PAUPER COMMANDER: INTERVIEW WITH THE COMMON CONNOISSEURS
RIW’s next 1K Tournament is June 24th. The format of the next 1K is Competitive Pauper Commander, or cPDH (Competitive Pauper Dragon Highlander [all will be explained])
I’m going to throw a lot of need-to-know info at you, dear reader. But don’t worry – I’ll have help. For this article, I had the fortune to interview two cPDH format experts: Clay (@TheTryhards6) and Ryan (@papa_pauper) of the Common Connoisseurs!
These two legends agreed to answer some questions newer players might have about what they can expect to fight, what strategies to be afraid of, and other insider knowledge to get players off the sidelines, and onto the battlefield.
Clay and Ryan, left and right, respectively.
But first, some disambiguation. The ‘dragon highlander’ sobriquet came about from the format’s original roots: bored judges with judge promo cards, and few more than 1 copy of each. What were they to do but throw decks together with only 1 of each nonland card, and install a 3/+ color Elder Dragon as their ‘general’, who would lead their deck to victory!? Thus, Elder Dragon Highlander began, and evolved into the Commander format of today – the most played, and overwhelmingly most sold category of all Magic products.
Players’ experience of the conventional Commander format will avail them to some extent in this vicious 1K. However, Competitive Pauper Dragon Highlander comes with some unique conditions. First: as the name would suggest, only cards printed at Common rarity are legal, per the 60-card Pauper format legality restrictions. Secondly: the only cards banned are Rhystic Study and Mystic Remora (mercifully so). Thirdly: Players start at 30 life, and it only takes 16 Commander damage to kill a player – compared to 40 and 21, respectively, from the conventional Commander format.
Take these factors into consideration as we delve into the interviews! I asked Clay and Ryan the same set of questions and they graciously responded.
ALEX’S INTERVIEW WITH CLAY
Alex: “What decks should newer players watch out for?”
Clay: “Tatyova’s Tidal Bore combo is extremely unique and it is difficult to understand how to interact with it. The synopsis being – always kill the land droppers for Tatyova.
Otherwise, and from a deck agnostic perspective, the real trick is to quickly assess how an opposing deck wins. Is it combo? If so, which combo? For Flicker Combos, attack the graveyard. For Knack Combos, attack the Knack outlet creature, e.g. Reckless Fireweaver. For big mana aura combos, attack the land untap creatures or bounce the aura’ed land. So, play Relic of Progenitus, Lightning Bolt/Snuff Out/Stave Off, and Boomerang (or like cards) to help solve against Combo decks.
If the opposing deck is either Aggro or Midrange, the Commander is likely the lynchpin – so, the timely removal of those creatures will essentially time walk opponents via Commander Tax.
The above description is PDH in a nutshell.”
Alex: “What decks do you personally fear, and how do you prepare for them?”
Clay: “In the current meta, Gretchen and Third Path Iconoclast (TPI). Gretchen because she can seemingly win out of nowhere and TPI because it snowballs and gets out of control very quickly. The key factors for success against these two decks are to attack Gretchen’s land untappers and to keep TPI off the battlefield.
More specifically, since I will be playing my Dargo/Malcolm list at the RIW 1k, I fear the Midrange player(s) in the pod. Midrange players are likely to attempt to leverage the pod’s Aggro players in the early game to attack into the Combo players so that the Midrange players can save their resources. Once the Combo players are out of the game, the Aggro/Midrange matchup favors the longer game of the Midrange player.
Combo players must be on guard to protect their resources against the entire pod. Aggro players, on the other hand, should bank their removal in hand against the Combo players, but leverage their attackers into the Midrange players before they can set up. Midrange players are looking to lay low and quietly establish their boardstates before or while implementing their broader control pieces.”
Alex: “What are some staples people don’t know about? Like, the deep cuts that are just gas but have gotten overlooked.”
Clay: “This is a tough one. The real secret to cPDH brewing is that there is no list of staple cards. In fact, cards like Pestilence that are “generally good” in most Bx decks aren’t really that good in a Syr Konrad deck, for example. I mean, sure – good cards are good, right? Thus, they are more likely to see play.
But that doesn’t equate to there being a hard and fast rule for a card’s inclusion in a list. Rather, it’s more important for the card to synergize with the gameplan or strengthen its Commander’s niche. Tidal Bore, as mentioned above, is an outstanding card in Tatyova. But right now, that’s the only deck you’ll see that card played.”
ALEX’S INTERVIEW WITH RYAN
Alex: “What decks should newer players watch out for?”
