Many people groan at the mention of Infect. It's that dastardly mechanic that cleaves your opponent's life in half, allowing you to win by only dealing half the necessary damage. Creatures with infect don't deal physical damage, instead they place poison counters on an opponent and -1/-1 counters on a creature. A player with 10 or more poison counters loses the game.
Lucky for us Pauper players, there are many common creatures with infect, and they allow us to build very fast, very competitive decks that often swing for a turn 2 win, with the average game lasting about 3 turns on a good day. The Pauper strategy is to drop weenies like Glistener Elf and Ichorclaw Myr, pump them up with cheap spells like Giant Growth and Invigorate.
CREATURES:
The wonderful thing about Infect is that is appears in most colors, and some of it's best pauper creatures are artifacts, allowing us to put them into any color deck. Here I'll list the best pauper infectors, by color:
Colorless: Ichorclaw Myr A staple of any infect deck, a 1/1 that pumps up to 3/3 when blocked, basically killing the majority of pauper creatures. Corpse Cur Pricier than the majority of pauper infect critters, but he's got a solid body and returns other Infectors to your hand from the grave. Phyrexian Digester Decent when run along Corpse Cur in an Unearth/Reanimator deck, otherwise not too important. Vector Asp Decent one-drop, but make sure you keep that swamp open to give him infect. Pestilent Souleater Out of our ideal mana cost range for pauper infect, we're looking for cheap, disposable dudes.
Blue: Blighted Agent The one and only. Blue infect can only work as a splash, preferably with green for the pump spells, but Blighty WILL be your best friend.
Green: Glistener Elf King of the Turn 2 win. This guy can be devestating as a first turn drop; he should be in every infect deck. Blight Mamba Not always recommended, but he can regenerate and serves as fine filler. Good for a few chump blocks if you're forced to go on the defense. Rot Wolf Another great creature with a solid body. Usually a two-of in a deck. CystBearer Same cost as Rot Wolf, with a thicker butt and no fancy abilities.
White: Lost Leonin If you insist on going White for Infect, here's your man. Priests of Norn If you can pump this guy, he'll be pretty deadly. 1/4 body with vigilance let's you stop most pauper creatures. Tine Shrike Flying, but simply too pricy for pauper infect.
Black: Blackcleave Goblin 4cmc, with Haste, if you can ramp up to him with a Dark Ritual then he's okay, otherwise he comes into play way too late. Contagious Nim Solid black dude, not much else to say. Flensermite this guy is great for mono black, he's got infect and lifelink which could save us when we're facing down something like Pauper Burn. Plague Stinger at 2cmc, this is the cheapest you can go for a dude with infect and flying, saves you the trouble of casting other evasion on his later.
THE PUMPS:
Pauper Infect runs lots of cheap weenies. The goal is to pump these weenies with as many cheap spells as possibly to deal maximum poison damage as fast as possible. To do this we dig into our reserve of Instants, Auras, and Equipment for the most cost effective pumps. Once again I'll break them down by color:
Green:
Green will, for obvious reasons, have the most, and cheapest, pump spells. They don't need to be explained since they appear in most types of aggro decks and people are probably very familiar with them. Giant Growth, Groundswell, Titanic Growth, Vines of Vastwood, Rancor and Invigorate are our staples. Ranger's Guile is similar to VoV and protects against removal.
Invigorate is a five star card and the most important staple in pauper infect. It's a free spell, which means on Turn 2 we can drop a forest to play two Giant Growths, then play a free Invigorate and attack for the win with a Glistener Elf. We don't care if our opponent gains 3 life, because life doesn't matter to Poison Counters. It's a win/win card and should be in every Infect deck if possible.
Predator's Strike: Gives us trample, which is great if we know we'll be chumpblocked.
Mutagenic Growth: another great card that can go in any color deck. Let's us add those extra 2 poison counters for free.
Black: Predator's Gambit: A "strictly better" Unholy Strength, it can make our creature unblockable if we don't control any other guys at the time. Rouse: Essentially the black version of Mutagenic Growth, solid card in a mono-black infect deck. Vampire's Bite: 1 mana for +3/+0, with the optional kicker for lifelink.
Blue: Distortion Strike: Makes our guy unblockable, can be used two times, and gives an extra +1/+0, can't really complain if you're running blue. Unstable Mutation: If you can win soon enough, this guy is worth while. Alongside other pumps it should be fine.
White: Etherial Armor: Great in any infect deck that wants to ride a game out for the long haul. If you're choosing auras over instants for pumps, then this guy can be lethal. Hyena Umbra: Works great alongside Etherial Armor.
Though a green card, Ancestral Mask has great synergy with the above mentioned auras.
UTILITY:
There are some cards that make Pauper Infect that don't actually do much to pump our creatures, just protect them and help the general cause.
