Pauper is gaining more and more momentum as a casual format. What started with Premier Events every month and four man queues has evolved to weekly events and popular two and four man tournaments. More people are attracted to the format, which is increasing the player pool as well as the well of ideas for potential decks and strategies. This has led to numerous evaluations of the strength of different cards in Pauper, cards that may have not been fully explored during the halcyon days of PDC. However, before anyone can really examine what cards in good in Pauper, it would make sense to try and grasp an understanding of the format. Now, I do not mean to say I understand the format to a degree of absolute certainty, but I do have the basic knowledge required to understand how Pauper works and how it differs from other formats.

1) Pauper is about stunted development. I often advocate/preach that you should not talk about Pauper in terms of other formats, but I am going to make an exception here since this goes against much of what we know about high level Magic. Unlike other formats where you may very well have access in mana fixing and the ability to cheat on tempo, the fixing in Pauper gives graces for consistent mana but only at the cost of pacing. The Borderposts, Karoos, and Terramorphic Expanse all allow you to have access to the mana you want at the cost of a turn.

Read that again.

You can have the right mana, but it will cost you a turn. Other formats do not have this restriction. In these formats, you can sacrifice consistency now for consistency later (filter lands) or time later for consistency now (shock lands, fetch lands, pain lands). These formats also have the opportunity to allow you to skip turns for increased consistency (Vivid lands, Tri-Lands), but the fact remains that you have the option for all three. Pauper lacks this. This means that if you are running more than two colors, your mana development is likely to get stunted in a non-insignificant amount of game situations.

Consequentially, decks must adjust. Take, for example, RG aggro. This once hot deck has suffered recently, as many of the very powerful creatures in the deck have a baseline cost of RG. While in other formats casting these cards on turn two consistently might not be a problem, in Pauper it requires a perfect mana balance and intelligent mulligans (like most other formats). However, these decks also must make sacrifices in three drop slots, eschewing heavy colored requirements for the ability to cast the spells on time.

Stunted growth means that your two color two drops have to be worth it to even be considered. Cards like Qasali Pridemage have utility at all points of the game, where as Jund Hackblade loses some potency as the game goes on. The other Blades, however, suffer less from this stigma.

2) Pauper is about creatures. While it can be said that Magic centers around creatures and combat (hence the reaction to the M10 changes), Pauper more than other formats center around the combat phase. Yes, we have our control deck that wins through other means in MBC, and a potent Storm combo deck that ignores creatures entirely, largely games are decided in the Red Zone. However, the fact is that the control decks of the format are better defined by the way they handle creatures than by the ways they win games.

In Pauper, inevitability is defined as who has the last creature or spell. There are no token generating lands that fail to occupy a spell slot. Rather, the Wakefield principle, modified, often defines games- the last fatty that they can't answer is the one that kills them (ignoring Corrupt, Storm, and Burn). The control decks that handle creatures best feature cards like Exclude, Tendrils of Corruption, and formerly Skred. These cards all represent huge tempo swings in the favor of the caster (Skred less so), and go a long way towards cementing the game for control. Before Tendrils, MBC was a fine deck in PDC but rarely a dominating force. It was only after the Black Time Walk was printed that the Swamp Monster rose to a level of prominence. Control decks are partially defined by their answers to creatures.

Creatures play an important role as well. Often they double as spells and can be a source of virtual advantage. Mulldrifter is a stupid good card and is a good example of what a Pauper creature should do once it hits the battlefield. That is not to say that creatures-as-spells are the only ones that have a niche in Pauper. Cards like Guardian of the Guildpact can play Meddling Mage for two cards instead of one, and Mogg Fanatic is serious beats no matter what rules you play under. The entire Blade cycle from Alara Reborn do a fantastic job of beating down, as do a variety of other creatures in the format.

Whether you are on offense or defense, creatures define Pauper.

3) The Fundamental Turn of Pauper is Turn Four. I have said it before and I will say it again- Turn Four is the Fundamental Turn. This is the turn by which combo and aggro will often goldfish and the turn at which control can establish a strong defensive position either by Tendrils or Spire Golem with a Counterspell backup. Your deck, and by proxy you, should have a plan for this. Can you win by turn four? Can you establish dominance? If the answer is no, then I would seriously consider reconsidering your deck for competitive Pauper.

4) Pauper is about maximizing advantages. This seems inherent to every format, but it hold especially true in Pauper. I believe that the power level of the format is relatively flat, with spikes at certain points like Crypt Rats, Exclude, and others. This means that in order for your card advantage to matter, it has to be a big swing. Take, for example, Foresee versus Compulsive Research. Both cards are fantastic, but Foresee costs four, which is just a hair too much unless you want to scry all four to the bottom. Compulsive allows you to see almost as many cards a turn earlier (when tapping out, that is). Okay, you know what, this is a poor example.

Here is a better one: Brainstorm against Ponder against Serum Visions. These cards all allow you to see three cards for the low low cost of one Blue, but all have drastically different implications when played, and each has a certain deck type in which they want to fit. Ponder fits best into combo decks thanks to the opportunity to set up draws or shuffle away chaff. Brainstorm shines in control decks with shuffle effects since you can often trade two dead cards for three live ones with the simple crack of an Expanse or the casting of Mystical Teachings. Serum Visions, in my view, fits best in aggro decks since it can again, remove chaff and set up the curve draws that aggro often needs in those first few turns while later can help keep the gas coming. Can these cards fit into the other listed archetypes? Of course they can, but the advantages are then not maximized.

