Neheb, the EternalNeheb, the Eternal | Art by Chris Rahn

Greetings and salutations, and a very warm welcome to you all! I'm Arnaud, and I'm thrilled to take you on a journey of blackened faces, smoldering heat, and Burning Cinder Fury of Crimson Chaos Fire.

Last time, I asked you all to choose between the usual three contenders. And while the results of the poll were rather lower than in the past few months, they were quite telling nonetheless.

Third place went to Y'shtola, Night's BlessedY'shtola, Night's Blessed, with a puny 17 votes (20%). No Final Fantasy shenanigans this time it seems. Second spot was for Sasaya, Orochi AscendantSasaya, Orochi Ascendant, with 33 votes (39%). Close call. With 35 votes (41%), the first place went to the champion of third-degree burns, Neheb, the EternalNeheb, the Eternal.

Since the top two spots were so close, I'll give Sasaya a go next time. This also frees up some much needed room for a little something I've been wanting to ask you all for a while now.

With close to 4,000 decks, this is a classic case of soft bellies: too many decks to be considered underplayed, but not enough to be deemed top tier. And yet, I'm rather sure there's a bunch of silly stupid stuff to do with this big boy.

Let's leave the 4/6 for aside, it's nothing exceptional. The afflict 3 is cute, but not that significant either. No, the third ability is where it all comes together. You see, Neheb cares for all life loss, not just damage. And with three opponents around the table, this has the potential to provide an insane amount of mana out of nowhere.

Let's grab all of the cards from both the regular and budget pages on EDHREC and throw them into Archidekt.

312 cards, a good start. Let's begin.

First Trim – Smelting the Expensive Gold

To all of you joining this for the first time, again, welcome. The whole premise of this series is to build a deck with no cards worth $1.11 and more, trimming down cards progressively to reach the fated 100, and explaining most of the cuts in the process.

The initial ax blow for each and every card worth more than $2 already cuts down almost a third of the deck. More troublesome even, there are 28 cards in the $1.10-$2 range. These will have to go as well. But before bidding them adieu, let's have a look at the best options therein:

• Brash TaunterBrash Taunter: a classic damage redirection outlet. This not only deters attacks, but is a prime target for direct damage as well.
• Past in FlamesPast in Flames: Some say this is a win-more card. But in a pinch, this allows you to reach just the right amount of mana you need to end the game.
• Jaya's Immolating InfernoJaya's Immolating Inferno: A fantastic finisher, period.
• Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots: Just like Sol RingSol Ring, these regularly swing above and below the price threshold. A shame, as budget protective outlets are far and between in mono-.
• Horizon StoneHorizon Stone: Interesting but telegraphed buildup option.
• Mana GeyserMana Geyser: This always makes a ton of mana. Always.
• Flare of DuplicationFlare of Duplication: I particularly love this here. Cast your big spell, then sacrifice your commander or any other outlet to drive the point home.
• Endless AtlasEndless Atlas: I'm a strong partisan of playing this card in any monocolored Commander deck.
• Heartless HidetsuguHeartless Hidetsugu: Unless you can give it haste, it will probably die before it has a chance to tap. But if you manage to pull it off with your commander out, that's netting at least 50 mana.
• Chandra, Hope's BeaconChandra, Hope's Beacon: I love outlets that copy stuff basically for free.

This leaves six cards in the $1-$1.10 range:

• FlamebreakFlamebreak: Excellent mana-to-damage ratio.
• AngerAnger: Classic haste enabler. Not quite sure it will be this important here, but it's almost never a dead card.
• Wrenn's ResolveWrenn's Resolve: This is as close as you can get to "draw two" with no drawbacks in red.
• Terrain GeneratorTerrain Generator: Cute but mana-intensive ramp outlet. I'm uncertain about that one.
• Mizzix's MasteryMizzix's Mastery: This basically says "double the mana output for Neheb". But eight mana is a lot to overload it. Could be useful to target some specific pieces.
• Chandra, Dressed to KillChandra, Dressed to Kill: Cheap but rather fragile ramp outlet.

With this first cleanup step out of the way, the list is already down to a lowly 174 cards. My, Neheb is an expensive commander... Onwards.

Second Trim – Veggies, Vitamins, and Supplements

Usually at this point of the build, I focus on draw, ramp and removal. And while the first two will indeed be addressed here, I will be holding the third for the next category.

Therefore, discounting direct-damage removal, this is what the list currently has to offer:

This is a weird one. I love options to give you ways to play more cards, thanks to impulse draw. Pinpoint removal may seem rather low, but several outlets have been put under the Burn Target tab. Board wipes are close to being nonexistent, as are protection outlets.

With this in mind, let's trim down both draw and ramp outlets. And see where to go from there.

I've decided to get rid of most of the filtering cards in favor of impulse draw and long-term plans. Remember, a Cathartic ReunionCathartic Reunion does not, in fact, change the final number of cards you have at your disposal, it merely swap three for three other.

I've also foregone the wheels route. While getting a new full grip is always satisfactory, the lack of actual protection for the commander makes me rather wary of freely giving tools out for the opponents to take it out.

After giving the land base a healthy makeover, the list is down to 155 cards. With all of those Mountains, getting a Valakut, the Molten PinnacleValakut, the Molten Pinnacle would have been lovely, but at $15 apiece, it's sadly way out of this deck's league.

Time to get to the good stuff.

Third Trim – Sorting Out the Best Outlets

Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, let's get to the interesting part: What does this deck want to achieve, and is it doable with the means at hand?

