Welcome to my UR Eye Candy/Dragonauts/Nivix Blitz primer. This primer has been written in large part based on the excellent groundwork laid by LordSaturn, paired with roughly three years of my own experience playing this deck.
Eye Candy is a deck that has been around for years, tracing its roots back all the way to the original Ravnica block, where creatures like Gelectrode and Wee Dragonauts made already highly efficient red and blue instant and sorcery spells even more threatening. Over the years it has slowly evolved into a pure combo deck - line up a series of cheap instants and sorceries to turn a Kiln Fiend or Nivix Cyclops into a double striking ten power unblockable monstrosity.
Which is where it varies from more traditional Delver builds and other spellslinger decks. Whereas Delver variants, regardless of the colours involved, generally play for the long game, hoping to outlast the opponent through control, spot removal and card advantage, Eye Candy is the mother of all glass cannons, relying on firing off before an opponent can get their defences online. An ideal turn progression for our games looks like this:
In short, this deck tells the turn four rule that governs the majority of bans in Modern to suck it. And sometimes it even gets away with that! In practice, your opponent will rarely just sit there and let you line up your big play, so the deck is filled with hand sculpting and redundancies to make victory as likely as possible. Perhaps not on turn three, but as fast as possible. It does this with the following cards:
The stuff that wins us games, and probably the most set in stone part of the deck. You generally want to run four of each.
Delver of Secrets: The creature that launched a thousand archetypes. We're not one of them. It's still an invalauble part of the deck. A turn one Delver can draw out an opponent's removal, and unanswered it can be what allows us to go off with a less than ideal set of spells.
Kiln Fiend: It has an incredibly fragile butt that makes it susceptible to burn, very vulnerable to the Pestilence and Plague Rats that mono-black control likes running, as well as Echoing Decay-effects. That's on top of the usual spot removal. Still, the +3/+0 on any instant or sorcery cast gives you the punch you need to deal 20 on a single swing with three spells, as long as one of them is Assault Strobe or Temur Battle Rage, and the low casting cost means a swing like that can be delivered as early as turn three.
Nivix Cyclops: Remember what I said about Kiln Fiend being fragile? Four toughness puts it out of reach of the ubiquitous Lightning Bolt and its three damage dealing cousins. It's also a lot harder to kill with other indirect forms of removal. That route usually makes the Cyclops a two for one. It also makes it a far more effective blocker. It's not as fast as Kiln Fiend, but far sturdier.
While the creatures are the stuff that wins us games, they need a handful of these spells to actually deal the damage they need to deal and get past the opponent's blockers.
Temur Battle Rage: This card has pretty much taken over the role of Assault Strobe in allowing the deck to go for the throat. It costs one colourless mana more, but in return you get guaranteed trample on your Fiends and Cyclopses. Cast it, targeting one of these creatures. On cast their triggered ability gives them +3/+0, which means the Ferocious trigger on Battle Rage triggers as the spell resolves.
Assault Strobe: Cheaper than Battle Rage, but less potent in forcing through damage. It opens up more possibilities for turn three wins, but in general the trample from Battle Rage is more relevant.
Artful Dodge: Unblockable is by far the most reliable way to get damage through. Being able to make a creature unblockable twice or make two creatures unblockable with a single card is awesome, especially since it also gives two cast triggers. Rarely you'll cast it twice targeting the same creature just to get the power up there off of cast triggers.
Distortion Strike: Another spell that gives two cast triggers, with a damage buff to boost. However, Rebound gives you less versatility compared to Flashback, which makes running it a lot less advisable.
Slip Through Space: A relatively new addition, but one that's worth considering, making a creature unblockable and replacing itself. The fact that it's colourless is rarely relevant, but when it is you're laughing.
Shadow Rift: It makes a character practically unblockable, and replaces itself. It has the added advantage of allowing niche plays where an opponent's single blocker can be taken out of the equation by giving it Shadow. Less viable when you run into a lot of creatures with Shadow, but if that happens, at least you can say you're playing in a very interesting meta.
Mutagenic Growth: You'll always be casting this for two life, and since you're already running two other Phyrexian mana spells that's a liability. However, it can force through a lot of damage, and it puts your Fiends out of reach of Lightning Bolt and your Cyclopses out of range of Flame Slash. An argument could be made for running it.
Reckless Charge: Giving one of our creatures +6/+0 and haste sounds sweet, but it doesn't replace itself, and the Flashback cost is generally too high to be relevant.
These are what allows us to sculpt our hands and bring our creatures and our buffs together in a delicious purple pain smoothie delivered straight to the opponent's head.
Ponder/Preordain: I've lumped these two together because these too-good-for-Modern sorceries essentially fulfil the same role - digging into the deck and sculpting our hand. Both can set up future turns, with Ponder offering a deeper dig while Preordain offers more flexibility in what you keep and what you send away.
Gitaxian Probe: Cantrips, can be cast for 'free' and provides invaluable information. Run it out on turn one to take a shot at figuring out what you're dealing with on the other end of the table, or drop it later to see how much removal and countermagic you have to dodge.
Brainstorm: The instant speed is nice, but without a very specific mana base involving Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse/Ash Barrens it becomes far less of an all star, and those mana bases are generally too slow for our gameplan. On top of that, without the Onslaught/Zendikar fetches, a Brainstorm into a fetchland to shuffle away the chaff is a far less mana-efficient option.
Remember the purple pain smoothie? These spells are what makes sure it arrives where it should be (the opponent's face) unharmed, in various ways.
Lightning Bolt: It slices, it dices, it goes to the board or the dome, takes out blockers, stops Standard Bearer from stealing our buffs... it's cheap, efficient and instant speed and can complement our general strategy in all sorts of ways. On top of that, with the guildgates being replaced by Life Taplands, it can be invaluable in making sure your opponent isn't left alive after coming in with a 10/2 double striking unblockable Fiend on turn three.
Apostle's Blessing: What bolts give us in offensive versatility Apostle's Blessing gives us on the defensive side of the equation. It can blank removal, make creatures unblockable, remove pesky Pacifism-like effects... all things that always make casting it for two life worth it.
Dispel: A one mana spell that hard counters quite a bit of relevant removal. It also eats plenty of other spells that foul up our strategy, such as Fog effects and Life Goes On.
Spell Pierce: More versatile than Dispel, but less reliable in the long game.
Negate: The versatility of Spell Pierce without the drawback, for one colourless mana more. However, the extra mana cost makes it less desirable.
There really is no fixed answer as to what the sideboard for an Eye Candy deck should look like. Pauper can be an incredibly diverse meta, which makes it preferable to choose versatility over more narrow but effective answers. I'm discussing cards from both categories, but make your choice as to how to fill those very limited slots with this in mind.
Echoing Ruin: It can absolutely ruin (get it?) the day of Caw Blade and Affinity players, taking huge chunks out of their mana base.
Bring them in against: Affinity, Caw blade.
Electrickery: Eats Elves and Goblins for breakfast. Less effective against White Weenie and Stompy strategies, although it can still two or three for one those decks.
Bring them in against: Elves, Goblins, White Weenie, Stompy.
Bring them in against: Turbofog, circles of protection.
