I want you all to join me on a trip in my way back machine, back to when Guildpact was first released on MTGO. At this time, there was no Pauper, just the PDC player run events, and most of those were Classic in nature. There was, however, a start up event, trying to provide competitive opportunities to those who did not want to drop the digital coin on format defining commons like Armadillo Cloak. This led to the formation of PDC Standard, and one reason it waited until Ravnica Block to get started was due to the absurdity of Mirrodin Block's linear mechanic. Waiting, however, just proved that PDC traded the evil of linear mechanic for the evil of overly powered cards.

You see, Guildpact gave us the Orzhov Guild, and two very important 187 style creatures- Shrieking Grotesque and Blind Hunter. These two cards provided a new deck with a disruptive core of creatures, that when combined with White's ability to provide strong beaters with Black's already strong disruptive spells and creature base- hello Ravenous Rats and Gravedigger- and the deck known as Orzhov basically built itself. Early PDC Standard was dominated by this deck. I will always remember this deck fondly, as it was one of the first times that I tuned the popular deck to beat the field- to fight their removal, I ran Blessed Breath as part of a small but potent Arcane package, alongside Soulless Revival. This allowed me to beat the mirror on card advantage, which was incredibly important, since these decks were without Phyrexian Rager.

Of course, the cards kept coming, and the Orzhov menace made its presence felt in Classic, where it went on a tear of being the “best deck” for a period of time, even before Momentary Blink. Then we got the aforementioned Instant and the deck became a midrange machine, splashing Blue to get the most out of Battlefield entering creatures. Then came Aven Riftwatcher. Then came Mulldrifter. PDC was getting sick of the deck, even though it was a slow, mana intensive midrange monster. Then Pauper got sanctioned, and the deck steadily lost ground. The format became too fast for Orzhov (now known as Orzhov Blink). The deck took the first four turns to set up its mana, and with decks like Affinity, Slivers, and Storm, Orzhov Blink was just too slow; too inconsistent, to compete on a regular basis.

However, going back to the beginning, it is easy to see why this is such an attractive deck. The spells all come on a nice curve, but are not dead late. Blind Hunter can be a game breaking spell on turn four our turn eight, and cards like Shrieking Grotesque and Gravedigger, while not as “blow the game wide open,” still hold late game relevance, like flying.

There is another evolution that ran not quite parallel to the Blink Bus, The creatures featured also fit rather nicely into a disruptive beatdown mode. Much like Olivier Ruel piloted Hand in Hand into the maw of one of the Greatest Topdecks in History at the first Pro Tour: Honolulu, many Paupers tried their hand at various incarnations of aggressive Black White decks. The problem was always the same: the creatures were just not quite good enough on their own. Sure, you could win, but not by traditional beatdown means. Rather, these decks would win mostly when they played like Blink, but lacked the “oops I win” factor of rebuying a Hunter or Drifter. But much like its slow brother, this deck has another chapter with the release of Eventide. The Hybrid set gave this deck a slew of options, including Nightsky Mimic, Nip Gwyllion, and Edge of the Divinity.

Now who's the beatdown?

These cards helped to solidify an aggressive core while also alleviating the issues faced by many Pauper aggressive decks in finding the right mana. These cards were easier to cast on curve and also provided punch late. In the right deck, nearly every spell came with a free Sorcery that said “your Mimic gets +2/+3 and flying until end of turn.” That is a pretty good free spell if you ask me. However, for most of the history of Sanctioned Pauper, such decks were common, but not quite good enough, as they fell to one of the most popular cards: Crypt Rats. This is the card that keeps all random aggressive decks in check, forcing them to become faster, a la Slivers or Affinity. Nightsky Orzhov was not that fast.

So what happened that forced this same maindeck sixty to take three slots in the past two top 8's? This is the main sixty for all three top eight lists, and the one I have began testing with.

