Poison Storm Pauper Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide
Pauper is among the most diverse formats in Magic: The Gathering (MTG) as it has tons of potential for players with crazy ideas (like yours truly) to come up with new winning strategies that can later be tunned by more experienced and dedicated players and turn them into dominating threats on the format.
This is what happened to Poison Storm, THE BEST MTG Pauper deck (according to experts), and today, I will go into it while explaining some thought processes behind the idea.
Table of Contents
Poison Storm Pauper Deck Overview
Poison Storm is actually a Turbo Fog deck that wins, as you might guess, through poison counters.
Interestingly, the only card with Storm in the deck is [card]Weather the Storm[/card], and it’s not even the win condition. So why is it called that, you may ask?
The explanation is simple: the first iteration of the deck looked quite different.
The original plan was to execute everything in a single turn by chaining as many spells as possible, ramping with [card]Seething Song[/card], and fixing your mana with [card]Manamorphose[/card].
The problem? That strategy wasn’t consistently reliable. Unlike [card]Chatterstorm[/card] decks, which had [card]Galvanic Relay[/card] to help them keep going, this deck lacked such a backup plan—especially since [card]Galvanic Relay[/card] was eventually banned.
As I kept playing, the deck evolved into different versions, including one that used [card]Deadly Dispute[/card] and [card]Dark Ritual[/card] for faster results. Yet the same problem persisted: you couldn’t consistently pull off a turn-three win.
[cards]{{Weather the Storm}}[/cards]
Eventually, I realized that you don’t NEED to do everything in one turn. As long as you can cast four to five spells, you’re in a good position to resolve a [card]Weather the Storm[/card] and buy yourself more time to poison your opponent in between.
That realization was key to refining the deck into what Kalikaiz has now popularized and made his pet deck.
Still, the deck is somewhat difficult to pilot, which is why I’ve decided to dive deeper into the card choices—to highlight why this might just be the best Pauper deck ever created (at least according to the PFP).
Best Card Choices for Poison Storm in Pauper
Since Poison Storm in Pauper doesn't rely on creatures, let's dive straight into its win conditions: [card]Prologue to Phyresis[/card] and [card]Infectious Inquiry[/card].
The Win Condition of Poison Storm
[cards]{{Prologue to Phyresis}}{{Infectious Inquiry}}[/cards]
Both [card]Prologue to Phyresis[/card] and [card]Infectious Inquiry[/card] are the key pieces that get you started, as they’re the only cards in Pauper that can give your opponent poison counters without needing to attack.
The best part? You only need to resolve one of these five cards to kick things off—once that first poison counter lands, your game plan is all about proliferating your way to ten. Of course, that’s easier said than done since you’ll need to set up your mana base and ramp before going all-in on the strategy.
The Manabase of Poison Storm
[cards]{{Saprazzan Skerry}}{{Peat Bog}}{{Hickory Woodlot}}[/cards]
One of Poison Storm’s biggest challenges is its high mana demand. Fortunately, depletion lands like [card]Saprazzan Skerry[/card] are Pauper-friendly and synergize perfectly with the deck’s proliferate subtheme.
[cards]{{Pentad Prism}}{{Everflowing Chalice}}[/cards]
A great addition I borrowed from Legacy combo decks is [card]Pentad Prism[/card]. You can charge it up during your setup turns and then deplete it all at once to pull off your combos. However, in this deck, you don’t have to use it all in one go—you can keep it charged along with your lands each time you resolve a proliferate spell.
Notably, [card]Everflowing Chalice[/card] also works exceptionally well here. It starts with just one charge counter for a single mana, but as turns pass and you proliferate, its counters grow to the point where it can easily generate three to four mana per turn.
Lastly, [card]Lotus Petal[/card] helps reduce the land count while also allowing you to cast more spells per turn.
The real trick is making sure you don’t run out of cards. Luckily, most—if not all—of the proliferate spells replace themselves, and some even provide extra card draw.
The Card Advantage in Poison Storm
[cards]{{Contentious Plan}}{{Steady Progress}}{{Experimental Augury}}[/cards]
While the first two proliferate spells that replace themselves have been around for a while, [card]Experimental Augury[/card] was introduced in Phyrexia: All Will Be One as an instant-speed pseudo-[card]Impulse[/card] that also proliferates. While these cards don’t provide direct card advantage, they help set the pace for spreading poison counters.
In fact, the only proliferate spell in the deck that draws more than one card is [card]Vivisurgeon's Insight[/card], though it’s quite expensive to cast.