Gorilla Shaman: That's a nice mana base you have there... it would be a shame if something were to... happen to it. As a creature it doesn't pump our Fiends and Cyclopses, but it's repeatable. Probably too expensive to shoot anything with a CMC higher than one.
Bring them in against: Affinity, Caw blade.
Hydroblast/Pyroblast/Red Elemental Blast/Blue Elemental Blast: Incredibly versatile cards against any matchup where you see these colours, serving as cheap removal and cheap hard counters. The Ice Age blasts edge out the original blasts on versatility, since they can be cast on any spell/permanent, which means it can give you extra cast triggers where necessary by simply targeting one of your lands with them.
Bring them in against: Any deck running red or blue.
Mogg War Marshal: Since our victory generally relies on a single body, we're incredibly vulnerable to the Edict effects that mono black control loves so much. This effectively gives us three bodies to feed to those effects.
Bring them in against: Mono black control
Pillage: A new toy for red in M25. Its mana cost is very high, but in turn you get quite a bit of versatility, especially against Tron. It can also punish decks with low land counts for missing their land drops. I personally wouldn't run it due to its high mana cost, but it's an option.
Stormbound Geist: It serves a similar role as the War Marshal, blanking Edict effects, but it comes with a higher bill in terms of mana cost, and provides one fewer body. In return you get evasion, a stronger body and the ability to trade favourably with flipped delvers.
Bring them in against: Mono black control, Delver decks.
Now, I'm not saying that including these spells is a bad idea one hundred percent of the time. However, when running a build that's purely about comboing off, these spells are generally inefficent to the point of being detrimental to your strategy.
Wee Dragonauts: Once the deck's namesake, now rarely, if ever, played. Compared to Kiln Fiend and Nivix Cyclops it simply doesn't grow fast enough, and with Squadron Hawks, transformed Delvers and Mulldrifters all over the meta, the pseudo-evasion of flying isn't enough of a justification to run this, especially since our arsenal of buffs is far more efficient in getting the damage through than 'mere' flying.
Red 'draw': Faithless Looting, Tormenting Voice, Cathartic Reunion and their ilk look like they could supplement the blue cantrips in sculpting your hand, but they're generaly too inefficient, especially since you have to decide what you want to ditch before you start digging.
Terramorphic Expanse/Evolving Wilds/Ash Barrens: A lot of blue decks in Pauper pair these up with Brainstorm, allowing them to fulfill the role held by the Onslaught/Zendikar fetches in the eternal formats. However, this is generally too slow for our purposes. We want to hit the ground running in setting up our kill, and these generally delay our strategy by at least a turn.
Daze/Gush: Sure, they're 'free' spells, but setting us back one or two turns in terms of mana can make things incredibly awkward, especially when the spells are countered and you're suddenly left two lands behind.
This is the list I'm currently playing, based heavily on the one from LordSaturn's primer. It's the most glass cannon build, meaning you want to get that damage through as quickly as possible, without giving opponents a chance to react.
Our matchups generally fall into three categories: control matchups that run enough disruption to foil our strategy, aggro matchups that try to race us and other strategies that try to get a game plan online. In general, only the control matchups give us real headaches, although depending on the meta decks of the other two types can bring in sideboard cards that are very painful to play against.
Mono Black Control: By far our worst matchup. Their discard, targeted or otherwise, carves up our carefully sculpted hands and they run removal that's difficult for us to interact with. Our best hope is to run a control heavy sideboard that can squeak through that one lethal swing before the situation becomes unwinnable.
Delver variants: Mono-blue matchups generally run purely on control and tempo, while those that splash red and/or black go more heavily on the removal. It can be won, but you have to win fast before they can stabilize.
Tron: This is a favourable matchup, mostly thanks to the fact that it takes time for them to get their gameplan online, time we can use to get our lethal swing in.
Goblins: They don't pack much in the way of removal beyond Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning. Beyond that it's a race. Look out for the red blasts post-sideboard, otherwise they can't do much to disrupt our game plan beyond racing us.
White Weenie: Another favourable matchup. They're not as explosive as we are, and their options to disrupt us pre-board are limited. Post-board cards like Circle of Protection: Red and Sunlance are threats to take into account.
Mono-G Stompy: Like most aggro strategies, it becomes a matter of racing them. Their creatures are sturdier than most aggro decks, but they can't do much to counter our big swings. Post board Life Goes On can make winning before they step all over us very difficult.
Affinity: Not nearly as explosive as its Modern and Legacy counterparts, and as such very beatable with the right hand. You'll generally be able to set up your lethal swing before they can line up their big creatures and big plays.
Burn: Another rough one. Almost any of their burn spells eats out Fiend, and almost any combination of two of them eats our Cyclopses. Incredibly hard to win against.
Turbo-Fog: Our strategy revolves around swinging in for lethal, something we generally only get one shot for. Their strategy revolves around making our trips into the red zone something akin to punching custard until they can grind out our decks. Our only hope is Flaring Pain in the sideboard and squeaking through.
Hexproof: You can copy what I said about Affinity (minus the legacy bit) part almost one for one. They don't have their versatile mana base, Daybreak Coronet or Kor Spiritdancer, which gives us the room to set up and get through before they can get out of hand. The lifegain from Armadillo Cloak can present a risk however, so keep an eye out for that, especially when you're on the draw.
Infect: Probably the most build dependant of the matchups. If they run pure infect, we should be able to do our 20 before they do their 10, especially if we can aim our Lightning Bolts well. If they run more control, the matchup becomes a lot tougher.
Caveat: I am currently very inexperienced with this deck, I'm just frustrated that there's no primer about it. Most of what I know about it comes from playing against it; please chime in if you have experience with some of the areas I'm unsure of.
This deck has likely been around since the days when Wee Dragonaut and Gelectrode were in Standard. It's creature-based combo, capable of threatening a turn 3 kill with only six cards, yet perpetually vulnerable to spot removal against its all-important creatures.
Basic Strategy
Basically, you want to get an unblockable, doublestriking monster into combat ASAP. There's nothing especially complicated about this; the only wrinkle is when your opponent is in a position to stop you.
Wins and losses in close games seem to come down to trading effectively; you want your opponent's applicable removal cards to be fewer than your removal-mitigation cards on the turn you attack. Knowing what your removal/counters your opponent has, and which of your cards they can trade with, is a big key; ideally, you want to force him to trade his specialized removal away before you deploy the threats it's best against.
The Creatures:
The main thing for creatures in this deck is that they should be highly damaging, and work well with a deck full of red and blue instants and sorceries.
For the self-pumping creatures, the "X/Y spells" metric is "how many spells it takes, without/with Assault Strobe, to deal 20 damage with this creature alone." For Kiln Fiend and Nivix Cylcops, the metric is 7/3 spells; for Wee Dragonauts, it's 10/5 spells.
Delver of Secrets - Delver is not a very good creature in this deck, and yet also a mandatory 4-of. His main function is to put the opponent on their back foot, forcing them to trade a card for your 1-drop, getting a good start on the trade-away-his-removal plan; if they don't kill him, he's likely to trade with a flying threat, and if he doesn't do that, he's likely to quickly run down their life total, making the final blow much cheaper for you.
