My Top 10 - Why Pauper Magic Rocks

My gaming group has started a Commander league, and after my first night I found that I actually enjoyed an alternative to regular Magic. For those who have read the linked post, my head didn't explode from going in to something with minimal knowledge about it!

When I was talking to Dave, the guy heading up the league, I asked him his thoughts about Pauper Magic. "I've never even heard of it." I nearly cried, because I think Pauper is the most interesting format out there. To be fair, Magic has a boat load of alternative formats already, but Pauper stands above them all!

Pauper is a very simple format. If a card has ever been printed as a common (which is the most common rarity out there), it's legal for play. With the exception of 5 cards (two of which used to be part of my red all-commons Storm deck), any common from any printing is fair game.

So this is written mostly for my buddies who I will slowly convert to Pauper format, but also for anyone who's at all interested in Magic.

10. You can play it at any restriction level. While the most popular form of Pauper allows cards from any released set, it's so similar to the normal game of Magic that you can restrict the card pool all the way down to Standard format (i.e. only the most recently released sets.) Heck, there's nothing stopping you from buying a box of cards, selling the rares, and keeping the rest for deck building.

9. Mono color isn't gimped. Many people enjoy building decks of a single color. In friendly games that's fine and doable, but when you start getting more competitive you need to start looking at running 2 or 3 colors in a deck. Pauper nearly eliminates that because while regular formats have access to very expensive lands that let you use several colors, Pauper makes you have to actively put mana fixinig in your deck, rather than giving it to you for free in a land. Two or three color is doable (and powerful), but your mono-black deck won't be utterly crushed by a URw deck.

8. Tribal is a very doable theme. I love tribal. Goblins, elves, treefolk, giants, merfolk... Magic has made these themes quite fun. However, outside of blocks that are build around tribal themes (like the Ravnica or Lorwyn block), it's harder to make several competitive decks using only rats. While tribal decks also have powerful rares, those rares typically aren't on the same level as other rares, instead ending up in the "$1 Rares" box at your game shop while the more popular rares get sold for $20. Magic has an insane amount of commons printed for the more popular creature types, but still tribal doesn't see as much play because their rares can't compete with other rares.

7. Commons have meaning. If you've played Magic for awhile, you know the process of opening a pack of cards. Pull it open - remove the cards - shuffle you way back to the rare - glance at the uncommon - done. Commons just don't have much meaning because they're often considered filler. Some can be good, but for the most part it's stuff you just wouldn't consider putting in a deck unless you have room for it. Pauper takes all those forgotten cards and breathes new life in to them, making things like the Spellbomb cards an actual threat.

6. It's a great way to join MTGO. I played Magic the Gathering Online for awhile when I was younger, but I couldn't keep doing it because the idea of paying real money for digital items that I could get in the real world didn't sit right with me. I played my $5 budget decks, but I just couldn't keep up with a $200 deck. Pauper is slowly becoming one of the most popular formats on MTGO because of how easy it is to build decks. You don't need to keep track of a flood of cards. You figure out your deck online, then you type the card names in your library. Don't have the card? Buy it for a penny from one of the many online dealers. There are constant Pauper tournaments and events online, and I would love to take a mono-blue deck for a spin in one of them.

5. No rares? No powerhouse cards. Similar to my point about tribal, Pauper removes those game-ending rare cards from decks. Of course Pauper has its own top-tier cards for each color, but they are rightfully underpowered compared to any rare with similar abilities. I love that I don't need to worry about a Wrath of God or a planeswalker showing up and ruining my fun. Sure there are board wipes and game enders, but you have to work for them.

4. It's Magic in its purest form. Do you remember your beginning days of Magic? Even though I was taught by a very competitive player, the decks he used to teach me had games lasting several turns. If you've ever played a Duels of the Planeswalkers game, you know that it can take 10 turns to secure a win. But when powerful, expensive decks get introduced, you lose that essence. Games are now over in 4 turns, and you barely interact with your opponent. You're each racing to see whose deck can "fire" first. Pauper returns to the roots of Magic, with you and your opponent bringing basic cards and slinging spells and smashing creatures in to one another. Combo decks exist, control decks are still a thing, but they can actually succumb to a rush of big stompy creatures backed by nothing but Giant Growths and Rancors.

3. Deck building rewards creativity. I like listening to the podcast Pauper to the People. Often times during the show someone will say "hey check out this card I discovered the other day!" Usually the card is several years old, but it didn't stick to memory because it was "just a common." I still remember when I used to look at commons and think "Oh man, that would be so cool in a deck!" Many fun commons just don't work in other formats because they are a bit gimmicky, or are just overshadowed by better decks. Why use Vulshok Morningstar when you can bring Umezawa's Jitte and break the game? Now you can build that infect deck, or use a bunch of cards with the Wither keyword, or use any card that seems fun but couldn't compete in "real" Magic!

2. It's dirt cheap to start. This point could be applied to any of the other nine, but I think it stands on its own as well. If you want to play Magic on a limited budget, forget budget decks and just play a budget format! If you're just playing with your buddies over the weekend, why spend $30 on a single Mutavault when you could build a few decks for the same price? It's 2013, and as an adult it's hard to justify those purchases if they aren't taking me to a national championship, or at least winning me some packs in a local tournament. Pauper is also the obvious choice for beginning players, letting them pick fun cards and building a cheap deck around them rather than buying a bunch of rares just to stand a chance.

1. It levels the playing field. This is huge for me and encompasses everything I love about the format. When I'm playing any game, I don't like that money can be a decider in my success. It's why the corrupted "Free to Play" model gets me riled up. In Magic, it's hard for me to want to play casually because there's no standard for decks. One person might have a competitive Standard deck, another may have a semi-competitive Legacy deck... there's no way for a group of casual players with varying budgets to play without them having equal access to cards. In Pauper, I can't bring my $5,000 Legacy deck to my group and crush them all with a deck full of Black Lotus. I don't need to worry about my super-budget green deck being annihilated because it can't keep up with a Tarmogoyf deck.

While any Magic format gives players equal access to cards, people are often limited to the decks they can build because they can't justify the purchase. Sure you could proxy, but no one likes playing against proxies. In Pauper, not only does everyone have equal access to cards according to the rules, but they also have equal access according to their budget. The most expensive deck I've seen in Pauper has been about $30, and that's because it had a bunch of old common cards that have become more expensive as Pauper's popularity has grown. But anyone can build a $10 deck - that's a fancy trip to McDonalds and is less likely to shorten your life.

It's the level playing field that makes otherwise sub-par deck ideas viable. It's why forgotten commons have started being shipped out from online card stores. It's what keeps people innovating without fear of wasting money on $5-10 rares. And I think Pauper is a format that removes any excuse for not playing the game. Pauper isn't the expensive Magic people are used to. It's not plagued by 2 or 3 good decks that make all other decks worthless. There are popular decks, but new decks are gaining momentum every day.


This is what I love about the Pauper format. I first learned about Pauper just as I was getting out of Magic, and if I'd had someone else to play it with I would have stayed in the hobby. Magic is an amazing game, but the price and power level of good cards are a huge barrier for many people. The question for whether someone can keep playing is no longer "Can I afford Magic?", but "Do I enjoy playing Magic?" And that is exactly how it should be.

See you tomorrow!

Remember to follow me on Facebook. I'm doing a blog post every single day for 2013, and Facebook is a great way to stay up-to-date as well as take part in my monthly giveaways!