I’m always really excited when a new set comes along. Standard legal sets over recent years have been surprisingly good for Pauper recently. That being said Core sets are extensively reprints so new tech is generally sparse. I’ll choose what I find to be interesting cards which I think may find a home.
White
Basri’s Acolyte
So this is a card that has potential but maybe needs some support. The 2/3 body doesn’t’ survive the bolt test and you’d think it would fit in a Heroic deck adding extra counters but generally there are more cost efficient ways. However, if you’ve an abundance of Mono Black players and being buried under Chainer’s Edicts then you do have an acceptable albeit over costed for the format sacrifice.
Rambunctious Mutt
You could say this is the dogs bollox, a lovely card with a relevant comes into play effect. A flicker shell could utilise this either main deck or in the board as it screams value.
Swift Response
I skipped over this card originally as I didn’t pick up one the name change assuming it was Take Vengeance, only later did I see that it was a strictly better version as it is an instant. So white has a dearth of good removal but usually escapes scrutiny as decks will pair with stronger colours for removal like red for Boros Monarch and Black for Orzhov Pestilence. It’s certainly a card to consider and a reasonable budget option for newer players
Blue
Frantic Inventory
This is a lovely card, it looks familiar as it is a one sided Accumulated Knowledge so mirror matches won’t see your opponent out draw you off your graveyard. I can see this being played quite a lot. It is also a WPN promo too we have some alternate art to go with it too.
Lofty Denial
I would love to see this card succeed, MTGA Arena has very good Standard Pauper and Artisan UW Fliers decks. This may be another piece in the puzzle for the deck to succeed in mainstream Pauper. That being said in many cases even with an abundance of Faeries in the format it could become a very bad card quite quickly.
Spined Megalodon
This may be a stretch as the format already has plenty of great finishers. So why do I like this, mana cost is high but maybe could be cheated out, it has got Hexproof as protection and their is Scry 1 when attacking but is it really that useful in blue as you’d probably be ahead by the time you played this. Of course this could just be an excuse for me to sing Baby Shark, do do do ….
Black
Liliana’s Steward
Could this be a relevant one drop for Mono Black Control, I’m certainly considering giving it a try as it will hold the board early on against pesky aggro decks much like a Thraben Inspector. I’m torn on its special ability as it is sorcery speed and the opponents choice making it rather weak.
Rise Again
Oh, a cheeky little reanimator spell straight to the battlefield. This is definitely something I’ll be looking more closely at and brewing from. A Golgari graveyard manipulation deck would be a fun deck to build.
Village Rites
So this card is very much hyped as it’s cheap to cast and several decks can utilise creatures in the graveyard. It is certainly better than Altar’s Reap and I can see when sacrificing a creature that is going to die anyway is going to give value. However, I feel Mono Black is perfectly fine with Sign in Blood and Night’s Whisper without having to jump through hoops even if it does support the Delve mechanic.
Red
Goblin Wizardry
I always look at powerful commons in draft commons as many times they become a pre-curser to other formats. I’ve been on the end of some bad beatings with this card and in Pauper it would get a lot of support. I feel this could well be a thing in an Izzet spells deck. This poses the question Izzet good enough ?
Hobblefiend
An interesting build around card and tellingly it has trample. If your tokens can avoid a Shrivel or Electrickery this card could certainly see play.
Shock
Yes, red really isn’t that deep and that itself is a “Shock” that I can’t even find another red card I want to write about.
Green
Llanowar Visionary
So we have the lovechild of Llanowar Elf and Elvish Visionary which are both staples of the format. Does this card even work in Elves where it has the most synergy ? I’m going to say yes as the slightly bigger body may be useful late rin the game.
Pridemalkin
This kitty is a potential game winner as adding a counter to give your threat trample seems like the real deal.
Trufflesnout
Whilst I don’t think this card will make an immediate impact, it has two useful modes. Gaining 4 life reminds me of Lone Missionary and having a +1 counter may also be useful in some circumstances.
Conclusion
We have some interesting cards for Pauper but n the whole I don’t see many becoming format staples. Many of the cards may well be sleepers awaiting for support in the future to make new archetypes.
I’m a little late writing this so we’ve had a month of events already and few cards have broken through as yet. However, with so many cards in the format and plenty of Pauper deck brewers we could yet see Core 2021 cards making an impact.
My personal favourite of the set is Swamp
You’ve got to love the purple flashing making it much better than many of the more recent full art lands.
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