Kiln Fiend - His low toughness is pretty crippling; there aren't many creatures he can profitably block, and any kind of gang-block is just going to kill him, and most removal is easily going to kill him. Still, he has the magic 7/3 spells-for-kill metric, and his low cost makes it easy to put the opponent on their back foot quickly.
Nivix Cyclops - This card is entirely why this deck is on tier 1 to begin with. It is the best possible card for this deck; a Kiln Fiend that beats Lightning Bolt. He can frequently make profitable blocks, and he can attack into blockers with little trouble.
Wee Dragonauts - This was the main boat-anchor holding this deck back; the printing of Nivix Cyclops has permanently benched him. The weaker pump ability means it needs unacceptably many spells to be a one-shot kill on
The Buffs:
For the most part, our creatures don't care what the spells we cast actually do, but there are a handful of until-end-of-turn creature buffs that are worth running.
Assault Strobe - This is the big one. A live Kiln Fiend or Nivix Cyclops typically needs seven spells to deal more than 20 damage on his own. With Assault Strobe, you need three spells for an instant kill - 1 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 10, and twice that is instantly lethal. Sadly, the effect isn't cumulative, so multiple copies are usually unhelpful.
Artful Dodge/Shadow Rift/Distortion Strike - Incrementally less important than Assault Strobe, these spells are still an important complement to it, ensuring that you don't have to factor in blockers when going for the killing blow. Artful Dodge is the strongest entry, making maximum capital of the "Double Fiend" boardstate one sometimes has. Shadow Rift isn't quite as strong, but still replaces itself, and as an instant, which lets you cycle it out EoT if you're overloaded on unblockability buffs. Distortion Strike has fallen out of favor, mostly due to Wee Dragonauts no longer seeing play.
Mutagenic Growth - This sees fringe play, usually as a 1- or 2-of. The main use is to defeat toughness-based removal while tapped out. It also contributes noticeably to damage when used in conjunction with Assault Strobe; you can get a ten-point hit out of a Delver of Secrets that way.
Reckless Charge - This was fringe-y to begin with, and with Wee Dragonaut out of the picture, it's largely unplayable, but the power boost and the haste being available for with flashback makes it a good choice if you expect to be playing long games.
The Cantrips:
One of the best ways to combo out with this deck is to cast spells that draw you into more spells to cast. Being able to chain Ponder and Preordain and Gitaxian Probe lets you go off at hand sizes where it should be impossible.
As a bonus, the high saturation of card-filtering effects helps you find land, combo pieces, etc very efficiently.
Caveat: This is probably the area of the deck I understand the least well, which makes it hard for me to rate the cards.
Gitaxian Probe - Not a great card, but a good card. Many times it's relevant to know what specific removal/counters/hate you're facing, and sometimes you just want to cast another spell without going down a mana. Probe's got your back.
Ponder/Preordain/Brainstorm - Per the explanation in Basic Strategy, these kinds of spells are crucial for fixing your early draws to make your combo actually happen, and are pretty solid at feeding your combo once it's running. Brainstorm is less popular due to the lack of good fetchlands; knowing how to play Ponder and Preordain in any given situation is a difficult skill.
The Protection:
This is the main area of complexity for the deck. Most decks are forced to play control against us; we should be prepared to fight removal and disruption, in the maindeck where possible.
Lightning Bolt - As protection, it's only relevant against Standard Bearer, but happens to be your best out. At all other times, Lightning Bolt does what it has always done, which is either pick off a key blocker or shorten the opponent's life total for a quick kill. The fact that your creatures tend to get buffed when you cast it is relevant, too.
Apostle's Blessing - This one is equal parts a counter for targeted removal, and a source of unblockability, both of which are extremely useful in this deck.
Dispel - Most 1-for-1 removal in this format is in the form of instants, and this kills instants about as efficiently as possible.
Spell Pierce - More flexible than Dispel, but easier to play around; I like the versatility, but it's probably less popular for a reason.
Mogg War Marshal - Some lists have been running this over Delver of Secrets; it's much worse at attacking, but it makes black sacrifice-based removal much, much worse against your real threats.
The Land: Izzet Guildgate - The only nonbasic land this deck really wants, and one of the key contributions of RTR block to make this deck possible at all; we are usually tryng to go off by casting 3-4 single-colored-mana spells in a single turn, so color-flexibility is a big help with that. 2-3 is plenty, though.
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!
A fine presentation I think! Will deck lists be forthcoming? What about sb cards (like war marshal)?
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I think it's beyond time the deck lost the dragonaut in it
the card isn't relevant any more
I continue to call it Dragonaut because:
1) Everyone knows which deck that is.
2) The basic function of the deck is well-encapsulated by the card Wee Dragonauts, even if that specific card is now outmoded by stronger variants.
3) Dragonaut is a cool name with a comfortable accent pattern.
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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!
Yeah, I wrote this up at work. I'll probably tidy it up over the weekend.
The funny thing is that the consensus best list is ridiculously precise. NOBODY is off by more than three or four cards, even in the sideboard.
I dunno, from the dailies there have been some lists just dropping Delver (one guy replaced w/ 2 war marshals, another just went with the 8 dudes.
One of the big things that makes Delver good in this deck is that in game 1, you don't know what deck this is that just played island -> Delver, and the correct line of play is precisely the opposite for the two likely decks. If it's mono-U delver/fae, and you don't shoot whatever 1 mana removal you have at the little bastard, he might flip next turn, be joined by a cloud of faeries, and next thing you know you're at 4 life and still haven't resolved a spell. On the other hand, if it's a fiend deck, then the best play is just to ignore him unless you have a ridiculous fistful of removal. (This applies less in competitive environments like dailies where people scout their opponents based on their previous decks submitted to dailies).
any player coming into the format after the printing of cyclops won't know that it used to be replaced by dragonaut and was terrible, the deck finally came into its own after cyclops and therefore naming really should focus on that, you don't usually name decks based on a card that used to be in the deck ;p
Caveat: I am currently very inexperienced with this deck, I'm just frustrated that there's no primer about it. Most of what I know about it comes from playing against it; please chime in if you have experience with some of the areas I'm unsure of.
Bravo sir.
Also, as far as names are concerned, I always referred to it as wee fiend but mostly because I just liked the imagery of dyeing to a tiny demon. That being said, you took the time to write it up, name it whatever you want. Naysayers be darned.
For actually contributing to the thread;
I started with brainstorm and fetches which I eventually accepted as a trap. Keeping a fetch in my opener for potential brainstorm games seemed horrible and top decking a fetch when I needed one more untapped mana to just win was always brutal.
I always preferred shadow rift because of the cantrip but I've noticed over the months that it is probably the least run version of unblockable. Maybe one of you other gentleman can explain what it is I was missing?
I always preferred shadow rift because of the cantrip but I've noticed over the months that it is probably the least run version of unblockable. Maybe one of you other gentleman can explain what it is I was missing?
Artful Dodge is just a better option for a few reasons:
1) It's two spells in 1. If you have a Kiln Fiend in play all you need is Artful Dodge, Assault Strobe, and UUR from your lands and you can deal 20 on the spot just out of those cards. Shadow Rift would require you to draw into another spell you can cast off of it for the same effect.
