Pauper Magic @ MTGO

In a nutshell, Pauper Magic is "commons-only" Magic. That means no mythic rares, no regular rares, not even uncommons. Just your plain old commons -- the ones you never use and just rot inside your card boxes, or wherever it is that you store your Magic cards.

I've been wanting to give it a try for the longest time -- to give myself a break from the Bitterblossoms and Cryptic Commands of "normal" competitive Magic -- and with its increase in popularity and support lately (having been supported officially as an actual format in Magic Online), I finally decided to give it a try.

Obviously, it is a very cheap format... but until I built my first Pauper deck, I never really imagined that it was THIS cheap. I mean, for less than three tickets (2.9 to be exact), I managed to purchase my whole deck (via Cardhoarder.com)! That's less than 150 pesos!

Here's the deck that I built:



// Lands
22 [ALA] Island

// Creatures
4 [10E] Cloud Sprite
4 [LRW] Spellstutter Sprite
4 [SHM] Briarberry Cohort
4 [LRW] Pestermite
4 [MOR] Dewdrop Spy
3 [MOR] Latchkey Faerie
4 [LRW] Mulldrifter

// Spells
4 [10E] Remove Soul
4 [LRW] Broken Ambitions
3 [10E] Unsummon

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [MOR] Negate
SB: 4 [LRW] Faerie Trickery
SB: 4 [10E] Cancel
SB: 3 [ALA] Relic of Progenitus


It's mono-blue faeries. I've always wanted to play a blue aggro deck -- and with the control elements of faeries, this is actually a perfect deck for my playstyle. The sideboard though is so-so. I don't really have any idea about the Pauper metagame, so I just squeezed in a couple of blue cards that I know"might" be useful.

To my surprise, the deck actually performed pretty well. Or should I say, VERY well. After a couple of games in the Casual Room, I managed to beat a few decks, only losing to a mono red burn deck (which is the weakness of the faerie deck). In fact, I even tried to play in a 2-Player Pauper tournament (which is basically just a single match, and whomever wins it gets a pack), and I won! The pack turned up to be crappy -- Brilliant Ultimatum was my rare -- but I was just happy to have won something... from 150 pesos worth of cards. :)

My previous attempt at MTGO was a bit of a disappointment -- I never really pursued it due to budget constraints -- but with Pauper Magic, I'm actually sure that I will be back to play. It's fun, it's cheap, and it's new. :) In fact, let me just publish this blog post, and I'll be back right now. ;-)

FNM - Jan 23, 2009

I finally gave in and replaced the Troll Ascetics in the Elves deck with Kitchen Finks. I finally realized that I always needed the 2 mana I was leaving open for regenerating the Troll, which made me always a step behind in mana. Finks has a decent body for its cost at 3/2, and basically nets me 2 blockers and 4 life for those aggresive aggro decks (read: Kithkin).



// Lands
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
2 [EVE] Twilight Mire
4 [MOR] Mutavault
4 [10E] Treetop Village
3 [UNH] Forest
3 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
2 [10E] Civic Wayfinder
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
1 [LRW] Shriekmaw

// Spells
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
1 [10E] Loxodon Warhammer
3 [MOR] Bitterblossom
3 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending
3 [LRW] Profane Command
2 [LRW] Primal Command

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 4 [ALA] Infest
SB: 1 [MOR] Mind Shatter
SB: 2 [10E] Mind Rot


Round 1: vs. Realm Razer Naya (won)

I won easily in game 1 via a Garruk overrun which put my opponent at 6 life, after which I finished him off with my man lands. Game 2 was also one-sided, as my opponent made a couple of misplays.

Game standing: 2-0
Match standing: 1-0


Round 2: vs. RW Reveillark (draw)

I mull'd to 5 on the first game, much to my dismay, and was on the defensive all game, until I finally lost. In game 2, I got some help from my opponent as he took plenty of damage from ouchlands, in addition to my quick beats. In game 3, we were called for time, and I luckily managed to get the draw despite being on the way to losing that game.

