Dime a Dozen #1: Lucky Thirteen

Magic 2013 is coming to MTGO in less than two weeks, and I’m going to be completely honest with you: The set is extremely shallow in terms of Pauper viability. While Standard Pauper (with its much narrower card pool) has a lot it can sink its teeth into, we Classic players are harder to please. If you squint hard enough, though, you just might find some eye candy amidst the junk. I’ve got my eye on a card or three, and I’m going to demonstrate how these lookers can be utilized in our great format.

The cards I’ve selected stand out for a few reasons: they’re not reprints (well, one of them is a functional reprint, but I’ll get to that later), and they aren’t inferior versions of preexisting cards. In other words, they have something to offer that is comparable to or better than what’s already available. With that in mind, it’s about time I introduce you to the all-stars of Magic 2013.

War is Hell

In Pauper, white is most often utilized for its creature base. Need a cheap, aggressive flier whose favorite hobby is brandishing a Bonesplitter? White has them in bulk. Magic 2013 creates a whole new dynamic for the white aggressive deck with the introduction of War Falcon.

The most aggressive 1-drops have always required a bit of building around to be optimized (think Kird Ape, Steppe Lynx and Wild Nacatl). The difference with War Falcon is that its conditions can be met with relative ease. A deck that plays War Falcon is going to play lots of other cheap dudes anyway, and most of white’s best creatures are either knights or soldiers. Before we create a list, there are a couple of things to consider when building around this bird of prey.

The first consideration is mana curve. If your deck’s game plan involves playing a War Falcon on Turn 1, you need to be able to follow up with a knight or solider on Turn 2. In other words, your deck should have a plethora of 1 and 2 drops that meet War Falcon’s criteria.

The second consideration is synergy. If your deck already wants a lot of knights or soldiers, what else can you be playing to increase their effectiveness? When looking at knights, the answer is “not very much.” Soldiers, on the other hand, do have a few enticing options. For this reason I’ve opted for soldiers over knights in my War Falcon deck.

The final consideration is what not to include. Because I want to be spamming as many soldiers as possible, the typical non-soldier staples of White Weenie are likely to be omitted. I am making one exception, however: Squadron Hawk. Hawk is simply too good not to add, and has continued to induce groans from opponents since its days of Standard-legality.

Let’s take a look at what I’ve put together:

Bird Keepers by Jason Moore

Creatures (30) 2 Gideon’s Lawkeeper 4 Icatian Javelineers 4 Kor Skyfisher 4 Loyal Cathar 4 Porcelain Legionnaire 4 Squadron Hawk 4 Veteran Swordsmith 4 War Falcon Other spells (9) 4 Bonesplitter 1 Guardians’ Pledge 4 Journey to Nowhere Lands (21) 21 Plains

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War Falcon or not, Bird Keepers ideally wants a creature to hit the table from Turn 1 onwards. Icatian Javelineers has been giving Faeries and Goblins fits for a long time now, and as a soldier he’s one of the best options for this deck.

There are plenty of other 1-drop soldiers to choose from, but I landed on Lawkeeper for his activated ability. As a 2-of, he can ideally be drawn in the late game (when we generally have mana to spare), and does a decent job of neutering the largest opposing creature.

For Pauper, Loyal Cathar is arguably the best white creature printed since Zendikar, and is even better with Kor Skyfisher (she can pick him up after he’s flipped into Unhallowed Cathar, thus allowing you to replay him). Speaking of Skyfisher, she also synergizes well with Javelineers, Journey to Nowhere, and Plains if you’ve missed a land drop.

Porcelain Legionnaire contributes to some of the deck’s fastest starts (Turn 1 Falcon, Turn 2 Legionnaire, Turn 3 Swordsmith for instance), but makes the deck more vulnerable overall to “sweepers” like Seismic Shudder. While I’m willing to take that risk, there may be sturdier choices around if you’re not.

Veteran Swordsmith gives you 3 power for 3 mana, plus half of a Glorious Anthem (sort of). Lords in Pauper are harder to find than a thought-provoking Kardashian quote, and this guy may just fit the bill. With a Swordsmith on the table, your Javelineers turn into Savannah Lions, and your Legionnaires can attack into Spire Golems and Affinity 4/4s.

The singleton Guardians’ Pledge is probable cause for some head scratching, but serves a clear purpose. It is intended to be drawn later in the game (after you’ve had time to develop your board) as a finisher of sorts. You should only need one to facilitate a lethal attack or creature blowout, and with only one, you’ll never have to frown due to having multiples in your opening hand.

