Please bear in mind this article is from March 2011. Prices may change in the future!

The Elder Dragon Highlander [or Commander] format is ripe with fantastic cards for under 50 cents. These 100 EDH budget cards are no sweat for your wallet—but lots of win for your deck! Next time you’re thinking about dropping $4 on a pack, consider picking up eight of these bad boys instead.

Artifacts

1. Crystal Ball: A more affordable Sensei’s Divining Top, plus you can opt to put cards on the bottom of your library.
2. Expedition Map: Most land tutors stick to basics, but this artifact finds anything. Yes, that includes your maze.
3. Farsight Mask: The 5 mana makes it steep to get into play, but once it’s out there, it’s reliable card draw.
4. Fellwar Stone: Affordable mana ramp.
5. Library of Leng: If you have any card of card draw acceleration—or just some twerp that makes you discard all the time—then why not pick up an ol’ 50-cent classic?
6. Paradise Plume: A mana generator that also gives life.
7. Scuttlemutt: This artifact creature produces one mana of any color. He can also change a creature’s color, in case someone tries to pull a cheap fear or protection trick.
8. Spectal Searchlight: Mana acceleration, plus a diplomatic tool—what more can you ask for? This card’s also featured as one of the staples in GAWR!‘s EDH Mana Acceleration: Artifacts list.
9. Veilstone Amulet: Nothing like a card that triggers shroud for all your creatures, for the mere casting of a spell. This is most efficient in a deck with a handful of instants, in case your opponent’s targeting your preciouses during their turn.
10. Whispersilk Cloak: Unblockable, shrouded general? Why not? Or you can plop this onto your favorite big baddies.

Green

1. Acidic Slime: This ooze comes with everything; deathtouch, removal and a sprinkling of chump blockage.
2. Aspect of the Mongoose: The neat thing about this green shroud enchant is if the creature hits the graveyard, the enchant comes back to your hand.
3. Bellowing Tanglewurm: Most wurms fail, but not this guy; he gives all your green creatures intimidate!
4. Canopy Cover: Gives a creature troll shroud and reach.
5. Nature’s Spiral: Reliable recursion for less than a quarter.
6. Overwhelming Instinct: Whenever you attack with three or more creatures, draw a card. Not a hard thing to pull off with most green decks.
7. Predatory Hunger: Every spell an opponent casts gives the enchanted creature a +1/+1 counter. Adds up fast!
8. Skyshroud Claim: This gets two forests in play right away. Excellent mana ramp, and part of GAWR!’s EDH Mana Acceleration: Green list.
9. Soul’s Majesty: Since big baddies show up everywhere in EDH, why not draw cards equal to your baddest one’s power?
10. Utopian Sprawl: It’s Wild Growth, ‘cept the additional mana is of any color. This ramp card is cheap on your mana and wallet. Plus, it’s part of GAWR!’s EDH Mana Acceleration: Green list.
    

Red

1. Anarchist: If you’re running sorceries, this will allow you to grab one back from the graveyard.
2. Destructive Urge: Whenever a creature with this enchant hits a player, they lose a land. Great stuff when paired with a creature they’d normally let through, like Anger.
3. Dwarven Miner: He destroys nonbasic lands. Over and over. It’s pretty tight. There’s also Dwarven Blastminer and Dwarven Driller.
4. Price of Glory: If a player uses a land out of turn, it’s destroyed. Perfect response to counterspells.
5. Rage Reflection: While it’s six mana to get into play, double-strike on all your creatures is pwnage. Worth considering, if your red deck’s sporting lots of critters.
6. Recoup: Play a sorcery in your graveyard.
7. Turn to Slag: For those players that like to stack equipment on their generals, this is gold.
8. Viashino Heretic: Recurring artifact destruction on a stick.
9. Word of Seizing: Steal a permanent temporarily, split second. Pop a planeswalker’s ultimate, or something else equally infuriating.

