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By: sanhedrin, John Franklin
Mar 30 2010 2:27am
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Pauper is one of my favorite formats because of its low cost and the general “fairness” of the cards, but I also love that the huge Pauper card pool still has some unexplored corners. Pauper is, after all, the place where last-pick jank can find its way into top decks. As a casual player I enjoy winning, but I love playing with new cards and exploring new interactions even more. 

I recently spent a little bit of time looking through spoilers, searching for Pauper tech. Even going in I knew I wouldn’t find anything amazing, the format having been explored by much better deck builders than myself for years, but I did find a handful of cards that deserve either higher esteem, places in decks, or even just closer examination. Forgive me if the cards in question are already part of your repertoire.
 
Two varieties of cards dominate this list: cantrips and creature enchantments. Creature enchantments are notoriously bad (rightfully), and that estimation doesn’t change much in a format as filled with pinpoint removal as Pauper. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t check in with bad strategies from time to time to recheck their viability. The exceptional Armadillo Cloak proves that playable creature enchantments exist. Cantrips, on the other hand, are famously good, and while attaching “Draw a card” to a card that’s already playable is unsurprisingly awesome, what about cards that wouldn’t be playable on their own? At what point does replacing itself in your hand turn a poor or middling card into a good one?
 
I’ve divided this list into three categories: Good cards that should see more play in Pauper, Bad cards that I considered for various reasons and found lacking, and Narrow cards that could see play in very specific decks and circumstances.
 
THE GOOD
 
Hobble
 
This is the card that started me on the search for other Pauper underdogs, as I think it’s woefully underplayed. Though it’s not a cantripping Oblivion Ring, I think it comes close enough to a cantripping Pacifism to get the nod. Hobble doesn’t remove a blocker, but it does remove a threat – then replaces itself in your hand. The blocking drawback means you wouldn’t play this in an aggro deck, but it’s ideal for control.
 
Compare Hobble to these removal spells with cantripping or card advantage effects, and I think Hobble comes out on top:
Second Thoughts, which exiles an attacking creature and cantrips for 5
Cage of Hands, which pacifies for 3 and can be returned to hand
Cessation, which Hobbles and returns to your hand from the graveyard Rancor-style, for 3, from the “future” set of Urza’s Legacy
 
VERDICT: Underplayed.
 

Ah, the original Skullclamp. Could this be the Thoughtcast of weenie or removal decks? Putting Bequeathal on a Sakura-Tribe Elder turn three is awfully good. But so is putting the best part of a Skullclamp onto one of your opponent’s creatures and hitting it with the first half of a Firebolt. Your chump blockers become eager little lemmings with Bequeathal, and I’m not sure that “well, your opponents can play around it by not attacking” is a drawback. Like Treasure Hunt, this card isn’t great on its own, but paired with sacrificial creatures or removal spells it’s two-thirds of an Ancestral Recall. Play Bequeathal enough and you’ll start to think Lightning Bolt costs RG and draws two cards.
 
VERDICT: As I write this MTGO Traders only has 12 left in stock – best hurry.
  Here's an example of a Bequeathal deck built around some of those interactions I just described:
 
Four Color Cantrip Control
a Pauper deck by John Franklin
Creatures
4 Mulldrifter
4 Aurochs Herd
4 Farhaven Elf
4 Warren Pilferers
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
20 cards

Other Spells
4 Bequeathal
4 Firebolt
3 Nameless Inversion
3 Resounding Thunder
3 Repulse
13 cards
 
Lands
6 Forest
4 Swamp
3 Island
3 Mountain
1 Gruul Turf
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Golgari Rot Farm
4 Terramorphic Expanse
23 cards

 
Bequeathal
 
 
Shadow Rift
Card advantage is huge in Pauper, and cantrips are a great way to stretch your hand. I imagine Shadow Rift could be used to sneak in an alpha strike with one important creature, much the same way Wonder was used in Psychatog decks back in the day. It’s hard sometimes to get more than one use out of your Ninja of the Deep Hours or Okiba-Gang Shinobi since your opponent will always leave a blocker or two back after that first hit, but Shadow Rift gives you another easy swing – all for a one-mana cantrip. Of all the one-mana cantrips in Pauper, I think Shadow Rift has the most game-changing effect. Without spending a card you can break a creature stalemate and get through with a crucial 4 or 5 points of damage.
 
