So Wizards has been making a lot of noises about the introduction of Pauper queues in MODO. I've never played the format, is it any good? How much does a good deck actually cost? (This question might not be as dumb as it sounds, Lightning Bolt ain't free.)

If you don't know anything about the format, you should still contribute to the thread by making jokes about poopers.

Not really adding to the discussion, but I would also like to hear about what a good pauper deck looks like so I could join in the pauper queues that seem to fire on a regular basis on MODO.

some decks:
Storm (either 3-4 color with INV sac lands, or just UR. grapeshot, warrens+warstrike for the kill)
MUC (spike, prohibit, counterspell, exclude, spiregolem, ephemeron)
UWB blink (trinket mage, mulldrifter, removal)
burn
Rats (chittering, duress, abomination, corrupt, tendrils)
GW cloak (cloak, mongrel, ledgewalker, guardian of guildpact)

A deck will probably cost you $10, though apparently lightning bolts are stupid expensive, so burn is more like $20. I have been playing a stupid elves! deck, but wcb is convinced a good storm build is best.

edit: pdcmagic.com or whatever has some decklists. A lot are pretty shitty, but you get a feel of what's out there.

This is what I've been playing:
[Deck]
4x Basking Rootwalla
4x Wild Nacatl
1x Granger Guildmage
4x Wild Mongrel
4x River Boa
4x Scab-Clan Mauler
2x Gathan Raiders
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Incinerate
2x Kaervek's Torch
4x Armadillo Cloak

4 Terramorphic Expanse
10 Forest
6 Mountain
3 Plains
[/DECK]

The numbers are a little loose; I might go down to one torch because I've drawn both a couple of times. I don't know if having the white in there is right, but cloaks are so much more awesome than some third-tier gruul creatures that I really want them. Gathan Raiders are incredible sometimes, but probably a bit too often they are guys that cost three that you don't want. This is probably not the deck to play in the format because riftwatcher comes up too much, but it's pretty fun.

The decks that seem to come up most in the queues are burn, storm, and blink. I don't understand the storm builds I've seen because >50% of the time it seems to cast a million spells, grapeshot for twelve, then burn for eleven and either die or ship the turn with an empty hand. Basically, if it doesn't get an empty, it loses. Even when it does empty, it often mana burns itself into burn range, (though obviously if you don't suck this shouldn't happen often or probably ever) and decks that have real problems with it can side in [CARD] Subterranean Shambler [/Card] to raise their percentage enormously.

Burn's popularity is what keeps armadillo cloak in the deck. It seems ok and consistent draws and mana seem pretty important in this format, but I don't understand playing it in a format that's supposed to be fun.

I think UWB blink is probably the best or at least most fun deck. Cards I've seen in it:
[DECK]
Trinket Mage
Aven Riftwatcher
Leonin Squire
Mulldrifter
Momentary Blink
Sanctum Gargoyle
Aether Spellbomb
Executioner's Capsule
Bonesplitter
Viridian Longbow
Agony Warp
Rend Flesh
Ninja of the Deep Hours
Artifact Lands
[/Deck]

edit: lightning bolts were two tix and cloaks were 1.75 when I bought them

wee fucking dragonauts

I forgot about that dude. There's a shitload of lightning bolts and incinerates in pauper, though.

I've played this deck to about a 25-4 record in the four mans. I believe Storm has the best game 1 matchups of any deck.

Brief breakdown: A knowledge of the format helps to know when to go off. Especially before they lay down Okiba-Gang. I'd say turn 3 is possible, turn 4 is best.

The only things you should be playing before the turn you go off are the chromatic dealies (and lands of course).

[DECK]4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Chromatic Star
4 Lotus Petal

4 Rite of Flame
4 Dark Ritual
4 Manamorphose
4 Cabal Ritual

4 Words of Wisdom
4 Ideas Unbound
3 Compulsive Research

4 Grapeshot

2 Shred Memory
1 Flaring Pain

4 Ancient Spring
4 Irrigation Ditch
4 Sulfur Vent
2 Island

Sideboard

4 Deep Analysis
3 Early Frost
3 Pyroblast
2 Empty the Warrens
2 Echoing Truth
1 Flaring Pain[/DECK]

Deep Analysis for Rats.dec, Early Frost & Pyroblast for MUC, Empty the Warrens for decks that can't handle the swarm (but honestly most can now). Echoing Truth for the extremely annoying [CARD]Benevolent Unicorn[/CARD] and an extra Flaring Pain for [CARD]Prismatic Strands[/CARD].