Gitaxian Probe: Should be in every pauper infect deck. It's a free spell that let's us look at our opponent's hand. This is how we know if we're safe to blow all our pumps on one attack. We can see if we'll be facing any Fogs or Boomerangs that could screw up our attack. I'll say it again: This should be in every pauper infect deck.
Virulent Wound: I would include this is a black infect deck. It can kill a lot of pauper creatures through the -1/-1 counter alone, and tacks a poison counter onto our opponent as a result. Three point five stars.
Unearth: Works in certain decks, and most infect dudes are under 3cmc. If you find yourself with no board presence and no critters in your hand, this guy can save the day.
Quicksand: Great if you're running an artifact heavy deck, but many infect creatures call for a single solid color. Deters attackers and can take out most pauper creatures.
Soaring Seacliff: If you can afford to hold onto it, it's a free evasion spell.
Apostle's Blessing: A super card that protects your pumped infectors from the color of your choice. Highly Recommended and you can run it in any deck.
Nature's Claim: Since we don't care about the opponent gaining life, this is simply a 1 mana "destroy target non-creature obstacle."
Llanowar Augur: For the 0/3 blocker body and eventually an additional +3/+3.
Hornet Sting: Great pauper removal, can usually kill most other 1 drop critters that might stand in our way.
Sandstorm: For when your opponent get's a chance to attack and is banking on you chump blocking.
SAMPLE DECKS:
I think Pauper is the perfect place to try new things, so the following decks might not be proven to work, but they're a building block to try new things. I tried to find 3 different decks that demonstrated a variety of colors and spells.
Personally I think Pauper Infect calls for two-color decks. Mono Black infect does have it's weaknesses, most importantly being less than ideal black infect creatures.
Pauper Infect can be extremely competitive. It can also be a glass canon, often if the deck doesn't click by turn 3 then you're done for.
Against other aggro decks it can hold its own.
Goblins and Zombies build slowly, sure they can blow up a field by turn 4, but Infect should be winning before then.
Hexproof/Ethereal Armor decks shouldn't be too much of a problem. They function a lot like Infect, but tend to be slower, and need to deal a full 20 dmg, vs. Infect's 10 dmg.
Discard/Control: much weaker. Any counterspells will leave us struggling. Discard is also our enemy, as every pump spell in our hand matters. It helps to run full sets of Ranger's Guile and Vines of Vastwood in your sideboard for these match-ups, since cheap removal/bounce will be the number one danger.
PEASANT ADDITIONS :
There actually aren't many cards that can make this deck better in Peasant, just stronger variations of cards we already have.
Might of Old Krosa: gives us +4/+4 at sorcery speed, or +2/+2 at instant speed. Choice is nice. However, at $3 a card, it's be the most expensive addition to the deck. Next to Rancor, maybe.
Necropede: has the possibility of removal, but really, you don't want your dudes dying, you want them breaking through to the otherside.
Swiftfoot Boots: Of course, why not? if your turn 2 dude gets killed, slap these guys onto the next batter up and you should have no problems.
If splashing blue, you will want Soaring Seacliff. Even though it comes into play tapped, it adds an immediate evasion to a creature. Since you are playing mostly free pumps in the first place this can be highly important.
I have also found using Brainstorm over Preordain to be highly effective. The ability to cast it at the end of your opponents turn to set yourself up has netted me several wins.
Potential sideboard cards would be Llanowar Augur for the 0/3 blocker body and eventually an additional +3/+3. Nature's Claim is good as it destroys and artifact or enchantment for only 1 mana, who cares if they gain 4 life. Hornet Sting is an amazing card for Infect Pauper, get rid of any little annoyances such as Standard Bearer because we all know, and I have said it several times this card is one of the best cards in Pauper and 100% shuts down any pump deck such as Infect or burn deck, so you need to remove that creature somehow.
Also you mis-spelled my name twice
If going for Peasant Infect the only card I would ever consider playing would be Might of Old Krosa. I wouldn't change anything else in my Infect decks other then add that card.
EDIT: Under the pump section Might of Oaks cannot be used as it is and always was a rare. Vines of Vastwood is mis-spelled in the pump section and doesn't come up with a "did you mean?".
EDIT 2: For more sideboard cards Sandstorm is good for extended games. Lotus Petal is also nice as it grants free mana, I would ONLY use a full set of it in decks with cards such as Brainstorm though as you want to be able to fill your hand with pumps or get rid of garbage if needed, otherwise just use 2.
EDIT: Under the pump section Might of Oaks cannot be used as it is and always was a rare. Vines of Vastwood is mis-spelled in the pump section and doesn't come up with a "did you mean?".
EDIT 2: For more sideboard cards Sandstorm is good for extended games. Lotus Petal is also nice as it grants free mana, I would ONLY use a full set of it in decks with cards such as Brainstorm though as you want to be able to fill your hand with pumps or get rid of garbage if needed, otherwise just use 2.