VERDICT: Probably the cheapest way to give a creature evasion for a turn.
  
Traveler's Cloak
Traveler's Cloak is a three-mana cantriping Aura that makes one of your creatures unblockable, comparable to the uncommon Unquestioned Authority. Even though it shares the drawbacks standard to creature enchantments, the strength of the ability and the fact that it replaces itself almost make it worthwhile. Perhaps the kindest way to look at (Traveler’s Cloak) is as a form of pseudo-removal, since its effect “removes” all blockers for one lucky creature. So what’s the best creature to give a (Traveler’s Cloak) to in Pauper? Ninja of the Deep Hours or Okiba-Gang Shinobi again? Surely there’s a better common creature on MTGO that was never designed to be unblockable. Being able to pass the Lightning Bolt test is important. Unfortunately, the fact that there’s no Reanimator-style archetype in Pauper also makes me think there aren’t enough “I win if this connects” targets in the format for (Traveler’s Cloak) to matter – and if one hit was all you needed, Shadow Rift does the same thing for less mana. I think the best options we’ve got right now are aggressively-costed midsized creatures that if unblocked will kill them 3~4 turns after coming online – not exactly Sutured Ghoul, but that’s the nature of the beast. Creatures with Exalted might help.
 
VERDICT: Could easily be a two-of in the right deck. Do we just have to wait on a suitable creature?
 
Deconstruct Deconstruct
Though certainly only a sideboard card, the full-cost “rebate” of Deconstruct means you won’t lose any tempo killing an artifact and can go on playing that Civic Wayfinder or Timberwatch Elf like nothing ever happened.
 
VERDICT: Sideboard for any green deck.
 
Rhystic Study
Either you slow your opponent’s mana development by one for the rest of the game or you draw a load of cards. Or maybe some of both. How would your game plan change if you knew your opponent always had Force Spike in hand? This might find a home in a fast aggro deck like Fish or Blue Skies, where your quick clock can force them into playing out answers before they have the extra mana up. I think this compares favorably with Mystic Remora. Rhystic Study is amazing in multiplayer if you can handle the big target it paints on you.
 
VERDICT: The tempo cost of its initial investment might be too steep, but the power of the effect demands playtesting.
 
Quicksilver Dagger
Though admittedly a narrow card, slap this on Horseshoe Crab and he reads “U: Ping an opponent and draw a card.” Seems good, though it fails the crucial Lightning Bolt test. As for a game-winning combo, I scoured the spoilers for a creature that reads “Discard a card: Untap this creature” but couldn’t find one. If such a card existed it would be half of a game-winning combo with Quicksilver Dagger similar to the Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind + Curiosity combo that’s fairly popular in Commander. The closest we’ve got in Pauper is enchanting a creature with both Quicksilver Dagger and Immobilizing Ink, which would let you deal damage equal to your available mana every turn until the combo is broken – comparably worse than the Horseshoe Crab combo.
 
VERDICT: “U: Ping an opponent and draw a card.” is strong enough to warrant further investigation.
 
Wrench Mind
Distress sometimes finds a place in black decks, and I think Wrench Mind deserves consideration as a replacement. For the same price as Distress you lose selection and gain the good chance of netting another discard. What happens when you play this a turn ahead of your turn three Blightning? You get a concession. Not what I would consider sporting, but certainly a powerful play.
 
VERDICT: Should always be weighed against Distress, and may also find use in other hand-denial strategies.
  
THE BAD
In examining the MTGO Pauper card pool for hidden gems I also came across a number of cards that seem close to viable but don’t hold up. You don’t need me to tell you that bad cards are bad, but seeing exactly how they fail makes for, I believe, an interesting exercise and good practice in card valuation.
 
