It's been several weeks since the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm, and it's already making a huge impact on Commander! From the commons up to the mythic rares, there's already a lot of instant staples in this set. That being said, there are plenty of playable rares that are sitting in the budget range that I want to shine the spotlight on today!

My name is Tyler 'Savesya' Bucks, and I go through your bulk bins so you don't have to. My main goal with the Bulk Up series is to show players that they don't have to break the bank to supercharge their decks. Plus, if you've opened a lot of boosters from a recent set, there's a good chance that some of these great bulk rares are sitting in a pile on your kitchen table!

For clarity, I define bulk rares as follows: rares, usually under $1, that often get overlooked during deckbuilding, causing their price to stay in budget building range.

With that out of the way, let's take a look at the list and Bulk Up!

Bloomvine Regent

First up, flying in from Tarkir, we have Bloomvine RegentBloomvine Regent! Three mana to get a basic ForestForest into play and another into your hand isn’t too bad of a rate. Even though it doesn’t help you color-fix, like some other land-fetching effects, it makes up for that by also being a five-mana 4/5 flyer that can be a life gain engine in a Dragon deck. In a mono-color or even a two-color deck, this could just be a CultivateCultivate with upside!

Vrondiss, Rage of AncientsVrondiss, Rage of Ancients is a Dragon commander in Gruul that would take full advantage of both modes from Bloomvine RegentBloomvine Regent. Dragon decks are already mana-hungry, so any help with ramp is needed, but the fact that Vrondiss creates so many tokens means that you’ll be gaining a whole lot of life. Since both sides of the card works so well with your commander, you’ll never feel bad when you pull this creature off the top of your deck.

Temur Battlecrier

In the main set of Dragonstorm, Temur was filled with so many great ‘power matters’ cards, and a perfect example of that is Temur BattlecrierTemur Battlecrier. At its base level, you will be getting one-mana reduction for each of the spells you cast on your turn (since the Battlecrier has four power itself). If you were to put this in a deck with a high-power commander, or in a deck that makes a lot of buff tokens, you could see your spells costing cheaper and cheaper, making this a supercharged Goblin AnarchomancerGoblin Anarchomancer!

Eshki DragonclawEshki Dragonclaw is a commander that I am very familiar with, after my list of budget Adventure spells to pair with her gained some traction! While playtesting the deck I built around her, I noticed that any little bit of help with mana acceleration is welcomed. Chaining spells together to trigger your commander can get expensive, so with only the Battlecrier and Eshki out, all the spells on your turn will cost two mana less!

Naga Fleshcrafter

Clones are always handy to have around, and Naga FleshcrafterNaga Fleshcrafter is here with a very interesting take on that type of effect. On the battlefield it can copy any creature on the board for only four mana, that’s on rate for most copying effects.

However, once it’s in your graveyard, you can use that Renew ability to buff a creature, then turn your whole board into a copy of it. If you pair this with popular strategies centered around tokens, evasion, stompy, or really anything ready to have a big combat, you can simply turn your whole board into your best attacker, which could be enough to close out a game!

A commander that works well with graveyard synergies, as well as stealing powerful creatures from your opponents, is Gyruda, Doom of DepthsGyruda, Doom of Depths. When it enters you mill your opponents, then steal the best creature that goes into the graveyard that way. Running this clone in the deck allows you to copy Gyruda, get its enters trigger again, then sacrifice the Fleshcrafter to state-based actions. Now that it’s in your graveyard, you can just Renew it to turn your whole board into the best thing you stole (as long as it’s not legendary!)

Tip the Scales

Coming in from the Abzan precon, we have Tip the ScalesTip the Scales. This new three-mana board wipe hits a similar note as Toxic DelugeToxic Deluge by being cheap to cast while also giving you a little bit of control as to what will get swept up. In the case of Tip the ScalesTip the Scales, you're limited to the level of -X/-X you’re able to hit by how large the creature you sacrifice is.

I do think that it could still find a home in decks that reliably have larger creatures since there’s a good chance you would be able to wipe most of your opponents' chump blockers off the board, making way for bigger attacks to come.

Not that it needs anymore help, but Korvold, Fae-Cursed KingKorvold, Fae-Cursed King would benefit from utilizing this new sweeper. Sacrificing a creature to cast this spell will draw you a card and grow your commander, then you'll wipe most of the board all while leaving Korvold safe. Only three mana to change the face of the game in your favor is a nice rate, if you ask me.

Awaken the Honored Dead

Sorcery-speed removal might not be the most ideal in today’s meta, however I think we should make an exception for Awaken the Honored DeadAwaken the Honored Dead. Three mana to destroy any nonland permanent on the board, fill your graveyard, and then get something strong back to your hand from your graveyard are all pivotal in the right kind of deck. Even though the last chapter makes you discard a card, there’s plenty of cards that prefer to be in your graveyard, all while you get back exactly what you need for that turn.

