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By: SpikeBoyM, Alex Ullman
Oct 09 2009 2:12am
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This all started because I saw Krosan Avenger.

You see, I have an obscene obsession with utilizing the graveyard to my advantage in my Pauper Magic matches. I like getting the most out of my cards, and turning those wasted into resources is incredibly appealing to me. From my love of Deep Dog and Blightning Husk, this should be apparent to you, my loyal readers.

Now, back to the Avenger. I was messing around one night with Strategic Planning and came across this little used beater from Odyssey. It struck me (incorrectly) as a great creature for the current metagame. Here is my thought process:

1) It can regenerate. In the face of Tendrils of Corruption, this is pretty important in my opinion. In late game situations, with mana abounds, having a threat that can stick around against non-Edict removal and win combat phases is one of those good things.

2) It has three power. This means it can easily trade with most of the commonly played creatures in the format.

I convinced myself that I had found an answer for aggressive Green decks to the question of Tendrils (for the real answer, see Vines of Vastwood). So of course, I went off and built decks.

Here is a short list of reasons Avenger is not an answer: it is a conditional five drop if you want it at full strength; it is never good against Crypt Rats; it has one toughness (this is an extension of the previous item); it costs 1G to regenerate; it is Green.

Before such revelations, I decided to brew up a Red-Green aggro list (before I knew that RG had reached top 8 in the most recent Premier Event [the list of which as of this writing I have yet to see]) and looked at my old Legacy inspired Red-Green burn list. I made some swaps, cutting Mogg Fanatic for his War Marshal brother, swapping Centaurs for Avengers and Wild Mongrel made way for Mire Boa.

Of course, after some light testing it was readily apparent that Jolrael's Centaur was a superior creature to Avenger, for many of the reasons I listed above, so it retook its spot in the deck. I ended up with this nice package:

 

 

Before any further discussion, I have grown tired of the Vithian Stingers. Do not get me wrong- they are great cards in certain matchups, presenting a repeating damage source and a bonus to all my burn spells, but it does not warrant a slot in the main sixty.

I wanted this deck to be more of a burn deck with good creatures than a beat down deck with good burn. The burn is very straight forward, getting as many three damage for one mana cards as possible, alongside Keldon Marauders and Firebolt. I can see placing the Firebolt with Incinerate if you desire more instant speed fire, but would really like to see how Burst Lightning can perform in the slot, once it comes online.

For the creatures, I wanted to focus on two factors: damage output and resistance to removal. Only one creature in the deck is a bargain on the damage front, and that is Wild Nacatl, who is totally worth the slot. Being a 3/3 for one is good in any format, but you did not need me to tell you that. Every other creature, however, was chosen to be resilient against removal.

Mogg War Marshal is an interesting card in this deck. Not a traditional aggro creature since it ties up your mana for two turns, it still pumps out three points for power for 1R (or maybe 2RR), but it does a fantastic job of fighting off Innocent Blood and Diabolic Edict. These spells have always been troublesome for RG, and running a body out there that is willing to die for the cause and leave something behind is good to me. Despite the slightly awkward situations of drawing one of these when you want to get a solid curve draw going, I have no issues of letting this die, netting me two tokens, if it means more damage on the board turn three.

Jolrael's Centaur has a casting cost that takes some effort to work with in a two color deck, but the payoff, to me, has been a net positive. Being able to turn off an offensive Tendrils goes a long way in this deck, as it really wants to finish off the opponent with burn spells. Like Avenger, it can trade with three drops and eats creatures with one toughness for lunch. Considering those creatures that are heavily played in the format, it makes sense to me that the Centaur has some legs (get it? It has four legs!) for the combat phase. I do wish I could find a good, cheap creature with shroud and three power, as that would really help the deck (and no, Pincher Beetles do not count since they are far too easy to handle with Crypt Rats).

Mire Boa seemed like an obvious inclusion to me, as it can regenerate on the cheap and also provide a fairly consistent source of damage against decks with Swamps. Sure, he does not deal the most damage, but he deals it consistently.

This deck wants to win with burn. You use the creatures to get them low on life and to protect the fortress as long as you can, and then slowly turn on the offenses and throw bolts at their dome.