Of course, these are not new concepts to those familiar with competitive Magic. On some level, in some way, these rules all exist for all formats, only they might have different applications (replace Creatures with Force of Will in Vintage, for example). So then what is the point about taking up paragraph after paragraph with common knowledge?

Many times, when people first hear about Pauper, they have the wrong idea. This is less common now, but even recently I had a friend from my Paper Magic days telling me how he thought Kithkin could not lose in Pauper Standard. The rules are the same, for the most part, it is just the power level that changes. I often liken Pauper to NCAA Basketball and “Power” Magic to the NBA (or if you're not America-Orientated, Pauper is lower grade football compared to the Premier Leagues). The skills are, for the most part similar. The tricks and nuances are different however- Paupers do not have to play around a Cryptic Command or Bloodbraid Elf, for example. It is the same game, just less flash. Once this concept is embraced, it becomes far easier for those who are moving to Pauper from another format to adapt to the power level.

I would like to examine some of these principles with a deck I was testing not too long ago. This deck was not successful for sustained periods, meaning it could win games, but it is not the sort of deck I would take into a tournament, at least as constructed currently.

This deck was conceived back when I was working on the Battlegate Boros list that leaned heavily on (Scourge of the Noblis). I was fascinated with Aura lists at the time, and felt that this deck could become a natural extension of such a deck, while trumping other Aura strategies. Needless to say, this deck never worked out:

Steel Reserve

 

Creatures 4 Ethercaste Knight 2 Talon Trooper 4 Bant Sureblade 4 Benevolent Bodyguard 4 Akrasan Squire 4 Ninja of the Deep Hours 22 cards Other Spells 4 Serum Visions 2 Echoing Truth 4 Fieldmist Borderpost 2 Steel of the Godhead 4 Mana Leak 4 Unsummon 20 cards

Lands 9 Island 9 Plains 18 cards

Let us take a look through the lenses I provided before.

1) Stunted development: As a curve deck, this one tries to hit something on every turn. On top of that, it has action, so to speak, for the first three turns of the game. Most importantly is the action on turn one. Squire is a solid drop that helps enhance later attacks; Borderpost helps offset the mana issues of this deck fixing early; Serum Visions can set up draws early while also providing a stream late. All of these cards help to take advantage of the student development of other decks while not being dead on their own. Ninja of the Deep Hours also fits into this category, as hitting with one early can often start a steady stream of advantage that snowballs over time, creating a full coffer for the controller. Mana Leak, Unsummon, and Echoing Truth also play a role in this, giving you the opportunity to time walk your opponent early, which is when you want to win. Your goal is to advance your own Stage 2 until you can stick an evasive threat. Until that point, you just want to stunt their development as long as you can, where these cards come into play.

2) Creatures: This should be obvious, as we are a creature deck. More than that though, we have ways to protect our beaters. Bodyguard is almost as good as a counter as far as Tendrils is concerned, and Unsummon can pitch in in a pinch. Mana Leak is there to protect you early, as if the game goes long you should have had a few hits with Ninja to put you ahead.

You also are an Exalted deck. Your goal is to attack with multiple dudes early, until you can start swinging with a souped up dude. Swinging with an Ethercaste Knight that has two or three friends out there can help to take out opposing blockers, and Bant Sureblade can be a Skred of legs. In the late game, sticking a Steel on one of your guys with Truth protection can just seal games. When I had ceased testing, I was unsure if more Steels were good enough.

3) This deck is active by turn four. While turn one can be spent fixing mana, it can also be spent setting up to Lava Spike to the opponent on turn two thanks to Exalted. Ninja gives you a serious threat to advance your position on turn two, and your creatures scale thanks to the nature of the deck. Once you get to the late game, Steel provides another way to win besides overwhelming. Leak is key here since you are an early turn deck, you obviously want to protect your plan in those first turns. Again, having cards that protect your plan, focusing on what matters by winning those early turns, is why the Leaks are in the deck (as well as the bounce and Bodyguards). After turn four, your plan hinges on Steels, and this was one of the reasons I stopped working on the deck.

4) This deck tries to maximize its advantages. Serum Visions gets the nod here because it gives you action on turn one and can help set up your draws. Brainstorm falters here because you have no way to shuffle away dead cards. Ponder, likewise, is sub-par as you want to set up your draws, not see more cards immediately. This choice process can be extended to every card in the deck, looking up over the previous paragraphs. Mana Leak gets the slot because you want to be able to stop anything early, not only creatures or non-creatures, but anything and Counterspell is rough on a two-color aggro base. Sureblade is in over Stormblade because you want to win combat and also avoid splash damage from Affinity. First Strike is an underrated ability in Pauper (since the format can be about creatures), especially with Exalted stacking.

Of course, one of the reasons this deck suffers is because I am not sure if every choice is ideal. Am I running the perfect bounce suite? The right number of Steels? Are these even the right creatures? Like I said, I do not know for certain since I stopped testing the deck. Real life has a nasty way of interfering with MTGO.

When thinking about decks what you want to take into battle, please consider these points. Being able to answer these items as they relate to your deck will only help you better prepare for a Pauper tournament.

Keep slingin' commons-

-Alex