So this is a project I wanted to engage in- To make a set of 10+ super-budget 60-card decks that are simple, relatively easy to play, relatively easy to understand, and bring across the fundamentals of how Magic Works.
The Idea being that you could easily build these deck for a low cost and use them as an easy introduction to how magic works, to teach a group of new players both how to play, and give them a sense of Why, a sense of what fun things they're getting into. These decks aren't gonna be particularly good, or even legal in any particular format if it stops me from including a card I think is good for the deck, but they should be fun and interesting without being too hard to get into.
This is the first deck in this project: A simple, 2-color controly/midrange deck. Control the board with some cheap spot removal, blow it up a few times if you have to, then plant something big and splashy and turn sideways a few times.
Maindeck Cost ~$11 at time of writing (using the blue, average values offered by the site), plus ~$3.50 -ish for the sideboard, which adds up to a little less than $15, which is my goal for each of these decks.
So mostly this section is going to be notes on why I think these are good cards to learn from:
The Payload of big creatures is tactically chosen to have a sweet, splashy Angel, a sweet, splashy Demon, and one high-costed sick 3-for-one that they can realize is the best card of the bunch on its own. Serra Angel is a good card to learn with (no crazy abilities, learn how to use Vigilance correctly), one of the nicer angels on your budget, and is a freaking classic. Tormentor feels nice and Demon-y, is good at closing out games, and is budget.
Ashen Rider was not my first choice. My first choice was Angel of Despair, a 7 cmc fallen angel that destroys a permanent on ETB. I think that the flavor of it as a fallen Angel, ie exactly the kind of cool concept and splashy big creature that you might play a control deck of a specific color combination For, is a cool factor that'd be worth including in the deck... if it didn't cost $3 for I have no idea why, since Rider is kind of a better card. I could probably find a demon of some sort cheaper than Ashen Rider than works, but Ashen is actually sweet, and I like the lesson in there that it just 3-for-1s your opponent, and that that makes it a good card. I like it as a top-end, would've had 3 if it weren't the priciest card in the deck.
Removal Suit is a mix of budget cards that show how removal works in mtg- Immolating Glare and Mortify are easy picks, because they're simple and reasonably strong (though I might've used Murder instead of Mortify for simplicity's sake), and I wanted a -X/-X card in here so players can learn how those work. First Choice was Grasp of Darkness, but Last Gasp is cheaper. Reprisal I came back and added as it's become a staple of these decks, and is real good, but real fair. I like the mix of conditional removal.
Read the Bones I thought was a black draw spell at a fair power level, and scry is nice. Sorcery Speed makes it so they have to learn to choose what turns it's safe to draw cards on, which is a solid lesson. Succumb to Temptation would be a reasonable replacement if you want to.
Ritual is to throw a little lifegain in there. It's not even close to optimal, and should probably be a 2-of in the sideboard, and that's part of the lesson. Good to have against agro though, and the instant-speed cantrip is a good thing to learn how to use properly.
Castigate is an intro to hand attack, and it seemed like a 4-of of one hand-attack spell would be a small enough amount that it's not too unfun for the person across the table. Also it doesn't have any restrictions to what you can pick besides lands, which seemed like a good choice for learning.
I thought a 4-cmc Wrath would feel too oppressive, since these decks are supposed to be casual, and I might've still thrown in Fumigate if it weren't really expensive (still in Standard at time of writing), so I went with Planar Outburst. End Hostilities is a little simpler, but I like Outburst as a card players can read and understand that it has two modes and it useful in either.
Manabase is meant to be a touch lacking, but also super-budget. I'll be doing the same for all of them.
As for the sideboard, this IS supposed to be a sideboard they learn how to use, to make their deck perform better in the right matchups, or just in general to customize their decks within constraints.
Drown in Sorrow and Essence Extraction to board in against agro, for early boardwipes and lifegain, Harrowing Journey to bring in huge value, murder and reprisal to swap out some of the removal package in the right matchups, and revoke essence specifically to kill artifacts, though if you have lots of enchantments you need destroyed, it's good for that too.