This Week in Pauper April 22-26

Review/Preview

    This week Dragon's Maze was completely revealed and I'd like to spend this column not only previewing the upcoming commons that I think will make an impact in the standard pauper meta game, but also to review the top commons from the last set, Gatecrash.  Let's start with the review, listed in alphabetical order.  

Gatecrash All-Stars

Basilica Guards

    Used both for it's ability to clog the ground attack and as another extort trigger in Orzhov, Basilica Guards became a staple in Orzhov extort decks from the very beginning of the set's release.  It also saw play in a few iterations of White Weenie and Esper Control.  It's especially useful in control decks where it can hold up quick yet weak ground creatures and provide a mana sink in the late game to either bring up a dangerous life total or bring home the win when creatures can't make it through to attack.  

Basilica Screecher

    The Screecher was the lynch pin of mono black aggro decks throughout this season of standard pauper and saw most of its play in the Black Flag style decks utilizing tons of cheap removal.  Of course, it was also a mandatory four-of in extort decks as the preeminent turn two play.  With Orzhov's abundance of cheap removal Basilica Screecher allows for instant extortion and should continue to see major play throughout its lifetime in standard pauper.

Cloudfin Raptor

    Cloudfin Raptor quickly found it's way into most blue decks and has become the best blue creature since Delver.  It is a vulnerable card, but it make up for its vulnerability with its instant threat status.  Raptor made mono blue aggro into a valid deck archetype and if nothing else can be used to hold off Boros decks for a couple turns.  

Daring Skyjek

    Skyjek almost instantly found it's way into Boros decks and proved it's value over and over again.  Even with a weak toughness it's three in the air is a big deal that usually forces opponents to remove it instead of a more well-rounded threat.  At two mana it slots perfectly into Boros and is another mandatory four-of in the powerful boros archetype. 

Prophetic Prism

    Not many cards have had such an impact on the meta game as Prism has had.  Not only does it allow for mana fixing, it replaces itself as well.  It may also be the best Flicker target and in a meta with basically no reason to carry artifact removal it becomes essentially invulnerable.  The scary part is we may yet see even more uses for this versatile card in the next set depending on what it does with artifact and/or permanent shenanigans.  

Skyknight Legionnaire

    Making a Boros deck?  Add four, move on.  It's a no-brainer.  It was such a crowd pleaser during original Ravnica that they brought it back and guess what?  It's just as good now as it was then.  

Dragon's Maze Prospects

Crypt Incursion

    Golgari graveyard recursion might make a comeback in this upcoming season and if it does this will appear in all sideboards containing black and all mirror matches.  Even without graveyard shenanigans this card takes away targets for Stitched Drake in the early game when most decks can't deal with a big flyer yet.    This could be a sleeper pick that I see as a mandatory four-of in the sideboard.

Deputy of Acquittals

    In my opinion this is the best creature of the set.  A prime flicker target as well as being cheap and versatile.  Even when used as a surprise chump blocker you get extraordinary value by returning another ETB or removal target to your hand.  All the tools for a straight Azorius deck are here, this may be a card that brings that archetype into competition. 

Lyev Decree

   White Weenie, Boros and the aforementioned Azorius all love this card.  A super cheap two-for-one that prevents blocking without having to adjust for damage on the back swing.  This card can cripple most aggro decks as well as being slotted into most aggro decks.  Unbelievably versatile card due to only one mana color requirement.  Another mono color hidden gem in the multi color set that should stick around until RtR rotates out. 

Morgue Burst

    At first this seems way to expensive and there is a chance this is completely unusable.  Unless graveyard recursion is a thing.  In which case this is a bomb.  If it were only able to target a creature OR a player it would be unplayable, but having the choice means this is such a huge swing in the late game when you've lost your best creature.  It's cost is generally too much for standard pauper, but Wizards has put a good number of six mana commons in this set and I have to believe one of them gets play.  My choice is this one.  