Some questions arose about why I would go with this version over one with the more powerful Wild Mongrel and Gathan Raiders, and the other traditional crew. These are great creatures and fine for a traditional beat down strategy, but as I stated before, I want to be a burn deck supplemented with creatures, not a creature deck with burn the clear the way. To me, both Raiders and Mongrel are just a target for Tendrils, and I am hesitant to run either as long as Black control remains a heavily played archetype. I know a deck of this style made top 8, but right now, to me, it presents too large of a risk.

So as I sit down to finish this article, the Top 8 RG list from the October 4th PE has been released, and here it is:

 

RG Aggro
7th place by TheWitcher in 10/4/09 PE
Creatures
4 Basking Rootwalla
3 Gathan Raiders
3 Nantuko Vigilante
1 Tin Street Hooligan
4 Wild Mongrel
4 Wild Nacatl
19 cards

Other Spells
4 Firebolt
4 Incinerate
2 Kaervek's Torch
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Molten Rain
2 Snakeform
19 cards
Lands
7 Forest
3 Gruul Turf
7 Mountain
1 Plains
4 Terramorphic Expanse
22 cards

Sideboard
3 Ancient Grudge
4 Bloodfire Dwarf
4 Nourish
4 Pyroblast
15 cards
WIld Mongrel

 

Now, obviously the deck has some merits since it did make it to the final rounds, but I see a few problems with this sixty.

First, it is heavily geared towards Affinity. It appears as if the pilot managed to dodge a majority of Black control decks during the day, and feasted on other beat down and Affinity.

Snakeform strikes me as an odd card, since it does not actually do anything in this deck, aside from drawing a card. You are already running some of the best creatures- there is no reason to shrink anything for combat since this deck is likely going to win anyway. These would be better served as burn spells.

The other spells that really confuse me are the three Molten Rains. To me, this is a spell you either want four of, or none in your deck. This is the kind of spell that is fantastic the third turn, especially against a Dimir Aqueduct, but gets less and less powerful as the game progresses. Running only three minimizes the chances of hitting it in the opening. If color requirements are an issue, I feel the deck could use Stone Rain, since you run land destruction for the tempo boost, not the damage (at least here, inferring from Snakeform).

Anyway, one day I was running this list in the Tournament Practice room, and one of Greg's friends, Ryan, was watching me play. I struck up a conversation, and the topic turned towards Centaur. This evolved into a conversation of Ryan's ideas of going Putrid Leech in Centaur for a hard to deal with one-two punch.

So of course, we got to brewing.

The deck quickly evolved from presenting two hard to deal with creatures back to back into one that, gasp, utilized graveyard shenanigans to generate an advantage. Seeing as the deck was already running Leech, Shambling Shell seemed like a fine addition. While this card has lost quite a bit of utility in the shift to M10 rules, it still strikes me as a fine creature, as it beats for three or pumps another threat and keeps coming back. However, this deck was not the right home for the Shell (any really anything, for that matter).

Taking a page from Husk, the deck packed a full suite of Mesmeric Fiends and Carrion Feeders, allowing for a quick and disruptive start. Rotting Rats, a card that I like against Black control also found a home. The Unearth iteration of Ravenous Rats was not one MBC liked to remove, since it would always come back for another bite. However, they were under performers against MBCu, thanks to cards like Mulldrifter and Deep Analysis; you know, Blue cards.

The rest of the deck coalesced around abusing the graveyard to fuel large Feeders, Leeches, and ever present Shells. Cry of Contrition was added for added discard, and Greenseeker to give the deck a way to dump a Dredge or Unearth card into the yard and draw a land.

With that in mind, this was the list I was testing:

 

 

This deck felt powerful. It could do some very unfair things when it got the right start. Ideally, the deck would set up for a turn two Leech and let the disruptive elements and Shells work on the late game, picking off cards in hand and laughing at removal. Eventually, a soft Harvest lock could be established with Fiend and Feeder, and the game would go into a top deck war. Sadly,where other decks are topdecking Probe and Armadillo Cloak, this one would top deck a 1/1 for two.

