The Power of Pauper: Top 10 Pauper Cards of 2025
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 look at the Top 10 Pauper Cards of 2025! We've been away for a bit because of vacation and a whole bunch of other things, but we are back for a while. In addition to the Top 10, we've got some Challenges to look at from last week.
Without further ado, let's dive right in!
The Top 10 Pauper Cards of 2025
2025 was an interesting year for the Pauper format. We had some trial unbans this year of both Prophetic Prism (now fully unbanned) and High Tide (re-banned) and a bunch of new Magic sets that came through Standard and added new cards to Pauper. One thing I do want to call out is that out of the sets we had this year, we did have one set only that added cards to Pauper via downshifts and that was Innistrad Remastered at the beginning of the year. Of those cards, really only Seize the Storm has seen much play at all over the other downshifts.
Primarily what this list is going to focus on is new cards, since there is only the one set that downshifted cards. The Standard sets of the year were Aetherdrift, Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Final Fantasy, Edge of Eternities, Marvel's Spider-Man, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Three of these sets were Universes Beyond sets, and did have an impact on Pauper. If there's any cards you think I missed, please feel free to let me know!
So, let's look at the Top 10 Pauper cards from 2025!
#10 - Skyward Spider / Wonderweave Aerialist
Right off the bat we've got a Spider-Omens card! Or a Through the Man card? I don't really know. This one has seen some strong play in the Mono White Heroic builds because its an evasive flying threat that also has Ward 2, so loading it up with Auras is pretty good.
#9 - Abandon Attachments
While there's a lot of effects that do just what this does, the fact that this is a Lesson is intriguing because of cards like First Day of Class (as we'll see in our Spice Corner this week). If we get even more Learn cards down the line this is a potentially fantastic card because of the Lesson mechanic.
#8 - Sagu Wildling
The Omen dragons at common are all pretty good, but this one has definitely helped a lot of different archetypes, primarily in Spy Combo, where it is a very good card. The fact that Omen shuffles back in is very relevant since this can grab a basic out of the library AND also be a creature in the library for the purposes of Lotleth Giant. Also just being a 3/3 flier for 4G isn't a bad backup plan.
#7 - Pactdoll Terror
Our Aetherdrift card on the list is pretty solid, since it has helped boost a lot of the Myr Retriever style Tron decks that see a lot more play in paper than online (clicking is rough!). Acting as a way to just win the game through life loss is pretty great with this card, if you can just keep looping Myr Retriever over and over.
#6 - Masked Meower / Skittering Kitten
This little kitty enabling some of the cooler Dredge strategies is pretty groovy, as well as showing up in some of the Mono Red Madness builds. He's a little guy, but having haste and being able to swing in and also do its thing is pretty cool.
#5 - Illvoi Galeblade
A 1/1 flash flier that can sac to draw a card is interesting enough, but this little guy has definitely made a splash in the Faeries decks as it's evasive and can come down on Turn 1 on an opponent's end step, swing in, and then be bounced to ninjutsu and replayed later at flash speed when need be. It's a really solid card for sure.
#4 - Summon: Choco/Mog
Mono White Aggro has absolutely loved this card because of how good it is at boosting your damage. The best part is that these things aren't Legendary, so you can keep pushing 3/3s for 3 that boosts your team over multiple turns, and more than likely your opponent will be dead before you even get to this thing's fourth chapter. It's an incredibly powerful card that has really helped boost Mono White in the format.
#3 - Town Greeter
How do you make self-mill/Dredge more consistent? Add four more effects that self mill you of course. This card functionally being another Satyr Wayfinder has allowed Dredge access to eight of these effects, and any time that happens, the raw consistency level of the deck tends to go way, way up. Even without the Town synergy, this is a great card.
#2 - Black Mage's Rod
Four of our Top 5 being from Final Fantasy isn't a fluke. The set was really that good, and Black Mage's Rod has certainly proven it's a powerful card. Bolstering mainly the Grixis Affinity lists, this card gives those decks another way of pushing damage through as it casts a boatload of noncreature spells in general. It's great in multiples and great overall.
#1 - Cryogen Relic
Artifacts that do things when they enter or leave the battlefield have long been a core of Pauper. Ichor Wellspring is a pillar of the format, frankly, even without Deadly Dispute around. Cryogen Relic is no exception. If you can afford the blue mana cost of this, it pays off well by drawing when it enters or leaves, which means it can be sacrificed, blinked, or bounced to hand and net you cards out of it. The versatility of it also comes in the fact that if you really need it to, it can sac and stuff a stun counter on a tapped creature.
It is definitely one of the most powerful cards to come out of Standard for Pauper this year.
Pauper Challenge 32 12/11/2025
The first Challenge event of the week was the Thursday event. This event had 51 players in it thanks to the MTGO website.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Mono Red Madness | 1st | SpockVidaLoka |
| Mono Red Madness | 2nd | LucasG1ggs |
| Mono Red Madness | 3rd | boom_bust |
| Mono White Aggro | 4th | Niederschatten |
| Jund Wildfire | 5th | _blaze66 |
| Azorius Gates | 6th | Edo_01 |
| Cycle Storm | 7th | Swarm_OF_Mats |
| Grixis Affinity | 8th | LuffyDoChapeuDePalha |
Lot of Madness going on here, and in fact the event was a finals match between two Mono Red Madness decks.