Game standing: 3-1-1
Match standing: 1-0-1


Round 3: vs. RW Reveillark (lost)

I mull'd to 5 again. And the 5-hander I kept was all lands -- I decided to keep it because it had a good mix of manlands and dual lands. Of course, I lost that first game. In game 2, I just lost based on pure card and board advantage generated by my opponent's Siege Gang Commanders, Ranger of Eos, and Reveillark.

Game standing: 3-3-1
Match standing: 1-1-1


Round 4: vs. Elf Ball (lost)

As was expected, game 1 turned out to have a really heavy board, with lots of small creatures on his side, and a few large creatures in mine. Unfortunately, his small creatures eventually went up in size, thanks to a few Imperious Perfects, and he eventually steam rolled me for the win. In game 2, my opponent made a god draw -- emptying all 8 of his cards in hand by the second turn, thanks to Heritage Druid and a pair of Nettle Sentinels.

Game standing: 3-5-1
Match standing: 1-2-1


As was always the case, the losers of the tournament rolled dice to determine who would win the random FNM card (3 were given away to the top 3 finishers, and the fourth one was given in random). I lost out on the die roll by just 1 -- the winner rolled a 17; I rolled a 16. :( Oh well.

Pre-Conflux Standard - Jan 10, 2009

The tournament was held two weeks ago, and I never had the chance to blog about it due to a busy schedule and a bout of food poisoning. Basically, coming unprepared and unaware of the new metagame, my Elves deck did very poorly.

Round 1: vs. UB Faeries (lost)

I remember being pretty happy to have a relatively good matchup in the first round. Games 1 and 2 were won by whomever had the Colossus. In the first game it was him, via Sower. In the second game, it was all mine. But in the end, I lost in an extremely close game 3, having my opponent at 1 life, and praying for that Profane topdeck, it never went out and my opponent eventually got back in the game and beat me with 3 Scion of Oona's and a Mistbind Clique.

Game standing: 1-2
Match standing: 0-1


Round 2: vs. WW Kithkin (lost)

After losing to a favorable matchup, I was disappointed to face the bane of my deck -- Kithkins. And I proved to be right, as I got two quick awful losses.

Game standing: 1-4
Match standing: 0-2


Round 3: vs. BGW Doran (won)

Round 3 was the exact opposite of round 2, as I easily beat my opponent, who is obviously not very much familiar with his deck yet.

Game standing: 3-4
Match standing: 1-2


Round 4: vs. RW Giant deck (lost)

I got faced off against a rogue deck. Initially I thought it was the so-called "Boat Brew" deck, which is basically RW Reveillark, but I got demolished by a bunch of Furystoke Giants and Cloudgoat Rangers.

Game standing: 3-6
Match standing: 1-3 (drop)

FNM - Jan 9, 2009

We wanted to create a new deck for the new year, and based on available cards, we sleeved up a Vengeant Weenie deck, which is basically the WW Kithkin deck creature core, with a splash of red for burn (Javelins & Incinerates) and Ajani Vengeant.



// Lands
4 [10E] Battlefield Forge
4 [EVE] Rugged Prairie
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
4 [LRW] Windbrisk Heights
4 [MOR] Rustic Clachan
5 [UNH] Plains
3 [UNH] Mountain

// Creatures
4 [LRW] Goldmeadow Stalwart
4 [EVE] Figure of Destiny
4 [LRW] Knight of Meadowgrain
4 [LRW] Wizened Cenn
3 [ALA] Ranger of Eos
4 [ALA] Ajani Vengeant

// Spells
4 [SHM] Flame Javelin
4 [10E] Incinerate
4 [SHM] Spectral Procession

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Burrenton Forge-Tender
SB: 4 [EVE] Stillmoon Cavalier
SB: 4 [LRW] Wispmare
SB: 3 [MOR] Reveillark


Round 1: vs. Jund Mana Ramp (lost)

I kept some sketchy hands, and paid for it. My opponent smashed me with various threats like Garruk (now I know how it feels to be on the other side of those Beast tokens), Broodmate Dragon, Cloudthresher, and Caldera Hellion.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1


Round 2: WW Kithkins (lost)

The difference between me and my opponent, aside from the Red splash in my deck, is that he knew how to pilot Kithkins. I didn't. LOL. My opponent beat me with various tricks like a flashed in Thistledown Liege, and instant reinforce (via Rustic Clachan) in the first game. In the second game, I made the HUGE misplay of blocking his Knight of Meadowgrain with my Stillmoon Cavalier... without giving it first strike! I just realized it after 2-3 attacks, and by then, my life total was already way down, thanks to his other creatures.

