(Adaptive Automaton | Art by Igor Kierlyuk)

I Am Iron Man

Hello fellow brewer and welcome back to Brew for your Buck, where we swap out the top 10 most expensive cards in a deck with 10 budget cards that add a unique twist. Coming off one of our most complex builds in a while, I decided this time to do another theme deck. Last time we looked at a wedding theme centered around my now-wife's Magic alter-ego, Olivia, Crimson Bride. On that awesome day, one of the very few decisions I got to make was what to give my groomsmen for a gift. Well, I'm really into the Marvel movies, so each of them got a pair of socks with an Avenger that reminded me of them. Naturally I had to wear them too, and being leader of the group, an engineer, and at least feeling like a billionaire genius, I chose my socks accordingly:

Photo Credit to Janelle Rodriguez if you're looking for a wedding photographer in Central NY

The groomsmen entered the wedding reception with the Avengers theme blasting, and away we went. So, in honor of my favorite Avenger, our budget package will be Iron Man themed. Sorry in advance to you comic book fans out there, this is going to be based on the movies.

So, who is our Tony Stark? I'm envisioning the Universes Beyond card to have blue in the color identity and have something to do with Equipment. I was looking for something a bit more interesting than another Equipment deck, and eventually stumbled upon Magic's CEO of Stark Industries:

Jan represents Tony's constant building of new Iron Man suits (the Constructs) and then breaking them down to re-use or just his giant amount of money (the Treasures). We're going to lean a bit more into the former for the budget package, looking to add a bunch of different Iron Man variants to overwhelm our enemies like in Iron Man 3. Jan's original list clocks in at $353.60 with token doublers, tutors and the shockingly not reprinted Pitiless Plunderer.

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Anointed Procession ($44.75)
               2. Beseech the Mirror ($30.86)
               3. Demonic Tutor ($26.79)
               4. Esper Sentinel ($24.82)
               5. Mondrak, Glory Dominus ($22.74)
               6. Smothering Tithe ($17.70)
               7. Pitiless Plunderer ($11.75)
               8. Goblin Welder ($10.77)
               9. Revel in Riches ($8.69)
               10. Academy Manufactor ($5.12)

Total Value of Cuts: $203.99

For flavor I think we should leave in Inventors' Fair (the Stark Expo) and Luxury Suite (because, you know, rich) but removing them and the other expensive lands that would make this list would save you and additional $73.62, bringing the total to $277.61.

Additions

Combat Suits

Let's get right into it by adding in the Iron Legion. First up, we have Adaptive Automaton ($1.24). We're focusing on making a lot of Iron Man suits, and this one will pump all the others if you name Construct when it enters. Steel Overseer ($0.66) and Chief of the Foundry ($0.11) perform a similar function, and minus the hot rod red and gold, all three look pretty close to some Stark-built armor. Note that the Chief and the Overseer are also Constructs, which will be important for an addition later. Finally, we know Tony uses some really high tech nano-metal alloys for his suits, and nothing in the Magic universe represents that better than Tempered Steel ($0.30)

Utility Suits

A lot of the Iron Man suits were built with a specific purpose in mind, like the Hulk buster armor from Age of Ultron. Our utility suits include Ruin Grinder ($0.33), which can help fix mana in our pip-hungry deck in the early game, or be sacrificed to Jan Tony for a wheel later. We also have Noxious Gearhulk ($0.39), which can surgically remove any Avengers-level threat at the table. Finally, Bronze Guardian ($0.37) pulls double duty as a big threat that protects the rest of the Iron Legion from being targeted by the bad guys.

TONY STARK BUILT THIS IN A CAVE...

I simply could not resist this section. If you know the next part of that line from the first movie, you know why these cards are featured in the Iron Man theme deck. If you don't, here's YouTube.

I mentioned before that we were adding a high density of Constructs to the deck. Not only are they on theme, but they synergize great with Scrapyard Recombiner ($0.48), which lets us upgrade our token Iron Man suits to something more unique. I also wanted to shout out Yinsen, who saved Tony's life after his capture by the Ten Rings. For our purposes, Yinsen will be represented by Farid, Enterprising Salvager ($0.10). While passively providing the critical material for Tony to build the suits, his activated ability offers a bunch of utility. I especially like Goad representing him charging off into the cave to distract the bad guys and buy Tony some time. Our final card also calls back to the first movie, when Tony and Yinsen achieved Scrap Mastery ($3.63), built the Mark I suit, and kicked off the MCU's Infinity Saga that so many of us have come to love.

Wrap Up & Savings

Let's see what we saved:

This was one of our better jobs with the savings, with 76% being above average. We've now got a below $100 Iron Man deck, so maybe invest the savings into your own set of powered armor. Or just buy more Magic cards. The world is your oyster. The final list is posted below, but like the wedding article, I'll leave you with some other potential on-theme swaps should your arc-reactor powered heart decide to go deeper.

• Bedevil ($0.49) - a flexible removal spell representing Tony's PTSD from the Battle of New York
• Mystic Forge ($1.83) - Tony's workshop that builds the suits
• Feldon of the Third Path ($0.38) - kind of looks like Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane and thematically pulls an old Iron Man suit out from the yard (but not for long)
• Ashnod, Flesh Mechanist ($0.11) - Pepper Potts
• Blacksmith's Skill ($0.06) - a protection spell that is basically the same as a scene from Iron Man 1.
• Metalwork Colossus ($0.17) - the Hulkbuster suit
• Arcane Signet ($5.81) - this is not a budget inclusion but come on.. got to have the Infinity Gauntlet!
• A box of scraps (various prices)

How'd I do with the theme? Who's your favorite Avenger? Is it weird that both of my theme articles so far were in Mardu? Let me know in the comments and I'll see you next time when we brew for your buck!

Follow me on Twitter @BrewForYourBuck

Please note: card prices listed in this article are accurate at the time of writing, but prices can vary over time and between locations.

Read more:

Brew For Your Buck - Love and Luck

Too-Specific Top 10 - X-Cost Artifacts

Brian Cain

Brian played Magic intermittently between 2003 and 2017 when he fully embraced his love for Commander. Finding ways to maximize the value of each piece of cardboard in the deck is one of his favorite things to explore, especially if it involves putting lands in the graveyard! Outside of Magic, Brian works as a consultant in the marine industry, turning his passion for boats and ships into a career.