Hey! It was really nice playing you the other day. That was an excellent match.
I'm really happy that you got to upgrade your deck with Bonder's Ornaments! Do you think Pristine Talisman is not worth playing anymore?
Any reason why you're playing 2 Electrickery instead of having an extra copy of Fiery Cannonade for the sideboard?
Has Skred been performing well despite you running 18 snow lands?
I'm going to have to update my own list at some point and try this out. Looks like a lot of fun! Wildfire in this meta is crazy good.
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1
Upkeep posted a message on Mono-Red control project or The Hunt for Red Controlber!Posted in: Paper Pauper and Peasant -
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Upkeep posted a message on Mono-Red control project or The Hunt for Red Controlber!This deck got so much better in 2020!Posted in: Paper Pauper and Peasant
I'm personally a bit more in favour of Commodore than Throneguard since it doesn't die to artifact hate and the board is usually kept clear, making it a much faster win condition. I totally get wanting the 5 toughness creature, though, as it survives most burn spells.
Bonder's Ornament is basically the best card we could have in terms of card advantage, since it also ramps. Too bad about the price tag; I was lucky to open a copy from a random booster.
I'm glad you're testing out the wildfire/darksteel combo. Has it been paying off? It bet it's also fun to disrupt Tron in the maindeck! -
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killer_eye posted a message on [Primer] Pauper Turbo Fogthanks! i like all your suggestion specially the crushing vines and take down.Posted in: Established -
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Upkeep posted a message on The State of PauperBig news!Posted in: Pauper
Wizards has finally done it. Pauper is now a sanctioned format both online and in paper.
Not only this, but there is one unified ban list for both, which adds all the cards that previously were not available online into the format. That's something like over 400 cards.
This is likely to change up Pauper in some way. Things like Merchant Scroll, Desert, Darkness, Ashnod's Altar, Sunken City, Goblin Grenade, Flood, Crown-Hunter Hireling (if they publish it online), Feldon's Cane, Unstable Mutation, Red Elemental Blast, Blue Elemental Blast and many more are going to make their way online!
This also means that cards like Chainer's Edict and Battle Screech, which were originally only commons online, should also be considered legal in paper (if that was a issue or anyone).
I can't express how happy I am with this change. This is a great day for Pauper and for Magic: the Gathering.
Link to the Prof's video: Prof's Video
Link of cards added to the online pool: New cards to MTGO -
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WarMachinePrime posted a message on [[Official]] Modern Horizons Spoiler DiscussionAs said above Defile is the real deal in MBC. Quite the upgrade, almost like getting a black Skred.Posted in: Pauper
Faerie Seer seems like it will slot into some Delver decks as well.
Ephemerate is going to see play somewhere where bounce/loop is needed.
Frostwalla could fit into a deck somewhere that wouldn't mind switching over to snow lands. -
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Upkeep posted a message on Mono-Red control project or The Hunt for Red Controlber!I think Flurry of Horns is definitely a great option for a finisher. 3 toughness and haste is huge for cleaning things up quickly. I've rarely been disappointed with it.Posted in: Paper Pauper and Peasant
The biggest improvement to the deck was definitely Rakdos Carnarium. I started mulliganing a lot less thanks to these lands making extra land drops for free. I'm confident this change boosted my win-rate significantly.
Luxa River Shrine has had some good moments, but overall was just a bit slow for the Burn Matchup. I don't think I can recommend it to anyone, but I do think we need to find good, consistent sources of lifegain. Note that Burn now plays way more creatures than ever before, making it more susceptible to our strategy. -
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micah1 posted a message on Mono-Red control project or The Hunt for Red Controlber!The deck doesn't play very quickly, so I'm not sure Lightning Shrieker is the best of options as a repeatable Lava Axe. It's possible its a good enough of a damage boost to be worthwhile though. My only big thoughts are, well, the deviations from my list. Hordeling Outburst is okay I guess, but the 3 drop is already rather crowded, part of why I elected for Beetleback Chief. The other options, which may be better but I haven't tested, iare Flurry of Horns or Avarax. I've played a little with Avarax but it wasn't my favorite. Other thought is how awkward Fire at Will is. It can't go face when you're trying to close out the game, it requires RRR when you're playing 4 colorless lands and only 17 red sources... I think it's much better to just play Arc Lightning if you want the split damage effect, unless you're seeing a lot of Guardian of the Guildpact.Posted in: Paper Pauper and Peasant
Due to the swarms of UB Delver, I suspect now is the time to play 21+ Snow Mountains and Skred, because Gurmag is a real pain, and UB Delver is really popular. Haven't played on MTGO in a while, might be time to give it a spin and some testing again.
@upkeep @DarkNinja, dunno if you'll read this, but how did Flurry of Horns and Guardian Idol turn out for you two? Had Skred been consistently big enough to kill things? And how was Radiant Fountain? -
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LiveLongAndMe posted a message on Mono-Red control project or The Hunt for Red Controlber!Posted in: Paper Pauper and Peasant
that's my list atm. I'm loving lightning shrieker as a repeatable lava axe that dodges removal. Great for closing out games. Other than that the one of fissure in main and SB is really great for any stray Gurmag Angler or Fangren Marauder
Thoughts? -
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BetweenWalls posted a message on Differences between MTGO and PaperHerein lies a comprehensive outline of the differences between MTGO Pauper and paper Pauper. This info will probably be more helpful in this dedicated thread than being buried elsewhere. All future updates and corrections will be made in this thread.Posted in: Paper Pauper and Peasant
Pauper Rarity Breakdown:
Except for Arabian Nights, Antiquities, The Dark, Fallen Empires, Chronicles, Homelands, & Alliances, all other boosters prior to the introduction of mythic rares (even Alpha, if my source is correct) contained 15 cards at a rarity breakdown of 11-3-1. (11 commons, 3 uncommons, & 1 rare per booster) Most of those exceptions, however, only contained 8 cards and had a rarity breakdown of 6-2. (6 commons* & 2 uncommons* per booster) Alliances had a breakdown of 8-3-1, while Chronicles had a breakdown of 9-3. Legends had a more normal breakdown of 11-3-1.
* these terms are ambiguous and are discussed further in the next section
Most sets follow a standard for rarity distribution (11-3-1: 11 cards from one sheet of 121 cards, 3 from another, and 1 from a third), which smoothly fit into a standard for card rarity (11 commons, 3 commons, & 1 rare per booster). The terms 'common', 'uncommon', and 'rare' are defined by this standard rarity distribution. For non-standard sets, actual rarity isn't so easily correlated with rarity distribution: in order to use those terms in the same context in which they're defined (i.e. for them to have the same meaning), we must first translate into a standard. If this isn't done, a card from the 'common' sheet or 'uncommon' sheet of a non-standard (6-2) set might be considered 'common' or 'uncommon' on the basis of what sheet it was printed on, but those terms wouldn't match the standard that we mean with them. Using the same words to mean different things, especially when those things are similar, makes understanding quite difficult. For the sake of clarity, let's briefly use other terms: those sheets could just as easily be titled 'normal' and 'special'.