Game standing: 0-4
Match standing: 0-2 drop.


Lesson learned: Never use a deck that you have never played, in a tournament.

Gold Rush 2008 - Dec 27-28, 2008

Last year, I got lignified. This year, I was determined not to have the same disappointing record, actually even hoping for a .500 finish after two days of Magic dueling.

The format for this year was different. Instead of the usual Standard Constructed format for the Gold Rush (which I would have preferred), NG opted to organize a multiformat tournament a la Nationals. Basically, it's 3 rounds of Standard, followed by 3 rounds of Shards of Alara booster draft, then another 3 rounds of Shards booster draft in new pods (only 1 round on the first day, the 2 remaining rounds on day 2), then finished off in a final 3 rounds of Standard. The top 8 players would have a Standard playoff.

Not unexpectedly, I used the same BG Elves deck as the one I used the night before on FNM, but with the Shriekmaw MD, instead of the singleton Cloudthresher. I was also able to get a hold of a fourth Infest on the tourney area a few minutes before, so I could have a better chance against those Kithkin decks which I expected to swarm the tournament.



// Lands
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
2 [EVE] Twilight Mire
4 [MOR] Mutavault
4 [10E] Treetop Village
3 [UNH] Forest
3 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [10E] Troll Ascetic
2 [10E] Civic Wayfinder
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
1 [LRW] Shriekmaw

// Spells
1 [10E] Loxodon Warhammer
3 [MOR] Bitterblossom
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
3 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending
3 [LRW] Profane Command
2 [LRW] Primal Command

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 4 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 4 [ALA] Infest
SB: 1 [MOR] Mind Shatter
SB: 2 [10E] Mind Rot


Round 1: vs. BR Tokens (lost)

I was happy not to have my round 1 jinx this time, as instead of having to face a Nationals player, I was paired with a famous card trader. However, after the match, I wished differently, as he still demolished me in two games. In game 1, I made the mistake of trying to race him in life. It worked for a while, up until I made a calculation mistake and forgot about the damage of the Mogg Fanatic. In game 2, I had no chance whatsoever to win the game, as he put up a Goblin Assault and 2 Grave Pacts.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1


Round 2: vs. UB Faeries (won)

At last, a good matchup. This time, it was my turn to demolish my opponent as I easily beat the deck of the little blue flyers in 2 games -- the first one via an early Garruk overrun, and the second one thanks to a pair of Troll Ascetics.

Game standing: 2-2
Match standing: 1-1


Round 3: vs. 5-color Control (lost)

I was winning the first game, up until a timely Jund Charm wiped out my army of manlands during my attack phase. Afterwards, there was no recovery from a semi-Armageddon. In game 2, I came back via a Garruk overrun. In game 3, I had no chance against The Queen of the Fae.

Game standing: 3-4
Match standing: 1-2


At this point, we were seated in our first draft pods. Suddenly, the TOs announced that there were random prizes to be given away from the vault, literally -- From the Vault: Dragons. I was one of the lucky players to be selected, and I was randomly given Form of the Dragon:



Then it was off to the draft. It seems that our table was rare drafting as I saw no bombs whatsoever in the first pack. I was getting passed a lot of nice Esper utility cards though, so I went ahead and drafted it. Here was my deck:



// Lands
1 [ALA] Grixis Panorama
6 [ALA] Swamp
5 [ALA] Island
5 [ALA] Plains

// Creatures
2cc:
1 [ALA] Metallurgeon
1 [ALA] Tidehollow Strix
2 [ALA] Tidehollow Sculler
3cc:
2 [ALA] Kathari Screecher
2 [ALA] Shore Snapper
1 [ALA] Windwright Mage
5cc or more:
2 [ALA] Dreg Reaver
1 [ALA] Steelclad Serpent
1 [ALA] Yoked Plowbeast

