Sure, pitching land is nice, and I'm not saying the ability is completely irrelevant. I just don't think it's that great.
If Stymied Hopes was 1U for Force Spike + draw a card, it would be great. It's not, so it's not. That single scry 1 is nice and all, but not worth the extra cost here. If you want Force Spike, just play it!
I think the ability will make a huge difference, especially considering that I play Oona's Grace, which can repeatedly draw me a card and scry 1, making it an even more efficient filtering card. I'm definitely getting my hands on a couple to try them out. Scrying with Think Twice will also be very interesting.
I agree with Rujasu here; paying an extra mana to scry 1 is just too much to pay for a spell that should cost 1 (Force Spike). Force Spike is just the better card here.
I've been playing with MUC for a little bit now. I still think it is a very strong deck, it has an amazing matchup against delver fiend, and I believe it is favorable against MBC as well.
The only bad thing is affinity is very big in the meta. Anyone have any ideas for good sb cards against this deck/how to play the matchup?
At first when I played against affinity I would just try to counter the creatures, but I'd always get blown out. At the moment I feel like the right play is to counter any early thoughtcasts or artifact cantrips? so they can't just chain stuff over and over.
Frogmites are easy to deal with since we have spire golem, and if you stop the card draw and cantrip artifacts it becomes hard to play enforcers. Carapace forger still is hard though.
Currently I've been siding in coast watcher, hydroblast, another exclude, and a steel sabotage, but It always feels like at best the matchup is like a 60/40. Frostburn weird seems bad? not too sure yet.
Anyone care to share their play/sideboard strategy in that matchup?
EDIT: Also I feel like the scrymera doesn't fit well in the MUC deck, I very rarely ever want to tap 5 on my turn. Yea its a 3/4 flier with a powerful effect, but I feel like even casting it on t 7 or 8 leads to it being galv blasted/doom blade/victim of night/snap, and then if you counter they get to untap with you pretty much tapped out. If it had flash it would redonkulous of course, but I just feel like very rare will there be a profitable opportunity to cast one.
Also why not miscalculation? If it's no longer relevant you cycle it away.
I don't see why not use those creatures! I didn't even know they existed! Thanks! I'll add them to the primer.
Miscalculation seems okay, but the cycling means you don't know what you're going to draw next, so you're trading an average-at-best conditional counter for an unkown card, which might be a land. I don't like it much.
The only bad thing is affinity is very big in the meta. Anyone have any ideas for good sb cards against this deck/how to play the matchup?
At first when I played against affinity I would just try to counter the creatures, but I'd always get blown out. At the moment I feel like the right play is to counter any early thoughtcasts or artifact cantrips? so they can't just chain stuff over and over.
Frogmites are easy to deal with since we have spire golem, and if you stop the card draw and cantrip artifacts it becomes hard to play enforcers. Carapace forger still is hard though.
Currently I've been siding in coast watcher, hydroblast, another exclude, and a steel sabotage, but It always feels like at best the matchup is like a 60/40. Frostburn weird seems bad? not too sure yet.
Anyone care to share their play/sideboard strategy in that matchup?
Well, I stand by what I said in my primer. Counter only what can threaten you. This typically means every creature Affinity plays except Frogmite. I board out Prohibit and add in Annul and Waterfront Bouncer (the latter is excellent at stopping their creatures and Atog combo until you can find a counter).
My other piece of advice is not to hesitate to trade with their creatures. The longer the game goes on, the more likely they are to start top-decking, in which case you take control. Desert rocks, again.
In my experience, Affinity is very swingy. It will have hands that'll blow you out, and it also mulligans into weak hands that don't get anything threatening in play until turn 4. I've had a positive matchup versus Affinity, but maybe it's just the makeup of my own deck.
EDIT: Also I feel like the scrymera doesn't fit well in the MUC deck, I very rarely ever want to tap 5 on my turn. Yea its a 3/4 flier with a powerful effect, but I feel like even casting it on t 7 or 8 leads to it being galv blasted/doom blade/victim of night/snap, and then if you counter they get to untap with you pretty much tapped out. If it had flash it would redonkulous of course, but I just feel like very rare will there be a profitable opportunity to cast one.
