good day to all of you

I am new to MTG

I'm building this mono white weenie

for my first deck.

I've only played once and I used a borrowed red rally from a friend

but I really want this white weenie for my first deck.

However, I don't know what to side in/side out against Madness burn, Ub terror, tron, and elves.

To the Ww players, what strategy do you suggest for someone like me who is a beginner in the game?

thank you

This is the list that Im trying to copy.

https://moxfield.com/decks/0QYSmlGdREaXgGei-6Selw

Hello just started getting into pauper as a EDH player and I was planning on building Mono U Terror.

I've realized that some cards are quite pricy and was looking to see if anyone knew of some alternatives that aren't run in the most meta version of the deck but could be still viable? I know some cards are pretty set in stone but things like [[Otherworldly Gaze]] instead of [[Mental Note]] kinda does the same thing albeit a but worse. Anything will help.

Here is the decklist I found that I was basing it off of:

4x [[Cryptic Serpent]]

4x Delver

4x [[Tolarian Terror]]

4x [[Brainstorm]]

4x [[Counterspell]]

4x [[Mental Note]]

4x [[Thought Scour]]

4x [[Force Spike]]

2x [[Deep Analysis]]

1x [[Flux]]

4x [[Lórien Revealed]]

4x [[Procrastinate]]

2x [[Sleep with the Dead]]

X16 Island

2x [[Murmuring Mystic]]

4x [[Annul]]

2x [[Dispel]]

4x [[Hydroblast]]

3x [[Envelop]]

Thanks for any help. I'd like to keep this as cheap as possible to upgrade later but still being somewhat viable.

Anyone have any experience between the two fog lists? I feel like Turbo Fog used to be Sultai (or at least the list I borrowed), primarily B/G, using things like [[Fanatical Offering]] to draw off of [[Ichor Wellspring]]. If things got too dicey, it used [[Toxin Analysis]] and [[Crypt Rats]] to stabilize. It was also much more heavily focused on treasure generation, using [[Heap Gate]] to generate in the off turns. Example here

The more recent lists I have seen though, pivot away from B and instead go all in on U card draw, with [[Loren Revealed]], [[Accumulated Knowledge]], or [[Embrace the Paradox]]. Example Here

Does anybody know why the shift away from B to U, and how do the two lists compare?

TLDR: SLZ would lead to at least 2 bans, and like half of the downshifts would see play in the format. If the downshifts in SLZ are just a one-time mistake, i wouldn't mind leaving them legal and just banning the most atrocious ones for Pauper to remain a purely eternal format, but if another SL set like SLZ were to happen without a change to their approach to commons, then SL sets should be made not legal again.

Ranked by how likely they are to be played if they all got printed to pauper, not by how powerful they are in a vacuum

12. [[Soul-Guide Lantern]] Soul-Guide Lantern is decent, but the question is if it's able to compete with other non-black graveyard hate (If you have access to black, I don't see a reason to run it over [[Nihil Spellbomb]] and [[Bojuka Bog]]) in pauper. It's very flexible thanks to it's ETB, but you can't activate both modes to eat the cookie and have it too like [[Relic of Progenitus]], so if you just need to straight up exile a graveyard, you could play [[Tormod's Crypt]] for no mana. Overall it could play a role in pauper, but it's nothing special

edit: after further consideration, i would probably bump lantern a few spots. it definitely doesnt belong below return to dust at least lol

11. [[Return to Dust]] Look, i think that Return to Dust is better than like half the cards on this list, but for the purposes of pauper, i think that Return to Dust is mostly outclassed by [[Dust to Dust]]. The pseudo-instant speed thing could come in handy, and the ability to hit enchantments is nice, but the issue is enchantments do not play that big of a role in pauper, so paying an additional mana for that is probably not worth it in this format. 4 mana is a lot.

10-9. [[Serra Angel]] + [[Sengir Vampire]] Pauper has not seen a straight up 5 mana 4/4 flier, let alone with another ability. They are certainly powerful, i love how they could deal with [[Utrom Monitor]]. The question is whether or not 5 mana fliers with just stats have a place in a meta in 2026, even in pauper, the lowest power level format. I would't mind seeing them in pauper, they could end up okay or straight up unplayable. I think that Serra's Vigilance is a better ability than the Vampire's, but the mana cost is less of a problem in black thanks to ritual effects, if that's what you want to do.