Drelnoch
Total disclosure: I tried to make this awful card work at one point recently, so please feel free to ridicule me. It fails the Lightning Bolt test and I think Mulldrifter is strictly better in all circumstances outside a Yeti or Mutant tribal deck, and probably there, too. The “draw two when blocked” ability seems strong enough to build a really bad deck around, which is pretty much the guiding philosophy of all Johnnies. You can play your own Curtain of Light or Dazzling Beauty on it to draw three cards. Which are, in case you’re wondering, an Island, another Drelnoch, and another Dazzling Beauty. You know you’re playing an outstanding deck when getting your combo to go off just makes you depressed.
 
VERDICT: Not quite Tier One.
 
Murmurs from Beyond
In my dreams there’s a playable blue/red Ire of Kaminari deck in Pauper, and of course it would play this. How about outside the Ire deck? Drawing 2 at instant speed is good, but does the fact that Murmurs from Beyond will never get you the best answer of threat kill its playability? Or that a lot of the time you’ll be drawing two lands? Fact or Fiction it ain’t.
 
VERDICT: If the Ire of Kaminari deck isn’t viable yet, it’s not going to be.
Incidentally, I actually tested an Ire of Kaminari deck that won very inconsistently. Here’s a list.
  
UR Ire
a Pauper deck by John Franklin
Creatures
0 cards

Other Spells
4 Reach Through Mists
2 Consuming Vortex
4 Murmurs from Beyond
4 Ire of Kaminari
4 Peer Through Depths
4 Lava Spike
4 First Volley
4 Spiraling Embers
4 Torrent of Stone
4 Glacial Ray
38 cards
 
Lands
8 Mountain
8 Island
3 Forgotten Cave
3 Lonely Sandbar
22 cards

 
Ire of Kaminari
 
The deck really needs the uncommon tutor Eerie Procession to find the Ire. Otherwise it plays like the world’s slowest mono-red burn deck.
 
 
Carom
(Harm’s Way) is one of the best combat tricks in years, and even though it doesn’t get a lot love in Standard, if it was common I’m sure it would see play in Pauper. Carom does exactly half what (Harm’s Way) does for an extra mana – and cantrips. Best case scenario, you’ll set up a trade in combat then redirect a point of damage to another 1-toughness creature and draw a card, netting a 3-for-1. This assumes quite a lot, of course: your opponent is playing creatures and not an awesome Ire of Kaminari deck, they’re attacking with something you can trade with, and they’ve got another creature with one toughness or lethal minus one damage. It’s easier to use Carom as a 2-for-1 combat trick, but we’re still talking about a very narrow window. For sake of comparison, Coldsnap’s cantrip Swift Maneuver can’t kill anything, but it prevents two damage and can be used on yourself.
 
VERDICT: It’s a blowout when the stars align, but there are so many creatures that provide card advantage in Pauper that you’re better off just playing another one of those than a card intended to preserve one you’ve already got.
 
Recover
I’ve played Recover before and liked it: still not as embarrassing as my Drelnoch playtesting. I think of Recover as a Divination that always draws at least one creature, because any deck it goes in will force creatures like Sakura-Tribe Elder into the yard quickly. If there are two or more creatures in graveyard you get your pick, making for the world’s least consequential tutor effect. And if there aren’t any creatures in the yard? Get some in there, Black Mage! I consider Raise Dead to be a skill testing card for new players – it’s important to learn that card advantage trumps card selection, and like the very comparable card Commune with Nature, Raise Dead is just limited card selection. Making it cantrip is a step in the right direction, but not far enough. I like that such a scrubby card as Recover is secretly playable in some decks, but even then it’s too dependent on getting creatures into your graveyard early, and most of the time you’d be better off just evoking a Mulldrifter instead. Recover also has to contend with competition from Grim Discovery, which nabs a dead land instead of cantripping for one less mana. In an environment where Quicksand and a new suite of sac lands are on the rise, I’d say the advantage is with Grim Discovery.
 
VERDICT: Better than you’d think, but still not good enough.
 
Crown of Flames
In a list full of scrubby cards, this may be the scrubbiest. Not only a creature enchantment, it’s also a Firebreathing variant. Firebreathing is a mechanic that’s enjoyed when it’s a mana-to-damage outlet built into a creature, but it’s derided when you have to spend a card adding it to a creature. First we should consider if Firebreathing is a viable strategy for winning the game. If you started with a Raging Goblin turn one and added a Firebreathing turn two, how many turns of constant land drops would it take for you to goldfish?
 
