Optimize Your Deck Budget in Seconds

Building a Commander deck is expensive. But here’s the thing, you’re probably paying more than you need to. That same card exists across dozens of printings, and the price difference between a $15 version and a $3 version is often just the set symbol or foil treatment.

We built the Optimize Budget tool to solve this. Point it at any deck, and it finds every opportunity to save money, whether that’s swapping to a cheaper printing or using a card you already own.

The Summary: Know Exactly Where You Stand

When you open the budget optimizer, you get four numbers that matter:

• Current deck value: what your deck costs at current market prices
• Optimized value: what it would cost after applying all suggestions
• Free swaps: cards you already own that can replace what’s in your deck
• Cheaper to purchase: market alternatives that cost less than your current picks

No digging through spreadsheets. No cross-referencing Scryfall tabs. Just the savings, laid out clearly.

Built-Deck Aware: Your Other Decks Stay Intact

This is critical. Most optimization tools treat your collection as one big pool. They’ll happily suggest swapping in a Rhystic Study that’s currently sleeved up in your Azorius deck. Then you’re left choosing which deck to cannibalize.

We don’t do that.

When you mark a deck as “built” in Icarian, those cards are reserved. The budget optimizer knows this and will never suggest using a card that’s already assigned to another deck. Your paper decks stay intact. Period.

This means the “free swaps” you see are actually free, they are cards sitting in your collection that aren’t spoken for. No awkward decisions about which deck loses its Sol Ring.

Free Swaps: Use What You Already Own

You’ve got a collection which is possibly thousands of cards across dozens of sets. The optimizer checks every card in your deck against your available collection and finds alternatives you already own.

Different set, same card, zero cost. These are the swaps you should always make.

Cheaper Printings: Stop Overpaying

For cards you don’t own, the optimizer searches every printing to find the cheapest version available. Same card, different set symbol, lower price.

I’ve caught plenty of $10+ savings on single cards this way, usually older printings from supplemental products that fly under the radar.

Finish-Aware: Foil Math That Makes Sense

Here’s where it gets interesting. Sometimes the foil version of a card is actually cheaper than non-foil (looking at you, Commander Legends). The optimizer knows this and will suggest upgrades when they save you money.

And if you’ve got a foil in your deck but the non-foil is significantly cheaper? It’ll suggest the downgrade.

You decide what’s worth it. We just surface the options.

Apply Changes in One Click

Found a swap you like? Hit apply. The deck updates instantly, card, set, finish, everything. Want to apply all the free swaps at once? Select all, apply, done.

How to Use It

1. Open any or your decks in Icarian
2. Click Optimize Budget in the deck menu
3. Review suggestions (filter by minimum savings if you want)
4. Apply the ones that make sense

Don’t have your decks in Icarian yet? You can import directly from Moxfield in about 30 seconds.

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Ready to stop overpaying? Create your free account and import your first deck.