Pauper Meta Report - Second week of September 2023
Pauper Current Best Decks
Table of Contents
Last week in Pauper was like many others, as there were no relevant changes in the online metagame, and I didn’t catch any relevant tournaments in Paper that I could look at.
In its majority, the events I follow that I can get my hands on lists are Brazilian Online Events, Leagues, and Weekend Challenges due to how easier it is to track data in the platform.
With that In mind, here are the top 3 decks in the Pauper meta based on my perception and just by looking at the results.
#3. Golgari Gardens
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This is like the dark horse or anti-meta deck of the format that is a direct response to beat the top treats of the format. Something in particular about the current metagame is that control decks are almost absent. I bring this up because these decks are the only bad matchups Golgari Gardens with 14 to 16 removals main deck may have.If you pair it against, lets say, Tron Ephemerate, this deck will struggle a lot to win due to how little it can do against what their plan is about. Still, since it's not a Tron era, this deck is packed with all the tools it needs to beat other midrange and aggressive decks but, more importantly, battle against the other two best decks in the format.
#2. Affinity
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Affinity remained the same over a long time until All that Glitters was printed recently. It changed from a grindy strategy to an explosive one that can kill as early as turn three if you don’t have interaction. While both versions are very good, I would incline for the latter as you get to close games quicker, and these early turn kills are very reliable as the deck also has ways to draw many cards and protect the combo.
#1. Monored
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While Monored was somewhat of a tier 2 deck in the past, the card that changed this deck's face and shifted the pauper's face is Monastery Swiftspear, a creature that it's a must-kill on sight as if you can't, it's very likely you will end up losing the game if you are on the other side of the table. Still, it was not the only tool that Mono Red has received since Swifty was introduced into the format as it received other upgrades like Kessig Flamebreather as a better version of Thermo-Alchemist and three good card advantage cards in the form of Wrenn’s Resolve, Reckless Impulse and Experimental Synthesizer to have access to grinder matches. While previously, it was enough to chain a couple of Weather the Storm to outvalue burn, that is no longer the case as, essentially, they would never run out of steam in the long game.
Another thing that makes Mono Red very good is that it can shift faces easily. You can be against this grindy, solid version that will eventually kill you, the crazy fast version running Kuldotha Rebirth, or a plain and straightforward burn strategy.
Each has its good and bad matches, and what is impressive is that they can adapt to the metagame accordingly, depending on what the current field is bringing up to battle it.
The rest of the Meta
What is surprising is how other decks, like the terror ones, have fallen from grace because of how variance-dependent they can be.
To give you a perspective, and this is my personal experience against them, out of all of the decks I brew, I think I have a solid positive win rate against Terror decks, and it is because if they don’t resolve or chain multiple terrors in the early turns, usually handling one its ok for any deck. In the current meta, opponents may use cards like Chainer’s Edict to get rid of it, get around it with burn spells, or above them with a flying 20/21 Ornithopter. Even cheap cards like Mire Triton or Guildsworn Prowler can stop terror decks from getting thanks to Deathtouch
The rest of the meta is around the same, as Pauper has many viable options, and it's very diverse with a pool of different decks you can choose from.
Top Decks of the Week
Golgari Gardens did it again, despite Burn being present among 12 players (almost 40% of the meta) in the challenge. It may seem slow at first, but sometimes all you need to do is to have an answer to the Monastery Swiftspear and ramp into an early Monarch or Initiative. Again, this deck is well suited against the current meta, and it's a solid option right now.
Remember when I said Terror decks are not consistent? Well, It's funny because despite that, it's very strong against a meta dominated by Burn, especially if you play eight copies of Hydroblast in the sideboard. It's not a coincidence that almost 22% of the field were Mono Blue Delver decks, especially if they want to pray against Burn. were straight-up burn versions of the deck, and, if you notice the rest of the field, it's not like they were not packing the necessary tools to beat it, but sometimes, all it takes for the burn player is to chain two Monastery Swiftspears to win games with no sweat.
Deck of the Week Award
Wrap Up
Despite many sets being released throughout the year, the same archetypes seem to dominate the meta. What I like is that while its top decks are polarized, if you ignore those, you get a lot of other archetypes and decks to choose from to dive into Pauper, but remember, those top decks are out there, and you need to have a plan in case/when you face them.
Thanks a lot for reading until now, and we will catch up with more content through the rest of the week. Take care, and we will meet again next time!
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