Hey everyone. Lately, I've wanted to play Magic a bit more than I'm able to, which means dipping into that awful mess that is MTGO. I don't want to put much money into it, however, as the client is unstable and I'd rather save for paper Magic decks. This gave me a perfect excuse to try playing Pauper, which I've been very interested in for quite some time.
However, gaining information on the format has been somewhat difficult, as this seems to be the only major hub that I've been able to find (besides /r/Pauper). So hopefully you guys can help me out!
First off, how powerful is Delver? I've seen a lot of it in Top 8s recently. Is it sort of the "beat or die," along with MBC?
I'd like to have a competitive deck, and I enjoy basically all colors. I like the idea of building Mono Black Control, though I've heard a lot of complaining about the deck, and I'd rather not be the person playing the most popular deck (not because I want to feel special or unique, but mostly because I feel bad going into a matchup and having the other person go "This deck? Again?" I can understand how frustrating that can be when you've played your 100th UR Delver match in Modern).
I'm also interested in Infect and Affinity, though I hear both decks aren't nearly as good after the Invigorate/Cranial Plating bans, respectively. Are they still worth playing, or have they been completely neutered?
How has Tron been doing? UG Tron looked super fun, though I haven't seen as much about it recently. Likewise with Hexproof.
And, lastly, are there any Reanimator or Rebel strats out there at all?
Thanks for any replies, guys! Sorry for all the questions, but it's been a real pain trying to track down any sort of information about the format lately.
Welcome to the rich world of Pauper! There is definitely something out there to suit your needs.
Although MTGS is a great place to find info, if you want more information, there is an absolute wealth on Youtube. Just type MTG Pauper and whatever deck you want to watch and you're there.
Aside from that, there are a few other sites, some devoted entirely to Pauper. I see you've already found Reddit, which is a great place. PaupertothePeople is nice, mtgoacademy has some things from time to time. PDCmagic and mtgostrat are also good places to look.
Mono-Blue Delver is basically the deck to beat in this format. It has been a powerhouse for years now, and will continue to be. Black Control was pushed to the top in recent years, too, and certainly can't be neglected when brewing and creating sideboards.
You like playing all colors? At once? You're going to love Affinity. It remains one of the powerful decks in the format, known for its huge creatures and Atog-Fling combo to finish the game. It's still very competitive and you'll find lists placing in top 8s frequently. Here's the Primer for those who use the online ban-list: Affinity Primer
If not Affinity, there's also a deck that takes advantage of Nylea's Presence and Domain cards like Matca Rioters and has posted good results.
Infect is playable, but without invigorate it's just not that strong anymore. It can still pull some turn 3 wins which is good. I don't think it's a good deck to start with, especially if you're trying to foster a Pauper environment.
Tron is okay, definitely a deck capable of doing powerful things. It's a little slow to get off the ground, but can recover instantly with Fangren Marauder. The most popular lists are RGu. Here's the primer for that: RGu Primer
I mostly meant that I was willing to play any color combination, though all colors at once works as well. Affinity is looking like it might be choice, though at the moment I'm leaning more towards Hexproof (what can I say? I don't like having fun and neither should my opponents ). But in all honestly, I really like stack the aura strategies (I play UW Heroic in Standard and had a casual GW Enchantment deck VERY similar to this, though obviously it used cards at a higher rarity).
I'm thinking of building Hexproof first, then going with RGu Tron (as I already have the Tron lands and lots of the baubles in MTGO, so I might as well use the cards instead of letting them go to waste).
Edit: Ah, I see I accidentally posted this in the casual pauper instead of MTGO. My apologies.
However, gaining information on the format has been somewhat difficult, as this seems to be the only major hub that I've been able to find (besides /r/Pauper). So hopefully you guys can help me out!
First off, how powerful is Delver? I've seen a lot of it in Top 8s recently. Is it sort of the "beat or die," along with MBC?
I'd like to have a competitive deck, and I enjoy basically all colors. I like the idea of building Mono Black Control, though I've heard a lot of complaining about the deck, and I'd rather not be the person playing the most popular deck (not because I want to feel special or unique, but mostly because I feel bad going into a matchup and having the other person go "This deck? Again?" I can understand how frustrating that can be when you've played your 100th UR Delver match in Modern).
I'm also interested in Infect and Affinity, though I hear both decks aren't nearly as good after the Invigorate/Cranial Plating bans, respectively. Are they still worth playing, or have they been completely neutered?
How has Tron been doing? UG Tron looked super fun, though I haven't seen as much about it recently. Likewise with Hexproof.
And, lastly, are there any Reanimator or Rebel strats out there at all?
Thanks for any replies, guys! Sorry for all the questions, but it's been a real pain trying to track down any sort of information about the format lately.
URW Control
WBG Abzan
GRW Burn
EDH
GR Rosheen Meanderer
Welcome to the rich world of Pauper! There is definitely something out there to suit your needs.
Although MTGS is a great place to find info, if you want more information, there is an absolute wealth on Youtube. Just type MTG Pauper and whatever deck you want to watch and you're there.
Aside from that, there are a few other sites, some devoted entirely to Pauper. I see you've already found Reddit, which is a great place. PaupertothePeople is nice, mtgoacademy has some things from time to time. PDCmagic and mtgostrat are also good places to look.
Mono-Blue Delver is basically the deck to beat in this format. It has been a powerhouse for years now, and will continue to be. Black Control was pushed to the top in recent years, too, and certainly can't be neglected when brewing and creating sideboards.
You like playing all colors? At once? You're going to love Affinity. It remains one of the powerful decks in the format, known for its huge creatures and Atog-Fling combo to finish the game. It's still very competitive and you'll find lists placing in top 8s frequently. Here's the Primer for those who use the online ban-list: Affinity Primer
If not Affinity, there's also a deck that takes advantage of Nylea's Presence and Domain cards like Matca Rioters and has posted good results.
Infect is playable, but without invigorate it's just not that strong anymore. It can still pull some turn 3 wins which is good. I don't think it's a good deck to start with, especially if you're trying to foster a Pauper environment.
Tron is okay, definitely a deck capable of doing powerful things. It's a little slow to get off the ground, but can recover instantly with Fangren Marauder. The most popular lists are RGu. Here's the primer for that: RGu Primer
Reanimator and Rebels are frings decks at best. Reanimator only has Exhume going for it (the closest thing to something good was abusing cascade cards to get exhume). Rebels remain to be broken, but make fun builds. Here's a counter-rebels deck that was in these forums Counter-Rebels
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 mostly meant that I was willing to play any color combination, though all colors at once works as well. Affinity is looking like it might be choice, though at the moment I'm leaning more towards Hexproof (what can I say? I don't like having fun and neither should my opponents ). But in all honestly, I really like stack the aura strategies (I play UW Heroic in Standard and had a casual GW Enchantment deck VERY similar to this, though obviously it used cards at a higher rarity).
I'm thinking of building Hexproof first, then going with RGu Tron (as I already have the Tron lands and lots of the baubles in MTGO, so I might as well use the cards instead of letting them go to waste).
Edit: Ah, I see I accidentally posted this in the casual pauper instead of MTGO. My apologies.
URW Control
WBG Abzan
GRW Burn
EDH
GR Rosheen Meanderer