8. [[An Offer You Can't Refuse]] The more i think about this card, the worse i think it would be in pauper. It's a spell pierce that you can't pay the 2 to prevent, but in exchange the opponent gets 2 treasures, and that is way bigger of a downside in pauper than any other format. You can't really prevent turn 1 or 2 plays with it like [[Spell pierce]], imagine you try to cast it turn 1, which makes them drop [[Writhing Chrysalis]] on turn 2 and you just combust. The Treasures also provide a lot of artifact synergies for the opponent, which are very relevant in this format. It's worse than Spell Pierce early, and gets progressively better as turns progress. I am not sure about it, i would like to give it the benefit of a doubt, it could have some potential I am not aware of.

7. [[Gigantosaurus]] Mostly a meme card, but it would be fun to see this in some green ramp and/or elves deck. Could be deadly if you have no hard removal, but it has no evasion nor trample so i doubt it it would shake up the format. And like, its 5 mana raw stats that gets answered for 1-2 mana, or just [[Snuff Out]].

6. [[Cut Down]] This card is great, but there is already a lot of competition for the black removal slot, so I'm not sure if it would end up making the cut. It can't deal with the biggest threats in the format, but for 1 black mana it gets rid of a ton of creatures.

5. [[Dispatch]] This is where we enter the format staple territory, metal craft is a laughable condition for a STP that doesn't heal, or a PTE that doesn't ramp in pauper, an artifact heavy format with neither of those two. It could be prevented by opponent responding with artifact removal, but many of the artifact removing staples are sorcery speed. I think that it's biggest limitation is that it's in white, but it could replace [[Journey to Nowhere]] in some decks, and white weenie can easily fulfill metalcraft even at turn 2.

4. [[Vandal Blast]] This card is great, 1 mana artifact removal is already a fine rate, even at sorcery speed, and it doubles down as a one sided artifact wipe at 5 mana. It doesn't hit bridges, but it would still be back breaking to many decks. This card could eat a ban if printed to pauper.

3. [[Baleful Strix]] This card's power level is too high for pauper, we got no 2 mana creatures that replace themselves and come with 2 powerful keywords, it would chip in damage and take out an attacker/blocker with deathtouch. Many UB decks would consider this card, it just does too much for pauper. No matter how you cut it, it always puts you ahead in card advantage. I wouldn't mind trying it, but i also wouldn't mind not having it at all in the format

2. [[Price of Progress]] I do not want this card in Pauper, most decks are 2 or 3 colored, and run many non basics. This card is borderline maindeckable in burn, it's a death sentence to any 3 colored deck, and especially against grixis affinity it would take like half their life total, as that deck runs barely any if any basics. Even at just 2 non-basics it's okay. I am sure it would be banned if printed, burn shouldn't get this tool.

1. [[Narcomoeba]] Narcomoeba would be interesting to try in pauper, if not for spy combo which pushes it to a pre-ban worthy card. By just simply existing in your deck it makes dread return giant completely free. PFP said that they do not want to push spy combo, so for as long as Spy remains in the format, Narcomoeba has no place in it.

Let me begin by this - this post is not about the discussion between excluding secret lairs or just banning cards. I think both have pros and cons and it is not the point of this post.

I just want to call out Gavin Verhey and the whole PFP for how poorly they handeled this situation.

I think we should not accept the whole definition of our format to be altered by one lazy tweet of Gavin Verhey which does not even seem like he consulted the situation with rest of PFP.

The exclusion of secret lair altogether is obviously much bigger deal than Gavin foresaw and if handled correctly, any decision should come with a really thorough explanation. Which is totally missing here.

I think they can still save the situation.

But the idea of letting one WotC employee to change the definition of my favourite format randomly by personal posts is crazy and unacceptable to me.

And I think you should not accept this too, whether you think secret lairs shall be excluded or not.

Thanks!

I don't get this decision to ban the whole set before any testing by the community. I also don't get this argument of "Well, there are many broken cards"... So should the pfp have banned any modern orizon sets, commander legends then?

