Pauper Deck of the Week: The Return of Blue-Black Faeries

Every Wednesday Insight is taking a quick look at one of the top-performing, most peculiar, or simply sweetest Pauper decks among recent results. Blue-Black Faeries can pivot quickly and tackle a large portion of the meta. Once one of the best decks of the format, it may be returning to old glory.

snuff out - ninja

This former format staple was supposedly outclassed by Modern Horizons 2. But as of late players like Brivenix are staging a comeback. He came in 28th at the Showcase Challenge on May 13, and on May 20 Videgain piloted the same list to victory at the Pauper Challenge! Strangely it was the only Blue-Black Faeries deck played that weekend. Maybe more eyes should turn to the strategy. March of the Machines seems to have improved its chances in the meta and opened up room for its return.

In the early stages of a duel the deck is supposed to play a tempo game. means an open threat of a countering anything on curve, plus the potential of bringing it back through the ninjutsu of . One can also use a in case the opponent plays around the Sprite. In addition the alternative cost of allows one to be more mana efficient than the opponent and keep getting in with Ninjas to draw cards.

By the middle stage of the game you can either focus on the Ninja plan or switch into more of a midrange lane, especially if you couldn't apply the tempo start. Use , , as well as a heavily discounted to take control of the board and hold to push ahead on cards. At this point you should be careful not to waste removal spells, in particular Snuff Out, as using them wisely will guarantee you don't lose the monarchy.

The deck has this tension between needing to go fast with an early Faerie into Ninja or having to wait to execute a monarch game plan backed by Gurmag Angler, and you need to correctly assess the circumstances. The deck will punish your mistakes as much as the opponent's, so be aware you need to be planning ahead. Never forget to look out for opportunities to return relevant creatures to trigger their enter-the-battlefield effects again. You can also hold priority to return more than one creature with a single Ninja—particularly relevant in case you have multiple Spellstutter Sprites on the battlefield.

Because of the ability to pivot, the deck is well equipped to deal with pretty much all the meta. You just need to sort out a good postboard plan for each match. Things like can help you close games faster while on the tempo plan, and can shred the opponent's hand in case the opponent went slower to play around Spellstutter. Against the abundance of Burn, you should use and for the extra life. These cards, especially Fangs on Gurmag, double down to help you sustain the midrange game plan against other decks that adopt a similar strategy.

Do you want to be rewarded for a deep understanding of the format and your matchups? Then this is one of the best decks to sleeve up and play.

Blue-Black Faeries by Brivenix, played by Videgain to 2nd at Pauper Challenge, May 20
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