For the past few years, the New Paltz Gunks Gaming Guild Pauper League (NPGGGPL) has provided a Wednesday night gaming experience for new and old Magic players. Many of them dabble in other formats, coming from Commander, grinding in Modern, living in nostalgia with Premodern, or the fictitious Legacy (it’s not a real format, with no path to the Pro Tour).
As soon as the NYCIS announced the team event, Team Captain Stephen saw an opportunity to put his 99% perfect Stiflenaught deck into action. He immediately asked three-time NPGGGPL champion Andrew to fill the Pauper seat and knew I was a live body who played Legacy.
I am earning brownie points to cash in for my lovely but anonymous partner to let me leave our infant twins and drive to the city to play Magic for an entire day. We never discussed a team name, but were dubbed The Splinter Twins in round two of this tournament.
Leading up to the event, we all prepared on our own in various formats, though we played one other Pauper-Premodern-Legacy team trios event at a local shop. That didn’t go well for me in Legacy, but Stephen and Andrew hard carried us to prizing.
Andrew has liked CawGates' positioning for a while. It has strong tools in many matchups and battles well into the top of the meta. It is especially effective against any version of burn, has strong game against Tolarian Terror, and has a devastating sideboard plan against Affinity.
CawGates plays many of the strongest cards in any eternal format, including Counterspell and Brainstorm, and some of the most powerful in Pauper: Prismatic Strands, Thraben Charm, and Basilisk Gate.
The Gates engine also doubles as a serviceable three-color mana base, a rarity in Pauper, and removes the need to run unplayable Basic Plains.
Stephen wavered between Stiflenaught and Full English Breakfast up until the event. Breakfast is challenging to play against and to hate out. It is also complex to play, and Stephen’s Breakfast deck has multiple subpar art treatments. So, he fell back on Stiflenaught, with its many counterspells and massive threats. Additionally, his deck has only one bad art, and aesthetic consistency was important.
I usually jam Doomsday, as I’ve written and talked about incessantly on Eternal Durdles. In MTGO Leagues leading up to this event, however, I was struggling in the heavily-tempo Flow State meta.
Lands has always been in my range, with a lot of experience pre-Doomsday. Working on the hunch that less-experienced Legacy pilots may default to tempo, I registered Lands as a difficult-to-play-against fair deck with contemporary tools for most matchups.
On the day of the event, Captain Stephen looked sharp in a custom-made bolo tie and a non-denim shirt. Andrew had gotten the memo and was similarly well dressed. I chose to wear the color of my deck and rep the non-profit I helped found: Rise Outside. We drove down from our homes in the Hudson Valley, made great time, and found parking easily.
Round 1: W (Team 1-0)
Pauper: WW vs Grixis Madness Burn
CawGates has four Sacred Cats, three Outlaw Medics, Counterspell, and Prismatic Strands. It is an uphill battle for any burn deck to get over the finish line when a single hit from a Basilisk Gate activation on a Sacred Cat.
Premodern: WW vs Replenish
Replenish has few cards that matter, and Phyrexian Dreadnaught has many counterspells. Game one was won by ignoring Phyrexian Dreadnaughts and naturally milling the Replenish player. Postboard, with the addition of Brain Freeze, it gets even more difficult.
Legacy: LL vs UR Delver
I was not locked in. Playing sloppily, I forgot to activate an Urza’s Saga for a token, and I bled out to small attacks. I was a single mana away from putting a Skateboard on a Marit Lage to win the game in one fell swoop, but came up short.
In game two, I was swiftly beaten down by a Cori-Steel Cutter and multiple Lightning Bolts. There was a Price of Progress to finish it, but I was far behind.
Round 2: W (Team 2-0)
We squeaked out a victory against ForceofPhil, Devin, and Louise. And it was a VERY close match against a team of friends.
Pauper: WL vs Jeskai Ephemerate
The plan for CawGates is to stop their recursion engine and force them into bad trades with Lightning Bolt and Skred. These games will last forever, and this match went to time and turns with no resolution.
Premodern: WLW vs Stasis
Game three was decided after time on turn five. Turn four saw Stiflenaught build storm, cast multiple Vision Charms, and eventually Brain Freeze the opponent’s entire deck. In an incredible stroke of bad luck, Phil had drawn Gaea’s Blessing.
Legacy: WL vs Cephalid Breakfast
I have played against Devin many times and know him to be an extremely tough opponent. While we have mostly played Doomsday vs. Breakfast, the most recent matchup was actually Lands vs Breakfast. That also ended in a draw, and Devin pulled off one of the sickest plays I’ve ever seen.
It was during the Nadu Breakfast era, with time winding down in the match. Devin had all the tools his deck could muster: active Teferi, Time Raveler, active Nomads En-Kor and Cephalid Illusionist, multiple Force of Will and Memory’s Journey in hand. I had a Soul-Guide Lantern in play, however, and two Faerie Macabre in hand.
I pushed the action on my turn, thinking I could defeat any combination of plays with my uncounterable Faerie Macabres. As expected, Devin cast instant-speed Dread Return in response to my activated Soul-Guide Lantern. My Faerie Macabre targeted his Thassa’s Oracle, and again, as expected, Devin cast Memory’s Journey. The second Faerie Macabre was there to finish off the chain…but Devin Force of Willed his Memory's Journey to flash it back, and I lost.
This time, I got an early Ghost Quarter lock in game one. It was an interactive game two: I got Grafdigger’s Cage into play quickly off of an Urza’s Saga.
Teferi, Time Raveler came down and threatened the combo, but I had a Boseiju, Who Endures for a combo attempt with Shuko. For a very long time, we played cat and mouse with me dodging the combo.
