Mono-White Aggro Pauper Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide
Pauper is a format where the best decks are undoubtedly Grixis Affinity, Burn, and Broodscale Combo, but what If I told you that there’s a deck that can consistently beat them? That’s right; I’m talking about Mono-White Aggro, an underdog contender that can go under them and win matches if navigated correctly, and today, I will go over each card choice on it, sideboard guides, tips and tricks and everything you need to know to master the archetype. Let’s dive right into it.
Table of Contents
Mono-White Aggro Pauper Deck Overview
Mono-White Aggro, or White weenie as most people know, has been an ever-present deck in the Pauper meta to battle the best decks of the format that are somewhat slow or that struggle against life gain, as it’s the case of Mono-Red Burn.
Unlike Mono-White Heroic, who takes a Voltron approach, Mono-White Aggro uses a go-wide plan to pressure the board with cheap creatures that often have a strong enter-the-battlefield effect.
Let’s see each of them to see what I am talking about.
Best Card Choices for Mono-White Aggro in Pauper
The Creatures
[cards]{{Novice Inspector}}{{Thraben Inspector}}[/cards]
For a long time, Mono-White only had [card]Thraben Inspector[/card] as a reliable one-drop. But with the introduction of [card]Novice Inspector[/card], we now have a functional reprint, effectively allowing up to eight copies of the same card. This is a huge boost in both consistency and card advantage, thanks to the Clue tokens they generate.
Beyond that, some of the popular one-drops in Mono-Red decks, like [card]Voldaren Epicure[/card] or tokens from [card]Kuldotha Rebirth[/card], will struggle to get past them. In pairs, they can even block threats like [card]Goblin Tomb Raider[/card] effectively. Of course, removal spells can still take them out, but at least that’s damage not going directly to your life total.
[cards]{{Lunarch Veteran}}{{Steadfast Unicorn}}[/cards]
Speaking of life total, [card]Lunarch Veteran[/card] is a fantastic one-drop for sustaining it, functioning much like [card]Soul Warden[/card]. Plus, thanks to its Disturb ability, you can cast it from the graveyard when it dies.
The deck also runs [card]Steadfast Unicorn[/card]. While it's only a singleton in this list, it plays a key role by providing a mass pump effect for your creatures in the late game for just four mana.
[cards]{{Kor Skyfisher}}{{Raffine's Informant}}[/cards]
Beyond those early drops, the deck includes value creatures that synergize well with them. [card]Kor Skyfisher[/card] is a prime example—it not only has an above-average stat line for its cost, making it great at blocking cheap threats, but it also has evasion. More importantly, it lets you reuse enter-the-battlefield effects by bouncing your own creatures back to your hand.
Next, we have [card]Raffine's Informant[/card]. While it doesn’t generate immediate value from other cards, it works great with [card]Lunarch Veteran[/card] and enables powerful graveyard plays with [card]Prismatic Strands[/card] and [card]Battle Screech[/card], both of which can be cast from the graveyard for free when the right conditions are met.
[cards]{{Militia Bugler}}{{Eagles of the North}}[/cards]
Finally, [card]Militia Bugler[/card] keeps your hand full by digging for more creatures and serves as another strong target for [card]Kor Skyfisher[/card] to rebuy. Meanwhile, [card]Eagles of the North[/card] helps thin your deck by fetching lands while also acting as a solid pump effect that grants first strike in the late game—perfect for turning the tide in combat.
The Win Condition
[cards]{{Battle Screech}}{{Guardians' Pledge}}[/cards]
When discussing this deck’s win conditions, it's impossible to ignore [card]Guardians' Pledge[/card] and [card]Battle Screech[/card].
[card]Battle Screech[/card] can be set up early with [card]Raffine's Informant[/card], but it's usually better to cast it for its full value at four mana and immediately flash it back to create two additional fliers. That might not seem like much at first, but trust me—it’s a game-changer, especially when combined with cards like [card]Lunarch Veteran[/card] for extra life gain and the deck’s numerous mass pump effects.