2) Artful Dodge is much better against permissions spells (counters form Delver, Pyroblasts from red decks post board) since if it gets countered you can just do it again
3) Sometimes you end up with two Fiends/Cyclops in play and sending them both in as unblockable is pretty great.
4) You save the back half for a second use in the cases where you don't have the cards to kill your opponent on the first attack. Sometimes attacking for 10 twice instead of 20 once is the path the deck has to take.
I was kind of skeptical about it at first too but playing against the deck a lot at this point and seeing it in action I'm comfortable saying Artful Dodge is just the superior option a vast majority of the time.
Brainstorm/Fetches is a trap, yes. I have seen an almost-convincing performance from a control deck with Brainstorm/Trinket Mage/Squadron Hawk, but even as he was running guildgates only.
I've been practicing a bit. I've never played a Ponder/Preordain deck successfully, so this is a big learning experience for me. I think what I'm seeing is that if you have a choice and a shuffled deck, you want to Preordain first, so that you're not stuck scrying through garbage when you get a Ponder you only partially like. Can anyone else expand on their Ponder/Preordain strategy?
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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!
Dromar the Banisher; Thanks man, that makes perfect sense.
On Ponder/Preordain;
In an opening hand of all untapped lands, both cards, and a need to dig for something like a dude or a red source - I will ponder first. It lets me see that third card and lets me shuffle if all three aren't what I need.
If I have two blue sources and need to find something like a dude, protection for my dude in hand against a deck I know runs plenty of removal, or assault strobe with a dude in play to win there - I will do Preordain then Ponder since I can potentially dig six cards deep to find what I need.
What I struggled with was instances where I'm looking for something and hit on another ponder or preordain in the cards I'm digging through. I haven't found what I need but if I get rid of those cards I can easily end up in top deck mode and still not have what I'm looking for.
First for the record, I've been using this deck for a year and I know all the tricks, but after several failed DEs I think the deck might not be that competitive as it was while being one of the few decks that kill fissure post fast enough. The current meta is full of card advantage and removal(UB trinket, MBC, etc.). I wonder how far this deck can go post-banning.
It's still rocking a pretty competitive share of the metagame, especially given how broad things have been since the bannings. Don't tilt yourself!
The main thing against MBC is to go off NOW, because if the game goes to five or six turns they will take over. Easier said than done, of course, but this has a lot to do with why Mogg War Marshal is seeing maindeck play.
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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 find myself keeping basically anything with a blue source and a Ponder/Preordain.
You don't have much capacity to be the controlling player, so you're usually actively trying to assemble your combo with dig spells, and slide it under opposing counters/removal before the game gets out of your hands. Gitaxian Probe can be very valuable in knowing how to go off. You want to hold it until you have a serious need to know what the opponent has.
The one exception to the "no control" rule is the mirror, where someone HAS to be control. I think that's what Flame Slash on the board is for. Game 2, you want to load up on Pyroblast, Hydroblast, and Flame Slash, and then work out on the fly which one of you has the more controlling hand and play accordingly.
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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!
Could someone help me out with the side-boarding ideas? Against what decks should you run more counters, what should you take out etc.
Also with all the MBC running around, what would be good SB cards against them?
against mbc you need to bea ble to counter an edict effect, and need artful dodge. counters are also very good against the gain life spells they have(tendrils, gray merchant, corrupt)
Could someone help me out with the side-boarding ideas? Against what decks should you run more counters, what should you take out etc.
Also with all the MBC running around, what would be good SB cards against them?
You need ways to stop Edicts primarily since those are the most difficult removal to interact with. Dispel is the best option, but I've seen other lists running Mogg War Marshal as well. Other protection cards are good too of course (Mizzium Skin, Apostle's Blessing, etc). It should be a pretty bad matchup overall though, MBC is just very well set-up to beat a deck like this one.
A lot of times, you're right to side Lightning Bolt out for counters, but in game 1, it can remove a blocker (in cast you don't have a dodge available) or go to dome (lowering the bar for your victory).
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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've seen some of these decks boarding Annul. Affinity is harder but workable. MBC is a tough tough match that represents a higher portion of the meta than it used to.
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Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
This is what I've been playing the past few days. Tried to go for the most consistent kill if they let me untap with a creature, and I think I found it. The main problems have been with Mono U and Mono B so far. Normally I'm just shaving numbers to bring in 3 Pyroblast and 3 Electrickery against U, which makes me wonder if the Pierces shouldn't be something else. I think my board leaves me too reactionary.
Any advice for the U or B matchups? Maybe sweet sideboard tech or something.
This deck for me was fun even before it was competitive. Now it makes up a good portion of the online meta which I think is primarily due to the decks low cost and the way it can steal wins. The most expensive cards are sb cards hydro/pyro blast.
Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
Here is the list I have been running with great results. It is Fast, fun and easy to play. Any suggestions are appreciated as I wish to enter this in an upcoming tournament or two.
You basically play a creature with Artful Dodge and Assault Strobe in hand and hope the guy sticks until the next turn. Then you can artful dodge the guy twice and assault strobe it which is always lethal damage. I have pulled a couple of turn 3 kills with this deck and several turn 4 or 5. I notice not many people are running Mutagenic Growth. This card saves our guys from a lot of black removal and red burn and provides that extra umph in case of life gaining decks. I think I have a real solid build here so let me know what you guys think.
Mizzium Skin is THE nuts in this deck. Apostle's Blessing gives protection, but costing 2 life in a deck that already runs 4 Gitaxian Probes seems pretty bad against fast aggro. Mizzum Skin can also save more creatures with Overload. People tend to hold back removal against this deck in order to X-for-1 against us (casting removal in response to our buffs). Mizzium Skin has caught many people with their pants off.
I find it better than permission effects, because our game 1 is basically getting the damage through. Post-board, when people usually overload with removal, Dispel and the Elemental Blats can take care of other dangerous stuff.
Only the glassiest of glass cannons!
Introduction:
Welcome to my UR Eye Candy/Dragonauts/Nivix Blitz primer. This primer has been written in large part based on the excellent groundwork laid by LordSaturn, paired with roughly three years of my own experience playing this deck.
Eye Candy is a deck that has been around for years, tracing its roots back all the way to the original Ravnica block, where creatures like Gelectrode and Wee Dragonauts made already highly efficient red and blue instant and sorcery spells even more threatening. Over the years it has slowly evolved into a pure combo deck - line up a series of cheap instants and sorceries to turn a Kiln Fiend or Nivix Cyclops into a double striking ten power unblockable monstrosity.
Which is where it varies from more traditional Delver builds and other spellslinger decks. Whereas Delver variants, regardless of the colours involved, generally play for the long game, hoping to outlast the opponent through control, spot removal and card advantage, Eye Candy is the mother of all glass cannons, relying on firing off before an opponent can get their defences online. An ideal turn progression for our games looks like this:
Turn 1: Island, Preordain to skulpt our hands for the next turns.
Turn 2: Mountain, Kiln Fiend.
Turn 3: Island, cast Gitaxian Probe for two life to scout the opponent's hand, Artful Dodge to make your Kiln Fiend unblockable, Temur Battle Rage to give it Double Strike and Trample, send twenty unblockable damage into the opponent's red zone.