Oh man, Might of Oaks, I totally meant Titanic Growth. I get them confused because of the Urzas Legacy art of MoG, that giant squirrel looks like Titanic Growth's dog critter.
I've added the other changes, thanks for the help!
Oh man, Might of Oaks, I totally meant Titanic Growth. I get them confused because of the Urzas Legacy art of MoG, that giant squirrel looks like Titanic Growth's dog critter.
I've added the other changes, thanks for the help!
Yup no problem, I did a little more research into Peasant, and I have a list of potential cards to add. Obviously the Peasant section is much smaller, (similar to my primers) so you won't need to add much.
Necropede - This guy is good but mostly for extended games. Normally Infect is a turn 2-3 win deck, but if you expect trouble board this creature for those games.
Swiftfoot Boots - This card is also needed for extended games, normally haste wouldn't effect a turn 2-3 win but in games going longer it can be required.
Honestly though that is about it, the Infect deck as a whole doesn't really change much from Pauper to Peasant, and even when you go without restrictions the basic outline doesn't change much.
EDIT: I completely forgot about Ranger's Guile, this card is best cast during the second phase of your upkeep to prevent any sorcery removal and the like, it won't stop an instant but it is nice none the less.
I haven't played Infect Pauper yet, but I've played a Livewire Lash/Infect deck back in Standard and I ran Plague Stingers and a couple Flensermites in that deck. Are they not Pauper worthy? Or did you forget them when making the Primer? I know Flensermite probably isn't that good, but the flying for Plague Stinger seems good to me.
Also, I enjoyed this Primer! I love that we're getting some for Pauper section now! Keep it up guys!
I haven't played Infect Pauper yet, but I've played a Livewire Lash/Infect deck back in Standard and I ran Plague Stingers and a couple Flensermites in that deck. Are they not Pauper worthy? Or did you forget them when making the Primer? I know Flensermite probably isn't that good, but the flying for Plague Stinger seems good to me.
I think I just didn't finish filling out the Black creature section. I'll add those right in!
Something else that might be helpful to people who don't know much about Infect is a match up breakdown. Infect thrives on Aggro match ups IE: Gobo or WW (unless Standard Bearer is played), does extremely poor against any control whether it's MUC or MBC, and against combo such as Storm or Affinity it better win on turn 2-3 or it's an extreme uphill battle.
Yup no problem, I did a little more research into Peasant, and I have a list of potential cards to add. Obviously the Peasant section is much smaller, (similar to my primers) so you won't need to add much.
Necropede - This guy is good but mostly for extended games. Normally Infect is a turn 2-3 win deck, but if you expect trouble board this creature for those games.
Swiftfoot Boots - This card is also needed for extended games, normally haste wouldn't effect a turn 2-3 win but in games going longer it can be required.
Honestly though that is about it, the Infect deck as a whole doesn't really change much from Pauper to Peasant, and even when you go without restrictions the basic outline doesn't change much.
EDIT: I completely forgot about Ranger's Guile, this card is best cast during the second phase of your upkeep to prevent any sorcery removal and the like, it won't stop an instant but it is nice none the less.
I also like Elvish spirit guide. gives you a much higher chance of a turn 2 kill. I ran one for a while that was basicly 10 land stompy infect and it was doing pretty good for me. though I'd have to tweak the list because I built it for legacy (had 8 uncommons I'm sure I could cut 3 and still have decent results.)
Also for mono-green infect I found if you really don't want 3 cost creatures running commune with nature can function in a pinch.
Isn't Lotus Petal a rare? A lot of people are getting into Pauper in my play group and Im trying to decide between this and a blue Faeries control deck. Good thing about Pauper is I can probably afford both! Control for fun and Infect when I want to win games
Isn't Lotus Petal a rare? A lot of people are getting into Pauper in my play group and Im trying to decide between this and a blue Faeries control deck. Good thing about Pauper is I can probably afford both! Control for fun and Infect when I want to win games
Lotus Petal was originally printed as a common in Tempest, so it is legal for play. They reprinted it at mythic rare in From the Vault: Exiled.
As for deciding which to play, you most likely can in fact afford both as the most expensive card is most likely Rancor out of both decks. If you choose infect that is a much more balls out deck while faeries you can bide your time a little more. If your meta is full aggro, go with infect, if not go with faeries.
Okay, sorry for the long delay. I think I managed to make all the suggested changes, including relinking XBM Yosho's green deck to his blog post. I added a Match-Up section, but it could probably be fleshed out. Suggestions?
One card that I noticed a lack of in many other lists is Briar Shield. It's basically a Might of Old Krosa. If I'm missing a card or two that would be good in the deck, feel free to point it out to me.
For what it's worth, the opposite of evergreen is "deciduous" so I suggest we start using that from now on to refer to shroud, banding, islandhome, etc.
This would be better off within the Pauper Infect primer as we have already discussed several options if playing Infect and what is good and not good in the deck.
