I'm just wondering, since pauper doesnt get a ton of support, I'm just wondering if there are deck types out there that people just havent found yet? Have you guys ever found some stuff that seems powerful?
Well, if they haven't been found then we wouldn't know, right?
Granted the format is seemingly in a state of flux, and has been ever since the printing of Treasure Cruise (launching Blue into full dominance), but I would say that it's mostly solved at this point.
A guy at my LGS was singing the praises of Reanimator. I'm sceptical, though, since all the pieces have been available for years and yet it hasn't made a visible impact. I'm sure maindeck graveyard hate for Treasure Cruise doesn't help.
I'd be interested to see if there's an undiscovered manifest-based deck, perhaps building off the Familiars shell because it already uses Ghostly Flicker as a key piece. Brainstorm even something as simple as a Mulldrifter to the top of your library then manifest it and start flickering for value. Familiars is interesting because it's widely acknowledged as one of the strongest archetypes yet sees little play because it's difficult to pilot; if there's an undiscovered strategy it may well be hidden behind an under-played deck.
There are definitely some decks that don't get played very often that people haul out and get competitive results with - bizarrely, slivers had the best record out of any deck in my FRF season database (in a total sample size of 3, true). And there's someone who's gotten a couple 3-1s out of a freed from the real/wind zendikar deck just in the past week or so.
I don't particularly believe there's many "unexplored" decks out there. For any given color and strategy, there's a fairly well-known pool of playable cards. Most pauper decks, especially "new" pauper decks, are re-explorations of some previously known theme. Like when Nivix Cyclops got printed, and finally enabled the old Wee Dragonauts deck to be competitive; the "hidden" decks of pauper are the ones that aren't good enough until some clever new thing gets printed to enable them.
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Oh, you think the losers' bracket is your ally, but you merely adopted the scrub tier. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t 4-0 an FNM until I was already a man; by then, it was nothing to me but an extra pack to sell for store credit!
I believe WoTC's new policy is to make sure that every color can enjoy the exciting gameplay mechanic of making undercosted dudes and then turning them sideways. Clearly the future of magic.
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I definitely think there are new archetypes to discover. I mean, sometimes that is simply because a new set has released which introduces a mechanic that didn't quite exist before. You will always be able to draw comparisons to other types, sure, but that doesn't mean that it isn't unique enough to be considered separately.
For example:
Nivix Cyclops vs. Mono-R Heroic/Prowess: They both want to suit up a creature and swing for the win in as few turns as possible. Why consider them separate types? One deck relies on dropping and protecting a single creature that kills in a single turn (Nivix Cyclops). The other deck runs very cheap creatures and plays a, otherwise standard, normal RDW style of strategy that steals wins from no where if even a single creature goes unblocked. Dragonauts was an existing strategy that gained viability through the printing of a single new card. Mono-R Heroic/Prowess exists because of the Theros & Tarkir blocks alone (mostly).
B/G Mulch/Tilling vs. B/G Delve: While not a Tier 1 strategy the Tilling deck uses cards like Mulch to fill the 'yard with Cycling lands and then gets them back with Tilling Treefolk style creatures. It builds card advantage through playing creatures that get lands back only to cycle them back into the 'yard for more cards and cards that care specifically about lands in the 'yard. The Delve list uses a similar strategy to put cards in the 'yard but instead utilizes them to play grossly undercosted Delve fatties. Because the cards are Delved into exile, playing cards like Tilling Treefolk become pointless thus changing the game plan from recurring value to dumping fatties. Yet, the engine doesn't change.
Eldrazi: With the printing of the final BFZ expansion, we now have a slew of Common rarity Eldrazi. Much like the way the Eldrazi deck of Modern was enabled with the printing of new Eldrazi, a Pauper strategy could arise. Some cards, such as Ruin Processor, Kozilek's Channeler, Eldrazi Devastator, Ulamog's Crusher, and (to some degree) even Dominator Drone (which presents a possible Shock on ETB and leaves behind a not too shabby 3/2 body). While we don't have Eldrazi Temple like Modern, we do still have a lot of the other tools like Expidition Map, Relic of Proginites, and Nihil Spellbomb. Play a few Hedron Crawler and we might be on to something?
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Granted the format is seemingly in a state of flux, and has been ever since the printing of Treasure Cruise (launching Blue into full dominance), but I would say that it's mostly solved at this point.
URW Control
WBG Abzan
GRW Burn
EDH
GR Rosheen Meanderer
I'd be interested to see if there's an undiscovered manifest-based deck, perhaps building off the Familiars shell because it already uses Ghostly Flicker as a key piece. Brainstorm even something as simple as a Mulldrifter to the top of your library then manifest it and start flickering for value. Familiars is interesting because it's widely acknowledged as one of the strongest archetypes yet sees little play because it's difficult to pilot; if there's an undiscovered strategy it may well be hidden behind an under-played deck.
How about the GW Hatebears?
For example:
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/86097