Since the rarity of these 'normal' cards is defined by their taking 6 slots in an 8-slot booster, it's clear that they aren't distributed the same as 'common' cards, which are defined as taking 11 slots in a 15-slot booster. Both terms are meant to express how rare a card is, or how often the card appears in a booster. By comparing the actual rarity of each card, we can see how cards from non-standard sets fit into our standard classification of 'common', 'uncommon', and 'rare'.
Note: The terms 'common' and 'uncommon' and abbreviations such as 'C1' will continue to be used for early sets because using a new format such as N1 (printed once on the normal sheet) or S3 (printed 3 times on the special sheet) doesn't clarify the issue well enough to be intuitive considering how ingrained the traditional formatting is.
Many early expansions used 2 sheets rather than 3, but often had a greater number of distinct rarities across all cards than later expansions due to some cards being printed multiple times per sheet. The terms C1, C4, U3 and such represent which sheet the cards were printed on (Common or Uncommon) and how many appeared on the sheet. (1, 4, or 3, respectively) For most of these sets, both sheets contained 121 cards each, organized into 11 columns and 11 rows before being cut into individual cards.
As an example, Arabian Nights had 32 U2 cards (32 cards printed twice each on the uncommon sheet) and 19 U3 cards (each printed three times on the uncommon sheet). Each sheet had 121 cards in total, which can be checked with a little math: 32 * 2 = 64, 19 * 3 = 57, and 64 + 57 = 121. The same can be done for the common* sheet as well as any other set.
The average number of any card appearing in a booster pack depends on how often that card appears on a sheet as well as how often cards from that sheet appear in a booster. In the case of Arabian Nights, the boosters contained 8 cards: 6 from the common sheet and 2 from the uncommon sheet. A U2 card, which appeared twice on the uncommon sheet, would be found twice per 121 cards (since each uncommon sheet had that many cards). Math shows us that 2/121 = 0.0165, or 1.65%. However, because there were 2 uncommons per booster, that number is doubled: (2 / 121) * 2 = 0.0331, or 3.31% of the cards per Arabian Nights booster will be any particular U2 card on average. (assuming complete randomization) The same math can be applied to any card in any set, and the results are shown below.
Arabian Nights (78 total cards)
Breakdown: 6-2 | Cards per sheet: 121 | Released: December 1993
32 U2 (uncommons) . . . . . each 3.31% per booster
19 U3 (uncommons) . . . . . each 4.96% per booster
1 C1 (basic Mountain - uncommon, as prevalent as U3 cards) . . . 4.96% per booster
16 C4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 19.83% per booster
9 C5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 24.8% per booster
1 C11 (Desert) . . . . . . . . . . . 54.55% per booster
Note: Arabian Nights had a much flatter rarity distribution than most sets, with 2 main groups of rarities and no cards even as rare as the uncommons of later sets. Whoever entered the data for this set into Gatherer listed the U2s as rares, while many rarer cards from other sets were listed as uncommons. It seems likely that the method used to determine Gatherer rarity involved some amount of guesswork when sets were first added.
Antiquities (85 total cards)
Breakdown: 6-2 | Cards per sheet: 121 | Released: March 1994
20 U1 (rares) . . . . . . . . . each 1.65% per booster
4 U2 (uncommons). . . . each 3.31% per booster
29 U3 (uncommons) . . . each 4.96% per booster
2 C1 (uncommons, just as prevalent as U3 cards) . . . each 4.96% per booster
2 C2* (commons) . . . . . each 9.92% per booster
25 C4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 19.83% per booster
1 C5^ (Urza's Tower) . . . 24.8% per booster
2 C6^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 29.76% per booster
Notes:
* Mishra's Factory are Strip Mine were printed 3 times on the uncommon sheet, but are unique in that they were also printed once on the common sheet, and are thus neither U3 nor C1, but rather the rarity equivalent of both combined: either C2 or U6.
^ Urza's Tower, Mine, and Power Plant were all printed with 4 separate art versions. The Tower had 1 of those versions duplicated on the common sheet while the two other cards each had 2 versions duplicated, so Urza's Tower is C5 while the others are C6.
Legends (310 total cards)
Breakdown: 11-3-1 | Cards per sheet: 121 | Released: June 1994
121 R1 . . . each 0.83% per booster
107 U1 . . . each 2.48% per booster
7 U2 . . . . . each 4.96% per booster
29 C1 . . . . each 9.09% per booster
46 C2 . . . . each 18.18% per booster
The Dark (119 total cards)
Breakdown: 6-2 | Cards per sheet: 121 | Released: August 1994
35 U1 (rares) . . . . . . . . . each 1.65% per booster
43 U2 (uncommons) . . . each 3.31% per booster
1 C1 (Maze of Ith - uncommon, as prevalent as uncommons in other sets) . . . 4.96% per booster
40 C3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 14.88% per booster
Fallen Empires (102 total cards)
Breakdown: 6-2 | Cards per sheet: 121 | Released: November 1994
36 U1 (rares) . . . . . . . . . each 1.65% per booster
5 U2 (uncommons) . . . . each 3.31% per booster
24 U3 (uncommons) . . . each 4.96% per booster
2 C1^ (uncommons, just as prevalent as U3s) . . . . 4.96% per booster
1 C3* (Farrel's Zealot, common) . . . 14.88% per booster
19 C3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 14.88% per booster
15 C4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 19.83% per booster
Notes:
^ The 2 C1s are Farrel's Mantle and Delif's Cone. Gatherer lists the latter as common for an unknown reason.
* Farrel's Zealot was printed twice on the common sheet and 3 times on the uncommon sheet, so is neither C2 nor U3, but rather a combination of both that has the equivalent rarity of C3.
Ice Age (373 total cards)
Breakdown: 11-3-1 | Cards per sheet: 121 | Released: June 1995
121 R1 . . . each 0.83% per booster
121 U1 . . . each 2.48% per booster
121 C1 . . . each 9.09% per booster
Note: Rares, uncommons, and commons add up to a total of 363 cards. The remaining 10 cards are the 5 basic lands and 5 basic snow lands.
Chronicles (116 total cards)
Breakdown: 9-3 | Cards per sheet: 121 | Released: June 1995
46 U1 (rares) . . . . . . . . . each 2.48% per booster
25 U3 (uncommons) . . . each 7.44% per booster
5 C1 (uncommons) . . . . each 7.44% per booster
7 C2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 14.88% per booster
30 C3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 22.31% per booster
3 C4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 29.75% per booster
Note: These U1s would normally be considered uncommons from a static percentage-based rarity perspective, but this set seems to showcase that relative rarity between rarities should be taken into account - these boosters contained more cards at each rarity, but the relative difference between those rarities was quite normal.
Homelands (115 total cards)
Breakdown: 6-2 | Cards per sheet: 121 | Released: October 1995
43 U1 (rares) . . . . . . . . . each 1.65% per booster
26 U3 (uncommons) . . . each 4.96% per booster
21 C1 (uncommons, just as prevalent as U3s) . . . each 4.96% per booster
25 C4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 19.84% per booster
Note: Each C4 is technically 2 C2 versions of the same card with different art.