The pump seems okay within this deck if you play with the Magic Online rules and Invigorate is banned, but the most common card played in paper Pauper Infect is Gitaxian Probe. You need to see what is coming in case they can bounce your creature and you just wasted all of your pump. It's also self replenishing so you might get another pump just from using it.
You also only have four cards in the deck that grant trample, without that ability all is moot, Pauper Infect decks that go for a quick win simply cannot sustain themselves long enough to do finishing damage. Predator's Strike however allows for a nice +3/+3 and trample which I find vastly more useful then just Vines of Vastwood. I realize the card also grants protection from targeting, but I would much rather play Apostle's Blessing as that card does the exact same thing in terms of protection but it allows you to be offensive and walk through any mono color or artifact creature in the game.
WRT trample, most of the Pauper infect decks I play against these days seem to have Llanowar Augur (probably 4 of) - takes away some of the surprise aspect of pumping, but to be honest you're not surprising anyone anyway, and gives you trample for 0 cost on the turn you're swinging in. It can be really hard to stop the one-turn swing if you don't have enough removal to keep the infect creatures from having a chance to turn sideways.
WRT trample, most of the Pauper infect decks I play against these days seem to have Llanowar Augur (probably 4 of) - takes away some of the surprise aspect of pumping, but to be honest you're not surprising anyone anyway, and gives you trample for 0 cost on the turn you're swinging in. It can be really hard to stop the one-turn swing if you don't have enough removal to keep the infect creatures from having a chance to turn sideways.
I agree, this is also a solid choice. I actually run him in my own sideboard in case I need more pump. The only reason he is in the sideboard is because I don't use the Magic Online ban list so Invigorate is legal in paper play.
The only downside I see to him is that you must commit to pump seeing as you need to sac him during your upkeep, so you had better Gitaxian Probed prior to the sac to make sure all is go, of course you can only do this on the previous turn since it is a sorcery so you won't know what the extra card is he drew but it does give you a greater then average safety net to know whether to pump or not.
Well now that Invigorate is gone in nonpaper pauper what do you think of phytoburst?
I don't really know what the Online meta is like so I can't really comment on whether it is a good card for that version of the game, but I can give you my thoughts on it for the paper version.
I think that it is a solid card, but I would almost want to run something smaller with a 1CMC. Doing this obviously requires more of a perfect hand situation but if you run a full compliment of Llanowar Augur's, Rancor's and about two Predator's Strike's for the trample ability I would think that would be better.
If I were to run it though I would maybe only as a two of personally, I would rather play two Groundswells for the same cost.
It's kind of a give and take, you can hit way harder with using lower cost cards rather then just one big one but to do so you need more cards in hand rather then just that one.
Maybe it's good in a version of Pauper Infect that is build for longer games rather then a quick hit. I value consistent trample over big pump. One thing that I flat out hate about the card is that it is a sorcery, and that means you cannot use it to save your creatures from damage on your opponents turn. So from that stand point alone I dislike that card very much as Infect is inherently fragile, so at times you flat out need to protect your creatures to do your damage and that card doesn't allow for it at all.
What do you guys think about bloodrush cards like Slaughter Horn and Rubblebelt Maaka? 1 mana pseudo-giant growths that are uncounterable AND are safe against discard like Duress.
I actually like that new mechanic, those two cards are pretty nice. Although I would have trouble deciding what to remove my own list to use them.
The only drawback I see is that it only pumps attacking creatures, (yes I know we need to attack to win) but I have used a pump from time to time to save a creature from a nuke.
Either way, if we can figure a way to make them work in conjunction with what we already have then I'm all for it.
What do you guys think about bloodrush cards like Slaughter Horn and Rubblebelt Maaka? 1 mana pseudo-giant growths that are uncounterable AND are safe against discard like Duress.
I'd say they are definitely worth testing out. The fact that they can't be countered is extremely relevant. After peeking with a Probe and seeing that there isn't bounce but some counters makes Bloodrush a great pump to have in hand.
I'd say they are definitely worth testing out. The fact that they can't be countered is extremely relevant. After peeking with a Probe and seeing that there isn't bounce but some counters makes Bloodrush a great pump to have in hand.
This actually brings up a good point, these cards would be almost required to be run with Gitaxian Probe since they are attack only pumps unlike the others.
So within the primer if they are put in we should most likely add a recommendation that they be run with Gitaxian Probe at all times do to the nature of how the pump is played.
This actually brings up a good point, these cards would be almost required to be run with Gitaxian Probe since they are attack only pumps unlike the others.
So within the primer if they are put in we should most likely add a recommendation that they be run with Gitaxian Probe at all times do to the nature of how the pump is played.
I definitely agree with this. I believe the Bloodrush guys should be added into the primer, especially as replacement options for Invigorate for anyone playing under a ban list. They can also be good along with Invigorate so long as you are wise about when to play them.
If they are added they should be included only in the pump section with a disclaimer letting players know that these aren't to be played as creatures.