Opal Lake Gatekeepers

    All of the Gatekeepers are interesting to me but I think only a couple will still be seeing play after the new set rotates in and this is one of them.  A 2/4 is a good body and any deck playing two colors or more wants gates.  The fact that it replaces itself seals the deal.  Blue is probably the most heavily played color in the meta game today and this should slot in nicely at the top of the curve.  

Pilfered Plans

    If it seems like I'm banging the graveyard recursion drum a little too loud it's only because the archetype seems to rear its morbid head in every set and Dragon's Maze seems to be its intro point.  Drawing two cards for one card is good.  Putting potential targets into your yard is good and this card can do it early.  If nothing else you can draw two cards and dig through those two lands you don't need.  

 Ubul Sar Gatekeepers

    Wizards seems to be pushing two-for-ones in this block and this may be the best yet.  As with all Gatekeepers it's a good, solid defender.  The upside of this one however, outperforms the rest in my opinion.  Removal is critical and -2/-2 is the standard definition of good removal.  Put a good body on the battlefield and remove a pesky flyer or evasive creature to boot.  Of course, you have to make sure you're getting maximum value when casting him, but there is virtually no downside to this four drop.  

Viashino Firstblade

    You didn't think Boros was going to disappear did you?  Another quality weapon added to the Boros arsenal.  How many more does this archetype need?  Apparently one more.  Put four of these in your deck and move on.  Your only quandary may be which other great creature do you take out. 

A quick note on the meta game

    Over the evolution of the meta game we've seen mono color decks stick around despite such availability of multi color choices.  In fact, in this week's SPDC, hosted by Jamuraa, both decks in the finals were mono color decks. 

    On the one hand this is surprising because this is supposed to be a multi color set, but on the other hand it's not so surprising when we stop to examine what multi color cards actually do.  While they may seem at first to provide flexibility to decks and create new deck archetypes, they are equally as restrictive.  You MUST cast both colors, there is no choice in that, only limitations.  It's easy to dismiss the notion because after all, if you're playing a multi color deck your going to have both colors on hand anyway right?  Not necessarily.   Often decks with more than one color still find themselves in a mana jam that forces players to make inefficient plays or have inefficient turns.  

   Control decks, however thrive on these color combinations and gives players the ability to splash for one specific card that brings a whole new depth to an already proven archetype.  At this point in the meta game it looks to be a flip-flopping battle between mono color aggro and multi color control.  

    Looking over the new set, I'm interested to see if Dragon's maze will shift the balance of power.  We haven't seen much competition from Golgari or Azorius and I would expect those two styles to have a better showing in the upcoming season.  Speculation is the fun part, so until next week, let's get testing.  

Flavorful Musings

     The aspect of Magic that first attracted me to the game was the beautiful artwork and the flavor which ties each block together.  The talented artists that bring the cards to life are some of the best fantasy artists in the world and as the game has evolved so too has the quality of art.  I am constantly in awe of the quality of art that appears in those little boxes on each card and in honor of that, when a new set is released I like to mull over each card and admire the art and flavor of each card. Obviously art appreciation is a subjective matter, but I'm always interested to know where my taste stands in relation to the general consensus so if you post a reply or a comment I'd love to know your favorite common art from the set.  Here are are my top five commons artwork.  

5.  Haazda Snare Squad- David Palumbo.  Faces are often the most difficult to get right and these are both excellent. Plus that guy is using a bola, which is awesome. 

4.  Hired Torturer- Winona Nelson.  Wonderful sadistic face and the use of light and shadow is enchanting.

3.  Uncovered Clues- Jaime Jones.  Another wonderfully done, cloaked figure.  Not too much is given away in his face or figure.  That hologram scroll is amazing. 

2.  Opal Lake Gatekeepers- Seb McKinnon.  The Vedalken are a beautiful race and this is a perfect example.  Great use of cityscape in the background.  

1.  Simic Guildgate- Svetlin Velinov.  I'm a sucker for lands and cityscapes and this one does both beautifully.  All of the guildgates are well done but this is my favorite. 

