My name is Ethan, and I am back writing for RIW, which means I had a pretty good weekend recently. After falling in the finals of the June Pauper Championship Series tournament, I had my eyes set on the July $1k for some redemption.
Pauper isn’t the only format I play. I consider myself a grinder, which entails playing a multitude of different formats. Right now, the RCQ season is Modern, so I was walking those streets between the big Pauper $1ks and earned my second qualification for the next RC. With Modern checked off the to-do list, I also had my sights set on some limited tournaments…
I earned a spot for the MTG Arena Qualifier Weekend via the Best-of-1 Play-In the week prior, so I knew I would be “double queuing” that day. The entry for qualifier weekend opens at 9 a.m., and I am building my sealed pool by 9:05 to try to maximize my time. I have been playing a lot of Marvel Super Heroes limited lately for a variety of reasons, so I think I have a pretty good grasp on the format. If you have heard anything about the format, you have probably heard that blue and white are the colors to be (or beat). Unfortunately for me, my blue was very shallow. Fortunately, I opened a ton of great white/black rares, with enough fixing to splash red for some more rares. The deck wasn’t perfect, however. I only had two removal spells, one of which was very conditional. Despite that, it felt like an above-average sealed deck.
I enter the white/blue gauntlet (my first three matches were against UW) and rattle off some wins to get to 5-1 before I have to head to RIW to play some Pauper. I have until 7 p.m. to get to seven wins before three losses, so I am headed to Pauper with two plans in mind: 0-2 drop to head home and finish the Day 1 qualifier, or 4-0 and use the two double draw rounds to play Arena on my phone.
THE DECK: GRIXIS AFFINITY
Not much has changed with my decklist since the last $1k. Like I stated in the guide, if I were forced to resubmit the same 75, I wouldn’t be too upset.
I did make one change, adding two Black Mage’s Rods back into the main deck. This card has been part of the toolkit for about a year now since the Final Fantasy set came out, but it got overshadowed by the additions TMNT brought. As much as I like Sewer-Veillance Cam, I hadn’t felt like it was pulling its weight in the current meta, and I was looking for some more impact. The rod offers a cheap, sticky threat that advances the artifact plan, and it can really pump damage later in the game while we chain off cantrips. After a dazzling performance at the Wednesday night weekly, I was set on putting Black Mage’s Rod on the registration sheet. This is what I registered:
Some of you Pauper gremlins might have seen a recent video by Hypergeomancer further discussing 19 versus 20 lands in Grixis Affinity. In the video, they came to the conclusion of 19 lands being better than 20 lands after simulating 5 million games.
You’ll notice I still registered 20 lands for the $1k. I’ll refrain from a full rebuttal, but I will just say Magic is not played in a vacuum. When goldfishing, 19 lands will flood less than 20 lands, sure, but what happens when there is a warm body sitting across the table whose main goal in Games 2 and 3 is to Stone Rain you? I always think to myself when I am flooding out,
“Would the third Toxin Analysis really change things here?”
Maybe it would, and maybe I just needed to dig that one more card deeper to get to gas again. Is that worth the increased number of games where I have to mulligan away an otherwise functional hand because it only has one land? I don’t think so, and I will continue to run 20 lands and be at peace.
Round 1: Mono-Red Goblins
One of the interesting things about playing Pauper is discovering cards I’d never even heard of before.
The first time I played against Goblins, I lost to a Goblin Grenade, a card I didn’t even know existed. The next time we faced off, I cast my Refurbished Familiar into my tapped-out opponent, usually a very powerful play against red decks that just want their cards to deal around three damage to you.
They had other plans, however, and discarded a Guerilla Tactics, which I had to read a couple of times. Like most creature decks, Goblins are soft to Krark-Clan Shaman and lifegain, and post-board Blue Blasts make life really hard. This time around, Game 1 was a breeze. An early Galvanic Blast to buy time for the aforementioned KCS left my opponent out of gas and myself ready to steam ahead.
Game 2 was a different story… I kept a two-lander with something like a Drossforge Bridge, Vault of Whispers, KCS, Galv Blast, Ichor Wellspring, Reckoner’s Bargain, and Myr Enforcer. I was really relying on the top of the deck to find more lands with this hand, but I had the tools to buy some time until I got to that point. My opponent plays their turn-one Goblin, and I spend my first turn playing the tap land.
On my opponent’s second turn, they play another Goblin, attack me, and pass. No second land. I play the Wellspring as I am not under much pressure yet, but I still haven’t found my third land after three draws. Pass to my opponent, who casts a 1-mana destroy artifact spell to hit my Vault of Whispers. Uh-oh. They attack and pass, and still no second land from my opponent. I draw, and there is no land for me either. This goes back and forth for a while, with me using a couple of Galv Blasts to buy time, but they find their second land first to deploy more threats and take over the game.
