Weren’t we just here? It feels like only yesterday that I came to this spot to discuss Fate Reforged and its potential impact on Pauper. While I may have missed one very important card in Temur Battle Rage, both Jeskai Sage and Gurmag Angler have made their presence felt. Mardu Scout and Goblin Heelcutter are seeing fringe play so it seems that the pivot set for Khans of Tarkir block had quite a bit to offer.

Dragons of Tarkir won’t be giving Pauper any dragons. Sad, I know. Instead what the set offers is an abundance of tools. While every new set offers plenty of options those in Dragons of Tarkir have the hallmarks of cards that are poised to see play.

The threshold for entry into the pool of played cards is high. The effect needs to be dramatic for the cost while also finding home in the metagame. Creatures are measured against Delver of Secrets and spells have to contest with some of the most powerful and iconic ones to ever grace kitchen tables. However as the list of available cards grows so to does the number of potential interactions and as such every new set requires a review of the past as well as the present. Seems appropriate for a block with a hefty component of time travel.

This review is going to be fairly optimistic as Dragons of Tarkir provides more opportunities to look to Pauper’s past then recent sets have prompted. Perhaps this is due to the desire to push the set for limited, or maybe it has to do with the new Two-Set Paradigm. I could care less as long as it means an increase in strong commons.

Starting off are a pair of cards that on their own seem fairly mediocre, but when looked at in a larger context could make an impact. Artful Maneuver and Center Soul are slightly expensive instants with rebound, meaning they can target two things over two turns. While fine for limited, these cards are a hair above the cost line for constructed. Then why list them here? Simply put - heroic. Lagonna-Band Trailblazer, Akroan Skyguard, and Wingsteed Rider are unexciting on their own but when combined with their +1/+1 counters they can approach a downright scary level. offense. Operating on a similar principle to Stompy (low cost, high power, backed up with pump), these spells can help to turn a heroic strategy on with Center Soul pulling double duty as removal resilience. Couple this with Jeskai Student who likes spells without necessarily needing to directly benefit from them and the core of a deck begins to emerge.

White provides a number of cards that work in a similar shell as the green deck. Stompy has the ability to play a protect-the-castle form of aggro-control with Gather Courage and Vines of Vastwood the double as increased sources of damage. While white lacks a true Gather Courage it does have access to Gods Willing and now Center Soul which can protect a creature while also growing it (if it has heroic). White also has the advantage of being able to play Mana Tithe, pushing it further towards an aggro-control deck. While such a build may still be a few cards away from being viable it might be able to make some noise.

Glaring Aegis may not look impressive and the truth is it is not. Even for an aura it has a relatively minor effect that is nominally useful in combat. However unlike many other auras that see play the Aegis comes with an enters-the-battlefield trigger. This may not seem like much (and it may not be) but format has been trending away from board stalls and towards fewer creatures. For a hexproof deck featuring Heliod’s Pilgrim, Glaring Aegis then becomes an opportunity to force through what could be lethal damage. The next Ethereal Armor this is now but it is simply another tool in the arsenal.

Sandcrafter Mage is my kind of card. I am a firm believer in lingering +1/+1 effects as a way to not only win combats but to also gain an incremental advantage against decks that want to block. I supported Qasali Pridemage in Hexproof and Akrasan Squire in certain builds of White Weenie for similar reasons. Sandcrafter Mage fits into this mold, letting the 2/2 come with a potential power’s worth of haste. Alone it becomes a 3/3 which is fine in a Firebolt heavy format. Sandcrafter Mage will never be the best card in a deck but becomes a potential inclusion in traditional White Weenie, a deck based around incremental advantages and Kor Skyfisher.

The next card on my radar is Student of Ojutai. My distaste for Cloud of Faeries combo is well known and this is simply another weapon in that arsenal. Until now Cloud of Faeries combo could blunt offenses by spending cycles of Ghostly Flicker on Lone Missionary to gain life in chunks of four. Student of Ojutai, while slower, lets the deck gain an unbounded amount of life without having to spend iterations of Mnemonic Wall and Ghostly Flicker to do so. While expensive at four mana the Student is better at blocking and surviving against the typical offensive threats from rush decks. Student of Ojutai is definitely a card to watch out for - save a kill spell to deal with this guy.

