Golgari Broodscale Combo Pauper Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide
One of my all-time favorite decks in MTG Pauper is the Broodscale Combo deck. It’s a standout in the format for being both reliable and incredibly fun to play. What makes Broodscale Combo truly unique is its ability to consistently execute a powerful synergy, which not only makes it competitive but also a blast to pilot. Whether you're a seasoned Pauper player or newer to the format, this deck offers an exciting blend of strategy and combo-driven gameplay.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the key cards that make up the Broodscale Combo and explain how each piece fits into the overall strategy. I’ll also cover some sideboard options that can help you fine-tune your deck for specific matchups, giving you an edge in a variety of situations. Whether you’re looking to optimize your current build or just want to better understand how this combo works, this guide will provide you with all the insights you need to unlock the full potential of Broodscale Combo.
Table of Contents
Broodscale Combo Deck List
How to Play Broodscale Combo
The overall plan to play Broodscale Combo in Pauper is to have access to both [card]Sadistic Glee[/card] and [card]Basking Broodscale[/card], enough mana to cast them and win the game. While this seems easy at first, it can be difficult if you don’t know how to maneuver, but don’t worry, I will go through each card and explain how the combo works.
The Win Condition
As the deck name implies, the primary win condition revolves around attaching [card]Sadistic Glee[/card] to [card]Basking Broodscale[/card] and creating an infinite loop. Each time you sacrifice an Eldrazi Token or another creature you control dies, [card]Sadistic Glee[/card] adds a counter to our Lizard friend. This triggers the Broodscale's ability, generating a new Eldrazi Token. If you sacrifice the token for mana, the cycle repeats endlessly.
What can you do with infinite mana, or rather, how do you secure the win from here?
One straightforward option is to attack with the Broodscale itself. While this scenario might arise in rare situations with an empty board, the true win condition lies in the synergy with the other creatures in the deck. Let’s break it down.
The Creatures
[card]Shambling Ghast[/card] is a standout choice for this deck in the current Pauper meta. It’s an essential piece in sacrifice strategies, doubling as both a sacrifice outlet and a blocker. Its -1/-1 ability upon death is particularly valuable for removing threats.
[card]Mesmeric Fiend[/card] provides additional utility, allowing you to momentarily disrupt your opponent’s plans, giving you a window to execute your combo.
However, the real star of the deck is [card]Nadier’s Nightblade[/card]. With its ability to drain your opponent’s life whenever you sacrifice an Eldrazi Token, this card becomes the definitive way to end the game.
Now that we’ve established the win condition, the next step is finding the necessary combo pieces. This leads us to the deck's card advantage tools.
The Card Draw Engine
[card]Deadly Dispute[/card] is one of the best draw engines in Pauper. Paired with [card]Ichor Wellspring[/card], you can draw three cards in a single turn while gaining a Treasure token for future use.
Alternatively, [card]Eviscerator’s Insight[/card] can work with the Wellspring, letting you replay it from the graveyard for five mana, though you lose out on the Treasure token.
To complement these, the deck runs a single copy of [card]Corrupted Conviction[/card], providing an efficient way to sacrifice a creature in critical moments.
Since relying solely on [card]Mesmeric Fiend[/card] for combo protection isn’t enough, we’ve included additional spells to safeguard the deck’s strategy.
The Protection Spells
One common way opponents disrupt this combo is through instant-speed removal targeting [card]Sadistic Glee[/card] or your creatures.
To counter this, the deck includes three main deck copies of [card]Duress[/card] to strip problematic spells from your opponent's hand.
Additionally, a full playset of [card]Tamiyo’s Safekeeping[/card] ensures your creatures and enchantments remain safe from removal while also providing incidental life gain.
From there, the deck runs smoothly, but a few more cards deserve mention for their unique roles.
Other Key Cards
Infinite mana can sometimes leave you stuck with no colored mana to cast your critical spells. To address this, the deck runs two copies of [card]Energy Refractor[/card], allowing you to filter mana effortlessly.
Lastly, [card]Malevolent Rumble[/card] helps fill your graveyard and retrieves key combo pieces. Think of it as a sorcery-speed [card]Impulse[/card] with an added creature body that can later generate mana.
Now, let’s move on to the sideboard strategy.