I wouldn't use more than 2 in my deck, because of the high cost. However, it's a game-winner. Never depend on a single creature to win you the game. If it were to be removed on my own turn, it would really depend on the mana sources I had, other creatures I'm holding/controlling, and how many counters I am holding in my hand that would determine whether or not I counter back. Sometimes, just letting it die is the right move, because it allows you to hold your mana for what's really important, and it also makes your opponent feel safe, thinking you might not even have a counter in hand for his turn.
The body and the ability for the mana cost just seems so attractive, it's hard to say it can't be used in MUC (worse creatures have been used in the past).
Miscalculation seems okay, but the cycling means you don't know what you're going to draw next, so you're trading an average-at-best conditional counter for an unkown card, which might be a land. I don't like it much.
Miscalc is ~95% as likely to counter spells as manaleak, and just as likely as rune snag #1. It's not quite as good as snag, but I view it as an overall improvement over leak. They both become irrelevant at roughly the same point in the game, but miscalc can be ditched to dig, where as leak just rots in your hand (unless you are running some form of looter). It is slightly worse in MUC mirrors, as they will usually have the 2 mana open to counter a spell and you let them save a card, but that's only one matchup, and decks are 75 cards for a reason, and leak is pretty bad in muc mirrors anyway. I would rather have snag, but it's hard to argue with the text "draw a card" when it's printed anywhere on a card. You had prohibit listed, and miscalc is WAY better than prohibit.
Miscalc is ~95% as likely to counter spells as manaleak, and just as likely as rune snag #1.
I think the first statement is a very big exaggeration. There is a significant difference between paying 2 and 3 mana. I was always of the opinion that the first Rune Snag was massively sub par.
It's not quite as good as snag, but I view it as an overall improvement over leak. They both become irrelevant at roughly the same point in the game, but miscalc can be ditched to dig, where as leak just rots in your hand (unless you are running some form of looter).
I personally wouldn't even use mana leak so as to never be in this embarrassing situation. Dead cards are bad, but having the tax cost 2 instead of 3 makes miscalculation more likely to be a dead card, and sooner.
It is slightly worse in MUC mirrors, as they will usually have the 2 mana open to counter a spell and you let them save a card, but that's only one matchup, and decks are 75 cards for a reason, and leak is pretty bad in muc mirrors anyway. I would rather have snag, but it's hard to argue with the text "draw a card" when it's printed anywhere on a card.
MUC mirrors are so boring. Whoever has the most mana and resolves the most creatures wins. Any spell can get you there. I've even been Dazed as the last spell of a massive counter war before. All it takes is timing.
You had prohibit listed, and miscalc is WAY better than prohibit.
Woa... Really? You do know there's a huge difference between what Prohibit does and what Miscalculation does? Prohibit counters a spell with converted mana cost less than or equal than two. Miscal counters unless a player pays 2. Prohibit remains a solid hard counter throughout the whole game, because it doesn't give the opponent the choice. People play 2 drops beyond turn two. It even has a very accessible late-game kicker, that will hit just about any card in Pauper. Prohibit is wayyyy better.
After reading your Primer, I noticed you didn't include Condescend in the list of counterspells.
Also, after reading the discussion, I have to agree - I can't think of many spells beyond cmc2 that find play in pauper - and even less beyond cmc4. The spells that are bigger than that are however countered more easy with a softcounter - unless your opponent is ramping ALOT.
After quickly checking through the peasant section (although I don't play peasant myself), I found that Spell Snare is missing. Of course it is rather situational, but still, a hardcounter for U is pretty impressive.
After quickly checking through the peasant section (although I don't play peasant myself), I found that Spell Snare is missing. Of course it is rather situational, but still, a hardcounter for U is pretty impressive.
In legacy peasant it's not a situational as it might seem. People hear pauper and peasant, but never the legacy part, which makes a difference of about 1 turn goldfishing, if that, and the curves are so low it feels almost criminal. 2 mana is still so common that you won't likely have major issues, so long as you run it alongside enough other counters, it might lead to problems against burn (which runs a metric ton of 1's), and maybe faeries (which lives mostly at 1 and three), but that's what the board is for.
