Author Archives: Alex Ullman

Look at Lists: Dimir Flicker

Pairing Archaeomancer and Ghostly Flicker in a Dismal Backwater deck is nothing new. One of the first decks to attempt to leverage the combo in a meaningful way did so with Chittering Rats, attempting to lock an opponent out of the draw step. USPDudes did something slightly different with their take on Dimir Flicker fromContinue reading “Look at Lists: Dimir Flicker”

What is Commander?

I love Commander. Before the Covid-19 pandemic it was my preferred way to play Magic in paper. The last social event I did before the shutdown was attend a Commander night at a friend’s place. At one point I had 20 Commander decks in a fully constructed and ready to play state. And if there’sContinue reading “What is Commander?”

Looking at Lists: Gruul Madness and Mutant Zombies

We’re barely a month into this and I’m already breaking my rules. I can’t help it; there were two incredibly sweet decklists that went 5-0 in the Pauper League this week. Let’s get right to them. I have a soft spot for Zombies as a deck While I’m not a huge fan of the aggressiveContinue reading “Looking at Lists: Gruul Madness and Mutant Zombies”

July 25-26 Pauper Weekend in Review

Another weekend, another two Challenges. The metagame continues to take shape in the wake of the Expedition Map and Mystic Sanctuary bans. A significant portion of the community believes that these bans did noting to hinder Tron and in some ways, made the deck better. We are only four Challenges deep, so let’s take aContinue reading “July 25-26 Pauper Weekend in Review”

Center Stage: Pollenbright Druid

How much is a card worth? It all depends on how you’re trying to win the game. Pollenbright Druid begs the question: can this 1/1 be worth more than a card? A 1/1 Elf is sometimes a card, but this suite of abilities doesn’t lend Pollenbright Druid to Elves. A 2/2 is sometimes a card,Continue reading “Center Stage: Pollenbright Druid”

Looking at Lists: Izzet Wizardry

Two players I respect a great deal – Brian Coval and Luis Scott-Vargas – have referred to Goblin Wizardry as the Pauper Monastery Mentor. It makes some sense as Wizardry puts two potentially massive threats on to the board at instant speed. Wizardry also has synergies with broken blue cards and Pauper is jam-packed withContinue reading “Looking at Lists: Izzet Wizardry”

July 18-19 Pauper Weekend in Review

There are no Winners in Pauper The weekend of July 18th and 19th showcased the first Pauper Challenges since Expedition Map and Mystic Sanctuary were banned. It’s far too soon to make sweeping declarations of the state of Pauper, but initial impressions seem to indicate the format is trending in a healthy direction. Stompy wasContinue reading “July 18-19 Pauper Weekend in Review”