This is merely a starting point for building around War Falcon, and there is a nearly unending supply of knights and soldiers (some of which are in other colors) to assess. Attended Knight (also from Magic 2013) for instance, creates two bodies that the opponent must remove in order to keep Falcon from attacking.

The Poor Man’s Snapcaster Mage

To be blunt, Archaeonmancer is the best blue common in the set (and likely the best common period). It serves the same role that Izzet Chronarch or Mnemonic Wall might, but it does so for 1 mana fewer. This, to me at least, is actually quite a big deal. Cloudpost decks are traditionally where Mnemonic Wall shows up, and from experience I can tell you that the combination of Wall and Mulldrifter can really clog up that 5-drop slot.

As a body, Archaeomancer is far from impressive. There is, however, one very compelling reason to be excited about her: Ghostly Flicker. To be blunt (again), Flicker is the best card that no one is playing right now. The mere fact that no one is playing it leaves me utterly baffled. In the right deck, it is actively better than the majority of cards people are playing right now. And when I say “the right deck,” ladies and germs, I mean Cloudpost.

The combination of Archaeomancer and Flicker allows you to run away with games very quickly. Flicker already synergizes incredibly well with Glimmerpost, Mulldrifter, Prophetic Prism, Sea Gate Oracle and Serrated Arrows. Any one of these cards has the potential to give opponents fits, so bouncing two of them for repeated utility is just as broken as it sounds.

With Archaeomancer’s enters-the-battlefield ability added to the mix, you now have access to as many Ghostly Flickers as you want. In many cases where Archaeomancer is in play, Ghostly Flicker is effectively a spell that reads “prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to creatures you control this turn, then draw two cards” at instant speed. For 3 mana. And a buyback cost of 0.

Archaeology Class by Jason Moore

Creatures (11) 3 Archaeomancer 4 Mulldrifter 4 Sea Gate Oracle Other spells (25) 1 Burst Lightning 1 Capsize 2 Condescend 4 Flame Slash 3 Ghostly Flicker 1 Mystical Teachings 4 Preordain 2 Prohibit 4 Prophetic Prism 1 Rolling Thunder 2 Serrated Arrows Lands (24) 4 Cloudpost 4 Glimmerpost 10 Island 6 Mountain

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The key thing to understand about Archaeology Class is that it wants to play more like a tap-out deck than a permission deck early on. It is less concerned about countering the opponent’s first few plays, and more concerned with building up to an unbeatable mid and late game. I think three Archaeomancers may be correct, because she lacks the toughness of Mnemonic Wall (and that certainly makes her more vulnerable).

The removal suite includes Flame Slash (because nine out of ten creatures in Pauper are going to have 4 toughness or less), Burst Lightning (for the same reason, though Burst can be tutored with Teachings, and goes to the dome like a Vikings fan), Serrated Arrows and Rolling Thunder. Archaeomancer gives you the freedom to use Thunder early on as a wrath, and then to pick it up later as a win condition.

Speaking of win conditions, as with most Post lists, there aren’t many here. Building up enough mana for a Rolling Thunder will contribute to a lot of the deck’s wins, but so will burying your opponent in card advantage before attacking with three or four creatures each turn.

The countermagic is something I’m a little unsure about. I know that I don’t want much of it early, but aside from that I’m not sure how much should be played overall. One spell I’d eventually like to fit into the deck is Deprive, because it allows you to replay Glimmerposts (and fizzle Capsizes in the mirror that target your lands).

I think the rest of the deck is pretty straightforward, though some may be tempted to play more than one Mystical Teachings here. In my opinion only one Teachings is ever needed (just grab your Capsize or Ghostly Flicker and go to town). Besides, Class is already spending a lot of its mana to put Flicker-worthy targets onto the battlefield, so there isn’t much time to play around with Teachings chains.

This list should provide a nice foundation to experiment with for those looking to do some powerful things in a control deck’s shell.

Chain of Command

A functional reprint is a copy of a preexisting card, but with a different name. For example, let’s look at Krenkos Command. It’s a functional reprint of Dragon Fodder from Shards of Alara. You may ask yourself why this would have any appeal in the Pauper format. The answer is redundancy.

Take Evolving Wilds for instance. It arrived in Pauper as a functional reprint of Terramorphic Expanse, but because the two cards were different in name, players were granted the option of having anywhere from zero to eight of these lands in their deck. The redundancy offered from functional reprints allows players to draw the effect more often, which can certainly come in handy.

Krenko’s Command allows a token-themed deck to exist in red, because there are now enough cheap token generators to support the concept. Whether this kind of deck is best suited in a mono-red shell or with an additional color is still up for debate. My philosophy is this: When in doubt, start by building mono-color. Then you can do some testing to see what (if anything) is lacking.

