MPDC Season 29 Champion

As of yesterday, another Season of Monday Pauper Deck Challenge is now in the books. It's been a long and somewhat chaotic season, as we've seen attendance dip and slowly begin to recover, with participation numbers in the high teens fairly consistently now. It's also been a season where I haven't had much of a chance to play, which I definitely regret. But as I talked about last time, I've simply had quite a bit on my plate.

But today I want to extend a well-earned congrats to rremedio1, who piloted an excellent new build to a 1st place finish in our season capstone event. Long time players of Standard Pauper may remember the dominance of the "America" archetype, named for its combination of Red, White, and Blue. Now reborn as Jeskai wedge, it was this strong combination that captured the trophy. Let's take a look at his decklist:

Exiler

1st place in MPDC 23 Worlds by rremedio1

Creatures 2 Mnemonic Wall 2 Student of Ojutai 4 cards Other Spells 3 Anticipate 3 Divination 3 Flurry of Horns 3 Last Breath 3 Lightning Strike 3 Magma Spray 3 Nullify 3 Treasure Cruise 2 Pillar of Light 2 Rise of Eagles 2 Voyage's End 1 Cancel 1 Weave Fate 32 cards

Lands 6 Island 4 Evolving Wilds 4 Swiftwater Cliffs 3 Tranquil Cove 2 Wind-Scarred Crag 3 Mountain 2 Plains 24 cards Sideboard 4 Negate 3 Scouring Sands 2 Disdainful Stroke 1 Pillar of Light 1 Voyage's End 1 Magma Spray 1 Last Breath 1 Lightning Strike 1 Cancel 15 cards

This is the ultimate in value and control. It packs a full 10 copies of various draw spells, a grip of permission spells, some token generators, and 11 removal spells, over half of which exile the targeted creature (for which the deck derives its name). It also uses Mnemonic Wall for ground defense and spell recursion, and ekes out Lifegain from every spell with Student of Ojutai. The Sideboard also contains additional resources for removal and permission, as well as the excellent Scouring Sands to help deal with aggressive tokens.

With how aggressive the format is right now, it's impressive that such a Control oriented deck not only won the event, but was undefeated along the way. And huge props to rremedio1, who demonstrated some serious skill to accomplish such a feat!

Magic Origins looks to be bringing lots more options along these same lines, so it will be interesting to see if this deck continues to succeed in the weeks ahead. I certainly intend to test it out!