Qty | Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crux of Fate | 1 | $0.28 | $0.28 |
| Extinction Event | 1 | $0.35 | $0.35 |
| Board Wipes subtotal | $0.63 | ||
Card Draw & Recursion (7) — $4.39
| Card | Qty | Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sign in Blood | 1 | $0.28 | $0.28 |
| Night’s Whisper | 1 | $0.22 | $0.22 |
| Read the Bones | 1 | $0.19 | $0.19 |
| Village Rites | 1 | $0.29 | $0.29 |
| Deadly Dispute | 1 | $0.29 | $0.29 |
| Bake into a Pie | 1 | $0.18 | $0.18 |
| Phyrexian Reclamation | 1 | $2.94 | $2.94 |
| Card Draw & Recursion subtotal | $4.39 | ||
Ramp & Mana Rocks (6) — $2.08
| Card | Qty | Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Ritual | 1 | $0.25 | $0.25 |
| Orzhov Signet | 1 | $0.30 | $0.30 |
| Talisman of Hierarchy | 1 | $0.40 | $0.40 |
| Mind Stone | 1 | $0.23 | $0.23 |
| Wayfarer’s Bauble | 1 | $0.29 | $0.29 |
| Fellwar Stone | 1 | $0.61 | $0.61 |
| Ramp & Mana Rocks subtotal | $2.08 | ||
Utility & Sac Outlets (4) — $6.85
| Card | Qty | Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bontu’s Monument | 1 | $1.79 | $1.79 |
| Oketra’s Monument | 1 | $3.23 | $3.23 |
| Spawning Pit | 1 | $1.56 | $1.56 |
| Bastion of Remembrance | 1 | $0.27 | $0.27 |
| Utility & Sac Outlets subtotal | $6.85 | ||
Finishers (3) — $1.19
| Card | Qty | Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exsanguinate | 1 | $0.31 | $0.31 |
| Massacre Girl, Known Killer | 1 | $0.52 | $0.52 |
| Debt to the Deathless | 1 | $0.36 | $0.36 |
| Finishers subtotal | $1.19 | ||
Nonbasic Lands (7) — $4.69
| Card | Qty | Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Command Tower | 1 | $0.23 | $0.23 |
| Orzhov Guildgate | 1 | $0.11 | $0.11 |
| Tainted Field | 1 | $0.33 | $0.33 |
| Path of Ancestry | 1 | $0.18 | $0.18 |
| Bojuka Bog | 1 | $1.31 | $1.31 |
| Secluded Steppe | 1 | $0.11 | $0.11 |
| Westvale Abbey | 1 | $2.42 | $2.42 |
| Nonbasic Lands subtotal | $4.69 | ||
Basic Lands (2) — $0.00
| Card | Qty | Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plains | 15 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Swamp | 15 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Basic Lands subtotal | $0.00 | ||
GRAND TOTAL (100 cards, commander included): $51.77
Paste-Ready Import List
1 Teysa Karlov 1 Teysa, Orzhov Scion 1 Blood Artist 1 Zulaport Cutthroat 1 Cruel Celebrant 1 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim 1 Vindictive Vampire 1 Syr Konrad, the Grim 1 Midnight Reaper 1 Grim Haruspex 1 Morbid Opportunist 1 Carrion Feeder 1 Viscera Seer 1 Woe Strider 1 Yahenni, Undying Partisan 1 Reassembling Skeleton 1 Gravecrawler 1 Doomed Traveler 1 Hunted Witness 1 Ministrant of Obligation 1 Orzhov Enforcer 1 Tithe Taker 1 Falkenrath Noble 1 Corpse Knight 1 Pitiless Plunderer 1 Ophiomancer 1 Solemn Simulacrum 1 Sun Titan 1 Massacre Wurm 1 Priest of Forgotten Gods 1 Suture Priest 1 Swords to Plowshares 1 Path to Exile 1 Mortify 1 Vindicate 1 Feed the Swarm 1 Tragic Slip 1 Anguished Unmaking 1 Utter End 1 Despark 1 Bone Splinters 1 Crux of Fate 1 Extinction Event 1 Sign in Blood 1 Night's Whisper 1 Read the Bones 1 Village Rites 1 Deadly Dispute 1 Bake into a Pie 1 Phyrexian Reclamation 1 Dark Ritual 1 Orzhov Signet 1 Talisman of Hierarchy 1 Mind Stone 1 Wayfarer's Bauble 1 Fellwar Stone 1 Bontu's Monument 1 Oketra's Monument 1 Spawning Pit 1 Bastion of Remembrance 1 Exsanguinate 1 Massacre Girl, Known Killer 1 Debt to the Deathless 1 Command Tower 1 Orzhov Guildgate 1 Tainted Field 1 Path of Ancestry 1 Bojuka Bog 1 Secluded Steppe 1 Westvale Abbey 15 Plains 15 Swamp
Strategy Guide
Early Game (turns 1–3): Ramp into Teysa Karlov with Orzhov Signet, Talisman of Hierarchy, or Mind Stone. Deploy cheap death-trigger value creatures — Doomed Traveler, Hunted Witness, Gravecrawler — to start building a board while holding up Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile for anything scary.
Mid Game (turns 4–7): Land Teysa Karlov and stack your payoff pieces: Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, Cruel Celebrant, Elas il-Kor, and Vindictive Vampire. Start sacrificing fodder through Viscera Seer, Carrion Feeder, or Woe Strider — every death drains the table twice over thanks to Teysa’s doubling.
Late Game (turns 8+): Refill your hand with Night’s Whisper, Sign in Blood, and Read the Bones. Close games with top-end value (Sun Titan, Massacre Wurm) or X-spell finishers (Exsanguinate, Debt to the Deathless) once the mana is online — or simply keep grinding until the table runs out of answers.
Win Conditions & Combos
- Attrition engine: Blood Artist + Zulaport Cutthroat + Cruel Celebrant stacked under Teysa turns every creature death at the table — yours or theirs — into multiple points of drain.
- Massacre Wurm: wipes the small stuff and drains life for each creature that dies — Teysa doubles that drain automatically.
- Exsanguinate / Debt to the Deathless: mana-scaling X-spell finishers that close out a grindy late game in one shot.
- Priest of Forgotten Gods: a free sacrifice outlet that nets mana and cards while forcing an opponent to sacrifice a permanent — doubled value with Teysa in play.
Upgrade Path (Add As Budget Allows)
No premium sideboard here — just the next five cards worth saving up for when you’re ready to push past $52:
- Skullclamp (~$20–25) — the best card-draw engine in any token-sacrifice shell; turns a 1-toughness token into two fresh cards.
- Toxic Deluge (~$10) — a flexible, tunable board wipe that kills exactly what you need and nothing more.
- Phyrexian Altar (~$15) — a free sacrifice outlet that converts dying creatures straight into colored mana for your payoffs.
- Vampiric Tutor (~$25–30) — find Teysa, a wrath, or your finisher exactly when the game needs it.
- Bolas’s Citadel (~$20) — explosive card advantage that turns your whole library into a hand of free spells.
That’s this week’s Budget Brew! Read the full breakdown any time at manariotgames.com, and remember: 💰 Budget Brew Wednesday — a new budget deck every Wednesday. Follow Mana Riot Games for next week’s brew.