I was toying for some time now with the idea of building a monoblue pauper aggro deck. Though it doesn't have to stay monoblue, all the cards that I'm thinking about can be played in that color, so no reason so far to branch out. I have no finished deck list, just some card ideas, that I think would work good together. It's not meant for any serious play, just something to pull out of the bag should my friends want to go for some pauper games. Here's the unrefined list as of now:
Oh. My. Goodness. I feel so much nostalgia for this archetype, as it was one of the first decks where I did lots of research and built it using the internet.
If you're not following the online banlist, Cloud of Faeries definitely makes the cut as an aggressive card, and enables your ninjas even better.
Aside from Miscreant and Ninja, I don't really like a lot of your choices of creatures. They either have too little power for their cost, or they cost too much. I would recommend the 1-mana 2/1s with drawbacks, Spindrift Drake, Drifter Il-Dal and Wind Zendikon. Drifter is probably the best of the gang, but they're all pretty good. The point is that they're cheap, have high power and evasion.
If you're ready to move up from the 2-power creatures, Wormfang Drake will relieve your mana and give you a very strong creature that replaces himself when killed.
You should be maxing out your Bonesplitters. Another really powerful, game-winning tool is Unstable Mutation. On a 1-mana 2/1, it will end games almost by itself.
If you want to get some synergy into the deck, I'd recommend Shrieking Drake. It can save a creature about to die to Mutation, you can return a ninja to your hand for more draw, etc.
I see you have Singing Bell Strike. I also played a similar card as removal, and I liked it a lot (not to mention that it has Phil Foglio artwork): Apathy. The random discard is so sweet and often hurts them more than getting their creature to untap. It also costs one less mana.
Last old card I want to mention is Flood. That thing will win you games against other aggro decks and is really powerful against low-threat decks too.
Think about going down to 20 lands.
Last advice: Use Blue's greatest strength, card draw. A few strong draw spells will make an average aggro deck so much better.
The main idea of the deck was building around Wretched Gryff and Stitched Drake, which are both extremely low costed for their stats (3/4 flying for just 3 mana !). The Gryff is meant to be cast turn 3 via emerge by sacrificing a 3-mana creature that is actually a two drop, hence Legionnaire and Thopter to enable that. The sacrifice will also enable the Drake a turn later. Or if the turn 2 Legionnaire/Thopter dies in its attack on turn 3, the Drake can come right out of the gates. The ninja was a later idea to get yet another early higher costed ceature to emerge the Gryff from. And it needed some even earlier evasive guys, so I picked a bunch that looked promising. But I can see them swapped out for other creatures. Due to me needing all the mana available in the early turns to cast my next spell, I decided against any tax creatures. I might go for Phantasmal Bear as a 1-drop, though. Wind Zendikon is a neat idea, I might go with that. It doesn't work that well with ninjas, though.
I have too many negative experiences with beneficial enchant creature auras, so I try to avoid them. Unstable Mutation can make for an explosive early game, yes, but it can also just be an invitation for a 2-for-1. I am usually quite negative when it comes to such gambles and will go for the safer route intsead.
Apathy looks nice, but it isn't actual removal as it only stops the creature from untapping, it doesn't tap it in the first place. Such a creature can still block turn after turn. I think, I want to remove blockers more than hinder attacks.
20 lands is not enough, in my opinion. I have to reach 3 lands by turn 3 very consistently for the current game plan, so 22 lands is the minimum, I believe.
My crude list has a bit of card draw already. Adding a pure card draw effect like Counsel of the Soratami may give me more fuel but also slows me down. Something like Crippling Chill may be worthwhile, though. Rush of Knowledge could be very effective with a Gryff out, but can also be twarted into being just a higher costed Council or worse.
Phantasmal Bear is another great option that wasn't around when I built the deck originally. I would definitely go for that. No evasion, though.
Unless the opponent has instant-speed removal, Unstable Mutation will be a Lightning Bolt to the face at worst. The mana investment is so low on the card that I wouldn't really consider it too much of a draw back. You need to take gambles in magic sometimes.