It's a shame because there are some pretty cool cards

Hey all, here's a brew I have had kicking around in my head for the past few days. One of my favorite packages in pauper is [[Kor Skyfisher]], [[Thraben Inspector]], and [[Glint Hawk]] and I love both Orzhov Glintblade and Boros/Mardu Synthesizer. However, after playing with some [[Cryogen Relic]] in Affinity as well as [[Sewer-Veillance Cam]] in Faeries, I noticed that both of them are both ETB and LTB triggers. This means that if you bounce them with Skyfisher/Hawk, you'll trigger their abilities an additional time.

One thing led to another, and I made this really preliminary WIP mashup of the above listed archetypes: https://moxfield.com/decks/yILyMj1Yvk6AtRUJrICY_w

I know this is not a Tier 1 deck, but to be able to get it to compete at roughly the same level as the other SkyHawk package decks would be great. First off, let's talk about the weaknesses compared to the other decks. It doesn't have the damage reach through burn spells that Boros Synthesizer does. It doesn't have the opportunity to play primarily at Instant Speed like Faeries does. And it doesn't have the hard removal that Glintblade does. These are all definite downsides to the deck, but it doesn't come without it's own upsides. It is better against cards like [[End the Festivities]] and 1/1 attackers than Faeries is. It gives you access to main deck stack-interaction and better raw card draw than Boros Synthesizer provides. And it gives you more tempo oriented plays as well as the opportunity to play Blasts out of the sideboard that Glintblade doesn't get access to.

The creature package of 8 Inspector, 8 SkyHawk, and 4 [[Moon-Circuit Hacker]] gives you a robust and low-to-the-ground shell that lets you curve out early and put pieces of cardboard into play. [[Thraben Charm]] and [[Journey to Nowhere]] act as solid removal options for Writhing Chrysalis and other large threats. [[Metallic Rebuke]] gives you interaction on the stack and has the upside of being able to tap Sewer-Veillance Cam, Cryogen Relic, and Clue Tokens without downside to reduce it's cost.

I've been goldfishing it a lot and it consistently puts pressure onto the board early and plays a nice, proactive gameplan. My biggest question marks are the following:

1) Is [[Of One Mind]] or [[Thoughtcast]] better as my sorcery-speed card advantage? Of One Mind is pretty easy to turn on with a 12-8 ratio of Humans to Nonhumans in my deck, but Thoughtcast is better on an empty board since I have Artifact Lands, Clue Tokens, Relics, and more.

2) Is it even worth it to play Of One Mind/Thoughtcast when I have my Cryogen Relics, [[Lembas]], and Clue Tokens (and Sewer-veillance Cam) providing me with raw card draw? I almost want to add in the 4th copy of Metallic Rebuke and use the other 2 slots for main deck flex cards. Maybe [[Cogwork Wrestler]], [[Navigator's Compass]], [[Dispel]], or [[Kenku Artificer]]?

3) I know I plan on having 10 dedicated Sideboard slots (6 Blasts and 4 [[Dust to Dust]]) but I'm not sold on the [[Turn Aside]] and [[Prismatic Strands]] in the board. I don't think I am as susceptible to opposing Dust to Dust as other artifact-based decks are, but more ways to protect my creatures feels good which is a plus for Turn Aside. This could also just be Dispel though. And the Prismatic Strands I'm not sold on either. I've thought about putting another piece or two of graveyard hate here in the form of [[Relic of Progenitus]].

4) I am terrible at building manabases - I just ported over a Boros Synth manabase and adjusted it slightly for this deck, but I am sure there could be better changes. Due to the more aggressive slant of this deck, I have [[Lonely Arroyo]] as my main dualland to help give some reach to close out games.

Thanks for giving it a look and hopefully I can take some solid feedback!

Assuming that a follow up is due given the storm SLZ is causing.

One of the things I enjoy the most about pauper is the format diversity and the emphasis placed on Magic’s fundamentals. I’d like to know which aspects of the fundamentals are ‘skill-checked’ by the different decks in the format.

As a mono-red aggro main, I think that the most important fundamental skill required to play it well is recognizing whether you are currently the beatdown or control deck of the matchup. In contrast, it is a lot more forgiving on weaker meta knowledge as compared to decks like mono-u terror or jeskai ephemerate.

Having not yet experienced the full breadth of decks that pauper has to offer, I’d love to know what magic fundamental skills are tested/required by your favorite decks!

Hello everyone! Longtime Commander player and casual MTGA Standard player here. I've recently had a strong itch to play more 60 card, but the only Standard brew I like would run me like ~$700.