Alliances (144 total cards)
Breakdown: 8-3-1 | Cards per sheet: 110 | Released: 10 June 1996
46 R2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 0.91% per booster
3 R6 (uncommons) . . . . each 2.73% per booster
40 U2 (uncommons) . . . each 5.45% per booster
5 U6 (commons) . . . . . . each 16.36% per booster
40 C2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 14.54% per booster
10 C3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each 21.82% per boosterWhile Gatherer seems to (mostly) display rarities based on which sheet cards were printed on, and ignoring how often they were printed on it, Magiccards.info seems to display rarities based on how rare the cards were, regardless of how they were printed. (see the 'Contestable Cards' section below for the exceptions to this organization) It seems the rarity thresholds are as follows (see the above section for the math that results in these values):
<= 1.65%: Rare
2.48% - 7.44%: Uncommon
9.09%+: Common
With this as a basis for rarity, whether a card was printed on a specific card sheet or another doesn't matter. Only the card's rarity (as a percentage) affects it's status as common, uncommon, or rare. Unless otherwise noted, this is how cards will be referred to here.
Note: The practical differences between this system and Gatherer rarities includes ~20 cards total, with Merchant Scroll, Mishra's Factory, and Strip Mine being the only notable cards. See the 'Contestable Cards' section below for a more detailed explanation and complete list of cards whose rarities are different depending on the system used.It's important to remember that C1 simply means 'printed on the common sheet 1 time'. For sets with a breakdown of 6-2, (6 cards from the common sheet and 2 from the uncommon sheet) C1 cards had the same rarity as U3 cards, (4.96%) making them uncommons. Most other breakdowns put C1 cards at a lower rarity, making those cards commons.
C1s from Homelands (uncommons) - 4.96% per booster
It seems that Gatherer lists these as commons because they were printed on the 'common' sheet of the print-run, even though they have the same rarity as U3 (uncommon) cards.
- Ambush
- Chandler
- Clockwork Gnomes
- Clockwork Steed
- Clockwork Swarm (common in MTGO - ME4)
- Coral Reef
- Ebony Rhino (common in MTGO - ME4)
- Funeral March (common in 5ED)
- Greater Werewolf
- Headstone
- Jinx
- Joven
- Joven's Ferrets
- Leaping Lizard (common in MTGO - ME2)
- Merchant Scroll
- Prophecy
- Renewal
- Roterothopter (common in MTGO - ME2)
- Serra Bestiary (common in MTGO - ME4)
- Serra Paladin
- Serrated Arrows (common in Duel Decks)
C1s from Chronicles (uncommons) - 7.44% per booster
Though more common than C1s from sets with 6-2 rarity breakdowns, these still fall within the 'uncommon' rarity.
C1s from other sets (uncommons) - 4.96% per booster
- Delif's Cone
- Farrel's Mantle
- Maze of Ith
- Feldon's Cane (common in CHR)
- Cursed Rack
C1s from Legends (commons) - 9.09% per booster
Legends used a modern rarity breakdown, so its C1 cards meet the standard rarity threshold for commons.
- Aisling Leprechaun
- Anti-Magic Aura
- Avoid Fate
- Barbary Apes
- Darkness
- Enchanted Being
- Enchantment Alteration
- Equinox
- Feint
- Glyph of Delusion
- Glyph of Reincarnation
- Headless Horseman
- Hell Swarm
- Holy Day
- Psychic Purge
- Raging Bull
- Remove Enchantments
- Shelkin Brownie
- Subdue
- Transmutation
- Venarian Gold
- Wall of Heat
- Walking Dead
- Wall of Caltrops
C1s with Multiple Versions (commons) - 9.92% per booster or higher
Though each version (different art) is technically uncommon for collecting purposes, these 'cards' are considered to be C2, C3, or C4 depending on how many versions there are, so are common for rarity purposes.
- Armor Thrull
- Basal Thrull
- Combat Medic
- Brassclaw Orcs
- Dwarven Soldier
- Elven Fortress
- Elvish Hunter
- Elvish Scout
- Farrel's Zealot (U3 + 2 C1s in the same set ~= C3)
- Goblin Chirurgeon
- Goblin Grenade
- Goblin War Drums
- High Tide
- Homarid
- Homarid Warrior
- Hymn to Tourach
- Icatian Infantry
- Icatian Javelineers
- Icatian Moneychanger
- Icatian Scout
- Initiates of the Ebon Hand
- Merseine
- Mindstab Thrull
- Mishra's Factory (U3 + C1 in the same set ~= C2)
- Necrite
- Night Soil
- Orcish Spy
- Orcish Veteran
- Order of Leitbur
- Order of the Ebon Hand
- Spore Cloud
- Strip Mine (U3 + C1 in the same set ~= C2)
- Thallid
- Thorn Thallid
- Tidal Flats
- Urza's Mine (C6)
- Urza's Power Plant (C6)
- Urza's Tower (C5)
- Vodalian Mage
- Vodalian Soldiers
Other (only ever printed in non-random sets)
Pauper Differences:
Without sanctioned support, the metagame of paper pauper is difficult to determine. In practice, it may reflect MTGO pauper's metagame, with the exception of commons unavailable there. These are the commons that were never made common for MTGO:MTGO has none of the cards from sets prior to Mirage, except for those available through the Masters Editions and other specialty sets. Fifth and Sixth Edition (printed after Mirage) and a few recent sets were never added to MTGO either. Additionally, select cards from Conspiracy 1 & 2 and the Commander sets are available via treasure chests.
