Pauper: The Best Cards from Edge of Eternities for this Format

Edge of Eternites is just around the corner, and it will bring many new common cards for Pauper. You can check out more about this set and its mechanics in this article by our resident judge!

Pauper is really great right now. Many diverse decks are competitive and have decent win rates, and new lists and techs are still coming up each day. High Tide will remain in this format for a little while longer, Spy Decks are popular, and Paupergeddon showed us that the meta has more to offer than we imagined.

A Common Thoughtseize?

Let's start with the card that most stood out to me during spoiler season and is my best bet for future decks, Temporal Intervention. This card costs three mana and lets you discard a card in your opponent's hand, but it also has Void. Void lets you cast it for two mana less if a nonland permanent left the battlefield that turn.

This ability basically turns Temporal Intervention into a Thoughtseize that doesn't force you to lose 2 life. At first, it may seem too situational, but, considering Pauper as a whole, particularly black decks, where this card may see play, we can easily see Void is a lot easier to use than you'd imagine.

There are many ways to use Void and play this powerful disruption for just one mana. Decks like BW Blade use bounce extensively, which works really well with Void. Snuff Out also interacts really well with Intervention. You can play a Swamp on turn 1 if you're drawing first, remove a creature, cast Intervention for one mana, and remove another resource from your opponent in the process.

Effects like Fanatical Offering also go really well with this new card, considering you'll sacrifice something like Ichor Wellspring and a Map Token is also a way to use Void. Ninjutsu effects, like Moon-Circuit Hacker, also work really well with this card.

I believe most decks based around black could use it. Some could even use one or two copies in the main deck, but it's also an excellent sideboard piece.

An Upgraded Agony Warp?

Depressurize immediately reminded me of Agony Warp. Warp is still quite popular in Pauper, particularly as a way to deal with certain threats, like Kenku Artificer's indestructible lands and Guardian of the Guildpact.

This new card, however, is a bit less complicated to play, so it could find space in other decks. Pyroblast can't counter it either, for instance. It might not see play right now, but if in the future Pauper once again needs ways to deal with certain threats, this will be a great option.

More Artifacts

As we've seen set after set, artifacts are still stealing the spotlight in Pauper. EOE is no different.

This is an indestructible food that, besides giving you life when you sacrifice it, also draws a card. This format now has many interesting food cards, maybe enough for us to create an entire deck centered around this mechanic. Nonetheless, Nutrient Block has a special place in Pauper because it is incredible with Kenku Artificer. Kenku hasn't really found much space in Affinity, but it might come back to the meta once this new artifact hits shelves.

Melded Moxite is another interesting artifact that could go really well in a few decks. This is particularly true for Madness decks, considering it is a great looting piece that draws two cards - something this deck already plays a lot of. However, the fact it is an artifact is also relevant because it will be harder to counter and also progresses Galvanic Blast's Metalcraft.

Furthermore, you can sacrifice this card later on with its second ability to create a 2/2 creature token, which makes it even better.

But, without a doubt, the artifact from the new set that drew the most attention in the Pauper community was Cryogen Relic. This blue artifact costs , draws cards when it enters and when it leaves the battlefield, and you can sacrifice it with its second ability to put a Stun counter on a creature.

This card reminded me of decks with Arcum's Astrolabe. We might see something like them in the meta really soon, considering that Ghostly Flicker and Kor will be great with this card. Affinity is another deck that will unquestionably use this upgraded Ichor Wellspring, as all this deck wants is to upgrade its mana base so it can use blue more easily.

Blue Support

Moving on from artifacts to blue decks, let's see Mental Modulation. This is an incredibly interesting card that lets us tap an artifact or a creature for less mana on your turn and also draws a card. I don't know exactly which decks would enjoy this card, but its ability is quite similar to the Ice in Fire//Ice. It is also cheaper.

Now, let's discuss my favorite card from this set, Cryoshatter. Mono-Blue Faeries will certainly find space for this removal because it is much better than anything else this deck uses.

Cryoshatter gives a creature -5/-0, and if that creature is tapped or dealt damage, it is destroyed instead. The secret is to play ways to tap the creature in question, and this deck has no trouble doing that with either Harrier Strix or Snaremaster Sprite.

Problematic creatures, like Writhing Chrysalis, won't be that problematic once this card comes along. Faeries will also have a better chance against decks like Walls and Elves now, considering it will be able to deal with their dorks and blockers a bit better.

Edge of Eternities will be out in August, but I'm already anxious to test these new cards. I believe this format will change a lot once this new set comes along and might even change more in the future!

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!