October 6th Pauper Challenge Winner's Metagame Breakdown

Forgive me, for this post is likely to be briefer than usual. Nothing was banned in today's update. The next chance for bans, barring an emergency, is halfway through November. So the metagame we have today is the one we will have for the foreseeable future.

The October 6th Pauper Challenge is fairly representative of what you can expect. Jeskai Mindrange based around Ephemerate was far and away the most popular archetype. A baker's dozen of decks in the Top 32 ran the Astrolabe and a flicker engine, including half the Top 8. As if we did not have enough to worry about with Mnemonic Wall and Archaeomancer, Entropy263 has shown us that you can achieve a loop with Arcum's Astrolabe, Mystic Sanctuary, and Ghostly Flicker if you stack the triggers correctly.

And at the same time, Stompy won. This was a story repeated many times last season. Astrolabe decks would dominate the Swiss rounds while Stompy ran over the Top 8. If you are looking for reason to the rhyme of the lack of announcement this could be it. Despite being an incredible force in both the rounds leading up to the Top 8 and the leagues, Ephemerate tends falter when it counts most.

But correlation does not equal causation. Clearly Jeskai is doing something right to consistently take down multiple slots in the Top 8. 

Jeskai the perfect expression of a Pauper midrange strategy. It can grind games to a halt with value and removal while also playing control just well enough to stay in the game against other similar strategies. It can falter in the face of Tron but is not dead in the water.

But what Jeskai is best at is drawing cards. When the power level of the format, barring a few key cards, is relatively even, being able to draw more of those pieces can matter quite a bit. And thus we see why Stompy can succeed: cards in hand do not matter if your opponent never gets a chance to cast them.

So beatdown is likely the answer next week. The problem, of course, is the abundance of Moment's Peace and Stonehorn Dignitary just waiting to be unleashed. Until aggro decks can adapt to counter these threats, the beatdown will continue to have a rough time remaining consistent.

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!