The sample deck list in the premiere lists an Invigorate in the deck; as that's banned, that should be edited.
That is incorrect, Invigorate is not a banned card because this is the "paper" Pauper section and this isn't an officially sanctioned format for MTG. That means that their isn't an official banned list, however if you choose to play within the guidelines of the "official online" Pauper ban list then the deck can be edited for your playgroup.
Many people groan at the mention of Infect. It's that dastardly mechanic that cleaves your opponent's life in half, allowing you to win by only dealing half the necessary damage. Creatures with infect don't deal physical damage, instead they place poison counters on an opponent and -1/-1 counters on a creature. A player with 10 or more poison counters loses the game.
Lucky for us Pauper players, there are many common creatures with infect, and they allow us to build very fast, very competitive decks that often swing for a turn 2 win, with the average game lasting about 3 turns on a good day. The Pauper strategy is to drop weenies like Glistener Elf and Ichorclaw Myr, pump them up with cheap spells like Giant Growth and Invigorate.
CREATURES:
The wonderful thing about Infect is that is appears in most colors, and some of it's best pauper creatures are artifacts, allowing us to put them into any color deck. Here I'll list the best pauper infectors, by color:
Colorless:
Ichorclaw Myr A staple of any infect deck, a 1/1 that pumps up to 3/3 when blocked, basically killing the majority of pauper creatures.
Corpse Cur Pricier than the majority of pauper infect critters, but he's got a solid body and returns other Infectors to your hand from the grave.
Phyrexian Digester Decent when run along Corpse Cur in an Unearth/Reanimator deck, otherwise not too important.
Vector Asp Decent one-drop, but make sure you keep that swamp open to give him infect.
Pestilent Souleater Out of our ideal mana cost range for pauper infect, we're looking for cheap, disposable dudes.
Blue:
Blighted Agent The one and only. Blue infect can only work as a splash, preferably with green for the pump spells, but Blighty WILL be your best friend.
Green:
Glistener Elf King of the Turn 2 win. This guy can be devestating as a first turn drop; he should be in every infect deck.
Blight Mamba Not always recommended, but he can regenerate and serves as fine filler. Good for a few chump blocks if you're forced to go on the defense.
Rot Wolf Another great creature with a solid body. Usually a two-of in a deck.
CystBearer Same cost as Rot Wolf, with a thicker butt and no fancy abilities.
White:
Lost Leonin If you insist on going White for Infect, here's your man.
Priests of Norn If you can pump this guy, he'll be pretty deadly. 1/4 body with vigilance let's you stop most pauper creatures.
Tine Shrike Flying, but simply too pricy for pauper infect.
Red:
Razor Swine First Strike can be helpful, and thanks to Brute Force and Reckless Charge, red has some decent pump spells for infect.
Black:
Blackcleave Goblin 4cmc, with Haste, if you can ramp up to him with a Dark Ritual then he's okay, otherwise he comes into play way too late.
Contagious Nim Solid black dude, not much else to say.
Flensermite this guy is great for mono black, he's got infect and lifelink which could save us when we're facing down something like Pauper Burn.
Plague Stinger at 2cmc, this is the cheapest you can go for a dude with infect and flying, saves you the trouble of casting other evasion on his later.
THE PUMPS:
Pauper Infect runs lots of cheap weenies. The goal is to pump these weenies with as many cheap spells as possibly to deal maximum poison damage as fast as possible. To do this we dig into our reserve of Instants, Auras, and Equipment for the most cost effective pumps. Once again I'll break them down by color:
Green will, for obvious reasons, have the most, and cheapest, pump spells. They don't need to be explained since they appear in most types of aggro decks and people are probably very familiar with them. Giant Growth, Groundswell, Titanic Growth, Vines of Vastwood, Rancor and Invigorate are our staples.
Ranger's Guile is similar to VoV and protects against removal.
Invigorate is a five star card and the most important staple in pauper infect. It's a free spell, which means on Turn 2 we can drop a forest to play two Giant Growths, then play a free Invigorate and attack for the win with a Glistener Elf. We don't care if our opponent gains 3 life, because life doesn't matter to Poison Counters. It's a win/win card and should be in every Infect deck if possible.
Predator's Strike: Gives us trample, which is great if we know we'll be chumpblocked.
Mutagenic Growth: another great card that can go in any color deck. Let's us add those extra 2 poison counters for free.
Black:
Predator's Gambit: A "strictly better" Unholy Strength, it can make our creature unblockable if we don't control any other guys at the time.
Rouse: Essentially the black version of Mutagenic Growth, solid card in a mono-black infect deck.
Vampire's Bite: 1 mana for +3/+0, with the optional kicker for lifelink.
Blue:
Distortion Strike: Makes our guy unblockable, can be used two times, and gives an extra +1/+0, can't really complain if you're running blue.
Unstable Mutation: If you can win soon enough, this guy is worth while. Alongside other pumps it should be fine.