[cards]{{Vivisurgeon's Insight}}{{Deep Analysis}}{{Lorien Revealed}}[/cards]
That said, it serves as a solid card advantage tool, working alongside other options like [card]Deep Analysis[/card] and [card]Lorien Revealed[/card].
If I remember correctly, [card]Lorien Revealed[/card] hadn’t been released at the time, making its inclusion a clever choice—not only to prevent running out of cards but also to help fix mana screw issues in the early game.
Now, you know how to fix your mana and what tools you have to always keep your hands full, but how do we survive? This next section covers that.
Other Cards of Poison Storm
[cards]{{Snap}}{{Breath Weapon}}[/cards]
The only "removal" spells in the latest version of the deck are a mix of [card]Breath Weapon[/card] and [card]Snap[/card].
Before [card]Breath Weapon[/card], players relied on [card]Fiery Cannonade[/card] as a board wipe. But with pirates like [card]Goblin Tomb Raider[/card] and [card]Reckless Lackey[/card] gaining popularity, [card]Fiery Cannonade[/card] became way less effective, making [card]Breath Weapon[/card] the better choice.
As for [card]Snap[/card], it's a bit of a wildcard. Sure, you can use it to slow down an opponent, but it really shines when setting up explosive turns by untapping depletion lands.
[cards]{{Weather the Storm}}[/cards]
But if there’s one card that truly holds this strategy together, it has to be [card]Weather the Storm[/card]—your main way to survive against the entire meta.
So, why is Poison Storm considered the best deck in Pauper—at least according to the experts?
To answer that, I need to put on my theorycrafting hat and do my best to break it down for you. Of course, I’ll sprinkle in a bit of humor along the way.
Poison Storm, (NOT) the BEST Pauper Deck
Unlike regular damage, poison counters can’t be prevented, which means the second-best deck in the format, Boros Synthesizer, has no way to deal with them—not even with [card]Prismatic Strands[/card].
[cards]{{Glint Hawk}}{{Experimental Synthesizer}}[/cards]On top of that, Poison Storm is well-positioned against Boros. In a Boros-heavy meta (which is exactly where Pauper is right now), I’d bet it wins 10 out of 10 times. Boros is essentially a value deck that can switch to the offense with its solid lineup of creatures, but [card]Weather the Storm[/card] completely shuts that plan down.
To make things even better, artifact hate is basically nonexistent in the current meta.
The only real concern for Poison Storm is the third-best deck in the format: Gruul Ponza. It can easily disrupt the deck’s game plan by tearing apart its fragile mana base. Because of this, Pauper has basically turned into a rock-paper-scissors meta—where each top deck has a natural predator.
Irony aside, I hope you’ve picked up on some of the deck’s weak spots based on the current meta.
While Poison Storm is a solid choice, especially against slower combo decks like Broodscale Combo, Moggwarts, or control decks that rely on killing every creature you play (looking at you, Jund Wildfire, and Golgari Gardens), it does struggle against some of the format’s most popular cards.
[cards]{{Cleansing Wildfire}}{{Gorilla Shaman}}[/cards]Take [card]Cleansing Wildfire[/card], for example. Normally, it’s just used for deck synergy, but against this deck, it can be devastating. If it hits a [card]Peat Bog[/card]—your only black mana source—you might be completely shut down, especially if you're only running a single [card]Prologue to Phyresis[/card] and haven’t started the poison clock yet.
[card]Lotus Petal[/card] helps with this, but keep in mind that artifact hate is everywhere thanks to players packing answers for Grixis Affinity. [card]Gorilla Shaman[/card] is especially brutal since your only real answers are [card]Breath Weapon[/card] or hoping to counter it post-sideboard.
Another challenge is finding your poison spell when you need it. If it gets countered at the wrong time, it might take a while before you see another copy.
And despite running a full set of [card]Weather the Storm[/card], a lot of your lands enter tapped, which makes being on the draw against the most popular deck in the format—Mono Red—incredibly painful.
Don’t get me wrong—this isn’t to say the deck is bad. But knowing its weaknesses is key to shoring them up with your sideboard plan… which I’ll dive into next.
Optimizing Your Poison Storm Sideboard
Overall, I really like how the sideboard plan is shaping up.
Counterspells
[cards]{{Dispel}}{{Bring the Ending}}{{Negate}}[/cards]
Counterspells like [card]Bring the Ending[/card] are crucial for dealing with the hate your deck might face in the current meta. Typically, you’ll want to swap out or at least trim some copies of [card]Weather the Storm[/card] against slower, non-aggro decks like Familiars, Terror strategies, and green control decks.
