End of the MPDC Leader Season 4

I sent out the following as an email to everyone who has participated in the MPDC League over the past few months. But I had several of those emails bounce back, and I know that there are others who did not participate in the league but might be interested in future events and such. So I am reposting this here in hope of getting it in front of as many people as possible.

This is the final week of Season 4 of the MPDC League. We will be taking a break for the winter holidays and will resume following the online release of Rivals of Ixalan on January 19th.

1. If you have any ideas or requests for future formats, please [comment below] and let me know. Specifically, should we return to Standard Pauper, stay with Silverblack, or do something else entirely?

2. If you won a prize but have not yet received it (including Door Prizes), please [send an email to gwyned at gmail dot com] with your username and which week(s) you are missing, and I will get that taken care of as soon as possible. If the prize(s) includes tickets, it would be helpful to let me know when would be a good time for us to connect online so I can trade them to you.

Thanks so much for your participation in the MPDC League. Wishing you the best in the coming New Year!

Last but not least, I sent out a request for anyone interesting in writing content about the MPDC League or Standard Pauper. Well Luc3k did just that, and I will have his article up on Saturday. Be sure and check back then!

1st Place in Week Eight of the MPDC League

A week ago the MPDC League shifted over to the Mono-Colored format, which means today I have our first weekly champion's decklist to discuss. Our 1st place winner this week is Luc3k, who made the choice to play Black, no doubt in part to its powerful removal, Graveyard recursion, and hand disruption. In this particular case, Luc3k also chose to utilize Vehicles, which continue to be a potent addition to any deck. Let's take a look at his list:

This deck relies on several smallish creatures that are cheap to cast and thus pair well with Vehicles, including a full playset of Bone Picker, Night Market Lookout, and Dhund Operative, and two each of Gravedigger, Skymarch Bloodletter, and Seekers' Squire. These, in turn, help keep both Sky Skiff and Renegade Freighter crewed and in the action, and much of the time are the deck's primary win conditions. Supporting this strategy is a combination of removal (Walk the Plank, Fatal Push), hand disruption (Harsh Scrutiny, Duress), Graveyard recursion (Gravedigger, Supernatural Stamina), and just a touch of card draw from Live Fast. Throw in 18 Swamps and 4 copies of Cradle of the Accursed, and you have a surprisingly efficient and streamlined deck, capable of handling a variety of different archetypes.

The Sideboard allows you to swap out less useful cards to bring others upto a full playset, including additional copies of Harsh Scrutiny, Gravedigger, Duress, and Live Fast. It also has additional removal from Die Young, a tiny board-sweeper than can dramatically change combat in Make Obsolete, and a lone copy of Cartouche of Ambition. With these additional options at your disposal, the deck can easily compensate for your opponent's specific strategy and counteract it accordingly.

Luc3k was actually one of three players to go 4-1 in the first week of this format, narrowly edging out Red_Demon3 and br_laern, both of whom were piloting a White Weenie strategy. Congratulations to all three players on their great finishes last week.

Finally, let me remind you that last time I put out a call for writers to create content related to the MPDC League or Standard Pauper. Would love to have your voice added to the conversation. Contact me if you are interested.

Thanks for reading and see you next time.

Writers Wanted!

Last time, I wrote about how much I love the Standard Pauper community. But I think one of the biggest challenges we're facing right now is that we are a community without a home.

PDCMagic used to be the defacto destination for all things Pauper. But with the transition to the most recent version of the MTGO client, much of the casual crowd went elsewhere, and soon thereafter Wizards made the decision to cease supporting in any official way several casual formats, including Standard Pauper. Various blogs and sites tried to take up some of the slack, but in the end, none of them have endured.

Back when we started Silverblack Tribal Wars in the MPDC League, Polyjak wrote a great post over at PDCMagic talking about the possibilities of the format. But I have no idea if anyone even saw it. I didn't even realize it was there until the League had moved on  to the Mono-Colored format. Which was a shame, because what he wrote was quite good and would have sparked some excellent discussion. Go ahead, follow this link and give it a look.

So here's what I want to propose. Next time anyone has an urge to write something about Standard Pauper, send it my way. Right now, my blog seems to be the only place where at least some of our community are regularly gathering. I would love to open up this space for anyone who has something to say. There's no reason why it has to just be my voice here. Maybe somehow this space can, at least in part, be a place where we as a community can discuss what we're playing.

What do you think?

The Importance of Integrity

Today I want to talk about integrity.

Integrity (at least in this instance) is being honest and having strong moral principles. When it comes to games, integrity means playing by the rules, not trying to get an unfair advantage, and being open and honest about what's going on in the game.

For the MPDC League, unlike a professional Magic tournament, there's no judge to call or appeals process, at least not during a match. In fact, there are rarely any other people involved in a given match at all. Thus, it is up to both players to ensure that the match plays out in a way that is fair and consistent. In other words, that both people play with integrity.

One of the things I have always appreciated about the Standard Pauper community is its openness, its kindness, and its commitment to fair play. In all my years of hosting, there have been very few instances where I had to deal with a suspicion of foul play. This is certainly a testament to just how special our community of players is.

But this doesn't happen by accident. We all have to continue to strive for integrity. We all have to work hard to maintain this great thing we have going.