Spell Snare is an excellent suggestion, I can't believe I'm forgetting all these classics. It could even be a good thing to have in the sideboard itself, as many Pauper decks have key cards at two mana.
I've added the cards to the Primer. Thanks for the suggestions!
Good deck! How are you finding the Calcite Snappers? Have you tried theFrostburn Weird? I find you could use a couple more creatures. I would drop 2 preordains for more, and replace Gush with Fathom Seer, as you can get more utility out of him. I also think you're missing a good draw spell like Think Twice or Accumulated Knowledge. That final Preordain could come out, as well as a Serrated Arrows or two.
You're going kind of heavy on the Red hate. Why? Is there a particular deck you're trying to beat with it? I would suggest you take another look at your bounce spells. Echoing Truth is good, but Boomerang is a bit bland. I am a fan of Waterfront Bouncer, personally. Capsize is also a very interesting solution. Curfew is also very good. I use Aura Flux, myself. Piracy Charm is a common inclusion for its ability to ping opponents' creatures (or pump up an attacking golem sometimes).
Considering you're running Serrated Arrows maindeck, you could think about adding more than one Capsize, and even in the maindeck. They'll work together very well as a removal machine in the late game.
First match was against Delver-Fairies: Won the first match, lost the second one, no time for a third. Delver is a lot faster than us if they get to flip a delver second turn, but it is doable, Serrated arrows and desert shine here.
Second match was a bye. A definitely favorable matchup.
Third match was against Orzhov Extort: Won 2-1. Save the counterspells for the creatures, as once they land a couple of extort creatures it doesn't really matter if we counter everything.
Congrats on the good placement! Who came in first?
I find Delver is a fairly good matchup, but as you said, a T2 flipped Delver can just kill you. I have never gone up against Extort decks (I thought it was more of a Standard Pauper thing). I suppose it would be kind of a bad matchup, considering that they can pay for the extort no matter how the spell turns out. Since they probably won't even attack with their creatures, you have very few ways to deal with them. Serrated Arrows seems like a solid choice in your metagame! You should really try including some bounce spells into your maindeck, as it would give you more flexibility with your counters.
I have always loved playing MUC and Pauper is a great format to play it in. I have a build that is working quite well but I just can't get comfortable with the sideboard. Here is the deck
I have issues with Stompy (30:70), MBC (40:60) and Delver (45:55). Affinity and Tron are both very positive matchups for me. Here is my current sideboard.
This matchup often comes down to the amount of early discard as I normally have a solid counter defense against the big life swing cards.
Delver -4 Deprive -2 Island +4 Charm +2 Arrows
Stall them into the long game before using Arrows plus bounce to have the bigger fliers. Very tough to actually accomplish.
Burn -3 Quicksand -2 Into the Roil -1 Oona's +4 Charm, +2 Hydroblast
Basically hope they mulligan a lot.
How do you think I should be sideboarding?
Well, first off, I can see why you're having issues versus MBC, while I consider it a favorable matchup. I think this mill theme (whether it be for you or the opponent) is worth dropping, imo. It's just not strong enough with the little support you have. Try including more draw spells and a few more counters (check out the suggested counters in the MUC Primer). Your deck is also lacking Desert, which goes a long way versus all three of your problem matchups. You also need your creatures to be able to block profitably with others, and Stormbound Geist isn't the best, as he only blocks flying. If you're fighting a heavy discard version, use your Brainstorms only in response to discard spells, in order to hide away the things you either don't want them to see or get rid of.
For sideboarding, I recommend taking out Into the Roil. Bounce spells are quite innefective versus MBC, as they're often quite happy to return their creatures to their hand in order to punish you twice with a ETB ability. Put in all the counters you have in your sideboard. Negate is a good option here. So are arrows.
In general, you should never sideboard lands. This is very detrimental to your deck and is probably a factor in some post-board losses.