Neheb is a generous pyromancer at heart. He wants nothing more than to share his smoldering love all around, to generate insane amounts of mana, and turn to ash what was already cinder.

In other terms, there are two main types of spells you want to cast:

• Tinder: stuff that burns all players or all opponents
• Logs: X spells that deal a major amount of damage all around, possibly ending the game

Beware, as protection is close to non-existent, chances are one of your opponents will remove your commander the moment they realize you're about to make 30+ mana post-combat.

In addition to that, there are a few copy outlets included in the list to boost said game-enders.

The main problem lies not so much in the tinder than in the efficiency of the logs. The best ones are sadly missing, because of course they are expensive. Crackle with PowerCrackle with Power, Jaya's Immolating InfernoJaya's Immolating Inferno, and even Comet StormComet Storm, a card featured in four Commander precons and dirt cheap for the longest time. Thank you firebending, I guess.

All hope is not lost though. There are currently 15 burn spells with X in their cost, a few of which actually manage to hit several opponents at once. This means that while decent options are rather far and between, it should still be doable.

I'll cut most of the single-target burn spells that do not serve a critical purpose, for simple math reasons. Basically, I want each mana invested into a burn spell to yield at least in return, assuming there are three opponents at the table. Cards are precious, and you need to build a high total damage output to make your X spells worth their salt.

The other elephant in the roomelephant in the room lies in the suite of pingers. The key take here is mana value. A one-mana creature that pings everyone for one each turn is fine. A two-mana one had better do some impressive work. Three-mana is teetering on the edge. Four and above is out. The major problem I have with all of these is their lack of efficiency the turn they come into play. Allow me a quick example.

Suppose you play a Firebrand ArcherFirebrand Archer, and then an End the FestivitiesEnd the Festivities. You invested for a total output of six damage. That's a 2-to-1 ratio, not good enough in my book.

A GuttersnipeGuttersnipe then? That's for nine damage total. Better, but not quite there. If those spells somewhat managed to stay on the field for at least a couple activations, they would somehow redeem them. But don't kid yourself; chances are they'll be prime targets if your commander's not on the field.

For the same reason, I'm not a great fan of the tap-for-ping creatures. They're slow, and their yield is usually mediocre.

What's left then? A few damage doublers that feel a bit win-more-ey to me; some fun recursion, that could potentially serve that 3-to-1 ratio mentioned before; some additional combat outlets that don't convince me in this build; a few weird thingies.

With all of this in mind, this is what I'd cut:

109 cards left. On to the last leg.

Final Trim – A Matter of Personal Preference

This is it, the ultimate stretch. Nine cards to go. As usual, note that the following cuts are mostly a matter of personal preference. While I believe that, in this case, some of the remaining options are suboptimal, others will leave... because reasons.

Without further ado, let's remove the last pieces:

• Red DragonRed Dragon: six mana for 12 damage, that's a 2 damage-to-1 mana ratio. Good, but not good enough.
• Fanatic of MogisFanatic of Mogis: looks great on paper, but you'd need four red pips to make it efficient enough. And there aren't that many permanents to warrant such a ratio.
• Fear of Burning AliveFear of Burning Alive: This almost made the cut, due to the second ability. But it's still six mana for 12 damage, and there aren't that many ways to ensure delirium triggers.
• Sulfurous BlastSulfurous Blast: Four mana for nine damage. Enough said.
• Volcanic FalloutVolcanic Fallout: Another 2-to-1 spell.
• Wild RicochetWild Ricochet: Sounds fun, but I don't really see a world where you'd pay five mana for your commander while holding up another four to protect it.
• Festival of EmbersFestival of Embers: Looks like a fantastic recursion outlet, if not for the fact that it costs , does nothing the turn it enters, and permanently exiles anything you cast thereafter. Out.
• Generator ServantGenerator Servant: Cute, but single-use and the haste is anecdotal.
• By ForceBy Force: I love the card, but there are simply better payoffs.

And with these final cuts, I give you:

Neheb, the Eternal Budget Commander Deck List

Additional Trim – A Look Into the Past

Before parting ways, let's take a look at a past Trim, to see how it stood the test of time.

Today, we're looking at Horobi, Death's WailHorobi, Death's Wail, and its bajillion ways to kill creatures.

I'm pleasantly impressed. There are only four cards that have gone above the $1.10 threshold:

• MutilateMutilate: $1.15
• Barad-dûrBarad-dûr: $1.17
• Zulaport CutthroatZulaport Cutthroat: $1.35
• Shelob, Dread WeaverShelob, Dread Weaver: $2.08

Those should be easy enough to replace:

• SangromancerSangromancer: Anyone feel like gorging themselves on life?
• Kothophed, Soul HoarderKothophed, Soul Hoarder: Anyone feel like gorging themselves on card draw?
• Rathi TrapperRathi Trapper: Removal and threat management all in one
• Staff of NinStaff of Nin: Slightly expensive, but comes in with built-in card draw.

You can find the updated list here. 

Conclusion

Another day, another Trim down. Those of you who regularly read these may have noticed a slight change in the intermediate titles.

I'd love to hear your opinion on those: like'em, hate'em, don't care?

I'd also love to know your general thoughts on this column. After almost three years building budget Commander lists, do you feel like it's time to move on, or are Trims here to stay?

Let me know in the poll, and I'll see you in two weeks with Sasaya, Orochi AscendantSasaya, Orochi Ascendant!

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