Counsel is not really a good enough draw spell in today's day and age. I think Compulsive Research is the minimum. Gush might not be a bad idea. Fathom Seer is similar but also provides a body (though not particularly aggressive). Keep Watch could be interesting if you're attacking with 3+ creatures. Again, if you're not following the ban list, Treasure Cruise is probably the best draw spell in Pauper.
I was toying for some time now with the idea of building a monoblue pauper aggro deck. Though it doesn't have to stay monoblue, all the cards that I'm thinking about can be played in that color, so no reason so far to branch out. I have no finished deck list, just some card ideas, that I think would work good together. It's not meant for any serious play, just something to pull out of the bag should my friends want to go for some pauper games. Here's the unrefined list as of now:
4 Faerie Miscreant
4 Triton Shorestalker
4 Porcelain Legionnaire
4 Spined Thopter
4 Ninja of the Deep Hours
4 Wretched Gryff
4 Stitched Drake
18 Island
4 Radiant Fountain
Others (10)
4 Singing Bell Strike
3 Bonesplitter
3 Mana Leak
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
If you're not following the online banlist, Cloud of Faeries definitely makes the cut as an aggressive card, and enables your ninjas even better.
Aside from Miscreant and Ninja, I don't really like a lot of your choices of creatures. They either have too little power for their cost, or they cost too much. I would recommend the 1-mana 2/1s with drawbacks, Spindrift Drake, Drifter Il-Dal and Wind Zendikon. Drifter is probably the best of the gang, but they're all pretty good. The point is that they're cheap, have high power and evasion.
If you're ready to move up from the 2-power creatures, Wormfang Drake will relieve your mana and give you a very strong creature that replaces himself when killed.
You should be maxing out your Bonesplitters. Another really powerful, game-winning tool is Unstable Mutation. On a 1-mana 2/1, it will end games almost by itself.
If you want to get some synergy into the deck, I'd recommend Shrieking Drake. It can save a creature about to die to Mutation, you can return a ninja to your hand for more draw, etc.
I see you have Singing Bell Strike. I also played a similar card as removal, and I liked it a lot (not to mention that it has Phil Foglio artwork): Apathy. The random discard is so sweet and often hurts them more than getting their creature to untap. It also costs one less mana.
Last old card I want to mention is Flood. That thing will win you games against other aggro decks and is really powerful against low-threat decks too.
Think about going down to 20 lands.
Last advice: Use Blue's greatest strength, card draw. A few strong draw spells will make an average aggro deck so much better.
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
I have too many negative experiences with beneficial enchant creature auras, so I try to avoid them. Unstable Mutation can make for an explosive early game, yes, but it can also just be an invitation for a 2-for-1. I am usually quite negative when it comes to such gambles and will go for the safer route intsead.
Apathy looks nice, but it isn't actual removal as it only stops the creature from untapping, it doesn't tap it in the first place. Such a creature can still block turn after turn. I think, I want to remove blockers more than hinder attacks.
20 lands is not enough, in my opinion. I have to reach 3 lands by turn 3 very consistently for the current game plan, so 22 lands is the minimum, I believe.
My crude list has a bit of card draw already. Adding a pure card draw effect like Counsel of the Soratami may give me more fuel but also slows me down. Something like Crippling Chill may be worthwhile, though. Rush of Knowledge could be very effective with a Gryff out, but can also be twarted into being just a higher costed Council or worse.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
Unless the opponent has instant-speed removal, Unstable Mutation will be a Lightning Bolt to the face at worst. The mana investment is so low on the card that I wouldn't really consider it too much of a draw back. You need to take gambles in magic sometimes.
Counsel is not really a good enough draw spell in today's day and age. I think Compulsive Research is the minimum. Gush might not be a bad idea. Fathom Seer is similar but also provides a body (though not particularly aggressive). Keep Watch could be interesting if you're attacking with 3+ creatures. Again, if you're not following the ban list, Treasure Cruise is probably the best draw spell in Pauper.
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio