A whole format distilled down to 8-9 cards. That's not an increase in format diversity, that's a reduction. One of the defining characteristics of Pauper was that you were generally limited to 1-2 colors. Now you just play whatever you want which means that, for example, every removal spell that's not Skred or Lightning Bolt is now unplayable garbage. Every creature that's not Seeker of the Way or Kor Skyfisher is garbage. Every fog that's not Prismatic Strands is garbage. Etc.
You hit the nail on the head. Astrolabe also shows up in everything as well. Its the #1 card played in the competitive meta. I'd be okay with its ban as long as we got a slightly better land base to play with at common. Fact is diversity of cards will shrink until as you say there are only a few cards being played competitively. Thats a recipe for dull if you ask me.
My motto is that everything that Magic players hate is good for the game. Being restricted to 1-2 color decks and having to actually work for more colors is something that Pauper players hate because there is nothing that a Magic player hates more than actually playing the game and obeying its rules.
IMO the fixing was just fine beforehand.
So now we have perfect mana in Pauper and the whole format has been reduced to the best 8 good stuff cards and whatever 1 mana 2/2's that green and red can play.
I know you are okay with Astrolabe but I hate the card. It shows up everywhere, in every deck and I am so sick of the bounce shenanigans with Skyfisher and Glint Hawk that it makes the game NOT fun for me.
Same old handful of decks, same old cards, same old abuse shenanigans. Its stale period.
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
I know you are okay with Astrolabe but I hate the card. It shows up everywhere, in every deck and I am so sick of the bounce shenanigans with Skyfisher and Glint Hawk that it makes the game NOT fun for me.
Same old handful of decks, same old cards, same old abuse shenanigans. Its stale period.
No, I'm not okay with Astrolabe. I want to make that clear, I think it should be banned.
The issue I have with it isn't the bounce shenanigans (I like midrange so the old Boros Monarch deck, MBC, and other grindy interactions are healthy for the format IMO). It is just a 1 mana Prophetic Prism.
The issue that I have with it is that you can just play whatever colors you want now. That's the real problem. Even if/when Ghostly Flicker/Ephemerate/Displace/Mystic Sanctuary are banned, a 5 color good stuff pile will still be the best deck. There is far more competition for deck slots now, far less viable cards as a result, and much of the charm and uniqueness of Pauper and some of its flagship decks have been lost because we have perfect mana now. That's the big issue, not using it to draw an extra card or two with Kor skyfisher.
I don't actually hate things based on how popular they are. If preordain cost 1 generic mana and every deck ran 4 I wouldn't care. It's only when these cards are ruining the format do they become problems.
Like, I think Hexproof should be universally banned and retroactively replaced with Shroud even though Bogles isn't the most popular deck. It's still bad game design regardless of how popular it is.
I don't mind the bounce with Skyfisher/Hawk when its on a 2 cmc Prism. I do mind it when its on a 1 cmc Astrolabe that can be instantly cast to draw another card on turn 2. It has sped those decks up far too much and basically reduced their deck size in the process. Its degenerate and it out tempos any other deck that is remotely "fair". The only way to combat it is to run it yourself or play some other degenerate deck that can outrun it or outcontrol it. So everyone is running it and its warping the competitive metagame. Its the most played card in the format.
45% of decks and its a 4 of. If that isn't warping the metagame I don't kmow what could ever be called warping.
Heck, Standard is going to ban Field of the Dead and its only in 31% of decks. From what I see because it doesn't have many answers. Same thing applies to Labe as far as I am concerned.
It needs a ban or Flicker/Ephemerate & Skyfisher/GHawk need bans. Either that or print better answers and threats at common but we know that won't ever happen. The format is stale and will get moreso without a ban or two.
Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Agreed. It is warping and shrinking the metagame and pool of cards played. It needs to go.
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
One thing that often gets glossed over in discussions about Astrolabe is that it gives one the capability to run an entirely ETB untapped mana base.
So it has really sped up these five color decks to not be much slower than mono color decks.
Whereas if something like the Khans trilands were downshifted to common, one would still have to wait a turn to have mana ready.
This 5 color ***** has always been pauper legal really, (there are like 3 unique common printings of Rupture Spire under different names, for example), but it's always been clunky and that's what has kept it back.
Now you get the upside of Rupture Spire without any of its downsides. It's dumb. Price aside, it's just as bad if not worse than if they just allowed ABUR duals into Pauper.
Very true. Combine that with the current mulligan rule and you see Astrolabe coming out turn one in nearly every game you play against it. I hope it goes tomorrow but I wouldn't put money on it.