Versus Stompy, the matchup is rather even, but you'll always be at a slight disadvantage versus fast aggro decks. Cards to save your counters for are Skarrgan Pit-Skulk, Rogue Elephant, Rancor and Hunger of the Howlpack. Never counter other pump spells. Again, having creatures that block profitably with theirs is often a really good thing to have (I'm using Sentinels of Glen Elendra to great effect here, and a turn 2 Fathom Seer can stall a game considerably, as it blocks many X/1s).
Board in all the bounce you can, as it's just about the best tool you have against them. Coupled with creatures, counters and Desert, you'll have plenty of things to do during the combat phase.
As for Delver, it's another very close matchup. I'm going to say it again: Desert. They're really cheap to buy and are completely broken in Pauper. Board out your more expensive counters and board in anything that could fight them well. A turn 1 Piracy Charm on their Delver can go a long way. Cards to look out for are Delver of Secrets, Spellstutter Sprite and Snap. Play your game with these three cards in mind, and you should do better.
I would take out the Curses and the Rewind from the sideboard, and move Faerie Trickery to the mainboard (it's a really solid counter). You can then add more relevant hate into your sideboard, like better bounce or more Hydroblast or Annul. Exclude is also really awesome mainboard. Try it. Actually, you should check out the section on counterspells in the MUC Primer for my full insight on most of the counters in Pauper.
Born of the gods gives us nullify which seems pretty decent. It's a very slight upgrade on essence scatter if we aren't running a lot of colorless lands.
Yeah, I had mentioned in the BoG discussion thread that it might be a useful as a sideboard card instead of Annul, as the cards you want to counter in Affinity are creatures, and it would be more versatile against Hexproof anyways. Very appropriate cost, too!
What's with Curse of the Bloody Tome in the board? Against a hard control mirror I think I'd prefer Jace's Erasure any day - even without Brainstorm and Mulldrifter. 3 mana just seems like a lot and you should/can be drawing through things pretty fast. 15 counters does seem like an awful lot though. I could easily see 4 being cut for Mulldrifter.
Unfortunately, Mulldrifter is not the greatest here, you're right. He's just too much to afford. Sucks we can't play what is arguably the best creature in Pauper!
And yeah, Jace's Erasure is probably a better bet, mostly because of the mana cost. It can also end up milling more, especially with an Oona's Grace running. I would consider adding a second one of those.
I would take out a Deprive or the Logic knot for an extra Exclude; they're just so good, and you have plenty of 2-mana counters already. I think you'll find the Rune Snags are also pretty bad versus Tron. You're kinda running out of options, though.
Other than that, I could see a 1-of Capsize somewhere in the 75. Those are really good against slower strategies.
Creatures for MUC need to either have flash or a cost reducing mechanic, and if it lacks those it needs to have the ability to dodge some amount of commonly used removal (since you won't likely have a lot along the lines of ability to protect it the turn you drop it). There are reasons why spire golem is popular, it's 4 butt and being an artifact creatures save it from a wide swath of removal, and it gets cheap in a hurry. Sentinels of glen elandra has flash allowing you to drop it dot and immediately untap so you can protect it. Mull drifter is expensive, dies to everything, and it's cost reduction mechanic doesn't keep it alive.
We have a new, interesting, cantripping counterspell in the Pauper arsenal: Dream Fracture.
What are your thoughts on this card? A counter that replaces itself so cheaply is always worth a look, and, unlike Arcane Denial, it doesn't cause card disadvantage. Unlike Exclude, it doesn't only apply to one card type. It is, therefore, the most general cantripping counterspell in Pauper. But it is worth playing? How likely is it that we can draw yet another answer to whatever the opponent draws with their new card? Is drawing a card worth more to us than it is for the opponent?
The reason these counters aren't discussed in the primer is because when it comes to 3-mana counters, there are tons of options. Faerie Trickery, while it doesn't hit faeries, counters a spell outright and removes it from the game. Delver is a big player in the metagame, but it certainly is not alone, and while many cards cost less than 3 mana, we have access to counters at 3-cmc that will counter anything. Cancel would be better than these cards, for example, and I consider it marginally playable because there are better options. We tend to want to play 2-mana counters before 3-mana ones, because it allows us to be ready faster. This is why the pool of 3-mana counters isn't explored as deeply; we tend to find almost everything we need at two mana.