Red:
Brute Force - the planeshifted Giant growth. I love this card.
Reckless Charge: One mana for +3+0 and haste? You throw in some Simian Spirit Guides into a RG Infect deck and you're looking at a Turn 1 Kill.
Fists of the Anvil: Pricy, at 2cmc, but gives a +4/+0 boost at instant speed.
Assault Strobe: Double strike, FTW.
White:
Etherial Armor: Great in any infect deck that wants to ride a game out for the long haul. If you're choosing auras over instants for pumps, then this guy can be lethal.
Hyena Umbra: Works great alongside Etherial Armor.
Though a green card, Ancestral Mask has great synergy with the above mentioned auras.
UTILITY:
There are some cards that make Pauper Infect that don't actually do much to pump our creatures, just protect them and help the general cause.
Gitaxian Probe: Should be in every pauper infect deck. It's a free spell that let's us look at our opponent's hand. This is how we know if we're safe to blow all our pumps on one attack. We can see if we'll be facing any Fogs or Boomerangs that could screw up our attack. I'll say it again: This should be in every pauper infect deck.
Virulent Wound: I would include this is a black infect deck. It can kill a lot of pauper creatures through the -1/-1 counter alone, and tacks a poison counter onto our opponent as a result. Three point five stars.
Unearth: Works in certain decks, and most infect dudes are under 3cmc. If you find yourself with no board presence and no critters in your hand, this guy can save the day.
Quicksand: Great if you're running an artifact heavy deck, but many infect creatures call for a single solid color. Deters attackers and can take out most pauper creatures.
Soaring Seacliff: If you can afford to hold onto it, it's a free evasion spell.
Apostle's Blessing: A super card that protects your pumped infectors from the color of your choice. Highly Recommended and you can run it in any deck.
Nature's Claim: Since we don't care about the opponent gaining life, this is simply a 1 mana "destroy target non-creature obstacle."
Llanowar Augur: For the 0/3 blocker body and eventually an additional +3/+3.
Hornet Sting: Great pauper removal, can usually kill most other 1 drop critters that might stand in our way.
Lotus Petal: Because, obvious reasons.
Sandstorm: For when your opponent get's a chance to attack and is banking on you chump blocking.
SAMPLE DECKS:
I think Pauper is the perfect place to try new things, so the following decks might not be proven to work, but they're a building block to try new things. I tried to find 3 different decks that demonstrated a variety of colors and spells.
Mono-Black
4 Contagious Nim
2 Corpse Cur
4 Ichorclaw Myr
4 Phyrexian Digester
4 Rouse
4 Vampire's Bite
4 Virulent Wound
4 Unearth
18 Swamp
2 Quicksand
Personally I think Pauper Infect calls for two-color decks. Mono Black infect does have it's weaknesses, most importantly being less than ideal black infect creatures.
It would be interesting to see how the deck would run if you added a set of Vampire Hounds and Tainted Strike
Your Very Typical Pauper Infect Deck - lethal and competitive
4 Glistener Elf
4 Ichorclaw Myr
2 Rot Wolf
4 Rancor
4 Giant Growth
4 Invigorate
4 Mutagenic Growth
3 Distortion Strike
4 Brainstorm
8 Forest
8 Island
2 Simic guildgate
2 Terramorphic Expanse
I would recommend checking out XBM Yosho's version in Mono-green.
Tony-The-Tiger's Untested WG Deck (With some revisions by XBM Yosho)
4 Ichorclaw Myr
4 Lost Leonin
4 Priests of Norn
4 Rancor
4 Etherial Armor
4 Hyena Umbra
2 Ancestral Mask
4 invigorate
3 Apostle's Blessing
2 Vines of Vastwood
3 Selesnya Sanctuary
9 Forest
5 Plains
MATCH-UPS:
Against other aggro decks it can hold its own.
Goblins and Zombies build slowly, sure they can blow up a field by turn 4, but Infect should be winning before then.
Hexproof/Ethereal Armor decks shouldn't be too much of a problem. They function a lot like Infect, but tend to be slower, and need to deal a full 20 dmg, vs. Infect's 10 dmg.
Discard/Control: much weaker. Any counterspells will leave us struggling. Discard is also our enemy, as every pump spell in our hand matters. It helps to run full sets of Ranger's Guile and Vines of Vastwood in your sideboard for these match-ups, since cheap removal/bounce will be the number one danger.
PEASANT ADDITIONS :
Might of Old Krosa: gives us +4/+4 at sorcery speed, or +2/+2 at instant speed. Choice is nice. However, at $3 a card, it's be the most expensive addition to the deck. Next to Rancor, maybe.
Necropede: has the possibility of removal, but really, you don't want your dudes dying, you want them breaking through to the otherside.
Swiftfoot Boots: Of course, why not? if your turn 2 dude gets killed, slap these guys onto the next batter up and you should have no problems.