Luke Phy Walker by Jason Moore

Creatures (12) 4 Goblin Bushwhacker 4 Myr Servitor 4 Phyrexian Walker Other spells (30) 4 Chain Lightning 2 Dragon Fodder 4 Flayer Husk 4 Krenko’s Command 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Kuldotha Rebirth 4 Mogg War Marshal 4 Raid Bombardment Lands (18) 4 Great Furnace 14 Mountain

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Of all three decks, Luke Phy Walker is admittedly the concept in need of the most work. It is inspired by the Kuldotha Red strategies of pre-Innistrad Standard. Those decks were never known for their consistency, and this one should be no different. It does have the potential to come out of the gates very quickly, though. A Phyrexian Walker into Kuldotha Rebirth on Turn 1, followed by any number of Goblin Bushwhackers and Raid Bombardments can make games both short and painful (for your opponent).

Walker itself is not exactly threatening, but it can hold equipment or trigger Raid Bombardment when necessary. Myr Servitor exists as a Rebirth target that can eventually return to the battlefield, and Flayer Husk (when not sacrificed to Rebirth) can attack on its own, or make another creature bigger.

The 2-drop token producers equate to more damage, and they also replenish the board after the opponent has blocked or used some removal. You can’t complain too much when your foe invests an entire card to deal with half of yours.

I’d be lying through my teeth if I said that Luke isn’t particularly vulnerable to sweepers and bounce (Echoing Truth, Seismic Shudder), but with enough token production in the deck, reestablishing a board presence is by no means unreasonable.

Another card I would consider adding to this deck is Goblin Matron. I say this because she lets you play “extra” copies of Goblin Bushwhacker (who is very important to your game plan). She also replaces herself, and lets you refill the board by chaining Matrons together or tutoring up a War Marshal. If she eventually makes her way into the deck, then so will an additional land or two.

Token strategies have historically been more prevalent in other colors, so it wouldn’t be illogical to contemplate splashing one of those colors here. I think the two most obvious considerations are green and white. Green would provide access to Eldrazi spawn producers like Nest Invader, and perhaps the toughness-boosting Spidersilk Armor. White possesses the instant-speed Raise the Alarm, and global pumps like Kjeldoran War Cry. For the time being I’ll stick to mono-red, which ensures the fastest and most consistent possible mana.

Honorable Mention Number One

Bloodhunter Bat interests me for a couple reasons. For one, black seems to be getting more “burn” in the form of creatures lately. With the recent printing of Soulcage Fiend, there may actually be enough to make a Suicide Black strategy appealing to play.

Secondly, black isn’t really known for its fliers (sure there are some shades, but no one seems to play those). In essence, this card is capable of providing evasion and reach in a black aggressive deck.

While Bloodhunter Bat is probably too costly at 4 (black still has Lilianas Specter after all), I wouldn’t completely overlook it if you’re contemplating Suicide.

Honorable Mention Number Two

Smelt may actually see play in some sideboards, though red has never been a stranger to artifact hate. While Affinity and Cloudpost have access to Ancient Grudge, mono red mages can now choose between playing this, Gorilla Shaman, Manic Vandal, and Smash to Smithereens.

I’ve always preferred Vandal and Smash when playing aggro, because they simultaneously advance your game plan in addition to just breaking metal. Regardless, a removal spell, this cheap could easily prove its worth in just about no time at all.

Honorable Mention Number Three

Wild Guess. I don’t know what to do with this card, but I have a feeling that combo players will. Sure, it’s a worse Sign in Blood, but it’s in red. I’m pretty happy with the fact that red’s color identity is expanding, and cards like Wild Guess might contribute to more appearances of mono red combo, or even control (dare I say) in the Pauper metagame.

End Step

While I don’t think Magic 2013 has as much Pauper potential as the previous sets from Innistrad Block, I’m still looking forward to its release on MTGO. As this is my first article for The Academy, I would love to hear some of your feedback on my ideas and my writing. Lastly, I have a few questions for all of you:

What cards from the set are you looking forward to playing with and building around? Do you agree with my assessment of the cards? What did I miss?

If I were to follow up on one of the three above decks with tweaks and video content, which one do you think it should be?

What kind of Pauper articles (or videos) would you like to see in the future? I’m definitely open to ideas, so let me know what you’d enjoy reading and watching.

Well, that’s it for now. Thanks for reading, and please comment!

You can find Jason
co-hosting the Pauper’s Cage podcast
on MTGO as BambooRush
on Twitter @dimecollectorsc
and on Youtube at youtube.com/dimecollectorsc