Lost Caverns of Ixalan has arrived on Magic Online and with it we get our first set of Pauper League results that could potentially include new cards. And while there are a lot of interesting decks nestled in those 37 trophy runs (including two Breathless Knights decks and a WonderWalls variant Faultgrinder main), I wanted to focus on builds that featured something from the latest release.
Listen, we all knew this would happen. Kuldotha Red is not going anywhere and Goblin Tomb Raider provides another aggressive one drop for these builds. Here it appears to replace Goblin Blast-Runner which makes some amount of sense. Blast-Runner might have the upside of crashing in for three damage but it also can be stranded as a one power attacker turn after turn if you run out of sacrifice fodder. Tomb Raider is more likely to provide a consistent two points of damage given the 12 potential artifacts in the deck. That being said I think there are better shells for the newest addition that add more artifacts to the mix, but this is a great place to start.
Listen, we all knew this would happen. Someone was going to pair Kor Skyfisher with Tithing Blade. This build is an obvious place to start but, as with above, I think there is room for improvement. Glint Hawk feels risky here without additional artifact lands and once that shift is made adding more Ichor Wellspring type cards and potentially Deadly Dispute also follows suit. That build definitely takes a slower approach but this one tries to split the difference between a value oriented build and a deck seeking to grind the opponent out. While straddling the line might make sense for midrange strategies I think leaning into either side would only strengthen this concept.
Okay this one was unexpected. River Herald Scout was not on my “might see play in Familiars” Bingo card. Given the pilot this looks more like an experiment in whether or not the new card can replace Sea Gate Oracle rather than a strict upgrade. Scout has the advantage of binning key cards while leaving behind a solid, if unimpressive, set of stats. All in all this is a case where I do not expect the newest addition to last but then again I am far from a Familiars expert.
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NerdtotheCore 