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By: Arctic_Ghost, Arctic_Ghost
Nov 27 2017 1:00pm
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Lead The Stampede is mostly known for it's play in the Elves archetype in modern, but other than that it doesn't see play anywhere. People have tried to use Lead The Stampede anywhere they could since it has been printed, but other than Modern, it never really found a home. Thanks to Iconic Masters however, Pauper is its new home and we are gonna check out some archetypes that will gladly use it!

First up we have the GW Slivers archetype and this should not be a surprise to anyone. Slivers have always been around in the Pauper format but have never really done well due to the archetype's lack of power. One way to get around this is Virulent Sliver to end the game rather quickly, but with all the cheap removal that Pauper has to offer, keeping this little Sliver alive is never easy.

 

When you assemble an army of Slivers, they can be one of the most deadliest decks in the format. The problem is however, the fact that individually, the Slivers are very weak and almost terrible and that does not make for a very good deck in the Pauper meta we know today. Couple that with the fact that the deck is also very slow when compared to the other aggro decks of the format like Mono Green Stompy, White Weenie and Red Deck Wins to name a few. You have no reach in the form of burn spells, you don't have room for more pump spells or cards such as Rancor and non of your creatures can fly over your opponents battlefield.

 

Lead The Stampede does add a lot of power to the deck with being able to get 5 slivers (remember you have 12 lords in the deck) for just 3 mana and easily assemble your army. A big problem this archetype has always suffered from is running out of gas very quickly, but not anymore. With that being said however, I do not think this will make Slivers a top contender, but it is certainly a big help and a good step in the right direction.

The next archetype we will look at is of course, the Elves archetype. This is the basic mono green version that you will see running around in the leagues. This is also the most straightforward of the Elves lists, as it plays either 2 or 4 of everything.

 

Lead the Stampede shines here because you have so many creatures and so much mana to work with, not to mention all the cards that give you a headache (such as Shrivel or Electrickery), you now have a way of recovering and building your board back easily and It really isn't hard to hit 5 creatures and cast all of them in the same turn either.

 

One card that I have grown to love is Elvish Vanguard because not only will it grow big because you play so many creatures, but Lead the Stampede can add so much power in one big turn to Elvish Vanguard that you can find yourself winning extremely quickly. I do however wish that there was a few copies of Rancor in this archetype to give an Elf trample to make your copies of Timberwatch Elf or Elvish Vanguard even better.

 

There isn't much else to add on this particular version of Elves, as I said, this is the most basic version you will find and I am fairly certain you will do well with it. This isn't the only version of Elves I want to discuss today however, so let's check out the next list!

Here we have an interesting version of Elves that features cards such as Elvish Branchbender and Elvish Visionary. This build of Elves is more of a midrange one because it plays Elvish Visionary to cantrip and help build towards making big Land creatures with the use of Elvish Branchbender.

 

You also play a 14th land because the lands in this deck are particularly more important. This is another list however that I would prefer to have a Rancor or 2 so that you can make your big Forests have trample when they attack. The sideboard is also a bit different in the fact that you have Elvish Euologist, which helps a lot against decks such as Burn and RDW. Elvish Branchbender for can also act as 3 more copies of Timberwatch Elf in a way because the Forest will have power and toughness equal to the number of elves you have, giving you a more wider approach when attacking in the red zone. I am personally not as big a fan of this version however because I don't like relying on Elvish Branchbender to make big lands when you can play Elvish Vanguard and be a bit quicker to finish off your opponent.

This is the final list we will look at and this version plays both Distant Melody and Lead the Stampede. This version plays more like a combo Elf Ball list and just tries to draw as many cards as possible and go off.

 

The big draw to this list is not only do you get to draw almost your whole deck with Distant Melody, but with the inclusion of Lead the Stampede, you have a huge chance of never running out of gas, making it easier for you to keep up or even go over the top of any deck you may face.

 

Another big part of why I like splashing blue is the sideboard options you get. For example I have Hydroblast in the sideboard to deal with cards like Electrickery or Krark-Clan Shaman. You could also include cards like Dispel to fight counter wars or deal with removal or you could even play Deep Analysis to draw more cards, but it is hard to keep blue mana up, as you only play 1 Island and Birchlore Rangers is your only way of producing blue.

 

It isn't a secret that Lead the Stampede has already made a big splash in the Pauper format and will continue to do so and the best part is that we have only scratched the surface of possible decks to play.

 

Out of all the lists I have showed you today, I would be inclined to take the Mono Green list of Elves into the leagues and/or Pauper challenges because I find it to be the most consistent and it is also the easiest version to play as well.

 

Whichever version you pick, I have no doubts you will do well and find success. Elves has always suffered from area of effect spells such as Shrivel and Electrickery, but with Lead the Stampede you can easily rebuild your board and be right back in the game. Let me know what you do and any other decks you can think of that can utilize Lead the Stampede to the fullest.

 

Would you like to compete in a free Pauper tournament with some great prizes? Head on over to Gatherling.com on Tuesday nights at 8pm EDT and play in our weekly Pauper Classic Tuesday's event! Join the chat #PCT to chat with us and feel free to find most of the competitors on Discord!

 

Visit my stream. twitch.tv/arcticghost_tv and thank you so much if you do!

 

Thanks for reading, have a good one everybody!