Pauper Meta Report - First week of August 2023
Pauper Brews
Commander Masters Downshifts are legal as of August 3rd, and in these few days, the set has been out, and predictions from past newsletters have been, so far, on the spot.
Table of Contents
Familiars got Buffed
It seems like every new set brings new toys for this archetype.
NEO: The Modern Age.
MTGMOM: Meeting of Minds
LOTR: Lorien Revealed
CMM: Windrider Wizard, Murmuring Mystic
It’s incredible how a deck can retain its core strategy while keep adding different treats to it. Even Prologue to Phyresis was considered at one point in the core-shell as a one-off, but it proved too much effort and got categorized as a win more strat. Still, it was a solid card to run in it.
What the newest additions added to the deck was both consistency and a reliable win condition. However, those cards being three and four mana, respectively, somewhat makes the curve of the deck a bit higher, which other decks can abuse by being faster, but more importantly, those are easy targets for Pyroblast to deal with.
Dimir Terror New Toys
Cryptic Serpent is Dimir Terror's new Toy. The
long-lost brother of Tolarian Terror now has found a new home in this decks shell, but it's not the only card that came along with the downshifts, as Murmuring Mystic is silently being included in some lists, and I am confident that are many other deck strategies that will be having it as part of their main plan soon.
Dread Return is being abused
As anticipated, Dread Return is being used in many decks, from dedicated reanimator strategies to one-trick ponies like Spy Combo. I have even seen decks using Kuldotha Rebirth Tokens to maximize their potential. While it's too early to make some final verdicts, I think it can be a critical part of Pauper in the upcoming weeks.
All that Glitters Overrated?
All the hype that All that Glitters brought to Pauper has remained just that: hype. Affinity has to add a new color to its already complicated mana base, and the boggles decklist ran it in Sunday Challenge where not able to make the top eight. Still, it's very early to run into assumptions, but during these first few days, those affinity brews have nothing to be shy of previous affinity ones and suffer from the same problems they previously had: Dust to Dust and Cast Into The Fire.
Cards to Keep an Eye on
Depending on whether or not Dread Return and All that Glitters become relevant in Pauper, there are cards that you can always use to shut down entire strategies.
Faerie Macabre seems like the perfect card to combat some strategies like Spy or Even Familars, as there is no way they can counter or react against them. It also plays very well against Exhume, as you get a 2/2 Flyer once the dust has been settled.
Standard Bearer is another card that can rise in popularity if All that Glitters become dominant. I’ve seen Azorious affinity decks that don't run removal outside of Crystallization, and can't deal with a resolved Standard Bearer.
Whether or not you are running the above strategies or planning to play against them, these are cards that you need to keep an eye on and be mindful about.
My concern is that sideboard slots are now being narrowed even more, but I would not leave home with 4 to 6 dedicated slots against Burn.
Top Decks of the Week
This Weekend Challenge results were, in a word, disappointing. No new strategies, not many new cards played, and the same deck dominating the metagame: Burn.
Despite that, the winner of Saturday was Boros Synthesizer, the vast majority of the archetypes in the top 32 were burn lists with seven appearances. Dimir Control and Jeskai Ephemerate filled in the gaps in the top eight, and the most outstanding new card was a few copies of Murmuring Mystic in one of the two Dimir Control lists that managed to get into the top eight.
Not sure if this is because players decided to go with the “safe” route rather than test new things, but I hope this is not the trend in upcoming events.
Deck of the Week Award
This week’s build is an interesting one, as it has the potential to get infinite life by turn three. It involves having Nomads en-Kor and Daru Spiritualist in play, using the first’s ability, and then gaining infinite life by sacrificing your creature with Devour Flesh. It’s an exciting concept, and I can see it being tuned into the Cephalid Caw Gates decklist that recently got a 4-1 in leagues.
Still, I think you can go full into combo mode and forget about the gates package, but I like the idea overall and can’t wait to see it in action once tuned.
Event Promotion
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**This space is not sponsored. It's a collection of events that I found. If you want yours to be promoted, please DM me on my socials.
Wrap Up
As exciting as new cards may be, if the trend mimics Saturday Challenge results, Pauper will need more than just a few downshifts to change its route. Still, as I’ve mentioned, it's very early to make any judgments, and I am hopeful that time will, once again, correct things on its own without the intervention of any outside assistance.
Thanks for reading up until now, and if you want to check on some spicy brews, deck techs, and more, remember to follow me on social media to never miss a thing!
Take care, and I will see you in my next post!
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