It is amazing how many ups and down a week can contain. Since I last wrote, I got my rating up to 1700, had it drop to below 1650, and now have it settled somewhere in the middle, all with White Weenie. Is the deck any worse than it was last week? Hardly- in fact, it might be better!

Before I go any further, here is my current list:

White Weenie

 

Creatures 4 Akrasan Squire 4 Icatian Javelineers 4 Shade of Trokair 4 Razor Golem 4 Order of Leitbur 4 Aven Riftwatcher 4 Knight of Sursi 2 Ivory Giant 30 cards Other Spells 4 Sunlance 4 Temporal Isolation 8 cards

Lands 22 Plains 22 cards Sideboard 4 Dust to Dust 4 Benevolent Unicorn 4 Holy Light 3 Obsidian Acolyte 15 cards

It looks remarkably similar to the list from last week. I swapped out Stormfront Pegasus for Aven Riftwatcher. This is almost a strict upgrade. Pegasus is fragile and would just about die immediately. With Riftwatcher, you are basically guaranteed three turns. In addition, I was finding that the burn match ups were winnable post-sideboard, but too close for comfort. Riftwatcher provides that cushion while attacking for four in the air, or absorbing some hits. He is also less vulnerable to that nasty Goblin that everyone said was terrible, but is still tearing up the Pauper Queues.

Speaking of the newest Red Menace, I misevaluated the pairing last week. After a week of testing, I am pretty certain that after sideboarding, White Weenie is a heavy favorite. The reason is because you block so much better than they ever can. In game one, you can steal wins with Temporal Isolation on a Sparksmith and getting down some early blockers. In fact, if they have a Goblin Sledder or Mogg Raider out, it is often right to double block one creature on a non-lethal attack, especially if you have big butt creatures. Goblins will need to take these off the field to stand a chance, so double blocking will often force them to trade a number of 1/1 creatures to take out a Razor Golem or two. With the right hand, this can be a game changing play.

Proper Sunlance management is also key to these games. The problem is the value of what to hit changes so often. Goblins is a dynamic aggressive deck that can attack you from a huge variety of angles that changes from turn to turn. They can go Husk on you with a Raider or Sledder, obsolete your blockers with an Intimidator Initiate, or Abyss you with Sparksmith. These are usually your main targets with a Lance past turn one. However, sometimes it is right to take out their first Goblin Cohort or Conscript to stem the bleeding, if you have a slower hand that is heavy on Suspenders. Proper use of Sunlance is vital to winning game one, and plays an important role in game two, but it is all about understanding your role. Much like writers far better than I am have written about Faeries, this matchup is about strategic moments. Knowing when to shift from defense to offense and back again is key.

Of course, game two things change dramatically. If they are unprepared, they will often side incorrectly, and you have Holy Light, which is pretty good. The goal is not to wipe their board, but rather, force them to make sacrifices that will put them at a severe disadvantage. Casting Light with a War Marshal out is risky, but sometimes right. Often, the right time to cast the bullet is with a Goblin on the stack, or after they have started sacrificing to the crusaders. Timing this right can leave them with an nearly empty board and allow you, the hero, to go on the offensive.

I have had quite a few matches against Goblins this past week, but this overview comes from a match I won two games to one. This is game one.

I win the roll and keep a hand of four Plains, a Shade, a Squire, and Isolation. Against an unknown opponent, this gives me early pressure and a stopper to their first few threats. I lead with the Squire, as no matter what,I want to establish my presence as the aggressor early. He responds with a Mountain and a Cohort.

At this point, my mindset changes. My goal is to try and keep his men off the table so he cannot assemble a critical mass of creatures. Because of this, I will be willing to attack into this defenses with Squire.

Squire is a great card, but highly expendable. In this match up, the damage bonuses from exalted matter very little in the late game, as once you get there, you should win handily. Rather, it shines early, sneaking in those first few points OR trading.

I draw into a Golem and swing. He does not block, and I Suspend Shade and pass the turn.

It is almost always right to Suspend Shade, as you want to have the maximum amount of mana available to protect him from nasty cards like Lightning Bolt and Tendrils of Corruption. With fewer than seven lands in play, unless I desperately need a blocker, Shade gets Suspended. Knight of Sursi, however, I will often wing into play or hold in my hand if I cannot suspend it turn two or earlier, as it will come online as an attacker faster if you do not Suspend it after turn three. These axioms go out the window, however, if you are setting up an alpha strike with Ivory Giant, in which case you want to have as many creatures as possible ready to attack on the same turn.

On his turn he casts Sparksmith and beats me to 18. This is important, as it makes my Isolation live. Sparksmith is a dangerous card, but I have a trump. I can force him to waste an attack with Sparky since it will not have a real chance to eat my team. However, out of fear of War Marshal, I do not want to run out Golem without protection, since it will just die. I can hold off a turn for Golem and Isolation, or hope he eats my Squire.

I draw a Plains, lay my third land, attack him to 16 and pass. This not only sets me up for Isolation, but it also telegraphs that I might be leaning heavily on Shade to win, rather than my trick and Golem in hand.

On his turn he tries to eat my Squire. I cast Isolation and leave him without an Abyss. He casts Mogg Flunkies, puts me to 16, casts Fanatic, and passes.

If he had cast Fanatic first, then Sparked my guy, I would not have cast Isolation, as he could eat his own Sparksmith to take my guy out since the activated ability would go off.

On my turn I draw my second Golem, lay a Plains, and swing. Before Exalted resolves he shoots my Squire. I then play two Golems. At this point, I am far ahead, as he has to trade multiple creatures to take out even one of my Golems, especially with Shade coming in on my next turn with five lands to feed him.