The mana issues continue into Game 3 when I keep a hand with only one blue source, but it has a Thoughtcast, Utrom Monitor, and Hydroblast. “This hand is fine,” I think. “Thoughtcast will find me more blue lands.” I draw another Thoughtcast off the top on turn two. On turn three, my first Thoughtcast draws me an Utrom Monitor and another Blue Blast. I’m staring at a grip full of blue spells with one very smashable Seat of the Synod. This game requires some tough decisions of tanking some hits to play more Thoughtcasts instead of deploying a blocker or leaving up Blue Blast. I end up going to 2 but stabilize once I find my second blue source and am able to double-spell a blocker plus interaction. Tense way to start the day, but we’re in the clear at 1-0.
Round 2: Orzhov Glintblade
This matchup used to be really tough. Most of their threats are in the air, so KCS does nothing to stabilize the board.
I think the printing of Utrom Monitor really flipped this matchup into Grixis’ favor. We are now able to beat them in the air with the 3/3 body. Blue also allows us more card advantage with Thoughtcast should the game stretch longer. I have been toying with the idea of mixing these two decks into an Esper Affinity build, but Grixis has been treating me well lately, so I haven’t gotten around to it.
Game 1 was one of these games that lasted a little longer, but I felt like I was in the driver’s seat the whole time, making my opponent have the answers to my questions. One thing white gives them post-board is Dust to Dust, which can be a real pickle when backed up by a couple of 2-power fliers. Unfortunately for my opponent, they mulled to 5, and I had an early Refurbished Familiar to pressure their hand further, so I quickly ran away with Game 2. 2-0.
I got paired into my friend and teammate Bailey. Unfortunate circumstances, but I can only play the match in front of me. We had just played against each other at the weekly on Wednesday, and after our match, we discussed sideboarding in the matchup. I forgot the entire conversation and must simply play Magic. If Familiars ever get their engine online, the value is usually too much to overcome.
Thankfully, I have Galvanic Blast and Krark-Clan Shaman in Game 1 to interact with Baily’s creatures, and a Nihil Spellbomb can stop an Archaeomancer buyback line. Game 1 I saw all three main deck KCS, but nary a Toxin Analysis in sight. You gotta do what you gotta do, though, so some lands got sacrificed to clear out a Familiar and a blocker to open the board for my Myr Enforcer. Along with some air support, Game 1 wrapped up pretty cleanly.
Game 2 did not go as well. We traded resources back and forth for a while until at some point an Archaeomancer picked up a previously cast Hydroblast. Bailey left it face up in his hand for the rest of the game alongside an untapped Island. The threat was clear. I never found a window to deploy the Galvanic Blast in my hand on the eventual Familiar that hit the table. I ended up getting blown out by a confusing sequence involving a rebounding Ephemerate, Archaeomancer, plus a second Ephemerate in hand. My singular Spellbomb was not able to stop the value train, and I scooped ‘em not long after.
Game 3 I’m back on the play, and I get rewarded with a doozy. Refurbished Familiar and Utrom Monitor backed up by a Pyroblast presents a threatening clock alongside interaction. A Myr Enforcer off the top seals the deal as my army of robots carries me to victory. 3-0.
Round 4: Grixis Affinity Mirror Match
Nick and I talk about Grixis Affinity quite a lot, bouncing ideas off each other. We ended up on the same 73/75 for this event, with me opting for the two Black Mage’s Rods in the flex slots. Grixis mirrors can get very grindy, and they can be incredibly swingy. Both players present massive amounts of card advantage and recursion, and 10 power can appear on the board out of nowhere!
I don’t remember much from this match, but I think I remember feeling lucky afterward. I definitely remember Nick flooding at the end of Game 1, and maybe missing land drops at the beginning of Game 3 even after a Reckoner’s Bargain draw-three. It sucks to take out two homies back-to-back, but when a quarter of the room is homies, it’s bound to happen. 4-0.
R5/6: Intentional Draws 4-0-2
A quick jaunt to Taco Bell for some lunch before heading back to RIW to boot up Arena on my phone. The context switch from Pauper back to MSH limited proved challenging. I played very poorly in the first match back, and playing against UW when they play one of the best cards in the set, The Mighty Thor, Jane Foster, on curve in two games leads quickly to 5-2. I need to win the next two matches to make Day 2 of the qualifier weekend. I don’t remember much from match number 8, but I improved to 6-2. One more match to decide whether I am playing more on Sunday.