// Spells
2 [ALA] Obelisk of Esper
1 [ALA] Executioner's Capsule
1 [ALA] Hindering Light
2 [ALA] Agony Warp
1 [ALA] Oblivion Ring
1 [ALA] Resounding Wave
1 [ALA] Esper Charm
1 [ALA] Kiss of the Amesha


Round 4: vs. Bant Exalted (draw)

Things didn't start off well, as I my opponent took me to draft school and won game 1 unscathed. I had no chance against a barrage of exalted dudes. In game 2, I won a long close game (I was at 2 life when I won) thanks to my islandwalking Shore Snapper. In game 3, I was saved by the bell -- I pulled off a draw thanks to time running out, despite me being at 5 life, and my opponent still at perfect life.

Game standing: 4-5-1
Match standing: 1-2-1


Things went even more downhill from there...

Round 5: vs. Jund (lost)

I got stuck at 2 lands in the first game and easily lost. In the second game, I found a Broodmate Dragon in my opponent's hand (thanks to my Sculler), but I had to remove his Resounding Thunder. I was able to delay his dragon by discarding his other cards via Esper Charm, and stabilized against his threats while I was at 1 life. At that point, I slowly got back at the game by gaining life thanks to my Windwright Mage, and got back to 9 life. However, the inevitable happened and I wasn't able to kill him when he got his 6th land. GG.

Game standing: 4-7-1
Match standing: 1-3-1


Round 6: vs. Naya (lost)

All I remember from this match was that pesky Drumhunter which gave my opponent crazy card advantage. I was already at 1 card in hand, and my opponent never had less than 5 cards in hand. Crazy. I lost in 2 games.

Game standing: 4-9-1
Match standing: 1-4-1


At this point, I just wanted to rare draft in the second pod and go home (it was almost 9:30 pm, and we still had a draft AND a round of Magic to play). My packs did not disappoint, as I opened a Stoic Angel in the first pack, and a Tezzeret in the third pack. Yeah! At least I got back part of my entrance fee. :) I still tried to draft Bant though to utilize the angel and build a relatively nice playable deck:



// Lands
1 [ALA] Esper Panorama
6 [ALA] Forest
6 [ALA] Plains
4 [ALA] Island

// Creatures
1cc:
1 [ALA] Wild Nacatl
2cc:
1 [ALA] Sigiled Paladin
1 [ALA] Deft Duelist
1 [ALA] Jhessian Infiltrator
2 [ALA] Sighted-Caste Sorcerer
4cc:
1 [ALA] Outrider of Jhess
1 [ALA] Rhox Charger
1 [ALA] Stoic Angel
5cc or more:
2 [ALA] Cloudheath Drake
1 [ALA] Welkin Guide
1 [ALA] Waveskimmer Aven
1 [ALA] Jungle Weaver

// Spells
1 [ALA] Obelisk of Bant
1 [ALA] Gift of the Gargantuan
3 [ALA] Excommunicate
2 [ALA] Sigil Blessing
2 [ALA] Resounding Roar


Round 7: vs. Jund (lost)

It was all about the fun at this point, and me and my opponent had 2 nice fun games. I, of course, lost both. Haha.

I dropped from the tournament, so I didn't have to come on the second day.

Final game standing: 4-11-1
Final match standing: 1-5-1


In keeping with the my tradition of losing and listing learning points, here are the learning points from the Gold Rush:

1. I should draft more. Or actually, I should draft, period. LOL.

2. Shards limited is all about the bombs. I thought I had a pretty decent deck in the first pod, I just needed that 1 or 2 bombs that would make me win in the late game.

3. I should playtest... and FNM's don't count. I lost the 1st and 3rd rounds because of my unfamiliarity with my opponents' decks (I forgot all about that instant Pyroclasm-thing of the Jund Charm).

4. The best players play a lot. Since I don't have the luxury of time, with work and all, maybe I should try playing in MWS again.

5. Multiformat tourneys are fun, but are VERY tiring.

Happy new year everyone! :)