PDC stands for Pauper Deck Challenge, a format where only commons are allowed. This popular format hosts to several PRE’s each week with numerous subformats to choose from. To find a game of pauper in the MTGO client, go to the /join pdc room. To learn more about our beloved format, check out www.pdcmagic.com.
 | Format: Standard Constructed Registration: Thursday June 19th 2008, 8:30pm EST Structure: 3 Rounds of Swiss followed by Single Elimination Top 4 |
GravespawnGoddess noticed that there were a lot of people in the PDC room on Thursday night jonesing for some SPDC action, and so he generously obliged by hosting the event for the night. Now the PDC has a long and proud history of first time paupers taking home the gold, and tonight it was akasha_’s turn. Akasha_ had a theory; he believed that a deck without Mulldrifter and Grim harvest could win by taking advantage of the Safehold cards from Shadowmoor and the card advantage engines in green, like Aurochs Herd and Citanul Woodreaders. He made a strong case for his point of view on Thursday, taking his deck all the way to finals where he defeated Grimdrifter to take the trophy!
The big news for SPDC this week however was not the tournament that ran, but the host that stepped up. I am proud to announce that Puremtgo’s own jamuraa has agreed to continue SPDC into season six! He will be backed up by kehmesis as well as by the previous host Icarodx. SPDC will continue on in good hands!
Format: Future Extended Constructed Registration Begins: Friday June 20th, 2008, 1:00pm EST Structure: 3 Rounds of Swiss followed by Single Elimination Top 4 | |
It was all aggro, all the time on Friday as Saprolings, Elves and Goblins battled it out for supremacy in Future Extended. Yogev_ezra’s Elves! deck was configured for a metagame heavy on Affinity and Freed, and so was unprepared for the quick beats of LostSymphonies’ speedy saps in the first round, but his elves avenged themselves against Spore Cry in the finals to earn another trophy. Elves! is quickly becoming the aggro deck to beat in standard, as it’s speed and consistency (along with the skill of its primary backer yogev_ezra) rivals that of the White Weenie archetype in Standard. Also in the quarterfinals was Husk in Red, a deck designed around fast red beats backed up with black card and quality advantage. It would not be the last time the archetype made a splash this weekend… | | Format: Classic Constructed Registration Begins: Saturday June 21st, 2008, 10:30am EST Structure: 4 Rounds of Swiss followed by Single Elimination Top 4 Winner: borekmarek – Husk in Red |
Borekmarek was back on Saturday with another version of Husk in Red. Classic gives the deck a boost in the form of Lightning Bolt and Terminate, two cheap and powerful removal spells that can have drastic effects on tempo and reach. The stars of the deck however were two new cards from Shadowmoor: Giantbaiting and Rite of Consumption. Giantbaiting is one of the more talked about PDC cards in the set. The number of cards that can do 8 damage in one turn in Standard can be counted without using your toes, and all the others besides these two require a massive investment of mana. These gems require three mana or less, and though the alternate costs are high, in PDC they are often worth the investment. Giantbaiting is very powerful, especially against slower control decks that might not have down more than one blocker, or decks that have uses for dying creatures. Rite of Consumption is the first Fling style card that PDC has access to. It is unfortunately sorcery speed, but with so many creatures like those Giants and Keldon Marauders dying on a schedule anyway, the loss is easier to bear. These cards gave borekmarek’s Husk in Red deck the extra power boost needed to put it over the top.
| Name: UPDC 4.02 Format: Future Extended Constructed Registration Begins: Sunday June 22nd 2008, 2:00pm EST Structure: 4 Rounds of Swiss followed by Single Elimination Top 8 Metagame Report | |
Borekmarek’s success on Saturday would not go unnoticed by paupers on Sunday, as two more contestants brought the hot deck to the newer Future Extended format. It was not to be on Sunday however, as Hokusai’s Husk in Red deck fell in the finals to a rogue creation belonging to scarecrow007 named RG Mana Ramp. The deck’s combination of fat and disruption proved to be too much for the speedy attrition deck.