Elvish Spirit Guide: Who doesn't love free mana?
STATE OF THE PRIMER:
Match-Ups have been added, could probably be fleshed out.
All suggested changes so far have been made.
GWUBRDraft my Old Border Nostalgia Cube! and/or The Little Pauper Cube That Could!RBUWG
Modern:WDeath & TaxesW | RUGRUG DelverRUG
Oh snap, that was actually in Tony-The-Tiger's deck and I think I skipped right over it. That will be corrected.
GWUBRDraft my Old Border Nostalgia Cube! and/or The Little Pauper Cube That Could!RBUWG
Modern:WDeath & TaxesW | RUGRUG DelverRUG
Some cards to possibly add:
If splashing blue, you will want Soaring Seacliff. Even though it comes into play tapped, it adds an immediate evasion to a creature. Since you are playing mostly free pumps in the first place this can be highly important.
I have also found using Brainstorm over Preordain to be highly effective. The ability to cast it at the end of your opponents turn to set yourself up has netted me several wins.
Potential sideboard cards would be Llanowar Augur for the 0/3 blocker body and eventually an additional +3/+3. Nature's Claim is good as it destroys and artifact or enchantment for only 1 mana, who cares if they gain 4 life. Hornet Sting is an amazing card for Infect Pauper, get rid of any little annoyances such as Standard Bearer because we all know, and I have said it several times this card is one of the best cards in Pauper and 100% shuts down any pump deck such as Infect or burn deck, so you need to remove that creature somehow.
Also you mis-spelled my name twice
If going for Peasant Infect the only card I would ever consider playing would be Might of Old Krosa. I wouldn't change anything else in my Infect decks other then add that card.
EDIT: Under the pump section Might of Oaks cannot be used as it is and always was a rare. Vines of Vastwood is mis-spelled in the pump section and doesn't come up with a "did you mean?".
EDIT 2: For more sideboard cards Sandstorm is good for extended games. Lotus Petal is also nice as it grants free mana, I would ONLY use a full set of it in decks with cards such as Brainstorm though as you want to be able to fill your hand with pumps or get rid of garbage if needed, otherwise just use 2.
W White Weenie
Woops! Fixed
Oh man, Might of Oaks, I totally meant Titanic Growth. I get them confused because of the Urzas Legacy art of MoG, that giant squirrel looks like Titanic Growth's dog critter.
I've added the other changes, thanks for the help!
GWUBRDraft my Old Border Nostalgia Cube! and/or The Little Pauper Cube That Could!RBUWG
Modern:WDeath & TaxesW | RUGRUG DelverRUG
Yup no problem, I did a little more research into Peasant, and I have a list of potential cards to add. Obviously the Peasant section is much smaller, (similar to my primers) so you won't need to add much.
Might of Old Krosa - As I stated before.
Necropede - This guy is good but mostly for extended games. Normally Infect is a turn 2-3 win deck, but if you expect trouble board this creature for those games.
Swiftfoot Boots - This card is also needed for extended games, normally haste wouldn't effect a turn 2-3 win but in games going longer it can be required.
Honestly though that is about it, the Infect deck as a whole doesn't really change much from Pauper to Peasant, and even when you go without restrictions the basic outline doesn't change much.
EDIT: I completely forgot about Ranger's Guile, this card is best cast during the second phase of your upkeep to prevent any sorcery removal and the like, it won't stop an instant but it is nice none the less.
W White Weenie
Also, I enjoyed this Primer! I love that we're getting some for Pauper section now! Keep it up guys!
I think I just didn't finish filling out the Black creature section. I'll add those right in!
GWUBRDraft my Old Border Nostalgia Cube! and/or The Little Pauper Cube That Could!RBUWG
Modern:WDeath & TaxesW | RUGRUG DelverRUG
W White Weenie
I also like Elvish spirit guide. gives you a much higher chance of a turn 2 kill. I ran one for a while that was basicly 10 land stompy infect and it was doing pretty good for me. though I'd have to tweak the list because I built it for legacy (had 8 uncommons I'm sure I could cut 3 and still have decent results.)
Also for mono-green infect I found if you really don't want 3 cost creatures running commune with nature can function in a pinch.
Legacy:
RGWBUDredgeUBWGR
:symrg:Belcher:symrg:
WD&TW
Affinity
WGriffinsW (pauper)
U/thopter comboU/ (peasant)
:symbg:Moosebite:symbg: (peasant)
RGobo tokensR (peasant)
R slide R (peasant)
:symur:pingers:symur:
Lotus Petal was originally printed as a common in Tempest, so it is legal for play. They reprinted it at mythic rare in From the Vault: Exiled.
As for deciding which to play, you most likely can in fact afford both as the most expensive card is most likely Rancor out of both decks. If you choose infect that is a much more balls out deck while faeries you can bide your time a little more. If your meta is full aggro, go with infect, if not go with faeries.
