Over 480 players participated in the latest Paupergeddon last weekend in Pisa, Italy. These tournaments are part of the largest paper Pauper tournament series in the world (at least to my knowledge), complete with a region-based qualification system. Paupergeddon Pisa was spread out over two days, and while slightly smaller than the last iteration, was still a massive success. It is heartening to see this tournament series earn the accolades it deserves, not only from the tournament itself but from other regions modeling their own tabletop events after Paupergeddon.
But then there’s the tournament itself. Tabletop Pauper tournaments often have slightly different metagames than the Magic Online iterations due in part to the limits of the Magic Online interface. Some powerful decks lean on card combinations that eat a lot of time and manual clicks on the digital client whereas in paper one can just go “I would like to demonstrate a loop” and save everyone from having to “yield all” and potentially miss a point of interaction. One deck that falls victim to the limitations of Magic Online is one of the finalists – Altar Tron.
Altar Tron
Pauper Altar Tron by Tommaso Loss
Sorcery (4)
Artifact (25)
Enchantment (1)
Land (17)
Altar Tron is an Ashnod’s Altar-Myr Retriever combo deck. The goal is to get this loop running with a Golem Foundry on the board. Once that is assembled, there is an unbound number of 3/3s that can be produced, as well as an unbound amount of colorless mana. If Energy Refractor is on the board, then this can be filtered into specific colors. The deck can either attack for the win or use Makeshift Munitions to plink away at every last life point. Altar Tron is a powerful option that is largely held back on Magic Online due to the constraints of the client. Still, the strategy does have several pinch points, including the reliance on artifacts – far more dangerous now that Cast into the Fire is legal – and bringing things back from the graveyard. A well-timed Relic of Progenitus or Nihil Spellbomb can also put a crimp on their plans. Altar Tron was one of four strategies with four percent of the metagame at Paupergeddon alongside Azorius Familiars, CawGate, and WonderWall combo.
Faeries
Pauper Faeries by Andrea Beatrice
Creature (23)
Land (18)
Sideboard (15)
The most popular archetype on the weekend was Faeries with 13 percent of the metagame. My current pick for the best deck in the format, especially for an open field, Faeries has continued to take on an aggressive bend, leaning into the early game with cards like Force Spike to back up Snap as a way to press an advantage in the first turns of the game. Brinebarrow Intruder is a card that gets the nod to help win combat steps and also power up the copies of Of One Mind. Faeries suffers against decks that want to make the game go long and that can gum up the ground, meeting their Ninjas with blockers and removal.
Affinity
Pauper Grixis Affinity by Robert Francini
Sorcery (4)
Enchantment (1)
Land (19)
The event was won by Grixis Affinity in the hands of Roberto Francini, and the deck held on to three of the slots in the Top 8. Affinity maintains the shell of artifact lands and threats like Myr Enforcer – you know, the ones with the affinity mechanic. The strategy gets to run a ton of card draw in Thoughtcast, Deadly Dispute and Reckoner’s Bargain and can keep the threats flowing with Blood Fountain. Affinity is also the target of the incredibly popular sideboard card Dust to Dust and is sure to be met with Cast into the Fire soon enough. Yet the deck persists in part because its core of artifact lands, card draw and threats is potent enough that the rest of the deck can adapt to the expected metagame. For example, Somber Hoverguard has been seeing more play on Magic Online recently as additional ways to take the initiative, but that card was absent from the Top 8 in Pisa.
Boros Synthesizer
Pauper Boros Synthesizer by Andrea Mengucci
Enchantment (2)
Land (21)
The breakout deck of the tournament, if you can call an established archetype a breakout, was Boros Synthesizer. Clocking in at eight percent of the total metagame, the deck took down three of Top 8 slots. The deck uses the tried and true method of recurring artifacts with Kor Skyfisher and Glint Hawk to slowly accrue card advantage with Experimental Synthesizer and Ichor Wellspring. Barbed Batterfist has been a nearly stock inclusion in these decks since it was released in Phyrexia: All Will Be One as it provides material for the engine while also helping to spit out a stream of bears and making the flying creatures more threatening. Lembas also made the cut in some builds. Foundry Helix is nearly two years old at this point and has seen inconsistent play in the strategy but it is hard to deny the power of a card that can provide an eight point life swing.
There are a few other stories of note out of Paupergeddon. The first is the relative absence of aggressive mono-red decks with only one placing in the Top 32. These decks have largely defined the conversation of the Magic Online metagame as of late. As the metagame has adjusted, these decks have struggled to find the same levels of success as they did even a few months ago. Still, the two major red strategies combined for 15 percent of the total metagame. Black Gardens – one of the breakout decks from last Paupergeddon – made up eight percent of the metagame but only managed to put two decks into the Top 32. The final thread of note was the relative balance in the metagame. Only Faeries topped 10 percent of the metagame with several other archetypes hovering in the seven and eight percent range. With the online metagame approaching a more balanced state, this trend bodes well for Pauper going into The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth season.