I am heavily embroiled in Game 2 when Round 6 of Pauper gets called. I expected a quick handshake and ID, but due to some shenanigans involving lots of unintentional drawing throughout the day, Russo had to crunch the numbers. I said to do what you gotta do while staring at my phone.
After a minute, Russo extends his hand as I am fighting for my life vs. a GW deck with some crazy rares. I am able to buy time against a 6/5 flying lifelink indestructible Captain Marvel, Earth’s Protector by using Super-Skrull and a green mana from Dependable Quinjet to make an 8/9 flying blocker every turn. I am giving them the business back with my flying hexproof Photon, Living Light. It’s a stalemate, but I know I have exile removal somewhere in the next 20 cards. I just need to find it. I get a scry 2 off an ETB and see Cloak and Dagger Entwined. Bingo. Removing the lifelinker opens up the sky for Photon and Skrull, and I am going to Game 3 for all the marbles.
Game 3 opens with a couple of dinky creatures before I land a humble 3-mana 5/5, The Kingpin of Crime. It is swiftly answered by a Web Up, and next turn my opponent plays the much worse Captain Mar-Vell, Space-Born. However, it’s still a 4/4 flying vigilance, and paired with a couple of Crowd of True-Believers, quickly brings my life total low. I need removal ASAP. I don’t find removal but find a way to turn my ¾ Archangel of Thune into a 4/5. Is this my moment? Is this my time? I attack my 4/5 into their 4/4! They block!! They block?? Take Up the Shield makes their Captain into a 5/5 lifelink indestructible. I have a couple more turns to find removal and maybe stabilize, but I don’t find it. 6-3 and out in Arena Qualifier Day 1.
Quarterfinals: BG Pestilence
I had no idea what my opponent was for the first few turns. It seemed like a mirror match with Nihil Spellbomb, Lembas, Fanatical Offering, etc., but I was only seeing black lands. Once the Cauldron Familiar hit the stack, I was really confused, but the follow-up of Pestilence really put the pieces together. I had never played against this particular deck, but I have played vs. Golgari Gardens before, so I fell back to those heuristics.
Priority number 1 is to put some pressure on, but priority number 2 is to not overextend into a board wipe. Priority number 3 is to not let my opponent keep their Pestilence around.
I managed to get away with one when my opponent tried to resurrect the kitty when I had a Spellbomb on the board. After a judge call to explain the interaction between the cat’s activated ability, Lembas’s triggered ability, and Spellbomb exiling both of them, my opponent misses that they just have the second Lembas to get their cat back. Without another cat to keep their Pestilence on board, I was able to deploy my threats and close the game out.
Game 2 was a grinder. Again, I had to be diligent with my threats to not lose too much to Pestilence all at once, but this time there was the complicating factor of double Campfire. I tried not to let it affect me psychologically too much. I know I can drop 10 power onto the board at a moment’s notice when the time is right. I spend much of the game applying a steady amount of pressure to maintain parity while sculpting my hand for when the moment is right. That moment comes when I get a Spellbomb and a Krark-Clan Shaman into play after my opponent chumps with their Familiar. I activate Spellbomb, they bring back their cat, and I sacrifice Enforcer to KCS to put the cat back in the bin, so it gets exiled. End step, Pestilence is sacrificed.
The race is on. Can I close out the game before my opponent finds another Pestilence? Black Mage’s Rod, double Utrom Monitor, and a Refurbished Familiar present a terrifyingly quick clock, and all that hand sculpting has left me with two blasts in hand, ready to go when the moment is right. My opponent’s Campfires and abundance of food stem the bleeding and doesn’t give me the window to end the game. I have fewer than 10 cards left in my library. I draw the third blast and do some math. If I click attack all and cast a couple more spells, my opponent will be at 15, the perfect number for three Galvanic Blasts plus Black Mage’s Rod, but they have three mana up to eat a food. I just need them to blink first. I put them to 15 and pass to my end step. “On your end step, I’ll crack Lembas.” I put three Galvanic Blasts onto the table.
The VOD of my semifinals and finals matches is available on the RIWHobbies Twitch channel.
Semifinals: Jund Wildfire
Josh is a very strong opponent and Jund Wildfire pilot.
In fact, this match is the decider to see who will be the points leader at the end of this $1k. I am still not sure who is favored in this matchup. I have a feeling it’s Jund, especially if the game goes long.