In short, this deck tells the turn four rule that governs the majority of bans in Modern to suck it. And sometimes it even gets away with that! In practice, your opponent will rarely just sit there and let you line up your big play, so the deck is filled with hand sculpting and redundancies to make victory as likely as possible. Perhaps not on turn three, but as fast as possible. It does this with the following cards:
Card Choices
Delver of Secrets: The creature that launched a thousand archetypes. We're not one of them. It's still an invalauble part of the deck. A turn one Delver can draw out an opponent's removal, and unanswered it can be what allows us to go off with a less than ideal set of spells.
Kiln Fiend: It has an incredibly fragile butt that makes it susceptible to burn, very vulnerable to the Pestilence and Plague Rats that mono-black control likes running, as well as Echoing Decay-effects. That's on top of the usual spot removal. Still, the +3/+0 on any instant or sorcery cast gives you the punch you need to deal 20 on a single swing with three spells, as long as one of them is Assault Strobe or Temur Battle Rage, and the low casting cost means a swing like that can be delivered as early as turn three.
Nivix Cyclops: Remember what I said about Kiln Fiend being fragile? Four toughness puts it out of reach of the ubiquitous Lightning Bolt and its three damage dealing cousins. It's also a lot harder to kill with other indirect forms of removal. That route usually makes the Cyclops a two for one. It also makes it a far more effective blocker. It's not as fast as Kiln Fiend, but far sturdier.
Temur Battle Rage: This card has pretty much taken over the role of Assault Strobe in allowing the deck to go for the throat. It costs one colourless mana more, but in return you get guaranteed trample on your Fiends and Cyclopses. Cast it, targeting one of these creatures. On cast their triggered ability gives them +3/+0, which means the Ferocious trigger on Battle Rage triggers as the spell resolves.
Assault Strobe: Cheaper than Battle Rage, but less potent in forcing through damage. It opens up more possibilities for turn three wins, but in general the trample from Battle Rage is more relevant.
Artful Dodge: Unblockable is by far the most reliable way to get damage through. Being able to make a creature unblockable twice or make two creatures unblockable with a single card is awesome, especially since it also gives two cast triggers. Rarely you'll cast it twice targeting the same creature just to get the power up there off of cast triggers.
Distortion Strike: Another spell that gives two cast triggers, with a damage buff to boost. However, Rebound gives you less versatility compared to Flashback, which makes running it a lot less advisable.
Slip Through Space: A relatively new addition, but one that's worth considering, making a creature unblockable and replacing itself. The fact that it's colourless is rarely relevant, but when it is you're laughing.
Shadow Rift: It makes a character practically unblockable, and replaces itself. It has the added advantage of allowing niche plays where an opponent's single blocker can be taken out of the equation by giving it Shadow. Less viable when you run into a lot of creatures with Shadow, but if that happens, at least you can say you're playing in a very interesting meta.
Mutagenic Growth: You'll always be casting this for two life, and since you're already running two other Phyrexian mana spells that's a liability. However, it can force through a lot of damage, and it puts your Fiends out of reach of Lightning Bolt and your Cyclopses out of range of Flame Slash. An argument could be made for running it.
Reckless Charge: Giving one of our creatures +6/+0 and haste sounds sweet, but it doesn't replace itself, and the Flashback cost is generally too high to be relevant.
Ponder/Preordain: I've lumped these two together because these too-good-for-Modern sorceries essentially fulfil the same role - digging into the deck and sculpting our hand. Both can set up future turns, with Ponder offering a deeper dig while Preordain offers more flexibility in what you keep and what you send away.
Gitaxian Probe: Cantrips, can be cast for 'free' and provides invaluable information. Run it out on turn one to take a shot at figuring out what you're dealing with on the other end of the table, or drop it later to see how much removal and countermagic you have to dodge.
Brainstorm: The instant speed is nice, but without a very specific mana base involving Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse/Ash Barrens it becomes far less of an all star, and those mana bases are generally too slow for our gameplan. On top of that, without the Onslaught/Zendikar fetches, a Brainstorm into a fetchland to shuffle away the chaff is a far less mana-efficient option.
Lightning Bolt: It slices, it dices, it goes to the board or the dome, takes out blockers, stops Standard Bearer from stealing our buffs... it's cheap, efficient and instant speed and can complement our general strategy in all sorts of ways. On top of that, with the guildgates being replaced by Life Taplands, it can be invaluable in making sure your opponent isn't left alive after coming in with a 10/2 double striking unblockable Fiend on turn three.
Apostle's Blessing: What bolts give us in offensive versatility Apostle's Blessing gives us on the defensive side of the equation. It can blank removal, make creatures unblockable, remove pesky Pacifism-like effects... all things that always make casting it for two life worth it.
Dispel: A one mana spell that hard counters quite a bit of relevant removal. It also eats plenty of other spells that foul up our strategy, such as Fog effects and Life Goes On.
Spell Pierce: More versatile than Dispel, but less reliable in the long game.
Negate: The versatility of Spell Pierce without the drawback, for one colourless mana more. However, the extra mana cost makes it less desirable.
Mountains, Islands and Swiftwater Cliffs. They're all you generally need, and rarely a full playset of the latter.
Echoing Ruin: It can absolutely ruin (get it?) the day of Caw Blade and Affinity players, taking huge chunks out of their mana base.
Bring them in against: Affinity, Caw blade.
Electrickery: Eats Elves and Goblins for breakfast. Less effective against White Weenie and Stompy strategies, although it can still two or three for one those decks.
Bring them in against: Elves, Goblins, White Weenie, Stompy.
Flame Slash: Trade the versatility and instant speed of Lightning Bolt for the ability to take out more creatures, mainly opposing Cyclopses and Hooting Mandrills.
Bring them in against: The mirror, anything that likes to field a lot of four toughness creatures.
Flaring Pain: Moment's Peace, eat your heart out. It can force damage through on Turbofog and Circles of Protection. It also gives you two of those sweet, sweet cast triggers.
Bring them in against: Turbofog, circles of protection.
Gorilla Shaman: That's a nice mana base you have there... it would be a shame if something were to... happen to it. As a creature it doesn't pump our Fiends and Cyclopses, but it's repeatable. Probably too expensive to shoot anything with a CMC higher than one.
Bring them in against: Affinity, Caw blade.
Hydroblast/Pyroblast/Red Elemental Blast/Blue Elemental Blast: Incredibly versatile cards against any matchup where you see these colours, serving as cheap removal and cheap hard counters. The Ice Age blasts edge out the original blasts on versatility, since they can be cast on any spell/permanent, which means it can give you extra cast triggers where necessary by simply targeting one of your lands with them.
Bring them in against: Any deck running red or blue.
Mogg War Marshal: Since our victory generally relies on a single body, we're incredibly vulnerable to the Edict effects that mono black control loves so much. This effectively gives us three bodies to feed to those effects.
Bring them in against: Mono black control
Pillage: A new toy for red in M25. Its mana cost is very high, but in turn you get quite a bit of versatility, especially against Tron. It can also punish decks with low land counts for missing their land drops. I personally wouldn't run it due to its high mana cost, but it's an option.
Bring them in against: Affinity, Caw Blade, Tron.
