Dollar Menu Dynamite, Part 6

Another day, another dollar. Er, this is true if "day" is the shorthand way you refer to powerful and unusual cards that take your deck design to a whole new level. Wait, you don't? Huh. Regardless, I'm sure you know the drill by now - I've pulled together ten unusual, underplayed cards that have something to offer even a relatively competitive deck but cost one dollar at most. Think of your favourite builds, peruse the list as follows and keep an eye out for anything that might improve or at least spice up your games!

Dollar Menu Dynamite, Part 5

Tired of playing the same old cards? It can be strategically beneficial to know your deck inside and out, but if you're just playing casual games with your friends, it can also get kind of boring. There's a real element of fun in your own deck surprising you now and then, and there's no better way to encourage the process than trying out a new card or two. Of course, you can't afford to swap out your power cards all the time - or can you? As part of the Dollar Menu Dynamite series, we have here a list of ten cards that can be picked up for a dollar or less yet can make a big impact on the board. Find one that piques your interest and try it on for size!

Dollar Menu Dynamite, Part 4

There's nothing like the thrill of discovering a forgotten card that offers considerable power for cheap. After languishing forgotten, you're free to polish it off like any other gem and bring it to the table. Enter the Dollar Menu Dynamite series, which showcases a number of cards you may not be familiar with, each costing one dollar or less on the open market. Who says you have to break the bank to bring some serious power to the gaming table?

Dollar Menu Dynamite, Part 3

There's no need to choose between paying for lunch or a new power card for your favourite casual deck - expand your horizons somewhat and you can have both! A couple years ago I started a tentative feature called Dollar Menu Dynamite, which offered suggestions for underrated and underplayed cards that can be had for one dollar or less. Well, wouldn't you know it, those fine folks in Seattle just keep on printing cards... and as there are ever more options, that has the side effect of meaning that older cards have more to replace them. Likewise, as new strategies become popular, old cards that happen to synergize with (or fiercely oppose) such strategies are suddenly given a new lease on life. Here, then, I have another ten cards for the budget-minded gamer, all of them easy to acquire, a buck or less, and able to bring plenty of havoc to the gaming table.

Dollar Menu Dynamite, Part 2

For as long as there have been Magic cards worth more than a buck each, people have had to pick and choose what they spend their hard-earned dosh on. Seeing as it is a collectible card game, however, some cards are more desirable than others, and as a result, those cards are generally going to be worth more than others. As the old adage goes, "you get what you pay for." Now, normally that's true when you're picking between the $25 pair of shoes and the $300 pair of shoes. The game of Magic has so many pieces, however, and all of them inevitably subject to format rotation, that it can be harder for this to remain entirely true. Often powerful cards from the past that have been forgotten writ large can end up being quite cheap, giving you a card that punches above its pay grade!

A couple weeks ago I started a new series called "Dollar Menu Dynamite," introducing you to these kinds of cards that you and your play group might be unfamiliar with, but come with tons of play potential. Powerful though they may be, however, any cards suggested in the article can be purchased for one dollar or less (at the time of writing.) Today I have another ten cards nominated - many of them not even Modern-legal, but all of them sure to make a splash in the casual playgroup.

Dollar Menu Dynamite

It can be easy to convince yourself nowadays that Magic has become a pay-to-win game. If two players sit down for the average game, victory will inevitably go towards whomever's deck is crammed with the most (purposefully) overpowered mythic rares, right? Well, if the dreaded sligh can upset the tournament scene with its bargain-bin bad boys, there's no reason you can't do the same in your playgroup. While everyone's knocking themselves out trying to get their hands on Hero of Bladehold and Karn Liberated, cards that have long since rotated out of Standard of course drop in price since their demand has plummeted. They may not have any place in organized events, but you can save your hard-earned pennies if you show up to your casual games with some of these underrated gems.

In keeping with a catchy name, all of the cards suggested here can be had for $1 or less (at the time of writing! Maybe my wisdom will pass down and some of these will become hot commodities, who knows.) They may not be the flashiest cards around, but it's hard to get more bang for your buck at a kitchen table game of Magic. I'd buy that for a dollar!