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I managed to get home from work early on Monday (I had to start early though) this week and was reading an article on this very site about the EDH events that are held on Sunday’s. I was interested in the different ways that the host changes the deck construction rules each week so went off to the Wizards boards to find out more.

Sadly I found that the timing wasn’t very friendly for my Sunday schedule so decided I would have to give it a miss. I did however find the event details for MPDC which is the STD Pauper PRE that happens every Monday. I checked what time it ran and looked at the clock on my PC and I had an hour until the registration started. This didn’t give me much time to prepare as I had to eat first which meant I started making my deck 15 minutes before the registration,  talk about cutting it close.

I’m not a regular pauper player so had no idea of what the format would entail. I found it awkward as there is no way to filter Pauper and STD at the same time. I looked at my commons and decided aggro would be the best route as it’s the safest option in a format you know nothing about. Wild Nacatl caught my eye and so did Steppe Lynx as I haven’t played much with that card.

I have eight cards so far, where to go next, I looked at the other commons and a smile came across my face. Cats I could make a pauper cat deck for fun and see how it does.

I pulled all my fur balls together and ended up with the following deck.

 

I’m not going to go into the games but I did well, there were 22 players and I managed to get into the top 8 and was taken out by jarmaster1000 who also defeated me in round three with a very nice ally deck, he later went on to win second place.    

Thanks to gwyned for hosting it was a fun event.

On with today's article the previous three can be found below by clicking on the links

You win the game part 1 Coalition Victory 

You win the game part 2 Epic Struggle 

You win the game part 3 Darksteel Reactor 

This week I decided to run with Felidar Sovereign the win condition for this card is as follows 'At the beginning of your upkeep, if you have 40 or more life, you win the game.' Felidar's closet format is Zendikar block but I decided to step it down to STD to give us more of a card choice.

So the object of the deck will be to gain as much life as possible and drop down Felidar for the win. I typed gain & life into the client's deck editor which brought back sixty four different cards. The best ones from first glance are in black and are vampires Child of Night, Vampire Nighthawk and Malakir Bloodwitch along with the vampire spells Blood Tribute and Feast of Blood, there are also a few other gain life spells in black. But I was already expecting STD to be pretty packed with vampires and didn't want to bring you five games of vampire on vampire action with a bit of white thrown in for the win condition. 

  

In the end I decided to play mono white. There were a few creatures I haven't played in a long time that are very good at gaining life Soul Warden and an angelic friend Battlegrace Angel. I was also going to include Knight of the White Orchid as it's a very good creature to help ramp up to Felidar Sovereign but the price was a lot more than I was expecting it to be so I had to find another substitute. I looked long and hard and in the end decided to replace them with White Knight. I wanted something with first strike to help fight off any weenie hordes and with protection from black they fit in quite nicely if we are up against vampires. I also filled out the two drops with an over looked flyer Stormfront Pegasus. 

Next up we need removal, I wanted some mass removal but with Felidar Sovereign being $3 each that didn't really leave any space for either Day of Judgment or Martial Coup. The only alternative is the highly expensive Planar Cleansing, the expensive be on the mana cost side of 3. Oblivion Ring and Journey to Nowhere are a good bargain so they went in for spot removal. I also added Brave the Elements as it can be a good defensive and offensive spell letting you walk past the opponents army for hose final points of damage.

I didn't include any special lands this time round but did include Explorer's Scope to help get the mana out quicker. I also added some Kor as well as I always find them useful three Kor Hookmaster's for tapping out creatures and two Kor Sanctifiers for artifact/enchantment removal. 

The final deck list is below, current cost from MTGOTraders as of 07/02/10 $13.84 

 

Games

Game 1 vs Gakijin

My starting hand consists of 2 plains, 2 Stormfront Pegasus, 2 Explorer's Scope and Battlegrace Angel.

I start off with the Explorer's Scope followed by Stormfront Pegasus on turn two. Gakijin plays two swamps and the Sign in Blood.

Turn three I play a Soul Warden which I drew that turn and equip the Stormfront Pegasus with the scope and attack, the scope reveals another Soul Warden. I then play my second Explorer's Scope. Gakijin plays another Sign in Blood and a swamp before passing.

In my turn I play the Soul Warden and attack with the Pegasus and the other Warden taking Gakijin down to eleven life. I then play my second Stormfront Pegasus before passing the turn. Gakijin plays Death Baron and passes.

In my turn I attack with both Pegasus and reveal a plains through my Explorer's Scope putting it into play. Gakijin is dropped down to seven life. I then play a third Stormfront Pegasus and pass. Gakijin plays Tendrils of Corruption on my equipped Pegasus taking his life total back up to twelve.

