Despite my affinity for Modern and being knee-deep in the Standard RCQ season, I’ve been getting back into Pauper for RIW’s Pauper Championship Series. Not only are there eight major events this year, but also a 5K invitational in December 2026 for the top 16 point leaders that pays out to all participants. You can read all of the details here.
I love a good top 4 split and this one would be juicy.
Here are the dates for the eight major events to help get points for the championship:
The first major Pauper tournament to earn points to qualify for the invitational is approaching quickly on January 31. There’s an opportunity nearly every month of the 2026 calendar year to get a ton of points.
This is some serious value and I don’t want to miss out. The NRG Series is cool, but I can easily drive to all eight events to get a crack at qualifying.
I won’t be able to attend the weekly Pauper events at RIW, but they also revamped the system to earn at least a point for a 3-1 record:
If you’re interested in weekly Pauper at RIW, it’s at 6PM every Wednesday. The fixed store credit for just 5 bucks is great value.
The metagame is concentrated with red decks and Mono Blue Terror at the top, but opens up nicely afterward. Blue and red are the top colors, but the other colors can compete as they can’t be hit by the blasts.
Here’s the last 30 day Pauper metagame on MTGGoldfish which does a good job summarizing the top decks to expect:
Pauper is a great format since the decks are so cheap. Many of the top decks cost about ninety bucks and there’s plenty of crossover. I’m looking to build Mono Red Madness, Mono Blue Terror, and Cawgates to keep in my back pocket in case my pet deck, Dimir Terror, doesn’t pan out. Paupergeddon last occurred at the end of November and offered a tournament with more than 1,000 players to get a feel for what’s best to play in Pauper.
Here’s the Mono Blue Terror list that top 8ed the last Paupergeddon piloted by Jiri Moravec:
If I settle on Mono Blue Terror I would play a version that is more favored in a long game but I need to be prepared for the versions that prioritize tempo. The psychic damage inflicted by countering a spell with Disrupt cannot be understated. This particular version plays Boomerang over the fourth Counterspell to make the Disrupt more likely to stick.
I want to experiment with playing a couple Memory Lapse in Mono Blue Terror as extra Counterspells since they can be fired off more aggressively to promote spell velocity. If the spell is especially dangerous I can mill with Thought Scour (Mental Note cannot target an opponent).
Giovanni Postorino took down Paupergeddon with Mono Red Madness. The deck looked very powerful on coverage:
This is a red deck that is not only powerful, but offers plenty of card selection. Discarding Sneaky Snacker with Grab the Prize is one of the stronger interactions in the format.
Fiery Temper can also put Lightning Bolt to shame when it’s discarded to rummage. Lava Dart is also a great rummage option as one damage can kill plenty of creatures in Pauper.
Kessig Flamebreather and Guttersnipe are scary in Madness because red decks run the risk of flaming out in the late game when the battlefield is clogged. Direct damage means you need narrow cards like Weather the Storm or lifelink creatures to stabilize.
The maindeck is incredibly fast and focused while the sideboard offers powerful options in their respective matchups. A powerful sideboard is especially scary when the maindeck doesn’t need to be tailored; this deck sideboards something insane or nothing at all.
Fredrico Pelliccia made the top 4 of Paupergeddon with Cawgates:
I like the prospect of playing Cawgates because it can generate card advantage with the Brainstorm/Squadron Hawk combo or loot away cards that can be cast from the graveyard with The Modern Age. There’s even an opportunity to play an Abandon Attachments.
Lifelink creatures are one of the top ways to fight Red Madness decks and they can be pumped by large amounts with Basilisk Gate.
Citadel, Sea, and Heap Gate can make red mana for a blast splash in the sideboard. This is combined with Dust to Dust being one of the premier ways to interact with artifacts- especially indestructible artifact lands and Ichor Wellspring.
PAPER PAUPER FAN FAVORITES
At the end of the day, you need to beat your opponents and they are likely not changing decks each week. Part of the joy of player Pauper is to jam what you like.
Here are some decks I need to respect:
Here’s Paolo Donfrancesco top 16 Jund Wildfire list from Paupergeddon:
Jund Wildfire is a strong deck that happens to best scratch the midrange itch in Pauper. Writhing Chrysalis and Refurbished Familiar are two of the strongest common creatures on rate in the format.
Cleansing Wildfire “destroying” your indestructible lands to ramp and cantrip is one of the strongest value-generating plays in Pauper and Jund is the best shell to capitalize on the interaction.
Jund is able to keep the swarm decks at bay with Krark-Clan Shaman and scale against larger threats with the Toxin Analysis combo.