   

This Week in Pauper April 1- April 5

Mono y Mono

    In last week's issue I mentioned that there is still a place for mono color decks in standard pauper and this week proved that point with both winners using mono color decks.  White saw diminishing value this week, mainly due to little representation from Boros, while black saw a surge in usage with several mono black decks and it's inclusion in every three color deck that placed in the top eight. Lets take a look at the tournaments from this week and the featured decks.  

MPDC 20.06

    Owain won gold with his deck Monoblue in this weeks mpdc hosted by Malum.  It's rare to see such aggressively costed, usable creatures in blue, but this deck takes advantage of that by putting out several low CMC flyers and maintaining board control with counterspells.  

    In an environment with such easy removal these creatures may not seem like a real threat, but in fact wasting removal on these little pests is exactly what this deck wants.  Once a creature is in the yard Stitched Drake is an absolute bomb at three mana

   Frostburn Weird is once again an all-star in this deck, if only because it can hold the ground while the fliers attack and is usually the last creature to be targeted with removal.  This deck's secret weapon however, is Stormbound Geist.  Forget about attacking in the air with this guy, that's merely an added bonus.  His true value is blocking in the air.  Nobody wants to spend removal on the same creature twice and no one wants to give up a flyer just to make the opponents flyer even bigger.  

    I've been tinkering with a deck very similar to this since the introduction of Cloudfin Aggro several weeks ago and my only complaint is that Delver never seems to get the kind of use he should.  There are only sixteen nonlands in this deck, not really enough to transform Delver on a consistent basis.  Sometimes I'd rather take an overcosted flyer in his place, but the temptation of transforming him on turn two is too great. 

    Moromete's runner up deck Grixis is a heavy control deck with lots of answers and a great plan.  At it's most basic level this is a Flicker deck with a little more removal.  It takes a little time to set up, which can be a big hindrance against hard aggro, but when it's able to fix it's mana with Prophetic Prism and Goblin Electromancer things get difficult for the opponent.  Hammering out undercosted Ghostly Flickers and Amass the Components to leave mana left open for Searing Spear or Negate can quickly put most decks in panic mode.  

    This deck just eats up decks filled with 2 or 3 toughness creatures but may have it's difficulties with bigger creatures, though Auger Spree goes a long way toward remedying that.  It's Achilles heel however, are counterspells.  Owain's Monoblue was able to control this match simply with well timed counterspells.  This deck simply does not perform when it can't get it's creatures on the field for use in the Flicker engine.  

    FmX9999 made top 4 with a healer deck called GW Modificado.  This style deck has been a mainstay for many weeks now because it's aggressive enough with Primal Huntbeast and Attended Knight and cards like Common Bond and Travel Preps often puts it out of reach of most removal.  Lifegain is a technique that is normally not viable, but using it as an addition to a solid plan puts this deck in the top tier.  

   The addition of Gnaw to the Bone is one that can put this deck out of range in many matchups, however its important to note that even with all the lifegain this deck is vulnerable because it carries almost no removal of its own.  Pacifism is a classic, but Prey Upon is too situational and this deck is often left watching it's opponent stack up tons of creatures while it has only a pumped up Huntbeast and a ton of life.  It's a solid deck well suited to the meta so it will always be able to place, but getting over that hump may be asking too much.  

    Jeggert22 placed in the top four with a refreshingly different version of WW he calls White.  It uses a tapdown strategy involving Azorius Arrester and Court Street Denizen to hobble its opponent.  Unfortunately the only problem with this version of WW is that it's not the standard version we've seen so much in T4.  The tapping strategy only works against heavy creature decks or creatures without hexproof.  Often this deck is stuck holding it's substandard creatures in hand simply because they can't provide their ETB effect.  

SPDC 19.21

    This weeks spdc, hosted by jamuraa, is the least attended spdc I've ever seen.  With only 11 participants it's hard to get a good read on the direction of the meta game or the validity of the winning decks.  