Sets never released online:
Arabian Nights
Antiquities
Legends
The Dark
Fallen Empires
Homelands
Ice Age
Alliances
Chronicles
Alpha
Beta
Unlimited
Revised
Fourth Edition
Fifth Edition
Sixth Edition
Conspiracy
Conspiracy 2
Duel Decks: Zendikar vs Eldrazi
Commander 2015
Commander 2016
Commander 2017
While the better known and more powerful commons of old have found their way to MTGO at higher rarities, there are many other commons that were never made available again at any rarity, and thus aren't available on MTGO. Of those, there are very few, (if any) standout cards that would be played if legal online. Most have been outclassed:
Cards that aren't strictly worse than others (146):
Abbey Matron
Adarkar Unicorn
Aisling Leprechaun
Arnjlot's Ascent
Artifact Possession
Artifact Ward
Avoid Fate
Awesome Presence
Balduvian Shaman
Balduvian War-Makers
Ballot Broker
Barbarian Guides
Battering Ram
Battle Frenzy
Blazing Effigy
Bog Rats
Bone Shaman
Brago's Representative
Broken Dam
Burning Cloak
Camel
Canal Courier
Clergy of the Holy Nimbus
Cooperation
Crown-Hunter Hireling
Darkness
Deep Water
Desert Nomads
Dire Wolves
Earthbind
Earthlore
Elven Fortress
Elvish Scout
Emerald Dragonfly
Enchanted Being
Enraged Revolutionary
Equinox
Eternal Warrior
False Demise
False Orders
False Peace
Feast of the Unicorn
Feint
Festival
Folk of An-Havva
Fortified Area
Foxfire
Fruition
Fylgja
Fyndhorn Druid
Gaze of Pain
Giant Albatross
Giant Shark
Giant Turtle
Gift of the Woods
Glyph of Delusion
Glyph of Destruction
Glyph of Doom
Glyph of Life
Glyph of Reincarnation
Goblin Racketeer
Goblin Rock Sled
Goblin Sappers
Gorilla Berserkers
Grenzo's Cutthroat
Grizzled Wolverine
Grudge Keeper
Guardian Angel
Holy Armor
Howling Fury
Hurr Jackal
Icatian Infantry
Icatian Moneychanger
Imposing Visage
Indestructible Aura
Ingenious Thief
Initiates of the Ebon Hand
Inquisition
Jeering Homunculus
Kelsinko Ranger
Kjeldoran Escort
Kjeldoran Skyknight
Kjeldoran Warrior
Living Armor
Marchesa's Emissary
Marsh Gas
Marsh Viper
Martyrdom
Moor Fiend
Morale
Nafs Asp
Noble Steeds
Norritt
Norwood Riders
Pestilence Rats
Phyrexian Gremlins
Piety
Pikemen
Plague Rats
Preemptive Strike
Priest of Yawgmoth
Rally
Reef Pirates
Remove Enchantments
Reverse Polarity
Riding Red Hare
Rime Dryad
Riptide
Rousing of Souls
Royal Herbalist
Runesword
Sacred Knight
Samite Alchemist
Savaen Elves
Seizures
Selvala's Enforcer
Sengir Bats
Shelkin Brownie
Shu Grain Caravan
Snowfall
Soldevi Adnate
Soldevi Heretic
Soldevi Sentry
Soldevi Steam Beast
Soul Barrier
Subdue
Tarpan
Taste of Paradise
The Brute
Tidal Flats
Trade Caravan
Undergrowth
Undying Beast
Venarian Gold
Venom
Veteran's Voice
Wall of Caltrops
Wall of Heat
Wall of Shadows
War Elephant
Whip Vine
Wind Sail
Wu Light Cavalry
Wu Scout
Zuran EnchanterBorderline Worse (strictly worse when compared to any other card, color/type ignored (46))
- Agent of Stromgald
- Army of Allah
- Barbtooth Wurm
- Carrier Pigeons
- Creature Bond
- Dark Maze
- Déjà Vu
- Erosion
- Errant Minion
- Fire Snake
- Fleet-Footed Monk
- Foresight
- Giant Slug
- Golden Bear
- Hoar Shade
- Homarid
- Illusionary Informant
- Land Leeches
- Lieutenants of the Guard
- Menagerie Liberator
- Messenger Jays
- Mobilize
- Mountain Goat
- Plated Wurm
- Pradesh Gypsies
- Rowan Treefolk
- Rust
- Seeker
- Shu Farmer
- Sisters of the Flame
- Steadfastness
- Steam Frigate
- Stone-Throwing Devils
- Transmutation
- Walking Dead
- Wall of Vapor
- Water Wurm
- Wei Ambush Force
- Wei Scout
- Willow Dryad
- Willow Faerie
- Wings of the Guard
- Word of Binding
- Yellow Scarves Cavalry
- Zodiac Dog
- Zodiac Rabbit
Strictly Worse than other Commons of the Same Color (132)
- Alaborn Grenadier
- Aliban's Tower
- Arctic Foxes
- Balduvian Bears
- Barbarian Horde
- Barbary Apes
- Bear Cub
- Blessed Wine
- Border Guard
- Burning Fields
- Cat Warriors
- Chorus of Woe
- Clairvoyance
- Cloak of Feathers
- Cloud Pirates
- Cogwork Librarian
- Cogwork Spy
- Craven Knight
- Custodi Peacekeeper
- Dakmor Bat
- Dakmor Scorpion
- Deception
- Deputized Protester
- Desert Sandstorm
- Devoted Hero
- Devouring Deep
- Devout Monk
- Durkwood Boars
- Dwarven Trader
- Dwarven Warriors
- Elvish Healer
- Enslaved Scout
- Extinguish
- Festival of Trokin
- Forest Bear
- Frozen Shade
- Fyndhorn Brownie
- Garbage Fire
- Goblin Hero
- Gorilla Pack
- Gray Ogre
- Hand of Death
- Headless Horseman
- Hell Swarm
- Highland Giant
- Hipparion
- Homarid Warrior
- Hornet Cobra
- Imperial Edict
- Independent Troops
- Ironroot Treefolk
- Juniper Order Druid
- Keen-Eyed Archers
- Keepers of the Faith
- Kjeldoran Guard
- Leovold's Operative
- Lizard Warrior
- Lost Soul
- Lurking Automaton
- Lurking Nightstalker
- Lynx
- Marsh Goblins
- Mesa Falcon
- Merseine
- Mind Knives
- Mind Ravel
- Minotaur Warrior
- Miracle Worker
- Moaning Spirit
- Mons's Goblin Raiders
- Mountain Bandit
- Muck Rats
- Murk Dwellers
- Norwood Archers
- Norwood Warrior
- Ogre Berserker
- Ogre Warrior
- Omen
- Orchard Elemental
- Pearled Unicorn
- Power Leak
- Prismatic Ward
- Pyknite
- Raging Bull
- Raging Cougar
- Raiding Nightstalker
- Ray of Erasure
- Regal Unicorn
- Regicide
- Repentant Blacksmith
- Return to Battle
- Royal Falcon
- Sage's Knowledge
- Scarwood Goblins
- Scorching Spear
- Shu Defender
- Shu Elite Infantry
- Shu Foot Soldiers
- Skeletal Crocodile
- Skeletal Snake
- Sorcerous Sight
- Spring of Eternal Peace
- Stench of Decay
- Straw Soldiers
- Talas Air Ship
- Talas Explorer
- Talas Merchant
- Talas Scout
- Tor Giant
- Touch of Brilliance
- Touch of Death
- Town Sentry
- Trained Jackal
- Trokin High Guard
- Updraft
- Vampiric Touch
- Virtuous Charge
- Vodalian Mage
- Vodalian Soldiers
- Volunteer Militia
- Wall of Earth
- Warrior's Charge
- Whispergear Sneak
- Wielding the Green Dragon
- Willow Elf
- Wu Infantry
- Yellow Scarves Troops
- Zephyr Falcon
- Zodiac Goat
- Zodiac Rat
- Zodiac Rooster
- Zodiac Snake
Active VolcanoSee the 'contestable cards' section (point #1) below for 15 additional cards which aren't available online as commons, but are sometimes considered as such in paper. They aren't included here because they aren't common from a percentage-based rarity perspective.