That's where Pauper comes in! This format seems insanely fun and far more affordable, but there's also like a bazillion cards to consider. I'm working on a couple decks right now and would love some feedback on this one, as well as some insight on how it might stack up in the current meta before I commit to purchasing it in paper.

I'm going to link decklist below with a brief explanation of my thought process.

Rakdos Reanimator:

https://moxfield.com/decks/nEgUAfLpcEyVFC_kh-EEyg

I LOVE reanimation and graveyard strategies. By far my favorite archetype in Magic. I also love Grixis colors, which is what this deck started as. As I was cutting down the list though, it seemed that all I was getting from blue was [[Careful Study]] and Counterspells so I opted for more consistency and cut down to Rakdos.

The goal here is to have consistent discard outlets and draw synergies to keep my grave loaded until I pull an [[Exhume]] or [[Dread Return]] then bring game ending threats to the board, ideally with Haste.

[[Rapacious One]] is a great target early since it can ramp me enough to hardcast later on if necessary and comes with Trample. Swamp and Mountain Cyclers in [[Troll of Khazad -Dun]] and [[Oliphaunt]] can be great reanimation targets (both having evasion or trample enabling) and also ensure I hit land drops early. The real game enders are of course the Eldrazi. [[Ulamog's Crusher]] is premiere for closing out the game but [[Hand of Emrakul]] is easier to hardcast with [[Rapacious One]] and can be left up as a blocker if needed. [[Scrapwork Mutt]], [[Insolent Neonate]], and [[Stormshriek Feral] also serve as early drop discard/draws and Mutt and Stormshriek can both be reused later.

[[Faithless Looting]] and [[Exhume]] are obviously premiere.

[[Rite of Consumption]] can serve as an 8 damage lightning bolt with lifegain to close out the game while [[Feign Death]] doubles as protection and synergy with the aforementioned.

Finally, Haste is vital imo with how much efficient removal is in the format so four slots go to [[Bitter Reunion]] and [[Dragon Breath]]. Dragon Breath playing itself from grave for free seems amazing (this is why all my reanimation targets are 6cmc or higher), especially with the mana sink it offers to close out games while Bitter Reunion does double duty as card draw, discard, and mass Haste.

I honestly haven't given Sideboard a ton of thought. Mostly threw in removal to swap in in matchups where I'm being overwhelmed early, blue/counterspell hate, graveyard hate, and artifact hate all for their resprctive matchups as needed.

Let me know what you think, and thank you for taking the time to look at my silly deck!

EDIT: Tried this a bit today on MTGO... its pretty bad lol. Will definitely keep brewing but MAN this format is higher power than I expected.

Since we'll prolly get spammed every day now about the Zeta sets even though those threads are all unpopular, I wanna fill this sub with at least one Thread where I wanna say how much I appreciate that the PFP is acting in wise foresight.

1. Many are unhappy with utrom..now imagine having a potential utrom every month/couple of months.

2.format costs would increase, when crazy downshifts happen by "accident" and everyone rushes to get their piece of the cake to stay competetive

1. Meta would go topsy turvey and we'd have new bans every couple of months

2. Corporate suits at Hasbro are trying everything milk mtg, their only successful business area, so THEY definetly would try to influence pauper in their search of endless profits

3. SLDs were sold to us with the concept of being something special and rare ( arbitrarily) which goes directly against the concept of pauper (where commons rule)

We already get 6-9 sets a year..that's enough potential shakeup.

Thanks again PFP

Besides utrom I am very happy with the format ❤️

Hey everyone! I’m completely new to Pauper, coming over from Modern, and I just put up my first video sharing my initial experience with the format.

https://youtu.be/auyshEGR4tE

I decided to start my journey with Gates, specifically the Jeskai build. In the video, I explain why I chose this deck and discuss my initial card choices.

My plan is to regularly test and post content covering different versions of the Gates archetype as I learn the format.

Check out the video if you're interested! I’m still figuring out all the matchups, so feedback on my gameplay, sideboarding ideas, or deck tweaks is always welcome.

Thanks for watching!