Time was called, and on turn three, Devin assembled the combo, and I lost. We did not bother to start game three, and instead witnessed the epic conclusion to the Premodern match next to us.
Round 3: W (Team 3-0)
This team went on to win the event.
Pauper: WL Spy
Gates has relevant interaction via the graveyard hate mode of Thraben Charm and Prismatic Strands, but contemporary Spy decks can pivot into ramping into big creatures. This match went into game three as the other two concluded.
Premodern: WLW Replenish
As with the first round, Dreadnought foregoes the namesake card and aims to mill. The Replenish player won a game beating down with Meddling Mages, but perhaps made a mistake with a Meddling Mage naming an irrelevant Phyrexian Dreadnought.
Legacy: WW Tempo
Lands can be tough for Tempo to keep up with. Wastelands are overtaxed, does not have great answers for artifacts, and they have limited answers to Marit Lage.
In both games, I was forced through a fast 20/20, while the opponent gambled game two that Consign to Memory would be a relevant interaction. It can be, but wasn’t here.
Round 4: W (Team 4-0)
We were the only 3-0 team and got paired down to a 2-0-1 team, feeling pretty good about our chances. The win locked the Top 4.
Pauper: WL Pestilence
This match was in heavy grind mode when the other two matches ended, so it was played out for “fun.” It ended when Gates’ Monarchy trigger drew from an empty library.
Premodern: WW Sligh
Dreadnought is heavily favored if it can land an early 12/12. Stephen mulliganed aggressively to make that happen, and the mono-red deck was unable to outrace it.
Legacy: LWW Sneak and Show
For as long as I can remember, this matchup has been abysmal for Lands. There are new cards like Disruptor Flute that have made it more palatable, but it still feels very difficult. Many things need to line up for Lands to pull ahead.
In game one, my opponent took one look at my Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth-Exploration start and jammed a Show and Tell to put in Atraxa, Grand Unifier, which tutored more stuff, and we were off to game two.
The specifics are fuzzy, but a Show and Tell putting in Emrakul, The Aeon’s Torn was ineffective against a timely Crop Rotation for Karakas, and a Ydraggsil was unable to activate before being destroyed by a Boseiju Who Endures.
Game three dragged into garbage time, and I assembled Life From the Loam and Ghost Quarter with all of their basics in play, and the game ended a few turns later.
Round 5: L (Team 4-1)
We were the only 4-0 team. certainly locked for Top 4 even with a loss, so we jockeyed for seeding.
Pauper: LL Jund Wildfire
Andrew fell behind to Writhing Chrysalis and Makeshift Munitions. Guardian of the Guildpact is useless against the large and devoid Writhing Chrysalis, and Makeshift Munitions is a large problem.
Premodern: LL Dreadnought
Stephen’s match postmortem was that he did not value resolving Gush enough. The mirror match game one will devolve to whoever can win the last fight, since Dreadnought is such a fast clock.
Legacy: LL Lands
Eric Kim is an excellent Lands player whom I have encountered before. I recall him playing a variety of green or white decks…perhaps crushing me with a Cataclysm at one point, or Elvish Reclaimer blowing me out with a Bojuka Bog.
The Lands mirror is intricate and high-variance. It has many novel board states, and it is important to shift tactics on the fly. Marit Lage is generally unreliable, since the opposing Lands deck has the ability to make their own Marit Lage by copying your Dark Depths.
Beyond that, Lands has Karakas, Wasteland, and usually at least one Ghost Quarter. If all else fails, Maze of Ith. You could claim that whoever has more Explorations will win, or whoever Bojuka Bogs the other players' Bojuka Bog, or whoever has Urza’s Saga supremacy…but the reality is that the texture of every game is different. It can be amazingly grindy, or one player can fall behind quickly and get blown away.
Our decks were slightly different. Eric K had Sphere of Resistance and a maindeck Walk-In Closet. He forewent Once Upon A Time. My deck had three Ghost Quarter main and two Maze of Ith. In the sideboard, I saw much of the same, Force of Vigor and Endurance. Eric K had a singleton Faerie Macabre.
In both games, Eric K leveraged higher comfort with the matchup, along with good hands, to push me out. Things didn’t quite line up.
We were the second seed after the Swiss. For our troubles, we were immediately queued into the same team as in round five, and we were on the play.
Semifinals: L (Team Finish 3rd/4th)
Pauper: WW Jund Wildfire
In this series of games, Andrew came out on top with some important combat tricks. Makeshift Munitions is effective, but the timing of Writhing Chrysalis pump triggers and the mana necessary to activate Makeshift Munitions can be complicated.
Premodern: LWL Dreadnought
Stephen used what he had learned to take the middle game. Felix is an excellent player, and very thin margins matter. A Daze here, a Foil there, a critical Gush…Stephen thought he might have structural deck advantages, but it was not meant to be.
Legacy: LL Lands
On the play, I felt confident I could give Eric K a run for his money. Unfortunately, in game one, I mulliganed to five, and his strong hand of Exploration, Life From the Loam, and Malevolent Rumble overwhelmed me.
In game two, we played a strong back-and-forth. I Force of Vigored a Walk-In Closet and an Exploration, as well as Bojuka Bog a pair of Life from the Loams. Unfortunately, Eric K swiftly drew another Life from the Loam. Even then, I eventually built two Exploration and a Life From the Loam of my own, and was steadily pulling ahead. Then, Eric found Blast Zone, cleared my enchantments, and the game was over.
Team Trios Time
We drove home happy. It was an excellent result, and the competition was of high quality. We were each satisfied with our deck choices, and as always, a few small breaks one way or another can completely alter the outcome of an entire tournament.
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Featured image: Goblin Digging Team by Ben Thompson