Turn 1 – 1 damage, 1 total
Turn 2 – 2 damage, 3 total
Turn 3 – 4 damage, 7 total
Turn 4 – 5 damage, 13 total
Turn 5 – 6 damage, 19 total
Turn 6 – 7 damage, 26 total
 
Not very good. Zoo decks are popular because they consistently net 2 or more damage for every mana spent on a Kird Ape or Wild Nacatl, so starting with a baseline strategy that halves that efficiency won’t do. But what about unspent mana left over on your turn, and all those wastefully-upright lands when you’re in topdeck mode later in the game? Is it worth spending a card to take advantage of those potentially potential resources? Let’s take a look at Crown of Flames, what I would consider the best Firebreathing card in Pauper right now, and see if it holds up.
 
With Crown of Flames you can turn a small evasion creature – or a series of small creatures – into a clock. You can still get rid the enchantment by removing the targeted creature with Crown of Flames on the stack, but after that it can be hard to deal with so long as you’ve got creatures to replay it on. Of course even then the classic play is to let them pump all their mana into it before you Terminate or bounce the creature. But the biggest strike against this isn’t that it’s an Aura or that it can be chump blocked or played around, it’s the fact that you can only sink red mana into it. If Crown of Flames gave Trample like Rancor and pumped for colorless, it would see play. But putting Firebreathing in a different color might make it too easy to abuse: Silhana Ledgewalker and Skarrgan Pit-Skulk don’t need any help, for example. Fiery Mantle from Urza’s Saga is almost a strictly better card, so any argument in favor of Crown of Flames will soon be moot – though Ghitu Firebreathing, which is Crown of Flames with Flash for an extra mana, may have already done so. In any case, we’ll soon be spoiled for choice of Firebreathing cards that aren’t really playable.
 
VERDICT: Like Recover, this might be closer to playable than you’d think at first glance. But it’s still not.
 
Wirewood Herald
He’s obviously good in tribal decks, but does Wirewood Herald have other applications? Well, he can also search up any changeling card, which for our purposes would most likely be Nameless Inversion. An Elvish Visionary that always searches up a Nameless Inversion or a copy of itself would be pretty good, but unfortunately Wirewood Herald only tutors when it dies. Though certainly not good enough on its own, the combat trick of a chump block turning into a trade is slightly amusing. Still great in your elf deck, but not so much elsewhere. I wish there were more playable Changeling instants!
 
VERDICT: I don’t think the format supports the narrowness of the tutoring.
 
Desecrator Hag
The next two cards caught my eye in PDC top-8 decks, but casual testing tells me there are better options. Desecrator Hag first grabbed my attention in a deck by Amar that got second place in a PDC tournament (http://pdcmagic.com/gatherling/deck.php?mode=view&id=10987), where it was used as a Gravedigger surrogate without having to play swamps. I can imagine situations where the limitation on reanimation targets could be a hindrance, for instance if you have 6 mana and really want that Sakura-Tribe Elder back, or when you’d like to chain up another Desecrator Hag but can’t.
 
VERDICT: If you’re already in green, can’t you search up one Swamp for Warren Pilferers?
 
Citanul Woodreaders
Like Desecrator Hag, this card can serve as a mono-green replacement for the blue staple Mulldrifter. But for an extra mana it’s not worth it. Mulldrifter flies, and its “kicker” ability is actually useful: a good player has no problem evoking Mulldrifter turn three if there’s nothing else to do, but there’s very little reason to drop an unkicked Citanul Woodreaders. Compare Citanul Woodreaders to Aurochs Herd: for the same price as the kicked Woodreaders you get +3/+0, Trample, and conditional pumping, but you only draw one card and that card is always another Aurochs. Sounds like a better deal to me.
 
VERDICT: Mulldrifter and Aurochs Herd are both better.
 
 THE NARROW
These cards lack widespread applicability but may shine in a specific deck or archetype.
 