    That being said, Famouz had quite an impressive performance, losing only one game in his undefeated run to gold with his deck Mono Black. 

    This is a classic style black aggro deck that uses plenty and variable removal to clear the way for cheap value creatures like Vampire Interloper and Highborn Ghoul.  Hidden amongst a solid creature base with a perfect curve this deck utilizes a very undervalued creature, Duty-Bound Dead. It acts in much the same way that Stormbound Geist does.  Opponents don't like wasting removal on a zero power creature, instead focusing on the creatures it enables.  This can often be a mistake, especially if they get more than one onto the field.  

    I can't say enough good things about Undying Evil.  It doesn't belong in every deck with black or even every mono black deck, but this swipe and slaughter style deck is it's perfect home.  Being able to protect and pump creatures like Highborn Ghoul or Tormented Soul can be crushing to an opponent.  Even using it to protect a Duty-Bound Dead is often the best use for it.  

    Chrismh77 took his version of Junk to a runner up finish last week.  In my opinion this is a far superior build for the healer deck featuring Centaur Healer and Seraph of Dawn.  Sentinel Spider is a certified bomb and there's plenty of removal to back it up.  

   The sideboard of this deck is of special interest to me.  Not only does it include my favorite black card, Undying Evil, but it has an entire suite of cards specifically designed to take out the opponents air attack.  The combination of One-Eyed Scarecrow and Deadly Recluse is a crippling duet to any deck with air dependency.  

    Garlan's Boros deck was the only Boros to make top 8 in either tournament last week.  This seems to me a natural reaction to it's dominance early in the format.  Now deck's are geared toward being able to withstand a heavy air assault and gain control through card advantage while letting Boros run out of steam.  Is it possible for Boros to win another tournament?  Absolutely.  It's still one of the top deck archetypes in the format and a bad draw vs. a good draw can mean the difference between t8 and winning.  

Final Thoughts

    Not so long ago there used to be a time when you could peruse a new set of commons and automatically throw out anything CMC 4 or greater.  They just weren't worth the cost of putting into a standard pauper deck.  When making a deck in these days of yore, if it's average CMC was above 2.3 it's probable that you were making bad choices somewhere. 

    We seem to be in a new era.  An era when high cost cards have value and decks with minuscule CMC are the exception and not the rule.  This is most likely due to the prevalence of mana fixing.  We are in an unprecedented era of mana fixing.  Let me list all the cards I can find that fix or ramp mana in some way:

Borderland Ranger, Abundant Growth, Evolving Wilds, Forbidden Alchemy, Shimmering Grotto, Prophetic Prism, Avacyn's Pilgrim, Sign in Blood, Arbor Elf, Axebane Guardian, Caravan Vigil, Dawntreader Elk, Farseek, Gatecreeper Vine, Greenside Watcher, Lair Delve, Scorned Villager, Mulch, Ranger's Path, Urban Burgeoning, Verdant Haven, plus the Gates and I'm sure I'm missing a few.  

    Although most of these appear in green, there are a fair number, including some artifacts I'm sure I missed, that can be used in any color.  Whereas before you could only fix mana with green or artifacts, now there are several color choices.  A two color deck can now splash another color, sometimes even for a dual mana cost like BB, without any penalty.  

    This creates a control heavy environment where complex decks running 1 and 2 ofs appear often and are highly effective.  The inverse of this is that there is still room for ultra-aggro mono-color decks, something which may seem anomalous given such a multi-color culture.  

    In most standard pauper environments there is usually a winning archetype, either control or aggro, that will end up dominating the meta during the final 4-6 weeks of play before rotation. I feel this meta is different though.  I think both archetypes, as well as combo style decks like flicker control or possibly others we've yet to see can claim a place in the pantheon.  It's rare to see such variation in our niche format, but expect it to continue on through Dragon's Maze and the next core set at least.  With such variation I wouldn't be surprised to see a five color deck charge to the top before the next rotation.  Until next time, choose your colors wisely.