I spent this past weekend at my old summer camp in the Hudson Valley of New York. I was enjoying a weekend of hiking and winter weather, away from Magic and MTGO. Before I left myself laptopless, I was having a conversation with Baron Sengir aka Mike about what he should run in the upcoming Weekend Challenge, should he have the opportunity to play. My response was to run a disruptive Orzhov deck that featured increased recursion elements to help combat counter magic and removal. This was my advice because I believed that after weeks of being among the top decks, this week would have an explosion of Storm and anti-Storm decks, and Orzhov, a la Nightsky Aggro from the Summer of 2009, would be a strong call.

I shut down and unplugged, and went away, thinking about the games I was going to log with Geopede Red for my next article.

I got back late Sunday night and after a shower, I checked out the top 8 from the Weekend Challenge.

Then I checked middleman's post on PDCMagic.com. Every week, middleman does his best to chronicle every deck that gets played in the official Premier Event thread, providing a better sense of the meta game.

Twelve Storm decks. Four in the top 8.

Geopede Red can not beat Storm, no matter how hard I want it to. Rather than expound on the virtues of a deck that has no viability in the current meta, I decided to go in a different direction.

I want to tell you all why Ravenous Rats is the key to Pauper at this moment.

First, though, I want to look at why Storm was such a good choice in the past few weeks.

If you want to be wordy and draw conclusions (and really, who would I be if I did not want to be wordy and draw conclusions), this is all because of Tendrils of Corruption. Early in Pauper we saw the dominating reign of the Mono-Black Control lists. Even the Blue derivatives played the same way: handle the threats that matter and then win with good Bears (some might even fly) and game ending Drain Life spells. Such decks were able to sculpt a game plan thanks in no small part to Tendrils. This is because, Tendrils represents at the bare minimum one turn bought back, and far more likely two.

Think about it: resolving Tendrils means that an opponent likely wasted a turn for a creature that was going to attack, most likely for three damage. Removing it takes away that turn. But then, you also gain life, which undoes their previous attacks (which were most likely for two damage). So, two swings of a Bear undone, and one untap phase wasted. And all at instant speed.

Is it any wonder why this card is the removal spell that shapes the format?

I do not want to make it seem that Tendrils is the only card that acts this way. One reason White Weenie can be successful is because it pulls the same trick with Aven Riftwatcher. With one untapped, you can turn off a few attacks and gain back the life. But I digress.

With the dominance of Tendrils, decks that sought to negate the spell sprung up. From Blightning-Nantuko Husk to White Weenie to Green-White Armadillo Cloak, these decks all wanted to do the same thing: ignorethe Time Walk nature of Tendrils. Some of these decks succeeded, but these decks were the Charles Oakley to Goblins' Patrick Ewing.

Goblins, with the release of Tempest, was able to devote over thirteen percent of their deck to making sure that none of their creatures would ever be a target of a Tendrils. Mogg Fanatic provided another set of creatures that could counter the spell, and Mogg War Marshal made cards that only took out one creature a losing proposition.

Goblins was top dog for a while, but has a glaring hole. When forced to interact with objects other than blockers and the life total, it sorely lacks. Enter Grapeshot.

There is a parallel history here, however, and that is the evolution of The Pauper Perfect Storm, more or less known as Storm Combo. This deck is incredibly simple: use Invasion Sacrifice Lands, cheap card draw, and rituals to pump out lethal Grapeshots or Empty the Warrens. Initially kept in check by MBC/u's persistent and pervasive discard and disruption, the deck has a few brief moments in the sun. However, the deck was largely kept in check by the abundance of MBC style decks and that for a long time, aggressive Red decks could just Pyroblast a key draw spell.

You see, a reliable way to stop Storm was to find the Choke Point. Most times, during the combo turn, there would be a point where Storm was low on mana or on cards in hand. Countering a key spell would often leave Storm with an excess of mana and no way to keep going. Sometimes the deck would mana burn out and sometimes it would just fizzle, leaving the pilot without any mana or defenses.