Haunting Misery
I see this as a Pauper substitute for (Patriarch’s Bidding) as used in the Onslaught Era Goblin Bidding decks. Whittle their life total down until they wrest control of the board, then Bidding back all your gobs for a machine gunning via Goblin Warchief, Goblin Sharpshooter, and Skirk Prospector . Or in this case, beat down with quick creatures like Skittering Skirge, then hit them with Haunting Misery to seal the deal. Maybe with a Dredge component to fill your graveyard with creatures faster? You’re not likely to get enough creatures in the yard just from your opening seven.
 
VERDICT: I can’t find the deck for this, but I’ve got a feeling that a better builder could.
 
Oblivion Ring and Journey to Nowhere see a lot of play in Pauper, and this shadowy guy answers them (and any other enchantment). I can almost see Soltari Visionary in the maindeck of an equipment-based white weenie deck, as Shadow makes him extremely hard to block, and a Bonesplitter turns him into a bit of a clock. The double white mana cost is the only thing that keeps this card out of serious contention, I think, as he could easily find a place at 2W in decks with a splash of white.
 
VERDICT: Deserves at least a sideboard slot in some white decks.
 
Whiteout
In an idea I got from Delandel on the pdcmagic.com forums, Whiteout can be discarded by Wild Mongrel or other discard-to-do-something cards, then returned to your hand by sacrificing a Snow Land. Rinse/repeat for all-in alpha strike. This is a very specific interaction, but catch them in a tight spot and it’s game over.
 
VERDICT: Cute.
 
Daru Cavalier
My favorite finisher in Pauper is Aurochs Herd. It’s fairly big and gets bigger, it tramples for a touch of evasion, and by replacing themselves in your hand they keep the threats coming. I also like to play at least a singleton Nameless Inversion just so the last Aurochs’s fetch ability has a target. For a discount of 2 mana, Daru Cavalier doesn’t quite compare. The first strike is nice, but the 2/2 body isn’t likely to make that much of a difference later in the game, except when they join forces as a 4/4 or 6/6 first striking wall. But maybe the Aurochs Herd comparison isn’t the right way to think about Daru Cavalier. What would you pay for a Borderland Ranger that searched up another 2/2 instead of a land? What if it also had first strike? Or what would you pay for an Elvish Visionary that always draws another, with the added bonus of +1/+1 and first strike?
 
VERDICT: I like the underdog factor here, but I’m afraid spending your turns on 4-mana 2/2s will often set you behind the curve.
 
Auriok Glaivemaster
With Adventuring Gear I think we’ve reached the critical mass for 1cc equipment that also equips cheaply to make cards like Auriok Glaivemaster abusable. I qualify with “1cc” because then the equipment is tutorable with Trinket Mage. With Trinket Mage you’ve also got access to the classic Bauble/Artifact Land package, but might I also recommend my very own creation, the Darksteel Citadel + Zendikon indestructible combo? Crusher Zendikon, the one with trample, would love to try out that that Adventuring Gear or Bonesplitter. And if you’re playing blue for Trinket Mage you might as well be playing Mulldrifter, who not only draws cards but also has evasion to make use of that equipment you’re playing.
 
VERDICT: Though it’s now competing with Kitesail Apprentice, I still think this guy works – as the Apprentice’s backup.
  
Azorius First-Wing
A 2/2 flyer for 2 that’s immune to Journey to Nowhere and Oblivion Ring. The mana cost may be too hard to swing for turn two, and he gets outclassed very quickly, but he does carry a Bonesplitter well.
 
VERDICT: Maybe in that Auriok Glaivemaster/Trinket Mage deck?
  
Squee's Toy
Pay one mana to upset your opponent’s combat math for the rest of the game? It makes for an interesting one-of in a Trinket Mage deck. And by protecting him from (Lighting Bolt), clearly Squee's Toy puts the Drelnoch deck over the top.
 
VERDICT: Worth testing in a creature-heavy Trinket Mage deck. I mean, it’s not “worth” it in the sense of winning games, but it makes combat a little more interactive and interesting.
 
