Budget Bauble
Kess, Dissident Mage - Decklist

Creatures 12$6.24

  1. Archmage Emeritus1Archmage Emeritus$0.74
  2. Cormela, Glamour Thief1Cormela, Glamour Thief$0.21
  3. Electrostatic Field1Electrostatic Field$1.03
  4. Goblin Electromancer1Goblin Electromancer$0.21
  5. Guttersnipe1Guttersnipe$0.24
  6. Illithid Harvester // Plant Tadpoles1Illithid Harvester // Plant Tadpoles$0.41
  7. Manic Scribe1Manic Scribe$0.31
  8. Murmuring Mystic1Murmuring Mystic$0.33
  9. Storm-Kiln Artist1Storm-Kiln Artist$1.74
  10. Talrand, Sky Summoner1Talrand, Sky Summoner$0.39
  11. Third Path Iconoclast1Third Path Iconoclast$0.38
  12. Young Pyromancer1Young Pyromancer$0.25

Planeswalkers 1$1.26

  1. Ashiok, Dream Render1Ashiok, Dream Render$1.26

Instants 23$13.84

  1. Abrade1Abrade$0.17
  2. Aetherize1Aetherize$0.28
  3. Brain Freeze1Brain Freeze$1.82
  4. Brainstorm1Brainstorm$0.52
  5. Consider1Consider$0.35
  6. Dark Ritual1Dark Ritual$0.44
  7. Delay1Delay$1.71
  8. Dispel1Dispel$0.36
  9. Dramatic Reversal1Dramatic Reversal$0.38
  10. Drown in the Loch1Drown in the Loch$1.17
  11. Expansion // Explosion1Expansion // Explosion$0.19
  12. Fact or Fiction1Fact or Fiction$0.19

Instants continued

  1. Fire Covenant1Fire Covenant$0.35
  2. Frantic Search1Frantic Search$0.74
  3. Increasing Vengeance1Increasing Vengeance$0.86
  4. Izzet Charm1Izzet Charm$0.20
  5. Lightning Bolt1Lightning Bolt$0.81
  6. Mission Briefing1Mission Briefing$0.34
  7. Negate1Negate$0.17
  8. Opt1Opt$0.18
  9. Red Elemental Blast1Red Elemental Blast$1.91
  10. Spell Pierce1Spell Pierce$0.28
  11. Thought Scour1Thought Scour$0.42

Sorceries 16$10.45

  1. By Force1By Force$0.23
  2. Doomsday1Doomsday$1.46
  3. Exsanguinate1Exsanguinate$0.31
  4. Faithless Looting1Faithless Looting$0.37
  5. Final Parting1Final Parting$0.59
  6. Grapeshot1Grapeshot$0.31
  7. Mana Geyser1Mana Geyser$0.56
  8. Ponder1Ponder$1.63

Sorceries continued

  1. Preordain1Preordain$0.63
  2. Pyroclasm1Pyroclasm$0.17
  3. See the Truth1See the Truth$0.53
  4. Serum Visions1Serum Visions$0.59
  5. Sizzle1Sizzle$0.21
  6. Tendrils of Agony1Tendrils of Agony$0.26
  7. Twinflame1Twinflame$0.88
  8. Vandalblast1Vandalblast$1.72

Artifacts 4$2.95

  1. Dimir Signet1Dimir Signet$0.28
  2. Izzet Signet1Izzet Signet$0.24
  3. Talisman of Creativity1Talisman of Creativity$0.49
  4. Wishclaw Talisman1Wishclaw Talisman$1.94

Enchantments 5$2.90

  1. Double Vision1Double Vision$0.56
  2. Fiery Inscription1Fiery Inscription$0.40
  3. Jace's Sanctum1Jace's Sanctum$0.57
  4. Quest for the Necropolis1Quest for the Necropolis$0.25
  5. Thousand-Year Storm1Thousand-Year Storm$1.12

Lands 38 / 38$15.28

  1. Bojuka Bog1Bojuka Bog$1.18
  2. Cascade Bluffs1Cascade Bluffs$0.34
  3. Choked Estuary1Choked Estuary$0.27
  4. Command Tower1Command Tower$0.21
  5. Crumbling Necropolis1Crumbling Necropolis$0.33
  6. Darkwater Catacombs1Darkwater Catacombs$0.28
  7. Dimir Aqueduct1Dimir Aqueduct$0.25
  8. Dragonskull Summit1Dragonskull Summit$0.45
  9. Drowned Catacomb1Drowned Catacomb$0.42
  10. Evolving Wilds1Evolving Wilds$0.09
  11. Exotic Orchard1Exotic Orchard$0.20
  12. Foreboding Ruins1Foreboding Ruins$0.32