Writhing Chrysalis is almost guaranteed to be a 2-for-1, meaning that dealing with even one more after the first is very challenging. Both decks have interaction for the graveyard recursion, so that line of play is mostly shut off. My current approach to the matchup is to try and close out the game as quickly as possible, which leads to a very questionable post-board configuration of cutting Krark-Clan Shaman for Cast Downs and Cast into the Fire to clear out blockers more consistently.
Game 1 vs. Josh, he was 2nd seed, and so he gets to be on the play. On turn three, a main phase Fanatical Offering leads me to believe he is missing his fourth land drop, which is almost confirmed when he goes to map onto the KCS. I decide the upside is worth it and Galvanic Blast the Shaman to stop the Explore. I am rewarded when Josh moves to cleanup and discards a card without playing a land. The game continues for a while, but I am able to maintain the front foot, and a Black Mage’s Rod into a chain of cantrips closes the gap for a lethal Galvanic Blast.
In Game 2, my Mistvault Bridge gets hit by a Troublemaker Ouphe, really slowing down my development. I am able to present some threats a few turns later, but Josh has stabilized the board with a Chrysalis. The first one is manageable with a well-timed Galvanic Blast in response to a spawn sacrifice, but the second one threatens to be even bigger. Before I get a window to use a second blast as even a 2-for-1, Josh’s Familiar rips it out of my hand. A Gixian Infiltrator is two too many large bodies, and we go to Game 3.
I have to admit, in Game 3 I drew the nuts. My keep on seven of four lands, Ichor Wellspring, Cast Down, and Myr Enforcer isn’t the worst, but it leaves a lot to be desired. Turns out, what I desired was on top of my deck. Runner-runner Familiar into Monitor off the top presents 5 power in the air on turn three. Then a Galv Blast off the top paired with the original Cast Down makes short work of Josh’s board. I quickly close out the game as my opponent flounders trying to draw into gas.
At this point, I was guaranteed points leader, but there were still 10 points up for grabs to cushion my lead.
Game 1, I had another strong start with multiple threats in play by turns three and four. A Chrysalis threatened to stabilize, so I aggressively traded resources to remove it from the battlefield. My opponent had played an early Munition, so my Refurbished Familiars weren’t getting much value outside of their ETBs, so at one point I just sacrificed them to KCS to clean up a Chrysalis. Later, my opponent was waffling about what to discard and flashed me a Spellbomb in their hand before discarding something else. They didn’t end up playing the Spellbomb, so I knew I needed to get value out of the Blood Fountain in my hand ASAP. I took another aggressive trade with a Chrysalis to get a body into the bin for full Blood Fountain value and presented another strong board. My own Munitions closed the door, and we headed to Game 2.
In Game 2, once again my Mistvault Bridge gets exiled by an Ouphe. This time it’s much worse for me as that was my only black source, and I am left with two Seats of the Synod and one Great Furnace. At some point, I played Cast into the Fire a Bridge after my opponent had already developed their mana. In hindsight, that’s a low-value play, and I should have saved the CITF to pick off Refurbished Familiars that made an appearance later. Either way, no black mana is a death sentence for Affinity. I thug it out for a few more turns, but the development from my opponent is too much to overcome, and I pick ’em up to move on to Game 3.
Game 3, I present another large board very quickly, but a Chrysalis plus Cast Down stalls me out pretty good. Once the second Chrysalis hit the battlefield, I was really starting to doubt my sideboard plan, but I knew I still had outs to the Cast Downs in my deck. My saving grace was my opponent was very low on cards in hand and wasn’t hitting off their draw spells. I find the Cast Down off the top of the library, and the Munitions that were on board wildly swings combat into my favor. It’s another race against the top of my opponent’s library, and I get them to 13 with 9 flying power on board and 6 mana to feed my Munitions when they land a Nyxborn Hydra to block my fliers. Thanks to the Hydra, they technically aren’t dead, and putting them to one isn’t enough if it means losing almost my entire board when they have a Lembas in play. In comes the incredible top deck of Galvanic Blast to find lethal that turn, and…
It was a long day playing Magic. The Pauper Championship finals finished up after 9 p.m., but when I include the Arena Qualifier Weekend I started in the morning, it was almost 12 hours straight of Magic: The Gathering.
I had a headache by the time Top 8 started, and I was dog-tired by the end of the day. Nothing can beat the feeling of winning, though, and I headed home in a great mood. My girlfriend and I went out for margaritas and tacos (is tacos twice in one day too many? I don’t think so) to celebrate, and I got to feel cool paying for dinner with my Magic winnings 😎. Maybe I’m running hot, but back-to-back finals appearances prove to me that Grixis Affinity is one of the most powerful things you can be doing in Pauper. My goal now is to hit the three-peat in August. See you there!
