The Zeta set by Secret Lair has turned Pauper upside-down by creating a new wave of downshifted cards. Initially the Secret Lair common cards would not be legal in Pauper, but WOTC ultimately reversed course after community reactions.
This is especially exciting because RIW’s seventh 1K Pauper Championship Qualifier is this Saturday so you can find coverage of one of the first large tournaments with the new downshifts on twitch.tv/riwhobbies. I’m bummed I can’t make it, but I’m at the point in life where I have a child’s Birthday party each month and it happens to be the same weekend.
The community was divided on this decision as it impacts the Pauper format in a completely new way. It makes sense to respect the common downshifts in Pauper because there will likely be more Secret Lairs in the future with random elements and different rarities. The game is changing and Pauper is one of the few formats that care about rarity.
Personally I would prefer the Pauper format without the downshifts as many of them prove to be format-warping. We may as well cut out the middle man and have Pauper be all commons and uncommons at this rate.
I did get a dank tweet out of the drama so all was not lost:
Here’s the initial list of downshifted cards:
Narcomoeba is prebanned as it would create unhealthy play patterns with Balustrade Spy and Dread Return.
Price of Progress would be too much of a boost for Mono Red Madness as the deck plays zero nonbasics. Good bans; thanks to WOTC for not making us endure these two cards.
Here are the downshifts that affect Pauper to varying degrees in order of importance:
Baleful Strix
Vandalblast
Cut Down
Dispatch
Soul-Guide Lantern
Return to Dust
There are others on the list, such as Serra Angel and Sengir Vampire, that aren’t up to par with Pauper’s power level. I do like that Serra Angel and Sengir Vampire are in the Zeta set as they were some of the earliest iconic creatures in Magic. I remember being six years old thinking those creatures were very cool.
Baleful Strix is the most influential downshift that happens to be in my favorite color combination, Dimir. The bird will fit nicely into Affinity and Ninja decks. It’s strong enough that it will potentially warp the format and is already on the watch list to be banned in upcoming announcements. I intend to play Baleful Strix in every Pauper deck I can until it’s potentially banned.
Cut Down is a nimble removal spell that will affect Pauper. Snuff Out is the cheapest removal spell, but there’s a big increase in cost to Cast Down. A great bridge removal spell that kills plenty of the popular threats in the format. Black decks will likely want a couple copies.
Dispatch can push Affinity decks into white instead of red for Galvanic Blast. I’m still leaning towards Grixis because Baleful Strix already improves your matchup against large creatures and I want to be able to close the game quickly against linear decks.
Vandalblast was an interesting choice for Zeta if it wasn’t already decided these cards would be legal in Pauper because it’s a great emergency valve for Affinity. I’m good with Vandalblast being legal alongside Baleful Strix, but I would ban them as a package if one goes in October. The play pattern of Vandalblast is bad against artifact decks as the game effectively ends when it’s overloaded. Ideally I play a couple generic counters in the sideboard as I now need to fear both Dust to Dust and Vandalblast.
Soul-Guide Lantern and Return to Dust aren’t as exciting, but may have some niche applications. Relic of Progenitus and Nihil Spellbomb are very efficient and difficult to dethrone and the same can be said for Dust to Dust.
WHAT WOULD I PLAY ON SATURDAY? GRIXIS AFFINITY
Photo credit: mtggoldfish.com
Affinity got a big boost with Baleful Strix. The deck is more powerful overall and it still has the ability to close out the game quickly against weaker matchups thanks to Galvanic Blast. It feels like Affinity is now approaching a critical mass of powerful options and doesn’t have many flex slots left.
There are many ways to build around Baleful Strix that take the strategy in a more grindy direction, with Glint Hawk and Dispatch in an Esper shell, but I want to win quickly against Tron and Madness decks.
Myr Enforcer matches up poorly against opposing Baleful Strix decks, but is the primary sacrifice fodder for Reckoner’s Bargain. Despite being in a brewer’s paradise this week it’s important to respect Madness and Rally Red.
Giant’s Boulder replaces Chromatic Star for color filtering. This feels like a bigger upgrade than Baleful Strix in Affinity as the deck is able to play more lands that enter untapped. Bridges will have new utility as they aren’t destroyed by Vandalblast, but I still would prefer more untapped mana sources.
In the past I have avoided Affinity because of the awkward draws that want to be fast, but are slow from numerous bridges. Boulder allows more broken starts with untapped mana and a smooth curve.
The basic land, Island or Swamp, is more reasonable to play with Giant’s Boulder as it can be found from opposing Cleansing Wildfires and gaining the initiative. A thirteenth source of untapped mana helps enable faster starts.
Chromatic Star was the original enabler of the Affinity deck pioneered by Abe Corrigan at Paupergeddon, but is a downgrade to Giant’s Boulder because it must be sacrificed. I watched Boulder get cast once on stream and was impressed and then played it myself and was amazed.
I don’t want to go overboard on colored spells and overload Giant’s Boulder as it’s already carrying a lot of weight. Ichor Wellspring gets the nod over Cryogen Relic for this reason.
There are only two maindeck Nihil Spellbomb to make room for the full playset of Giant’s Boulder. The third copy in the sideboard to fight Spy decks and the smaller number of Terror decks as they have been weakened by the presence of Baleful Strix.
Utrom Monitor works well with Baleful Strix as it’s a way to close the game in the air while the bird holds back large creatures that could otherwise trade blows.
I’m going to try another haymaker, such as Kenku Artificer or Black Mage’s Rod, but it’s not a requirement. The Kenku Artificer is weaker in this version with just six bridges. There are more ways to filter through the deck to find the Makeshift Munitions to close the game.
Krark-Clan Shaman is in the sideboard to reduce the color requirements in the first game. It’s very good in some matchups, but can sometimes be dead. Myr Enforcer is the only other creature without flying. Remember you can announce Myr Enforcer and hold priority to sacrifice artifacts with Krark-Clan Shaman so the 4/4 won’t die, but is still cheap to cast.
Breath Weapon is weaker with Baleful Strix and Refurbished Familiar getting swept. There’s also less room for Breath Weapon as the Krarks are already in the sideboard. Grixis has a wealth of options.
Metallic Rebuke is the counter of choice to stop Dust to Dust and Vandalblast. I want a counter that can come in blindly against any deck with white or red mana. This is especially relevant against strategies with multiple colors and I may not want too many Hydroblasts to counter Vandalblast when it’s not a guarantee it’s even in the opponent’s deck.
Vandalblast is great in the mirror and Tron and I expect an uptick in both strategies. I may want a third copy. It can be cast early for one mana if your hand is aggressive.
I want five Hyroblast effects because red decks demand answers quickly and blue is one of my main colors. Hydroblast can counter Vandalblast so I fear red decks more than blue decks.
Pyroblast is another strong card, but I have fewer red sources and don’t want too many copies.
Secret Lair Zeta is a big shakeup for Pauper. I’m not sure if Baleful Strix is here for a long time, but is certainly here for a good time. If you can’t make it to RIW’s seventh Pauper 1K Qualifier this weekend be sure to tune in on twitch.tv/riwhobbies.