This all changed with M10, and I am not just talking about losing to mana burn. No, the culprit is in fact Sign in Blood. Prior to this, Storm was a three color deck, using Red and Black for Rituals, and Blue for tons of card draw. Choke points could be found when the deck was trying to filter into Blue for more cards to fuel the engine, making Pyroblast a reasonable counter in these situations. However, with a Black card draw spell, less mana could be spent on filtering- the deck no longer needed Blue (although most still run a few traditional Blue spells). This, in turn, leaves the deck vulnerable only to dedicated counter decks and those featuring dedicated discard.

It is here where out histories come together. Goblins as a dominant deck, unable to interact, and Storm as a deck that wins when no one interacts with it on a meaningful axis. I am reminded of the old baseball axiom: hit it where they ain't. As much as it pains me to write that, being the good English major I am, it is incredibly apt. Storm attacked the metagame in a blind spot, in a way that it could not defend itself. It took over four spots of the last top 8.

The last deck to do that was Goblins.

The other decks in the top 8 included UW control, UBw Teachings, UB Teachings, and MBCu.

These decks, as diverse as they may be, all fear discard. Granted, Storm hates discard far more than Teachings, but stripping a control deck of options is not a bad thing. The UB and UBw decks from last week approximate MBC- eliminate threats and then dominate with a late game strategy. Teachings, however, is able to run a tool box and string together card advantage in a way that MBC can only salivate over. The UW deck, on the other hand, runs lots of spells to combat the Goblin menace, meaning life gain and strong blockers.

So what does this have to do with Ravenous Rats? The Rats are well positioned right now. While Goblins is down, it is not gone just yet, and having a turn two blocker can go miles against the Red Menace. But there is more to it than that.

If you are running Ravenous Rats, you are likely to be running a deck that obsesses over attacking the hand. It represents the first step in a game plan that is likely to be followed up with all stars like Chittering Rats and Okiba-Gang Shinobi, and as history has shown us, these cards are fairly strong against control.

The question remains: which deck does a Pauper take to battle next week? There are two “established” Ravenous Rats decks that are somewhat off the radar at the moment: MBC (no Blue) and Nightsky Aggro (with or without Edge of the Divinity plan). I would love to include a deck like Blightning Husk here, but let us face it: this deck has a hard time operating in the post-M10 world. In deciding between these choices, I would ask myself: how worried am I about Goblins?

MBC is the old standby. A strong and highly adaptable deck, little innovation has been thrown this decks way since the advent of Goblins. Reconstructing the deck for a more modern metagame, I advocate a starting point like this deck:

Mono-Black Control

 

Creatures 2 Crypt Rats 2 Okiba-Gang Shinobi 4 Ravenous Rats 1 Gravedigger 2 Twisted Abomination 2 Warren Pilferers 4 Chittering Rats 17 cards Other Spells 4 Disfigure 2 Unburden 4 Sign in Blood 4 Tendrils of Corruption 1 Grim Harvest 4 Corrupt 19 cards

Lands 24 Swamp 24 cards Sideboard 3 Diabolic Edict 1 Crypt Rats 1 Gravedigger 4 Dross Golem 1 Grim Harvest 1 Okiba-Gang Shinobi 4 Duress 15 cards

This deck tries to help shore up the Goblin pairing in game one by removal the slow, targeted discard of Distress for a worse version on legs.

I went with the Black Shock to give a one mana removal spell that can answer most of the threats out of Goblins, and do so with a Sledder or Raider on the Stack, even if you cast a creature on your turn. I cannot expound enough on this card, as it does so much. It makes your creatures better in combat and helps answer pesky utility creatures like Benevolent Bodyguard, while also taking out nearly everything in Goblins.

Gravedigger serves a similar purpose to Rats, providing the goodness of Warren Pilferers, but a full turn earlier. This allows for the all important block, preserving life totals until a Tendrils can be aimed at your own army to boost the life total.