Black

1. Ambition’s Cost: Draw three cards for a mere three life.
2. Ashes to Ashes: At the mere expensive of 3 mana and 5 life, remove two nonartifact creatures from the game. You have 40 life, so you’ve got plenty to spare.
3. Caustic Rain: Remove a land from the game.
4. Corrupt: Deal damage to a player equal to the swamps in play, then gain that much life. Mono-black goodness.
5. Curse of Wizardry: Whenever a player casts a spell of a chosen color, they lose 1 life. Talk about a nuisance for those mono-color opponents.
6. Diabolic Tutor: While it’s not as handy as Demonic Tutor, the price tag is infinitely more pleasant. And everyone loves to tutor that dreaded combo!
7. Hissing Miasma: Whenever a creature attacks you, its controller loses 1 life.
8. Magus of the Mirror: Exchange life totals with an opponent—on a stick!
9. Mind Sludge: Target player discards a card for each swamp you control. Not bad in mono-black.
10. Sadistic Glee: Whenever a creature is put into a graveyard, the enchanted creature gets a +1/+1 counter. Great stuff for a counter or sac deck.
11. Syphon Mind: This one shines in multiplayer games.

Blue

1. Capsize: Bounce a card to a player’s hand, then use the buyback so you can do it again!
2. Clone: Blow a general up or copy your favorite critter. Reliable addition to any blue deck.
3. Coastal Piracy: Deal damage to an opponent, draw a card. Great in blue decks where damage is consistent!
4. Diplomatic Immunity: If a deck has blue in it, it should have Diplomatic Immunity. This not only protects your general (or other precious creature), it protects itself. And how many people are running an enchant board wipe?
5. Gather Specimens: The 6 mana cost is high, but the results are classic—when someone brings a creature in play, it’s yours instead.
6. Hinder: The neat thing about this counterspell is it tucks the countered card under the player’s library. Buh-bye, general!
7. Mind Control: It’s a little more expensive than Control Magic, mana and $$-wise.
8. Protective Bubble: It’s like Whispersilk Cloak, ‘cept it’s blue and enchants creatures. Unblockable, shrouded general FTW!
9. Psionic Gift: There are so many creatures that are dependent on dealing damage to a player, this card is a staple. There’s also Hermetic Study, and a couple other similar enchants in red.
10. Robe of Mirrors: Give a general shroud for one mana.
11. Second Wind: Tap or untap an enchanted creature. Freed from the Reel is great for this, too. These two are similar, but notably different.
12. Sigil of Sleep: This gives a creature a recurring bounce ability.
13. Spin Into Myth: Like Hinder, this card tucks the general under the player’s library… or any other pest that keeps finding its way back.
14. Steal Artifact: Why pay $10 for a Sol Ring when you can borrow it from someone else?
15. Steal Enchantment: Same idea as Steal Artifact. There’s also Aura Graft.
16. Thought Reflection: Card draw is crucial in EDH, and this one delivers it in spades. If you can scrounge up seven mana, your hand will topple over into Library of Leng land in no time.
17. Voidmage Husher: Activated abilities are the worst. That’s why it’s great to have a counter for them, on a stick! She also comes with built-in bounce back for recur.
18. Well-Laid Plans: Even though this is a blue card, it really compliments a deck with three or more colors. Creatures can’t deal damage to other creatures that share their color—and that applies to everything, not just you. Imagine the mayhem. :]
19. Zephid’s Embrace: Give a creature +2/+2, flying and shroud. Urza cards are full of so much love.