In classic, which is the sanctioned format, there's a fun mono black deck. Kinda like this

4 Chittering Rats
4 Crypt Rats
4 Phyrexian Rager
4 Ravenous Rats
4 Twisted Abomination
4 Warren Pilferers

4 Corrupt
4 Distress
4 Tendrils of Corruption

24 Swamp

Here's a pauper site:

http://pdcmagic.com/

How serious are you about not casting anything until you go off is it never worth casting EOT words to save mana?

Good point. That was a situation I forgot to mention. My goal is to go off turn 4. If rushed I can successfully go off turn 3 and with the nuts turn 2. If on turn 3 I have two untapped taplands I would cast Words of Wisdom at EOT.

Two problems with this: the mana from your sac-lands might not work out/you may not have/want to use a chromatic object. If you are rushed at all, you may not have time to wait for 2 untapped sac-lands at the EOT and may just have to go off whenever your lands untap.

I have been bashing today with

4 Ravenous Rats
4 Chittering Rats
4 Shrieking Grotesque
4 Blind Hunter
3 Gravedigger
3 Teroh's Faithful
2 Okiba-Gang Shinobi
4 Duress
4 Echoing Decay
4 Oblivion Ring
lands

Sideboard
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Evincar's Justice
4 Dust to Dust
3 Grim Harvest

Originally I had Momentary Blink and bouncelands to support it, but I am now down to just basic swamps and plains. I have lost one frustrating match to burn where I just got manascrewed twice (molten rain didn't help things) and one match to storm where he t3'd me games two and three, but otherwise have been stomping all over those decks. I've also gone 1-1 against blue control and lost to some RG infinite LD deck. I think I am like 2-0 against other rats decks.

Anything to play with Blind Hunter, eh?

Mesmeric Fiend is a common if that's of any use.

other cards that are common: Chimney Imp, snow-covered island, eager cadet, river boa

Don't forget Barbed Lightning.

I am trying to put together a BGr Ramp deck, kill with Kaervek's Torch or something... anyone got any suggestions?

1 Kaervek's Torch

4 Duress
4 Rancid Earth
4 Ravenous Rats
4 Twisted Abomination
3 Echoing Decay

4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 Wall of Roots
4 Reap and Sow
2 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
2 Krosan Tusker

4 Cloudpost
4 Terramorphic Expanse
8 Forest
6 Swamp
2 Mountain

SB
4 Wrench Mind
4 Ancient Grudge
4 Faerie Macabre
3 Swirling Sandstorm

Tell me more about Sakura-Tribe Leder

I has led me to win a few times, yes.

You're not giving enough credit to getting threshold with those Swirling Sandstorms.

I didn't realize I was in the pauper thread until I finished reading the list ;_;

So how about something like

[deck]2 Kaervek's Torch
4 Resounding Thunder
4 Rolling Thunder

4 Duress
4 Ravenous Rats
4 Twisted Abomination

4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 Wall of Roots
4 Kodama's Reach
2 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss

4 Jund Panorama
4 Terramorphic Expanse
8 Forest
4 Swamp
4 Mountain

SB
4 Blightning
4 Ancient Grudge
4 Echoing Decay
3 Raven's Crime[/deck]

I would use [card]Warren Pilferers[/card] over Gravedigger, just because it's bigger... and how about [card]Wail of the Nim[/card] instead of Evincar's Justice?

You're underestimating the extra damage and the buyback.

I thought you would appreciate not killing your own dudes.

Are you depressed?

No; well, I think the city I live in is a bit below sea level, but that's it.

God I am fucking tired of all the storm decks in the queues. Thank god most of them are terrible, but I would love some interaction in my fake format of choice.

Here's what I've built and will probably play after Conflux comes out (copy and pasted from PDCmagic.com).

