Hello! I've been playing some mtgo leagues with a fairly stock Mono R list that I found online. I've realized I don't know how to sideboard all that well!
When playing against another mono R madness player, what would you bring in? I've been bringing in as many searing blazes as I can, but I'm unsure how many relic of progenitus to board in.
Im curious about what types of decks should run faerie macabre vs relic of progenitus, nihil spellbomb, etc.
Last weekend, a group of organizers from several local Pauper communities came together to hold the first Spanish Pauper Championship in Ortuella, Bizkaia.
The event had a capacity of 256 players, with all tickets selling out in just four hours. In the end, 247 players attended the main tournament.
It was the first time we had organized an event anywhere near this size. We had experience running local tournaments, but a 247-player event was obviously a very different challenge.
Overall, we are really happy with how the weekend went. The event included Spanish-language coverage, artists, stores, side activities and, of course, a lot of Pauper.
We collaborated with a local charity supporting children with cancer and their families. We created a special set of charity tokens for the event, and all 150 sets sold out very quickly, with all proceeds going to the charity. It was another reminder of just how great the Pauper community can be.
We also had to deal with an unprecedented heatwave during the weekend, which created some problems we definitely had not expected. Between that and our lack of experience with an event of this scale, there are plenty of things we know we can do better.
We have received a lot of feedback from players, judges and staff, and we already have a long list of things to improve for the future.
For those interested in the competitive side of the event, we have published all the data from the main tournament:
https://campeonatopauper.es/metagame/
You can explore the full metagame, archetype presence and performance, matchup results, how the field evolved throughout the tournament, the most played cards and more. The stats section is also available in English.
As a curious bit of Pauper history, the event also took place just before Monday's ban. A deck built around the Hawkeye's Bow + Seeker of Skybreak combo made it all the way to the final — but did not win the tournament.
Overall, it was a great first experience for us, and this is only the beginning. We have other Pauper-related projects in mind, but we will share more about those when the time comes.
For now, we just wanted to share the event with the Pauper community.
Here's a picture from the weekend!
P.S. We also had a 109-player side event on Day 2, and we hope to publish the data from that tournament soon as well!
Hello!
I am new to Pauper, and like to make my own brews. After looking around a bit, I came up with this Gruul Midrange / Ramp list, which utilises mostly Eldrazi Spawn Tokens to ramp into a Writhing Chrysalis or an Avenging Hunter on turn 3.
Possibly this isn't all too original, however I haven't found any lists which lean into the Spawn theme as heavily as this one.
I'd be happy to hear some critique on the list, as well as suggestions on possible changes.
I've been playing around with a food gates deck (with a side of pestilence): https://moxfield.com/decks/QxT3Hy_NaUKOTrf4Svdjug . Partly for the flavor, I put a couple of [[Black Cat]] to see how it would do in the deck. Testing on MTGO, I noticed it matches the deck's theme of resilience and can cause play arounds, similar to cauldron, sacred cat, and city pigeon, all of which can produce value when interacted with (note: I love how the pigeon makes a food even when it's snapped). The random discarding always makes it feel like there's a chance I get the opponent to discard something good. And of course, it works well with eviscerator's insight and reckless bargain. In general, although the deck is not min-maxed, the deck feels good to play because there always seems to be a feeling of agency, even when up against decks like fairies, terror, or jeskai snow.
Any thoughts on Black Cat and why it doesn't seem to have seen more play? I am only a few months into pauper, so there's a chance it was popular before and I just never knew.
Orzhov Pestilence was among the best decks in Pauper when Bonder's Ornament was unbanned, but could it make a comeback in 2026?
so white weenie is back and have they 1-2% in meta, is Razor Golem just has no place now in this deck? why?
I watched islands in front full new players guide, felt like I had a good understanding of how to play it.
Went to a small tournament and got stomped. Is this a skill issue or is my deck suboptimal?
Is there a discord server for cat pestilence/gardens?
Thanks to people actually explaining what Pauper is like, now I have gotten interested myself because it seems there are actually Ponza and Dredge variants! I want to play Legacy but it's not online, so I do this instead. :)
https://mtgdecks.net/Pauper/decklists/ - is this a reliable resource? Mosf of what I Googled is Bo3 (I think the event is B01?) and it seems to not include bans? I see Cranial Ram, for example.
I'm thinking of just jamming MonoR Madness or something since it's quick and easy. Also how come no lists running Swiftspear if it's legal on Arena?
I'm quite Spiky (as you can tell from my research) and I want to play something with legs at least. It seems quite a fun format.
[[Sneaky Snacker]] is a powerful albeit contentious card in the pauper format, to say the least... many of us have complained and asked for an outright ban of the seldom-cast dumpster-diving faerie we all wish would just stay dead. However, with the pauper panel keeping a close watch on the card, it has had me thinking about the long-term ramifications of such a ban.
I’d like to know what everyone’s thoughts are on the matter. What would happen to mono red madness? Would elves consume the format? Would we need to implement a whole suite of bans? Do you think we’d be thrown into the shadowy embrace of non-interactive combo shells? How many [[Nihil Spellbomb]] am I maindecking at locals? Would gas prices finally reach a reasonable level again? Will my father ever respect the man I’ve become? Let’s hear it!
So I'm not a big pauper player myself, trying to brew my first deck.
I tried to make a deck with Archbound Tracker.
The idea is to make it grow with spell that cost 0 but i'm not sure if it could really work.
https://archidekt.com/decks/24071849/archbound_tracker_izzet_pauper_v2
Got custom tokens as prize. A map of the city, a Linzer Torte food token, and a blood token (Beer).
Was a lot of fun, looking forward to the next season.
My deck it's finally here and i'm having fun with it! I think soon i will get in to local tournaments...
In my local meta there are a lot of grixis players.. was wandering if anyone had some suggestions about what changes to make to the deck and how to sideboard against grixis affinity
Here is my list:
Just wondering, is there a difference between Golgari Gardens and Golgari Pestilence? I been trying to track down a good pestilence list, but half the decks with pestilence in are labelled gardens. Just wondering if there's a difference or if it's just 2 names for the same deck?
Basically the title. I will use the tron to build a monster tron, and i want to build a deck to play the altars, i really love them and I don't want them to go to waste
I've noticed [[Spirit Link]] and [[Lifelink]] are in almost every mono white heroic decklist. I've been considering adding a bit more protection to my list and was thinking about moving the lifegain to the sideboard or cutting all together.
I don't have enough experience with this deck to know if this is a good move or not. If everyone is running it, I assume it's probably best to keep it.
I've always operated under you only need one life but I also understand Pauper is a little more grindy and gaining a lot of life can help you outlast the opponent.
What are your thoughts?
I own a couple [[Toxin Analysis]] but my [[Krark-Clan Shaman]] is still in the mail so I'm not running that package unless it shows up today (which I don't think it's going to)
What do you think? Could I take first with this?
I've seen at locals so far,
White Weenies
Dimir Terror
Izzet Terror
BG Gardens
Spy/Lotleth Giant
Mono Red Snacker
Bogles
Tron/Mystical Teachings
Grixis Affinity
Saw it first on a Japanese tournament and now here. Im guessing the plan is to go infinite life and let them deck? Is this a new deck or has it been around for a bit?
https://mtgdecks.net/Pauper/deck-decklist-by-giorgiocombo-3003416
