Just wanted to build something cheap to bring whenever I'd feel like playing some costructed FNMs.


Creatures 20
4xInventor Apprendice
3xany good 1 or 2 mana red creature aggro plays that I can buy for cheap at the shop
4xChampion of the flame
4xValduk, Keeper of the Flame
2xTraxos, Scourge of Kroog
3xZahid, Djinn of the Lamp

Enchantments 15
4xshort sword
4xhoned khopesh
2xcartouche of zeal
2xcurious obsession
3xdive down

Removal 4
4xlighting strike

Land 21
as many ETB untapped UR sources as I can find(8)
Enough islands to reach 9-10 sources
rest mountains.
Maybe a desert?

First things first, autocarding (and a little reorganization):

Creatures 20
4xInventor's Apprentice
3xany good 1 or 2 mana red creature aggro plays that I can buy for cheap at the shop
4xChampion of the flame
4xValduk, Keeper of the Flame
2xTraxos, Scourge of Kroog
3xZahid, Djinn of the Lamp

Equipment/Enchantments 12
4xshort sword
4xhoned khopesh
2xcartouche of zeal
2xcurious obsession

Protection 3
3xdive down

Removal 4
4xlightning strike

Land 21
as many ETB untapped UR sources as I can find(8)
Enough islands to reach 9-10 sources
rest mountains.
Maybe a desert?

It looks like you have a solid base here for a budget deck. I like it. I'll try to keep my suggestions on the cheap end and common/uncommon if possible.
For your creature slot I see three reasonable options at common/uncommon:
Goblin Trailblazer because it has menace, so if you suit him up and they block him, not only are you soaking 2 blockers but they may have to throw something that you can kill in front of it.
Rigging Runner because first strike and power buffs are great together
Sun-Collared Raptor because it has trample and is a mana sink. The threat of activation is very real mid-combat.

If you can find them for cheap I would recommend the following rares over any of the commons/uncommons:
Kari Zev, Skyship Raider ($1) is just SUPER hard to deal with having, menace, first strike, and another body on the attack. Giving her equipment just makes her doubly dangerous for the same reasons as both Goblin Trailblazer and Rigging Runner.
Earthshaker Khenra ($5) Getting a blocker out of the way in the early game and then being a mana sink later is a good quality. Now I don't think the Earthshaker is as good in your deck as it was in the old Ramunap Red decks, in fact I think it may even be worse than Kari Zev, but I just thought I'd point it out.

Lands:
Unfortunately your only options for ETB untapped U/R lands are rares:
Spirebluff Canal currently sitting around $9 a piece
Sulfur Falls $6 each
Spire of Industry $3 each
Obviously Spire is the most budget friendly, but I'm not sure how consistent it will be for your deck. You could probably run at least 2 of them though is what I'm thinking.

Technically there are common filter lands that enter untapped however I don't know if your mana base can support those considering how few lands you have.
But for reference I'm talking about things like:
Aether Hub down to $1
Painted Bluffs
Survivor's Encampment
Unknown Shores
Crypt of the Eternals

For the sake of completeness your etb tapped U/R land options are:
Highland Lake

Upgrade:
I know it's rare and slightly higher casting cost, but I'd consider a pair of Captain's Hook ($0.50) over two of your other equipment, just to give you something to attach that has a little more oomph to it.

Looks like a sweet budget deck.

Didn't think about kari and didn't know it was so cheap, I think I'll use her.
I think I'll test some rigging runners as well.
I knew about the hook, but with most of my creatures already having evasion, the higher mana cost and not putting inventor apprentice, champion of the flame and now kari-zev out of 3 damage burn spells I was unsure I wanted it.

Forgot about spire, it is probably good enough to skip one or two copies of the fastland.

I was also considering running a split of spell pierce and dive down, or just running one main and one in the side, and maybe a one off of Maverick Thopterist just to test it.

I wasn't even really looking at the evasion on the hook, mostly just the extra point of power to make your creatures punch harder a little later in the game. Yeah, the higher cost is an issue, which is why I only suggested 2, so that way you have 6 copies of your 1 cast/1 equip and only 2 of this so you draw it later.
I actually really want to name Forebear's Blade, but I suspect that would be too much of a tempo hit for this deck with the 3 mana equip cost.
As for 4+ toughness, I suspect that any burn spell worth worrying about that does 3 damage is instant speed so you still have to worry about get blown out in response to any equip activation anyway. Not that your toughness point is invalid, I'm sure it will come up sometimes, just that it might not be as much of a difference maker as you might think.

I suspect Maverick Thopterist will be too high on your curve to be worth it, particularly if you're thinking of it for the cost reduction as you don't really have anything else to ramp into. As far as the body count goes, I still think you'll have a hard time of it and might consider Pia Nalaar if you're looking for multiple bodies on one spell with at least one of them being a thopter. She's two less mana for 1 less thopter and much more castable with a 21 land mana base than a 5 drop.