The cheapest and easiest deck to build in Magic: The Gathering is a mono-colored aggro deck. Aggro decks aim to win quickly by deploying efficient threats and attacking early and often. Mono-colored decks require less complex mana bases and focus on cards of a single color, making them more budget friendly and easier to pilot for beginners. Potential options for the cheapest and easiest aggro deck include mono-red, mono-white, and mono-green.
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Mono-Red
Mono-red is often considered one of the most straightforward and affordable deck archetypes in Magic. It excels at dumping its hand quickly and turning creatures sideways to pressure opponents’ life totals in the early game. Some quick answers about mono-red deck construction:
- What are the key creatures in mono-red? Goblin Guide, Monastery Swiftspear, Fanatical Firebrand, and Eidolon of the Great Revel are staples.
- What burn spells are played? Lightning Bolt, Lava Spike, Rift Bolt, Skewer the Critics, and Wizard’s Lightning.
- How much does a competitive mono-red deck cost? $100-150 is typical for an optimized build.
- What lands does mono-red need? mostly Mountain with 4 Sunbaked Canyon usually optimal.
- What’s the overall game plan? Play lots of cheap threats, remove blockers, and burn opponent’s face.
Some sample card choices for an affordable mono-red aggro deck:
- Creatures: Goblin Guide, Monastery Swiftspear, Fanatical Firebrand, Viashino Pyromancer
- Burn: Lightning Bolt, Lava Spike, Skewer the Critics, Rift Bolt, Wizard’s Lightning
- Lands: 20 Mountains, 4 Sunbaked Canyon
- Other: Light Up the Stage, Risk Factor
Mono-red is straightforward to play – dump your hand quickly and get in damage. It’s also relatively easy to upgrade over time by acquiring more staples like Eidolon of the Great Revel. But it can struggle against life gain and has limited reach compared to multi-color decks.
Mono-White
Mono-white aggro is another budget-friendly option that leverages efficient small creatures and disruption. Some quick tips for mono-white aggro:
- What are the key one-drop creatures? Mother of Runes, Servant of the Scale, Dauntless Bodyguard.
- What two-drops are played? Thalia, Guardian of Thraben; Leonin Arbiter; Stoneforge Mystic.
- How much does competitive mono-white aggro cost? $150-$200 typically.
- What lands does it need? Mostly Plains with some utility options like Mutavault.
- What’s the overall plan? Disrupt opponent while beating down with small creatures.
Some example card choices:
- Creatures: Mother of Runes, Thraben Inspector, Thalia’s Lieutenant, Monk of the Holy Nimbus
- Disruption: Thalia, Guardian of Thraben; Spell Queller; Rest in Peace
- Lands: Plains, Mutavault, Field of Ruin
- Other: Path to Exile, Brave the Elements, Aether Vial
Mono-white aggro takes advantage of efficient threats and hate bears to tax opponent’s strategies. It’s a bit more interactive than mono-red but still relatively straightforward to pilot. Upgrading with fetchlands and Horizon Canopy lands can get expensive.
Mono-Green
Mono-green aggro utilizes efficient creatures and pump spells to quickly overwhelm opponents. Aspects of mono-green stompy:
- Key one-drop creatures? Experiment One, Pelt Collector
- Vital two-drop? Strangleroot Geist, Scavenging Ooze
- How much does competitive mono-green aggro cost? $100-$150 typically.
- What lands are needed? Forests plus Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx.
- Game plan summary? Ramp mana, play threats, pump team, smash.
Some card choices:
- Creatures: Experiment One, Strangleroot Geist, Avatar of the Resolute, Kalonian Tusker
- Pump Spells: Vines of Vastwood, Aspect of Hydra, Rancor
- Lands: Forest, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Hashep Oasis
- Other: Aspect of Hydra, Beast Whisperer, Collected Company
Mono-green can quickly overwhelm opponents with large cheap threats. It’s straightforward to play but weaker to sweepers than wider creature strategies. Upgrading with Noble Hierarchs and Horizon Canopies can get pricey.
Choosing the Cheapest Easiest Deck
Given the above analysis, mono-red is likely the cheapest and easiest competitive deck to build for Modern or Standard. Some key reasons:
- Very low land base requirements – mostly basic Mountains.
- Many cheap threats available like Goblin Guide, Monastery Swiftspear.
- Burn spells offer reach and removal without complex timing.
- Straightforward game plan of early aggression without synergies to balance.
- Can be built on a $100-150 budget and upgraded over time.
- Very easy to learn to pilot – perfect for beginners.
Mono-white and mono-green are close contenders but require more crafted manabases and have some higher cost staples. Mono-red requires the least investment and knowledge to start playing and competing.
Sample Budget Mono-Red Decklist
Here is a sample starter mono-red aggro deck that could be built for around $100-125:
| Creatures (16) | Spells (20) | Lands (24) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Monastery Swiftspear | 4 Lightning Bolt | 20 Mountain |
| 4 Viashino Pyromancer | 4 Lava Spike | 4 Ramunap Ruins |
| 4 Fanatical Firebrand | 4 Light Up the Stage | |
| 4 Ghitu Lavarunner | 4 Skewer the Critics | |
| 4 Bomat Courier | 4 Wizard’s Lightning |
This deck can be upgraded over time by acquiring more staples like Eidolon of the Great Revel, Goblin Guide, and Fetch lands. But even as a budget list it provides a very cheap and easy way to start competing in 60 card Constructed formats.
Beginner Strategies for Mono-Red
Here are some tips for beginners looking to pilot mono-red aggro:
- Focus on deploying a threat each turn in the early game.
- Use burn spells to clear blockers and push damage.
- Target opponent’s life total, not their creatures.
- Don’t overcommit into mass removal.
- Hold burn spells to finish off low life opponents.
- Accept an aggressive mulligan strategy to find early plays.
- Play to your outs – a topdecked haste creature or burn spell may be your only hope.
The mantra of mono-red is to deploy your hand as fast as possible and ride your momentum of early creatures into a quick win. It forgoes complex synergies and interactions in favor of raw speed. This makes it great for getting started in competitive Magic and an excellent choice as the cheapest and easiest competitive deck.
Conclusion
In summary, mono-red aggro is the cheapest and easiest competitive deck to build in formats like Modern. By leveraging low cost threats and burn it can be built on a $100 budget and played with minimal experience required. The straight-forward gameplan and upgrade path make it a perfect starting point for new players looking to get into Magic formats like Modern on a budget. Both mono-white aggro and mono-green aggro are also great budget options but require more complex manabases and knowledge to pilot well at a competitive level. For the fastest path to a powerful yet inexpensive and easy deck, aspiring Magic players should seriously consider starting out with mono-red.
