Deck & Commander Strategies
Rosheen Meanderer
Ramp with mana dorks and artifacts to cast high-cost X-spells that deal damage or generate value, though limited by Pauper legality. The goal is to outvalue opponents through big spells and board presence.
Fynn, the Fangbearer
Utilize deathtouch creatures and poison counters to incrementally damage opponents. Use proliferate and pump effects to increase poison counters and make small creatures efficient threats.
Captain Ripley Vance
Cast multiple cheap instants and sorceries to burn opponents and trigger commander damage. Focus on spellslinger style gameplay to control the board and chip away at opponents’ life totals.
Dina, Soul Steeper
Gain small amounts of life repeatedly and use sacrifice effects to drain opponents’ life. Emphasizes incremental value and slow attrition to win through steady damage and life gain interactions.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Using Fynn's deathtouch and poison counters combined with proliferate from Contagion Clasp created a slow but effective poison strategy that pressured opponents over time.
- 2
Dina's life gain and pinging via sacrifice effects provided steady incremental damage, supporting a grindy game plan that leveraged Pauper's limited card pool.
- 3
Captain Ripley Vance’s spellslinger approach relied on casting multiple instants and sorceries to chip away at opponents while maintaining board control with burn effects.
- 4
Rosheen Meanderer struggled to find impactful X-spells within the Pauper restrictions, highlighting the challenges of building a Gruul spells-based deck without rares or mythics.
- 5
The game emphasized resource management and incremental damage over explosive combos, demonstrating how Pauper EDH creates a different pacing and strategic environment.
Notable Cards
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Arbor Elf
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Contagion Clasp
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Fynn, the Fangbearer
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Dina, Soul Steeper
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Rosheen Meanderer
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Captain Ripley Vance
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Pirate's Pillage
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Gnawing Zombie
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Thermo-Alchemist
Gameplay Summary
The game started with typical Pauper EDH development, focusing on ramping mana and establishing board presence with efficient creatures and artifacts.
Early plays included mana dorks like Arbor Elf and value artifacts such as Tangle Bloom, helping players accelerate to their midgame.
The players’ commanders began to see action around turn five, with Rosheen Meanderer and Dina Soul Steeper deploying their strategies.
Dina aimed to gain incremental life and drain opponents through sacrifice effects, while Fynn, the Fangbearer leveraged deathtouch and poison counters to slowly whittle down opponents. A key turning point came as Finn equipped with buffs and support creatures gained trample and deathtouch, pushing through damage and applying pressure with poison counters.
The use of proliferate effects from cards like Contagion Clasp increased the effectiveness of poison counters, creating a ticking clock for opponents.
Captain Ripley Vance’s deck focused on casting multiple spells and burn effects to chip away at opponents, while Rosheen struggled slightly due to the Pauper restrictions limiting powerful Gruul X-spells.
The game showcased how each deck adapted their plans around the Pauper card pool, with incremental damage and attrition being the primary paths to victory rather than explosive combos.
The game progressed with players managing resources carefully, trading damage and life gain until a decisive board presence or commander activation sealed the outcome.
