Dime a Dozen #40: Finish Him!

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Jason Moore

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  1. mono blue counterspell is the reason ı quıt pauper because everytime ı came with an innovative idea , and everytime ı blowed my timmy side to add something to the archetypes , monoblue was there (2/3 of the opponents were always blue ) they stayed with untapped lands :) doıng nothing ın the game but looking at your face with counterspells , anyway ı m an old player and not playing pauper won’t hurt me that much but ı m feeling sorry for those new players trying to make a budget and trying to learn constructed side of the game and so on…anyway pauper is almost a dead format now and wizards saw this , all can end for pauper anyminute because of the specific reasons ı wrote above.

  2. The biggest mono-U finisher is the Counterspell itself, once you have everything countered, you dont wanna live anymore.

  5. ates – try playing affinity/fling. The matchup is slightly in affinity’s favor. You can land an early threat pretty easy, and then they have to respond, which allows you to fling them to death. Or you just get those affinity hands where you vomit out 3 4/4s on turn 4. Mono U can’t counter all the spells affinity plays in a turn.

  6. I feel you could have mentioned couple more examples of Green beef that have strings attached:

    Endangered Armodon (Doesn’t play with weenies)
    Blastoderm (Temporary, so it can’t finish an opponent alone, but is immune to removal)
    Imperosaur (Can only be ramped into with Explore/Rampant Growth effects)
    Krosan Tusker (Expensive, but can be cycled for card advantage)

    All of these pass the Flame Slash test and most the first 3 cost only 2GG

  7. I expected a lot more from this article. One of the main characteristics that goes unmentioned is resiliency. It’s why Guardian of the Guildpact is even considered as a finisher since everything else about it is mediocre. It’s what makes Twisted Abomination good as well as Morphling. It also leads the conversation to more unique finishers like Sprout Swarm and Curse of the Bloody Tome. Neither of those have a high rate (which I think you overrate here), but both are very resilient and have inevitability. And how about one-shot finishers like Rolling Thunder. Psuedo-finishers like Capsize. Maybe some discussion about the value of diversifying you’re win conditions to beat different decks. A lot of ground left uncovered here.

  8. Ramela – I’m interested in brewing control decks with Blastoderm, though I’m not sure the other cards are strong options. Maybe Tusker? Thanks for the comment!

    vandergus – It’s certainly posdible that I overvalue a high rate, but thev”slow” finishers you mentioned have not garnered any lasting success as Pauper control finishers IMO. Thunder and Capsize see play in big mana strategies moreso than pure control, but you’re right that I should have mentioned them. Hopefully you’ll enjoy some of my other content more down the line. Great ideas!

  10. Blastoderm is certainly the best overall when it comes to midrange beef, due to it’s resilency. But due to Fading, you really want to start attacking with it immideately and with backup since it can’t go the distance alone. This is why I’ve explored a wide range of additional midrange creatures. You can never just sit back on a Blastoderm, so you have to play a “tap out with threats” brand of control with it or just go aggro.

    Other than that, my current outlook is that you propably don’t want ramp. Mana dorks are non-cards against most aggro decks and skipping your second turn to ramp into a turn three 4 drop doesn’t seem worth it against. many decks in comparison to just curving into the 4 drops with removal or guys.

  11. My favorite control finisher is Spire Golem. If necessary, it can be dropped on turn 4 with counter spell backup (4islands) and defend against a great many pauper creatures. At 2 power, it is a high enough Rate because once MUC stabilizes and out draws an opponent, 10 turns is plenty of time to finish. My version runs Serrated Arrows with Capsize buyback to control the creatures. It also runs one Tanglebloom for life gain; you can avoid getting burned out and do not need to counter burn spells unless it’s lethal and you need time to Tanglebloom.