But next turn he has all the creatures he needs to eat my team, with a Sledder and Marshal. He attacks with Flunkies and Cohort and I double block the 3/3. He eats everything but the attackers to give himself an 8/8. I happily trade, since next turn I will have the best creature on the table, and he will have conditional attackers.

Shade comes into play and I swing for one, and then play out the Shade I just drew with a mana up. Now, unless he draws another Crusader, I have effectively fogged him for a turn, as attacking with a 2/2 into a 2/3 not a winning scenario for him. Instead, he has a second Flunkies and attacks. I eat the 2/2 and take three, putting me to 11. Then he casts Sledder.

I put a Squire into play next turn at start attacking with one Shade, never pumping him to make sure I will have a solid blocker.

Next turn, he casts Initiate and I know I have to go defensive since I can only chump with Squire. His hand is empty, but the chances of him drawing spells is too great. He is at a low enough total that I can afford to block and eat his team for a while. Or so I think, as he draws another Goblin to neuter my blocker and put me to zero thanks to a crusader.

Game two I side out Isolations for Lights, and open with three plains, a Knight, a Light, a Lance, and a Golem. This is a pretty solid hand. The Knight gets Exiled on turn one and the other guy goes Mountain into Conscripts.

Since my hand is slow and has a dominating blocker and a sweeper, I want to Lance the 2/2 and keep my life total up for the time being. I play a land, take out his guy, and pass. He responds with a Clanger and Cohort. I answer with a Golem. He reveals Sledder off of Clanger and then casts Initiate into Sledder, leaving me unable to block and at 16 life.

Next turn, with Clanger's trigger on the stack, I go for Light. This will force him to lose at least one creature, and possible more if he does not know what to do. As it stands, he sacrifices Sledder to save Initiate, and nothing else. He casts Martyr of Ashes, swings me to 14, and passes. At this point, I have him to 15 from Knight and Golem attacks (Vigilance is tech) and rip my second Light. He casts a Raider, but I respond with Light, leaving him the crusader and a Cohort. He never quite recovers and I win handily with the flying beats, since I rip a Riftwatcher next turn and there is nothing he can do.

Game three he opens with Mountain into Cohort, and I stare at a lovely hand of two land, three Golem, a Shade, and a Lance. Must. Be. Nice.

Again, since this hand is a tad slow, I Lance the first guy I see after drawing into the critical third land. He passes the turn with just a Conscripts and I reply with a pair of Suspenders- the Shade and a top deck Knight.

All he can muster is an Initiate.

An aside: Goblins is a great deck that can operate on minimal lands. However, sometimes this can create a choke point that prevents the deck from functioning optimally (obv). White Weenie suffers from a different problem. It needs two more lands to function optimally, but is far more prone to flood. Even with eight pump creatures, there are times where I have far too many land. I have hard-cast Ivory Giant more times than I would like to admit. I would love to run about half a land less, but cannot safely run Secluded Steppes as they would wreck my early turns and Golems.

Turn three I am able to cast my first Golem and start blocking, or rather I would be able to if he was able to attack. I do not draw a land and play my second Golem after attacking. By the time he is able to get a second land, there is nothing that he can do, as I have too many creatures and steam roll.

This is typical of many of the matches I have played with the deck. Sometimes you just get blown out, but the games you are in, you are casting better creatures then they are and, with the exception of Teachings, making better use of your mana on nearly every turn. The close battles are won on the backs of dominating combat, and sometimes you are able to get a draw that will just stomp all over your adversary, no matter what they can muster.

I am not sure how long White Weenie will remain a smart choice, as the deck is potent, but at its best with MBC/u, Teachings, and Goblins at the top of the heap. Teachings can adapt with Isolations of their own, but I do not think that will be enough to tilt the games towards the Time Spiral staple. MBC is not scary now, but if people catch on and start running effects that can kill Acolyte and Order with ease, then the pairing gets much tougher. This makes the deck weaker against the field however, so unless this deck becomes a dominant force, I am certain how those decks will adapt.

That is all I have on White Weenie this week. I do want to spend some time talking about Zendikar, however. So beware: SPOILERS AHEAD.

This set seems to want to push aggressive decks over the top. I am not sure how Pauper will react, since the format is limited by Crypt Rats. Scythe Tiger (3/2 Shroud for G, and when it enters the battlefield you sacrifice land) seems like a fine card, until you think about Edcits and Rats everywhere. Sure, in the right deck, in the right meta, it is a beating, but I am not sure that meta will exist for more than one event at any time in Pauper.

Vampire Lacerator (2/2 for B that eats a life every turn unless your opponent has ten life of less) is more interesting. With the original Carnophage coming online soon, and Carrion Feeder helping aggressive Black decks dodge Tendrils, the core of a decent Dark Ritual beat down deck is starting to form. With Sign in Blood to refuel, Spinning Darkness for free removal, and some great discard spells- Raven's Crime after turn four or Cry of Contrition- this deck seems poised to make a splash once those cards come around.

Plated Geopede, however, seems to be the most interesting. A 3/3 on turn three is no joke, and unlike Keldon Marauders, this one will not kill itself. Rather, as long as you are drawing land, you are able to deal additional damage. Flame Jab often finds a slot in Red decks to turn late land into damage, and this card does something similar, except one land becomes at least two damage (more if you have multiple Geopedes), with no mana investment. I expect two color aggressive decks, running the Ravnica Block Karoos, to make good use of this card, as one Karoo now translates into four extra damage.

Zendikar looks like it will shake things up in Pauper and provide some interesting choices for deck builders in the future.

As always, I am excited.

Keep slingin' commons-

-Alex