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Very true. Combine that with the current mulligan rule and you see Astrolabe coming out turn one in nearly every game you play against it. I hope it goes tomorrow but I wouldn't put money on it.
From a psychology standpoint, most Magic players are tasteless jackals that want to show you, "Their Cool Thing(tm)" at your expense.
Meaning that they prefer to play a solitaire deck and Louis C.K. you with it instead of actually obeying the game's rules or interacting with their opponent. For example, decks like Hexproof and Tron.
Wizards knows this and that's why they periodically make Hogaak and Rotting Regisaur and other obvious mistake cards. Because it gives people the ability to play with cheats enabled, which is what most Magic players like doing.
All Magic players are the kid that gets shot with a toy gun going, "Nuh-uh, but I'm wearing a bullet proof vest so I'm not dead." They're not interested in playing a fair game, just a game that's fun for them at the expense of everyone else.
"Nuh uh, my creatures are hexproof and can't be targeted!"
It's why Arena is best of one, it's why drafts on Arena are against bots instead of real humans, it's why Hexproof replaced the elegant Shroud, it's why Commander is one of the most played formats despite being the worst balanced one, it's why everyone hates Kamigawa and Homelands, etc. Anything that reduces the amount of interaction your opponent has with you and the less the rules matter, the more people like it.
So port this to Pauper and there you go. They could very easily make Pauper fun, fair, and interactive but most Magic players are of the paste eating variety so infinite flicker loops and 5 color good stuff it is.
I only cube now. Only cards I enjoy, and none of what I hate. Constructed Magic sucks.
My friend asked me what my favorite card is last night. I had to think about it, and I ended up looking through my cube to find out. Dash Hopes is my favorite card. It's a very well designed card and the fact that most Magic players think otherwise proves my point. People hate this card specifically because it has interaction and decision making built into it. And that's why it's a well designed card.
Well, Astrolabe has been banned. Awesome. Anything that Magic players hate is good for the game and there is nothing that Magic players hate more than card bans so I hope Wizards keeps this up.
Now onto Flicker/Displace/Ephemerate/Sanctuary and clean up the format more. Those 4 cards will be in the top 10 played cards soon enough now.
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
If all flicker elements leave Pauper, what will WU be running instead? A very clunky control deck?
1.) Evoke Mulldrifter into Angelic Renewal or Cloudshift or Momentary Blink. Like Ephemerate except not broken and can't be looped infinitely.
2.) Look up an old Reality Acid deck. Like that. I mean, Tortured Existence is a clunky control deck too, no one complains that it's second tier.
Ephemerate Mulldrifter is absurd, and Ghostly Flicker loops have been broken for a while now. Cloudshift Mulldrifter is far more reasonable.
I even splash white in MBC for Ephemerate and it's dumb.
These strategies would still be workable in Pauper, they just wouldn't be utterly dominating the format.
Another thing of note is that if you ban Flicker loops, it turns Tron into a fair deck that's possible to interact with and as a result second tier clunky midrange decks like Tortex and Reality Acid would be more competitive as a result. In a format dominated by midrange decks, reality acid is probably the best one.
I think having some strategies like hexproof and tron are good for the game as they're a counter to cheap removal. Why bother investing mana to build your board with fair creatures when stuff like lightning bolt and disfigure can remove it for so cheap? In general, I think this is why the games designers have started adding more enter the battlefield effects to creatures.
Ghostly flicker should go too. Tron is heavily played because it happens to be the best engine for ghostly flicker. Didn't peregrine drake decks play ghostly flicker too?
I think having some strategies like hexproof and tron are good for the game as they're a counter to cheap removal. Why bother investing mana to build your board with fair creatures when stuff like lightning bolt and disfigure can remove it for so cheap? In general, I think this is why the games designers have started adding more enter the battlefield effects to creatures.
Ghostly flicker should go too. Tron is heavily played because it happens to be the best engine for ghostly flicker. Didn't peregrine drake decks play ghostly flicker too?
1.) I don't see why there needs to be a counter to interaction. If you play a creature and I play a Doom Blade that's just fine, I don't see a problem. Your argument is that having to interact with your opponent and protect your creatures is a bad thing. I disagree strongly, I don't think fun is subjective and I think that interaction is an objective measure of fun.
2.) There used to be this thing called Shroud. It was like Hexproof except fair. Did you know that since Kor Skyfisher doesn't target you can pick up and reset a Blastoderm with one? That's pretty cool, but why bother when you could shove a hexproof 1/1 with Ethereal Armor and Rancor for million/million with First Strike and Trample?
