This weekend is RIW’s second flagship event of the Pauper Championship Series and I plan to run back Jund Wildfire. There are still plenty of events to score points for the end of year Pauper Invitational. The Pauper format is fun and RIW provides a great avenue to a competitive circuit.
I got ninth on tiebreaks in the first big event and I plan on improving that result by at least one. Today I’m going to discuss the list I plan to play.
I’m also hoping to play in more of the Wednesday Pauper weekly events which is getting around thirty players. In addition to spending only five dollars on entry to win 30 credit for 3-1 and 60 for 4-0, Pam also has been giving out a Modern Horizons 2 pack to all who played over the last couple weeks. I cannot stress enough there has never been a higher value series at an LGS in my 25 years of playing tournament Magic.
Even the weekly events have event coverage to get a feel for what archetypes to expect on twitch.tv/riwhobbies.
Pauper decks are surprisingly homogenized, but I have made a few deviations from the stock list. I wrote a high level overview on Jund Wildfire last month which can be found here.
This is one of the Jundier Jund decks I’ve played. It’s a fun deck, but some games are at high risk of going to time before the match even begins. I don’t like to be the clock police in tournaments, but it can be required to avoid draws.
Jund players fall into two camps; one maindecks Toxin Analysis and the other plays Gixian Infiltrator. I’ve been impressed with Toxin Analysis to juice up Krark-Clan Shaman, generate an extra artifact, or gain life with a big Chrysalis hit. They’re frequently in the same slot as Gixian Infiltrator because it doesn’t combo well with a deathtouching Krark as it doesn’t have flying to evade the damage.
I’d like to play 2.5 maindeck copies of Toxin Analysis and Lembas, but this configuration allows me another valuable slot in the sideboard. The third copy of Toxin Analysis could also be a Snuff Out or Go for the Throat, but I prefer to have a card that functionally cycles against an unknown opponent.
I’ve tried three Lembas, but didn’t have enough mana to take advantage of gaining the life and putting it back into my deck. It’s not a strong artifact to sacrifice compared to Ichor Wellspring.
Gixian Infiltrator underperformed for me. It was awkward that I needed to deploy my setup artifacts ahead of the clock in many games and it’s not large enough to matter against many of the creature matchups. Midrange decks have more answers than threats in game one making it hard to meaningfully impact the board.
Another decision in Jund Wildfire are the late game bombs. I prefer a Nyxborn Hydra as a mana sink for Writhing Chrysalis. The floor of the hydra is a medium-sized creature with reach which is surprisingly helpful.
Makeshift Munitions underperformed for me because it’s relevant in matchups that maindeck Thraben Charm and Masked Vandal. I didn’t have many munitions laying around in the early game making it difficult to line up at the right time.
The single Sagu Wildling continues to impress. Mana is often the bottleneck in this deck even when playing the version with twenty-one lands. Wildling is a utility land that doubles as a 3/3 flier which evades a deathtouch Krark. It can prevent decking against Golgari Gardens if you focus on keeping Spellbomb around to nullify a Campfire activation.
Another reason I’ve liked the Sagu Wildling and Nyxborn Hydra is the single Blood Fountain and Pulse of Murasa. Not all Jund decks currently play Blood Fountain, but it continues to perform well as early sacrifice fodder and make affinity for Refurbished Familiar. Jund can tear through the deck efficiently so I only need a few haymakers.
I began with two Blood Fountains, but cut one to make room for a third Nihil Spellbomb in the maindeck. Both of these are powerful effects, but only have so much room for spells. I’ve been toying around with the idea of playing a Troll of Khazad-Dum in the maindeck to enable the graveyard recursion earlier.
I’ve tried versions of Jund with just twenty lands and I continue to favor the extra basic Mountain. It can be awkward to find untapped red mana as the bridges that enter tapped are the primary sources. I want to thin out more basics from the deck with Cleansing Wildfire in the mid game. Dust to Dust hitting artifact lands means I also want more mana sources in post board games.
After playing more tournaments with Jund I am firmly on four Fanatical Offering and one Eviscerator’s Insight. I haven’t found myself with enough time to flash back Insight enough to justify losing out on a map token which is worth a lot in the deck. A +1+1 counter on Writhing Chrysalis can provide the fifth power to take down a Tolarian Terror or the sixth toughness to block a Sneaky Snacker without worrying about it dying to a Lightning Bolt.
Thorn of the Black Rose is primarily for control and midrange decks. It’s possible to play a third Duress in this slot, but I don’t want too many weak topdecks against the mirror and Golgari Gardens. I can run away with the game quickly thanks to Thorn of the Black Rose which is important as game one likely takes a while.
I’m down to two Pyroblast because Duress often comes in for the same matchups and there’s only so much room for this effect.
I’m coming around on the Go for the Throat in the sideboard to help against Tolarian Terror, Kor Skyfisher, and Avenging Hunter. A nice catch-all when there are only four maindeck Cast Downs to deal with larger threats. Watch out for some of the common legends to come out of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set; it could be reasonable to make a swap with Cast Down during sideboarding.
Many Jund Wildfire lists play two Breath Weapons, but I’m going for a third copy to respect White Weenie, Elves, Faeries, and Rally Red. There aren’t many ways to stop a Battle Screech and the creature decks demand answers faster than midrange and control. Elves and White Weenie seem like they should be slam dunk matchups, but it’s close and Jund must play optimally to win.
The fourth Nihil Spellbomb is for Spy Combo, Dredge, Blue Terror, and Ashnod’s Altar decks.
Most Jund lists play two Troublemaker Ouphe, but I prefer a split with Cast into the Fire. Sacrificing material to bargain is a real cost, but it can also exile enchantments and come back from the graveyard with Blood Fountain and Pulse of Murasa. Mask of Law and Grace is a bomb out of White Heroic and Bogle’s sideboard. I still like Cast into the Fire in the Jund mirror to exile bridges.
Weather the Storm is only for Red Rally and Red Madness decks. I have also seen it come in with moderation against Affinity as they are the aggressor. It’s possible to play a fourth copy, but prefer to play more generic life gain in the maindeck to give myself a fighting chance in game one.
Pauper is a deep format that rewards deck familiarity. There are plenty of options for any style of game you prefer to play. I look forward to competing in more events feeding into RIW’s Pauper Invitational in December. It’s attainable with dedication.
