The Power of Pauper: Something Something Horizon Part 2
Howdy folks! It's time yet again for another edition of The Power of Pauper! I'm your host, Joe Dyer, and this week we're going to be taking a further look at some more cards from Modern Horizons 3! I know, I know, I forgot to mention this was a two-parter last week! In addition to that we've got some Challenges to look at.
Without further ado, let's get to it!
The Modern Pauper
So, yes, I know I did one of these last week, and I didn't say there was going to be a second part! I'm so sorry! These things happen. We definitely missed a few cards, so let's talk some Pauper shenanigans in MH3.
Refurbished Familiar
So yes, this card is actually quite good right off the bat. It's absolutely easy to cast for B in Grixis Affinity, and it just forces the opponent out of answers while also being a 2/1 flier. This also picks up the Cranial Ram late game and gives it evasive action. I definitely expect this to see play. Also, Zombie Rat? Killer.
Accursed Marauder
A only slightly downgraded Fleshbag Marauder effect at 1B here. The downgrade is that Fleshbag sacs any creature, while sacs only nontoken creatures. Still, that will be worth putting down to two mana, so this seems quite good for sure.
Gift of the Viper
Getting +1/+1, a permanent reach and deathtouch on a creature for one green is quite interesting honestly. Seems quite fun.
Sneaky Snacker
This being a Faerie and in color is quite interesting for sure. Being able to recur it off a Brainstorm on an opponent's turn is kind of neat. I don't know if this actually has a home but it seems like a sweet card and I hope it sees play here.
Tune the Narrative
This kind of goes for all the Energy cards in this set. I don't think there's a 100% Energy deck just yet there, but if there is, this seems quite good for that sort of thing long term.
Landscape Cycle
There's a whole cycle of 10 of these, one for each color shard/wedge, and I don't know if these are actually that good, but they are interesting. The ability to cycle a card has always been a very powerful thing to be doing, as it gives a card agency when it's not actually going to be played for its effect. I'm not sure if these go anywhere right now, but they are cool effects to playing around with at common.
Pauper Challenge 32 5/31
The first Challenge last week was the Friday event, which had 63 players in it thanks to the data provided by Daybreak Games.
You can find all of the decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Grixis Affinity was super popular and despite a top finish it's overall win rate was pretty dragged down. Mono Blue Terror and Jeskai Ephemerate looked great here, while Boros sat far below the cutoff actually, disappearing almost entirely.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Mono Blue Terror | 1st | Brivenix |
| Burn | 2nd | Make_it_Right |
| Mono Blue Terror | 3rd | bafusVIII |
| Goblins Combo | 4th | Hamuda |
| Azorius Gates | 5th | ARCII |
| Grixis Affinity | 6th | Liv_One |
| Azorius Gates | 7th | HelioLima |
| Azorius Gates | 8th | carvs |
Quite a bit of Gates and Terror here. It was indeed Mono Blue Terror that won the event.
Very straightforward and super clean list here. Seems quite powerful for sure.
In Second Place we had Burn.
Solid and very forward in its game plan, this deck really knows what it wants to be doing. Gorilla Shaman in the sideboard is always so sweet.
Also in this Top 8 we had Goblins Combo.
I enjoy what this deck is doing now quite a bit. It seems well positioned in the current format until MH3 drops next week, but honestly it may still be very good then too.
Pauper Challenge 32 6/1
The second Challenge event of the weekend was the Saturday event. This event had 53 players in it thanks to the data provided by Daybreak Games.
You can find all of the decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Mono Blue Terror was the most popular deck here, and it's win rate was very good. Azorius Gates also did very well, while Grixis Affinity had a sub 50% win rate.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Azorius Gates | 1st | twister66 |
| Madness | 2nd | Niederschatten |
| Mono Blue Terror | 3rd | oskiyaa |
| Burn | 4th | FranMtg |
| Mono Blue Terror | 5th | Brivenix |
| Jeskai Ephemerate | 6th | DenisevichAlexey |
| Burn | 7th | albertoSD |
| Dredge | 8th | Drugo |
Very reasonable Top 8 here, honestly. At the end of the event it was Azorius Gates that won.
Digging this list quite a bit. It's very clean. 8 blasts in the sideboard is a real mood.
In Second Place we had Madness.
I enjoy how super aggressive this deck is, honestly. This feels like a deck I would play and enjoy.
At the bottom of the Top 8 we had Jeskai Ephemerate.
I very much think this deck is super fun and feels like something I wouldn't mind building. It's just a very cool deck overall.
Pauper Challenge 64 6/2
The final Challenge of the weekend was the Sunday event. This event had 68 players in it thanks to the data provided by Daybreak Games.
You can find all of the decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Gates and Gardens were both popular here, with both having strong win rates. Mono Blue Terror had a good finish but an overall bad win rate, while Gruul Ponza looked decently good.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Izzet Terror | 1st | SpockVidaLoka |
| Azorius Gates | 2nd | pepeteam |
| Golgari Gardens | 3rd | NickNorman |
| Gruul Ponza | 4th | Fake_Caetano |
| Mono Blue Terror | 5th | GALL |
| Goblins Combo | 6th | BokyFloky |
| Burn | 7th | vini_torres |
| Dimir Faeries | 8th | Brivenix |
Fairly good looking Top 8 here. At the end of the event it was Izzet Terror that won.
Very good looking list here. I like decks playing Breath Weapon at the moment for sure. Seems really strong.
In Second Place we had Azorius Gates.
My boy Outlaw Medic! I love this card. It seems so good in this deck.
Further down the Top 8 we had Gruul Ponza.
This is a solid looking list. Four copies of Deglamer in the sideboard is wild, but I get it. Getting rid of something entirely for a bit instead of putting it into the graveyard is reasonable.
Around the Web
- Nyx has a video on their set review of MH3! Check it out here.
- Our good friend Alex Ullman also has a set review up. Check it out here.
- A new episode of Casting Commons is available! Check it out here.
- TeasdaleMTG is playing Pestilence! Check it out here.
What I'm Playing Next Week!
With Modern Horizons 3 around the corner, I'm definitely looking forward to those Week 1 shenanigans. Definitely expect a video for this one (should be no surprise really).
The Spice Corner
As League results are now spread out across the week, let's dig in and find something spicy!
Rakdos!
Wrapping Up
That's all the time we have this week folks! Thanks for continuing to support the column and join us next week as we continue our journey into Pauper!
As always you can reach me at all my associated links via my Link Tree! In addition I'm always around the MTGGoldfish Discord Server and the MTGPauper Discord Server.
Until next time!