I’ve been impressed with Gitaxian Infiltrator. It sounds hyperbolic, but it’s just Tarmogoyf in this deck. Jund needs to quickly close the door in matchups where the interaction doesn’t line up perfectly.
Gruul Monsters is another fan favorite. Here’s Wawwa1990’s top 8 list from Paupergeddon:
Gruul Monsters just wants to put big creatures on the battlefield as quickly as possible. The deck had a weak conversion rate at the last Paupergeddon, but managed to put one pilot into the top 8. If I was trying to win a Pauper tournament with Writhing Chrysalis I would go with Jund Wildfires, but I still expect to face Gruul.
Davide Abis finished ninth with Tron at Paupergeddon:
Tron is a powerful combination in Pauper, but not game-ending; it features a combo as a result. The extra mana generated helps you deploy the combo of Golem Foundary+Ashnod’s Altar+2
Myr Retriever to make millions of 3/3s and mana. Weather the Storm can gain millions of life with the storm generated from the combo and also provide a cushion against aggressive decks in the early turns.
Prophetic Prism and Chromatic Star can be sacrificed to Eviscerator’s Insight, but also help cast powerful red cards in the sideboard like Pyroblast and Breath Weapon. Fangren Marauder is another powerful top-end threat to help stabilize against Red decks.
You may have noticed there are plenty of sweepers in sideboards and Elves is one of the main reasons this is the case. Here’s Randalf’s 17th place list from Paupergeddon:
Elves plays about forty creatures making Winding Way and Lead the Stampede serious sources of card advantage.
Priest of Titania isn’t as powerful as she once was, but can put large monsters onto the battlefield in this mono green deck. Rather than feature a game-ending combo, Elves looks to deploy the premier green fatties.
This deck is powerful and linear. Pauper is a great format because so many different angles of attack are viable.
Dustyn Nogueria took down the RIW 2025 Pauper Championship with Spy Combo:
Spy Combo looks to resolve a Balustrade Spy after searching out the whopping four lands in the deck to mill over a Dread Return and Lotleth Giant.
The mana ramp creatures not only help cast the Balustrade Spy, but can also be used to flash back Dread Return.
Like Elves, Spy Combo abuses Winding Way and Lead the Stampede in a deck with about forty creatures.
MY WEAPON OF CHOICE: DIMIR TERROR
Dimir Terror has fallen out of favor compared to when I began playing Pauper, but does have the tools to fight. It also managed to crack the top 8 at Paupergeddon.
Dimir Terror is largely the same deck as it was a couple years ago, but gained a new tool in Sneaky Snacker.
I thought the original Snacker lists were too gimmicky, but Abandon Attachments offers a new way to put it onto the battlefield.
Sneaky Snacker is just discard fodder in Mono Red Madness, but can be hard cast in Dimir Terror. This feels anemic until the opponent realizes trading with it is a fool’s errand. I can use my black removal more sparingly with a 2/1 flyer gumming up the battlefield.
Snuff Out remains a strong removal spell as it can take down the large monsters out of Gruul- most importantly Writhing Chrysalis. The black removal shores up the weakness of Mono Blue decks as they have a hard time with threats that resolve.
I’ve so far been impressed with Memory Lapse as the fifth Counterspell as the deck is still tempo-oriented and I am also playing four Thought Scour.
I’m only playing two Mental Notes because the deck is able to pick its spots more than Mono Blue Terror, which seeks to end the game faster. If I drag out the game I don’t want to mill too many threats.
Thorn of the Black Rose in the sideboard is preferred to Murmuring Mystic because most aggressive decks will have Pyroblast effects to easily dispatch it. I also fear Snuff Out against Golgari Gardens. It’s easier to retain the monarchy now that Sneaky Snacker can take to the skies.
Agony Warp is less of a necessity now that Sneaky Snacker can block Guardian of the Guildpact and Steel Sabotage can bounce the indestructible 3/3 artifact land from Kenku Artificer. I’m also currently favoring Steel Sabotage over some Annul for artifact hate because it can bounce an indestructible artifact land in response to Cleansing Wildfire for the ultimate blowout!
A Blue Elemental Blast joins the four Hydroblast to help against Mono Red Madness and Red Rally. Red decks put you to the test quickly meaning you have less time to find the sideboard cards.
I covered some of the many options available in Pauper. The format is fantastic and the games are packed with interesting decisions. I’ll be thinking about Pauper more this year in hopes of qualifying for RIW’s Pauper Invitational 2026.