Before we finish up, here’s a decklist that uses the last few cards together. Please note that I think that the UW Trinket/Equipment archetype could actually produce a much better deck than this one.
 
UW Equipment Experiment
a Pauper deck by John Franklin
Creatures
4 Mulldrifter
4 Trinket Mage
4 Kitesail Apprentice
4 Azorius First-Wing
4 Daru Cavalier
3 Court Homunculus
3 Auriok Glaivemaster
26 cards

Other Spells
4 Hobble
4 Bonesplitter
2 Leonin Scimitar
1 AEther Spellbomb
1 Squee's Toy
4 Fieldmist Borderpost
16 cards
 
Lands
8 Plains
6 Island
2 Seat of the Synod
2 Ancient Den
18 cards

 
Bonesplitter
 
So there you go. Of all the cards discussed here I think that Hobble, the cantripping evasion-granters, and especially the awesome Bequeathal deserve more play. Am I wrong? What other underplayed Pauper gems are there? Let me know in the comments.
 
Finally, a small contest that's not worth your time but must be done: the best Drelnoch deck posted to the comments this week wins my thanks, my sympathy, and a foil playset of Drelnoch. Try not to soil yourselves in excitement.

 

25 Comments

hobble - bad bc kor by anony troll (not verified) at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 03:10
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hobble - bad bc kor skyfisher, 3CC to slow, and vs goblins: mogg raider effects + too slow... efficiency is key

I liked this article. Of by JMason (not verified) at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 05:02
JMason's picture

I liked this article.

Of these cards I see wrench mind played in serious formats occasionally. Recover, quicksilver dagger and desecrator hag I see quite often in casual games, and the rest probably never.

I have played citanul woodreaders in a 100 singleton deck, and it's really never a card I want to draw, just too slow against fast aggressive decks and too expensive against control. The lure of 2 more cards has been blinding me to how slow and limited it is on the battlefield. I have come to the conclusion that Kavu Climber is better all round, or in fact something better costed like Nessian Courser would come down earlier for offense/defense and make more of an impact on games.

I have run into Bequeathal, by kalandine at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 07:18
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I have run into Bequeathal, Shadow Rift (Wee Dragonauts storm), Rhystic Study, and Wirewood Herald in pauper decks. I run Auriok Glaivemaster in a white weenie equipment deck that is fun, but way too random to be a consistently successful deck.

Crown of Flames seems outdated by Fiery Mantle with its resilience.

Quicksilver Dagger could be fun on Slippery Bogle.

I have faced a Song of the Damned deck that fills the graveyard with creatures to power a huge Consume Spirit. It is a fragile, but interesting deck that can support Haunting Misery very nicely.

"I consider Raise Dead to be a skill testing card for new players – it’s important to learn that card advantage trumps card selection, and like the very comparable card Commune with Nature, Raise Dead is just limited card selection."
vs.
"Compare Citanul Woodreaders to Aurochs Herd: for the same price as the kicked Woodreaders you get +3/+0, Trample, and conditional pumping, but you only draw one card and that card is always another Aurochs. Sounds like a better deal to me."

By your first statement, the 2 card draw of Citanul Woodreaders is superior to the Auroch-search of Aurochs herd, but your second statement sounds as if the limited search ability of Aurochs herd is better. Aurochs Herd is really good in a specific deck and it trumps Citanul Woodreaders in that deck, but there are decks where Citanul Woodreaders is most definitely better than Aurochs Herd (granted, there are usually better options than the Woodreader for those decks).

Mystical Tutor and Demonic Tutor illustrate that card search can be just as desirable and powerful as raw card draw (ignoring Ancestral Recall for the moment). I agree that Raise Dead is a bad card, but I don't think the reason is as simple as card draw vs. card tutoring inequality. Raise Dead simply doesn't do enough to justify its inclusion in a deck, especially with Warren Pilferers around.

Of the listed cards I think by sanhedrin at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 07:58
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Of the listed cards I think Rhystic Study may be underplayed only because of its cost/rarity.

On Mystic/Demonic Tutors: tutoring is very different than a simple card selection ability like Commune with Nature or Raise Dead. And the big difference between Raise Dead and Aurochs Herd is that the former nets you a creature in hand, while the latter will also give you a 4/4 trampler in play. It’s card advantage.