Lands continued

  1. Frostboil Snarl1Frostboil Snarl$0.22
  2. Haunted Ridge1Haunted Ridge$1.25
  3. Island×22Island$0.14
  4. Izzet Boilerworks1Izzet Boilerworks$0.26
  5. Mountain×22Mountain$0.16
  6. Mystic Sanctuary1Mystic Sanctuary$1.14
  7. Path of Ancestry1Path of Ancestry$0.17
  8. Rakdos Carnarium1Rakdos Carnarium$0.30
  9. Shipwreck Marsh1Shipwreck Marsh$1.42
  10. Shivan Reef1Shivan Reef$0.22
  11. Smoldering Marsh1Smoldering Marsh$0.25
  12. Snow-Covered Island×22Snow-Covered Island$2.12

Lands continued

  1. Snow-Covered Mountain1Snow-Covered Mountain$0.50
  2. Snow-Covered Swamp1Snow-Covered Swamp$0.59
  3. Sulfur Falls1Sulfur Falls$0.18
  4. Sulfurous Springs1Sulfurous Springs$0.46
  5. Sunken Hollow1Sunken Hollow$0.28
  6. Swamp1Swamp$0.10
  7. Temple of Deceit1Temple of Deceit$0.19
  8. Temple of Epiphany1Temple of Epiphany$0.16
  9. Temple of Malice1Temple of Malice$0.20
  10. Terramorphic Expanse1Terramorphic Expanse$0.10
  11. Underground River1Underground River$0.53

About this Kess, Dissident Mage deck

A complete 100-card Commander deck: Kess, Dissident Mage, 61 spells, and 38 lands, 9 of them basics. Its estimated price is $56.79 in TCGplayer singles, and no card but the commander may cost more than $2.

The list is drawn from what Kess, Dissident Mage decks actually play. Of the cards that fit the budget, the most played are Dark Ritual, Brainstorm and Faithless Looting. The picks most particular to this commander are Ponder, Preordain and See the Truth, which turn up here far more often than in other Grixis decks.

Its average mana value is 2.50. It runs no Game Changers and holds every piece of 1 known combo.

The most expensive cards are Wishclaw Talisman ($1.94), Red Elemental Blast ($1.91) and Brain Freeze ($1.82); 36 of the 61 spells cost $0.50 or less. With at most $1 per card the same template costs $39.31, and with no limit $2762.33; the chart below compares every limit.

Deck statistics and card selection
Average mana value2.50
Game Changers0
Combos1
Deck match61%

Mana curve

  1. Mana value 0: 0 cards
  2. Mana value 1: 16 cards
  3. Mana value 2: 23 cards
  4. Mana value 3: 7 cards
  5. Mana value 4: 10 cards
  6. Mana value 5: 4 cards
  7. Mana value 6: 2 cards
  8. Mana value 7+: 0 cards

The curve and the average cover Kess, Dissident Mage and every nonland card in the draft. Game Changers are the cards on the official Commander Game Changers list. Combos are the two- to four-card combos from Commander Spellbook that these 100 cards hold every piece of.

Deck match measures similarity to commonly played nonland cards for this commander, weighted by how often they are played. It does not measure power or predict wins.

Command Zone template

The Command Zone ↗
Draft compared with the Command Zone deck-building template
RoleTargetYour draftDifference
Ramp1010+0
Card advantage1214+2
Targeted disruption1215+3
Mass disruption66+0
Lands3838+0
Plan3022-8

These targets add up to 108 because a card can fill more than one role. 6 of your cards count in multiple rows. Modal spell/land cards count as whole lands here; the card-type sections use the front face. Your commander is excluded from these counts.

Roles use imported classifications or curated sample labels. 0 cards lack role data, so counts may be incomplete. Plan counts the cards that fill none of the rows above: the ones this commander’s decks play most distinctively, taken best first once the role targets are met.

Check your own decklist against the template →

Targets from The Command Zone’s deck-building template. Card mapping and draft selection are by Budget Bauble. This is guidance, not a guarantee of deck strength.

Cards are selected from decks with this commander. Basic lands are split across the available colors; check the mana you need before playing. A complete list is not a guarantee of deck strength.

Compare prices at other card limits

Full deck price by per-card cap

Each bar is the complete Command Zone template deck for Kess, Dissident Mage at that per-card cap, with the commander and basic lands included and no overall budget. Gold is your current cap, blue reaches 100 cards within the cap, and gray either runs out of eligible cards or has a commander that costs more than the cap. Select a bar to build that deck; your budget changes to its price. The percentage under each cap is that deck’s match with what Kess, Dissident Mage decks usually play.

Format

With printings adds the set and collector number of the printing each price is based on. Both text formats list the commander first and work on most deck sites.

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