Ryan: “cPDH is host to a vast array of powerful decks in every archetype, and while there are several powerful exemplars that see frequent play and demand respect, players new to cPDH should watch out for Combo decks in particular. This means:
1. Learning the combos at common (Flicker, Helix/Knack, Snap/Archaeo, Tatyova/Tidal bore, Freed, Persist, Midnight/Gond, Malcolm/Pirate etc.)
2. Learning which combo cards demand answers and when. To compare, a Battered Golem without a Reckless Fireweaver and a Runed Stalactite is probably a long ways off and a lower threat level for the time being, but a land untapper + a few land auras is Amber threat level and should be proactively killed or watched with removal at the ready. Same goes for an in-play Archaeomancer-type creature that can be flickered and looped. This takes experience so communicate if your unsure and your table will help you.
3. Applying pressure to combo decks much like you would pressure an Ad Nauseum player in cEDH, where many players are aggressively using their life total to obtain resources. When a combo deck is unpressured, they can focus on developing a game plan that involves you and everyone else at the table losing.
When cPDH Combo decks are respected for the existential threat they pose to the table they’re quite manageable because the answers (counter spells, removal and other forms of interaction) are excellent at common and life totals matter quite a bit. Combo decks in cPDH are constructed to deterministically win when the table doesn’t pressure them and force them to interact instead of develop (the same is not deterministically true for other archetypes). When players don’t understand their role, it’s easy to deviate and become distracted by non-deterministic threats and throw otherwise very winnable games.
While it would be exhaustive to list all the powerful combo decks out there, Gretchen Titchwillow, Abdel + Sword Coast Sailor, Tatyova Benthic Druid, Malcolm + Breeches, Weavers, Avalanche Caller, Ethersworn Sphinx, Rocco and Lagrella all come to mind as fantastic combo decks worthy of piloting and punishing.”
Alex: “What decks do you personally fear, and how do you prepare for them?”
Ryan: “Here’s a few decks that have my attention when I sit down at a table and the tech I include to combat it:
– Gretchen Titchwillow / Weavers / Parcel Beast: Boomerang and Capsize
– Gut + Leader: Arms of Hadar, Eyeblight Massacre, Evincar’s Justice, Pestilence, Crypt Rats, Echoing Truth and/or Echoing Decay.
– Abdel + Sword Coast Sailor: nothing specific
– Rilsa Rael, Kingpin: evasive creatures (Flying, Shadow, Intimidate, Fear, unblockable, etc.)
– Third Path Iconoclast: Echoing Truth and sweepers
– Ethersworn Sphinx: nothing specific
– Tatyova, Benthic Druid: Honored Heirloom
– Dargo decks – bounce spells, Stasis Field type auras and Righteous Aura/Flood/Protective Sphere enchantments
– Zada, Hedron Grinder – sweepers and counterspells
Generally however, instead of preparing for specific decks, I prepare for frequently seen classes and categories of threats and effects so that my decks are best prepared to handle an open meta with an even distribution of different archetypes. Here’s a few examples: land destruction, sweepers, naturalizes / disenchants, graveyard hate, edicts.”
Alex: “What are some staples people don’t know about? Like, the deep cuts that are just gas but have gotten overlooked.”
Ryan: “WHITE: Righteous Aura; Dawn Charm; Ephemeral Shields; Syndic of Tithes/ Basilica Guards; Martial Impetus; Break Ties”
BLUE: Alexi’s Cloak; Keep Watch; Academy Wall; Curfew; Confound; Psychic Impetus
BLACK: Dimir House Guard; Darkness; Unseal the Necropolis / Dig Up The Body; Arms of Hadar; Echoing Decay; Cemetery Gate; Spinning Darkness
RED: Shiny Impetus; Goblin Chirurgeon; Thunderclap; Swirling Sandstorm; Coronation of Chaos; Volatile Claws
GREEN: Mwonvuli Acid Moss; Night Soil; Entourage of Trest; Essence Warden; Crop Rotation
Bite spells: Ram Through, Bite Down, Master’s Rebuke, Cosmic Hunger
We threw a lot at you, dear reader. But, I assure you, leveraging the knowledge Clay and Ryan have graced us with can only be for your benefit. It’s likely you’ll fight strategies, and encounter situations you haven’t seen before. That applies regardless of your experience level in 60-card Pauper and the conventional Commander format. In addition to all of the above, I recommend keeping these items in mind as well: 1.) Play to your outs, 2.) Focus on not losing, even if the winning line isn’t readily available, 3.) Your best resource against your opponents is your other opponents. And with that, I’ve hit my word maximum!
RIW’s Pauper Commander 1K Tournament begins at noon on June 24th.
I hope to see you on the field!
