If you're looking to get into Commander but worried about the expense or competitive atmosphere, look no further than our Budget Commander League!

There will be a $10 entry fee to join the league, which will last six weeks with a game taking place each week. Participants must join our official Discord server (link below) when signing up so that games may be scheduled. Players will have a list of objectives during each game (see Scoring below) that can earn points to go toward their overall score. In this way, the league is focused more on creating fun, memorable games than strictly winning.

Any player who purchases a pre-constructed Commander deck from us for the purpose of playing in this league will have their entry fee waived.

Preregister here:
https://shoptoptiergaming.com/budget-commander-league-registration/

Deck Construction and Escalation

Deck construction rules for this league will follow the normal Commander rules except the changes outlined here. Each deck will operate with an escalating budget, starting at $50 and going up $10 each week until it reaches $100 for the final week. This budget does not include the deck's commander or commanders, for which there is a $25 static cap. If a deck is running multiple commanders (e.g. Partners), their combined total cannot exceed this cap. Players may change the composition of their deck as much as they wish within the confines of each week's budget, and may also change their commander one time during the league.

Note: for the purposes of this league, the lowest TCGPlayer Market Price for any version of a particular card may be used to determine the price as it counts toward the budget, regardless of the specific version that is present in the deck. In addition, basic lands do not count toward the budget.

If the TCGPlayer Market Price of the individual cards in a pre-constructed Commander deck bought to play in this league exceeds the starting budget, the deck is considered budget-legal up until the point the budget surpasses the deck's Market price.

Schedule

Each round will last one week, with a total of six rounds. Each round players will be placed in a pod of 3-4 random players while attempting to minimize repeat opponents. Monday night during or after our Commander Night is a common time to play games, however if that is not possible for one or more players in a pod they may schedule another time. It is the players' responsibility to ensure they find a time that works for everyone. Pairings will be available in our Discord server (http://discord.gg/rAYXQEM) on the #budget-commander-league channel. Round one begins Monday, May 9th.

Note: All league members MUST join our official Discord server and use it to contact their opponents each round, no exceptions. Additionally, league members must have reasonable availability to schedule their games. If an agreement is unable to be reached for a time to meet, please reach out to Corey or Ben for help resolving the matter.

Regarding Spelltable: pods may use Spelltable to play their league games only if every player in the pod unanimously agrees to use it. If any player in a pod cannot or does not want to use Spelltable, the game must be played in store.

Round One - $50: May 9 - May 15
Round Two - $60: May 16 - May 22
Round Three - $70: May 23 - May 29
Round Four - $80: May 30 - June 5
Round Five - $90: June 6 - June 12
Found Six - $100: June 13 - June 19

All results will be due in by Sunday of round end at close. Score sheets must be turned in to the employee on staff or emailed to Corey directly after the match has ended.

NOTE: There will be no make-up rounds in this league. All matches must be completed and reported by the Sunday of round end. If a player is unable to play in their pod during a round, they will receive zero points for the round and the rest of the pod will play without them.

Scoring

Players may gain or lose points during a game by the following means:

Once Per Game

Didn’t Hear No Bell (+2): Cast your commander 3+ times in a game
First Blood (+2): Be the fist player to inflict combat damage
Charmed, I’m Sure (+2): Control 7+ non-token enchantments
Suited Up (+1): Control a creature enchanted with 3+ auras or equipped with 3+ equipments
Zookeeper (+3): Control 10+ non-token creatures
Inner Timmy (+2): Control an unmodified creature with 10+ power
So Extra (+1): Control a permanent with 10+ counters on it
Good To Be The King (+2): Become Monarch
Everybody Gets A Car (+3): Cast a spell with 3+ targets
Public Enemy #1 (+3): Deal 7+ combat damage to the player with the highest rank in your pod
Stop Stop He’s Already Dead (+4): Be the first player eliminated while having the lowest pod ranking
Whose Spell Is It Anyway? (+3): Cast an opponent’s spell
Prime Real Estate (+2): Control 15+ lands
Crypt Keeper (+2): Have 50+ cards in your graveyard
A Fresh Start (+3): Remove 10+ non-land permanents your opponents control in a single turn
Spread The Love (+3): Attack all opponents simultaneously (must be more than one) with 5+ power each
Spirit Bomb (+2): Spend 9 mana on a non-X spell, excluding your commander
Nope (And Nope) (+3): Counter 2+ spells in a game
Combat Trickery (+2): Remove an opponent’s attacking creature before the combat damage step
In Response… (+3): Control a spell that is part of a 4+ spell stack
Taste The Rainbow (+2): Cast a 3+ color spell
The One That I Want (+3): Have 12+ devotion to a single color
Livin’ The High Life (+2): Have a life total of 100+
Sore Loser (-4): Eliminate yourself
Gotta Catch ‘Em All (+1 each): Cast a spell of each type (lands not included), +3 bonus for casting all

Multiple per Game

There Can Be Only One (+1 per player): Defeat another player
Strip Mining (-5 per land): Destroy 3+ lands controlled by a single opponent
Backseat Driver (-2 per turn): Take control of an opponent’s turn
Easy There, Spike (-15 per combo): Generate infinite mana, creatures, turns, mill, damage, etc.*
What’s A Commander? (-3 per player): Eliminate a player without casting your commander this game
Mom Said It’s My Turn (-2 per turn): Take more than one extra turn

By Vote

Paragon (+1 per vote): Vote for the player who created the most enjoyable experience (can’t vote for self)

*This includes technically non-infinite combos such as Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind + Curiosity, Demonic Consultation + Thassa's Oracle, or the like.

Players will be given a score sheet each week (or may use a provided fillable PDF) that they must mark as they earn or lose points during the game. Players must announce each time their points are affected so that the rest of the pod can confirm. After the game is over, score sheets must be handed in to the employee on staff or emailed to Corey for recording.

In order to combat point farming, we are instituting the following clause.

Stalling Clause: with 3 or 4 players still remaining in a pod, if all other players unanimously agree that a player has demonstrated capability to win (e.g. lethal damage on the battlefield) but is stalling the game to score more points, those players may concede the game with no penalty unless the stalling player immediately makes an action to end the game.

Prizes

Weekly

Every week, the player in each pod who gets the most votes for creating the most enjoyable experience will receive one past promo pack of their choosing. In the case of a two-way tie, both players will receive a promo pack. In the case of a three- or four-way tie, none of the players in that pod will receive a promo pack.

At League End

Players will earn store credit for the following two categories:

Most Points
Paragon of the Game (most votes earned across the entire league for creating the most enjoyable experience)

In addition we will have random drawings for a Secret Lair or AFR Ampersand Promo.

The number of players awarded for Most Points and drawn at random will depend on the total attendance for the league.

Entry: $10
Start: Monday, May 9th
Format: Commander / Budget Escalation
Prizes: Described Above