Alabaster Potion
Anti-Magic Aura
Arenson's Aura
Argivian Blacksmith
Argothian Treefolk
Ashes to Ashes
Ashnod's Altar
Blue Elemental Blast
Breath of Life
Brown Ouphe
Carnivorous Plant
Clay Statue
Cruel Edict
Dandân
Dark Heart of the Wood
Desert
Disintegrate
Dream Fracture
Enchantment Alteration
Errand of Duty
Essence Filter
False Defeat
Farrel's Zealot
Feldon's Cane
Fireball
Flame Spirit
Flash Flood
Flying Men
Fountain of Youth
Forked Bolt
Gaea's Touch
Goblin Glider
Goblin Grenade
Goblin War Drums
Grapeshot Catapult
Guerrilla Tactics
High Tide
Hymn to Tourach
Illusionary Forces
Lava Burst
Ley Druid
Lim-Dûl's High Guard
Mishra's Factory
Moorish Cavalry
Mystic Remora
Orcish Mechanics
Painful Memories
Phyrexian War Beast
Psychic Purge
Pyrotechnics
Red Elemental Blast
Rukh Egg
Sage of Lat-Nam
Sinkhole
Soldevi Sage
Soul Kiss
Spore Cloud
Squire
Storm Shaman
Strip Mine
Sunken City
Swamp Mosquito
Swarm of Rats
Thought Vessel
Tormod's Crypt
Unstable Mutation
Wolverine Pack
Woolly Spider
Yavimaya AncientsThough playing with physical cards, many decide to incorporate rarities from both paper and online sets. These cards lack a physical printing at a common rarity, appearing as commons solely via MTGO-only sets:
Adarkar Sentinel
Addle
Aeolipile
Afterlife
Alluring Scent
Anaba Ancestor
Anaba Spirit Crafter
Armor Sliver
Armored Griffin
Arrogant Wurm
Balduvian Conjurer
Barbed Sliver
Barktooth Warbeard
Battle Screech
Beetleback Chief
Bone Flute
Bottle Gnomes
Brass Man
Brilliant Plan
Brindle Shoat
Chainer's Edict
Circular Logic
Citanul Druid
Claws of Wirewood
Coal Golem
Dauthi Mercenary
Death Spark
Demonic Torment
Desperate Charge
Drift of the Dead
Ebony Horse
Elven Lyre
Elven Rite
Exile
Fellwar Stone
Feral Thallid
Fire Drake
Flying Carpet
Foul Spirit
Gilded Light
Glasses of Urza
Goblin Commando
Goblin Firestarter
Goblin General
Gravebind
Heavy Fog
Horned Sliver
Hunting Cheetah
Hyalopterous Lemure
Icatian Lieutenant
Icatian Phalanx
Icequake
Icy Prison
Ironhoof Ox
Jedit Ojanen
Jerrard of the Closed Fist
Just Fate
Killer Whale
Kjeldoran Elite Guard
Kjeldoran Skycaptain
Knights of Thorn
Kobold Taskmaster
Lady Orca
Lava Flow
Lesser Werewolf
Library of Leng
Lightning Blow
Mana Prism
Mightstone
Mistmoon Griffin
Mnemonic Sliver
Oasis
Obsianus Golem
Ogre Taskmaster
Onulet
Patchwork Gnomes
Peach Garden Oath
Phantasmal Forces
Phantasmal Mount
Predatory Nightstalker
Ramirez DePietro
Red Cliffs Armada
Righteous Avengers
River Merfolk
Rockslide Ambush
Sea Sprite
Serra Bestiary
Shield Sphere
Shu Elite Companions
Shu General
Shu Soldier-Farmers
Shyft
Sir Shandlar of Eberyn
Sivitri Scarzam
Skirge Familiar
Skirk Drill Sergeant
Skyshaper
Slashing Tiger
Sol Grail
Soltari Emissary
Spoils of Victory
Staunch Defenders
Tangle
Tawnos's Wand
Telekinesis
Telethopter
Thallid Devourer
The Lady of the Mountain
Thermokarst
Thrull Retainer
Tobias Andrion
Torsten Von Ursus
Tribute to the Wild
Trip Wire
Verdigris
Wall of Kelp
Wall of Light
Wanderlust
Warp Artifact
Wei Elite Companions
Whispers of the Muse
Whiteout
Wu LongbowmanBecause there's disagreement on the rarity of some cards in these early sets, understanding these differences helps us determine which are legal for our particular environment. Outside of simply abiding by an authority's rarity system and ban list (such as MTGO, Gatherer, or a more local authority as seen in Card Kingdom's Rags to Riches tournaments), there are two main approaches to determining rarity for early sets. One is the percentage-based rarity system, and the other is the common-sheet rarity system - both are mentioned in the opening section here. Points 1-3 below address the relevant older cards with respect to these systems and Gatherer, while the others deal more directly with the differences between paper and MTGO Pauper:
1. Listed as commons on gatherer, but only appeared as frequently as other uncommons:
These had the same rarity (percentage-wise) as other uncommons from the same sets. They seem to be listed as commons on Gatherer due to being printed on the 'common' sheet of their time. See the 'History and Set Information' section above for an explanation of why such a detail is contentious.
From Homelands
- Ambush
- Chandler
- Clockwork Gnomes
- Clockwork Steed
- Clockwork Swarm (common in MTGO - ME4)
- Coral Reef
- Ebony Rhino (common in MTGO - ME4)
- Greater Werewolf
- Headstone
- Jinx
- Joven
- Joven's Ferrets
- Leaping Lizard (common in MTGO - ME2)
- Merchant Scroll
- Prophecy
- Renewal
- Roterothopter (common in MTGO - ME2)
- Serra Bestiary (common in MTGO - ME4)
- Serra Paladin
- Serrated Arrows (common in Duel Decks)
2. Listed as uncommons on gatherer, but appeared more frequently than other commons:
These were at least as common (percentage-based rarity) than other commons from similar sets. Gatherer and other sites such as magiccards.info seem to treat each version of these two (4 versions each) separately as far as rarity is concerned, rather than combining all versions as they do for others. For example, neither Hymn to Tourach (4 versions) nor High Tide (3 versions) would be considered common via this method. Both cards were unique in that they were printed 3 times on the uncommon sheet AND once on the common sheet - this may be an explanation for how the mistake originated.
From Antiquities
3. C1 'commons' not recognized as such on gatherer:
These could be considered common on the basis that they were printed on the 'common' sheet of their time, regardless of how frequently they could be found in booster packs. Since this "common sheet" criterion seems to be one used for Gatherer in part 1, these cards represent an inconsistency because they were also printed on the 'common' sheet. Note that except for those cards listed in part 2 above, none of these were actually as common as other commons from a percentage-based rarity perspective.