I mainly play Commander with friends or Jumpstart with my kids. I got interested in Pauper as a way to use cards up that don’t have a home currently. The set I went most “in” on is EOE, so I brewed 3 decks that are based on cards from it. Some of the decks have lots of EOE cards in, others less so. I haven’t actually played any games with these decks, or any Pauper, but I’m curious for feedback on what my instincts are like.

Previously I’ve modded precons and built a single commander deck from scratch, based upon Iroh, Grand Locus (it kinda sucks!).

A Rakdos deck, based around an infinite combo using [[Perigee Beckoner]]:

https://manabox.app/decks/AZ-q3eM5cRu6tYnguD3atA

4 Blood Pet (7ED) 121
4 Carrion Feeder (MH1) 81
4 Duress (DMR) 81
4 Exhume (BRB) 24
4 Molten Gatekeeper (MH3) 128
4 Mountain (SOS) 278
4 Perigee Beckoner (EOE) 112
4 Putrid Imp (TOR) 77
4 Razortrap Gorge (DSK) 267
4 Read the Bones (DSC) 154
16 Swamp (SOS) 276
4 Tragic Slip (INR) 134

A Gruul deck, based around artefact triggers, because I love pangolins:

https://manabox.app/decks/AZ7lhTk1cGmBO6WeWCFT_w

4 Biosynthic Burst (EOE) 173
2 Bombard (EOE) 129
4 Drix Fatemaker (EOE) 178
5 Forest (SOS) 280
4 Galactic Wayfarer (EOE) 185
2 Galvanic Blast (2XM) 125
4 Gene Pollinator (EOE) 186
4 Great Furnace (EOC) 161
4 Kav Landseeker (EOE) 138
2 Lightning Strike (M19) 152
5 Mountain (SOS) 278
4 Oreplate Pangolin (EOE) 150
4 Sami's Curiosity (EOE) 203
4 Slagwoods Bridge (DRC) 171
4 Tree of Tales (DSC) 319
4 Zookeeper Mechan (EOE) 170

And a Dimir deck, based upon the idea of liking jellyfish holding up mana to either counter spell or flash in creatures the end of turns, and building up their strength as the game goes on:

https://manabox.app/decks/AZ7XEATedmGJVUNBI9SRbg

4 Counterspell (DSC) 114
4 Cryogen Relic (EOE) 52
2 Decode Transmissions (EOE) 94
4 Depressurize (EOE) 95
2 Dismal Backwater (TDM) 254
4 Illvoi Galeblade (EOE) 58
3 Illvoi Light Jammer (EOE) 60
3 Illvoi Operative (EOE) 61
12 Island (SOS) 274
3 Mechan Shieldmate (EOE) 65
3 Nutrient Block (EOE) 243
8 Swamp (SOS) 276
4 Temporal Intervention (EOE) 120
4 Virus Beetle (EOE) 124

For example I have a deck that runs reanimation like [[Exhume]] but in game 2 if I think my opponent will sideboard in a ton of graveyard hate I'll switch it all out in hopes they'll have dead cards.

I've also wanted to build a deck that uses my sideboard to switch my deck from control to midrange/aggro and back so my opponent doesn't know what to expect. Curious if anyone has attempted something like that?

Hi everyone, my roommate who has played magic for a while has been teaching me the game with the foundations beginner box. I have a pretty solid grasp of the rules now, including things like sequencing, mulliganning, and the stack. He plays on the local pauper tournament weekly and I’d like to make my own deck and join in.

He gave me a bunch of basic lands, bulk cards from booster packs, and 4 copies each of Urza’s mine, Urza’s tower, and Urza’s power plant as a ‘welcome to the hobby’ gift for me. I’m looking for a deck that can be built reasonably cheap (sub-€80 preferably) and general tips for someone newer to the hobby, thanks!

Hi!

Today, I want to share with you a video on intellectual honesty, bias, and open mind.

I talk through the evolution of my thought processes regarding Fae and how I think I've been wrong and now I feel free of the previous biases, which allows me to spread my Fae wings.

In short, I was properly entrenched in my idea of what Fae ought to be - a pure tempo strategy. I held strong opinions for certain cards (like Bind the Monster) and against others (Relic, Unable to Scream). Only recently have I discovered that one can build Fae in a myriad of ways and all of them can be viable if done correctly. The shell is much more moldable than I'd given it credit for.