3.) There exist protection spells and 2 Pauper legal flag bearers. If hexproof was banned the fun, fair, interactive Mono White Heroic deck would take its place. It's like hexproof except it requires you to interact with your opponent in order to protect your creatures. It's a more fun deck to pilot and play against.
I don't think Tron should be banned. I think the 3 double flicker cards mentioned above should be banned. The defining characteristic of Pauper Tron isn't big mana, it's looping Ghostly Flicker and Ephemerate (or Displace should the other 2 get banned).
So the name Tron is a misnomer. Tron in Pauper should really be called 5 color Flicker.
All of the other Pauper Tron strategies I've seen are possible to interact with. Fangren Marauder & eggs, rebels, Fireball tribal, Rhystic Circle, colorless Tron that just shoves Ulamog's Crushers and Self-Assemblers, Snow White Tron (kind of like Boros Monarch but with Tron lands and Fireball in it), etc.
Tron isn't the problem because there isn't much you can actually do with big mana that's worth it. It's just these Flicker loops.
SaltMaster 5000, my apologies for coming late to the party.
It seems more like you have some personal issues with the Hexproof deck. There are honestly too many ways to deal with hexproof creatures for it to be considered a problem. Plus it's a glass cannon! Have you tied running sacrifice effects in your sideboard?
If it at all validates your point shroud the keyword ability was created because it had been written out on so many cards that it had become something of an uncommon evergreen effect and was easier to just write it as a keyword ability. Unfortunately after just a few short years it became apparent that the shortcut of making it a keyword ability was causing an alarming amount of game rules violations because people just kept forgetting NOBODYcould target it and it was often played just like the Hexproof keyword ability of the modern era. After a few short turns the game state becomes completely compromised and the judge starts issuing game loses! They replaced Shroud with Hexproof solely to reduce all the game play violations and to make it play "more intuitively". It is a really stupid reason to change a rule but I can't even accurately describe the level of headaches Shroud cause tournament organizers. After that it turned out that small hexproof creatures with a bunch of enchantments was a viable strategy and had it's fans so they ultimately decided value added. Just an example of why hexproof decks are a benifit to the game, a friend of mine was looking to get into Modern and did not like burn. Hexproof.deck was at the time affordable, intuitive, and simple. It worked out great for him and he really enjoyed it. He's not a great technical player but really enjoys playing magic and Hexproof.dec would probably suit him well in pauper also! I used to feel the way you do until I realized I was just kind of being salty.
If the right bans come tomorrow, I may get back into Pauper on MTGO. Guess we will see what gets banned. (And if I return.)
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Not enough to get me back to the format. Does this even slow Tron at all? What they just shift to Crop Rotation? I'm not playing where I get locked out of combat or damage. Stonehorn Dignitary should have eaten a ban at minimum.
Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Addressing the play pattern that Tron has focused on is a very complex issue. CWeaver believes banning the Tron lands would be the simplest solution.
I generally agree, but I have to admit I have mixed feelings about Tron lands leaving the format altogether. I feel like they are a pillar of Pauper and a selling point for the format for people coming from Modern. It would be like banning Delver of Secrets, essentially the poster-child of the format.
Coming back to pauper after a long hiatus so my thoughts might be silly, but what if we unbanned some of the previously too powerful cards to combat some of the oppressive(ish) decks in the format? I'm wondering how something like peregrine drake combo might fare in the current meta. Selfishly, I'd also love to see hymn unbanned/made legal in the format since I have been a life long MBC player and that deck is unplayable right now.
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My motto is that everything that Magic players hate is good for the game. Being restricted to 1-2 color decks and having to actually work for more colors is something that Pauper players hate because there is nothing that a Magic player hates more than actually playing the game and obeying its rules.
IMO the fixing was just fine beforehand.
So now we have perfect mana in Pauper and the whole format has been reduced to the best 8 good stuff cards and whatever 1 mana 2/2's that green and red can play.
What a great format. >_>
Ignoring what Magic players say isn't the answer, it's listening to what they have to say and doing the exact opposite that's correct.
Same old handful of decks, same old cards, same old abuse shenanigans. Its stale period.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
No, I'm not okay with Astrolabe. I want to make that clear, I think it should be banned.
The issue I have with it isn't the bounce shenanigans (I like midrange so the old Boros Monarch deck, MBC, and other grindy interactions are healthy for the format IMO). It is just a 1 mana Prophetic Prism.
