For those who don't know what the aggro archetype is, it is a type of deck that has cheap, aggressive creatures, spot removal to get rid of blockers, and a simple, yet effective strategy: turn guys sideways.
When I found out about the Pauper format I felt a sense of belonging. In the Pauper format, you can only use commons to make a deck. I thought this over, and seeing the decks I made in the past, I believed I would be able to make competitive pauper decks. These decks should cost around $5 a piece. If they cost anymore than that, I will let you know in the deck description.
The Mischievous Horde
I wanted to try a mono-blue aggro deck for a while now. This is obviuosly a pauper deck, I just found the format and wanted to do a standard thing with it. I don't see this dek winning, but it seems like a lot of fun.
| Converted Mana Cost |
|---|
| 1 | 14 |
|---|
| 2 | 5 |
|---|
| 3 | 10 |
|---|
| 4 | 2 |
|---|
| 6 | 2 |
|---|
| Type |
|---|
| Basic Land | 23 |
|---|
| Creature | 14 |
|---|
| Enchantment | 4 |
|---|
| Instant | 11 |
|---|
| Sorcery | 4 |
|---|
This deck has a few advantages in the current metagame. Firstly, it can deal with man-lands with Vapor Snag. Not only do they lose a creature for a turn, but they also lose a land drop. The life loss is also a good touch. Secondly, almost none of your opponent's creatures can stop your own. Thirdly, there is enough counterspells in here to stop just about any threat thrown at your horde. I don't see this deck winning, but it's a fun variety and the look on your opponent's face when you tell them you're running blue aggro is priceless. I think the best card in this deck would have to be Calcite Snapper. It cannot be directly killed, it can deal four damage with one attack, or it is a 1/4 blocker. It is one of the best commons that I have ever seen. You can be aggressive or wait your opponent out with it. Either way it's good.
Black Beatdown
Another pauper deck that I think would be a fun standard deck.
| Converted Mana Cost |
|---|
| 1 | 15 |
|---|
| 2 | 10 |
|---|
| 3 | 11 |
|---|
| 4 | 2 |
|---|
| Type |
|---|
| Basic Land | 22 |
|---|
| Creature | 20 |
|---|
| Enchantment | 3 |
|---|
| Instant | 12 |
|---|
| Sorcery | 3 |
|---|
This deck just seems fun to me. You have a first turn 2/2, an insane pumper with Bloodthrone, a lot of removal, and the Crypt Ripper. It enters the battlefield as a way to keep your opponent in check, or it comes in late game and pumps with its ability for a heavy hit. When I first started the deck I was going to have a Mortis Dogs to combo with the Bloodthrone or even to have yourself kill it with a Verdict or Disfigure, but I stumbled across these guys and saw that they were much better. The Ragers should be an obvious pick. They are 2/2 force you to draw a card. You could hit another creature or even a pump or removal spell. If you couldn't tell from above, I think that the Crypt Ripper has to be the best card in this deck.
(Pauper) Red Deck Wins
What I thought would be the easiest pauper deck to make for a competitive standard deck.
| Colors |
|---|
| Artifact | 7 |
|---|
| Land | 20 |
|---|
| Red | 33 |
|---|
| Converted Mana Cost |
|---|
| 1 | 26 |
|---|
| 2 | 11 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 |
|---|
| Type |
|---|
| Artifact Creature | 7 |
|---|
| Basic Land | 20 |
|---|
| Creature | 19 |
|---|
| Instant | 11 |
|---|
| Sorcery | 3 |
|---|
I thought that the RDW approach would be the easiest deck to make pauper. Most rares and uncommons can be replaced with commons that do close to he same thing in a different way. For example, Skitter of Lizards seems like an alright replace for a Goblin Guide if you cannot use a Goblin Guide. Also, the best burn spells are common; Lighning Bolt, Burst Lightning, and Glavanic Blast. All one mana, all 2+ damage. The best card in this deck is, of course, Kiln Fiend. It can lead to a victory as early as turn 3. Just use Assault Strobe on turn three, target the Kiln Fiend, burn their blockers, and swing. If that doesn't work, just bash some face with creatures your opponent won't want to kill.
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By reading this I'm not sure if you're aware or not but Pauper is a semi-eternal form. Any card that was ever printed as a Common other than Cranial Plating is pretty well the agreed upon card pool.
In your article you've basically just covered what would be considered Standard Pauper, but the format is extremely limited and in all honesty not that fun, thus not as popular as the actual format. You just lose so much it takes away from the decks that could be built. For example your mono blue deck is not running Counterspell, and your RDW has no Keldon Marauders of Incinerates.
If Standard Pauper is what your meta is into, then by all means keep tuning your decks lists but for me I've never enjoyed the limited scope of that particular format, though I absolutely love true Pauper.
yeah i was going to try a standard pauper deck but the idea just kinda stopped. I didn't get to try any of them out and these were ideas I got on the road to Illinois. I just enjoy challenging myself by limiting my materials.
I've made many trips to Illinois in my day since I'm in southeast Missouri and I can agree that the drive is boring and that any thought that helps pass the time is a welcome thing.