Strixhaven: School of Mages is looking to affect Pauper in major ways. Let's ignore most of the typically draft-oriented commons and head straight for the big ones and the big guns. Here's a brief description of all of the top picks and how they can impact the format, and we've got decklists too!
Strixhaven introduces Pauper to cards and effects we have not seen in the format before. We also get strong additions to top tier archetypes and upgrades on cards that already see a lot of play. It will be particularly interesting to watch the brewers try to figure out how to use those specific, new effects.
Bayou Groff
Let's begin with my personal favorite. is a cheap, green body big enough to trade with almost every fat creature in the format such as or . It perfectly fits into Black-Green Artistocrats, but what excites me the most is its application in Monogreen Stompy. It already synergizes with other cards in deck, and . How about adding few ? Looks like Stompy might become more canine, and I can't wait to see it in action.
Strixhaven Stompy by PR0boszcz
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Blood Researcher
Welcome to the format, 's weird cousin! The colors on definitely don't suit already existing, white 's variations in Pauper. But even if it does not find a place in the metagame immediately, we should nevertheless keep this card somewhere in the back of our head.
First Day of Class
The first deck that came to my mind when I first saw and thought about a lot of small creatures entering the battlefield in a single turn, was naturally Boros Bully. This card enables wins out a nowhere and protects our swarm of s and tokens from . Learn even lets us discard a card, which is exactly what we want to do in this archetype. Absolute perfection.
Strixhaven Boros Bully by PR0boszcz
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Teach by Example
is the first copy spell in Pauper. I'm really excited about this one, even if I don't yet see shell for it. Current combo decks in the format, like Wonderwalls or Cycling Storm, do not rely on spells to end the game. I have no idea how to use it in the actual metagame, but I'm optimistic someone will find a place for this kind of effect.
The Scry Land Cycle
Recently we saw a huge update in Pauper mana bases: , dual snow lands from Kaldheim, and now the new land cycle from Strixhaven, which looks promising as well. I think midrange and control deck are going to be more than happy to try and the others.
Learning Lessons
Is the new learn mechanic going to be important? Initially I had quite high expectations for this to make an impact in Pauper. When I first saw cards like or , I was more than hyped to see what we can tutor for. Unfortunately, the common Lessons lack in luster. Looks like there is nothing special here. Honorable mentions go to , , and , but I really don't see any place for them. Pauper sideboards are full of high-powered answers, and I can't imagine a scenario where one of introductions finds a place anywhere. If some black deck is looking for the specific combination of sacrifice fodder plus life gain, one could curve into , but that remains a big question mark.
That is everything I have prepared for you. Overall, I think Strixhaven is another good expansion for Pauper players. We have two strong cards that may change the way we look at two competitive archetypes. We also get two interesting cards with high potential for brewers. The scry lands are going to slot perfectly into already existing slower decks, and I'm definitely going to test one or two in my White-Black list, of which I wrote before. The learn mechanic is the only disappointment for me.
Thank you very much for reading. Let me know in the comments if I forgot anything, and let us know what your picks for the most important commons from Strixhaven are. Cheers!
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily Cardmarket.