As for my Herd/Woodreader comparison, I’d say it’s a little unfair of me, since you’re not using them for the same thing. Which is not to say I’d ever play it over Herd or Mulldrifter.

Tutoring is like the by kalandine at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 08:21
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Tutoring is like the granddaddy of card selection (it wasn't until your response that I fully understood how you were using the term card selection - my bad), but Raise Dead in the right deck can have as a wide a range of selections as tutors (albeit, with a very short clock before you deck yourself). I would not qualify Raise Dead in the same category as Commune with Nature because Commune with Nature only lets you search through 5 cards, whereas the number of cards available for Raise Dead is malleable based on the rest of the deck.

That still doesn't make Raise Dead a good card, and I wasn't really trying to compare Raise Dead to Aurochs Herd. Warren Pilferers is a more direct comparison given what you get in play and casting cost. I would say that Pilferers is a better card in a wider range of decks, but that Aurochs Herd is superior in a specific deck.

Yeah I agree 100%. by sanhedrin at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 08:34
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Yeah I agree 100%.

Good article :D You know my by CR (not verified) at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 07:20
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Good article :D

You know my favorite use for Wirewood Herald, is using him to get out a Ninja. Because NO ONE WILL EVER BLOCK HIM

Hey, Drelnoch is the hardest by Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer (not verified) at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 08:23
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Hey, Drelnoch is the hardest working pimp around ... don't hate on the Yeti Mutant :)

A brief addendum: I wrote by sanhedrin at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 09:08
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A brief addendum: I wrote this before Ulamog’s Crusher was spoiled. The Crusher (and any other common Eldrazi fat) change card valuations in exciting ways.

I like Hobble too. I used to by Doctor Anime at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 15:07
Doctor Anime's picture
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I like Hobble too. I used to run it in my UWblink deck. Ended up cutting it because of no space.

Wrench Mind sees play. It's a superb discard spell that's run in many MBC SBs, including my own. It's bad against Storm and that's about it.

Wirewood Herald is in every ELVES! deck I've seen.

The difference between Citanul Woodreaders and your other choices is it's better against aggro, since it has the option to be played for 3cc in a pinch. I personally love this card.

Overall, good article, you highlighted some of the better underplayed cards. If you like Quicksilver Dagger though I should point you toward Razorfin Hunter.

For the Herald my idea was to by sanhedrin at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 16:02
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For the Herald my idea was to find non-elf applications for the tutor ability, but I couldn’t find anything worthwhile in Pauper other than Nameless Inversion.

Since Woodreaders means we’re in green (more than Mulldrifter puts us in blue), I would rather the other cards in the deck (like Tribe-Elder) handle the ground for a turn or two. Heck, that Tribe-Elder is already like drawing two cards: Warning and Rampant Growth. I’ve just got no love for the Woodreaders.

Razorfin Hunter is cheap for what it does, but I mainly wanted to highlight how broken the Horseshoe Crab interaction is. For a Pauper combo I’d say “Pay U to draw a card and ping your opponent” compares somewhat favorably to “Pay 1 to gain a life and a 1/1 flyer”.

any luck with by Anonymous (not verified) at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 18:00
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Deconstruct? anybody play this? hows it do, to narrow compared to naturalize?

Quicksilver dagger + oblivion by loz (not verified) at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 18:12
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Quicksilver dagger + oblivion crown + devoted druid = infinite ping.

There's your untap ftw combo :p

Oh that's janktastic. I love by sanhedrin at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 19:33
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Oh that's janktastic. I love it.

Desecrator Hag by Amar at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 21:40
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You know, in that deck I was ready to hate the Desecrator Hag from day 1 but it hasn't disappointed me at all. It's conceivable that I want to bring back something else, but in practice the biggest creature there is what I want. And a swamp would make it 4 colors, so that's out.

Plus there's the advantage of playing cards opponents have to read. I once had someone kill it with it's trigger on the stack. Since the Hag's ability doesn't target, I used it to bring itself back.