Consider the danger of a faerie versus the threat of a Crusher
EDIT: I've added the Eye-Candy Matchup in the Matchups section. Very interesting games, as it always is with MUC. I managed to get a slight edge in, but it is a really close game. I had to play a very tight game. In one game it came down to me at two life, Spire Golem in play, and facing a 1/1 Delver and two Kiln Fiends. He attacks for the win, I respond with Sentinels of Glen Elendra, block both Fiends, and activate Desert to kill Delver. I proceeded to win that game at 1 life. SO epic!
If Stymied Hopes was 1U for Force Spike + draw a card, it would be great. It's not, so it's not. That single scry 1 is nice and all, but not worth the extra cost here. If you want Force Spike, just play it!
I agree with Rujasu here; paying an extra mana to scry 1 is just too much to pay for a spell that should cost 1 (Force Spike). Force Spike is just the better card here.
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
Also why not miscalculation? If it's no longer relevant you cycle it away.
The only bad thing is affinity is very big in the meta. Anyone have any ideas for good sb cards against this deck/how to play the matchup?
At first when I played against affinity I would just try to counter the creatures, but I'd always get blown out. At the moment I feel like the right play is to counter any early thoughtcasts or artifact cantrips? so they can't just chain stuff over and over.
Frogmites are easy to deal with since we have spire golem, and if you stop the card draw and cantrip artifacts it becomes hard to play enforcers. Carapace forger still is hard though.
Currently I've been siding in coast watcher, hydroblast, another exclude, and a steel sabotage, but It always feels like at best the matchup is like a 60/40. Frostburn weird seems bad? not too sure yet.
Anyone care to share their play/sideboard strategy in that matchup?
EDIT: Also I feel like the scrymera doesn't fit well in the MUC deck, I very rarely ever want to tap 5 on my turn. Yea its a 3/4 flier with a powerful effect, but I feel like even casting it on t 7 or 8 leads to it being galv blasted/doom blade/victim of night/snap, and then if you counter they get to untap with you pretty much tapped out. If it had flash it would redonkulous of course, but I just feel like very rare will there be a profitable opportunity to cast one.
I don't see why not use those creatures! I didn't even know they existed! Thanks! I'll add them to the primer.
Miscalculation seems okay, but the cycling means you don't know what you're going to draw next, so you're trading an average-at-best conditional counter for an unkown card, which might be a land. I don't like it much.
Well, I stand by what I said in my primer. Counter only what can threaten you. This typically means every creature Affinity plays except Frogmite. I board out Prohibit and add in Annul and Waterfront Bouncer (the latter is excellent at stopping their creatures and Atog combo until you can find a counter).
My other piece of advice is not to hesitate to trade with their creatures. The longer the game goes on, the more likely they are to start top-decking, in which case you take control. Desert rocks, again.
In my experience, Affinity is very swingy. It will have hands that'll blow you out, and it also mulligans into weak hands that don't get anything threatening in play until turn 4. I've had a positive matchup versus Affinity, but maybe it's just the makeup of my own deck.
I wouldn't use more than 2 in my deck, because of the high cost. However, it's a game-winner. Never depend on a single creature to win you the game. If it were to be removed on my own turn, it would really depend on the mana sources I had, other creatures I'm holding/controlling, and how many counters I am holding in my hand that would determine whether or not I counter back. Sometimes, just letting it die is the right move, because it allows you to hold your mana for what's really important, and it also makes your opponent feel safe, thinking you might not even have a counter in hand for his turn.
The body and the ability for the mana cost just seems so attractive, it's hard to say it can't be used in MUC (worse creatures have been used in the past).
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
Miscalc is ~95% as likely to counter spells as manaleak, and just as likely as rune snag #1. It's not quite as good as snag, but I view it as an overall improvement over leak. They both become irrelevant at roughly the same point in the game, but miscalc can be ditched to dig, where as leak just rots in your hand (unless you are running some form of looter). It is slightly worse in MUC mirrors, as they will usually have the 2 mana open to counter a spell and you let them save a card, but that's only one matchup, and decks are 75 cards for a reason, and leak is pretty bad in muc mirrors anyway. I would rather have snag, but it's hard to argue with the text "draw a card" when it's printed anywhere on a card. You had prohibit listed, and miscalc is WAY better than prohibit.
