Author Archives: Alex Ullman

May 1-2 Pauper Weekend in Review

Last week I talked about the threat of a “Combo Spring” and this week I wish I was clever enough to come up with a good Groundhog Day joke because it seems like my prediction came six weeks too early. The May 1 and May 2 had their fair share of combo decks but theContinue reading “May 1-2 Pauper Weekend in Review”

April 24-25 Pauper Weekend in Review

Or Here Comes Combo Spring There were two Challenges this past weekend and in both the April 24 and April 25 events combo did quite well, taking down a combined 5 Top 8 slots (and two wins). There were also four dedicated combo decks in this week’s League results. These results don’t take into accountContinue reading “April 24-25 Pauper Weekend in Review”

April 17-18 Pauper Weekend in Review

Strixhaven is here! The latest set has hit Magic Online and we already have seen some of its impact in the April 17 and April 18 Challenges. While it is still far too early to draw conclusions about what this season might look like, we can infer some things about next weekend. First I thinkContinue reading “April 17-18 Pauper Weekend in Review”

April 10-11 Pauper Weekend in Review

Well, Kaldheim season has finally ended. With the Strixhaven Prerelease starting on Magic Online this Wednesday we can expect the new cards to be available for next weekend’s Challenges. As a result, the April 10 and 11 Challenges put a cap on one of the most interesting and dynamic Pauper seasons to date. At theContinue reading “April 10-11 Pauper Weekend in Review”

Learn, Lessons, and Pauper

Strixhaven is bringing a new take on Wishes to Magic and for the first time allows Pauper decks to access this powerful ability. Wishes – originally from Judgment – let you tutor for a specific subset of cards from “outside the game”. In tournament games this means going to your sideboard. For the remainder ofContinue reading “Learn, Lessons, and Pauper”

April 3-4 Pauper Weekend in Review

Sometimes these updates write themselves. It helps when there’s a 9 round Super Qualifier to bolster the results. Add to that a six round Saturday Challenge and a seven round Sunday Challenge and you end up with a pretty good look at the top of the Pauper metagame. I normally divide each season into fourContinue reading “April 3-4 Pauper Weekend in Review”

Treasured Finds: Thelon of Havenwood

Welcome back to Svogthir’s Study Treasured Finds: a place to appreciate Golgari and Witherbloom in Commander. Well it certainly has been a while. The last time I wrote one of these I was still 36 and hadn’t yet received my first COVID vaccine. Now I’m another year older and have gotten both jabs. So whatContinue reading “Treasured Finds: Thelon of Havenwood”