Wrench Mind has been on my "try to use this" list, and I think it's a great choice if you want volume over selection. I just fear the random opponent with a non-essential artifact in hand.

Soltari Visionary is a good solid card, but the problem is Artifacts are somewhat more uncommon that Enchantments so you can't afford hate that only gets the latter.

Rhystic Study though ... I'd forgotten about that. Might have to try it.

Bequeathal by Katastrophe at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 23:01
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5

I used to play with Bequeathal all the time when it was new. And I was bad at card selection back then, but I loved that card. I also more than once called it the original Skullclamp, too. Nowadays I like Harmonize better, but since you're playing pauper and neither card is an option, then maybe! In addition to (Lightning Bolt) also try playing it with (Tinder Wall) and (Blood Lust). That's what I used to do.

I didn't realize that by RCueva at Wed, 03/31/2010 - 14:19
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I didn't realize that Quicksilver Dagger was a common. I used to play a fun deck with that horseshoe crab combo in real life. Bequeathal could also be a fun card. I think I will try to build a Haunting Misery deck. This was definently a fun read and it does help to see some cards that have been thrown to the back of the collection like these.

I don't know if I'm exempt by CottonRhetoric at Fri, 04/02/2010 - 10:11
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I don't know if I'm exempt from a prize since I work for this site, but here's my submission.

It's for vanguard, using the Sisters of Stone Death avatar. The key concept is the line in the avatar that says "creatures you control must be blocked if able." So, Drelnoch is getting blocked every turn. And if he's about to die to a larger blocker, just activate the avatar's 4 mana ability before damage is dealt.

The rest of the deck involves...
- other cards to combo off the avatar's "must be blocked" ability (Tolarian Entrancer, Vedalken Ghoul, Neko Te, Dread Specter, The Wretched, and to some extent Sickle Reaper).
- search/tutors (to get to the Drelnoch, obv)
- counterspells (to protect the Drelnoch)

12 Island
12 Swamp

4 Vedalken Ghoul
2 Sickle Reaper
4 Tolarian Entrancer
4 Dread Specter
4 The Wretched
4 Drelnoch

4 Serum Visions
4 Dimir Signet
4 Counterspell
2 Diabolic Tutor
avatar: Sisters of Stone Death

Don’t worry, you’re still by sanhedrin at Fri, 04/02/2010 - 15:41
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Don’t worry, you’re still eligible for the FABULOUS PRIZE.

Congrats on winning! Find me by sanhedrin at Tue, 04/06/2010 - 10:31
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Congrats on winning! Find me online to collect your foil playset of Drelnoch.

Alright!!! Thanks To let you by CottonRhetoric at Tue, 04/06/2010 - 11:54
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Alright!!! Thanks

To let you know, I'm having my brother pick up the cards for me -- my home has been having some internet problems lately and my work computer obviously doesn't have mtgo installed. His sn is sheat.

Great. If you have a specific by sanhedrin at Tue, 04/06/2010 - 15:49
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Great. If you have a specific time in mind let me know. We'll work something out.

I have this pretty good by vandwedge (not verified) at Sat, 04/03/2010 - 18:20
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I have this pretty good Drelnoch deck. The strategy is to get a high storm count and then Tendrils ftw.

land:
1 Flooded Strand
2 Island
4 Polluted Delta
2 Swamp
3 Underground Sea

creatures:
4 Drelnoch

spells:
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Black Lotus
1 Brainstorm
1 Chain of Vapor
4 Dark Ritual
1 Demonic Tutor
4 Duress
1 Fact or Fiction
4 Force of Will
1 Gifts Ungiven
2 Grim Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mind's Desire
1 Misdirection
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Necropotence
1 Rebuild
1 Sol Ring
2 Tendrils of Agony
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Bargain
1 Yawgmoth's Will

You may be wondering how Drelnoch is synergistic in here. The answer is you can pitch it to Force of Will.

Nice, but I think MTGO is by sanhedrin at Tue, 04/06/2010 - 10:30
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Nice, but I think MTGO is missing some of the cards.

lol by rayjinn at Sat, 04/03/2010 - 19:41
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just lol