Speaking of which, [card]Guardians' Pledge[/card] is an incredible way to close out the game instantly. I’ve had plenty of matches against Mono-White Aggro where I had to block assuming a [card]Guardians' Pledge[/card] was coming—otherwise, I’d just lose on the spot. A +2/+2 boost might not sound like much, but when you have a high creature count, it’s massive. Even just one [card]Battle Screech[/card] can turn into 12 damage in the air with it!
Other Cards
[cards]{{Prismatic Strands}}{{Thraben Charm}}[/cards]
For a long time, Mono-White Aggro struggled in Pauper due to its lack of solid removal. Sure, [card]Journey to Nowhere[/card] and [card]Oblivion Ring[/card] exist, and they pair well with [card]Kor Skyfisher[/card], but they lack one crucial thing in a fast-paced format like Pauper—instant-speed interaction.
In today's meta, that’s a must, especially when dealing with Broodscale Combo, where disrupting an instant-win condition can make all the difference. Thankfully, [card]Thraben Charm[/card] helps fill that gap. It’s no [card]Swords to Plowshares[/card], but it's what we’ve got. Plus, its second mode provides graveyard hate, which is great for stopping threats like [card]Sneaky Snacker[/card] from making a comeback.
Last but not least, [card]Prismatic Strands[/card] is an excellent tool against aggressive decks, particularly Mono-Red, as it prevents all damage from a single color for an entire turn—sometimes even twice.
That covers all the non-land cards in the deck. Now, let’s dive into the sideboard choices!
Why Mono-White Aggro is The Ultimate Meta-Hater?
If there’s one deck that thrives on shutting down the meta, it’s Mono-White Aggro. It has some of the best tools to disrupt popular strategies while indirectly keeping other Pauper decks in check.
[cards]{{Revoke Existence}}{{Dust to Dust}}[/cards]
For example, [card]Dust to Dust[/card] is one of the best cards in Pauper against Grixis Affinity. It can wipe out two of their indestructible artifact lands in one go, setting them back significantly. In some cases, it’s even useful against Jund Wildfire when played early for the same reason.
Meanwhile, [card]Revoke Existence[/card] also hits Affinity, but its ability to exile enchantments makes it a great answer to Selesnya Boggles as well.
[cards]{{Coalition Honor Guard}}[/cards]
Another excellent meta call is the inclusion of [card]Coalition Honor Guard[/card]. Not only does it naturally counter Boggles and disrupt Caw-Gates interactions, but it also throws a wrench into Golgari Broodscale Combo, forcing them to deal with it before they can go off. While I generally prefer [card]Standard Bearer[/card] since it's cheaper, [card]Coalition Honor Guard[/card] is still solid due to its higher toughness, making it harder to remove.
[cards]{{Destroy Evil}}[/cards]
We also have [card]Destroy Evil[/card], which—despite not being specifically included to hate on Boggles—just happens to do so anyway. Beyond that, it’s great for taking down big creatures like [card]Writhing Chrysalis[/card] in Jund Wildfire or for instant-speed removal of [card]Sadistic Glee[/card] when timed correctly.
Finally, the last sideboard card is an extra copy of [card]Prismatic Strands[/card], which will likely replace a land when on the draw against Burn.
Tips and Tricks for Playing Mono-White Aggro in Pauper
When short on mana, remember you can bounce a land to your hand with [card]Kor Skyfisher[/card] and replay it to cast a one mana drop if you have not played a land already.
You can opt to discard due to hand size the likes of [card]Battle Screech[/card] and cast them for its flashback cost at cheap. This will happen more often than not after trying to find a land with a clue token and missing it on turn two.
[card]Kor Skyfisher[/card] can also return a flipped [card]Lunarch Veteran[/card], so you can cast it for one mana and abuse its life-gain ability once more. Similarly, you can return an [card]Idyllic Grange[/card] to your hand and put an extra counter on a creature or the flyer itself.
Mono-White Aggro General Strategy
Mono-White Aggro excels at building a strong board presence, making it a nightmare for slower decks—especially control strategies that need time to set up. These decks often struggle to keep up with the early aggression, but Mono-White can run into trouble against certain archetypes, like Poison Storm, since it has about seven dead cards in that matchup. Things improve in post-board games, but keep in mind that Poison Storm can bring in counterspells to fight back.
