In the weeks leading up to the first Pauper Premier event, I had the though task of narrowing my choices. I was expecting a field full of Mono-Black and Mono-Blue control, with a smattering of Slivers, three color Blink, and combo. Up until a week before the event, I had narrowed my short list to The Rock (see below), White Weenie, or an Affinity variant (if I found one I liked).

The Rock

 

Creatures 2 Gravedigger 3 Twisted Abomination 4 Phyrexian Rager 4 Sakura-Tribe Elder 2 Krosan Tusker 3 Citanul Woodreaders 18 cards Other Spells 4 Duress 1 Recover 3 Fill with Fright 2 Consume Spirit 4 Echoing Decay 4 Diabolic Edict 1 Grim Harvest 15 cards

Lands 2 Barren Moor 2 Tranquil Thicket 7 Snow-Covered Forest 9 Snow-Covered Swamp 3 Golgari Rot Farm 23 cards Sideboard 3 Nourish 1 Fill with Fright 1 Consume Spirit 4 Relic of Progenitus 4 Wickerbough Elder 13 cards

Until Wednesday, I was going to run this list. It had a strong game against MBC and could play the long game against MUC. By playing out gobs of land, the Rock would be able to resolve important threats and eventually win. Burn is a terrible pairing, but I was expecting the abundance of MBC to hate Burn out of the format. The discard really neutered storm, and the sweepers were handy against the Empty the Warrens variety. I was not worried about the machine menace since I could again, out attrition them and sweep away their threats. Finally, Slivers is an easy pairing as long as they do not get a nut draw. You just block and block, and then kill them. You bring the Wickerbough Elders in from the board even if they are not running Oblivion Ring just because there are no Protection from Green cards in their deck.

There were a few issues with this deck. First, it is a slow grinding deck, so rounds would likely go long. Seeing as how this was my first PE since Kamigawa limited, I thought that this would be a bad thing. I did not think sitting in front of my screen for full rounds all day was going to be good for me, so I kept looking for another option.

I wanted to play aggro with discard, so that narrowed my choices to Black, and well, Black. I wanted some amount of reach as a way to combat MBC (which again, I thought was going to be everywhere). I began by updating a Blightning deck list, but felt that it was far too draw dependent even for aggro. I then started looking at Dregscape Zombie and Viscera Dragger as potential includes. I am a huge fan of Unearth, and think it helps to maximize the investment of creatures in PDC. Simply put, you get more damage out of one card the better, especially when when it helps to invalidate removal. It was during this brief testing session that I remembered one of my old Pauper Standard lists called Harvester. A Black-Green aggro deck made viable after the release of Coldsnap, it was a blitzing deck focused on Shambling Shell, Cry of Contrition, Grim Harvest, and Skarrgan Pit-Skulk. It ran roughshod over the one event I played it in, and never was heard from again. After some testing, I arrived at a build, and proceeded to lose three or four matches in a row to Michael, who was also running my Rock variant (which he took into the PE, to a lackluster 0-3 drop). However, there was something about the stack I loved, so I decided to put more time into making it work in time for Sunday. Thursday rolls around and I get home from work and decide to take my refined deck into the queues. I quickly win a 2-man and a 4-man. I knew I had found my deck. I would have practiced more, but work owned my Friday and Saturday, and lots of the practice I had done with the Rock became useful with this deck, since they share many elements. Okay, they share colors and Duress, but had a similar plan in the long game: waste removal and overwhelm.

The deck:

BG Aggro

 

Creatures 4 Viscera Dragger 2 Shambling Shell 4 Werebear 2 Golgari Brownscale 4 Pit Keeper 2 Dregscape Zombie 4 Wild Mongrel 22 cards Other Spells 4 Duress 2 Last Gasp 2 Raven's Crime 1 Grim Harvest 4 Dauthi Horror 3 Diabolic Edict 9 cards

Lands 1 Barren Moor 2 Tranquil Thicket 2 Golgari Rot Farm 8 Forest 9 Swamp 22 cards Sideboard 1 Shambling Shell 4 Seal of Primordium 2 Golgari Brownscale 4 Echoing Decay 3 Relic of Progenitus 14 cards

Looking back, I would have altered the removal suite. While it was never a hindrance, I think I would have rather had two Echoing Decays main over the (Lat Gasp)s. Dregscape Zombie was nice, and it there mostly as another two drop that can really hurt combat math. He is the worst card out there, except for every other card not in the deck. The two maindeck (Golgari Brownscales) are outs to Burn, but come in very handy against all manner of decks. Just when they think they have you, you have more life and they frown as you swing in for the win.

I also would have tweaked some sideboard numbers, as I did not need more than three Seals the entire day.

Sunday rolls around and I log into MTGO and check out the sights. PDC is the most active it has been since the introduction of the queues and there seems to be a real buzz surrounding the event. I had predicted somewhere between 80 and 90 competitors. I was wrong.

As the clock struck noon, a whopping 132 people turned into Paupers for the day, which would last eight rounds. I was armed with my weapon and ready for the meta.

I was in for a rude awakening. While MBC was out in force, comprising 14% of the field (including Blue splashes), Slivers was right there, also with 14%. MUC made up 0.05%.

Way to read the meta wrong smart guy.

