Mardu Wildfire has existed in Pauper since the release of Modern Horizons II, where the interaction of Bridges with Cleansing Wildfire created a new way to accelerate mana in the format. Over the years, the archetype has gained new tools: Experimental Synthesizer, Lembas, and, more recently, Black Mage's Rod, which helps the archetype close out games.
Often off the radar of Leagues and Challenges, the archetype was one of the highlights of Paupergeddon Summer 2025, the largest Pauper event in history, where it achieved a Top 8 finish using some well-known picks from the archetype and revisiting some cards not often seen in the format.
The Decklist
This was the same list used by José Vidal Rios in Paupergeddon Summer 2025, with the only change being the redundancy of including four Pyroblast instead of a split with Red Elemental Blast, as both cards function essentially the same way in most matchups.
There are some interesting choices in this version that we haven't seen often in Mardu lists in recent years: Thorn of the Black Rose and Okiba-Gang Shinobi combined with the full Cleansing Wildfire package to speed up their casting, creating a list that, in parts, resembles Jund Wildfire in its attempt to have a more efficient late-game, except that instead of Writhing Chrysalis, we focus on other four-drops.
I believe this version is quite solid and deserves a little more attention in the Pauper Metagame. It has the right tools and card combinations, has the "unfair ramp" of Cleansing Wildfire, and manages to combine these lines with aggressive beatdown in games where the opponent's late game is better than ours.
However, it seems less effective in the overall Metagame than Jund Wildfire. Perhaps because Writhing Chrysalis is a better creature, or because we lose some interactions and potential in certain games when we try to play Glint Hawk and Kor Skyfisher instead of Krark-Clan Shaman.
Maindeck
Despite the name, this is still a Bounce deck featuring Kor Skyfisher and Glint Hawk, two low-cost threats with evasion that have permeated Pauper with ETB effect interactions for a decade.
Our targets have shifted over the years. Now, Experimental Synthesizer guarantees the same "extra draw" as other cards while also functioning in the LTB and at a lower cost than its predecessors. In addition to Lembas, we also have Lembas, which offers Scry 1 in addition to the draw and can be sacrificed to gain life against Aggro decks, especially on the Burn matchup.
Refurbished Familiar has joined the threat package and is currently one of the best creatures in Pauper. With so many cheap artifacts and even dual lands that are also artifacts, it's easy to cast for just one mana, and if we return it with our creatures, we can eventually exhaust all our opponent's resources and start drawing cards.
Black Mage's Rod, the new addition from Final Fantasy, is quite interesting in this list because a common fallback plan in Pauper's Bounce lists is to follow an Aggro-Burn line with Galvanic Blast and Lightning Bolt, and the new artifact interacts well with any non-creature spell to extend the clock even on "locked" boards where we can't advance our attacks.
It's worth remembering that any creature equipped with Black Mage's Rod gains the ability to deal damage to the opponent, so we don't always need to bounce it to make it work.
Thorn of the Black Rose was once one of the main sources of card advantage in Pauper when Monarch was a powerful mechanic. Today, given the Dispute spells, it's hard to justify paying four mana for an extra card per turn instead of three for two mana, but it's an effective tool in Midrange mirrors and can even trade well with Writhing Chrysalis in combat.
Okiba-Gang Shinobi functions as the ninth bounce card in the list and can be especially lethal with Refurbished Familiar to force the opponent to discard three cards. Like Thorn of the Black Rose, four mana is a high cost even for a deck with Cleansing Wildfire, so we only have one copy.
[cardside](1 Cast Down || 1 Lightning Bolt || 1 Galvanic Blast
Galvanic Blast and Lightning Bolt are two of Pauper's best interactions and also work to speed up the clock in non-interactive games.
Cast Down complements this package to deal with Writhing Chrysalis and other creatures that we can't resolve with traditional Burn, like Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent.
Along with Modern Horizons II's Bridges, Cleansing Wildfire offers a way to accelerate mana in a color combination that wouldn't normally have access to traditional Ramp. The bonus of drawing a card or disrupting the mana base of Tron, or even decks like Bogles or Gruul Ramp, by removing their enchanted lands, is great for the current metagame.
Fanatical Offering is the closest thing we have to Deadly Dispute in the format. Personally, I could see this slot being replaced by Eviscerator's Insight, but the extra artifact token helps enable Galvanic Blast's Metalcraft or account for Refurbished Familiar's Affinity.
Eight Bridges tend to be enough to interact with Cleansing Wildfire, and we're betting on one set of each dual that generates 
to facilitate access to both Wildfire and Lightning Bolt in the early turns. We also have a set of Shattered Landscape to search for basic lands, and we can use the Cycling ability in longer games where we don't need more lands on the board.
Vault of Whispers complements the artifact lands. It's possible to consider Great Furnace in this slot, but we already have enough simultaneous sources of red, and our white spell count isn't enough to justify Ancient Den.
Bojuka Bog is an option to complement the graveyard hate on the sideboard. Since we have cards with a mana value of four, it's preferable to use it than Nihil Spellbomb or Relic of Progenitus, but I can imagine situations where Spellbomb would be preferable in this slot.
Sideboard
Thraben Charm serves multiple functions in the list: it's a complementary removal against some creatures, including Writhing Chrysalis, graveyard hate against Dredge, Tolarian Terror, and others, and it also deals with troublesome enchantments like basically anything from Bogles or Makeshift Munitions.
Relic of Progenitus is a more targeted hate that interacts with the Metalcraft and Affinity plan. Being able to gradually exile cards is an advantage when complemented by Thraben Charm against some specific archetypes, especially given that we don't have any reanimation effects.
Pyroblast is the key answer against any blue-dominant deck: Tolarian Terror, High Tide, Faeries, some Tron variants, and Jeskai Ephemerate are common matchups for the side-in.
Duress, like Thraben Charm, is a multimodal card that plays in various matchups, including Affinity, Jund Wildfire, High Tide, Bogles, and others.
Tithing Blade plays primarily against Bogles, but it's an effective answer in games where the opponent poses few threats, such as Tolarian Terror decks.
Navigator's Compass offers an "extra turn" against Lightning Bolt and similar Burn decks whenever we return it to our hand, allowing us to survive long enough for our creatures to pressure the opponent or for us to stabilize the game.
Sideboard Guide
Synthesizer Red
IN
OUT
Mono Blue Terror
IN
OUT
Mono Blue Faeries
IN
OUT
Grixis Affinity
IN
OUT
Madness Burn
IN
OUT
Bogles
IN
OUT
High Tide
IN
OUT
Elves
IN
OUT
Wrapping Up
That's all for today!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!
Thanks for reading!
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