When building a Commander deck in Grixis colors (blue, black, and red), finding the right balance of value, control, and card advantage is essential. Rhystic Study is a popular card in many Commander decks due to its ability to draw cards whenever opponents cast spells unless they pay an additional cost. However, it can be quite expensive, and not everyone has the budget for this iconic enchantment. Fortunately, there are several more affordable alternatives that can still provide valuable card draw and utility in a Grixis deck.
1. Darksteel Ingot
Cost: Around $2-$3
While not a direct card draw engine, Darksteel Ingot is a cost-effective way to ramp up your mana base. This artifact is indestructible and provides you with a mana of any color, making it a useful tool for ensuring you have the mana you need to play your spells and potentially draw more cards with other effects.
2. Endless Atlas
Cost: Around $4-$6
Endless Atlas offers card draw at a relatively low cost. By paying 1 mana and tapping it, you can draw a card if you have three or more cards with the same name in your hand. This can be especially useful in decks that run multiple copies of certain spells or cards that have synergy with drawing multiple cards.
3. Skullclamp
Cost: Around $5-$7
Skullclamp is an exceptional artifact for card draw, especially in decks that can easily generate token creatures. By equipping this artifact to a 1/1 creature (or other small creatures), you can draw two cards for each creature that dies. This synergy with tokens or other disposable creatures can be a powerful way to maintain card advantage.
4. Archaeomancer
Cost: Around $1-$2
Archaeomancer offers a straightforward way to get back any instant or sorcery from your graveyard to your hand when it enters the battlefield. While it doesn’t provide card draw directly, it helps you recur key spells that can draw cards or provide other forms of advantage.
5. Krenko’s Command
Cost: Around $2-$4
Krenko’s Command produces two 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens for just 2 mana. While it doesn’t provide card draw by itself, the tokens can be used with cards like Skullclamp to generate card advantage. Additionally, tokens can help you build up a board presence and trigger other card draw or advantage effects.
6. Zara’s Enigma
Cost: Around $3-$5
Zara’s Enigma is a versatile enchantment that allows you to draw cards whenever you cast a spell with converted mana cost 3 or less. This can help you keep your hand full, especially in a Grixis deck that runs a lot of low-cost spells.
7. Tome of Legends
Cost: Around $2-$4
Tome of Legends is an artifact that offers card draw based on your commander’s presence. Each time your commander attacks or you cast your commander, you put a charge counter on the Tome of Legends and can then draw a card by tapping and removing a charge counter. This can provide significant card advantage over time, especially if you have a commander that is often on the battlefield.
8. Ad Nauseam
Cost: Around $3-$5
Ad Nauseam is a powerful card draw engine in Grixis decks, allowing you to reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a card with a converted mana cost that you can’t pay. You then put those cards into your hand and lose life equal to the total converted mana cost of the revealed cards. This can be risky, but it can draw you a lot of cards for a relatively low cost.
Conclusion
While Rhystic Study is a highly sought-after card for its card draw capabilities, many cheaper alternatives can still fit well into a Grixis Commander deck. Whether you’re looking for direct card draw, mana ramp, or ways to leverage token creatures for additional value, these options provide a range of strategies to maintain card advantage without breaking the bank. By incorporating some of these budget-friendly choices, you can build a powerful and effective Grixis deck that performs well in Commander games.
