Divination is something that I started retesting recently. Back when Night's Whispers was initially spoiled at common I spent a lot of time testing to figure out what spot it should replace. I cut both sweepers (Crypt Rats & Patrician's Scorn) in a effort to test it and Petals of Insight as additional draw spells for the deck. Petals ended up always being in an awkward spot at 5 mana and Crypt Rats proved to still be needed. The awkwardness of Petals lead me back to cards like Divination which is certainly borderline playable but turns out to be exactly what I want for the deck. Cheap, basic, card draw I can cast early. You could make an argument for Consult the Necrosages instead but its discard option was limited when I played it previously. I'm testing it in Feldon's Cane's spot which doesn't contribute much in most cases until I'm shoring up an already winning position. Both it and Patrician's Scorn are still strong options to have depending on what you play against on a regular basis. We'll see.
As always thanks for reading.
//EDIT: I should note that as part of my testing for Night's Whispers I developed an alternate version of the deck that cut the trinkets package and was much more focused on the Ghostly Flicker end game. One of the challenges that build ran into was the lack of direct tutors for removal and mana fixing. Without the option to go Trinket Mage into Executioner's Capsule (or Spellbomb or Map) Aethermage was severely weakened. And the crossover provided by the artifact recursion from those cut cards was sorely missed in the midgame. It played out much more like draw-go than a toolbox build and was maybe to bit too dependent on the spellmancers.
As you say, it was its own rarity so not common or uncommon. Also, each of them were rarer than rares in the set (80 vs 121), so it seems very questionable to think of them as common or uncommon.
I was just wondering, because most "official" pauper EDH rules state to use any uncommon creature as the commander. Therefore I'm intrigued with the choice for Merieke, or it must been a playgroup decision to allow it.
Ahh that. No. This is a "real" edh deck that happens to use only commons - this deck is older than that format I think.
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Yeah, it's more in the spirit of the Pauper Child of AlaraDreamcrusher deck than for decks with uncommon creatures as generals. I also took inspiration from Adam Styborski's articles on Wizards' website which focused on legendary creatures as general with 99 commons. It's come up a few times but most people understand that this deck is meant to battle against regular EDH decks.
What esper uncommon creature would you turn to in case of adapting to the (un)official pauper EDH rules? In my opinion Lady Evangela and Sludge Strider are the better options, yet Strider theme is somewhat different.
There aren't any great options unfortunately. And unless I'm mistaken, I think Tower Gargoyle is the only other creature that qualifies as an Esper commander in PDH other than the 5 color guys. The shard/wedge colors for Pauper EDH don't have many options when it comes to their choice of commander which is why I've never really been a fan of the "official" format. Good luck though!
//EDIT: Esper Battlemage is another option at uncommon though it doesn't seem super powerful idk. If you can choose from common creatures Stormscape Apprentice seems like the the best option.
If you agree with that, what would you do to replace Strip Mine and Merchant Scroll?
And let me suggest you one of my pet cards in my CoA deck - Darksteel Pendant. It's zero card advantage but it's reusable and enhances your draws.
I don't agree with the article so I wouldn't replace either. While factually correct, I have always defaulted to The Gatherer for rarity issues on older sets and I don't see the point in changing my mindset now. I don't play much these days so whatevs (as the kids say). Further, most of my opponents (playing normal edh decks) don't care. Strip Mine is an uncommon even under the Gatherer but it was the one freebie I gave myself when developing the deck to have an efficient means to deal with problematic lands.
Darksteel Pendant is okay and was in the initial build of the deck but it got cut and I don't see a place it in the deck anymore. I think it's better suited for decks without access to blue.
Azusa - Derevi - Glissa - Mizzix - Sharuum - Wanderer - Wort
1 Merieke Ri Berit
//Creatures 12
1 Vedalken Aethermage
1 Dimir Infiltrator
1 Rimewind Taskmage
1 Pilgrim's Eye
1 Trinket Mage
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Drift of Phantasms
1 Crypt Rats
1 Archaeomancer
1 Mnemonic Wall
1 Scrivener
1 Mulldrifter
//Card Draw & Search 12
1 Brainstorm
1 Preordain
1 Ponder
1 Impulse
1 Night's Whisper
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Divination
1 Compulsive Research
1 Read the Bones
1 Foresee
1 Deep Analysis
1 Mystical Teachings
//Bounce, Removal, Utility 17
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Victim of Night
1 Eyeblight's Ending
1 Murder
1 Unmake
1 Ashes to Ashes
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Shred Memory
1 Revoke Existence
1 Forsake the Worldly
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Echoing Truth
1 Capsize
1 Freed from the Real
1 Ghostly Flicker
1 Dawn Charm
1 Mine Excavation
1 Remember the Fallen
1 Grim Discovery
1 Reaping the Graves
//Countermagic 8
1 Overrule
1 Arcane Denial
1 Counterspell
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Faerie Trickery
1 Soul Manipulation
1 Perplex
1 Traumatic Visions
//Mana Fixing 8
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Expedition Map
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Prismatic Lens
1 Dimir Signet
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Azorius Signet
1 Darksteel Ingot
//Land 38
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Esper Panorama
1 Grixis Panorama
1 Ash Barrens
1 Command Tower
1 Path of Ancestry
1 Rupture Spire
1 Transguild Promenade
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Dimir Guildgate
1 Dismal Backwater
1 Submerged Boneyard
1 Azorius Guildgate
1 Tranquil Cove
1 Halimar Depths
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Strip Mine
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Snow-Covered Plains
5 Snow-Covered Swamp
13 Snow-Covered Island
http://deck.tk/22xQ5Oig
Over the last year there have been a number of printings that have helped the deck in small ways. Night's Whisper is a great addition for Pauper. Ash Barrens, Submerged Boneyard, and Path of Ancestry improve the mana base. And Forsake the Worldly is a slight upgrade to Fate Forgotten.
