MTG How to Play Pauper Format!
Breaking into the world of MTG can sometimes be difficult especially if you are intimidated by the financial stress that the game can bring. Pauper is a great format for those that don't want to spend a ton of cash to play, and can also be a great entry format for new and younger players. Read on to learn about the basics of this fun format and how you can get started playing!
Formats in Magic the Gathering
Since Magic the Gathering was released in 1993, it has undergone a number of changes. One of the most important introductions in the game is the concept of Formats. Formats are the various different ways that the game can be played. Each format provides rules for deck construction, including deck size, which cards are allowed, and gameplay. Tournament formats officially sanctioned by Wizards of the Coast are divided into two main classifications - Constructed and Limited. A third category exists, known as Casual, which includes formats not used in tournament or competitive play.
Popular formats currently include Standard, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, Legacy, Pauper, Booster Draft, Sealed Deck and Commander. This is by no means an exhaustive list, as countless other official and unofficial formats exist. Make sure to check out our previous blog on formats to learn the basics of each one.
What is Pauper?
The defining feature of Pauper is that only Common cards are allowed to be played. Due to the relatively low power of Common cards this means Pauper has a fairly small ban list. Pauper is, in opposition to more expensive formats like Vintage, considered a very cheap and accessible format. Generally Pauper is played as a constructed format where each player builds a 60 card deck, with a limit of 4 copies of a card, excluding basic lands.
Pauper is a non-rotating format! This means that your Pauper will always be legal in the format and won't rotate out, unlike a Standard deck, which will see play for only a number of months.
The Common only restriction can also be combined with other formats such as Standard or Modern to create a more affordable and accessible version of those formats.
A variant of Pauper exists that is known as Peasant. In this version, players are also allowed to include up to five cards of Uncommon rarity in their deck. This adds more variety, whilst still imposing a limit on the power of the cards.
Pauper originated as a digital format that was predominantly played on Magic Online (MTGO). It soon became common in paper format, and thus the term Paper Pauper was formed. Although the online and paper versions had different banlists, in 2019 the two merged and now share the same banlist and meta.
Pauper Banlist
The current banlist for Pauper includes the following:
- Aarakocra Sneak
- Arcum's Astrolabe
- Atog
- Bonder's Ornament
- Chatterstorm
- Cloud of Faeries
- Cloudpost
- Cranial Plating
- Daze
- Disciple of the Vault
- Empty the Warrens
- Fall from Favor
- Frantic Search
- Galvanic Relay
- Gitaxian Probe
- Grapeshot
- Gush
- High Tide
- Hymn to Tourach
- Invigorate
- Mystic Sanctuary
- Peregrine Drake
- Prophetic Prism
- Sinkhole
- Sojourner's Companion
- Stirring Bard
- Temporal Fissure
- Treasure Cruise
- Underdark Explorer
- Vicious Battlerager
How to build a Pauper deck
Due to the abundance of Common rarity cards, a great place to start in building your very own Pauper deck is with Draft boosters! The Common cards can be utilised for Pauper and the other rarities can be used in other formats. Although Draft boosters are a great way to build a collection of Common cards to draw from, you can also utilise other types of boosters to build your collection!
You can also grab a ton of basic lands in bundles to round out your deck! Bundles also provide you with a bunch of extras, including a d20 to rack your life total. Older bundles include Draft booster packs, but newer versions instead contain Set booster packs.
If you don't want to try your luck with packs, another avenue you can go down is with single cards. Common cards tend to be extremely affordable and this is definitely the cheaper option over buying boosters. Total Cards stocks a massive amount of single cards! We open up products on our YouTube channel from all the latest sets and expansions! Common cards are generally in large supply, so there is no shortage when it comes to buying for Pauper!
If you want to explore a new format or just get into MTG in general then make sure to head over to our Magic the Gathering section and browse our massive range of products including single cards, boosters, decks, bundles and much more! Simply click the button below to check it out!