Unburden is a card I have been quite pleased with. My love of “discard two” spells is well documented, and cards like Blightning and Consult the Necrosages have proven their value in Pauper. Unburden gives MBC access to these spells, albeit without the extra bonus of a Lightning Bolt or an option for Divination, but discarding two is more than enough.

This is a first pass at a sideboard. These fifteen are designed to shore up the blindsides in this build. The extra discard is for combo and control, whereas the creature package comes in whenever you need blockers. Diabolic Edict is supplemental removal that does the job of taking out creatures with Protection from Black, although crafting these board states does take some work. Disfigure helps here, however. Dross Golem is there for another beater, but also to bypass decks that may try to get sneaky with preventative effects.

Here are some logs from games I have recently had with this version of Mono-Black Control.

First match is against Storm. I win the roll and keep a hand of 3 Swamps, a Corrupt, a Disfigure, a Pilferers and a Sign in Blood. Against an unknown opponent, this is a fine keep game one as it has action on turn one and two. Of course, when he answers my turn one land with a Sulfur Vent, I get a wee bit nervous. I draw a Shinobi and then target myself with Sign, drawing Ravenous and Crypt Rats. He plays another land and passes. I play my third Swamp and play Ravenous Rats, and he discards a Chromatic Star. On his turn, he starts to go off. He makes a boatload of Goblin tokens and then discards his hand to triple ideas Unbound triggers. Of course, I have the fourth Swamp to go along with my Crypt Rats, and he scoops them up before I can ever destroy his board.

I side out my removal for Duress, Crypt Rats, Shinobi, and two Golems (to have another creature with which to activate my Ninja).

Game two I keep a hand with two Swamps, A-Bom, Golem, Corrupt and two Unburden. If I were playing again, I would probably mulligan this hand, as while I have disruption, I found out the hard way it was not enough, even though I rip Duress on my first turn. It reveals Ideas Unbound, Chromatic Star, Petal, a land, Sign in Blood, and Rite of Flame. I take Ideas Unbound because it is the spell he can cast on the Storm turn with the best mana efficiency- both lands I have seen can sac for Blue, and because it digs him three cards deep into his deck. I draw a Pilferers and set up my turn to cycle for a Swamp on Storm's end step. Before I can do that, however, he plays another land, cracks the Star to cast Sign in Blood, knocking him up to six cards and six available mana.

I untap, play my newly fetched Swamp, and rip another Duress, seeing another two lands, the same Petal and Rite of Flame, and a new Sign in Blood. I take the Sign, but looking back, this might be what costs me the game. With two Unburden in hand, my plan should be to slow him down as much as I can, which means taking away his accelerators at this point. However, allowing him to keep a draw two is not safe either. Regardless, I cast Golem and pass. He casts Sign and plays a land. I cast Unburden, nabbing the Petal and a land. He untaps and kills me.

Game three I mulligan a hand of Swamp, Sign, Duress, Ravenous and Chittering Rats, Gravedigger, and Shinobi. One more land would make this keepable, but as it stands, I have to ship it back. My six has two Swamps, a Golem, a Crypt Rats, a Shinobi, and a Duress. Not the best, but a definite keep. Storm also mulligans to six.

I Duress on turn one and see a land, two Petals, a Sphere, a Dark Ritual, and an Ideas Unbound. I take the Ideas because without it he is all mana and no card draw. I draw a third Swamp and play a second, while he plays the Sphere and an Island. I rip my fourth Swamp and cast my Golem. If I get to untap, I am in good shape since I can start stripping his hand with Shinobi, which is exactly what I get to do. One Shinobi hit and a failed Storm attempt later, he scoops them up.

How about Goblins?