The issue that I have with it is that you can just play whatever colors you want now. That's the real problem. Even if/when Ghostly Flicker/Ephemerate/Displace/Mystic Sanctuary are banned, a 5 color good stuff pile will still be the best deck. There is far more competition for deck slots now, far less viable cards as a result, and much of the charm and uniqueness of Pauper and some of its flagship decks have been lost because we have perfect mana now. That's the big issue, not using it to draw an extra card or two with Kor skyfisher.
I don't actually hate things based on how popular they are. If preordain cost 1 generic mana and every deck ran 4 I wouldn't care. It's only when these cards are ruining the format do they become problems.
Like, I think Hexproof should be universally banned and retroactively replaced with Shroud even though Bogles isn't the most popular deck. It's still bad game design regardless of how popular it is.
Ignoring what Magic players say isn't the answer, it's listening to what they have to say and doing the exact opposite that's correct.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/format-staples/pauper
45% of decks and its a 4 of. If that isn't warping the metagame I don't kmow what could ever be called warping.
Heck, Standard is going to ban Field of the Dead and its only in 31% of decks. From what I see because it doesn't have many answers. Same thing applies to Labe as far as I am concerned.
It needs a ban or Flicker/Ephemerate & Skyfisher/GHawk need bans. Either that or print better answers and threats at common but we know that won't ever happen. The format is stale and will get moreso without a ban or two.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Ignoring what Magic players say isn't the answer, it's listening to what they have to say and doing the exact opposite that's correct.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
So it has really sped up these five color decks to not be much slower than mono color decks.
Whereas if something like the Khans trilands were downshifted to common, one would still have to wait a turn to have mana ready.
This 5 color ***** has always been pauper legal really, (there are like 3 unique common printings of Rupture Spire under different names, for example), but it's always been clunky and that's what has kept it back.
Now you get the upside of Rupture Spire without any of its downsides. It's dumb. Price aside, it's just as bad if not worse than if they just allowed ABUR duals into Pauper.
Ignoring what Magic players say isn't the answer, it's listening to what they have to say and doing the exact opposite that's correct.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
From a psychology standpoint, most Magic players are tasteless jackals that want to show you, "Their Cool Thing(tm)" at your expense.
Meaning that they prefer to play a solitaire deck and Louis C.K. you with it instead of actually obeying the game's rules or interacting with their opponent. For example, decks like Hexproof and Tron.
Wizards knows this and that's why they periodically make Hogaak and Rotting Regisaur and other obvious mistake cards. Because it gives people the ability to play with cheats enabled, which is what most Magic players like doing.
All Magic players are the kid that gets shot with a toy gun going, "Nuh-uh, but I'm wearing a bullet proof vest so I'm not dead." They're not interested in playing a fair game, just a game that's fun for them at the expense of everyone else.
"Nuh uh, my creatures are hexproof and can't be targeted!"
It's why Arena is best of one, it's why drafts on Arena are against bots instead of real humans, it's why Hexproof replaced the elegant Shroud, it's why Commander is one of the most played formats despite being the worst balanced one, it's why everyone hates Kamigawa and Homelands, etc. Anything that reduces the amount of interaction your opponent has with you and the less the rules matter, the more people like it.
So port this to Pauper and there you go. They could very easily make Pauper fun, fair, and interactive but most Magic players are of the paste eating variety so infinite flicker loops and 5 color good stuff it is.
I only cube now. Only cards I enjoy, and none of what I hate. Constructed Magic sucks.
My friend asked me what my favorite card is last night. I had to think about it, and I ended up looking through my cube to find out. Dash Hopes is my favorite card. It's a very well designed card and the fact that most Magic players think otherwise proves my point. People hate this card specifically because it has interaction and decision making built into it. And that's why it's a well designed card.
Ignoring what Magic players say isn't the answer, it's listening to what they have to say and doing the exact opposite that's correct.
What still needs to go:
Ghostly Flicker, Displace, Ephemerate, Mystic Sanctuary.
Ignoring what Magic players say isn't the answer, it's listening to what they have to say and doing the exact opposite that's correct.
Now onto Flicker/Displace/Ephemerate/Sanctuary and clean up the format more. Those 4 cards will be in the top 10 played cards soon enough now.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
1.) Evoke Mulldrifter into Angelic Renewal or Cloudshift or Momentary Blink. Like Ephemerate except not broken and can't be looped infinitely.
2.) Look up an old Reality Acid deck. Like that. I mean, Tortured Existence is a clunky control deck too, no one complains that it's second tier.
Ephemerate Mulldrifter is absurd, and Ghostly Flicker loops have been broken for a while now. Cloudshift Mulldrifter is far more reasonable.
I even splash white in MBC for Ephemerate and it's dumb.
These strategies would still be workable in Pauper, they just wouldn't be utterly dominating the format.