So if you're participating in the MPDC League, do so with integrity. Report the results of your matches accurately and in a timely fashion. Pay attention that you are filling out the form accurately each time. If you make a mistake, or notice a discrepancy, please bring it to my attention. Be courteous to your opponent and don't take advantage of a person if they are unfamiliar with the client or having technical difficulties. Play to win, but don't do it at the expense of another person.

In other words, play with integrity.

MPDC League: Silverblack Mono-Colored Rules

This current week is the last week of the Silverblack Standard Tribal format for this season of the MPDC League. Starting on Monday, November 27th, the format for the league will switch to Mono-Colored. This format forces players to include one, and only one, color among the five colors of Magic for your deck. So today I want to quickly go over the Deck Construction rules for this variant.

The overall rule for Mono-Deck is very straightforward: Your entire deck, including Sideboard, can only contain cards with a single color (or are Colorless). But, of course, the devil is always in the details. So let's talk some specifics:

1. Colorless cards (including ALL Lands and Artifacts) CAN be played freely in any deck, as these cards do NOT have a color. While this isn't true for all Magic cards, it is true for all of the Commons and Uncommons in the current Standard set. Note that this means that Lands that produce multiple colors of mana, such as Cinder Barrens, ARE still considered colorless.
2. Permanents that are multi-colored are NOT legal, as they contain more than one color. This not only includes cards like Ahn-Crop Champion but also split-cards like Appeal // Authority. See CR 708 in the official rules, which clearly states that split-cards are the colors of both parts of the card prior to being cast.
3. An activated ability including a particular color has no effect on the color of that permanent. For example, Aegis Automaton is a legal card EVEN IF you're not playing White, Avid Reclaimer is legal IF AND ONLY IF you are playing Green, and BOTH Desert of the Fervent and Hashep Oasis ARE legal in any deck.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at gwyned at gmail dot com. Looking forward to another great week ahead!

1st Place in Week Five of the MPDC League Season Four

This week the MPDC League shifted to Standard Silverblack Tribal, which is a variation of the Tribal format in which at least one third of the total cards in the deck must contain the same creature subtype. Additionally, the format does not allow for any Sideboards.

The winner this week was Luc3k, who piloted a Rakdos colored deck with the Artificers tribe, making use of this prevalent theme from the Kaladesh block. Let's take a look at his list:

Unlike some recent innovations, this deck is simply about dealing damage as quickly as possible. It's constructed around six aggressive and/or mana efficient creatures: Aether Chaser, Sweatworks Brawler, Weldfast Engineer, Aether Poisoner, and Inventor's Apprentice. Not only do these beaters quickly ramp up the pressure, but each can immediately be equipped with Inventor's Goggles as soon as they enter the battlefield, making them that much more of a threat. But the biggest threats of the list actually come from Sky Skiff and Renegade Freighter, which are among the best Vehicles available in the format, especially since they are so cheap to Crew. Augmenting these threats are Lightning Strike and Unlicensed Disintegration, the latter of which can not only deal with any opposing threat but also levels direct damage to your opponent. Finally, the deck includes a full playset of Ramunap Ruins as well, which has become a staple in any Red-based deck for its dual role as a mana source early and as a direct damage dealer late to deal the final blow to your opponent.

Congratulations are certainly in order for Luc3k, who piloted this deck to a 5-0 finish, earning the 1st place trophy for last week. There is no doubt that the Artificers tribe is among the most powerful available right now, so it will be interesting to see if another tribe can fight through to victory. Hope you've enjoy this brief deck-tech, and I will see you next time.

1st Place in Week Four of the MPDC League Season Four

In the final week of Standard Silverblack for the MPDC League, another deck emerged to once again dethrone Energy. This time, well known Standard Pauper enthusiast joekewwl ran a powerful and streamlined MonoRed deck, taking advantage of the raw strength of various burn spells and one of the best creatures in the format right now: Ahn-Crop Crasher. Let's take a look at his decklist:

Although this list only includes 5 actual burn spells (3 Lightning Strike as well as singletons of Abrade and Magma Spray), a few other cards serve a similar function: Ramunap Ruins, Sand Strangler, Fling, and Struggle // Survive. The bulk of the deck is actually creatures, with a noticeable Artifact creature theme that stand well on their own but also enable utilizing the sweeper Incendiary Sabotage. Of these, both Filigree Familiar and Treasure Keeper provide additional benefits when they come in and leave play, making them excellent sacrifices for Fling. Additionally, Consulate Dreadnought, along with the powerful Charging Monstrosaur, provide two massive threats to finish off your opponent, especially if you can sneak them through using the Exert feature of Ahn-Crop Crasher. And as if these threats are not enough, the deck includes a couple copies of both Siege Modification and Cartouche of Zeal, making your creatures all the more powerful.

For the Sideboard, you have additional copies of Lightning Strike, Abrade, and Magma Spray, along with 3 copies of Blazing Volley to help knock down tokens and Hijack as a nice way to turn your opponent's threats against him. Finally, both Blur of Blades and Furious Reprisal gives the deck some more nuanced ways of dealing with particular creatures.

Congratulations are certainly in order for joekewwl piloting this deck to an impressive 4-1 victory in this last week before we shift over to Standard Silverblack Tribal. It will certainly be interesting to see which tribes emerge as the most powerful. Hope you'll have a chance to participate. See you next time!