Divination is something that I started retesting recently. Back when Night's Whispers was initially spoiled at common I spent a lot of time testing to figure out what spot it should replace. I cut both sweepers (Crypt Rats & Patrician's Scorn) in a effort to test it and Petals of Insight as additional draw spells for the deck. Petals ended up always being in an awkward spot at 5 mana and Crypt Rats proved to still be needed. The awkwardness of Petals lead me back to cards like Divination which is certainly borderline playable but turns out to be exactly what I want for the deck. Cheap, basic, card draw I can cast early. You could make an argument for Consult the Necrosages instead but its discard option was limited when I played it previously. I'm testing it in Feldon's Cane's spot which doesn't contribute much in most cases until I'm shoring up an already winning position. Both it and Patrician's Scorn are still strong options to have depending on what you play against on a regular basis. We'll see.
As always thanks for reading.
//EDIT: I should note that as part of my testing for Night's Whispers I developed an alternate version of the deck that cut the trinkets package and was much more focused on the Ghostly Flicker end game. One of the challenges that build ran into was the lack of direct tutors for removal and mana fixing. Without the option to go Trinket Mage into Executioner's Capsule (or Spellbomb or Map) Aethermage was severely weakened. And the crossover provided by the artifact recursion from those cut cards was sorely missed in the midgame. It played out much more like draw-go than a toolbox build and was maybe to bit too dependent on the spellmancers.
Here's the list for those interested:
1 Merieke Ri Berit
//Creatures
1 Dimir Infiltrator
1 Rimewind Taskmage
1 Drift of Phantasms
1 Crypt Rats
1 Archaeomancer
1 Mnemonic Wall
1 Scrivener
1 Mulldrifter
//Card Draw & Search
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Brainstorm
1 Impulse
1 Night's Whisper
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Divination
1 Counsel of the Soratami
1 Read the Bones
1 Consult the Necrosages
1 Compulsive Research
1 Foresee
1 Deep Analysis
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Petals of Insight
//Bounce, Removal, Utility
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Doom Blade
1 Eyeblight's Ending
1 Rend Flesh
1 Murder
1 Unmake
1 Ashes to Ashes
1 Duress
1 Shred Memory
1 Revoke Existence
1 Forsake the Worldly
1 Patrician's Scorn
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Echoing Truth
1 Capsize
1 Freed from the Real
1 Ghostly Flicker
1 Dawn Charm
1 Mine Excavation
1 Grim Discovery
1 Reaping the Graves
//Countermagic
1 Overrule
1 Arcane Denial
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Counterspell
1 Faerie Trickery
1 Perplex
1 Soul Manipulation
1 Traumatic Visions
//Mana Fixing
1 Expedition Map
1 Thought Vessel
1 Mind Stone
1 Prismatic Lens
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Dimir Signet
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Azorius Signet
1 Darksteel Ingot
//Land
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Esper Panorama
1 Grixis Panorama
1 Ash Barrens
1 Command Tower
1 Path of Ancestry
1 Rupture Spire
1 Transguild Promenade
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Dimir Guildgate
1 Dismal Backwater
1 Submerged Boneyard
1 Azorius Guildgate
1 Tranquil Cove
1 Meandering River
1 Halimar Depths
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Strip Mine
1 Snow-Covered Plains
5 Snow-Covered Swamp
13 Snow-Covered Island
http://deck.tk/7gCW8j5c
Ahh that. No. This is a "real" edh deck that happens to use only commons - this deck is older than that format I think.
There aren't any great options unfortunately. And unless I'm mistaken, I think Tower Gargoyle is the only other creature that qualifies as an Esper commander in PDH other than the 5 color guys. The shard/wedge colors for Pauper EDH don't have many options when it comes to their choice of commander which is why I've never really been a fan of the "official" format. Good luck though!
//EDIT: Esper Battlemage is another option at uncommon though it doesn't seem super powerful idk. If you can choose from common creatures Stormscape Apprentice seems like the the best option.
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/articles/49661-playing-paper-pauper
If you agree with that, what would you do to replace Strip Mine and Merchant Scroll?
And let me suggest you one of my pet cards in my CoA deck - Darksteel Pendant. It's zero card advantage but it's reusable and enhances your draws.
Commander: Child of Alara BURGW, Adeliz, the Cinder Wind UR
Tiny Leaders: Gwafa, Hazid Profiteer UW
Regular Pauper: Stompy G, Mono-G Tron G, Infect G
Darksteel Pendant is okay and was in the initial build of the deck but it got cut and I don't see a place it in the deck anymore. I think it's better suited for decks without access to blue.