Game one I lose the roll but get a great hand: 4 Swamps, two Ravenous Rats and a Disfigure. He leads with a Cohort and I draw a Corrupt and pass the turn. Goblins taps out for a War Marshal, and I disfigure the Cohort in response. I draw another land on my turn and play Rats number one, nabbing a Mogg Flunkies. His Marshal dies for the cause, and I trade my Rats with his attacking token. He follows this up with a Conscript. I draw a Tendrils and answer his Mogg with Rat number two, nabbing a Lightning Bolt, leaving him with one card. He plays a precombat Sledder and swings with the token and the 2/2. I trade my Rat for another token, untap, and draw Swamp number six. This is good for me, since as it stands, he can only knock me to 12 before I can start casting drains at his face. He follows up his attack with a Mogg Fanatic. I draw Pilferers, giving me a sturdy blocker and a Rats back from the dead. He plays out a Sparksmith and then attacks with Conscripts, which I happily block, and he points Fanatic at my 3/3. At the end of this turn, he has three lands to my five, but he also has Sledder and Smith in play. I, however, have three cards in hand to his one, and one of my cards is Rats, which eats his fourth Mountain. I draw A-bomb on this turn, which I will use to cycle and increase my Corrupt. Goblins picks off my Rats, bashes in for one, and then plays another Sledder. I get my seventh Swamp and then draw my eight, passing the turn.

I want to maximize my Corrupt here, and even with a Bushwhacker, I will only go down to six, so I can afford to wait. Instead, his draw is Initiate, which is sacrificed when I point a Tendrils at its face. I draw a Disfigure and then perform the sixteen point life swing, knocking Goblins to ten and putting me at a robust nineteen. At this point, he continues to put creatures into play, but I draw blockers and eventually draw into a lethal Corrupt.

The key in this match is to block and preserve your life total until you are in position to chain game enders together for a win. I side out Unburden and Shinobi for Crypt Rats, Gravedigger, and two Golems. I keep my hand of four Swamps, a Sign, a Disfigure, and a Chittering Rats. This hand will allow me to draw into gas and preserve my life total at the same time, well, aside from the Sign that is.

Goblins leads with a Conscript and I draw my second Disfigure. On his second turn, Flunkies make an appearance, but I remove the 2/2 in response again, saving me life. I draw a second Sign, and draw into double Corrupt. Goblins plays out another Flunkie and a Raider, but I am not scared. I draw another Swamp, Disfigure the Raider and then draw two more cards: Swamp and Chittering. Goblins cracks me to 10 and drops an Initiate. I answer with Rats, stunting a draw and eating an attack. I then draw into a Tendrils, taking out a 3/3 and keeping me at a decent eight life before I can Corrupt. Of course, I then draw Crypt Rats and take out his army before pointing two Corrupts at the dome, winning easily.

This version of MBC is a strong deck, and one I would be happy to take into battle for this weekend's challenge. It has the tools to deal with the aggressive decks likely to show up, a strong game against Storm, and enough discard to fight against the control decks that are likely to show up. The one thing I am not convinced about, however, are the two Abominations. While I do love having a way to draw Swamps, I think one might want to be a Barren Moor, which accomplishes a very similar role.

The other Ravenous Rats deck, however, is an update of Nightsky Aggro. While I have not tested this deck as extensively as MBC, I have found it to have some incredibly potent turns. I have abandoned the Eventide theme in this version, focusing on disruption and recurring threats with Kor Skyfisher. I have had some back breaking turns where I play a Skyfisher, returning a Rats, to take my second card in as many turns. This is, however, a rough sketch, and right now probably has too many “on theme” cards. All that being said, I consider it to be a strong starting point for a modern Orzhov deck:

Nightsky 2.0

 

Creatures 4 Shrieking Grotesque 4 Benevolent Bodyguard 3 Kor Skyfisher 4 Blind Hunter 2 Okiba-Gang Shinobi 4 Ravenous Rats 2 Gravedigger 23 cards Other Spells 4 Disfigure 4 Castigate 3 Bog Down 2 Recover 13 cards

Lands 9 Plains 2 Orzhov Basilica 4 Terramorphic Expanse 9 Swamp 24 cards

Keep slingin' commons-

-Alex