Smelt: Does what it says on the tin.
Bring them in against: Affinity, Caw blade.
Stormbound Geist: It serves a similar role as the War Marshal, blanking Edict effects, but it comes with a higher bill in terms of mana cost, and provides one fewer body. In return you get evasion, a stronger body and the ability to trade favourably with flipped delvers.
Bring them in against: Mono black control, Delver decks.
Wee Dragonauts: Once the deck's namesake, now rarely, if ever, played. Compared to Kiln Fiend and Nivix Cyclops it simply doesn't grow fast enough, and with Squadron Hawks, transformed Delvers and Mulldrifters all over the meta, the pseudo-evasion of flying isn't enough of a justification to run this, especially since our arsenal of buffs is far more efficient in getting the damage through than 'mere' flying.
Red 'draw': Faithless Looting, Tormenting Voice, Cathartic Reunion and their ilk look like they could supplement the blue cantrips in sculpting your hand, but they're generaly too inefficient, especially since you have to decide what you want to ditch before you start digging.
Terramorphic Expanse/Evolving Wilds/Ash Barrens: A lot of blue decks in Pauper pair these up with Brainstorm, allowing them to fulfill the role held by the Onslaught/Zendikar fetches in the eternal formats. However, this is generally too slow for our purposes. We want to hit the ground running in setting up our kill, and these generally delay our strategy by at least a turn.
Daze/Gush: Sure, they're 'free' spells, but setting us back one or two turns in terms of mana can make things incredibly awkward, especially when the spells are countered and you're suddenly left two lands behind.
Decklists:
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Kiln Fiend
4 Nivix Cyclops
Buffs
4 Artful Dodge
4 Temur Battle Rage
Protection
4 Apostle's Blessing
1 Spell Pierce
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Ponder
4 Preordain
Land
3 Swiftwater Cliffs
9 Island
7 Mountain
3 Hydroblast
3 Pyroblast
3 Spell Pierce
2 Gorilla Shaman
3 Mogg War marshal
1 Spell Pierce
This is the list I'm currently playing, based heavily on the one from LordSaturn's primer. It's the most glass cannon build, meaning you want to get that damage through as quickly as possible, without giving opponents a chance to react.
Playing the Deck:
Coming soon!
Matchups:
Our matchups generally fall into three categories: control matchups that run enough disruption to foil our strategy, aggro matchups that try to race us and other strategies that try to get a game plan online. In general, only the control matchups give us real headaches, although depending on the meta decks of the other two types can bring in sideboard cards that are very painful to play against.
Mono Black Control: By far our worst matchup. Their discard, targeted or otherwise, carves up our carefully sculpted hands and they run removal that's difficult for us to interact with. Our best hope is to run a control heavy sideboard that can squeak through that one lethal swing before the situation becomes unwinnable.
Delver variants: Mono-blue matchups generally run purely on control and tempo, while those that splash red and/or black go more heavily on the removal. It can be won, but you have to win fast before they can stabilize.
Tron: This is a favourable matchup, mostly thanks to the fact that it takes time for them to get their gameplan online, time we can use to get our lethal swing in.
Goblins: They don't pack much in the way of removal beyond Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning. Beyond that it's a race. Look out for the red blasts post-sideboard, otherwise they can't do much to disrupt our game plan beyond racing us.
White Weenie: Another favourable matchup. They're not as explosive as we are, and their options to disrupt us pre-board are limited. Post-board cards like Circle of Protection: Red and Sunlance are threats to take into account.
Mono-G Stompy: Like most aggro strategies, it becomes a matter of racing them. Their creatures are sturdier than most aggro decks, but they can't do much to counter our big swings. Post board Life Goes On can make winning before they step all over us very difficult.
Affinity: Not nearly as explosive as its Modern and Legacy counterparts, and as such very beatable with the right hand. You'll generally be able to set up your lethal swing before they can line up their big creatures and big plays.
Burn: Another rough one. Almost any of their burn spells eats out Fiend, and almost any combination of two of them eats our Cyclopses. Incredibly hard to win against.
Turbo-Fog: Our strategy revolves around swinging in for lethal, something we generally only get one shot for. Their strategy revolves around making our trips into the red zone something akin to punching custard until they can grind out our decks. Our only hope is Flaring Pain in the sideboard and squeaking through.
Hexproof: You can copy what I said about Affinity (minus the legacy bit) part almost one for one. They don't have their versatile mana base, Daybreak Coronet or Kor Spiritdancer, which gives us the room to set up and get through before they can get out of hand. The lifegain from Armadillo Cloak can present a risk however, so keep an eye out for that, especially when you're on the draw.
Infect: Probably the most build dependant of the matchups. If they run pure infect, we should be able to do our 20 before they do their 10, especially if we can aim our Lightning Bolts well. If they run more control, the matchup becomes a lot tougher.
Caveat: I am currently very inexperienced with this deck, I'm just frustrated that there's no primer about it. Most of what I know about it comes from playing against it; please chime in if you have experience with some of the areas I'm unsure of.
Archetype page on mtgostats: http://www.mtgo-stats.com/archetypes/Pauper/RU
This deck has likely been around since the days when Wee Dragonaut and Gelectrode were in Standard. It's creature-based combo, capable of threatening a turn 3 kill with only six cards, yet perpetually vulnerable to spot removal against its all-important creatures.
Basic Strategy
Basically, you want to get an unblockable, doublestriking monster into combat ASAP. There's nothing especially complicated about this; the only wrinkle is when your opponent is in a position to stop you.
Wins and losses in close games seem to come down to trading effectively; you want your opponent's applicable removal cards to be fewer than your removal-mitigation cards on the turn you attack. Knowing what your removal/counters your opponent has, and which of your cards they can trade with, is a big key; ideally, you want to force him to trade his specialized removal away before you deploy the threats it's best against.
The Creatures:
The main thing for creatures in this deck is that they should be highly damaging, and work well with a deck full of red and blue instants and sorceries.
For the self-pumping creatures, the "X/Y spells" metric is "how many spells it takes, without/with Assault Strobe, to deal 20 damage with this creature alone." For Kiln Fiend and Nivix Cylcops, the metric is 7/3 spells; for Wee Dragonauts, it's 10/5 spells.
Delver of Secrets - Delver is not a very good creature in this deck, and yet also a mandatory 4-of. His main function is to put the opponent on their back foot, forcing them to trade a card for your 1-drop, getting a good start on the trade-away-his-removal plan; if they don't kill him, he's likely to trade with a flying threat, and if he doesn't do that, he's likely to quickly run down their life total, making the final blow much cheaper for you.
Kiln Fiend - His low toughness is pretty crippling; there aren't many creatures he can profitably block, and any kind of gang-block is just going to kill him, and most removal is easily going to kill him. Still, he has the magic 7/3 spells-for-kill metric, and his low cost makes it easy to put the opponent on their back foot quickly.
Nivix Cyclops - This card is entirely why this deck is on tier 1 to begin with. It is the best possible card for this deck; a Kiln Fiend that beats Lightning Bolt. He can frequently make profitable blocks, and he can attack into blockers with little trouble.
