My first go at a Budget version of Sram in EDH. I cut a lot of cards that cost $5+ which I think this is a happy medium for now. Ideally I'd like to remove some creatures for more equipment but I'm not sure which budget options are worth it instead. I feel like a lot of the creatures I am running have solid value either ramping, protecting, or attackers with equips/auras.
Additional Single Card Comments:
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails: May not fit in here, but it's a card I've wanted to run for ages.
Plague Myr: I was looking for mana rocks but instead found this guy. It is not only ramp, but with equipment it becomes and win condition!
Intrepid Hero: Might get removed but for now I want to playtest it's reoocuring removal since it can also be protected by other cards such as Mother of Rune/Giver of Runes, Brave The Elements, Swiftfoot Boots, Whispersilk Cloak, Flickering Ward, Hyena Umbra, and Gift of Immortality.
Commander Eesha: May also see a cut in the future but for now I think it's a good blockers and potentially another attacker with the upside of having a big booty.
Heraldic Banner: Yet another budget mana rock, but also offering an anthem.
Kusari-Gama: I went back and forth on this card but included it. Putting it on a equipped up attacker could mean board wipes for your opponent or they just choose not to block and taking a chunk of damage.
Sentinel's Eyes: Is kind of underwhelming, but for 1 mana it can help draw some cards.
Changes April 5, 2020
Cutting: Odric, Lunarch Marshal, Kusari-Gama, Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, Heavenly Blademaster, Intrepid Hero, Silverblade Paladin, and Kemba, Kha Regent.
Adding: Prying Blade, Explorer's Scope, Paradise Mantle, Springleaf Drum, Wanderer's Twig, Worn Powerstone, and Sol Ring.
I did hand testing on TappedOut and quickly realized how clunky my hands felt. I definitely needed more ramp and less higher curve creatures. So I sadly had to cut a lot of the flavor cards I was running. I also had sort of ignore/overlooked Sol Ring because I wanted cheaper ramp but it's just too good to deny and worth the cost which admittedly isn't all that much. Now I'm considering cutting some of my support for more Historic Aggro but I'm not sure how many budget options are left.
Changes April 6, 2020
Cutting: Heraldic Banner, Prying Blade, Colossus Hammer, Whispersilk Cloak, Brass Squire.
Adding: Mirror Shield, Inquisitor's Flail, Trepanation Blade, Grafted Exoskeleton, Kor Outfitter.
More testing has made me see how weak my creatures are and vanilla Sram really needs help to deal any sort of damage. I decided to some ramps cards such as Heraldic Banner since I don't have many creatures and the +1/+0 isn't really that helpful. I also am cutting Prying Blade since it feels a little too slow and unreliable requiring attacks to go off. At least Sword of the Animist puts the land into play tapped and offers stats. I'm also cutting Whispersilk Cloak in favor of Mirror Shield for Hexproof with lower equip costs. Also cutting Colossus Hammer because although it's fun when it happens it otherwise reads as "Pay 1, draw a card" a majority of the time. Inquisitor's Flail, Trepanation Blade, and Grafted Exoskeleton are the budget replacements and should help dish out more damage and keep up pressure. Now I'm still concerned if I have too many ramp/mana sources since Sram is low to the ground. I may end up cutting potentially x2 lands or something to add in x2 artifact creatures such as Razor Golem, Signal Pest, Serra Avenger or other low cost but good attackers. And lastly cutting Brass Squire because it is mainly sold out everywhere I'm trying to buy from and it's a little slow. I do however see it's utility so for now I'm going to replace it with Kor Outfitter.
Changes April 7, 2020
Cutting: x1 Plains, Shefet Dunes, Cultivator's Caravan, Wanderer's Twig, Cathar's Shield, Brave the Elements.
Adding: Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, Intrepid Hero, Gingerbrute, Renegade Map, Phyrexian Walker, Generous Gift.
Another day in quarantine, another day spent play testing hands and pondering this deck build.
This time around I wanted to cut some lands. I found myself drawing into a lot of mana but with little ways to play them. -1 Plains likely won't hurt me and Shefet Dunes offering +1/+1 just never seemed to come up and be worth losing life over. It just has lack luster utility. Also swapping Wanderer's Twig for Renegade Map since I never want to invest the mana during the same turn to crack twig. I keep going back and forth on Cultivator's Caravan but decided to cut it again since it feels like over-costed ramp.
Dropping Brave the Elements since I run a lot of protection already and it doesn't protect from boardwipes. I'm adding Generous Gift in for some form of removal for artifacts and enchantments.
Yesterday I was looking into adding more creatures and I was considering Serra Avenger since I won't likely be playing it until turn 4 anyway and my meta has fliers. But then I thought "Well why not Eight-and-a-Half-Tails on turn 4?" so here it is back in this build. I don't really have many mid to late game mana sinks so I think it may give me good mileage and give me some fun politics. I also added Intrepid Hero back in because I still think it could be a threat especially if it's properly supported. Swapping Cathar's Shield for Phyrexian Walker since the shield seems to sit there most of the time instead of being equipped without help. Phyrexian Walker can at least be a cheerio that can be use as a blocker. Lastly I'm adding in Gingerbrute as a low cost artifact that can also function as a late to mid game win condition that can quickly come online.