I play my Battlegrace Angel and attack with both the Pegasus taking Gakijin back down to eight life. Gakijin plays Rise from the Grave on my Pegasus returning it to play on his side as a zombie which also has Deathtouch due to Death Baron.

I equip both of the Pegasus’s with scopes and send them in knowing Gakijin will block one which he does. My scopes reveal Felidar Sovereign I’m currently on 31 life so he could win me the game in a few swings of my angel now the sky is clear. I play my White Knight and pass. Gakijin plays Cemetery Reaper and Scavenger Drake, boosting my life up to thirty seven.

In my turn I play Felidar Sovereign and attack with the lone Pegasus which gains lifelink from Battlegrace Angel the Pegasus is blocked but my life total goes to forty two.  In Gakijin’s turn he brings a zombie back and plays Demons Horn and Gorgon Flail.

I win the game in my turn from Felidar’s ability having more than forty life.

Win 1

Lost 0
 

Game 2 vs mnpk

I start off with 2 plains, Stormfront Pegasus, Soul Warden, Felidar Sovereign and Journey to Nowhere after taking a mulligan from a hand with 5 plains, Felidar Sovereign and Planar Cleansing.

I start off first with plains into my Soul Warden and mnpk plays a Terramorphic Expanse into a swamp.

Turn two and I attack with my Soul Warden and then play Stormfront Pegasus. Mnpk plays Vampire Hexmage.

In my turn I cast Kor Hookmaster tapping out the Vampire Hexmage and send in my warden and pegasus for three damage. In mnpk’s turn he plays Vampire Nighthawk, I’m glad I saved the Journey to Nowhere.

I play the Journey to Nowhere on the Vampire Nighthawk and then attack with my three guys taking mnpk down to eleven life. So far so good but I’m really lacking plains which is a bit concerning. In mnpk’s turn he plays a kicked Gatekeeper of Malakir and I sacrifice my Soul Warden.

In my next turn I draw Planar Cleansing but the six mana cost makes it very unwieldy. I attack with the Stormfront Pegasus and pass. mnpk attacks with both the Vampire Nighthawk and  Gatekeeper of Malakir I block the Vampire Nighthawk with Kor Hookmaster and play Brave the Elements to save my Kor but in response mnpk plays Tendrils of Corruption taking out the Kor Hookmaster before Brave the Elements takes effect.

Next turn I draw and play Soul Warden but I can already feel the game sliping at this point. I may have twenty three life compared to mnpk’s eleven but my attack force has slowed down to a halt and they only card which can save my day is already in hand (Planar Cleansing) I just don’t have enough mana to cast it. In mnpk’s turn he plays another kicked Gatekeeper of Malakir and I lose my Soul Warden, mnpk attacks taking me down to twenty life.

Next turn I draw a plains but I’m unlikely to draw two more before I’m taken out by the vampire attack force. I send in my pegasus anyway and cross my fingers for the next few draws. Mnpk dosent play any cards in his turn and attacks for six damage.

I draw and play Kor Hookmaster this turn targetting the Vampire Hexmage and send in the pegasus for another two taking mnpk down to seven life. At the end of my turn mnpk plays Tendrils of Corruption on the Hookmaster taking his life back up to eleven. Mnpk attacks with both his Gatekeeper’s and then casts a third which takes out my pegasus.

Next turn I draw an Explorer's Scope which is way too late. Mnpk attacks full out taking me down to two life and passes.
I draw a plains this turn giving me five out of the six I needed for Planar Cleansing. In mnpk’s turn he plays Malakir Bloodwitch for the win.

Win 1

Lost 1

Deck change to help with my late game mana, I’m taking out Shepherd of the Lost and the Luminarch Ascension for two Expedition Maps.

Game 3 vs StygianTraveler

I had a good hand to start with 3 plains, Stormfront Pegasus, Felidar Sovereign, Explorer's Scope and Soul Warden.

I start off plains into Soul Warden followed by Stormfront Pegasus and then Explorer's Scope.  StygianTraveler plays two forests and Rampant Growth into a swamp. Then on turn 3 plays Frontier Guide and Blood Seeker.

Turn 4 and I draw and play a second Soul Warden and attack with my Pegasus which is carrying the Explorer's Scope, which reveals Planar Cleansing. In StygianTraveler’s turn he uses the Frontier Guide to search for a swamp and plays Quest for the Gravelord .