A truly unique commander that can be built in so many different ways is Xavier Sal, Infested CaptainXavier Sal, Infested Captain. If your deck is built around creating tokens and you need more permanents to remove counters from, then this new Saga is here to help. Imagine casting it, destroying something, then using your commander to remove the Saga’s lore counter, populate, and then destroy something all over again. It will surely become your playgroup’s least favorite combo.

Floral Evoker

Another card that assists you with filling your graveyard with creatures, all while ramping you, is Floral EvokerFloral Evoker from the Sultai precon. If you have a deck that's constantly throwing cards into the bin, you know that sometimes you'll mill a great land away that you just wish was on your battlefield instead. Similarly, you might also be in a spot where a creature is in your hand, and you just want it in your yard to reanimate. Well, Floral Evoker can help with both of those situations, all while growing whenever a land comes into play under your control.

I have a Nethroi, Apex of DeathNethroi, Apex of Death deck in my collection, and I can tell you from experience that I would prefer that my lands are on the battlefield, and my creatures were in the graveyard. The Evoker assists on both levels, and all for only one mana! Plus, it can become a large threat on the battlefield while still having a smaller power in the graveyard if you need to recur it with Nethroi.

Glacierwood Siege

If you happen to be in Simic colors and still need help with graveyard strategies, then Glacierwood SiegeGlacierwood Siege is here to help. Both modes can assist you depending on where you are in your gameplan. Sometimes you need more of your cards to be milled away; in that case you can choose 'Temur'. Other times, your bin is packed full of great lands, and choosing 'Sultai' as you cast this lets you have access to those cards again. If you’re in these colors and thinking about splurging on the expensive staple Crucible of WorldsCrucible of Worlds, pick this bulk rare up instead!

Flubs, the FoolFlubs, the Fool is a deck that can live fast and die young, so spells like this Siege can help offer some life support. As your gameplan continues, you’ll be discarding plenty of cards, and even though your commander lets you play an additional land on your turn, you may end up with no ways to get land drops. For only three mana, you can have a way to play any land you discard along the way not just once, but twice!

Thunder of Unity

A lot of aggressive strategies in Commander run into a few issues: little to no cards in hand as well as drawing the ire of the rest of the table as the game goes on. Thunder of UnityThunder of Unity is here to help give you some more cards in hand, plus it sets you up for two turns of some life gain and drain. Sure, it’s a little telegraphed that one big token-making spell can help turn the match in your favor, but if no one has the means to remove this Saga, you can be set up for a huge swing in the game.

This new Saga is an absolute slam dunk in the Mardu precon, especially if you have Zurgo StormrenderZurgo Stormrender at the helm. Slamming down a lot of you threats from your hand just to have this Siege help refill it is nice of course, but if you can pump out a large number of tokens while those last two chapters are active, you can take your opponents down a few pegs. Pairing this with another spell that’s already in the precon like Grand CrescendoGrand Crescendo can be such a huge blowout!

Winternight Stories

Next up, we have a card that has a similar effect to many other spells we’ve seen before, but Winternight StoriesWinternight Stories brings another twist to the table. Harmonize lets you cast it again from your graveyard, which adds a lot of value to the mix. As we talked about before, throwing a creature into your 'yard can be just what some decks want, turning that downside into upside.

Paired with the right commander, this spell can become its own engine, allowing you to churn through the top cards for your deck, looking for the right piece at the right time.

A commander that I fell head over heels in love with when I first saw it this year was Hashaton, Scarab's FistHashaton, Scarab's Fist. Decks built around this commander are always looking for ways to discard creatures while not going down with their cards in hand. Winternight StoriesWinternight Stories fits that bill perfectly, all while being able to be cast again from your graveyard. Plus, its harmonize ability costs four generic mana and a blue, which means that the 4/4 Zombie versions of the creatures Hashaton makes can perfectly assist in recasting this spell!

Revival of the Ancestors

Closing out the list today is Revival of the AncestorsRevival of the Ancestors, which can give you board presence and the means to capitalize on it, all in one card. Making three flyers, buffing up to three creatures, and then giving your board trample and lifelink for a big swing can change the game in your favor! Trample is incredible, of course, but that lifelink shouldn't be overlooked since it can make for a big life total swap between you and your foes.

Ghave, Guru of SporesGhave, Guru of Spores is a classic commander that still sees play to this day, and for good reason. Making tokens and building counters are both very popular archetypes, and this new Saga is proof of that. Ghava loves trading in counters for creatures, and vice versa, so having a spell that helps with both sides is incredibly useful in this deck! On top of that, if you already have a big board of modified tokens, this Saga can assist with closing out that game.

The Wrap Up!

Thank you so much for making it to the end of the list! This set is truly incredible, and even these budget rares can pack a big punch. If I missed any of your favorites here today, let me know in the comments below. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to dive headfirst into all those bulk piles I see building up...