We’re back! Thanks for the good feedback last week; I’m enjoying doing this series and I’m glad y’all are getting something out of it too. I’m also happy to fill in some content on Fridays as well (a slow day for Pauper writing, generally); but we could always use more authors. If that’s you, get in touch.

Alright, let’s check out the Pauper metagame last weekend!

And here is the breakdown by archetype:

Links to the events on wizards.com: September 27 | September 28

Metagame Analysis

So the week before, Delver + MBC + Familiars equaled just under 50% of the metagame. Those three decks. This week it’s closer to 32%. What does that mean? Well, a slightly healthier, more balanced metagame, at least for the week, and more variety of decks for us to check out. It also means fewer Familiar Combo decks which is awesome because, honestly, fuck that deck.

White Weenie and Hexproof continue to be at the top of the stack and continue to be represented by very divergent lists.

For WW, AndreyS continues to be awesome. Running 4x [c]Order of Leitbur[/c] in the main is a big middle finger to MBC, and I love it. I ran this list against MBC in League and got demolished, though, so I think it is fair to say that pilot skill is a major factor. Skill and experience. If you want to win with any list, you need to practice, practice, practice. Then, when you’re done practicing, practice some more. It makes all the difference.

Naga_tsuki keeps doing well with WW Tokens, which is what I want to try next, if mostly because it has new, shiny Pauper tech ([c]Triplicate Spirits[/c] / [c]Battle Screech[/c]), and I love shiny. Also for WW, returning after a long hiatus, is former WW master, Torreth, who went 3-1 on Sunday, trampling over me and my Goblins in the process. Glad we could help.

For Hexproof, we’ve got three different pilots winning with three different lists. Meltiin went 3-1 again this weekend with his [c]Kor Skyfisher[/c] / card draw Hexproof engine, a list I really want to try out. Joannesp also continues to do well week after week with this list, which I call “all over the place” but which obviously has a method to its madness. [c]Rofellos’s Gift[/c] in the SB seems pretty awesome. Finally, Jikker_T went 3-1 on Saturday with what I would call the “traditional” Hexproof list.

Also this week, briefly, we saw more UR Delver / UR Control, more Tron, a Stompy list AND an Elves list (go green weenies!), and two neat rogue lists which I’ll cover more in a minute.

In my article last week, I suggested running decks that go under or over MBC; win early or outlast. I know it’s not my influence, but we did see an uptick in BorosKitty and Goblins lists this week, which I think it awesome. I love both those decks. PatrickJ wins with Boroskitty pretty much every weekend, and this time around we also saw Gui_BR win back-to-back events on Saturday and Sunday. Rockin’.

Rogues of the Week: Spy and Dredge

1-Land Spy never had its heydey, though it did garner some interest. Developed chiefly by David Shaffer (Shaffawaffa5) and obZen (with notable work by Tom the Scud and Oninaka, among others), it is a remarkable demonstration of community deck-building in practice. David talks about it more in depth in his article on MTGOStrat, JustSin highlighted it on MTGO Academy, and you can also pick up threads on Salvation and PDCMagic.

There is plenty to read about the deck, but it’s more fun to watch it go off on turn one:

Arnaud went 3-1 with the list on Saturday, making him my new, official, Magic hero this week.

Nice job, Arnaud!

[d title=”1-Land Spy, 3-1 by Arnaud (Pauper)”]

Land

1 Forest

Creatures

4 Balustrade Spy

1 Blood Celebrant

1 Cavern Harpy

1 Dimir House Guard

1 Elvish Aberration

1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel

2 Manaforge Cinder

1 Mnemonic Wall

2 Pit Keeper

4 Simian Spirit Guide

4 Street Wraith

3 Tinder Wall

4 Wild Cantor

Spells

4 Cabal Ritual

2 Conjurer’s Bauble

4 Dark Ritual

4 Gitaxian Probe

4 Land Grant

4 Lotus Petal

2 Manamorphose

2 Morgue Theft

4 Songs of the Damned

Sideboard

4 Exhume

4 Faithless Looting

3 Scattershot Archer

4 Ulamog’s Crusher [/d]

Arnaud’s list is different than any of those listed, but seems to take inspiration from some of the discussion on Salvation, and includes a transformative Exhume + Crusher SB for, if not a t1 kill, probably a t1 Concession from the opponent if you go off.

I’m less familiar with the provenance of the other rogue list this week, something I called Gruul Dredge Aggro, but which probably has a snappier name. Here is the list which Sssight took to 3-1 on Saturday.

[d title=”Gruul Dredge Aggro, 3-1 by Sssight (Pauper)”]

Land

6 Forest

4 Gruul Guildgate

2 Khalni Garden

8 Mountain

Creatures

2 Ghitu Slinger

4 Golgari Brownscale

4 Granger Guildmage

2 Leafcrown Dryad

3 Nacatl Outlander

4 Nightshade Peddler

4 Tin Street Hooligan

3 Yavimaya Barbarian

Spells

4 Burst Lightning

2 Electrickery

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Moldervine Cloak

Sideboard

1 Electrickery

4 Gleeful Sabotage

4 Raze

3 Relic of Progenitus

1 Reverent Silence

2 Stone Rain [/d]

This is an interesting list. I want to call it weird, but that seems rude when, with a 3-1, it obviously has some merit. It looks like it is crafted against Delver, Familiar Storm, and all things Blue with its 6x pro-blue dudes, but I’m not entirely sure how it beats MBC. [c]Nightshade Peddler[/c] is awesome with [c]Granger Guildmage[/c] and even works with [c]Ghitu Slinger[/c], and it’s a card I haven’t seen used much since Po Dragons. If you have any further insight into this list, send it my way. I’d love to better understand what makes it tick.

Suggestions for this weekend

Going over or under decks like MBC is still a good suggestion. White Weenie is seeing success because it is good against MBC with [c]Order of Leitbur[/c] in the main, strong against other creature strategies, and also really annoys Delver. Try any of the lists above; WW Tokens seems especially fun and resilient against edict effects. Otherwise my suggestions remain more or less the same: Boroskitty, Goblins, Burn, or Teachings are all still strong. Results suggest that Hexproof might work as well, but I find it to be hit-or-miss. Of course, if you’re really brave, you’ll give Spy a shot. Who doesn’t want to win before their opponent even gets to take a turn?

That’s it for this week! Thanks for reading and I hope it was useful. Remember to leave comments if you have a minute, both on videos and articles; they are like the manna from which author’s draw sustenance.

Until next time, may you always remember to play around [c]Tendrils of Corruption[/c] by putting down your [c]Goblin Sledder[/c] first.

/bava