MTG Salvation

(24) creatures
4 cateran brute
4 cateran persuader
4 changeling outcast (bottom of the merc chain)
4 gray merchant of asphodel
4 gurmag angler
4 rathi intimidator

(12) spells
4 sign in blood
4 tendrils of corruption (reason for 100% swamps)
4 unmake

(24) lands
16 swamp
4 evolving wild (gurmag angler)
4 terramorphic expanse (gurmag angler)

SB
4 gut shot (elves)
4 nihil spellbomb (recur)
4 choking sands (tron)
3 icequake (tron)

strategy: mercs build devotion for gray merchant. changeling chain whittles away at life. decided not to SB geth's verdict b/c consensus here is it won't work on exp boggles players... decided to SB more tron hate instead.

disclaimer: built this deck thinking i could fetch Nameless Inversion w/a merc searcher. doh!

Quote from Shroom_dude »

K, how about 3 random defenders + [[Axebane Guardian]] + [[Menonic Wall]] + [[Strider Harness]] + [[Ghostly Flicker]]= infinite cast, etb, and mana.

that's a 7-card combo >_> but it works.

A. bounce it with Snap
i only run 4 and it's not a permanent solution (unless opponent delved a lot for the Angler.)

B. race it with Blastoderm
'Derm tends to hit play later than Angler. opponent can probably chump thru the fading. my other green guys can't break thru.

Feed the Clan looks bad. Sideboard card against burn imo.
burn won our last pauper tourney and being straightforward to pilot, it'll gain popularity. impossible for me to win game 1 vs burn w/out feed the clan. the 10 life may even help race other decks... i could replace feed w/rancor =/

card tags are your friend.
i have no friends!

(20) U spells
4 deep analysis (discard to wild mongrel)
4 mulldrifter
4 ponder
4 preordain
4 snap

(20) G spells
4 arrogant wurm
4 blastoderm
4 feed the clan (synergy w/G creatures)
4 werebear
4 wild mongrel

(20) lands
10 island
6 forest
4 thornwood falls

SB
4 faerie macabre (recur)
4 gut shot (elves)
4 spreading seas (tron)
3 reverent silence (boggles)

disclaimer: this deck folds to Gurmag Angler.

“MonoU PainterStone"

(24) blue spells
4 back to basics
4 brainstorm
4 force of will
4 ponder
4 trinket mage
2 echoing truth
2 snapcaster mage

(14) artifacts
4 grindstone
4 painter’s servant
4 spellskite
1 pithing needle
1 tormod’s crypt

(22) land
16 island fetch
6 island

SB
4 submerge
3 blue elemental blast
3 hydroblast
2 snapcaster mage
1 echoing truth
1 pithing needle
1 tormod's crypt

this version is influenced from schweinefett. more essentials, less bells and whistles.

I'm definitely steering the deck into a really extreme direction.
np. i wish you gl w/ur testing.

Celestial Flare would probably be a good inclusion to fight not only Hexproof, but Ulamog's Crushers
getting annililator 2 would be backbreaking early on. recur (exhume) is prob the most common way to pull this off.

Dinrova Horrors from Tron
the CIP w/ghostly flicker seems strong.

they can't Ghostly Flicker out of it.
if they attack w/just 2 guys, Ghostly Flicker removes both from combat.

Quote from Upkeep »

If you end up trying the Tron mana base, you could also add Rhystic Circle to your sideboard. This would take care of Burn and Hexproof easily and lock out many other archetypes.

w/12 plains, 12 tron lands, you have a 50/50 chance of drawing WW2 by turn 4. idk if i want to use maps to fix my white mana.

Rhystic Circle vs burn - they'd have to wait for you to search during their end step, then use instant burn. but you'd have to answer burn pre-Circle and tapping out for Circle seems risky. i run lots of life gain, so maybe burn isn't a huge concern.

hexproof/boggles may run out of mana vs your Circle activations. but representing Celestial Flare w/active rebel searchers seems easier.

interesting idea but idk if i want to tron-out my lands and cut SB cards for Rhystic Circle.

how about the gameplan against Bogles
there was 1 boggles player. he went 1-2, i believe. i could SB +4 celestial flare. -2 disenchant, -2 bringers. i think i'll actually do this, thanks!

and WB Pestilence w/Guardian of the Guildpact?
i def did not see that yesterday.

how about Burn? Is Aven Riftwatcher with FF the only lifegain enough?
i already said in post #1 i'd replace 4 bojuka bog w/4 radiant fountain.