Anti-Aggro Tools
[cards]{{Moment's Peace}}{{Breath Weapon}}[/cards]
The rest of the sideboard is pretty self-explanatory—it’s all about handling aggro. As expected, cutting down on [card]Infectious Inquiry[/card] is usually the right move in these matchups.
That said, let’s go beyond the basics and break down some of the finer details of the sideboard plan—right after we go over some key tips and tricks you’ll need to master!
Tips and Tricks for Playing Poison Storm in Pauper
As a rule of thumb, it's generally better to use [card]Contentious Plan[/card] over [card]Experimental Augury[/card] when proliferating. The latter is best reserved for when you need to find a specific card, as it digs through your deck. Contentious Plan is more straightforward for spreading poison counters.
Always make sure to leave at least one counter on your [card]Pentad Prism[/card]. You can charge the Prism with just one color and later proliferate it or use it to fix your mana. This is crucial for keeping your mana base consistent.
The sweet spot is usually having two depletion lands and an extra, as long as you can keep proliferating them. For this reason, it's often better to hold onto your [card]Lorien Revealed[/card] rather than cycling it early so you can make the most of your proliferate strategy.
If you plan to cast [card]Weather the Storm[/card] on your opponent's turn, keeping other instant-speed spells available is often a good idea. This allows you to maximize your storm count by casting additional spells during their turn. After all, [card]Skullcrack[/card] doesn’t exist in Pauper—yet.
Poison Storm Pauper Sideboard Guide: Matchups & Strategies
While there are many sideboard guides available for Poison Storm, I like to share my thoughts behind my choices. Here’s how I would sideboard against some of the most popular decks based on my playstyle.
Mono Red
In: +2 [card]Breath Weapon[/card], +1 [card]Bring the Ending[/card]
Out: -2 [card]Infectious Inquiry[/card], -1 [card]Deep Analysis[/card]
This is where I am not the big fan os running a singleton Prologue to Phyresis main deck, as you need to rely on [card]Infectious Inquiry[/card] to start your poison count and you can’t just cut all four copies from the deck to avoid the damage.
At least most versions of Mono Red now have forgotten about [card]Raze[/card] as part of their sideboard plan, especially since Caw Gates is not as popular anymore.
Broodscale Combo
In: +4 [card]Bring the Ending[/card], +2 [card]Negate[/card]
Out: -4 [card]Weather the Storm[/card], -1 [card]Breath Weapon[/card], -1 [card]Everflowing Chalice[/card]
Broodscale Combo is another deck where I don't think you need to keep [card]Weather the Storm[/card]. Instead, you'll want cards to slow them down or protect your hand from threats like [card]Duress[/card] or [card]Mesmeric Fiend[/card].
Grixis Affinity
In: +2 [card]Dispel[/card], +3 [card]Negate[/card], +1 [card]Moment's Peace[/card]
Out: -2 [card]Everflowing Chalice[/card], -4 [card]Weather the Storm[/card]
In my opinion, I don't see Affinity putting much pressure on you early in the game. Rather, once they set up—something you’ll try to disrupt with your [card]Negate[/card]s—they’ll start attacking with [card]Myr Enforcer[/card].
It’s important to run [card]Dispel[/card], as they might bring in four copies of [card]Pyroblast[/card] from their sideboard. However, if you reach game three and haven’t seen one, consider swapping [card]Dispel[/card] for [card]Bring the Ending[/card].
Dimir Faeries
In: +2 [card]Breath Weapon[/card], +2 [card]Moment's Peace[/card]
Out: -2 [card]Everflowing Chalice[/card], -2 [card]Snap[/card]
I like bringing in two [card]Moment's Peace[/card] against Dimir Faeries, as it forces them to either spend resources or tap out on their turn when they’re about to sneak in Ninjutsu creatures. This can either prevent the damage or make them tap out. If the latter happens, you can then wipe the board with [card]Breath Weapon[/card].
Jund Wildfire
In: +4 [card]Bring the Ending[/card], +3 [card]Negate[/card]
Out: -4 [card]Weather the Storm[/card], -1 [card]Breath Weapon[/card], -2 [card]Everflowing Chalice[/card]
Against Jund Wildfire, whether they are targeting their lands or yours, having answers to [card]Cleansing Wildfire[/card] is highly advisable. Additionally, keep in mind that countering the first [card]Ichor Wellspring[/card] is crucial, rather than countering it after one has already resolved. Overall, keep your [card]Snap[/card]s ready for when they go on the offensive. However, if you feel it's necessary, swap one [card]Snap[/card] for a [card]Moment's Peace[/card].
Thanks for Reading!
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