Pauper received a shakeup with a ban on All That Glitters just in time for RIW’s 1K on May 25. Today I’m going to review the metagame and how it affects my weapon of choice, Dimir Terror.
Azorius Affinity was the most powerful way to build an aggressive deck after the Monastery Swiftspear ban thanks to the punch of All That Glitters. Artifact lands remain one of the strongest enablers in Pauper so I don’t expect Affinity to die off, but shift back to black’s card advantage.
Mono Red remains the early frontrunner for the top aggressive deck without having to compete against Glitter Affinity. The existence of a strong aggro deck makes for a dynamic metagame. It can be tempting to build a deck to go over the top of midrange, but this punisher will keep your win percentage in check.
Mono Red cannot deal with Gurmag Angler or Tolarian Terror in game one with a single spell. Use this information to your advantage when trying to assemble the lethal combo of 5/5 and Unexpected Fangs.
The red deck sideboards Relic of Progenitus and Pyroblast against Dimir Terror making it a slower post-board matchup. If your opponent is playing reactively after board you can infer they have a blast in hand and resolving an early Relic can help delay Gurmag Angler and Tolarian Terror.
13 Mountain
4 Chain Lightning
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Reckless Lackey
3 Implement of Combustion
4 Experimental Synthesizer
4 Goblin Tomb Raider
4 Voldaren Epicure
4 Goblin Blast-Runner
4 Great Furnace
4 Kuldotha Rebirth
4 Galvanic Blast
Sideboard
1 Flaring Pain
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 End the Festivities
3 Pyroblast
2 Electrickery
2 Gorilla Shaman
2 Smash to Smithereens
Dimir Faeries serves as a way to keep slower decks in check. Ninja of the Deep Hours alongside Augur of Bolas can generate some serious card advantage at the expense of not gaining life against Mono Red. This matchup is very scary for Dimir Terror, but you can win games by going underneath their card advantage.
Black decks play Snuff Out as their primary removal spell making Gurmag Angler the more resilient threat despite Tolarian Terror’s ward ability.
4 Snuff Out
4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Counterspell
4 Augur of Bolas
1 Swamp
2 Cast Down
2 Preordain
1 Gurmag Angler
3 Faerie Seer
4 Contaminated Aquifer
4 Lorien Revealed
2 Brainstorm
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Agony Warp
3 Ninja of the Deep Hours
1 Suffocating Fumes
10 Island
1 Maestros Theater
1 Murmuring Mystic
2 Thorn of the Black Rose
1 Arms of Hadar
1 Dispel
1 Spell Pierce
1 Extract a Confession
Sideboard
1 Agony Warp
1 Dispel
1 Okiba-Gang Shinobi
4 Hydroblast
1 Stormbound Geist
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Unexpected Fangs
1 Murmuring Mystic
1 Arms of Hadar
1 Lose Focus
1 Chainer’s Edict
Caw Gates is a powerful midrange deck that pumps Squadron Hawk and Sacred Cat with Basilisk Gate. The white cards lack speed, but are able to serve as a natural foil to Mono Red. Guardian of the Guildpact is the haymaker I must respect out of Dimir Terror as it’s immune to Cast Down and Snuff Out. Agony Warp is the best removal spell against Caw Gates as it kills Guardian of the Guildpact and shrinks a large attacker.
Watch out for Journey to Nowhere and Counterspell as one-for-one interaction for your 5/5s. The race to twenty damage could be delayed by Prismatic Strands, but they will likely be boarded out for stronger interaction.
The Sea Gate and Citadel Gate can splash for Pyroblast out of the board alongside Relic of Progenitus. Destroy Evil is another potential sideboard card to kill 5/5s. Be ready for a grindy post board fight.
4 Basilisk Gate
4 Citadel Gate
1 Heap Gate
4 Sea Gate
1 Azorius Guildgate
3 Journey to Nowhere
4 Sacred Cat
2 Guardian of the Guildpact
2 Dawnbringer Cleric
3 Brainstorm
2 Preordain
1 Dispel
2 Preordain
4 Prismatic Strands
1 Journey to Nowhere
4 The Modern Age
1 Deep Analysis
2 Lorien Revealed
4 Counterspell
3 Azorius Guildgate
4 Island
4 Squadron Hawk
Sideboard
1 Blue Elemental Blast
3 Relic of Progenitus
3 Destroy Evil
1 Dispel
3 Blue Elemental Blast
4 Red Elemental Blast
Jeskai Ephemerate is yet another way to play a slower game plan. Exchanging the Gate-based manabase for more well-rounded cards trades inevitability for efficiency. Skred, Mulldrifter, and Augur of Bolas are fun to play making it a great choice.