Round One I am matched up against pipirisnas, packing GW Slivers. I win the roll and mulligan to six. He gets a strong draw and I can not get a removal spell, so he easily rolls me. I see Giant Growth this game, which is something I have not seen in the deck.

Game two I mulligan to six again, but get a much stronger draw. I apply pressure and am able to win, even though he shows me Armadillo Cloak.

Game three he comes out fast but I am able to stabilize and start eating at his life total. Oblivion Rings make my life difficult, but I think I am in a good position, with a Horror and a tiny Bear going against two 1/1 Slivers. Except he has double Growth to kill me.

Well, that was gut wrenching. After boarding I'm strong against Slivers with my life gain and removal, but just had a run of three straight lands in the last game. I breathe in, breathe out, and tell myself that I just have to win out.

Round Two pits our hero (me) against nofxdarkside2 with GoblinStorm. I win the roll and mulligan to six and steal his Ponder with Duress, but it does not matter as he has a lethal Goblin War Strike on turn four.

Game two I apply pressure and strip some cards. The turn before he goes to win I use Mongrel and Dragger tricks to come across for exactly lethal.

In game three I apply pressure, but he must not have a strong hand because he goes for Empty for six tokens on his fifth turn to stop the Mongrel and Bear assault. I eventually get two big Bears out and strip his hand with Crime, and there is nothing he can do.

After this round, I am feeling more confident, but know will be a long road to my goal of top eight.

Round Three I get to try my hand at newkidsontheblock and his Grapeshot Storm. I get an early Duress both games and even though he goes off, it is never for lethal. My beaters make short work of his deck.

Storm is an odd deck. It is great in the shorter queues where you are more likely to dodge hate. However, across eight rounds, you are just too likely to run into hate that will make your day miserable.

Round Four is chuyiyo5 and MUC. I feel very confident in this pairing, as I have not had any issues against the deck in testing. His build is different, as he is running Erratic Mutation main. It does not matter in game one, as I am just too fast.

Game two is closer, but his Ephemeron goes the distance and I have no way to get it off the board.

Game three I mulligan to five and miss a critical attack that, looking back, I should have made. I am not sure it would have won me the game, but it would have put me in a better position in the long run. That being said, it is very hard to beat a turn two suspended Errant Ephemeron with Spire Golem backup.

At this point, I know the top 8 is a fading dream. While a few 6-2s will make it, my early losses spell bad news for me. However, I trudge on, hope in my eyes.

Round five I get paired against PDC regular R3b3lw4rr10r. By the way, I hate typing his name. Seriously dude, just get another account already and make our lives easier. This time around he is running Orzhov Blink and he wins the roll, the first one I lost all day.

I get a quick start and eventually he succumbs to a 5/5 Dragger and a recurring Shambling Shell. In the second frame I whittle him down but I can not finish the job, and he eventually comes back with two Mulldrifters. Game three I feel like my back is against the ropes the entire time. I am convinced that I am going to be X-3 and resign myself to the top 32. I make some attacks that I have to make, fearing removal or Blink. He has neither, and I am eventually able to win.

After that epic game, I am elated. I knew I was lucky in the previous match, but felt like I had put myself in the position I had to in order to win. I got the job done, and was very pleased.

Round six I face off against KingZan and Kodama's Thunder. I lose the first as he just applies too much pressure. I make note of his Scuzzback Marauders, as they strike me as odd. In the second I am able to apply pressure and keep Dredging Brownscale to keep me out of topdeck Resounding or Rolling Thunder range while Crime keeps his hand empty. I notice that he is running Wickerbough Elders against me, which seems bad since I have no targets. Game three he appears to be in total control. I keep eating away at his life but live in constant fear of the top of his deck. It never comes and I am able to force through enough creatures to win.

Round seven is kilowog with MBC. He is never really in either game as I have too many threats and the ability to get them back, but it does not much matter. He cannot beat Dredge, Unearth, and Pit Keepers. I am feeling very good after this one. The deck is performing better than I expected and the top tables have tons of MBC, which I know I am good against.

Round eight: royalknight with Mono-Black splashing Blue. I feel good. I feel great.

I mulligan to three and never recover.

Game two I nab a Death Denied with my Duress. That cost me. I should have taken one of his two Consume Spirits and he eventually uses those two, plus one from the top and a regrown Crypt Rats to end my day.

Frowns.

After sulking for a bit, I smile. In my first constructed PE, I take one of the few true rogue decks to the top tables, losing out on a stronger finish due to some very bad mulligan luck and a misplay in the final round. However, I achieved a lesser goal: a winning record. Combine this with validating my skills as a deck builder and as a pilot, and the day was definitely a success. This deck has potential to be very strong and I would recommend it for the queues as it can be tuned to face most non-Burn metas with relative ease. And when the dusts settles, I end up in 29^th place and net three packs for my troubles.

Not too shabby.

I do hope Wizards recognizes the amazing turnout and gives us more Pauper events. I will not be able to make the next weekend Premier Event due to travel for a professional conference, but I know my Pauper brothers and sisters will do a great job collecting meta data and keeping me in the loop.

Props to:

Michael for testing

JXC for believing

Jamurra and the PDC gang for doing a great job with meta collection and for taking both slots in the finals

Everyone who showed up

Slops to:

Wizards for putting this on an awkward day. 

Keep slingin' commons-

-Alex