March 24 Pauper Challenge Winner's Metagame

The March 24 Pauper Challenge was won by a new twist on a familiar face. Izzet Delver took home first place in a manner of speaking. The winning list had two copies of Delver of Secrets and opted to include some tweaks on the removal suite in the form of Fire // Ice and Harvest Pyre. Neither of these are brand new innovations, but taken together they provide a fresh take.

When looking at the event itself, Sunday was fairly diverse. Sixteen different archetypes made it to the Top 32 and 12 archetypes had a finish of five wins or better. That speaks to a level of diversity that has not been seen in a while. Gush decks still took 37.5% of all Win+ spots while Monarch took just over 29% of the Win+ scores - so two of the pillars combined for 66.6% of all Win+ points awarded. 
This begs the question - is Tron still a pillar? 
Tron decks have long been struggling to keep up with the other powerhouses of Gush and Monarch. In recent weeks it has been less successful than Elves and Hexproof. Tron has the problem of not being a card advantage engine itself but rather a facilitator. That is, Tron enables you to do broken things rather than itself be broken.
Let's be clear -the amount of mana three Tron pieces produces is well above the curve, but that is a three card combo. Compare this to Gush or Monarch, both of which are far more self-contained in their ability to pull you ahead in a game.
Tron is still a powerful option but because it is a means to an end and not an end itself, it is lagging behind the other game breakers in the format.

For Ravnica Allegiance season, the minimum to be considered for the Power Rankings is six total appearances. It should be noted that the lone Stompy deck from March 24 finished  the Swiss in the Top 8 but the pilot then either disconnected or dropped from the event, placing them ninth. Taking that into consideration, Stompy is actually in the black when it comes to T8 Delta.

Dimir Delver and Boros Monarch remain at the top of the heap but Boros Bully is continuing its climb. Delver, plain old mono-blue Delver, is coming on strong as well. Orzhov Monarch had a rough week, however, with two appearances on a 4-3 record. 

This weekend is the first Pauper Playoff, which qualifies the top finishers for the Pauper Championship. Here is my take on what to expect:

• Dimir Delver will be out in force. However I also expect these decks to be largely geared to beat other Dimir Delver decks. The best performing versions will likely be tuned for the mirror while not giving up too much against the field.
• I think Boros Bully will be more popular than Boros Monarch. I think that Bully has more free wins thanks to Rally the Peasants draws and is an attractive option.
• Pestilence is well positioned if (and only if) you can survive to turn five. That is going to be a big ask.
• The PProteus style of Hexproof - that is no natural white sources - could have a banner day.
• Don't sleep on Burn. It has had several down weeks and if people do not pay Lightning Bolt enough respect, well, they get hit in the face with Lightning Bolt.

2019 is going to be a banner year for Pauper. I want to continue to be at the forefront of the metagame. If you like the work I do, please consider becoming a Patron. Thank you!