Cleansing Wildfire can attack my Contaminated Aquifers so I may need more black mana than expected. Skred takes longer to kill my 5/5s than Journey to Nowhere, but they can block with value creatures to kill them ahead of schedule.
3 Brainstorm
2 Archaeomancer
1 Snow-Covered Plains
4 Rustvale Bridge
4 Silverbluff Bridge
1 Volatile Fjord
1 Glacial Floodplain
4 Counterspell
4 Augur of Bolas
2 Preordain
4 Cleansing Wildfire
4 Lorien Revealed
4 Skred
1 Murmuring Mystic
4 Mulldrifter
2 Kenku Artificer
1 Lose Focus
2 Breath Weapon
7 Snow-Covered Island
1 Union of the Third Path
2 Ephemerate
1 Destroy Evil
2 Snow-Covered Mountain
Sideboard
4 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Destroy Evil
1 Cast into the Fire
1 Breath Weapon
1 Dispel
1 Tormod’s Crypt
2 God-Pharaoh’s Faithful
4 Pyroblast
Familiars is the final way to build Azorius midrange. I prefer to play against this deck because they are more focused on dealing with Mono Red. Snuff Out can profitably interact with God-Pharaoh’s Faithful and Sunscape Familiar.
The Familar’s tap land of choice is Azorius Chancery instead of a dual land that enables a splash for Pyroblast. Snap and Ephemerate can reset Mulldrifter and Archeomancer making it valuable to counter them the first time.
Since Jeskai Ephemerate is already filled with efficient interaction and only brings in four Pyroblasts after board. They don’t always play Relic of Progenitus because it doesn’t work well with Archeomancer.
4 Snap
2 Ephemerate
4 God-Pharaoh’s Faithful
1 Deep Analysis
1 Mortuary Mire
2 Plains
4 Mulldrifter
4 Azorius Chancery
3 Ash Barrens
3 Archaeomancer
8 Snow-Covered Island
4 Sunscape Familiar
1 Glacial Floodplain
4 Preordain
2 Lorien Revealed
2 Prohibit
3 The Modern Age
1 Ghostly Flicker
1 Obscura Storefront
3 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Remove Soul
1 Dawnbringer Cleric
1 Prismatic Strands
Sideboard
3 Hydroblast
1 Nature’s Chant
1 Exclude
2 Negate
2 Destroy Evil
1 Remove Soul
1 Last Breath
2 Deep Analysis
2 Dawnbringer Cleric
Golgari Gardens remains a solid choice if you’re looking to play midrange without Azorius cards. Thorn of the Black Rose in the maindeck can be risky as some decks are aggressive enough for the monarchy to be a drawback. The same can be said for Avenging Hunter’s Initiative, but can quickly swing a stalled game.
Crypt Rats can threaten to sweep all of your 5/5s or just kill you if they’re ahead of life. There’s plenty of spot removal in Defile, Snuff Out, and Cast Down so expect a drawn out fight. I want to leave up a counter for their midrange creatures on turn four and five.
3 Avenging Hunter
1 Bojuka Bog
2 Cast Down
2 Crypt Rats
4 Deadly Dispute
3 Defile
2 Fanatical Offering
1 Fungal Infection
9 Swamp
1 Haunted Mire
2 Ichor Wellspring
3 Lembas
1 Khalni Garden
2 Reckoner’s Bargain
2 Snuff Out
2 Spinning Darkness
1 Ichor Wellspring
1 Golgari Rot Farm
4 Tithing Blade
1 Crypt Rats
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Witch’s Cottage
3 Troll of Khazad-dum
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cast Down
3 Khalni Garden
2 Thorn of the Black Rose
1 Drown in Sorrow
Sideboard
2 Duress
2 Drown in Sorrow
1 Divest
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Okiba-Gang Shinobi
2 Troublemaker Ouphe
4 Weather the Storm
1 Duress
1 Relic of Progenitus
Grixis Affinity is a slower deck compared to Azorius without All That Glitters, but takes advantage of Blood Fountain and Deadly Dispute. Metallic Rebuke is their counter of choice and cannot kill a 5/5 with a single spell. Frogmite and Galvanic Blast is the most likely way a 5/5 dies in game one and then watch out for Pyroblast after board.