Quote from Upkeep »

I think you could get away with a lot less, but you wouldn't be able to run any non-white specialty lands.

Maybe something like this:

Rebel-Tron Mana BaseMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Lands (24) 4 Urza's Tower 4 Urza's Power Plant 4 Urza's Mine	10 Plains 2 Drifting Meadow	Mana Fixing (4) 4 Expedition Map

You really only need 1-2 white sources in a turn thanks to the colourless activation of Rebel tutors. Expedition Map can always get a plains in a pinch if you're only on tron, but with 12 sources, you're very likely to get one in your opening hand (about 81%).

You could also not play a full playset of the Tron Lands. I am not a tron specialist by any means, so this might be considered heresy.

if i tried your suggestion, i think it'd look something like this:

(28) rebels
4 aven riftwatcher
4 bound in silence
4 defiant falcon
4 ramosian lieutenant
4 ramosian sergeant
4 zealot il-vec
2 amrou scout
1 nightwind glider
1 thermal glider

(8) non-rebel spells
4 expedition map
4 faith’s fetters

(24) lands
12 plains
12 urza tron

one thing i don't like is the idea of less consistent turn 1 ramosian sergeant.

this maybe a win more build. as in i have the search engine going and 1 plains/3 other land in play to fetch what i want already. in that scenario, i'm ramping up to 8 mana to double fetch?

when i faced vs Utron in the past, he ran ghostly flicker to protect urzatron from spreading seas (and other land disruption.) i think tron-ing my mana base is a major commitment, rather than a minor tweak.

Quote from Upkeep »

Another thing I just thought of: If you want to stay mono-White, why not play the tron lands? It seems to me like you could really benefit from them, and fitting in a couple Expedition Maps would be really easy.

i don't want to go under 16 plains. maybe it'll work?

Cool deck! It's nice to occasionally see rebels making an appearance in Pauper.
ty. rebels OWN counterspell decks. 1 searcher (i main 14) is all you need. you never have to cast anything else!

Especially with 4 Bojuka Bogs, splashing black for Blightspeaker andRathi Trapper, which are both quite good.
i considered blightspeaker. i prefer the white rebels tbh. defiant falcon carries equipment better. lieutenant having toughness over 1 is quite useful (i forgot to mention i lost 2 rebels to fire/ice vs URfae.) amrou scout can emergency block a ninja of the deep hours/kiln fiend (i may not have time to go up the rebel chain.) rebels being a defensive/control deck, blightspeaker doesn't help me survive compared to the white searchers.

trapper i don't like b/c black would be a splash color and trapper ties up black mana. if you're serious tho, my mana base would be:

14 plains
4 bojuka bog
4 swamp
2 W/B, gain 1 life, tapped

People also splash Blue to play a more traditional Rebel "draw-go" gameplan, which is quite effective in pauper. Condescend, Mana Leak, Counterspell... Seems like a great thing to do while holding up instant speed fetch for board presence.[/quote]
"CounterRebels" was a legit deck back in the day. the synergy between searchers, counterspell mana and cantrips (brainstorm, ponder) is quite awesome. i considered this too but idk what to cut. my mana base would be something like:

14 plains
6 island
4 W/U, gain 1 life, tapped

since white is more important than blue, i'd adjust the mana by cutting the early and low impact blue spells (brainstorm, ponder, mana leak...)

Holy Light can be a good side vs. goblins/elves/ non-white weenies.
i lean on gut shot for 0 mana and zealot il-vec later on.