From Chronicles
From Antiquities
From The Dark
4. Arbitrary 'Commons':
While the vast majority of commons were released in draftable sets with some kind of non-flat rarity distribution, a few were 'downshifted' (that is, their rarity symbol was made black) without actually appearing more often than any of the other cards in their set. As a comparison, the FTV sets include each card as a 'mythic rare' even though each set has no true rarity. Suppose that those same sets included each card as a 'common' instead, and it becomes obvious that rarity assigned within non-random sets is arbitrary. These cards can only be considered common via this arbitrary method:
Planeswalker Decks
- Pendulum of Patterns
- Aggressive Instinct
- Armored Whirl Turtle
- Breath of Fire
- Cleansing Screech
- Colorful Feiyi Sparrow
- Confidence from Strength
- Dragon's Presence
- Drown in Shapelessness
- Earth-Origin Yak
- Earthshaking Si
- Feiyi Snake
- Ferocious Zheng
- Hardened-Scale Armor
- Heavenly Qilin
- Leopard-Spotted Jiao
- Nine-Tail White Fox
- Purple-Crystal Crab
- Qilin's Blessing
- Reckless Pangolin
- Vivid Flying Fish
Duel Decks
- Serrated Arrows (see part 1 above regarding C1s from Homelands)
- Forked Bolt
Note: Commander sets, while not randomized, do incorporate a consistent rarity scheme which correctly places cards within standard rarity thresholds.
5. Only introduced at common through MTGO: (see the 'MTGO rarity downshifts to common' list above)
Paper players have the liberty of allowing all commons (whether released online or normally) if desired.
6. Banned in MTGO:
Paper pauper isn't explicitly supported by Wizards, so no official ban list technically exists for it. Some use the online pauper ban list. Some don't use any list. Some use a custom list.
- Cranial Plating
- Frantic Search
- Empty the Warrens
- Grapeshot
- Invigorate
- Cloudpost
- Temporal Fissure
- Treasure Cruise
- Cloud of Faeries
- Peregrine Drake
7. Powerful cards absent from MTGO banlist:
For those who use MTGO's banlist for paper Pauper, a number of additional cards that mostly aren't available as commons on MTGO are strong enough to either be banned as well or at least considered for banning. It's difficult to say whether each of these are too powerful without testing, but this list errs on the side of comprehensiveness - any card that's been discussed multiple times as a candidate for banning is listed. The contents of this section are the most subjective of any in the 'Contestable Cards'.
- High Tide
- Strip Mine (irrelevant if Gatherer rarities are used)
- Mishra's Factory (irrelevant if Gatherer rarities are used)
- Hymn to Tourach
- Sinkhole
- Goblin Grenade
- Desert
- Merchant Scroll (if Gatherer rarities are used)
- Delver of Secrets
- Ponder
- Preordain
- Glimmerpost (instead of Cloudpost*)
Peasant, a format identical to Pauper except for the allowance of up to 5 uncommons per deck, went this route with its banlist. (see here) It's interesting to note that as far as commons are concerned, the two banlists are nearly identical. The only other differences are the banning of Delver of Secrets in Peasant rather than Cloud of Faeries, and Invigorate remaining unbanned in Peasant.
Changelog:
July 2018 - Core Set 2019June 2018 - Global Series 1 (Jiang Yanggu & Mu Yanling)
no longer common solely via arbitrary rarity:
March 2018 - Battlebond March 2018 - Anniversary 25
new cards available only via planeswalker decks (arbitrary rarity):
- Aggressive Instinct
- Armored Whirl Turtle
- Breath of Fire
- Cleansing Screech
- Colorful Feiyi Sparrow
- Confidence from Strength
- Dragon's Presence
- Drown in Shapelessness
- Earth-Origin Yak
- Earthshaking Si
- Feiyi Snake
- Ferocious Zheng
- Hardened-Scale Armor
- Heavenly Qilin
- Leopard-Spotted Jiao
- Nine-Tail White Fox
- Purple-Crystal Crab
- Qilin's Blessing
- Reckless Pangolin
- Vivid Flying Fish
November 2017 - Iconic Masters & Treasure Chest Update
newly available online:
Ghost Ship
first paper printing at common:
Primal Clay
All Cards Downshifted to Common in A25 (21 total):
- Ainok Survivalist
- Assembly-Worker
- Balduvian Horde
- Borrowing 100,000 Arrows
- Cinder Storm
- Court Hussar
- Crimson Mage
- Dragon's Eye Savants
- Fencing Ace
- Frenzied Goblin
- Geist of the Moors
- Ghost Ship
- Hordeling Outburst
- Jackal Pup
- Loyal Sentry
- Pillage
- Primal Clay
- Relentless Rats
- Ruthless Ripper
- Savannah Lions
- Skeletonize
(announcement)September 2017 - Iconic Masters (paper)
newly available as online commons (all previously common in paper):
From Iconic Masters
- Angel of Mercy
- Crowned Ceratok
- Darksteel Axe
- Dissolve
- Draconic Roar
- Dragonlord’s Servant
- Duskdale Wurm
- Earth Elemental
- Emerge Unscathed
- Foul-Tongue Invocation
- Furnace Whelp
- Guardian Idol
- Ivy Elemental
- Jace’s Phantasm Jaddi Offshoot
- Jhessian Thief
- Mark of Mutiny
- Prey’s Vengeance
- Riverwheel Aerialists
- Scion of Ugin
- Seeker of the Way
- Star Compass
- Survival Cache
- Sustainer of the Realm
- Thrill-Kill Assassin
- Virulent Swipe
- Wight of Precinct Six
From Treasure Chest Update
newly available as paper commonsJuly 2017 - Hour of Devastation
From Iconic Masters
- Angel of Mercy
- Crowned Ceratok
- Darksteel Axe
- Dissolve
- Draconic Roar
- Dragonlord’s Servant
- Duskdale Wurm
- Earth Elemental
- Emerge Unscathed
- Foul-Tongue Invocation
- Furnace Whelp
- Guardian Idol
- Ivy Elemental
- Jace’s Phantasm Jaddi Offshoot
- Jhessian Thief
- Mark of Mutiny
- Prey’s Vengeance
- Riverwheel Aerialists
- Scion of Ugin
- Seeker of the Way
- Star Compass
- Survival Cache
- Sustainer of the Realm
- Thrill-Kill Assassin
- Virulent Swipe
- Wight of Precinct Six
newly available as paper commonMarch 2017 - Treasure Chest Update
Strategic Planningnewly available online via treasure chestsJanuary 2017 - Aether Revolt Planeswalker Decks
newly common via non-random product (rarity is arbitrary)November 2016 - MTGO Ban List Update & Treasure Chest Update
Peregrine Drake banned (explanation)November 2016 - Commander 2016 (paper only)
Ash Barrens available online via Treasure Chests (announcement)Ash Barrens is a new commonSeptember 2016 - Kaladesh Planeswalker Decksnewly common via non-random product (rarity is arbitrary)August 2016 - Conspiracy 2 (paper only)
new commons (unavailable online)( Post Maintenance )
- Ballot Broker
- Borderland Explorer
- Canal Courier
- Crown-Hunter Hireling
- Deputized Protester
- Entourage of Trest
- Garrulous Sycophant
- Goblin Racketeer
- Jeering Homunculus
- Lieutenants of the Guard
- Menagerie Liberator
- Messenger Jays
- Orchard Elemental
- Palace Sentinels
- Sinuous Vermin
- Skittering Crustacean
- Thorn of the Black Rose
- Throne Warden
- Wings of the Guard
- Custodi Peacekeeper
- Garbage Fire
- Illusionary Informant
- Leovold's Operative
- Regicide
Strip Mine and Mishra's Factory are now more explicitly shown as commons from a percentage-based rarity perspectiveMay 2016 - Eternal Masters
A few incorrect points about set history/organization were pointed out and fixed. The main realization of this is that two additional cards from Antiquities were actually quite common - Mishra's Factory and Strip Mine. The details are mentioned above in the rarity breakdown section, but essentially, whether you follow the percentage-based rarity as described here, or you subscribe to the idea that any card printed on the common sheet is common, these two cards are commons. Gatherer, however, doesn't currently list them as commons, probably for the same reason that they were glanced over at first here.
