Am I better off getting one that uses the power links or one I can use a chainlink tool on? Not sure what all the options are really. Cheap would be good!

SRAM 10 speed chain do not have re usable master links.
KMC 10 speed chain have reusable master link.
Shimano 10 speed chain have that silly joining pin.

No 10 speed chain should be joined after being broken without whatever joining method that chain perscribes.

On both my bikes i use either shimano or sram 10 speed chains with 9 speed power links with no noticable difference. After all its just one link and 10 speed chain are only marginally narrower on the inner plates to aid shifting.
ht ran for over a year like this and fs 2 months no problems

I use whichever SRAM or Shimano chain is going cheap, with a KMC powerink so you can easily remove it when you need to. Seems to work well for me…

My SLX chainring says only to use an HG-X chain? How important is that? Is it just Shimano recommending their own gear?