In an ominous foreshadowing of the week that was coming, Sunday’s event was nearly cancelled due to lag. The event cut to a top 4 after the second round, because so many paupers had dropped out…
| | Format: Standard Contructed Registration Begins: Monday June 23th, 2008, 1:30pm EST Structure: 3 Rounds Swiss followed by Single Elimination Top 8 Winner: joekewwl - Grimdrifter |
Lifegain was the weapon of choice for standard paupers on Monday, as MPDCers proved that they had had enough of Red and brought the gamut from
Aven Riftwatchers to
Tendrils of Corruption to battle the burn. Sure enough it worked, with no red decks making the top four. Instead, mono-colored aggro decks in the form of Illusions and
Elves faced off against Black/x control, in the form of
Grimdrifter and
Dark Evocation. The aggro decks didn’t make it into the finals. Dark Evocation has been racking up the trophies in the current season, but couldn’t get it down this week against Grimdrifter, instead providing
joekewwl his first MPDC trophy!
| Format: Lorwyn Block Constructed Registration Begins: Monday June 9th, 2008 8:30pm EST Structure: 3 Rounds of Swiss followed by Single Elimination Top 4 Metagame Report | |
Shadowmoor gave a great many tools to red. In addition to the aforementioned Giantbaiting, cards like Intimidator Initiate and Mudbrawler Cohort could see play even in the oldest PDC formats. Boin took advantage of these many advantages along with the good burn in block to put together his Warrior Sligh deck. His deck took the first trophy of the season, burning past his opposition on the way to the top tables. Life gain in Block leaves much to be desired. Assembling the tools to beat this single-minded monster will be a challenge for deckbuilders this Monday. Boin famously claimed that mono-red aggro was the best deck of Kamigawa Block. Will he be able to prove that it is the best deck of Lorwyn block as well? | | Format: Classic Constructed Registration Begins: Tuesday June 24th, 2008, 8:30pm EST Structure: 3 Rounds of Swiss followed by Single Elimination Top 8 Metagame Report |
Mono-black control is one of the staple control decks of the classic PDC format. However, it is also a label that encompasses a lot of very different decks. Mono-black decks can feature everything from pure spell control decks that use creature removal to knock aggro off its game while building up mana for huge Corrupts, to creature based control decks that disrupt control through prodigious use of discard on a stick. Grozathia won Tuesday night with one of the latter, favoring creature based card advantage backed with tons of discard and removal to the slower black spell builds. This is almost certainly the right choice; with the popularity of counterspells in Classic (specifically the popularity of MUC, though Deep Dog has its fair share of counters), it is difficult for Corrupt based MBC decks resolve their game winning spells.
Also of note was frankenhooter’s Arcane Storm/Flask deck. Though no list was posted, I got to see this deck in action, and it is insane genius to behold. The deck uses Arcane Spells to control the board and burn face long enough to finish with a big turn. That turn often involves casting a series of small spells and then Grapeshooting the opponent into submission, but the deck also runs Elsewhere Flask. This overlooked gem from Shadowmoor not only increases the deck’s storm count at no card cost, but it allows for an unexpected Corrupt to steal wins from aggro and put away the unsuspecting opponent from high life totals. We’ll be keeping an eye out for frankenhooter in the future to see if he will share his unique creation with us.
The Clan Cup
There were many events this week to clarify the field for the Clan Cup. Paupers have really taken a shine to this event, as the PDC has seen more clan activity in the past week than had been experienced in the last year. This activity mostly takes the form of new clan creation and increased membership in currently running clans. Also this week, it was announced that the top 10 clan spellslingers would get personalized forum tags! Let’s see what the top 4 looked like at the end of the week:
| Classic 1) Everything in Common 2) Stonecutters 2) Princes of Pauper
4) Greenwich Mean Tightwads | Extended
1) Everything in Common 2) Greenwich Mean Tightwads
3) The Precious
4) Common Cause |
| Standard
1) Dragon Quest
2) Cereal Killers
3) League Warriors
4) Greenwich Mean Tightwads
| Overall Championship
1) Everything in Common
2) Greenwich Mean Tightwads
3) Princes of Pauper
4) League Warriors |
Top 3 Players by Points:
| Tag | Player Name | Points | Points per Event |
 | | 21 | 3.00 |
 | | 14 | 3.50 |
 | | 12 | 6.00 |
Last week was not without its fair share of frustrations. Server issues continue to plague MTGO, cancelling the premiere of XPDC, reducing UPDC to two rounds and interfering with other tournaments. The week was also full of successes. Shadowmoor has integrated itself into the field, making some decks stronger and creating other winning decks out of whole cloth. SPDC has a new leader, and when paupers stumbled over hosting or rules issues, the community continued to come together to create solutions. It is this kind interaction that makes the PDC so much more than just a series of PRE’s. Join me again next week when as we learn even more about the exciting events of the PDC Shadowmoor season!
