The Princes of Pauper

Rich is joined by Will Lupica for a deep dive on his vaunted Gruul Tokens deck that went undefeated in the Paupergenesis Swiss.
 
Decklist: https://mtgdecks.net/Pauper/gruul-tokens-decklist-by-willlupi-3020142

Rich and Mike are back from the inaugural PauperGenesis and have lots of fun stories (and some Pauper strategy) to share.

For example Mike's prophetic Smokestack [not legal in Pauper] dream, that nevertheless was the talk of the tournament.

How to correctly sideboard in Mono-Red Madness.

What cards to side out in Walls Spy.

Whether Rich is going to League later today (spoilers, the Mayor said not to).

And.

So.

Much.

More.

Remember that time the Princes got specifically Hawkeye's Bow banned in Pauper?

Yeah, well... Neither do we.

See you at PauperGenesis!

In case you've been living under The Rock, there is a new weapon from Marvel Super Heroes that threatens to warp the Pauper format.

This episode starts with Mike and Rich talking about some of the different Hawkeye's Bow decks but then descends into an issue of What If? regarding the upcoming PauperGenesis.

PauperGenesis in just a couple of weeks is going to be the largest Pauper event ever outside of Italy. The Princes believe that at its best an event like this (co-organized by our own Jenn the Judge mind you) can help recreate what Jenn has done so lovingly in New York City... But maybe not if Hawkeye's Bow is legal. 

Ideally you'd want to see the breadth of the Pauper format, a battle between Terrors and Guttersnipes; or a cool new combo deck like Ruby Storm that comes completely out of left field. Pauper has mid-range. Pauper has pure aggro. Pauper has Mono-Blue with only four hard counters... For newcomers to buy into what makes Pauper so great, we believe we want to see that in action at the top tables and the Top 8... Not just a splashy new combo that is about to get banned.

Hawkeye's Bow has already won 100% of the MTGO Challenges that have occurred since the card has become legal, and the Princes outline at least 3-4 different takes on building it in just this episode, a mere two days since it's become legal in paper.

Our conclusion? Our plea? Ban Hawkeye's Bow before PauperGenesis.

Thanks!

Mike is reminded by his old Star City broadcasts partner Joey Pasco that a Mono-Red Madness primer was promised way back in the first episode of The Princes of Pauper!

So our Princes go down the road of one of their favorite decks. It's all Guttersnipes and Fireblasts in this one. Is Voldaren Epicure the weakest card? How do you contend with combo? Find out in The Mono-Red Madness Deep Dive!

Here's a link to Mike's most recent list:
https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/michaelflores-04022026-revisiting-my-pauper-burn-deck