Wee Dragonauts - This was the main boat-anchor holding this deck back; the printing of Nivix Cyclops has permanently benched him. The weaker pump ability means it needs unacceptably many spells to be a one-shot kill on
The Buffs:
For the most part, our creatures don't care what the spells we cast actually do, but there are a handful of until-end-of-turn creature buffs that are worth running.
Assault Strobe - This is the big one. A live Kiln Fiend or Nivix Cyclops typically needs seven spells to deal more than 20 damage on his own. With Assault Strobe, you need three spells for an instant kill - 1 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 10, and twice that is instantly lethal. Sadly, the effect isn't cumulative, so multiple copies are usually unhelpful.
Artful Dodge/Shadow Rift/Distortion Strike - Incrementally less important than Assault Strobe, these spells are still an important complement to it, ensuring that you don't have to factor in blockers when going for the killing blow. Artful Dodge is the strongest entry, making maximum capital of the "Double Fiend" boardstate one sometimes has. Shadow Rift isn't quite as strong, but still replaces itself, and as an instant, which lets you cycle it out EoT if you're overloaded on unblockability buffs. Distortion Strike has fallen out of favor, mostly due to Wee Dragonauts no longer seeing play.
Mutagenic Growth - This sees fringe play, usually as a 1- or 2-of. The main use is to defeat toughness-based removal while tapped out. It also contributes noticeably to damage when used in conjunction with Assault Strobe; you can get a ten-point hit out of a Delver of Secrets that way.
Reckless Charge - This was fringe-y to begin with, and with Wee Dragonaut out of the picture, it's largely unplayable, but the power boost and the haste being available for with flashback makes it a good choice if you expect to be playing long games.
The Cantrips:
One of the best ways to combo out with this deck is to cast spells that draw you into more spells to cast. Being able to chain Ponder and Preordain and Gitaxian Probe lets you go off at hand sizes where it should be impossible.
As a bonus, the high saturation of card-filtering effects helps you find land, combo pieces, etc very efficiently.
Caveat: This is probably the area of the deck I understand the least well, which makes it hard for me to rate the cards.
Gitaxian Probe - Not a great card, but a good card. Many times it's relevant to know what specific removal/counters/hate you're facing, and sometimes you just want to cast another spell without going down a mana. Probe's got your back.
Ponder/Preordain/Brainstorm - Per the explanation in Basic Strategy, these kinds of spells are crucial for fixing your early draws to make your combo actually happen, and are pretty solid at feeding your combo once it's running. Brainstorm is less popular due to the lack of good fetchlands; knowing how to play Ponder and Preordain in any given situation is a difficult skill.
The Protection:
This is the main area of complexity for the deck. Most decks are forced to play control against us; we should be prepared to fight removal and disruption, in the maindeck where possible.
Lightning Bolt - As protection, it's only relevant against Standard Bearer, but happens to be your best out. At all other times, Lightning Bolt does what it has always done, which is either pick off a key blocker or shorten the opponent's life total for a quick kill. The fact that your creatures tend to get buffed when you cast it is relevant, too.
Apostle's Blessing - This one is equal parts a counter for targeted removal, and a source of unblockability, both of which are extremely useful in this deck.
Dispel - Most 1-for-1 removal in this format is in the form of instants, and this kills instants about as efficiently as possible.
Spell Pierce - More flexible than Dispel, but easier to play around; I like the versatility, but it's probably less popular for a reason.
Mogg War Marshal - Some lists have been running this over Delver of Secrets; it's much worse at attacking, but it makes black sacrifice-based removal much, much worse against your real threats.
The Land:
Izzet Guildgate - The only nonbasic land this deck really wants, and one of the key contributions of RTR block to make this deck possible at all; we are usually tryng to go off by casting 3-4 single-colored-mana spells in a single turn, so color-flexibility is a big help with that. 2-3 is plenty, though.
Samples:
Here's my version:
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Kiln Fiend
4 Nivix Cyclops
Buffs
3 Artful Dodge
2 Shadow Rift
3 Assault Strobe
Protection
4 Apostle's Blessing
1 Spell Pierce
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Ponder
4 Preordain
Land
3 Izzet Guildgate
9 Island
7 Mountain
3 Hydroblast
3 Pyroblast
2 Spell Pierce
3 Electrickery
2 Flame Slash
2 Flaring Pain
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the card isn't relevant any more
Deck List:
BMBCB
UBUB Control/TeachingsBU
Ha! My Pauper UG Post Deck Showed!
Classic
BPoxB
Legacy
GB Eva Depths (Primer By Me) BG
Monthly Academy Showcase!
An Introduction to Competitive Pauper! *Updated*
Pauper Meta Analysis & What Wizards Left Out!
Found at MTGO Academy!! Same Great Series, Same Great Content, Great New Home!! (yes that is me shamelessly trolling for more readers :))
Check me out on Twitter & Get a little MTGO Therapy
Yeah, I wrote this up at work. I'll probably tidy it up over the weekend.
The funny thing is that the consensus best list is ridiculously precise. NOBODY is off by more than three or four cards, even in the sideboard.
I continue to call it Dragonaut because:
1) Everyone knows which deck that is.
2) The basic function of the deck is well-encapsulated by the card Wee Dragonauts, even if that specific card is now outmoded by stronger variants.
3) Dragonaut is a cool name with a comfortable accent pattern.
I dunno, from the dailies there have been some lists just dropping Delver (one guy replaced w/ 2 war marshals, another just went with the 8 dudes.
One of the big things that makes Delver good in this deck is that in game 1, you don't know what deck this is that just played island -> Delver, and the correct line of play is precisely the opposite for the two likely decks. If it's mono-U delver/fae, and you don't shoot whatever 1 mana removal you have at the little bastard, he might flip next turn, be joined by a cloud of faeries, and next thing you know you're at 4 life and still haven't resolved a spell. On the other hand, if it's a fiend deck, then the best play is just to ignore him unless you have a ridiculous fistful of removal. (This applies less in competitive environments like dailies where people scout their opponents based on their previous decks submitted to dailies).
any player coming into the format after the printing of cyclops won't know that it used to be replaced by dragonaut and was terrible, the deck finally came into its own after cyclops and therefore naming really should focus on that, you don't usually name decks based on a card that used to be in the deck ;p
Deck List:
BMBCB
UBUB Control/TeachingsBU
Ha! My Pauper UG Post Deck Showed!
Classic
BPoxB
Legacy
GB Eva Depths (Primer By Me) BG
Monthly Academy Showcase!
An Introduction to Competitive Pauper! *Updated*
Pauper Meta Analysis & What Wizards Left Out!
Found at MTGO Academy!! Same Great Series, Same Great Content, Great New Home!! (yes that is me shamelessly trolling for more readers :))
Check me out on Twitter & Get a little MTGO Therapy
Bravo sir.
Also, as far as names are concerned, I always referred to it as wee fiend but mostly because I just liked the imagery of dyeing to a tiny demon. That being said, you took the time to write it up, name it whatever you want. Naysayers be darned.
For actually contributing to the thread;
I started with brainstorm and fetches which I eventually accepted as a trap. Keeping a fetch in my opener for potential brainstorm games seemed horrible and top decking a fetch when I needed one more untapped mana to just win was always brutal.
