Welcome to my Battle Box article!

Now some of you may be wondering what is a Battle Box?

A Battle Box is a bunch of decks designed to allow new players to explore a magic format. In this case I am looking at decks that could be used to introduce players to magic as a whole and also for established players to the Pauper format.

The intention is to be able to take this box to a store to demonstrate Pauper or use to teach Magic so, it is not just a case of finding a few decks but also to be easy to play, challenge the players to see opportunities within the deck and then try to have balanced decks for play with no one deck substantially better than the rest.

How Many Decks?

My initial thought was to think how many decks I should put together and was thinking of either 4,6 or 8 decks. After talking to friends in the community I decided upon two groups of four decks to allow for a better experience for new players to Magic and new players to the format.

There is nothing stopping me from adding to the Battle Box but I was also considered the practicality of transporting the decks around. Two sets of four seem reasonable and with the right deck choices could create an interesting event for eight players.

Which Pauper Decks to use?

So, we need to consider what the decks do, they need to be interactive enough to engage the player in playing Magic. However, we don’t want any deck to be too strong or complicated. Some degree of fun mechanics may well be an option. I was going to nominate several decks for both for new to magic and new to Pauper but decided to group the nominations together as there is a substantial degree of overlap potential.

I did also consider brewing up a whole bunch of decks, this has been really successful for me in the past when starting a Pauper community within a store. However, my current playgroups are well established so I do feel the initial power level needs to be a little higher.

Affinity

One of the main stays of Pauper and it can be used aggressively or just to win from nowhere with a well-timed Fling. This is a fun deck and the crazy alternate win condition is a great example of how cards can randomly become great.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-affinity#paper

Boros Bully

A more aggressive version of the Monarch but with some more advanced interactions, a very solid midrange option.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-boros-monarch#paper

Bogles

This can be a really great deck and also one that can get away quite quickly. My main worry is Hexproof too complicated for new players to magic? My second worry is that it could really get ahead of itself and just dominate.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/bogles-df219f8f-1b57-437c-b4d8-dd4a5c7bdd7c#paper

Burn

Burn is a powerful and interesting deck especially with the triggers for Thermo Alchemist and / or Firebrand Archer.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/burn-3854fe58-5ff9-4046-bac9-ae9617c3caf5#paper

Faeries

I would like to have a deck with a controlling option, I know if I chose one of these three decks, I will need to acquire some more Spellstutter Sprites. My only worry with decks with counter spells is in a new player environment this can create unfun scenarios.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-dimir-faeries#paper

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-izzet-skred#paper

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/delver-faeries#paper

Goblins

Goblins is a lovely deck for newer players and easy to understand. A lovely mix of creatures and burn spells with some fun searching out creatures with Goblin Matron and blowing up the opponent with Goblin Grenade.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-r-4456e308-1569-4237-b9e7-a1cda60cca26#paper

Heroic

White Weenie is one of the traditional decks of Magic the Gathering but this version tends to rely on less creatures but building them up and protecting them. I would be looking at this being an intermediate deck if I am going to include it.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-w-aa620bce-3c1c-492f-bf24-75de0ad758e5#paper

Mono Black Control

This is a very forgiving deck and a classic of the format. It would feel odd not including Mono Black in any Pauper battle box.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3825987#arena

Orzhov Pestilence

I recently built up this deck and I find all the life gain options really fun before hitting off the Pestilence. I prefer the more creature focused version and this archetype. This is probably better suited to a player newer to Pauper than newer to Magic.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3825982#paper

Stompy

This is the best deck for turning creatures sideways. This is also a deck I have never got round to building but have many of the cards.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/pauper-mono-green-stompy#paper

Slivers

Slivers are really fun to play and with all the different cards to increase the power / toughness makes it an interesting deck to play and allow for the sequencing of when to play your cards to play well.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3810187#arena

Tron

Well, there is no way I would include Flicker Tron in an introductory Battle Box, I could be tempted into building a Crusher Tron deck. However, I do not have a third set of Tron lands and to be fair, most LGS I play at have multiple people with Tron decks so adding another is not great.

Expansion Plans

I am conscious that many Battle Boxes are a fuller representation of the format and it is possible that if the initial boxes are successful, I could branch out with other decks and allow for extra archetypes. At that point we could seriously look at other decks which are more powerful or at the very least require more skill to play like combo decks and control.

Final Choices

Well, this was where it got interesting as I had a problem I had not considered, my wife and I have several decks for Pauper, Pioneer and Modern that whilst I own the majority of the cards for the decks that I am looking at building, several key cards for the selected decks are already be in use. Then I hit a partial fix, I also like to use foreign cards and whilst they are not appropriate for the Battle Box, I could switch out a few copies of some cards and consider which decks I do not really play so could move over to the Battle Box.

The choices I went with are now as follows: –

Beginner

Goblins

I felt the need for a solid red deck and I went with Goblins as I’d picked up the missing pieces for Rachel years ago, Standard goblins with Goblin Rabblemasters was her first deck so I know it is a fun archetype for new players.

Mono Black Control

My love of Mono Black means I have all the cards and numerous spares from trying out various versions of the deck.

Slivers

Slivers are a truly iconic tribe and the complexity level of combining slivers will show off the range of Pauper decks that can snowball away.

Stompy

A really great aggressive deck and a corner stone of the format. I was wondering should this be an intermediate deck because of Burning-Tree Emissary but decided the random wins it can create would be helpful to new players.

Intermediate

Affinity Fling

This is a really popular deck and one that I have never actually built though I have all the pieces, the only reason I had not built this up before is I have friends with the deck so would be adding another copy of the deck potentially into the meta.

Boros Bully

I really enjoy the Boros decks in Pauper and this I feel should be a staple in the format.

 Izzet Blitz

This is a classic mix of aggro and combo, I wanted something that would press buttons for players who have different play styles as myself.

My recent review of Izzet Blitz can be found here.

Dimir Ninja

I really wanted a deck that had some degree of control but felt Dimir Delver or Dimir Fae are a bit too powerful. One of these two decks will undoubtedly make it into my Expert Battle Box should I go down that road.

I recently built this deck and the article is linked here.

Finale

I hope you enjoyed the article and would be interested in hearing what would be in your Battle Boxes. I have also tried to create four decks in each category that play well within their own set of four and can equally play well with the other four decks.