Somewhere in the translation to Gatherer, their rarities were split among each version of art, rather than combined like every other multi-art-version card. Hymn to Tourach, for instance, would not be common if the same was done with it - each of the 4 versions would be considered C1 (uncommon), rather than seen together as C4 (common). In any case, there seems to be no reason for these cards to continue to be considered non-commons, except from a stance that maintains tradition to be more important than rarity.
As these are quite powerful cards and are sure to be contentious in Pauper, they were added to the newly made point #7 of the 'Contestable Cards' section, alongside other similar cards. Gatherer is maintained by Wizards of the Coast, albeit poorly (comments have been temporarily disabled for years now), but it is still the de facto authority for Magic. Simultaneously, Gatherer has mirepresented these cards as uncommons or rares for many years. As always, refer to your local authority or playgroup for a list of banned cards.newly common in MTGOJanuary 2016 - MTGO Ban List Update
first common printing in paper
Avarax
Carbonize
Cephalid Sage
Desperate Ravings
Dragon Egg
Elephant Guide (paper)
Elite Vanguard
Elvish Vanguard
Emperor Crocodile
Humble
Kird Ape (MTGO)
Monk Idealist
Night's Whisper
Nimble Mongoose
Orcish Oriflamme
Peregrine Drake
Phantom Monster (paper)
Prowling Pangolin
Rally the Peasants
Roots (paper)
Stupefying Touch
Sylvan Might
Tidal Wave
Undying Rage
Warden of Evos Isle
Wakedancer (MTGO)
Wildfire Emissary
Yavimaya EnchantressCloud of Faeries banned (explanation)November 2015 - Commander 2015 (paper only)Thought Vessel is as new commonAugust 2015 - Duel Decks: Zendikar vs Eldrazi (paper only)Forked Bolt made common (paper only)March 2015 - MTGO Ban List Update
In addition to being a new difference between MTGO and Paper Pauper, this is noted because duel deck rarities aren't really rarities - the decks are non-random, with commons and rares appearing at the same frequency. See part 6 of the 'Contestable Cards' section.Treasure Cruise banned (explanation)April 2015 - Tempest Remastered (online only)Downshifted to commonJuly 2014 - Magic 2015
Newly common onlineJune 2014 - Conspiracy (paper only)
Downshifted to common, but not available in MTGOJune 2014 - Vintage Masters (online only)
Newly available, but not in MTGO
- Rousing of Souls
- Brago's Representative
- Custodi Squire
- Enraged Revolutionary
- Grenzo's Cutthroat
- Grudge Keeper
- Marchesa's Emissary
- Selvala's Enforcer
- Cogwork Librarian
- Cogwork Spy
- Whispergear Sneak
- Lurking Automaton
Downshifted to common in MTGONovember 2013 - Commander 2013
- Addle
- Afterlife
- Arrogant Wurm
- Battle Screech
- Beetleback Chief
- Brindle Shoat
- Chainer's Edict
- Circular Logic
- Claws of Wirewood
- Dauthi Mercenary
- Elephant Guide
- Gilded Light
- Goblin Commando
- Goblin General
- Killer Whale
- Mana Prism
- Mistmoon Griffin
- Predatory Nightstalker
- Skirge Familiar
- Skirk Drill Sergeant
- Tangle
- Tribute to the Wild
- Soltari Emissary
Newly available in MTGO
Hulking Goblinnewly common in MTGO - Night SoilSeptember 2013 - MTGO Ban List Update January 2013 - MTGO Ban List Update June 2011 - MTGO Ban List UpdateFrantic Search is banned (description) - Ambush
-
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Upkeep posted a message on [Primer] Pauper Turbo FogCongrats on the nice finish!Posted in: Established
I've honestly felt pretty good about the 3 Gush in my deck, mostly because it feeds Foil and Deep Analysis. While my Delver matchup is still unfavourable, I am almost always winning at least one game in the match now, which means that the deck is fairly competitive against the top deck in the format.
I think we have an even more serious question on our hands now: Does Turbo Fog even need to play Jace's Erasure anymore? Clear the Mind, when played in multiples, prevents us from ever running out of cards. We could literally let the opponent draw themselves to death.
Pros:- It would require less deck space. You only need two copies of Clear the Mind in the mainbord, which leaves more space for card draw or counters or something.
- It is even more difficult to interact with. Non-Blue decks will have no other way of killing us other than by using graveyard hate, and even that isn't completely reliable. We wouldn't have to worry about enchantment destruction anymore.
- It replaces itself in your hand.
Cons:- We no longer have a clock. The opponent will literally be able to draw their entire deck. If they have an answer for it, we are screwed.
- Games will go long all the time. Like, really, really long.
- It is one more mana to cast.
I'm seriously considering playing this card and foregoing Erasure completely, or relegating a single copy to the sideboard to speed up kills versus aggro decks.
EDIT: Alright. I've done it.
Azorius Turbo Fog - No MillMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Fogs (12)
4 Moment of Silence
4 Dawn Charm
4 Riot Control
Draw (19)
4 Ponder
4 Preordain
4 Accumulated Knowledge
4 Impulse
3 GushNot Losing (4)
2 Clear the Mind
2 Thought Scour
Counters (7)
4 Arcane Denial
3 Foil
Lands (18)
3 Azorius Chancery
4 Tranquil Cove
8 Island
3 PlainsSideboard
1 Circle of Protection: Blue
2 Circle of Protection: Green
2 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Dispel
1 Negate
1 Devious Cover-Up
1 Jace's Erasure
2 Dismantling Blow
3 Journey to Nowhere
I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. I've played three matches so far and won one.
The first match was against Boros. I won the first match and then lost the next two to burn spells. It happens.
The second match was frustrating. I played against Slivers and timed out when the opponent had two cards left in their library in game two with a Preordain on the stack and another draw spell revealed along with Jace's Erasure, which would have been lethal.
The third match was against a Mono-Green Ramp deck and I won with 5 minutes to spare. I was finally starting to feel a bit more comfortable with the drastic change in play style and having to play at a much faster pace.