I think the first statement is a very big exaggeration. There is a significant difference between paying 2 and 3 mana. I was always of the opinion that the first Rune Snag was massively sub par.
I personally wouldn't even use mana leak so as to never be in this embarrassing situation. Dead cards are bad, but having the tax cost 2 instead of 3 makes miscalculation more likely to be a dead card, and sooner.
MUC mirrors are so boring. Whoever has the most mana and resolves the most creatures wins. Any spell can get you there. I've even been Dazed as the last spell of a massive counter war before. All it takes is timing.
Woa... Really? You do know there's a huge difference between what Prohibit does and what Miscalculation does? Prohibit counters a spell with converted mana cost less than or equal than two. Miscal counters unless a player pays 2. Prohibit remains a solid hard counter throughout the whole game, because it doesn't give the opponent the choice. People play 2 drops beyond turn two. It even has a very accessible late-game kicker, that will hit just about any card in Pauper. Prohibit is wayyyy better.
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
Also, after reading the discussion, I have to agree - I can't think of many spells beyond cmc2 that find play in pauper - and even less beyond cmc4. The spells that are bigger than that are however countered more easy with a softcounter - unless your opponent is ramping ALOT.
Cockatrice is still going strong over at http://www.woogerworks.com[/B]
Ghostly Battlefield
The Winner is Judge [2]
Chasay, Caller of Fire
Skaab Corpse Looter
[B]This Winner is also Judge [0]
That's a pretty big omission. I was sure it was in there! Thanks for pointing that out!
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
Cockatrice is still going strong over at http://www.woogerworks.com[/B]
Ghostly Battlefield
The Winner is Judge [2]
Chasay, Caller of Fire
Skaab Corpse Looter
[B]This Winner is also Judge [0]
In legacy peasant it's not a situational as it might seem. People hear pauper and peasant, but never the legacy part, which makes a difference of about 1 turn goldfishing, if that, and the curves are so low it feels almost criminal. 2 mana is still so common that you won't likely have major issues, so long as you run it alongside enough other counters, it might lead to problems against burn (which runs a metric ton of 1's), and maybe faeries (which lives mostly at 1 and three), but that's what the board is for.
I've added the cards to the Primer. Thanks for the suggestions!
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
Good deck! How are you finding the Calcite Snappers? Have you tried theFrostburn Weird? I find you could use a couple more creatures. I would drop 2 preordains for more, and replace Gush with Fathom Seer, as you can get more utility out of him. I also think you're missing a good draw spell like Think Twice or Accumulated Knowledge. That final Preordain could come out, as well as a Serrated Arrows or two.
You're going kind of heavy on the Red hate. Why? Is there a particular deck you're trying to beat with it? I would suggest you take another look at your bounce spells. Echoing Truth is good, but Boomerang is a bit bland. I am a fan of Waterfront Bouncer, personally. Capsize is also a very interesting solution. Curfew is also very good. I use Aura Flux, myself. Piracy Charm is a common inclusion for its ability to ping opponents' creatures (or pump up an attacking golem sometimes).
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
Considering you're running Serrated Arrows maindeck, you could think about adding more than one Capsize, and even in the maindeck. They'll work together very well as a removal machine in the late game.
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
Congrats on the good placement! Who came in first?
I find Delver is a fairly good matchup, but as you said, a T2 flipped Delver can just kill you. I have never gone up against Extort decks (I thought it was more of a Standard Pauper thing). I suppose it would be kind of a bad matchup, considering that they can pay for the extort no matter how the spell turns out. Since they probably won't even attack with their creatures, you have very few ways to deal with them. Serrated Arrows seems like a solid choice in your metagame! You should really try including some bounce spells into your maindeck, as it would give you more flexibility with your counters.
