It feels good.

After a month or so off, I am able to devote my time to play Pauper once more. Getting back into writing...well that is much harder than getting back into Magic.

The best way I have found to get back into Magic, of any sort, is to play the style of deck I love. When I want to play Commander after a prolonged break, I pick up my Kuon deck; Tribal is usually a Birds deck, and Prismatic is some sort of awkward griefer Land Destruction deck.

In Pauper, though, that touchstone, for me at least, is Deep Dog.

It is no secret that I love utilizing the graveyard as a resource- whenever I can I Love trying to fit in a Grim Harvest here or a Gravedigger there, just for added value. Look back at my tenth place Blightning- Husk list. There were graveyard tricks all over that piece, and I tried to include more by running Pit Keeper. Even then, I somewhat stubbornly stuck to Vithian Stingers that, although they won me my fair share of games, were probably wrong, simply because I love Unearth.

Deep Dog, however, was the first. Back in the early days of PDC, running Wild Mongrel, Deep Analysis, Basking Rootwalla, and Werebear was one of the least fair things you could do you your opponent. Of course, the Red-Green decks of the day could do even less fair things involving burning your face, which relegated the deck to serious tier two status.

Over time, the deck accrued more tools. Coldsnap brought Rune Snag, which seemed to slot into the deck so well, providing great “Gotcha” potential with a Mongrel on board. Ravnica provided Golgari Brownscale, a nice defensive all-star, a Ben Wallace, if you will, who was not only on curve but allowed you to consistently protect the house AND make it nicer at the same time. Time Spiral, with its theme of nostalgia, provided a couple of great cards, the best of which are Terramorphic Expanse, Looter il-Kor, and Think Twice. Even with a land that was on theme, the deck could not contend with the top of the heap.

And it was never the cards' fault.

Before I get into exactly why this is the case, let us take a look at how the deck works.

Deep Dog, is at the core, an Aggro-Control deck. Ideally you want to set up a game state where you are at a healthy life total with a threat on the board and a way to protect that threat. This is how every game with play out, except the point where you enter this end-game state will vary depending on your opponents strategy.

The early turns are all about preserving a life total and developing mana. Usually the deck will want to lay out Islands first to set up a counter wall, sometimes dropping a Forest first to run out a Rootwalla defense. After mana has been developed and threats have been kept off the opponent's side of the board, the Dog can start slowly deploying threats, with protection of course. At some point, you are going to have 4/4s and 5/5s on the board and attack for the win.

Of course, the old adage applies- against control you play the aggressor; against aggro you play control; against combo you want to disrupt their plan. In Pauper, Deep Dog has to play control by blocking, but also by relying on Golgari Brownscale. The Lizard is a fine blocker, able to absorb most blows. The real gem, though, is the fact that it can keep coming back, effectively negating two attacks each time it dies. In conjunction with Looter, Scale becomes a free four point buffer every turn; if you have two in hand and a few active Looters, it is really hard for the beat down to smash face.

So why was this deck unsuccessful? In the days of PDC, the best Red aggro decks played a heaping helping of burn for the dual purpose of reach and clearing a path for creatures. Your typical Red/X aggro deck would run at least six, and as many as ten, burn spells. These could overwhelm your defenses as you were being attacked from far too many sides to put up your dukes and block the blows. In these instances, only having multiple active Scales would allow you to stand a chance.

But as the evidence has clearly shown, Pauper is not the same as PDC.

However, the biggest blow to the deck in PDC, was the fact that I was the one designing and innovating the builds. Like I said, I have a soft spot for the deck and would always try to make it viable. One of the mental blocks I had about this deck is that Counterspell was too color intensive to work in a deck that wanted both Green and Blue mana in a somewhat equal amount. Because of this, I avoided th cure all, which was a mistake. It was only after my serious return to the deck after months away from it that I saw how good Counterspell could be, if I was just willing to play smarter Magic with my mana. This, was not the final step towards making the deck viable.

Remember how I said Deep Dog would eventually attack with large monsters? It would do this thanks to different bounce spells. Usually, Aether Burst would be used thanks to graveyard synergy and the ability to “wrath” a board for just 1U. Zendikar gave us a card that is less powerful in an ideal situation, but in my opinion is better given the current set of circumstances: Whiplash Trap.

Undo is a powerful effect, and the ability to do it at instant speed, even for five mana, is quite good. That is not why this card shines, however. The Trap cost is the real enticement to Whiplash Trap, but how often do decks put two creatures on to the battlefield on the same turn?

Ask me that question a few months ago, and I would say rarely. Ask me today, and it happens all the time. Goblins and White Weenie have made the Trap not only a playable card, but a great option to combat their offensive capabilities.

