My name is Gary Smith (Xwiz75 on MTGO). I’m a combo player in the RIW Pauper community—you may have heard me on stream alongside Ben, Brian, and Russo. This is my first article for RIW, and I’m excited to finally contribute in written form. If there’s interest, I plan on continuing coverage moving forward.

I recently finished 5th in this past Saturday’s RIW Pauper event and currently sit atop the season points standings. For the event, I registered Ruby Storm, a deck I’ve been actively tuning over the past several weeks.

Across my last 23 recorded matches—including RIW Wednesday weeklies and the Saturday 1K—I’ve posted a 19–3–1 record (including an intentional draw). An earlier testing block prior to TMNT events shows a 24–4–2 record with the archetype.

A QUICK NOTE ON RUBY STORM

If you ask ChatGPT to say something witty about Ruby Storm, you’ll usually get something like:

“Ruby Storm: When your opponent reads the card, then reads it again, then scoops.”

“Pauper Ruby Storm: Turning bulk commons into a mythic-level problem.”

It’s funny because it’s not wrong….

DECKLIST

First, the deck is strong across most of the field, with Grixis Affinity being the primary exception. Second, my best results in Pauper have consistently come from playing slightly off-axis decks that attack the metagame from unexpected angles rather than fully solved archetypes. Finally, I expected a field light on blue interaction and heavier on Affinity, Jund Wildfire, Elves, and various Tron strategies.

In that kind of environment, Ruby Storm’s ability to punish slow starts and ignore fair combat makes it a strong metagame call.

WHAT IS RUBY STORM DOING?

At its core, Ruby Storm is a spell-combo deck that aims to generate enough mana and graveyard density to resolve Seize the Storm and convert it into a lethal threat.

The tokens’ power and toughness are equal to the number of instant and sorcery cards in your graveyard plus cards with flashback in exile.

That scaling matters: every spell you cast is not just progression—it is permanent power added to your eventual win condition.

A key engine piece is First Day of Class (FDOC). I’ll refer to it often throughout this report.

FDOC does three important things for this deck:

• Enables Lesson access from the sideboard when needed
• Turns small tempo turns into snowball turns via +1/+1 counters
• Grants haste, allowing your Seize the Storm token to immediately end games

From there, the deck operates like a classic ritual-combo shell: cost reduction effects, mana-positive cantrips, and spell chaining all combine to generate explosive turns where you convert setup immediate lethal damage.

THE LESSON PLAN

At its baseline, this is a one-mana answer that deals 2 damage to a creature. With kicker, it deals 5 instead—and importantly, the kicker cost is reduced by our cost reducers. That means this frequently operates as 5 damage for a single mana. Its primary role is removing problematic creatures like Mesmeric Fiend and Krark-Clan Shaman that can disrupt our combo turn.

This is typically a mid-combo refill, most often functioning as a draw-three. The blue mana requirement is easily covered through Manamorphose or Treasure tokens, making it a reliable way to keep the engine running when you’re going off.

The weakest card in the 75, but not without purpose. At its floor, it’s a rummage effect when you’re constrained on mana. Many lists opt for a seventh Red Elemental Blast instead, but I value this as a situational safety valve. That said, if you’re wishing for it, things have usually already gone sideways.

One of the most versatile cards in the deck. The first mode functions as a Disenchant, letting us answer cards like Nihil Spellbomb, Relic of Progenitus, or even pick off something like Nyxborn Hydra to buy a crucial extra turn. The second mode gives a creature +1/+1 and indestructible, which is often game-defining—protecting a cost reducer or ensuring a key Elemental survives to close things out.

It is also worth noting that First Day of Class offers utility beyond simply accessing the Lesson package. In scenarios where primary draw effects have been expended, it can serve as a secondary filtering mechanism—allowing you to convert excess or redundant cards into new resources.

Although this is not its primary function, the ability to effectively “cycle” a card can be pivotal during combo turns, particularly when you are digging for a specific enabler or payoff to sustain momentum and complete the sequence.

TOURNAMENT REPORT

This is one of the matchups Ruby Storm actively wants to play: minimal disruption, fair clock, and no countermagic.

• Game 1: Early Spider helped absorb removal, and I was able to assemble a turn 4 combo into a lethal trample token.
• Game 2: A turn 2 Relic of Progenitus slowed development significantly. I failed to rebuild efficiently and was punished by a stalled hand.
• Game 3: A grindy game defined by repeated Relic pressure. Eventually I stabilized with FDOC-enhanced pressure, rebuilt momentum, and closed the game with two large Elementals right as on turn 1 of time after drawing my whole deck.

• Game 1: Opponent committed to board development while tapping out on turn 5, giving me an opening to resolve a clean combo line into a hasty lethal token.
• Game 2: Opponent stumbled on 4 mana, and I was able to force through a protected combo turn using Red Blast backup.

With experience, this matchup becomes significantly more navigable than it appears at first glance.

ROUND 3 – ROGUE SPY (MATT WEINREICH) (2–1)

This matchup plays like two ships passing in the night—both players are racing to execute fundamentally different combo engines.

• Game 1: Mulliganed and fell short on threat size before being finished by Spy.
• Game 2: Stabilized with efficient FDOC sequencing and recovered key pieces through recursion to take control.
• Game 3: Early FDOC recursion lines kept me ahead on resources long enough to assemble a faster kill

ROUND 4 – RED RALLY (CHAD KAY) (2–1)

This matchup often comes down to whether Storm can stabilize long enough to deploy a lethal token or a large Weather the Storm..

• Game 1: Opponent closed the game just before I could stabilize.
• Game 2: Multiple Weather the Storm resolutions (15, 9, and 12 life) created enough breathing room to establish to find seize the storm and convert the win.
• Game 3: Opponent mulliganed to five, and I kept a hand that could either combo quickly or force a Weather the storm for 50+. The combo line resolved on turn 3.

ROUND 5 – SPY (CHRIS JACOB) (2–1)

• Game 1: Clean turn 3 combo.
• Game 2: Developed a large token, but Spy interaction disrupted my closing turn and forced a decider.
• Game 3: Land Grant revealed a critical lack of black mana sources in my opponent’s hand. That information allowed me to safely transition into a turn 5 kill.

Small edges in information often decide these matches. Always go thru your opponents’ graveyard after spy to see what spice is being played and what you need to play against in future games.

ROUND 6 – INTENTIONAL DRAW (JOSH BOUSE)

ID into Top 8.

TOP 8 – GRIXIS AFFINITY (NICK SOBCZAK) (1–2)

This is the most challenging matchup in the current field.

• Game 1: Opponent resolved double Krark-Clan Shaman, significantly limiting development. I missed a potential winning line involving FDOC recursion and Origin of Metalbending.
• Game 2: Both players mulliganed to five. I successfully executed a turn 4 combo.
• Game 3: Opponent presented consistent interaction throughout the game—Blue Blasts and Galvanic Blasts prevented any meaningful setup.

Affinity’s density of interaction ultimately closed the match.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

While the run ended in Top 8, the deck performed exactly as expected and reinforced its position as a legitimate contender in the current Pauper metagame.

I also picked up the season points lead, which adds some extra motivation heading into the remainder of the series.

Big thanks to RIW for continuing to support competitive Pauper at a high level locally. The events are getting stronger, the competition is deeper, and the community continues to grow in a great direction.

Looking forward to the next one—and hopefully seeing many of you across the table soon.

Gary Smith (Xwiz75)