How to Sideboard with Broodscale Combo
When sideboarding with Broodscale Combo, focus on adding cards that protect your combo against some of the most popular Pauper cards, disrupt your opponent, and help you find key pieces. Some ideal sideboard cards include:
Duress
Against control decks like Golgari Gardens or Blue control ones, especially the ones that have access to [card]Snuff Out[/card], it is key to run a fourth copy of [card]Duress[/card], especially since they can fire their removal without paying any life.
It also shines against other combo decks and is a good deck tech piece in the mirror.
Sandstorm
Faeries and [card]Kuldotha Rebirth[/card] tokens can be very problematic in Pauper, and being able to deal with them for just one mana is a very good deal.
Mesmeric Fiend
Similar to [card]Duress[/card], running a second copy of [card]Mesmeric Fiend[/card] is great against the grindy matchups.
Moment's Peace
[card]Moment's Peace[/card] can be used against creature-heavy decks that rely on damage to win the game, and it’s also a reliable piece of tech against White Winnie.
Weather the Storm
In this meta, running four copies of [card]Weather the Storm[/card] is mandatory, especially in the MTGO League environments where mono red is very popular.
Drown in Sorrow
[card]Drown in Sorrow[/card] is very strong against the creature decks of the formats, such as Elves, and can even be brought as a singleton against the likes of Caw Gates after they have set up to clean the board.
Snuff Out
Lastly, [card]Snuff Out[/card] is here against the mirror, as it's the single best card to answer the combo in the format and it also works pretty good against the likes of Walls.
Broodscale Combo Tips and Tricks
Like with any new deck, it may be difficult to spot some situations. Because of this, I will now present some that may not be intuitive when playing the deck.
There may be times when you face an opposing [card]Essence Warden[/card] or [card]Trespasser's Curse[/card] that aims to disrupt your plans. Don’t worry— all you have to do is pass priority and execute the combo on their turn. This way, you sacrifice a token, and a new one will enter the battlefield, triggering the hate card's ability. Due to how the rules work, your ability will be placed on top of the stack, allowing you to resolve it first. After it resolves, and before your opponent’s ability does, you sacrifice your token again, let your ability resolve, and repeat this cycle. This way, you can still drain them. However, be careful, as this only works on your opponent’s turn, where they may have removal ready to disrupt your combo. Plan accordingly!
With [card]Mesmeric Fiend[/card] on the stack, hold priority and sacrifice it. This way, its second ability will resolve before the first one does, and the card you get to exile with it will be gone for good.
Gameplay
Like other decks, I like to put my grain of salt in deck building, so here are two different versions of it!
Other Cards to Try
Before diving into this, let’s answer the question: what is the difference between Jund Broodscale and Golgari Broodscale in MTG Pauper?
The answer lies in the game plan.
While Golgari Broodscale is more combo-oriented, the Jund version focuses on value, especially when paired with cards like [card]Cleansing Wildfire[/card] and [card]Writhing Chrysalis[/card]. You also gain access to [card]Makeshift Munitions[/card] as a secondary win condition. Aside from that, not much changes.
In terms of performance, Golgari Broodscale is by far the better deck for both League and Challenges on MTGO.
With that out of the way, let’s now explore some other interesting options.
Troublemaker Ouphe
Against Affinity, you need a reliable way to hate on their indestructible artifact mana base, and since [card]Masked Vandal[/card] is not good enough due to the low density of creatures on your deck, [card]Troublemaker Ouphe[/card] seems like an overall better option.
Blood Fountain
I like to have a way to return my dead creatures from my graveyard on the longer games, but more importantly, the artifact this card generates synergizes beautifully with your sacrifice outlets.
Evolution Witness
There are times where you have all your combo pieces, but they are in the graveyard. Evolution Witness can help you bring them back and re-enable your broken combo once more.
Sylvok Lifestaff
Sometimes you don’t win by dealing damage but by winning infinite life. This is exactly what you run for [card]Sylvok Lifestaff[/card], and I keep wondering why no one plays it on the main deck, as it's a free way to “win”, especially in the paper format.
Last Rites
I am very skeptical about this card, but I have seen multiple players like it. Essentially, it involves ditching your hand to get rid of multiple hate pieces your opponent may have.
Chromatic Star
Having a one mana copy of [card]Ichor Wellspring[/card] to pair with your sacrifice outlet is a good thing to have, especially since you can filter your mana with it, if all you are missing is a black source to cast your Nightblade.
Thanks for Reading!
