Scurry OakScurry Oak | Art by Mark Zug

Combos in Commander tend to be prevalent at higher level tables, typically alongside powerful and expensive staples. However, adding these kinds of impactful interactions shouldn't have to empty your wallet. Whether you're looking for more ways to close out a game, or you're just trying to bring one of your favorite decks up to a new Bracket, this list will be here to help.

As I put this together, I wanted to highlight five monocolored combos that offer useful payoffs, feature commonly played cards for popular archetypes, and cost around $3 in total, while only requiring two or three cards to pull off.

So, with all that in mind, join me, Tyler 'Savesya' Bucks, as we look at some interactions that'll break the game without breaking the bank.

Felidar Guardian | Restoration Angel

If you're looking to power up a Blink deck, then pairing Felidar GuardianFelidar Guardian and Restoration AngelRestoration Angel together can make for a game altering turn. Here's how the steps work with these two:

Steps

1. With Restoration Angel on the battlefield, cast Felidar Guardian.
2. When Felidar Guardian enters, its enter ability triggers. Target Restoration Angel.
3. When Restoration Angel re-enters, its enter ability triggers. Target Felidar Guardian.
4. Repeat from step 2.

This interaction creates infinite enters and leaves triggers for your board. That can generate you a crazy amount of advantage when paired with a commander like Galadriel, Light of ValinorGaladriel, Light of Valinor, or just result with you closing out the game if you happen to have a pinging effect like Warleader's CallWarleader's Call in play. All of which is great, especially when you consider that these two cards fit very well in the Blink archetype already, making it a simple combo to include in your deck.

Naru Meha, Master Wizard | Ghostly Flicker

Our next combo will cost you seven mana to carry out, but it'll offer you a whole lot of value in the process. Naru Meha, Master WizardNaru Meha, Master Wizard can combo with several different cards, but I'm going to focus on Ghostly FlickerGhostly Flicker for this entry. Let's take a look at what this pair can do.

Steps

1. Cast Ghostly Flicker.
2. Holding priority, cast Naru Meha.
3. When Naru Meha resolves, it'll enter and trigger. Target the Ghostly Flicker that's still on the stack, with the copy targeting Naru Meha and another permanent.
4. Resolve the copy of Ghostly Flicker, blinking Naru Meha, and another permanent.
5. Repeat from step 3.

So, Naru Meha, Master WizardNaru Meha, Master Wizard enters and makes a copy of Ghostly FlickerGhostly Flicker, which'll resolve before the original. That means her and the other permanent you target will always re-enter at a time where you can copy the original Ghostly Flicker over and over. With this combo, you get infinite landfall triggers, magecraft triggers, enters and leaves the battlefield triggers, as well blinking your creatures, artifacts, and lands any number of times.

Those last two examples allow you tap your mana rocks or lands to float mana before they blink again, which is what leads to getting infinite mana; this combo is intense.

Gravecrawler | Pitiless Plunderer | Phyrexian Ghoul

Black is my favorite color in all of Magic, but its broad combo potential on a budget was a bit difficult to nail down. However, something that caught my eye was the interaction between GravecrawlerGravecrawler, Pitiless PlundererPitiless Plunderer, and Phyrexian GhoulPhyrexian Ghoul for its ability to close out a game.

Steps

1. Have all three creatures on the battlefield. Activate Phyrexian Ghoul by sacrificing Gravecrawler.
2. When Gravecrawler dies, Pitiless Plunderer triggers, creating a Treasure token.
3. Resolve the Phyrexian Ghoul ability, giving it +2/+2 until end of turn.
4. Sacrifice the Treasure token, adding .
5. Cast Gravecrawler from your graveyard by paying .
6. Repeat.

This sequence offers a lot of effects, but the biggest one for black-based decks is all of those death triggers. There're so many popular cards that can lower the tables' life totals when your creatures leave play, sealing the game for you. Pair this with a classic card like Blood ArtistBlood Artist and you have a win right there.

Also, if you already control a Zombie and a free sacrifice outlet, this combo isn't dependent on having the Phyrexian GhoulPhyrexian Ghoul to make it work. Simply putting Gravecrawler and the Plunderer in a deck that has a lot of Zombies and a few creatures like Viscera SeerViscera Seer, will make this combo a whole lot easier to pull off.

Combat Celebrant | Sandstorm Crasher

Our red combo is a bit of a glass canon, but it honestly feels pretty on brand for this color. Pairing up Combat CelebrantCombat Celebrant and Sandstorm CrasherSandstorm Crasher can bring you infinite combat steps... as long as people can't block and kill your creatures - which could be more doable than you might think.

So let's look at the process of this one.

Steps

1. Have both on the battlefield, and not summoning sick. Declare Combat Celebrant and Sandstorm Crasher as attackers, choosing to exert Sandstorm Crasher and Combat Celebrant as they attack. Combat Celebrant and Sandstorm Crasher each trigger.
2. Resolve the Sandstorm Crasher trigger, creating a token copy of Combat Celebrant that is tapped and attacking.
3. Resolve the Combat Celebrant trigger, untapping all other creatures you control and causing you to get an additional combat phase after this one.
4. Repeat during each combat phase using the Combat Celebrant tokens.

So, the biggest thing for ensuring this plan works is keeping your Crasher and at least one version of your Celebrant safe at all times. Who knows, you may be in a game where someone only has a couple small value creatures that you can easily send attackers at, while the rest of the table has to deal with your wider board.

I'm considering adding both of these into my deck for The Jolly Balloon ManThe Jolly Balloon Man so it can finally be the villain everyone assumes it already is.

Scurry Oak | Ivy Lane Denizen

We'll wrap up with green, and honestly, I love the simplicity of this one. When you combine Scurry OakScurry Oak with Ivy Lane DenizenIvy Lane Denizen in a 1+/+1 counter deck, you get yourself an insane amount of value for such a low cost.

Steps

1. Have Ivy Lane Denizen on the battlefield. Cast Scurry Oak.
2. When Scurry Oak enters, Ivy Lane Denizen triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on Scurry Oak.
3. Scurry Oak's last ability triggers, allowing you to create a 1/1 Squirrel token.
4. This Squirrel token triggers Denizen. Put the new counter on Scurry Oak.
5. Repeat from step 3.

With these few easy steps, you get infinite creature tokens. Plus, you can simply break the chain by targeting one of those Squirrels with a counter once you're completely satisfied.

Many of the sets in recent years have featured counters as one of their main themes for green, so there's more and more great commanders being printed all the time for this strategy. Just look at the huge number of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle legends, and you'll find a good home for this tree filled with an unbelievable number of chittering friends.

My Final Thoughts on Budget Combos

Well, I hope you enjoyed my list of fun budget combos in each piece of the color pie. If you're looking to power up a deck from one Bracket to the next, then adding a few combos can help you do that. Plus, some of these combos can be paired together in multicolored decks, so start mixing and matching.

If you're looking for more budget content from me, you can find it right here on EDHREC as well as on my YouTube channel The Pillow Fort. Be sure to stay tuned on both of those platforms, because I'm planning to put out a whole lot of content centered around Secrets of Strixhaven as the weeks go on.