White

1. Angelic Arbiter: If an opponent casts a spell, they can’t attack. If they attack, they can’t cast a spell. And she’s a 5/6 flier for 7 mana!
2. Armored Ascension: In a mono-white deck, this is the best; enchanted creature gets +1/+1 for each plains you control and has flying.
3. Cloudchaser Kestrel: Destroy an enchantment, then get a 2/2 flying blocker. This little bird also turns other permanents white, for what it’s worth.
4. Crib Swap: Classic white removal with a little humor.
5. Faith’s Fetters: This enchant lets you lock our a permanent’s activated abilities, and if it’s a creature, it can’t attack or block. As a bonus, you gain 4 life.
6. Favorable Destiny: White doesn’t run much shroud, so every card is useful.
7. Humble:  An instant that turns a creature into a 0/1.
8. Kismet: Artifacts, creatures and lands your opponents play come into play tapped.
9. Return to Dust: Removal is one of those things white is all about. So why not do it in style, with an instant that hits enchantments or artifacts, then seals the deal with exile? Also, there’s Dust to Dust.
10. Soltari Visionary: Every time he hits a player, destroy one of their enchantments—and he has shadow!
11. World Queller: This 4/4 will get rid of one card type every turn. You may choose any card type, so if you don’t feel like him going off, choose instant or sorcery.

Multi-color

1. Bant Charm: So you know those cards that tuck the general at the bottom of the library? This baby comes equipped with that, plus artifact destruction and a counterspell. Take your pick with what you need.
2. Castigate: If you’re running black and white, this is a sweet deal. Take a look at a player’s hand and exile one of their cards.
3. Cloud Cover: This white and blue enchantment allows you to bounce your permanents to your hand if an opponent targets them.
4. Clout of the Dominus: Is your deck running red and blue? Then your general is dying for this.
5. Fists of the Demigod: Give a creature wither, first strike and up to +2/+2—all for two mana. Requires a black and red deck.
6. Naya Charm: Like Bant Charm, this has three possibilities; a Lightning Bolt, tapping all creatures a player controls, or getting a creature back from your graveyard.
7. Shield of the Oversoul: For 3 mana, including green or white, this enchant hands out indestructibility, flying and +2/+2.
8. Shielding Plax: Green and blue players rejoice, you have an enchant that gives your general troll shroud! As an added bonus, this enchant lets you draw a card.
9. Sleeper’s Robe: This blue and black enchant makes a creature unblock and gives card draw.
10. Squee’s Embrace: If you’re running white and red, it never hurts to give a creature +2/+2; the best part, though, is the creature comes back to your hand when it hits the graveyard.
11. Steel of the Godhead: 3 mana blue and white enchant gives lifelink, +2/+2 and makes a creature unblockable. Not too shabby.
12. Traces of Abundance: Give your favorite land shroud, then let it produce one additional mana of any color. If you’re running red, white and green, this is a must!

Land

1. Azorius Chancery: White and blue land.
2. Blinkmoth Well: Use this land for mana, or for tapping another player’s artifact.
3. Boros Garrison: Red and white land.
4. Dimir Aqueduct: Blue and black land.
5. Evolving Wilds: Lets you tutor a basic land.
6. Golgari Rot Farm: Black and green land.
7. Gruul Turf: Red and green land.
8. Izzet Boilworks: Blue and red land.
9. Novijen, Heart of Progress: Solid land for a green and blue deck that relies on counters.
10. Orzhov Basilica: White and black land.
11. Prahv, Spires of Order: Damage prevention land for a white and blue deck.
12. Rakdos Carnarium: Black and red land.
13. Rupture Spire: I plop these in my five color decks. This produces one of any color, but you have to pay one when you bring it into play.
14. Selesnya Sanctuary: Green and white land.
15. Simic Growth Chamber: Green and blue land.
16. Skarrg, the Rage Pits: A red and green land that gives a creature trample.
17. Terramorphic Expanse: Tutors a land, like Evolving Wilds.
18. Vitu-Ghazi, the City Tree: A green and white land that produces fuzzy saproling friends.

Note that $$ are based on the medium price range at MagicCards.info. Your local shop could sell them for more—or, better yet, for under a quarter!

If you’re looking for the best EDH cards, regardless of price, try the MTG Salvation thread on the top 35 cards of each color.

Faith’s Fetters: This enchant lets you lock our a permanent’s activated abilities, and if it’s a creature, it can’t attack or block. As a bonus, you gain 4 life.