6/22/19 Paper Pauper
10 players, 3-0 matches, 2nd place.
“Rebels"

(28) rebels
4 aven riftwatcher
4 bound in silence
4 defiant falcon (equips Bonesplitter as a flier)
4 ramosian lieutenant (blocks Auger of Bolas, survives Gut Shot)
4 ramosian sergeant
4 zealot il-vec (controls the board)
2 amrou scout (trades w/Ninja of the Deep Hours/Kiln Fiend)
1 nightwind glider
1 thermal glider

(8) non-rebel spells
4 bonesplitter
4 faith’s fetters

(24) lands
16 plains
4 bojuka bog (main deck grave hate)
4 quicksand

SB
4 gut shot
4 relic of progenitus
2 disenchant
1 amrou scout
1 lawbringer
1 lightbrinder
1 nightwind glider
1 thermal glider

r1 vs elves, 2-1.
SB +4 gut shot, +2 disenchant. -4 bonesplitter, -2 gliders.
g1, i took control w/multiple zealot il-vec killing his 1 toughness army.
g2, he got spidersilk armor. that ended my zealot lock.
g3, similar to g1.

r2 vs affinity, 2-0.
SB +2 disenchant, +1 amrou, +1 law, +1 thermal. -4 bonesplitter, -1 nightwind.
g1, i played defense to survive the early threats. bound in silence fetching was good vs his 4/4’s.
g2, he applied little pressure while my engine got going. thermals and the law were good vs his atogs.

r3 vs URfae, 2-0.
SB +1 amrou (vs counters), +1 thermal. -1 bonesplitter, -1 nightwind.
g1, i resolved an early searcher. fetched a second searcher for removal insurance. then blocked flipped delvers w/riftwatchers (gain 4 life + trade!)
g2, i out attrition’d him by having more searchers (15 total) than he had counters/removal. i even ran out of fliers to find (he revealed a red earthquake-type board wipe off auger of bolas) so i elected to "fail to find" instead of thinning my last ground guys out.

conclusion - the other 3-0 player (1st place) ran burn. going forward, i would -4 bojuka bog and +4 radiant fountain.
- w/out bonesplitter, all games go long. prepare for having no downtime between rounds.

5/24/19 FNM - Legacy.
3 rounds, 2-1 matches.
Esperblade:

(24) blue spells
4 brainstorm
4 detention sphere (extras pitch to FOW)
4 force of will
4 jace, TMS (extras pitch to FOW)
4 ponder
4 true-name nemesis

(15) other
4 stoneforge mystic
4 swords to plowshares
4 thoughtseize (vs Stoneforge: take their equipment)
2 batterskull (1 extra, just in case)
1 umezawa’s jitte

(21) lands
4 flooded strand
4 polluted delta
4 island
3 tundra
2 scrubland
1 marsh flats
1 plains
1 swamp
1 underground sea

SB
4 dread of night (stacks in multiples)
4 engineered plague (stacks in multiples)
2 burrenton forge-tender
2 containment priest
2 RIP
1 manriki-gusari

arrived early to test. test 1 vs one opponent and test 2-4 vs one other opponent.

test 1 vs burn, 3-1.
no SB.
batterskull ftw.

test 2 vs elves, 1-0.
TNN + Jitte wiped out his team.

test 3 vs RBspells, 1-0.
mostly burn but i saw murder.

test 4 vs URguttersnipe, 1-0.
cantrips n' burn.

round 1 vs gates, 2-1.
no SB.
his deck was upgraded standard (duals, bolt, swords, FOW?, etc.)
games 1&3, early batterskulls + permission.
game 2, he grinded me out.

round 2 vs burn, 2-0.
SB +2 BFT, +1 manriki-gusari (extra stoneforge value), +1 containment priest (1 more body.) -4 thoughtseize (burns myself.)
this was my test 1 opponent.
both games: survived, stabilized, then rode batterskull ftw.
amusing in game 2 how i flashed a containment priest and a manriki during his end step, then swung for exacties next turn. def not an optimal SB plan tho.

round 3 vs DNT, 1-2.
SB +4 dread of night, +1 manriki-gusari (DNT equipment.) -4 thoughtseize (expendable), -1 batterskull.
i never got to cast a single dread of night =(

game 1, his steady stream of threats ran out my resources.
game 2, opponent made a misplay this game, which led to me winning it:
first, i d.sphered his "x mana spells can't be played guy" (on 1.) he forgot to use his active mother of runes.
then i swords'd his phyrexian revoker calling jitte.
TNN + Jitte wiped out his team.
summary: i didn't deserve to win game 2. that game was a fluke.
game 3, he had too many threats again.

match summary: i deserved to be swept 0-2. then again, i deserved to cast dread of night at least once.
it may be correct to SB +4 dread, +4 plague (humans.) -4 thoughtseize, -4 FOW. DNT doesn't have a specific bomb; it feels like a resource grind imo.

top 4 got prizes, along some consolation prizes. i'm guessing i finished 5-6th place?
my elves and DNT opponents both commented how unfair TNN + Jitte was. great feedback!

