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By: Arctic_Ghost, Arctic_Ghost
May 11 2023 12:23pm
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Good old Mono Green Tron. There isn’t really much to say about the archetype that hasn’t already been said honestly. You play 3 lands, count to 7, play big threats and cause unrest among the Pauper community. Honestly what could be more fun than that?

The list we will talk about today won the Pauper challenge on 4/16/2023 and with the same list, achieved 10th place in the Pauper Super Qualifier the day before. This list was piloted by VanillaJames. Alright, math class is in session! Let’s Rock!


Power Plant Worker – So, I honestly do not like this card. I understand it is 5 mana for a creature that can attack for 6 the next turn, but I have to believe that there are better things to play in this spot. Then again, I am not the one who won a Pauper Challenge, so who am I to judge?

Self Assembler – I love this card. It is a bigger version of Squadron Hawk. In this deck you can easily find yourself casting 2 a turn, thinning your deck and putting a ton of Power on the board. Unlike the Hawk army, this card isn’t too good at helping you undo a mulligan, so don’t keep hands just because you have this card because being able to assemble Tron is your biggest priority.

Fangren Marauder – A nice big win condition that makes the current best deck in the format cry a little inside. (I am talking about Affinity)

Boulderbranch Golem – This card is really interesting. You can either cast it as a Hill Giant that gains you life and is a good blocker against aggro decks or you can summon it as a 6 power creature that is really good at winning the game and gains you a good amount of life. Do not get me wrong, I am over hyping this creature a small bit, but I genuinely think there is potential with this card as a win condition in the current meta.

Wretched Gryff – This is also a great creature to win the game with. It is a 3 power creature with flying that also draws a card. The cool part is you draw a card even if it is countered.

Maelstrom – For 8 mana you get a 7 power creature and you get to Cascade into another spell. What more could you ask for in a deck like this?

Ulamog's Crusher – Mono Green Tron in Pauper isn’t complete with a couple copies of big daddy cool in the deck. I wouldn’t play more than 2. If you play 3 or especially 4 copies, you could easily draw too many of them and have them stranded in your hand.

Ancient Stirrings – One of the best card selection spells for the Tron archetype in any format.

Breath Weapon – Every deck can benefit from a board wipe and this is one of the best in the format.

Chromatic Star and Chromatic Sphere – You need to be able to actually cast your spells and these are the best way to help with that since they also draw a card when used.

Expedition Map – You need to assemble Tron before anything else. We all know how good this card is by now.

The Manabase

Urza's Mine, Urza's Tower and Urza's Power Plant – Do not play less than 4 of these ever.

Bojuka Bog – Some graveyard hate never hurt anyone.

Crystal Grotto – This helps you cast your spells and gives you a Scry. This is pretty much the perfect land for this type of deck.

Forest and Slagwoods Bridge – Your basics and a dual land to help cast your spells. I believe the Bridge is unnecessary but that is my opinion.

Haunted Fengraf – This is a classic land for most Tron archetypes and I am surprised to only see 1 copy. I personally would swap the Bridge for another copy of Fengraf.

The Sideboard

Fangren Marauder:SOM) and Gorilla Shaman – Listen Affinity, just accept that no one likes losing to you.

Pulse of Murasa – This can be fantastic against certain archetypes where the game will go long.

Relic of Progenitus – More graveyard hate. Just be careful as it could make your Haunted Fengraf worse.

Serene Heart – Good old Bogles hate.

Twin-Silk Spider – You don’t see this too often, but it is easier to cast than Penumbra Spider and is fantastic against a deck like Faeries.

Weather the Storm – There is a storm coming Burn, and you are gonna get caught in it!

Verdict and Conclusion

For better or worse, it seems Tron is here to stay and the best part is that this list doing so well the weekend prior to writing this article means that multiple styles of Tron may be worth playing as well.

We have seen lists like this before and I love how clean this list is. I don’t have much to critique and I am happy about that because I think if you wanted to play a list like this, this is a fantastic place to start. The Sideboard of course depends on the meta, but for the main deck, other than swapping a Bridge for a Fengraf, the only other thing I do not like is Power Plant Worker, but that is just me. Also no Mulldrifter makes me sad but I know why it isn’t here.

Should you play this deck? I think this list is quite good and is great for players starting out in Pauper. The meta will shift after seeing how well this deck did so results will vary as time goes forward, but I think this deck is worth a try.

However, with all this being said, as always, do remember my words are not gospel. I will always encourage you to try a deck that I bring you despite my personal feelings. Remember that results will vary and always remember to practice!

Would you like to compete in a free Pauper tournament with some great prizes? Head on over to Gatherling.com on Tuesday nights at 8pm EDT and play in our weekly Pauper Classic Tuesday's event! Join the chat #PCT to chat with us and feel free to find most of the competitors on Discord!

Thank you so much for reading. Best of luck to you in your next tournament and I’ll catch you all next time!