Nightsky Aggro

 

Creatures 4 Blind Hunter 3 Crypt Rats 4 Nightsky Mimic 4 Nip Gwyllion 4 Phyrexian Rager 19 cards Other Spells 3 Beckon Apparition 4 Castigate 4 Edge of the Divinity 4 Oblivion Ring 4 Unmake 19 cards

Lands 3 Barren Moor 4 Orzhov Basilica 5 Plains 2 Secluded Steppe 8 Swamp 22 cards

The way I see it, as Mono-Black Control moved towards a Blue splash, they weakened one of the most important aspects of their deck: a stable mana base. When MBC became the “best deck” people set about winning the mirror, which led to the addition of card drawing spells to win those all important MBC attrition wars. This resulted in decks that had a less consistent mana engine. Now that which helped MBC fight aggro so well was no longer a guarantee. This is not to say that these new decks are bad against aggressive strategies, but rather not as good. It could be just a statistical anomaly that these decks have done so well, but I have another, parallel theory.

The past two elimination rounds were not exactly so. Two tournaments ago, a bug caused a straight cut to top eight for the final standings, so there were no playoffs. On top of that, there was a very low number of removal spells in both top eights. Discounting burn from Burn decks (since those are more of a win condition), there was an average of just about three removal spells per deck in both elimination rounds combined. This counts a total of twenty four spread across the three Nightsky decks at the head of the class. If you factor in the burn spells, the numbers come out to under five removal spells per deck. Given this set of circumstances, I do not find it hard to believe that these decks were able to assemble a threat that would make short work of an opponent.

Also, given that these decks packed the most removal spells out of their respective top eights, it follows that they would have a strong chance in a field of other aggressive decks. Combine this with the decks ability to gain a significant amount of life, and the mystery behind Nightsky's recent success begins to fade away.

The make up of the final rounds is also telling, as the are predominantly aggressive. This tells us that either there were a lack of Crypt Rats decks present in the event, or that MBCu is more prone to spotty draws and getting run over by a good draw. My recent testing with Nightsky has shown that it was probably a combination of both factors. However, I do not expect this trend to continue, as MBC will soon have access to Sign in Blood, allowing the deck to run a strong draw option in color, returning the monotitular manabase to Pauper.

All that being said, I believe that Orzhov Aggro is here to stay, if not as a top deck, then as a close competitor. Here is why.

First, the deck is able to sidestep the problem of many aggressive strategies by running Hybrid cards. This can ensure that the deck can hit the drops it wants to at the time it most desires without having to jump through hoops to get the mana to work. The three most important aggressive cards in the deck, Mimic, Edge, and Gwyllion, all are Hybrid, allowing for a potential Angel on turn two and two Angels on turn four with a middling draw, regardless of lands drawn. That is pretty powerful way to start a game before Tendrils of Corruption comes online.

Second, the deck itself has multiple angles from which it can attack an opponent. While Gwyllion + Edge is a potent combination that can end games quickly if not dealt with (and one that only gets stronger thanks to the new Lifelink rules), this is just one avenue of attack. Beckon Apparition plus Edge can present a similarly sized and evasive threat on the same turn, while also waiting for an opponent (who might be putting a Dimir Aqueduct into play) to be tapped out while you are putting a 1/1 flyer with virtual haste onto the Battlefield, and then giving it a permanent Giant Growth.

An aside: Edge of the Divinity is an incredibly powerful, if narrow, card. Rancor, one of the “best Auras of all time”, gave a smaller boost for the same (arguably more expensive) cost. +3/+3 is huge, as it makes a Tendrils that much harder to hit for full value out of a deck like MBCu. It also makes most of the threats in this deck absolute monsters, as I have won on the back of dragon sized Bats more than I can remember in recent days. I have even used Unholy Strength mode twice on a Crypt Rats to create a way to permanently keep Stinkweed Imp off the table for a Tortured Existence deck, while also swinging with my Mass of Ghouls. Fun times.

Back to winning the game. Edge is great, but you can also win by just casting your spells to turn on Mimic. It is difficult for most Pauper decks to deal with a 4/4 flying beatstick every turn, more so when it is backed up be decent disruption and the picking off of answers with Castigate. Most versions ran a Flagbearer in the side, presumably for Storm and Cloak matchups. However, these dudes do a wonderful job of diverting removal from your Mimic or Angel or Dragon, allowing you to swing away with your win condition.