I always preferred shadow rift because of the cantrip but I've noticed over the months that it is probably the least run version of unblockable. Maybe one of you other gentleman can explain what it is I was missing?
Artful Dodge is just a better option for a few reasons:
1) It's two spells in 1. If you have a Kiln Fiend in play all you need is Artful Dodge, Assault Strobe, and UUR from your lands and you can deal 20 on the spot just out of those cards. Shadow Rift would require you to draw into another spell you can cast off of it for the same effect.
2) Artful Dodge is much better against permissions spells (counters form Delver, Pyroblasts from red decks post board) since if it gets countered you can just do it again
3) Sometimes you end up with two Fiends/Cyclops in play and sending them both in as unblockable is pretty great.
4) You save the back half for a second use in the cases where you don't have the cards to kill your opponent on the first attack. Sometimes attacking for 10 twice instead of 20 once is the path the deck has to take.
I was kind of skeptical about it at first too but playing against the deck a lot at this point and seeing it in action I'm comfortable saying Artful Dodge is just the superior option a vast majority of the time.
I've been practicing a bit. I've never played a Ponder/Preordain deck successfully, so this is a big learning experience for me. I think what I'm seeing is that if you have a choice and a shuffled deck, you want to Preordain first, so that you're not stuck scrying through garbage when you get a Ponder you only partially like. Can anyone else expand on their Ponder/Preordain strategy?
On Ponder/Preordain;
In an opening hand of all untapped lands, both cards, and a need to dig for something like a dude or a red source - I will ponder first. It lets me see that third card and lets me shuffle if all three aren't what I need.
If I have two blue sources and need to find something like a dude, protection for my dude in hand against a deck I know runs plenty of removal, or assault strobe with a dude in play to win there - I will do Preordain then Ponder since I can potentially dig six cards deep to find what I need.
What I struggled with was instances where I'm looking for something and hit on another ponder or preordain in the cards I'm digging through. I haven't found what I need but if I get rid of those cards I can easily end up in top deck mode and still not have what I'm looking for.
The main thing against MBC is to go off NOW, because if the game goes to five or six turns they will take over. Easier said than done, of course, but this has a lot to do with why Mogg War Marshal is seeing maindeck play.
Deck List:
BMBCB
UBUB Control/TeachingsBU
Ha! My Pauper UG Post Deck Showed!
Classic
BPoxB
Legacy
GB Eva Depths (Primer By Me) BG
Monthly Academy Showcase!
An Introduction to Competitive Pauper! *Updated*
Pauper Meta Analysis & What Wizards Left Out!
Found at MTGO Academy!! Same Great Series, Same Great Content, Great New Home!! (yes that is me shamelessly trolling for more readers :))
Check me out on Twitter & Get a little MTGO Therapy
You don't have much capacity to be the controlling player, so you're usually actively trying to assemble your combo with dig spells, and slide it under opposing counters/removal before the game gets out of your hands. Gitaxian Probe can be very valuable in knowing how to go off. You want to hold it until you have a serious need to know what the opponent has.
The one exception to the "no control" rule is the mirror, where someone HAS to be control. I think that's what Flame Slash on the board is for. Game 2, you want to load up on Pyroblast, Hydroblast, and Flame Slash, and then work out on the fly which one of you has the more controlling hand and play accordingly.
against mbc you need to bea ble to counter an edict effect, and need artful dodge. counters are also very good against the gain life spells they have(tendrils, gray merchant, corrupt)
You need ways to stop Edicts primarily since those are the most difficult removal to interact with. Dispel is the best option, but I've seen other lists running Mogg War Marshal as well. Other protection cards are good too of course (Mizzium Skin, Apostle's Blessing, etc). It should be a pretty bad matchup overall though, MBC is just very well set-up to beat a deck like this one.
8 Island
7 Mountain
4 Artful Dodge
4 Assault Strobe
4 Ponder
2 Shadow Rift
4 Apostle's Blessing
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Preordain
1 Spell Pierce
4 Manamorphose
2 Mutagenic Growth
4 Kiln Fiend
3 Pyroblast
3 Electrickery
3 Spell Pierce
4 Mogg War Marshal
2 Flame Slash
This is what I've been playing the past few days. Tried to go for the most consistent kill if they let me untap with a creature, and I think I found it. The main problems have been with Mono U and Mono B so far. Normally I'm just shaving numbers to bring in 3 Pyroblast and 3 Electrickery against U, which makes me wonder if the Pierces shouldn't be something else. I think my board leaves me too reactionary.
Any advice for the U or B matchups? Maybe sweet sideboard tech or something.
BW Midrange
Recent Examples:
3 Izzet Guildgate
6 Mountain
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Kiln Fiend
4 Nivix Cyclops
4 Apostle's Blessing
3 Artful Dodge
4 Assault Strobe
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Ponder
4 Preordain
2 Shadow Rift
2 Dispel
2 Echoing Ruin
2 Electrickery
3 Flame Slash
2 Flaring Pain
1 Mutagenic Growth
3 Pyroblast
4 Kiln Fiend
4 Nivix Cyclops
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Counterspell
4 Preordain
4 Artful Dodge
4 Assault Strobe
2 Ponder
2 Mutagenic Growth
2 Deprive
10 Island
8 Mountain
And my Side Board looks something like this
3 Stormbound Geist
3 Exclude
3 Electrickery
2 Hydroblast
You basically play a creature with Artful Dodge and Assault Strobe in hand and hope the guy sticks until the next turn. Then you can artful dodge the guy twice and assault strobe it which is always lethal damage. I have pulled a couple of turn 3 kills with this deck and several turn 4 or 5. I notice not many people are running Mutagenic Growth. This card saves our guys from a lot of black removal and red burn and provides that extra umph in case of life gaining decks. I think I have a real solid build here so let me know what you guys think.
My list:
4 Izzet Guildgate
8 Island
6 Mountain
Creatures [12]
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Nivix Cyclops
4 Kiln Fiend
Spells [30]
4 Assault Strobe
4 Artful Dodge
4 Ponder
4 Preordain
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Mizzium Skin
1 Shadow Rift
1 Reckless Charge
3 Stormbound Geist
2 Dispel
2 Pyroblast
2 Hydroblast
2 Gorilla Shaman
2 Electrickery
2 Flaring Pain
Mizzium Skin is THE nuts in this deck. Apostle's Blessing gives protection, but costing 2 life in a deck that already runs 4 Gitaxian Probes seems pretty bad against fast aggro. Mizzum Skin can also save more creatures with Overload. People tend to hold back removal against this deck in order to X-for-1 against us (casting removal in response to our buffs). Mizzium Skin has caught many people with their pants off.
I find it better than permission effects, because our game 1 is basically getting the damage through. Post-board, when people usually overload with removal, Dispel and the Elemental Blats can take care of other dangerous stuff.
4 Kiln Fiend
4 Nivix Cyclops
4 Preordain
4 Ponder
4 Reckless Charge
4 Apostle's Blessing
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Artful Dodge
4 Assault Strobe
2 Brainstorm
8 Island
6 Mountain
4 Pyroblast
3 Hydroblast
3 Electrickery
3 Stormbound Geist
2 Flame Slash
So what do you guys think of this version?