Lots of notes about the deck already:
- The switch to Azorius was motivated by the fact that Moment's Peace doesn't interact well with Clear the Mind. Flashback cards aren't shuffled back into the library since they are exiled, so it effectively reduces our chances of drawing one over the course of the two or three times we have to shuffle. Same goes for cards like Think Twice and Deep Analysis.
- The White fogs are so much better than the green ones. Other than Moment's Peace (which I already mentioned), Dawn Charm and Riot Control are much more versatile and powerful compared to the best green fogs. Even Moment of Silence has many advantages over Fog, since it stops Annihilator triggers from Ulamog's Crusher and doesn't care about Flaring Pain.
- Being Azorius should improve my Burn matchup significantly. The White fogs prevent all damage or can be counters. On top of COP and countermagic, this matchup no longer feels hopeless. We'll have to find out.
- The deck does not want to have lands being shuffled back into the deck. Therefore cards like Terramorphic Expanse are pretty bad, since they get shuffled in and are dead draws in the future when we already have 8-12 lands in play.
- In the same vein, with fewer ways to fetch, Brainstorm is no longer very effective. I've replaced it with more efficient cantrips.
- Another reason to take out Brainstorm is the fact that we no longer care about "draw" triggers for Jace's Erasure. This opens up the opportunity to play Impulse, an enormously powerful card. Being able to look at the top 4 at instant speed and take anything is incredibly good.
- Aggro decks take forever to beat. They don't draw, so we have to cycle for a long time just to kill them. I think putting more Thought Scours in the deck would help with that. The cost for this card is quite low, so I will probably look at making this switch soon.
- I think Palace Sentinels is going to be worth playing as a 2-of. Being the Monarch can equate to a ton of card advantage for free. The other upside is that against Aggro decks, we can theoretically let an attack through to give them the monarchy and have them lose faster.
- The Circles of Protection are too time-consuming to use properly. They feel like a safety net that we don't really need when the deck is playing right, especially in the deep late game. The Green one in particular is probably not worth playing, especially not as a 2-of.
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Emerge Creatures:
Mutate Creatures:
Here's my current list:
12 Forest
8 Island
3 Holdout Settlement
Creatures
3 Arboreal Grazer
3 Elvish Pioneer
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Coiling Oracle
3 Fierce Empath
4 Skyshroud Cutter
4 Migratory Greathorn
4 Dreamtail Heron
2 Wretched Gryff
2 It of the Horrid Swarm
2 Lead the Stampede
2 Giantbaiting
3 Mizzium Skin
3 Spreading Seas
3 Faerie Macabre
3 Gleeful Sabotage
3 Pulse of Murasa
This deck can fairly consistently see a second turn Mutated Greathorn with 4 lands in play. Arboreal Grazer and Elvish Pioneer allow for this to happen.
Dreamtail Heron can come down on turn 3 giving us a strong flier that replaces itself.
Wretched Gryff has the same benefits as Dreamtail Heron, but you draw when it is cast so it replaces itself even if countered.
It of the Horrid Swarm has good stats and brings along some Mutate/Edict fodder or allows you to go wider.
Fierce Empath is also great to not only fetch the Emerge creatures, but it also reduces the Emerge cost by 3 making it a good sac option.
Skyshroud Cutter is a recent addition to the list that I'm testing for now. I've always been wondering if there will ever be a reason to use this creature in Pauper for any combos or synergies, and this might be it. The "free" casting cost coupled with it's 4 cmc opens the up 2nd turn Emerge creatures. Is it worth your opponent gaining 5 life? I'm still trying to determine that. This is a big flex slot for the list, so if anyone has other suggestions for enabling quick Emerges then let me know! So far this is the only "free" creature with a high cmc.
Giantbaiting is another card that fits into using early creatures for value. Burning-Tree Emissary helps add a free creature to conspire with and if you had a first turn Grazer/Pioneer then Giantbaiting can hit hard Turn 2. Emissary can't be a Mutate target since it's human, but providing a "free" body gives you Edict protection for your Mutants.
Another creature I was using originally was Siege Wurm. It was easy to cast fairly early with Convoke and can be tutored with Fierce Empath. I considered some other Convoke creatures, but Siege Wurm is probably the best option since it has Trample. I cut it out of the list to have room to test Skyshroud Cutter for the time being.
As always, any thoughts, comments, and suggestions are welcome! Has anyone else tested any Emerge lists in the past? What about Mutate?
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4x Darksteel Citadel
2x Radiant Fountain
18x Snow-Covered Mountain
Sorcery
2x Flame Slash
4x Cleansing Wildfire
Instant
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Skred
3x Magma Jet
3x Fiery Cannonade
2x Staggershock
2x Crimson Fleet Commodore
3x Staunch Throneguard
2x Boarding Party
Artifact/Enchantment
4x Curse of the Pierced Heart
3x Bonder's Ornament
2x Electrickery
3x Echoing Ruin
3x Pillage
2x Swirling Sandstorm
2x Relic of Progenitus
3x Red Elemental Blast
This deck has been performing really well in most matchups. My main issue has been anything that gains too much life, which I found when going up against some Angel Tribal decks that gain a lot of life and has high toughness creatures that fly which kills my board wipes. Burn is still tricky too, but I haven't been seeing it too much lately.
Cleansing Wildfire has been a great maindeck card with the Darksteel Citadel package. The current meta has some decks running very low to no amount of Basic Lands. It hurts Tron and gives us more power post board with Pillage. It also hits Affinity's lands well with Echoing Ruin and Pillage. Wildfire should see more play in red decks!
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Cascade work only if cast, not as an ETB effect. Flicker won't create an engine, but bounce effects can create some value. I'm imagining some Withdraw or Curfew shenanigans.
Fall from Favor looks strong and also annoying. Lol!
Fleshbag Marauder has been something I've been wanting for a long time in Pauper, so this pleases me very much!
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Aerial Volley can still handle Skyfishers and Glint Hawks. If you're looking for something that can handle Arcum's Astrolabe as well then maybe try Crushing Vines. Take Down is also pretty flexible since it can deal with faeries as well as bigger flying threats. Against decks that run the Skyfisher plan I'd probably go with Hidden Spider over Penumbra Spider since the 3 power is more relevant against 3 toughness.
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Gilded Light is good tech against burn if you cast it on their upkeep to stop sorcery speed burn spells. It's also good against edict effects. This will see some sideboard play.
Magmatic Sinkhole looks pretty good for my mono red control deck.
With recent bans in Pauper it seems Delver decks have a few slots to fill. Faerie Seer might find a place there. It helps Spellstutter Sprite and Scrying is good. Although if it doesn't replace itself then maybe it won't be used in Delver.
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Riot Control can get out of control for your aggro opponents. That coupled with Moment of Silence makes Flaring Pain useless considering that you don't mind if it resolves once or even twice with the amount of life you can gain.
Running a single copy of Curse of the Bloody Tome might help with time if you can find the space for it.
It was a bit jarring to see you switch over to this new build since you got so used to piloting the old turbo fog. I look forward to seeing where you take this new build though!