War of the Spark, 5/1/19 casual-sealed.
6 players/3 rounds/3-0 match record/1st place.

(40) Izzet-no rares

(14) creatures
2 aven eternal
2 ashiok's skulker (planeswalka-killa)
2 grim initiate
burning prophet
chainwhip cyclops (< ashiok's skulker)
invading manticore (never cast)
koira's dambreaker
sky theater strix
spellkeeper weird (never activated)
thunder drake
ugin's conjurant (for standoffs)

(7) instants/sorceries
2 chandra's pyrohelix
2 jaya's greeting
blindblast (better than it looks)
chandra's triumph
honor the god-pharorah

(2) planeswalkers
kasmina, ebugmatic mentor (play before Samut to make removal harder)
samut, tyrant smasher

(17) land
10 mountain
7 island

r1 vs Jund, 2-0.
he was too slow.

r2 vs Azorious, 2-1.
g1, he turn 4'd Jace, Wielder of Mysteries. took me several turns to kill it. he drew tons of cards and almost decked me. after i finally killed Jace WOM via Ashiok's Skulker, he dropped Teferi, Time Raveler. after killing Teferi TR, i walked into the Single Combat he no doubt set up. turn after, he dropped 2 fatties and i just scooped to save time.
g2&3. i started fast while he stumbled on mana.

r3 vs Jund, 2-0.
like r1 Jund, too slow.

summary: surprised Izzet worked. fliers and unblockables are a great way to kill opposing planeswalkers w/out spending resources. surprised proliferate didn't make more of an impact. maybe as time goes on...

both my Jund opponents had mana issues. both missed early drops from Gateway Plaza. after pointing this out to my r1 Jund opponent, he took out his splash color. the loss of gates really hurts 3 color decks...

4/20/19 Paper Pauper
8 players, 3-0 matches, 1st place.

(18) creatures
4 faerie miscreant
4 ninja of the deep hours (deck name)
4 omenspeaker (gains value off ninjitsu, never whiffs unlike auger of bolas.)
4 spellstutter sprite
2 spire golem (always 4+ islands so you have 2+ mana open.)

(24) spells
4 counterspell
4 gush
4 mutagenic growth (force ninjas thru!)
4 ponder
4 preordain
4 snap

(18) islands

SB
4 gut shot (elves)
4 relic of progenitus (recur)
4 spreading seas (tron)
1 blue elemental blast
1 echoing truth (catch all)
1 hydroblast

i replaced delver of secrets w/omenspeakers. i hate delver, it's inconsistent unless paired w/a brainstorm. but for the decks that run exploring wilds/terramorphic expanse, i understand that brainstorm adds a lot of synergy.

my game plan is "Forbidian" by forcing ninjas in. the mutagenic growths give me a 0 cost way to remove blockers.

test vs standard mono-red, 3-2.
no SB allowed.
lost first 2, won the last 3. learned the match up.

r1 vs UGtron, 2-1.
SB +4 spreading seas. -4 omenspeaker (sea gate oracle/mnenomic wall blockers.)
g2 his ghostly flicker removed 2 spreading seas from his 2 urza's towers. he assembed tron and won.
g1 and g3 he didn't assemble tron and lost.

r2 vs UBdelver, 2-1.
SB +1 echoing truth (for flipped delvers and gurmag anglers), -1 omenspeaker.
he splashed black and ran gush, daze and foil.

r3 vs AcidTrip, 2-0.
SB +1 echoing truth (fizzle reality acid), -1 omenspeaker.
if you allow no value off reality acid, the synergy cards are weak.
i used mutagenic growth vs his quicksand.