Pauper is competitive Magic using only commons.

Breaking it down, this is absolutely true and a perfect definition. Taking time to understand what those words mean, however, is not as easy as this platitude. This is because the boundaries of Pauper were never clearly drawn and so the population residing within those imaginary lines are constantly standing up for their vision. The situation is not aided by the fact that Pauper exists largely on the outskirts of Magic. Regardless of its popularity Pauper is not on the tips of Wizards’ tongue. Instead it is a consideration, an inflection added against the teeth. Even this is a step forward from the earliest days of all commons Magic.



Even without official decree the format has taken shape and has a momentum of its own. Today we are going to take a look at Pauper and try to understand it as it exists.



Commons



Pauper is made up entirely of commons.



What is a common? Is it a card released at that rarity on Magic Online or in paper? What about sets with different common sheets? Is a card like Sinkhole legal? What about Daze, which is so scarce digitally that it rivals some rares in cost?



We can’t get past the most basic conceit of the format and already controversy abounds.



I am biased as I play this format exclusively online. There the rules are easily regulated by the omniscient judge that is the rules engine. Paper does not have this advantage since some commons come from an era before rarity indicators. The parallel realms also exist in alternate versions of the same reality due to different Online only sets. Chainer’s Edict? Legal online. In Paper? Depends on your store.



It may seem odd that on a site dedicated to Magic Online that I give so much credence to paper. I have come to realize over the years that despite the wildly disparate metagames Online helps to influence the different paper players around the world due to the simple accumulation of data. Unlike the old spheres of Paper Extended and Online Extended there is no potential syncing happening at periodic intervals.



One of the largest issues I see with Pauper (if only from a volume perspective) is the lack of this articulation. From my perspective - removing as much bias as I can - I think the Online format is better managed and should be the standard.



Many of the cards that are hallmarks of different paper games - High Tide and Hymn to Tourach for example - are not common under modern design philosophy. Many of the cards that already toe this line online have been banned. More than that it is the online banlist that receives attention every release. Remastered sets such as Vintage Masters and Tempest Remastered are designed and developed with an eye towards Pauper when it comes to rarity shifts. There is a brighter spotlight on Magic Online and it makes it understanding the ebbs and flows of the format a more user friendly endeavor.



Such a change would come with strings. The list of cards legal online and not in paper is not short. Time marches on and as more sets are given Grandmaster Flash treatment the gap is only going to widen. Yet other formats, notably Commander, have a large list of cards barred from decks and that format is not starved for attention.



It is important to note that just because Pauper remains a format exclusively of commons does not mean it is beholden to cost. Even including some pricier cards - digital Daze being one - Pauper remains one of the single most cost efficient ways to play competitive Magic out there.



Common also means that the format is linked to Limited. There is a set power and complexity level at this rarity. The parameters of “common” mean that correcting past mistakes with upcoming cards may be challenging; Stifle wouldn’t work at common if Storm were still legal. The cards that comprise the format in some way need to conform to the idea of what a common is and can be. What a common has been at one point matters less as mistakes have been made and cannot be undone.



Competitive



While it may not have always been sanctioned the goal of Pauper was always to provide a competitive outlet for those wished to invest less than others. In turn this means tournaments and prize structures. Where incentives exist metagames will develop. It also means a body must exist to enforce the rules of the format.



All this is a fancy way of saying that for a format that was once completely player driven Pauper has taken a sharp turn and now resides under the auspices of Wizards of the Coast. Unlike the aforementioned Commander there was no central governing body of Pauper that Wizards could turn to for aid. With prizes, however meager they may seem, on the line, there is a vested interest in keeping the format healthy and balanced.



How does this tie together? Competition breeds decks that are determined to rise to the top. At some point this may expose interactions that the format cannot bear. In those instances, decisions must be made in the interest of competitive balance.

For years the pieces of Storm Combo existed in unsanctioned Pauper. Yet the deck was a fringe player at best. Once queues began Storm raced to the top of the standings, encouraged by the quest for prizes.



Currently the competitive aspect is what helps drive Pauper forward in Magic Online. It is inextricably linked to the concept at the moment. That does not mean that casual all-commons Magic cannot exist, but it is a completely different beast than Pauper. One would be well cautioned against taking their Deck to a Vintage tournament and expecting a fair fight - so to it should be with a commons casual deck at a Pauper tournament.



That is not to say that Pauper cannot serve as the on-ramp to more intricate and involved play, but the line should be made clear.



Fundamental



Pauper exemplifies the fundamentals of Magic. There is far less flash to a game made up entirely of commons. At the same time the entire history of commons means that decks have access to the best option. The answers to these angles of attack tend to come at higher rarities so the ability to contain the raw zeitgeist of philosophy is kept out of bounds. The result is a format where the strategies that exist often approach a Platonic Ideal.



The big three theories of Magic - Card Advantage, Philosophy of Fire, and Tempo - all can be seen in action in Pauper, often in a fully realized aspect of their most basic form.



Card Advantage tends to come in the form of two-for-ones. Anything above this rate is rare and it is part of what makes Mulldrifter an enticing card. Sweepers are limited in scope, making it a challenge for more controlling decks to recoup advantage on the board. Instead spells tend to trade with each other at a one-to-one rate. In turn card advantage is rarely incidental. Again, the two-for-one is the basic form of Card Advantage and decks that can best capitalize on these cards tend to progress well when it comes to raw resource economy.



The basic unit of damage in Pauper is the Shock - one mana for two damage. Pauper has a burn deck which features its fair share of Lightning Bolts. Affinity and Izzet Blitz both cheat on the Shock test. Even Esper Combo acts on the tenets of the Philosophy of Fire by seeking to deplete a finite resource as quickly as possible. In this idealized world of all out aggression the decks designed to shoot first win as early as turn four. The defensive measures exist but as stated before they trade at an even rate. In Pauper it is far easier to ask questions early than answer them.



If any theory is emblematic of Pauper these days it is that of Tempo. The manipulation of time is rampant. Decks of every stripe attempt to jump turns (Delver, Dimir Delver, Esper Combo, Affinity), deal more damage than they should be given mana development (Burn, Izzet Blitz), or attempt to get the game to a point where board development simply does not matter (Tron variants, Dimir Control).



Pauper is home to the crystal clear rudiments of the game and it should come as no surprise that the most common and reliable win condition is the creature. These permanents matter. The lack of board wipes makes it easier to trade monsters at one-to-one rate. Creatures are therefore a reasonable investment as they are going to trade in combat or eat a spell. As a result of this removal matters quite a bit. Spending less mana to kill a creature than was invested to put it on to the battlefield is a way to build an advantage.



So what is Pauper? It is very much Magic. Looking at games of Pauper will not be alien to anyone familiar with the game and not just because the pieces are the same. The same truths that apply to Magic at large are distilled down and can be applied to commons. The basic tenets of the game hold true and there is an upper bound on the complexity and interaction the format can support safely. Looking back, it becomes easy to see exactly how true this is:



Pauper is competitive Magic using only commons.



Keeping this in mind will help to guide the format into its future.

Keep slingin’ commons-

-Alex



SpikeBoyM on Magic Online

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