I took some time to analyze data from 2024 as we move into the new year, and I’ve decided to answer some of the most popular questions people might have about 2025. This analysis is based on the second half of 2024, when MH3 made its debut in the game.

What are the best-performing MTG Pauper decks for 2025?

The best-performing Pauper decks for 2025 include Affinity, Burn, Mono-Blue Faeries, and Broodscale Combo.

Grixis Affinity

Affinity remains dominant, leveraging powerful artifact synergies and card advantage thanks to the powerful combination of Deadly Dispute and Ichor Wellspring, along with removal-resilient lands like Drossforge Bridge and efficient threats such as Myr Enforcer.

Burn

Burn excels in fast-paced matches, combining low-cost spells like Kuldotha Rebirth and Goblin Bushwhacker to quickly close out games.

Mono-Blue Delver

Mono-Blue, as a whole, is an excellent meta choice, particularly in leagues where mono-red strategies are prevalent. The ability to run up to eight copies of Hydroblast significantly boosts your chances of winning those matchups. Beyond that, the deck performs solidly against the rest of the meta, thanks to its suite of countermagic and powerful game-ending creatures like Tolarian Terror.

Broodscale Combo

Since it was introduced to the format, Basking Broodscale along with Sadistic Glee has been a critical part of the meta as they are very cheap and easy way to setup for having an infinite power and toughness creature along with infinite mana that you can use to win the games in other ways.

Still, these decks are not what pauper is all about, as some other options are still very solid, such as Mono White Agro, Caw-Gates, Madness Buen and Elves among other options, which make pauper a very diverse meta.

How has the Pauper metagame evolved for 2025?

To answer this, I will analyze both league and challenge data from June 2024 until the end of the year on MTGO. As much as I would like to include in person events, we can’t really rely solely on Paupergeddon, which happens around 3-4 times per year.

There are also some considerations I will point out when they will be convenient, but for now, let’s look at some numbers

This is the number of trophies each archetype has earned since June 2024, when Modern Horizons 3 (MH3) was introduced, and Broodscale Combo surged in popularity. 

Note that this number does not include the additional 99 trophies earned by Jund Broodscale variations. If we were to count those, the archetype’s total would rise to 507 trophies.

While high numbers are expected for Burn, given how easy it is to enter a league and complete it, Broodscale Combo demands a bit more “skill” to win consistently. Players must carefully play around removal spells and time their win conditions effectively (similar to Moggwarts). Despite this, Broodscale Combo is the second most-used deck when combining results, just behind Grixis Affinity. 

Affinity, a deck many players hate to face, is notoriously difficult to outvalue once it establishes its board, primarily due to cards like Deadly Dispute and Blood Fountain.

Below these top-performing archetypes, we see more evenly distributed numbers among the rest of the meta, which we can classify as Tier 2 decks.

Since league data alone isn’t sufficient for a complete analysis, let’s now examine Challenge data from the same time period, with a few additional considerations.

• We will only look at top 32 data for challenges

• I will rank each place by a pointing system that ranges from 3 to 0.

• Since 1st and 2nd Places often split, I will award both 3 points, while 3rd and 4th will get two, and from 5th to 8th they will get 1 point, with the rest of the results awarding 0.

This will make it so we can look at which decks have the best results, vs the number of appearances they have through the entire top 32.

As you can see, Burn remains at the top in terms of appearances, but its average points (AVG Points) are quite low compared to other decks with over 40% conversion rates. 

Meanwhile, decks like Familiars and Goblins (Moggwarts) boast very high conversion rates, reflecting how often they appear in top results relative to how often they are played. This suggests that only highly skilled players tend to pilot these decks successfully.

From there, the most consistent deck is, hands down, Affinity, which has the second-highest conversion rate among the ten most-played decks. It is closely followed by Caw-Gates and Dimir Faeries.

In terms of top finishes, aka, decks that have reached the first or second place, we see Grixis Affinity at the top with 35 appearances on the finals, followed by Burn and Broodscale Combo.

What are the most consistent MTG Pauper decks for tournament play in 2025?

Based on data from MTGO Challenges, I would suggest Grixis Affinity as a strong choice for an open meta. However, in leagues, if my goal were simply to play as many matches as possible, Burn would be my go-to deck.

Broodscale Combo is another solid contender for both formats, but it requires a fair amount of practice to consistently win. I believe its high conversion rate is likely because there isn’t a clear, effective counterstrategy to the deck—other than relying on removal. However, Broodscale Combo players often include Duress and Tamiyo's Safekeeping to protect against that approach.

That said, when considering in-person (IRL) events, I’d probably stick with Broodscale Combo. Even though Grixis Affinity shows stronger numbers overall, it faces more hate in closed metas, similar to Mono-Red.

While blue-based decks like Dimir Faeries and Caw-Gates are still excellent choices, they tend to require more precise play and skill to succeed.

Wrap Up

I wanted to keep this blog a bit shorter since the Pauper meta has remained fairly stagnant since the release of MH3, despite a few strong cards entering the metagame in subsequent sets.

If you'd like to explore the data I gathered, feel free to download a copy here. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out—I’m happy to help.

I also want to take a moment to thank everyone who has supported my YouTube channel and blog. This wouldn’t be possible without you, and I’m truly grateful for your support. To show my appreciation, I’ll be working on bringing you more content through my social media channels, so expect exciting new ideas in the near future!

Thank you for reading, and as always, take care. I look forward to meeting you again in my next article.

Where to Play Pauper?