In my tun I play my fifth plains and attack with the pegasus revealing Battlegrace Angel with the Explorer's Scope. In StygianTraveler’s turn he plays Child of Night, Drudge Skeletons and Llanowar Elves.

I draw and play the Battlegrace Angel this turn and send in the pegasus again for three damage taking StygianTraveler down to nine life. StygianTraveler uses the Frontier Guide again in his turn for another swamp and passes.

In my I equip the Battlegrace Angel with the scope and send her in for five damage taking StygianTraveler down to four life and me up to thirty eight. StygianTraveler conceeds in his turn as hes unable to stop my flyers.

Win 2

Lost 1

Deck change I’ve given up with Planar Cleansing and I’m replacing it with some more spot removal another Oblivion Ring and Journey to Nowhere.

Game 4 vs imidazoline

I have a nice starting hand of 3 plains, 2 Stormfront Pegasus, Explorer's Scope and Kor Hookmaster.

I start off with a scope and then Stormfront Pegasus. Imidazoline start with a forest into Blade of the Bloodchief and then a swamp into Elvish Visionary.

Turn three and I equip the scope to the Pegasus which doesn’t reveal a land when he goes in for the attack. I cast another Stormfront Pegasus before the end of my turn.  Imidazoline attacks with the Elvish Visionary and then plays Fleshbag Marauder, I lose a Pegasus and imidazoline his Elvish Visionary.

Next turn I attack with the Pegasus and the scope reveals a plains, putting it into play. I then cast Soul Warden and White Knight. In imidazoline’s turn he plays Quest for the Gemblades and passes.

I attack with my Pegasus this turn revealing a plains and also the White Knight taking imidazoline down to ten life. I then play the Kor Hookmaster tapping out the Fleshbag Marauder. At the end of my turn imidazoline cycles Jungle Weaver. On imidazoline’s turn he plays Bone Splinters to take out my Pegasus sacrificing his Fleshbag Marauder.

In my turn I quip the scope to the White Knight and send in all three of my guys taking imidazoline down to seven. I then play another Stormfront Pegasus. Imidazoline plays Tar Fiend and passes.

I play Journey to Nowhere on the Tar Fiend and attack for the win.

Win 3

Lost 1

Game 5 vs frankpapa

I start with a nice hand again this game 2 plains, Brave the Elements, Explorer's Scope, Felidar Sovereign, Soul Warden and White Knight.

I play first turn Soul Warden and then on turn two play and equip her with the scope. She attacks and reveals a Stormfront Pegasus. Frankpapa plays Akoum Refuge and then a mountain and passes.

At the start of my turn frankpapa Lightning Bolts my Soul Warden, I play Stormfront Pegasus and pass.  frankpapa plays another Akoum Refuge and passes.

I equip my Stormfront Pegasus with the scope and attack revealing a plains which goes into play. Frankpapa plays Sign in Blood and a mountain and passes.

In my turn I attack with the Pegasus and cast White Knight. Another Sign in Blood from frankpapa and he passes having to discard two cards Diabolic Tutor and Sadistic Sacrament.

In my turn I attack for four damage and hold back casting any more creatures as I’m playing a weenie deck vs a very heavy red deck which spells lots of mass weenie removal. Frankpapa plays a kicked Marsh Casualties taking out both of my creatures. I’m glad I held back now.

In my turn I play a White Knight and equip him with the scope. In frankpapa’s turn he plays Blightning and I drop Brave the Elements and Felidar Sovereign deciding to keep my removal.

I send the Knight in on my turn swinging his blade taking frankpapa down to seven life and then cast Soul Warden.  Frankpapa passes his turn with no actions.

On my turn I send in the Knight and Soul Warden, the poor Soul Warden is Terminated. On frankpapa’s turn he plays another Akoum Refuge and passes.

In goes the White Knight again on my turn hacking away at frankpapa. I cast a Stormfront Pegasus before passing. Frankpapa passes again.

I attack with the Knight and the Pegasus this turn and frankpapa tries to Terminate my Pegasus but were having none of that and I play Brave the Elements giving the Pegasus protection from black and they go through for the win.

Win 4

Lost 1

Thoughts

The deck was fun to play after I took out the Planar Cleansing’s I really don’t like that card now. Felidar isn’t really that great of a card in the current meta game as it’s too slow when we have Everflowing Chalice this will speed up decks quite a bit. I’m expecting this to be a top uncommon though like Vampire Hexmage was, I’d say they will go for a ticket or two each to start off with.
 

Here’s the final deck list, current cost from MTGOTraders as of 07/02/10 $12.67

 

That's all from me for now, the next deck in the series is going to be a real challenge so keep an eye out.