Again, you must take note of how each deck utilizes the graveyard when deciding if they board in Relic of Progenitus. Blood Fountain indicates you should expect Nihil Spellbomb over Relic which is much easier to navigate.
The indestructible artifact lands once again indicate Kenku Artificer making Agony Warp a strong removal spell.
3 Blood Fountain
4 Chromatic Star
4 Deadly Dispute
2 Drossforge Bridge
4 Frogmite
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Great Furnace
1 Gurmag Angler
4 Ichor Wellspring
2 Kenku Artificer
1 Makeshift Munitions
3 Metallic Rebuke
3 Mistvault Bridge
4 Myr Enforcer
2 Reckoner’s Bargain
4 Seat of the Synod
2 Silverbluff Bridge
4 Thoughtcast
4 Vault of Whispers
1 Swamp
Sideboard
2 Gorilla Shaman
4 Hydroblast
3 Krark-Clan Shaman
2 Nihil Spellbomb
4 Pyroblast
4 Gurmag Angler
4 Tolarian Terror
4 Counterspell
2 Mental Note
4 Thought Scour
4 Brainstorm
2 Unexpected Fangs
2 Spell Pierce
1 Out of Air
1 Murmuring Mystic
1 Fallaji Archaeologist
2 Deep Analysis
4 Lorien Revealed
4 Snuff Out
2 Agony Warp
4 Consider
10 Island
4 Contaminated Aquifer
1 Ice Tunnel
Sideboard
4 Hydroblast
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Murmuring Mystic
2 Annul
2 Dispel
1 Cast Down
1 Suffocating Fumes
1 Unexpected Fangs
2 Thorn of the Black Rose
Dimir Terror seeks to cast instant-speed cantrips to enable quick kills with Tolarian Terror and Gurmag Angler.
Your success with the deck is based on how well you balance the efficiency of your cantrips. Brainstorm can be cast early to add more instants and sorceries to your graveyard, but can be held to combo with Thought Scour and Mental Note to get rid of excess lands. Lorien Revealed can be quickly cycled for an Island or used as a haymaker drawing three cards. Some matchups prioritize landing a quick 5/5 while others would just be walking into removal.
I’m expecting a slower metagame making Mental Note and Fallaji Archaeologist less of a priority. Dimir Terror already preys on Mono Red with Unexpected Fangs so I would rather hedge with more late game spells.
Out of Air is my fifth counter. Creatures are the primary way to go over the top in Pauper and Out of Air effectively has a kicker of targeting any spell. There are plenty of Remove Soul effects with small upsides thanks to every land making blue mana and Out of Air is currently the strongest option.
The third Deep Analysis is swapped for Murmuring Mystic because there are fewer Mental Notes and Fallaji Archaeologists. Mystic is especially powerful in game one as it won’t be hit with Pyroblast and doesn’t use the graveyard.
+2 Thorn of the Black Rose +2 Dispel +1 Nihil Spellbomb
-1 Agony Warp -2 Unexpected Fangs -2 Mental Note
I don’t care for edict effects in Dimir Terror as the mirror is ready with Fallaji Archaeologist. The mirror can sometimes come down to decking, meaning you want to point Thought Scour and Deep Analysis at the opponent on the final turn.
+4 Hydroblast +2 Dispel +1 Suffocating Fumes +1 Unexpected Fangs +1 Agony Warp
-4 Snuff Out -2 Deep Analysis -1 Out of Air -1 Murmuring Mystic -1 Cast Down
Board out the cards that cost you life and prioritize assembling the combo of 5/5+Unexpected Fangs.
+2 Thorn of the Black Rose +2 Dispel
-1 Mental Note -2 Unexpected Fangs -1 Agony Warp
+1 Agony Warp +2 Annul +2 Dispel
-1 Out of Air -1 Murmuring Mystic -2 Spell Pierce -1 Snuff Out
+1 Agony Warp +2 Dispel +1 Murmuring Mystic +1 Suffocating Fumes
-2 Spell Pierce -1 Cast Down -1 Unexpected Fangs -1 Mental Note
Suffocating Fumes is played over Nausea because there aren’t any tier 1 decks completely reliant on x/1 creatures. The cycling option is nice against both Dimir and Mono Red in case it lines up well.
There are sure to be more changes to the Pauper metagame in the coming weeks. I personally love playing this format as it offers refreshing play patterns without flashy threats. Don’t forget to play RIW’s 1K on May 25.
See you there and thanks for reading!