For Pauper Standard:

RGBu Control
25 Land:
6 Forest
1 Island
6 Swamp
6 Mountain
4 Terramorphic Expanse
2 Jund Panorama

18 Creatures:
4 Phyrexian Rager
3 Warren Pilferers
3 Jungle Weaver
4 Civic Wayfinder
4 Mulldrifter

17 Spells:
4 Incinerate
4 Resounding Thunder
4 Terror
4 Fiery Fall
1 Sylvan Bounty

Here are the two cards that are new from Conflux:

Fiery Fall - 5R
Instant
Fiery Fall deals 5 damage to target creature.
Basic Landcycling - 1R

Sylvan Bounty - 5G
Instant
Target player gains 8 life.
Basic Landcycling - 1G


Basically, the idea behind this deck is to run most of the best card advantage creatures and spells in red, black, green and blue. Supporting 4 colors in Pauper can be difficult, but with the new basic landcyclers available, that isn't as much of a problem.

Within the first 3 turns, you have 4x Expanse, 4x Fiery Fall, 1x Sylvan Bounty, 3x Jungle Weaver, 4x Civic Wayfinder, 2x Jund Panorama and 4x Phyrexian Ragers to help you find the correct mana. The great thing about Fall and Bounty is that while they help fix mana early, they aren't horrible draws later on in the game.

The game against aggro is pretty simple: you attempt to deal with their threats with your 12 removal spells, and gum up the ground with your card advantage creatures. Due to the nature of the deck, as well as your 25 lands, you'll be hitting land drops consistantly, virtually every turn well into the late game. The midgame consists of casting Mulldrifters and Pilferers, which let you to refuel and continue to add creatures to the board.

Late game consists of cycling Resounding Thunder, dropping Jungle Weaver, Fiery Falling your opponent's creatures or chaining your card advantage creatures into one another. These late game options allow you to maximize the large manabase you will have accumulated by this point.

Card-by-card-analysis:

Phyrexian Rager: Great card in Pauper. Adds a decent-sized threat to the board and draws a card.

Warren Pilferers: Synergizes very well with the rest of the deck. Lets you grab cycled Jungle Weavers and evoked Mulldrifters, as well as dead Ragers and Wayfarers. It's also a good-sized body, and it's cost isn't a problem in this deck so it gets the nod over Gravedigger.

Jungle Weaver: A fat creature with a great ability in Reach. Its ability to cycle makes it useful early, and it provides a stabilizing influence on the board against aggressive decks. Once you get to 7 mana, there aren't many things that can take it out in combat.

Civic Wayfinder: Similar to Phyrexian Rager, this is another great pauper standby, especially for 4 color. Fixes mana, guarantees land drops and gums up the board.
Mulldrifter: One of the best Pauper cards ever printed, it's power is just too great to pass up, even at the cost of adding another color. I haven't had a problem finding the appropriate mana to cast this.

Incinerate: This was originally Blightning (which is still a strong contender for the SB), but was added to help out the aggro matchup. It's ability to "go upstairs" is another big plus, as it can team up with a cycled Resounding Thunder to win the game out of nowhere.

Resounding Thunder: This is one of the cards that made me want to build this deck. Like many of the other cards in this deck, its fuctionality early and late game lets you play the control role to perfection. Most of the time, you will have the mana required to cycle this on turn 8. While that may seem late, that is what this deck aims to do every game.

Terror: Another great removal spell that has the ability to solve larger problems (something that uncycled Thunders and Incinerates do not). With 12 early game removal spells, aggro decks will have difficulty getting any momentum going, especially once your creatures start hitting the board.

Fiery Fall: Another card that facilitates the 4 color control approach this deck is going for. Fixes mana early, and later on, is a removal spell that deals with virtually every threat in the format. While 6 mana may seem like a lot to pay, Fiery Fall will most likely (hopefully) be playing cleanup, allowing you to deal with that last threat your opponent has committed to the board.

Sylvan Bounty: This was originally a fourth Jungle Weaver, but I think this is a nice little 1-of. Not only does it do a better job of fixing mana than Weaver, it can keep you in the game against decks with burn. I think you could go a couple of ways with this, but I like it for now.

needs terminate for guardian

Sooo why did you build a T2 pauper deck exactly?

It's standard Pauper. It would probably look a lot different for one of the older formats.

It's a format some people play :shrug:

i am interested in this format i think, which guardian to you mean?

the of the guildpact variety

3w 2/4 pro mono colour

2/3

[cardimg]guardian of the guildpact[/cardimg]

but it's just a 2/3, is it really that much of a problem?

Pauper is a lot slower and more creature-based.

It is when they put Bonesplitter/Cloak on it and attack you five times :(

I use Agony Warp for those fuckers because I don't feel like spending 2.50 on a Planeshift common.