Now, I am not labeling Whiplash a cure all, as taking two creatures off the field will hardly allow you to “auto win” against the little Red men, but it helps. Imagine the typical Goblin Bushwhacker turn, where a 2/2 or two (or maybe even a 3/3) are on the board and the Bad Guy runs out a 1/1 and a Bushwhacker into your defenses (for the sake of argument, a Mongrel and a Werebear, small size). You, however, Trap away their two biggest threats, leaving them attacking with a smaller force that you can easily trade with. This sets the Goblins player back a turn, maybe two, depending on their mana situation, while leaving you free to untap with creatures and counters to once again, protect the dome.

Now imagine you traded an attacker for a Brownscale. That is almost three turns right there, as you negate one attack by bringing back the Scale, and another two by ruining their investment.

White Weenie is one deck that can go toe to toe with Goblins, currently, and the Trap works fairly well there as well. The Plains deck usually wants a big turn with a few Suspend guys whipping into play and then go to town. Whiplash on this turn can set them back a few turns, since they will have to invest one turn per creature in all likelihood. The advent of Kor Skyfisher means that you can sometimes run the ideal Trap out as early as turn three, which is just, well, plain old fun.

I know I am high on the Trap, but I assure you- it is simply a tool to help combat these strategies and not the answer. As part of an overall plan Whiplash plays an important part in buying you time, and time is of the essence.

Deep Dog is a deck that thrives on changing the pace of the game. They will play a 2/2, or a 3/3 on turn two, but you will be able to play a potential 4/4 or a Mongrel. They will invest energy and resources in casting spells which you will either counter or remove from the board; they will only draw one card a turn, and when you are clicking, the Dog will draw more.

Let us look at the deck as I currently have it constructed:

Deep Dog

 

Creatures 4 Werebear 4 Springing Tiger 4 Looter il-Kor 4 Basking Rootwalla 4 Wild Mongrel 20 cards Other Spells 2 Essence Scatter 4 Whiplash Trap 4 Think Twice 4 Counterspell 2 Prohibit 1 Deep Analysis 17 cards

Lands 9 Island 7 Forest 3 Simic Growth Chamber 4 Terramorphic Expanse 23 cards Sideboard 4 Hydroblast 4 Golgari Brownscale 4 Negate 3 Echoing Truth 15 cards

I am not positive about the counter suite- Essence Scatter is a concession to the fact that this deck does have a hard time dealing with creatures once they stick on the board. Exclude is probably better, but mana is at a premium in this deck so Essence Scatter wins out. Counterspell is the proverbial bees knees and as of now, should remain. Prohibit seems very well positioned currently, but I could easily see another metagame counter finding its way into the deck.

While I am pleased with the creatures, recently I believe that the Brownscales should be in main sixty. I am not sure what should be cut for them, but I am leaning towards the Rootwallas, as they are currently a sub-par beater. I have yet to test this configuration, but it seems more and more likely to be the next step in my deck evolution. This would hurt the “aggro” half of the deck, but make it better overall against the current field. A creature that just will not die, especially one that gains life, is definitely not bad.

After all my carrying on about Whiplash Trap, I do not think it will always be the right call. I like it currently for the reasons stated before, but I could easily see replacing it with the Burst, or perhaps even Unsummon if it were the correct call.

As far as sideboarding goes, against Goblins you take out the Deep Analysis, the Counterspells, and some combo of Rootwallas and Tigers, depending on whether you are on the play or draw. You side in the Scales (obviously) and all four Blasts. You side out the Counterspells to free up your Blue on important turns- being able to Trap them with Blast back up is very important, and it is harder to do this on a critical turn with four Counterspells in your deck.

Against White Weenie, depending on their build, you want to side in the Scales and Truths for some of your more aggressive elements, helping to keep their Journey To Nowheres from being permanent solutions.

Side note: Goblin players- please do not sacrifice your Sledders and Raiders when they are targeted by a Journey. This gives the WW player a free spell to use later, thanks to Skyfisher. If you leave the Raider under the Enchantment, the WW player can not as easily rebuy their removal.

Against the various Black control builds (or the decks that attempt to be Black control), side out your Traps and Lizards for Scales (they never die) and Negate. This will help you keep their worst threats out of your face and allow you to protect your army.

As much as I love this deck, it still feels like an “almost.” I have had success with it, but I am not convinced that you can run the Dog in a Weekend Challenge and consistently do well with the deck, yet. (Fade Away) might help, but the deck will truly shine when the meta shifts back towards control. This is the style of deck, however, that wants a Whiplash Trap. The Trap shines in a deck that can capitalize on the huge tempo swing provided by taking away two turns of investment. Being able to crack back with 4/4s and 5/5s...seems good enough. The Trap might be a Keith Hernandez here, great on the Deep Dog Cardinals, but a key player on the heretofore unknown 1986 Mets.

Keep slingin' commons

-Alex