W White Weenie
GWUBRDraft my Old Border Nostalgia Cube! and/or The Little Pauper Cube That Could!RBUWG
Modern:WDeath & TaxesW | RUGRUG DelverRUG
17 Forest
4 Lotus Petal
Critters
4 Glistener Elf
4 Ichorclaw Myr
4 Blight Mamba
3 Rot Wolf
4 Mutagenic Growth
4 Groundswell
4 Vines of Vastwood
4 Rancor
4 Briar Shield
4 Phytoburst
2 Cystbearer
2 Corpse Cur
4 Hornet Sting
4 Nature's Claim
2 Ranger's Guile
1 Apostle's Blessing
One card that I noticed a lack of in many other lists is Briar Shield. It's basically a Might of Old Krosa. If I'm missing a card or two that would be good in the deck, feel free to point it out to me.
Also, in case anyone doubts the Hornet Stings in the SB, Standard Bearer ruins our deck unless we can kill it.
Moved to Pauper Infect Primer -RabidVacin
Quotes:
The pump seems okay within this deck if you play with the Magic Online rules and Invigorate is banned, but the most common card played in paper Pauper Infect is Gitaxian Probe. You need to see what is coming in case they can bounce your creature and you just wasted all of your pump. It's also self replenishing so you might get another pump just from using it.
You also only have four cards in the deck that grant trample, without that ability all is moot, Pauper Infect decks that go for a quick win simply cannot sustain themselves long enough to do finishing damage. Predator's Strike however allows for a nice +3/+3 and trample which I find vastly more useful then just Vines of Vastwood. I realize the card also grants protection from targeting, but I would much rather play Apostle's Blessing as that card does the exact same thing in terms of protection but it allows you to be offensive and walk through any mono color or artifact creature in the game.
W White Weenie
I agree, this is also a solid choice. I actually run him in my own sideboard in case I need more pump. The only reason he is in the sideboard is because I don't use the Magic Online ban list so Invigorate is legal in paper play.
The only downside I see to him is that you must commit to pump seeing as you need to sac him during your upkeep, so you had better Gitaxian Probed prior to the sac to make sure all is go, of course you can only do this on the previous turn since it is a sorcery so you won't know what the extra card is he drew but it does give you a greater then average safety net to know whether to pump or not.
W White Weenie
I don't really know what the Online meta is like so I can't really comment on whether it is a good card for that version of the game, but I can give you my thoughts on it for the paper version.
I think that it is a solid card, but I would almost want to run something smaller with a 1CMC. Doing this obviously requires more of a perfect hand situation but if you run a full compliment of Llanowar Augur's, Rancor's and about two Predator's Strike's for the trample ability I would think that would be better.
If I were to run it though I would maybe only as a two of personally, I would rather play two Groundswells for the same cost.
It's kind of a give and take, you can hit way harder with using lower cost cards rather then just one big one but to do so you need more cards in hand rather then just that one.
Maybe it's good in a version of Pauper Infect that is build for longer games rather then a quick hit. I value consistent trample over big pump. One thing that I flat out hate about the card is that it is a sorcery, and that means you cannot use it to save your creatures from damage on your opponents turn. So from that stand point alone I dislike that card very much as Infect is inherently fragile, so at times you flat out need to protect your creatures to do your damage and that card doesn't allow for it at all.
W White Weenie
GWUBRDraft my Old Border Nostalgia Cube! and/or The Little Pauper Cube That Could!RBUWG
Modern:WDeath & TaxesW | RUGRUG DelverRUG
The only drawback I see is that it only pumps attacking creatures, (yes I know we need to attack to win) but I have used a pump from time to time to save a creature from a nuke.
Either way, if we can figure a way to make them work in conjunction with what we already have then I'm all for it.
W White Weenie
I'd say they are definitely worth testing out. The fact that they can't be countered is extremely relevant. After peeking with a Probe and seeing that there isn't bounce but some counters makes Bloodrush a great pump to have in hand.
This actually brings up a good point, these cards would be almost required to be run with Gitaxian Probe since they are attack only pumps unlike the others.
So within the primer if they are put in we should most likely add a recommendation that they be run with Gitaxian Probe at all times do to the nature of how the pump is played.
W White Weenie
I definitely agree with this. I believe the Bloodrush guys should be added into the primer, especially as replacement options for Invigorate for anyone playing under a ban list. They can also be good along with Invigorate so long as you are wise about when to play them.
If they are added they should be included only in the pump section with a disclaimer letting players know that these aren't to be played as creatures.
Inspired me to mod my infect deck, the aggro cheap pump spells are really effective for a t3 win!
That is incorrect, Invigorate is not a banned card because this is the "paper" Pauper section and this isn't an officially sanctioned format for MTG. That means that their isn't an official banned list, however if you choose to play within the guidelines of the "official online" Pauper ban list then the deck can be edited for your playgroup.
W White Weenie