It can also struggle against Jund Dredge if you don’t save your [card]Thraben Charm[/card]s, but as a whole, mass life and opposing [card]Prismatic Strands[/card] will prove to be problematic. Needless to say, Azorious Familiars is a horrible match.
Still, the main game plan is to flood the board with around seven creatures before casting [card]Guardians' Pledge[/card] for a massive burst of damage, putting slower decks like Moggwarts into a clock since turn one.
While some decks may rely on boardwipes like [card]Drown in Sorrow[/card] or [card]Breath Weapon[/card], the deck also has solid mid-to-late game potential thanks to Clue tokens from its one-drops and the card advantage provided by [card]Militia Bugler[/card]. However, a big part of Mono-White Aggro’s success comes from its highly effective sideboard, which targets the meta and fits naturally into the deck’s overall strategy.
Mono-White Aggro Pauper Sideboard Guide
While some of the card choices are fairly intuitive, there are doubts about what to cut and which quantity. Thanks to MTGO user Jwaves for providing a quick overview of the sideboard picks!
Grixis Affinity
IN: 3 [card]Revoke Existence[/card], 4 [card]Dust to Dust[/card]
OUT: 3 [card]Prismatic Strands[/card], 3 [card]Lunarch Veteran[/card], 1 [card]Thraben Charm[/card]
Against affinity, the way to win is to above them with your bird tokens and [card]Kor Skyfisher[/card], as everything else will get nuked out by [card]Krark-Clan Shaman[/card]. Game one will be challenging because you will get stalled out, but post-sideboard, things should change thanks to your artifact hate.
Broodscale Combo
IN: 4 [card]Destroy Evil[/card], 3 [card]Coalition Honor Guard[/card]
OUT: 3 [card]Prismatic Strands[/card], 3 [card]Lunarch Veteran[/card], 1 [card]Battle Screech[/card]
This is a hard match, depending on the version you are facing off, as the jund variant tends to run more removal in the form of [card]Galvanic Blast[/card] that can easily kill your [card]Coalition Honor Guard[/card] with metalcraft.
If Golgari Broodscale players are not familiar with your deck sideboard plan, they won’t bring [card]SnuffOut[/card] from the sideboard, so the guard plays a pivotal role in game number two, especially if you are up one game.
Note that [card]Prismatic Strands[/card] won't prevent damage from a big [card]Writhing Chrysalis[/card], so siding those out is a good idea.
Mono Red Aggro (Kuldotha)
IN: 1 [card]Prismatic Strands[/card]
OUT: 1 [card]Battle Screech[/card]
One additional [card]Prismatic Strands[/card] may not seem like a lot, but it's very strong to bypass mono-red hate in the form of [card]End the Festivities[/card]. The trick here is to abuse it by looting it with [card]Raffine's Informant[/card], as most people forget it’s on the graveyard, and you can cast it essentially for zero cost.
Dimir Terror
IN: 4 [card]Destroy Evil[/card]
OUT: 1 [card]Battle Screech[/card], 3 [card]Lunarch Veteran[/card]
[card]Destroy Evil[/card] is very good to have if you see a [card]Gurmag Angler[/card] in game one or [card]Murmuring Mystic[/card] that can foil your plans.
How you win this is by timely exiling your opponent’s graveyard on game number one before they resolve their terrors. Note that this is true for both the mono blue and Dimir versions.
Selesnya Boggles
IN: 4 [card]Destroy Evil[/card], 1 [card]Prismatic Strands[/card]
OUT: 3 [card]Lunarch Veteran[/card], 1 [card]Battle Screech[/card], 1 [card]Eagles of the North[/card]
Normally, I won’t include Boggles in my sideboard list, but it's funny how this deck version should completely dominate the archetype post-sideboard.
Thanks for reading!
Where to Play Pauper?
While most games happen on MTGO, the presence of IRL communities is also significant. Because of this, I've listed a series of places that run Pauper events and that you can check if you live nearby or are traveling around these areas.
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