Not much of a real difference between these two lists. Sideboard slots mainly, with the Second Place list having access to Flaring Pain.
Also in this Top 8 we had Cycle Storm.
Haven't really seen this deck a ton as of late, but it is really cool. It's definitely got a learning curve to it, but it's a very intriguing deck with some really fun gameplay. Plus you get to play Songs of the Damned.
Pauper Challenge 32 12/12/2025
The second Challenge event of the week was the Friday event. This event had 61 players in it thanks to the MTGO website.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Mono Blue Terror | 1st | discoverN |
| Ephemerate Tron | 2nd | Alleyezonme |
| Orzhov Glintblade | 3rd | Drugo |
| Azorius Gates | 4th | AlessandroPiraccini |
| Golgari Gardens | 5th | __Noob__ |
| Mono Red Rally | 6th | GilbertoAntunes |
| Spy Combo | 7th | FennProbablyIGuess |
| Jund Wildfire | 8th | kuldothared |
This is a fairly diverse Top 8 here. At the end of the event it was Mono Blue Terror that won.
Clean cut and straightforward is the name of the game for this deck. This deck's game plan of delay the opponent and keep them down until you're playing one mana 5/5s and two mana 6/5s is silly, backed up by the fact that you also have Delver of Secrets. Very aggressive for sure.
In Second Place we had Ephemerate Tron.
This is pretty cool. I love Nyxborn Hydra as a massive mana sink, especially if you're Bestowing it where the opponent has to try to remove it twice to get rid of it.
Also in this Top 8 we had Azorius Gates.
I dig it. It's super straightforward to understand what's going on here. Just good clean countermagic, cheap threats, and Basilisk Gate to close games out.
Pauper Challenge 32 12/13/2025
The third Challenge event of the week was the Saturday event. This event had 50 players in it thanks to the MTGO website.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Mono Blue Terror | 1st | discoverN |
| Spy Combo | 2nd | simins |
| Ephemerate Tron | 3rd | Alleyezonme |
| Mono Blue Terror | 4th | NMT_Sco94 |
| Grixis Madness Burn | 5th | MisterTwin |
| Mono Red Rally | 6th | eresopacaso |
| Food Midrange | 7th | True-Name-Nemesis |
| Spy Combo | 8th | beniscool53 |
Another pretty diverse Top 8. The winner here just happened to be the same pilot who won the previous event on the same deck of Mono Blue Terror.
Not much to say because the list is exactly the same as the event before. This pilot has a lot of chops on multiple formats with multiple different decks, so it isn't really surprising to see they do well here too, as they have in the past many times.
In Second Place we had Spy Combo.
This deck has certainly had a lot of hubbub over it I know. I think it is very good and a lot different than something like Oops in Legacy because it has to jump through a few hoops to get to its win condition, but it is super cool.
Also in this Top 8 we had Food Midrange.
Oh man, I love seeing Cauldron Familiar in decks. It's such a cool card.
Pauper Challenge 32 12/14/2025
The final Challenge event of the week was the Sunday event. This event had 64 players in it thanks to the MTGO website.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Dredge | 1st | marzaboi |
| Jund Wildfire | 2nd | Walker735 |
| Azorius Gates | 3rd | AlessandroPiraccini |
| Azorius Gates | 4th | Gn42 |
| Mono Red Rally | 5th | mugent |
| Poison Storm | 6th | Bungi |
| Grixis Affinity | 7th | LuffyDoChapeuDePalha |
| Dimir Terror | 8th | NMT_Sco94 |
Another pretty solid Top 8. At the end of the event, it was Dredge that won.
We talked a bit about Town Greeter earlier, but it really has improved this deck a bunch and given it quite a bit of consistency. Death Spark in the sideboard is also kind of sweet.
In Second Place, we had Jund Wildfire.
Very strong-looking build here. This deck never ceases to impress me with how versatile it is.
Also in this Top 8 we had Poison Storm.
Ooh, I like this build. No Lotus Petal is quite interesting, honestly. Sideboard copies of Out Cold is neat as a way to put stun counters on things to proliferate them.
Around the Web
- GiorgioCombo has a video on their deck for Paupergeddon Pisa. Check it out here.
- Bryant Cook is cycling some storms. Check it out here.
- Pauperganda has a video on Orzhov Knights. Check it out here.
- Mvanni has a video with Edoardo Bardi on a Top 8 run of the Pauper Challenge with Azorius Gates. Check it out here.
- Our good friend Alex Ullman always has recaps. Check it out here.
The Spice Corner
As League results are now spread out across the week, let's dig in and find something spicy!
First Day of Class with some Avatar Lessons? You got it.
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 alway,s 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!
