MTG Salvation

Hello Everyone,

I've been getting into Pauper, and have been enjoying brewing in a format where I can buy my deck ideas for only a few bucks. This is my favorite deck idea so far.



This deck feels kinda like Jund in Modern, although it has considerably less interaction. The deck is based around Horned Kavu, which is an undercosted body with a small "downside" that the deck turns into an upside with the ability to replay cards like Keldon Marauders and Elvish Visionary for huge value. It has some very aggressive and powerful starts but it also has the tools to play a longer game.

Any thoughts? This is just a first draft, and I'm not real sure about the sideboard. Opinions are definitely appreciated!

I have been working along the same lines myself recently, but there are some problems I see with this one. Elvish Visionary does very little for you. There is no combo here to hunt for, and the card has a super weak body. I would suggest Viridian Emissary as it will help with mana fixing, ramps and has a better body.

This deck straddles the line between aggro and midrange, and as such doesn't do either that well. Dump the warmashal, bushwacker, and visionary for more spells and boost the amount of big guys. Four Vines of Vastwood as a green counterspell, flame slash or lightning axe to kill the big delve creatures coming out, etc.

Glad somebody else is doing the legwork on this, I never seem to sit down and make up a list.

Elvish Visionary's main purpose (besides being a cantripping chump blocker) is to feed Horned Kavu. It seems really bad without HK around. Sylvan Ranger would at least help fix your mana. Maybe there's something even better?

4 Rancor is almost always a mistake. 2 or 3 is plenty.

Firebolt seems misplaced here, I don't see anything you're doing that's going to ramp that out on time. 1x maximum.

Why is Bushwacker here? Send him home. Mogg War Marshal + HK seems decent enough, and MWM by himself is annoying to get rid of.

Get a couple of Forgotten Cave and Secluded Glen in there.

You're going to want some better card draw for when the game goes longer.

Vines of Vastwood and Flame Slash are good suggestions. I am less enthusiastic about Lightning Axe.

Did some searching. Bond Beetle seems decent here, as does Skyshroud Ridgeback. Tin Street Hooligan could be fun as a sort of pre-sideboard. Any kind of Evolve or Graft cards would be good, but there aren't that many at CMC 1 and 2 in green. Aquastrand Spider? Invasive Species seems like a good backup to Horned Kavu.

Hmm. Alright, thank you for the suggestions. Let's see how this changes the deck.

I really do like Elvish Visionary. It eats Edict effects, it combos really well with Horned Kavu. It's descent with Rancor, but I agree that it's not great on it's own. I think that's part of the reason Goblin Bushwhacker is in there, to make all of these 1/1s and 2/2s punch through for enough damage. What's people's opinion on Violent Outburst?

I agree that Flame Slash and Vines of Vastwood are good additions. I like Aquastrand Spider a lot for the Delver matchup, and Tin Street Hooligan is a definite possibility.

Making a few additions, the deck looks like this:

Thoughts?

I like where your deck is going. I was working in the opposite direction, with tinder wall acting as very versatile ramp. Turn 1-2 it can ramp out anything, while later it chumps and eats edict effects.

Awesome pauper ideas. One thing I would 100% recommend is if you are going R/G to play 4 copies of Burning-Tree Emissary, which combos incredibly well with Horned Kavu

I also like the idea of Burning-Tree Emissary as a replacement for Elvish Visionary. I wouldn't describe it as combing with Horned Kavu the way a visionary does, but it removes the downside and leaves you with a 3/4 for 2, plus an emissary in hand. Also it fixes your mana a little, giving you a few more percentage points in the games where you have to mulligan a few times.

Thoughts on Elephant Guide?

Edit: Swapping Visionary for Emissary makes the deck a lot more all-in, maybe the deck would need other changes if that were to happen. Also I should mention that Vines of Vastwood and Violent Outburst don't feel like they belong in the same deck.