This Week in Pauper: 3/11-3/15

A Case of the Blues

    After a week dominated by tri-color control this week saw a resurgence of mono-color.  Two top four decks were mono-blue aggro decks.  One of the greatest aspects of standard pauper is the resilience of it's top players.  The meta game is ever changing and there is always a response to last weeks results.  Not only that, but just when you think you've got it figured out a new set drops and the entire cycle begins anew.  Lets take a look at this weeks top decks.



MPDC 20.03

    This weeks mpdc, hosted by Malum, crowned petermere champion with his Boros deck.  This deck has seen a lot of play since the rotation and appears to have taken center stage among aggro deck afficianados.  Everyone has been waiting for something to be able to combat White Weenie and this style Boros deck is well built for the challenge.
   Petermere's deck can hang in there and nearly match the pure number of viable threats that WW offers, or any other aggro deck for that matter, while also carrying a full spectrum of removal the WW and other aggro decks simply can't avoid.  The lynchpin for this deck to me is a well-timed Brimstone Volley.  This gives the deck incredible reach for when a control deck starts to gain momentum and Boros may not otherwise be able to slam home those last few points of damage.
    This deck's sideboard seems intimately designed for the WW match.  Curse of the Pierced Heart puts other aggro decks on a quicker clock than they are accustomed to while Electrickery can take at least two, sometimes three or four threats off the board with one card.  Throw in some Thunderbolts for the Seraph and Cloudshift to sidestep removal and this deck is perfectly tuned to face any aggro deck.

    We haven't seen a mono blue deck place in the top 4 in quite a while, especially not such an aggro build as Souhei719's runner-up deck Cloudfin Aggro.  As the name suggests, this deck likes an opening hand with at least one Cloudfin Raptor so it can evolve every turn.  I stand by my argument that Evolve is the worst of the Gatecrash mechanics, but all of them have at least one playable spell and for Evolve Cloudfin Raptor is that one.  It's hard to waste removal on this little bugger when you know you have to get rid of some Delvers and Stitched Drakes in the near future.  Even worse, you don't want to use your removal on it and hope to draw into some more in the next few turns because the creature threats keep coming every round.  That being said, this card must be in your opening hand because it's completely useless when drawn in the mid to late rounds.
    Hands of Binding is my favorite blue spell from Gatecrash and works flawlessly in this deck because of the  pseudo-removal effects of Unsummon and Silent Departure.  Hands is what's called an engine card.  It doesn't form a combo with any other cards or card types, but sure puts a deck with a lot of removal or bounce into high gear.  The card has practically no down side.  Even if you don't get any effect from Ciphering it you've already removed a blocker and an attacker, probably an evasive flyer or big face beater, at the minimal cost of two.
    It's also worth noting that Souhei's deck runs at 1.71 CMC, basically unheard of in mono-blue which is usually known for it's crippling control.  I still think this deck has some room for tweaking however, and I wonder how it would fare running a few Cancels and my pet mono blue creature for standard-Stormbound Geist- in place of the Welkin Tern.  I'll leave that for those with adequate deck testing time though.

    Our gracious and talented host Malum placed in the top four with his unique version of White Weenie. Unique and White Weenie are normally not in the same sentence together so it's noteworthy that his build had such a successful finish.  I want to make it clear that this is not a knock against Malum or anyone else trying to pilot WW to a tournament victory.  It's consistently the most successful archetype only because Wizards consistently produces the most useable common creatures in white.  Good players willing to take advantage of that opportunity often find themselves placeing highly in tournaments, but enough of my rantings.
    What makes this deck unique is the non creature slots.  Pacifism is the only removal in a removal heavy metagame.  The deck gets a little help for it's creatures from Cloudshift and Break of Day, but using enchantments like Ethereal Armor and the highly costed Knightly Valor seems like it's asking for trouble.
    The most unique aspect of the deck however, is Malum's use of Evolving Wilds in a mono colored deck.  Unless I'm missing something, and that isn't unusual, there is no reason those shouldn't be four more Plains.  Haunted Fengraf is highly useful but still a nonbasic land which Wilds can't search for and there are no Landfall effects that would make it worth playing.  Maybe someone can enlighten me.

    I've mentioned Moromete's deck MWFHD in last week's column so I won't go too far in depth, but I do think this deck is resilient overall and is designed specifically for the current meta.  It is good against control and good against aggro but it's core weakness is it's dependence on Archaeomancer and Goblin Electromancer.  If those two creatures are not working in perfect unison this deck quickly fizzles.  On the other hand, this is a deck to watch because when it's backed up by a handful of Negates and Cancels this deck can go the distance.



SPDC 19.18

    The winner of this weeks spdc, hosted by Jamuura, is flxex's Caught Blue Handed.  It's listed as R/U but is really mono blue.  This deck is very similar to Cloudfin Aggro from this weeks mpdc, but with Frostburn Weird and a bit more counter.
   In my opinion, what puts this deck over the top is that it brings Stormbound Geist and One-Eyed Scarecrow out of the sideboard to face potent removal or WW.  The addition of 3 more Dispels  when facing other blue heavy decks can really disrupt their flicker engine or just add some back up against heavy removal.  Blue now seems to have a genuine aggro threat, which is scary because of it's ever present counter magic.  This could be an emerging archetype to watch for the rest of Return to Ravnica's turn at the top end of the standard rotation.

    Brazil's deck, Porqueira WW was runner up this this week with his proven WW build.  This creature dependent deck finds it's strength in numbers and exploits that strength by adding a couple of Glorious Charge's to its repertoire for overkill when the opponent thinks they can race.
    Safe Passage is a card usually known for it's defensive power, but used here for quite an offensive gain. By having this in hand at the end of the game, this deck can swing in mercilessly without having to worry about the backswing.  Of course it's an easily read combat trick, but it forces the opponent to block when they would otherwise let the damage through to swing for the win the next round.
    The use of Guardians of Akrasa is interesting.  This deck doesn't seem like it's going to be attacking solo very much and 0 power can often be a wasted creature slot.  Simply substituting Basilica Guards in the same slot would get a crucial 1 power creature to block and allow for consistent Extorting because who is going to remove him when there are so many other viable attackers in the skies?

    Exact clones of the same Boros deck filled out the other two T4 finishers, both decks discussed earlier.  This speaks to the strength of Boros and it's challenge to WW, which we will see battling for T4 spots for the remainder of Gatecrash.


That's a Wrap

    As a student of MtG and card design, it's often easy to predict the relevance of a certain card or mechanic in pauper, so it's hard to admit that I didn't see the success of Daring Skyjek coming.  One toughness creatures are often filler cards and Battalion is a mechanic which I first assumed was very similar to Battle Cry, but now its apparent that the Skyjek's ability offers something more than a mundane p/t boost.  Wojek Halberdiers offers an enticing Battalion ability as well that fits in perfectly in the Boros deck, but only in Boros.  Skyjek fits wonderfully into a plain WW deck, which I believe will give it stronger legs to stand on long term. Thanks to everyone who reads this column. I am always looking for constructive criticism and your input will help make this blog a valuable resource for all those involved in the standard pauper community and those looking to join.  Until next time, may you always have an opening 1 drop.