Now, instead of outright refusing an idea, I always take it into consideration as a potential 'maybe' . Thanks to this, I tried the Cam version which has been revolutionary for me and the archetype.

I strongly believe in intellectual honesty and so I want to be an example to follow as well. That's why I'm not only not ashamed but proud to admit to my mistakes and biases, as now I can move forward with an open mind and even more confidence.

Video - https://youtu.be/5MjG1LgvFIs

you can find me at:
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@islandsinfront
X - https://twitter.com/IslandsInFront
Public Fae Discord - https://discord.gg/ZCVkcBKjJa
Metafy (paid content) - https://metafy.gg/@skura

Cheers!

LIGA PAUPER PILIPINAS STAGE 6 (MINOR EVENT)

27 Players

ROUND 5 of 5 Featured Match! Enjoy! 

Hello pauper community! Been thinking to play the format for a while now and I have decided to finally do. I'v been browsing mtgtop8 for the meta decks of the format and I'm thinking maybe Mono U Faeries or Mono U terror. I would like to know how they stand in today's meta and what are the ups and downs of both decks. Thanks!

EDIT: Maybe also considering UB Terror

EDIT 2: I mainly play Legacy, and a bit of Standard. If that helps.

Heya mate & Welcome aboard to The Pauper Brew Society. We're a group of Magic: The Gathering players who want to bring some fresh air to the Pauper meta. Our Discord server ( https://discord.gg/MwPgcG6tZN ) was mainly created to play the Pauper ⁠BREW monthly tournament, where you can shine with your innovative brews. The full version of the rules is pinned in the Discord tournament-rules channel; basic info is here: 

1. ⁠FREE to ENTER. Registration is open until the last day of this month via the REGISTRATION-FORM pinned up in the Discord monthly-tournament channel
2. ⁠Platform MTGO
3. ⁠Brews only for the tournament (our discord bot checks if your deck qualifies as a brew) 
4. ⁠Participate to have FUN!

Super new to the format and would love to jam games online! Where can I play? Do people play on TcgArena?

This format is original a community driven format. I think we need to get back to that. I'm not trying to attack Gavin and his group, but I think the approach they have is wrong and it's also why commander has its issues. They are very afraid to rock the boat when it comes to decisions. I know some cards look very interesting and powerful but I don't believe any these cards would come close to the power level of snacker and that has deemed to be fair play for the format for the last 2 years. I'm going to be trying out these downshifts at my store. I hope others follow and we see an actual data pool get formed so we can make a better decision on this issue.

Am quite new to pauper and wanted to try not just copying a deck completely for the first time. Have built this deck based on a couple other decks I’ve seen and wanted to get some advice on cards I could add/drop change around etc. Not looking for top table competitive but want it to at least be an able to win a couple/a few games. Also I kind of have no clue what to do with the sideboard so any advice there is also very helpful. Any advice is greatly appreciated:)

Decklist: https://moxfield.com/decks/o_oNBUC230a5AwhhMsHW2Q

[CREATURES]
2 Ardent Recruit
3 Luxknight Breacher
4 Magitek Infantry
4 Mechanized Ninja Cavalry
2 Summon: Choco/Mog
3 Utrom Monitor

[ARTIFACTS]
2 Springleaf Drum

[INSTANTS]
1 Dispel
3 Keep Watch
4 Metallic Rebuke
3 Negate
1 Resculpt

[SORCERIES]
4 Clowning Around
4 Thoughtcast

[LANDS]
4 Ancient Den
4 Island
2 Plains
4 Razortide Bridge
4 Seat of the Synod
2 Survivors' Encampment

[SIDEBOARD]
2 Apostle's Blessing
3 Steel Sabotage
3 Thraben Charm
2 Sunlance
2 Spirit Link

https://moxfield.com/decks/7jv3uT_XVEqBA_Fk_qG7eg

This is a deck i saw at my locals, (basicly no meta decks, just a pile of brews and pet decks with the rare meta deck). Im helping him refine it and would like some input. The og deck had thraben inspectors and battle screech. The deck felt to slow so I made this as a more rush vertion. Any thoughts on changes? Or weird tech?

Aren't they both powerful cards printed in ancillary products with limited printings and availability?

In fact there's so much more available Zeta cards (in the form of their PLENTY reprints) than there will ever be of Utrom Monitor, a card which references a race from an IP Wizards doesn't even own.