As a kid I learned the game of Chess at a young age. My grandfather began teaching me the basics of the game at the age of 5. At my young age he seemed like a master, always checkmating me at will. He even could checkmate me in four moves. To my young mind, my grandfather could had been a Chess grandmaster.

As I aged into a teenager I practiced and got better at Chess. I researched old games played by the masters like Fisher and Kasparov. That’s when I stumbled into a word that would change my way of thinking about chess, as well as for all games in general.

Blitzkrieg. Lightning War

The term is used to describe the German offensive during World War II. They would spot a perfect hole in their enemy’s defenses to send a major offensive. The attack was unrelenting, vicious, and most of all, effective. With the quick assault it would deliver a decisive blow before the enemy could send in troops to properly defend itself. The battle would be won with minimal loss of life for the Germans due to the surprising speed of the assault. The result would cause terror among the opposition causing morale loss.

Applied to Chess, Blitzkrieg searches for the perfect lapse in defense and attacks with all out force. checkmate can be a quick and final death before you realize you have been struck. The quickest form of Blitzkrieg in Chess being the Scholar’s Mate. It was the same four move checkmate my grandfather would use on me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjirhvSc7_c The game of Chess started to make sense and come together for me at that moment.

When Magic: The Gathering was introduced to me, I put Chess down and picked up a deck of cards. Instead of 16 pieces to play with you could now choose from thousands. The battlefield and the army you faced would vary from game to game and the challenges would be higher, however, Blitzkrieg was still a tactic.

The first decks that used Blitzkrieg were decks named “Sligh”. Starting originally with a mono red deck, Sligh used the mana ramp curve to optimal effect, always able to play a threat and attack it’s opponent full force. It would often win a turn before it’s opponent could and games would be close. This type of thinking turned to White Weenie, Suicide Black then eventually Green Stompy. These decks were designed to get the jump on the opponent, hit hard with little or no spells to defend themselves.

As magic changed over the years Magic focused more on stronger multicolored spells which in turn developed into better two and three colored decks. decks. Mono-colored decks faded into almost nonexistence although with the emergence of the Devotion mechanic, they have been more viable on the recent Standard scene, however Mono Black Devotion isn’t a true Blitzkrieg deck. Currently the only fast mono-colored decks seeing tournament play are Red Deck Wins and Merfolk in Modern.

Today, we will focus our attentions to budget Blitzkrieg decks. Granted, due to the current metagame most of these decks are not viable in a competitive format. They have little or no concern of defending themselves and many times a well placed counterspell or removal will result in certain doom. The real home for these decks is harder hitting casual play on the kitchen table. Be advised.

Izzet Blitz

This is a deck I originally played during Ravnica block but has been improved with the release of more sets. This deck focuses on getting Wee Dragonauts or Nivix Cyclops in play and releasing a stream of spells to increase their poser and attack with an unblockable 10+ power double striking creature. This deck can be built for just $100 and could potentially be reduced in price if Steam Vents is removed. It can at times surprise even the strongest Modern tournament decks. It hits hard and unsuspectingly with very deadly results. This deck could be improved further by replacing Tibor and Lumia but I prefer the Izzet theme and having the chance to give creatures flying if my Distortion Strike does not present itself.

Rogue Blitz

Originally a Lorwyn block deck, this deck is able to hit the ground running with the Prowl ability. Prowl reduces the casting cost of spells if Goblins, Faeries or Rogues dealt combat damage which ensures that your rogues come into play quickly. Eventually this deck turns from snowball to avalanche with creature boosting, extra turn abilities, hand disruption and additional card draw. If allowed to deal damage early this deck can be a monster but if your opponent manages to control the board early and not allow you to deal damage it whimpers. It can be purchased with a $20 bill.

Mono Green Infect

I have had small local Modern tournament success with this deck. This deck is built to sneak in early with an infect creature and deal a quick 10 damage for the kill. It’s not pretty and it can put your opponent on tilt. Keep in mind, like many creature based blitz decks, The first creature you play is vital. If it dies, you will as well. This deck is currently $45.

Kithkin Blitz

Another Lorwyn block deck, Kithkin Blitz is the closest thing to a traditional White Weenie deck I have played recently. This deck starts out a bit slower than the other blitz decks I have listed so far but it builds strong and is difficult to handle. Synergy between Steel of the Godhead and the other blue/white kithkin in this deck is masterful as well as the final dagger of most games, Armored Ascension. This deck can also be made for under $50.

Green White Blitz

Standard also has a blitz deck that has been going around recently. This green and white deck focuses on the Heroic ability and increasing the power of your creatures by targeting them. This deck has the potential to deal a lethal amount of damage in four to five turns and is quite cheap to make. This version by Mortem can be built for less thank $30.

Aiokii, a loyal soldier of the Cardboard Dollars Dojo, once fought side by side with the masters of inflation. He now fights for good as an assassin, known to the people of Japan as Aiokii, 価格スラッシャー He can be followed on Twitter https://twitter.com/TheAiokii, liked on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thepaperchampionblog, or contacted in the comments below. You can also visit Reddit at http://www.reddit.com/r/budgetdecks/