Finally, these decks can just whittle you down low enough, eating away at life with evasive creatures, hitting multiple times with Hunter, and then drop a Crypt Rats to play the role of finisher. Rats also allows Nightsky to play the role of control, amassing threats in the hand while having your opponent throw dorks on to the field, waiting for you to just go all MBC on them and say “bye.” It is a finisher and an out to random creature decks, all in one easy to cast package.

Still, with all that being said,the deck suffers from some major flaws. First, it is highly vulnerable to removal. Running into another Crypt Rats deck can be bad news, as they can back up their sweeper with more removal. Even if you play smart and hold back threats, they can often prolong the game long enough to put you at a point where they can cast one of their game enders while you are assembling an army. Repeatable removal is even worse, as you are basically cold to pingers. As I found out in the third Premier Event (as the opponent of such a deck), something as lowly as a Vithian Stinger can absolutely decimate the Nightsky army. With the rise of Goblin decks, running cards like Sparksmith, it will be even harder to keep up against Red mages.

Moving on, one card that helps the deck tick is also its biggest downfall. Nightsky Mimic actually forces you to play bad cards. To get the most value out of Mimic, these decks are running Beckon Apparition and Unmake, which both hold value, but are not always good enough to warrant a slot in your sixty. Three mana is a lot to pay for a removal spell in Pauper, especially when the single mana spells do such a great job of handling most things. Even in color, you get Sunlance and Ghastly Demise, both of which handle that majority of creatures in the format. Unmake is a fine card, but I am not certain that its two color aspect is enough to warrant inclusion. This may, however, be my bias towards playing aggressive decks shining through, but I like to think that I would rather pay less and get more out of spells. Similarly, Beckon Apparition is a fine, if narrow card, that really is only included to turn on Mimic. Yes, I have won games going turn one Beckon, turn two Edge, but just because it wins does not mean it is right.

Finally, I really would like to squeeze another land into this deck. Having the Orzhov Basilicas help the mana count, but really hurt when you have them as your second and fourth land drop. Sometimes you really want to just hit those drops, and you have to wait, which can be a nightmare against certain decks in the field. This deck has a choke point at three, which is partially due to it being “forced” to run Unmake as a primary removal spell. Having so many tapped on the first turn lands has caused my much aggravation in those games where I was supposed to be the aggressor.

As I said before, moving forward I believe this deck has what it takes to be a contender. I do think, however, it needs to shirk some of its theme deck attributes for the sack of being better. I would not eliminate the Nightsky package, but I feel that four Mimics, four Edges, four Castigates, four Gwyllions, and four Hunters are enough to make Mimic worth inclusion. I could even see myself running two Unmake, upping the Orzhov count to 22. I would probably cut the Oblivion Rings main in favor of the new, elegant Doomblade, as it is faster and does a remarkably similar job. Yes, Ring is a catchall, but in my experience, it almost always takes a creature that is in the way. Doomblade does this also. Of course, if MBC is a big player, I would want a different two mana removal spell- perhaps Temporal Isolation if I was going for a more aggressive strategy or Last Gasp if I had a slower game plan.

I would not currently run less than four Crypt Rats between the main and side. That being considered, I am not certain that I want them main currently, as they are huge in the matchups where they matter, but underwhelming the other times. Again, I want to test more.

A card I am excited about for this deck, if it chooses to be aggressive, it Child of Night. Another Lifelink card, it can provide another pseudo angel with Edge, and is card I believe warrants testing. Other options include Ravenous Rats and Shrieking Grotesque, Gravedigger and its ilk, and Okiba-Gang Shinobi. Another spell for consideration, besides the ones listed, include Raven's Crime in the main, as it provides an outlet for late game land. For the sideboard, Pillory of the Sleepless is an interesting option, combining win condition with loose removal, while also turning on Mimic.

Nightsky Aggro takes the history of PDC and Pauper and puts it into a package that has a critical number of synergies and some powerful cards. While it may falter in the face of removal, it has the tools to compete with the other aggressive decks of Pauper, putting it on the list of decks to consider when looking for the metagame blade. Going along with its history, it will be interesting to see what Zendikar brings to the party.

Keep slingin' commons-

-Alex