Simply put, this deck had very few game breaking plays past turn four. Sure, it could get some sick turns with Rats eating multiple cards and swinging in for significant damage, getting in there since the opponent had to block Leech, but that felt so fair. After attacking with Shade of Trokair and casting Mulldrifter, these plays just did not measure up. Often the game would get to within my grasp, perhaps one attack, one mistake, short of winning. Then, my opponent would come back and smash my face.

That being said, the deck could do some very strong things. It feels like it is better than I am with it at the wheel, and should be pursued by better players than myself. While playing the deck, I had moments where it felt like I was back in the third PE, piloting what I thought was the best deck in the field. I could see lines of play where I could have won if I had made the correct play at some point earlier in my games. Most of these mistakes came from me thinking that Carrion Feeder was a creature- it should be treated as an Enchantment that counters target Tendrils and not a beater. Doing so actually provides a long game plan- make a big Zombie- with an insurance policy in the form of Harvest.

Most of my test games with this deck were against MBCu, and even though I lost, I was always in the game until the end, indicating that the deck has potential, just not with me at the helm.

This, however, is more of a testament to the power of MBCu in the format. You must have a plan against cards like Tendrils to stand a chance in the current state of Pauper, while also not falling dead to Edict effects and Crypt Rats. The decks presented today try to go about this in two very different ways, with uninspiring results.

And it is all thanks to Krosan Avenger.

Keep slingin' commons-

-Alex

 

22 Comments

Nice Deck by CruelHellraiser (not verified) at Fri, 10/09/2009 - 20:46
CruelHellraiser's picture

I really liked the RG Burn deck. I built it and play tested it a few times. I usually ended by turn 5. I had to change a couple things due to not owning them Fire bolt and Chain Lightning. I put in place of those, Lava Spike and Hellspark Elemental.

P.S. Thank you SpikeyBoyM for writing these articles. You are the reason I got into Pauper. I really love the format.

"I do wish I could find a by Anonymous (not verified) at Sat, 10/10/2009 - 12:52
Anonymous's picture

"I do wish I could find a good, cheap creature with shroud and three power" Sycthe Tiger from Zen, Nimble Mongoose, Naya Hushblade. Also, I have to question whether Jolrael's Centaur is better than Humble Budoka - I've never played with either in constructed, but an extra G for flanking doesn't seem worth it.

Shroud and Flanking by SpikeBoyM at Sat, 10/10/2009 - 13:59
SpikeBoyM's picture

Scythe Tiger is not a card I want to be playing, as I do not want to be getting rid of land for a 3/2. If the opponent then goes Diabolic Edict, they just cast the best Stone Rain ever.
Nimble Mongoose is not legal in Pauper.
Naya Hushblade is great, if I can ensure that it will always have shroud, which is not easy in this deck.
Finally, the extra G is worth it, as most creatures in the format are 2/2 or 3/3. This allows Centaur to trade with the 3/3 or win against the 2/2.

-Alex

rogue elephant also fits the by mrgeode13 (not verified) at Sat, 10/10/2009 - 14:14
mrgeode13's picture

rogue elephant also fits the bill for the three power, if not the shroud. it works well with grim discovery, which i assume will at least make an appearance in pauper. for more land recursion/beatdown, you might try harvest wurm, which is kinda fun combined with the onslaught cycling lands. they'd provide a tuch of card draw, which doesn't hurt.

blastoderm might be worth by mrgeode13 (not verified) at Sat, 10/10/2009 - 14:26
mrgeode13's picture

blastoderm might be worth worth considering, as it represents an awful lot of damage for its cost, even if you factor in the vanishing. sadly, however, he is pretty janky.

I like the Leech Aggro deck by Anonymous (not verified) at Mon, 10/12/2009 - 13:46
Anonymous's picture

I like the Leech Aggro deck although it seems light on removal, but has some intriguing disruption.

hi spike i think will be by Amonchakai (not verified) at Mon, 10/12/2009 - 14:29
Amonchakai's picture

hi spike

i think will be useful an article with the decks of the metagame with the possible hate vs the tier 1 deck MBCu
tnx

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