While Anticipate is not a card likely to make waves in Pauper - a format with access to Impulse- I want to take a moment to recognize this card as something that portents well for the format. Anticipate is a quality card and shows that Wizards is willing to push the power level on commons. The sequence of Gray Merchant of Asphodel to Treasure Cruise to Temur Battle Rage demonstrates simple effects that can be quite strong. Pauper may never have access to crazy effects but if we continue to get strong execution of core abilities then the format should be interesting for some time to come.

It is hard to disagree with the power level of Contradict. Stopping their spell and drawing a card is huge game - just ask Exclude. The problem is paying five to stop threats. The number of dangerous spells that Contradict can trade with evenly is fairly low. The investment of five mana into a spell that can easily be halted by Dispel is very dangerous. Simply put, Contradict is an incredibly powerful effect in decks that can afford to cast it, which are various forms of Draw-Go. These decks do exist in Pauper so Contradict should see play, but I do not envy the person who has this in their grip and is facing down a turn one Delver of Secrets.

Elusive Spellfist is a hell of a card. As with Jeskai Sage before it the Spellfist is able to turn cheap spells into extra damage. It is not beyond the realm of reason to image a deck featuring Sage, Student, and Delver of Secrets turning Ponders into damage at a worse rate than Nivix Cyclops but with much better mana. Elusive Spellfist comes with built in evasion and can be a sideboard sniper for Cloud of Faeries combo. The ability to get through on the ground without the investment of an additional spell could open up other Nivix Cyclops style decks as well, letting Elusive Spellfist cast free copies of Artful Dodge. This may be the best possible card for a Simic deck as it turns Rancor into Lava Spike and Giant Growths into Fireblasts. Seems pretty good.

Another four drop, Gurmag Drowner is an expensive Forbidden Alchemy. Me? I love any excuse to find ways to get cards into my graveyard and Drowner is quite good at that. Exploit also helps upgrade otherwise dead creatures into decent effects while also turning on morbid (which may matter). Gurmag Drowner is not guaranteed to see play but the ability to sacrifice a creature and upgrade a previous investment is strong.

Sidisi’s Faithful is another way to upgrade otherwise dead cards. Bounce is becoming more important than ever thanks to Gurmag Angler. With an increase in the number of Dispels and Negates seeing play Sidisi’s Faithul becomes an Unsummon that is much harder to counter. It also can come down on turn one and attack, helping to enable a turn two Ninja of the Deep Hours. Man-o’-War is already a card that sees fringe play and the opportunity to cast a similar card for a scant one mana and then play another potential threat is a powerful sequence. Sidisi’s Faithful is subtle but it has the ability to make waves.

Zephyr Scribe is expensive. Zephyr Scribe has the same ability as Merfolk Looter only it costs an additional mana. Zephyr Scribe also can untap itself for any noncreature spell cast, meaning that any deck that casts a ton of spells and generates a ton of mana, like Cloud of Faeries combo, can use the Scribe to dig through their deck. In concert with a creature with Prowess, Retraction Helix, and Lotus Petal, it can create an infinitely large creature. Zephyr Scribe is a card with so many moving pieces that it is bound to find a home somewhere.

Butcher’s Glee and Coat with Venom are not great cards but they represent more potential includes in aggressive black decks. Coat with Venom allows any creature to trade up while Butcher’s Glee helps to protect creatures while doubling as a pump spell, similar to Boon of Erebos. Much like the duo of white spells earlier these cards could see play if the right deck emerges.

I have been on a Harsh Sustenance driven token deck recently and Foul-Tongue Shriek slots very nicely into that archetype. Foul-Tongue Shriek lacks the flexibility of Harsh Sustenance but the price cannot be beat. When paired with Battle Screech this can represent an eight point life swing before damage ends up resolving. Foul-Tongue Shriek is yet another card helping to increase the viability of token decks in Pauper.