Another thing of note is that if you ban Flicker loops, it turns Tron into a fair deck that's possible to interact with and as a result second tier clunky midrange decks like Tortex and Reality Acid would be more competitive as a result. In a format dominated by midrange decks, reality acid is probably the best one.
Ignoring what Magic players say isn't the answer, it's listening to what they have to say and doing the exact opposite that's correct.
Ghostly flicker should go too. Tron is heavily played because it happens to be the best engine for ghostly flicker. Didn't peregrine drake decks play ghostly flicker too?
1.) I don't see why there needs to be a counter to interaction. If you play a creature and I play a Doom Blade that's just fine, I don't see a problem. Your argument is that having to interact with your opponent and protect your creatures is a bad thing. I disagree strongly, I don't think fun is subjective and I think that interaction is an objective measure of fun.
2.) There used to be this thing called Shroud. It was like Hexproof except fair. Did you know that since Kor Skyfisher doesn't target you can pick up and reset a Blastoderm with one? That's pretty cool, but why bother when you could shove a hexproof 1/1 with Ethereal Armor and Rancor for million/million with First Strike and Trample?
3.) There exist protection spells and 2 Pauper legal flag bearers. If hexproof was banned the fun, fair, interactive Mono White Heroic deck would take its place. It's like hexproof except it requires you to interact with your opponent in order to protect your creatures. It's a more fun deck to pilot and play against.
I don't think Tron should be banned. I think the 3 double flicker cards mentioned above should be banned. The defining characteristic of Pauper Tron isn't big mana, it's looping Ghostly Flicker and Ephemerate (or Displace should the other 2 get banned).
So the name Tron is a misnomer. Tron in Pauper should really be called 5 color Flicker.
All of the other Pauper Tron strategies I've seen are possible to interact with. Fangren Marauder & eggs, rebels, Fireball tribal, Rhystic Circle, colorless Tron that just shoves Ulamog's Crushers and Self-Assemblers, Snow White Tron (kind of like Boros Monarch but with Tron lands and Fireball in it), etc.
Tron isn't the problem because there isn't much you can actually do with big mana that's worth it. It's just these Flicker loops.
And yes, Peregrine Drake decks ran Ghostly Flicker. https://www.reddit.com/r/Pauper/comments/4xgenu/which_is_better_for_the_format_peregrine_drake_or/
This guy had the right idea back then and since it's reddit his well reasoned thoughts were downvoted.
Ignoring what Magic players say isn't the answer, it's listening to what they have to say and doing the exact opposite that's correct.
It seems more like you have some personal issues with the Hexproof deck. There are honestly too many ways to deal with hexproof creatures for it to be considered a problem. Plus it's a glass cannon! Have you tied running sacrifice effects in your sideboard?
If it at all validates your point shroud the keyword ability was created because it had been written out on so many cards that it had become something of an uncommon evergreen effect and was easier to just write it as a keyword ability. Unfortunately after just a few short years it became apparent that the shortcut of making it a keyword ability was causing an alarming amount of game rules violations because people just kept forgetting NOBODYcould target it and it was often played just like the Hexproof keyword ability of the modern era. After a few short turns the game state becomes completely compromised and the judge starts issuing game loses! They replaced Shroud with Hexproof solely to reduce all the game play violations and to make it play "more intuitively". It is a really stupid reason to change a rule but I can't even accurately describe the level of headaches Shroud cause tournament organizers. After that it turned out that small hexproof creatures with a bunch of enchantments was a viable strategy and had it's fans so they ultimately decided value added. Just an example of why hexproof decks are a benifit to the game, a friend of mine was looking to get into Modern and did not like burn. Hexproof.deck was at the time affordable, intuitive, and simple. It worked out great for him and he really enjoyed it. He's not a great technical player but really enjoys playing magic and Hexproof.dec would probably suit him well in pauper also! I used to feel the way you do until I realized I was just kind of being salty.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/july-13-2020-banned-and-restricted-announcement-2020-07-13?>dsf
Not enough to get me back to the format. Does this even slow Tron at all? What they just shift to Crop Rotation? I'm not playing where I get locked out of combat or damage. Stonehorn Dignitary should have eaten a ban at minimum.
Pauper may as well be dead to me.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Addressing the play pattern that Tron has focused on is a very complex issue. CWeaver believes banning the Tron lands would be the simplest solution.
I generally agree, but I have to admit I have mixed feelings about Tron lands leaving the format altogether. I feel like they are a pillar of Pauper and a selling point for the format for people coming from Modern. It would be like banning Delver of Secrets, essentially the poster-child of the format.
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