MTG Salvation

What is Pauper Magic? It’s a format where only basic lands and commons are legal. Just about anything is playable, from White Weenie to Storm Combo, thanks to Time Spiral’s common red storm cards. One could even go so far as to say it’s the quintessential casual format, since just about anything goes and the games are a blast to play. Like limited, your deck will be defined largely by its commons and the capabilities you've built into it. And did I mention that it's damn cheap, too? If you spend more than ten dollars on a Pauper deck, you're doing it wrong.

There are a few things to keep in mind about playing pure control in Legacy (NOT aggro-control, that’s a different beast altogether). First, there’s the polarity of the format to consider. Combo decks and creature decks obviously take different strategies to beat. Counterspells and discard are only so good against aggro, as those decks can usually win any attrition war you start since they probably run more threats than you have answers. Board sweepers and targeted removal are generally bad against combo decks, as these decks tend to have very few permanents in play before they win: lands and maybe artifact mana acceleration. This means that the successful control deck in Legacy will have to do one of three things:

1) Play all of the above strategies at once, but in a more diluted fashion, or
2) Gear the maindeck to excelling in one matchup and make a sideboard to beat the other, or
3) Pray you don’t hit any of the decks that are bad matchups for you.

A review of the new Extended format from the prospective of a Mono-Black Control deck, this article shows what te new MBC looks like and how it works in the new, post-rotation environment.

Wondering why your Pyroclasm and Earthquake-laden Squirrel token deck doesn't seem to work? Andrew Brennan discusses the meaning and creation of synergy in a deck and shows how to make your own decks work better.

Johnnies unite! Combos are some of the funnest ways to win in Magic, but a poorly made combo deck won't work. Wondering just how to get your combo steaming, then? Andrew Brennan takes you through the essential pieces of combo decks and showcases famous combos from all eras of Magic.