Qarsi Sadist is not a creature that I would normally be exciting enough to see play. Trading a creature for a small Drain Life is nice but not really above the curve. The fact that it can block in the early game while again, enabling death trigger shenanigans, makes it at least worthy of consideration.

I am a huge fan of 2/3 creatures in Pauper. They block the average 2/2 and can come out ahead. Vulturous Aven has flying as well, making it a prime piece of defense against Delver of Secrets and Mulldrifter. Now at four mana it is rather expensive - Alabaster Kirin isn’t winning any contests on rate. The ability to upgrade a creature into a Sign in Blood, however, is rather nice. Black decks are adept at making use of dead things, so Chittering Rats into Vulturous Aven into an Unearth is a fairly advantageous sequence. Moving over to other colors the Aven provides a nice top end for the same Orzhov token strategy I’ve been stumping, turning a Doomed Traveler into a 1/1 flyer and two cards. Vulturous Aven is not a card that is going to make a huge impact but it may find a home in multiple strategies helping decks refuel at the cost of a sacrifice.

Effects that reduce the cost of spells are often good. Hardened Berserker is a reasonable body that can make spells cheaper. The fact that it can make creatures cheaper, when normally we see this with a spell only rider, piques my interest. Pairing this with Goblin Electromancer or other Familiar style creatures makes it far easier to deploy multiple threats after attacks. Cheating on mana is always a good thing and this may be enough to get Hardened Berserker onto battlefields.

Impact Tremors looks like a card for token decks or maybe Goblins. In actuality it is another spout for Cloud of Faeries combo. While those decks are already incredibly resilient Impact Tremors represents a kill that is even less interactive than others. Where this may be best is actually out of the sideboard in Grixis and Jeskai variants of the deck, which tend to kill with Kaervek’s Torch, as a harder to stop kill mechanism. Prismatic Strands might work for a turn, but without a dedicated Disenchant Impact Tremors can end the game thanks to the Mnemonic Wall/Ghostly Flicker/Cloud of Faeries engine.

Haste is an underappreciated ability in Pauper. Much of the time it acts as a free Shock pointed at an opponent’s life total. For this reason I believe Kolaghan Stormsinger may see play. As a 1/1 for a single red it wouldn’t see play. As a 2/2 haste for 3R that grants haste to another creature, now it starts looking interesting, especially when it can be paid in installments. Aggressive red decks have been trending away from Goblins recently and may be in the market for slightly larger bodies. This may not come to pass, but the Stormsinger does intrigue me nonetheless.

Screamreach Brawler and to a lesser extent Reckless Imp are interesting options due to their dash cost. The ability to push these two creatures into the red zone at haste speed is enticing because they match up well with other creatures in the format. As a two power flyer, Reckless Imp is approaching a Shock while Screamreach Brawler is difficult to trade with early thanks to its three toughness.

Twin Bolt. I’m not sure what else needs to be said. Arc Lightning sees play from time to time and tends to be a blowout. Twin Bolt is almost always going to be a two-for-one at instant speed. The ability to take out a Delver of Secrets in both forms or to attack a Spellstutter Sprite and Cloud of Faeries is a feather in this bolt’s cap. I was talking with my friend about Pauper before the spoiler came out and he asked me what card I wanted to see. I replied with Forked Bolt. Twin Bolt isn’t that card, but it’s darn close.

And so we come to green. With so many cards making the first cut in other colors, it is sad to see the lone green offering in Servant of the Scale. With mock modular, the Servant may be able to find a home in Stompy decks that are biased towards cards like Earthbrawn and Hunger of the Howlpack. Skarrgan Pit-Skulk becomes best friends with the Servant in these decks. The new addition to the verdant force may also help fuel decks that don’t mind their creatures dying early and often.

So there you have it - my review of cards that could see play from Dragons of Tarkir. Longer than usual, there are fewer clear standouts. Rather the set includes well over a dozen cards that can slot into existing archetypes and make them stronger. Now this may all change in the wake of a banned list update, but that’s a bridge we can cross when appropriate. Until then,

Keep slingin’ commons-

-Alex

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