The Week of July 17th in Standard Pauper

I had the misfortune of being without Internet (despite reassurances to the contrary) since Tuesday night, so once again I am not only posting this late, but have had very little opportunity to work on my set review. Such is life. Fortunately, after this weekend I will be back in my normal routine, and should be able to catch up on time lost. But enough excuses.

This week was the final week of Standard Pauper tournaments before the end of season capstone events tomorrow and Monday. So what happened this week in our metagame?

This week the typical GB Control build was completely eclipsed by the Sultai version. While it only accounted for three of the eight winning decklists, it did take the gold trophy in both events, piloted by the excellent Forli. cRUMMYdUMMY's aggressive Orzhov deck made another appearance, as did BW Allies, Boros, and Bant Vessels, along with a new Rakdos build by rremedio1. By sheer weight of its victories, the Sultai Control deck looks to be the deck to play in our capstone event, but if you chose to pilot it, make sure you have a solid gameplan for the mirror. Let's see, what else?

1. The Pulse of Murasa count was down to 16, but a full playset was included in every deck with access to Green. That particular card continues to be one of the cornerstones of the format.
   
2. Half of the winning decklists were playing three colors, with only Evolving Wilds plus either Vessel of Nascency or Pilgrim's Eye for fixing. While obviously more difficult with the loss of the come-into-play-tapped Dual Lands, three color mana bases are still quite possible within the format.
   
3. Paranoid_Android and afreeAk tied for Season Points in MPDC, earning an average of 6 points per event. Both of them will receive a booster pack of Eldritch Moon for their achievement. It certainly is worth your time to play in every event and post your decklist each week!
   
4. Speaking of afreeAk, he was also testing a new Naya build designed to utilize tokens in combination with Impact Tremors as well as recurring Auras that looked quite interesting. It seems a tricky strategy to pull off, but one that might be quite rewarding. Definitely something to consider!

And that's what happened this week in Standard Pauper. I look forward to seeing many of you this coming week for the last event of the season!

Dimir Puzzle

While we're only four events into the new Standard Pauper metagame, already one deck has emerged as the top contender. Even more surprising, it draws its name from Pieces of the Puzzle, a card that I evaluated as being worse than Divination and as such marginal at best. But with some skillful piloting by Forli, this deck has finished first in one event and second in two of the other three events. I don't think it's exaggerating to say that, at least right now, this is the deck to beat in the format. So let's take a quick peek at the decklist and briefly look at what makes it so good.

Dimir Puzzle

Creatures 4 Undead Servant 4 cards Other Spells 4 Clutch of Currents 4 Ojutai's Summons 4 Pieces of the Puzzle 4 Reave Soul 3 Anticipate 3 Complete Disregard 3 Grasp of Darkness 3 Oblivion Strike 2 Calculated Dismissal 2 Shamble Back 1 Mystic Meditation 1 Read the Bones 34 cards

Lands 9 Island 9 Swamp 4 Evolving Wilds 22 cards Sideboard 3 Dead Weight 2 Ruin Processor 2 Shamble Back 2 Negate 2 Duress 2 Dispel 1 Complete Disregard 1 Mire's Malice 15 cards

So why has this deck been so successful?

1. It sidesteps removal. By playing so few creatures, and gaining card advantage with the ones it does play, it renders a lot of playable cards almost irrelevant.
2. It's setup to play Control quite well. The deck has a balanced suite of both removal spells and card draw, giving it time to gain a sizable advantage over its opponent in the course of a game.
3. It has permission spells to deal with any weaknesses. While the deck only includes 5 counters plus 4 in the Sideboard, this gives it game against anything an opponent can throw at it.
4. It's going to the win the long game. All the above factors make this deck a favorite in most matchups to win the longer the game goes on. 

Have you played with or against this deck? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it in the comments below.