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
Well, first off, I can see why you're having issues versus MBC, while I consider it a favorable matchup. I think this mill theme (whether it be for you or the opponent) is worth dropping, imo. It's just not strong enough with the little support you have. Try including more draw spells and a few more counters (check out the suggested counters in the MUC Primer). Your deck is also lacking Desert, which goes a long way versus all three of your problem matchups. You also need your creatures to be able to block profitably with others, and Stormbound Geist isn't the best, as he only blocks flying. If you're fighting a heavy discard version, use your Brainstorms only in response to discard spells, in order to hide away the things you either don't want them to see or get rid of.
For sideboarding, I recommend taking out Into the Roil. Bounce spells are quite innefective versus MBC, as they're often quite happy to return their creatures to their hand in order to punish you twice with a ETB ability. Put in all the counters you have in your sideboard. Negate is a good option here. So are arrows.
In general, you should never sideboard lands. This is very detrimental to your deck and is probably a factor in some post-board losses.
Versus Stompy, the matchup is rather even, but you'll always be at a slight disadvantage versus fast aggro decks. Cards to save your counters for are Skarrgan Pit-Skulk, Rogue Elephant, Rancor and Hunger of the Howlpack. Never counter other pump spells. Again, having creatures that block profitably with theirs is often a really good thing to have (I'm using Sentinels of Glen Elendra to great effect here, and a turn 2 Fathom Seer can stall a game considerably, as it blocks many X/1s).
Board in all the bounce you can, as it's just about the best tool you have against them. Coupled with creatures, counters and Desert, you'll have plenty of things to do during the combat phase.
As for Delver, it's another very close matchup. I'm going to say it again: Desert. They're really cheap to buy and are completely broken in Pauper. Board out your more expensive counters and board in anything that could fight them well. A turn 1 Piracy Charm on their Delver can go a long way. Cards to look out for are Delver of Secrets, Spellstutter Sprite and Snap. Play your game with these three cards in mind, and you should do better.
I would take out the Curses and the Rewind from the sideboard, and move Faerie Trickery to the mainboard (it's a really solid counter). You can then add more relevant hate into your sideboard, like better bounce or more Hydroblast or Annul. Exclude is also really awesome mainboard. Try it. Actually, you should check out the section on counterspells in the MUC Primer for my full insight on most of the counters in Pauper.
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
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
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
And yeah, Jace's Erasure is probably a better bet, mostly because of the mana cost. It can also end up milling more, especially with an Oona's Grace running. I would consider adding a second one of those.
I would take out a Deprive or the Logic knot for an extra Exclude; they're just so good, and you have plenty of 2-mana counters already. I think you'll find the Rune Snags are also pretty bad versus Tron. You're kinda running out of options, though.
Other than that, I could see a 1-of Capsize somewhere in the 75. Those are really good against slower strategies.
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
What are your thoughts on this card? A counter that replaces itself so cheaply is always worth a look, and, unlike Arcane Denial, it doesn't cause card disadvantage. Unlike Exclude, it doesn't only apply to one card type. It is, therefore, the most general cantripping counterspell in Pauper. But it is worth playing? How likely is it that we can draw yet another answer to whatever the opponent draws with their new card? Is drawing a card worth more to us than it is for the opponent?
All good questions...
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
The reason these counters aren't discussed in the primer is because when it comes to 3-mana counters, there are tons of options. Faerie Trickery, while it doesn't hit faeries, counters a spell outright and removes it from the game. Delver is a big player in the metagame, but it certainly is not alone, and while many cards cost less than 3 mana, we have access to counters at 3-cmc that will counter anything. Cancel would be better than these cards, for example, and I consider it marginally playable because there are better options. We tend to want to play 2-mana counters before 3-mana ones, because it allows us to be ready faster. This is why the pool of 3-mana counters isn't explored as deeply; we tend to find almost everything we need at two mana.
Consider the danger of a faerie versus the threat of a Crusher
EDIT: I've added the Eye-Candy Matchup in the Matchups section. Very interesting games, as it always is with MUC. I managed to get a slight edge in, but it is a really close game. I had to play a very tight game. In one game it came down to me at two life, Spire Golem in play, and facing a 1/1 Delver and two Kiln Fiends. He attacks for the win, I respond with Sentinels of Glen Elendra, block both Fiends, and activate Desert to kill Delver. I proceeded to win that game at 1 life. SO epic!
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