Pauper: Gruul Ramp - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

Pauper has changed. Modern Horizons 3 may not have broken the format in half (Basking Broodscale is still on the radar), but it brought enough additions to change the Metagame and put new strategies on top.

One of them was Gruul Ramp, an evolution of Gruul Ponza that gave up LD in exchange for more consistency against the current competitive scene and also to take advantage of the newest multi-deck staple in the format - Writhing Chrysalis.

In this article, we delve deeper into this archetype and present a guide to the main Pauper matchups in late 2024!

This is the list I used in Magic Online Leagues this week.

It follows the pattern we've seen in Leagues and Challenges recently. There are differences between whether we should run more creatures, or more ways to find them with You Meet in a Tavern or Lead the Stampede - I'm more inclined to use creatures to increase consistency on ramping without wasting a turn not interacting with the board, which can prove lethal against Kuldotha Red or Rakdos Madness.

Pauper's speed today, in fact, is another reason for not running any LDs in the current lists. While we play Thermokarst on turn 2, the opponent comes back with a Kuldotha Rebirth and increases the pressure on the board. Not to mention facing more indestructible lands now that Broodscale Combo has been playing with Cleansing Wildfire.

LDs are good when the Metagame is more attrition-oriented. That's not the case today: of the five decks that are at the top of the format, only Gruul Ramp has problems with mana disruption, and only if we use LDs at the right time to take out a land enchanted with Wild Growth or Utopia Sprawl.

Maindeck

The interaction between Arbor Elf and one-mana enchantments for Forests is our main source of ramp and can even guarantee us a Writhing Chrysalis on the second turn for Boarding Party or Annoyed Altisaur on the third.

On their own, each of these allows you to jump from turn 1 to turn 3, play Eldrazi Repurposer or Jewel Thief for five, and play Avenging Hunter to generate value every turn.

Jumping from one mana to three is an essential part of our game plan because it allows us to jump from three to five mana the next turn, and Eldrazi Repurposer gives you a token when cast while having a decent body and punishing your opponent's removal with another token - making it easier to Boarding Party on turn 3.

I consider Jewel Thief to be a need on many fronts, despite not being used in every list: it fixes our mana (we have few red sources) and has a decent, evasive body that can attack and block in the same cycle. Lead the Stampede or You Meet in a Tavern are other options in these slots, but the current Metagame requires playing more with the board than with the hand.

And then we start playing our payoffs, and we can't start with anything other than the card that propelled Gruul Ramp to Tier 1 in Pauper: Writhing Chrysalis is the Tarmogoyf Pauper deserves, and it's not a stretch to see it that way.

On its own, Chrysalis is a 2/3 for four mana that puts two 0/1 tokens into play, essentially making it cost . By sacrificing tokens for any cast or even in response to a block, it becomes a 4/5 for two mana - a normal body for Tarmogoyf, and it's no surprise that it has been popping up in Broodscale Combo as an alternative game plan that interacts with the deck and in Jund Gardens.

But Chrysalis doesn't generate card advantage, our other creatures do.

Avenging Hunter is the best payoff that the Initiative mechanic has in Pauper today. It's an evasive body, wins games on its own, is challenging to trade by traditional means while also trading very well with other big creatures in the format like Myr Enforcer and Tolarian Terror.

Boarding Party and Annoyed Altisaur are the format's main Cascade enablers and the reason to play Gruul Ramp. Unlike Affinity, which aims to bury the opponent in card advantage with a fast clock and plenty of draws, our deck plays entirely with the board, putting us in a very favorable position very early - and it's up to the opponent to have ways to respond to what we do turn after turn.

Malevolent Rumble is another enabler on Gruul Ramp and Writhing Chrysalis. However, it requires a high number of permanents to work, and our Sideboard has few permanents that we can search with it - one option is to make Sideboard more focused on permanents to get the most value out of this card, but I chose to follow the pattern of other lists and, consequently, it is a common side out because we don't want to throw our answers to the graveyard.

Nyxborn Hydra is counter-interactive with Cascade, but it is also to Gruul Ramp what Embercleave used to be to Mono Red Aggro in Standard: on the right turn or with the ideal threat, it wins the game on its own and messes up the opponent's damage math, in addition to guaranteeing evasion and reach for our creatures.

Oliphaunt helps us find a source of red mana while also being another creature that guarantees evasion for our bigger threats.

Sideboard

Affinity is still the best deck in the format, so we need Deglamer to deal with it and also as an answer to Sadistic Glee. Cast into the Fire can also exile artifacts, while we can play it against Kuldotha Red, Faeries and Elves.

Breath Weapon is very well positioned in the current Metagame, playing in many matchups of both established archetypes and other strategies such as Faeries, Elves, Bogles or White Weenie.

Weather the Storm is our answer to Kuldotha Red and Rakdos Madness. It can also play a role against Kiln Fiend.

Pyroblast is our main answer against blue decks. I, personally, included it in the Sideboard because I like to think about a broad Metagame, but it is not a need in the current format.

Relic of Progenitus is a targeted answer against Cycling Storm and Dread Return combos. It can be used against Dimir Terror or other recursive archetypes.

Grixis Affinity

IN

OUT

Broodscale Combo

IN

OUT

Kuldotha Red

IN

OUT

Mono Blue Delver

IN

OUT

Madness Burn

IN

OUT

Gruul Ramp

No changes. This matchup is essentially defined by who can pull the best Cascade or make Writhing Chrysalis grow faster. We have a slight advantage by using Jewel Thief and Eldrazi Repurposer to gain consistency when compared to versions with Lead the Stampede, but they have more reach and card advantage if we aren't fast enough in the first turns.

That's all for today!

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!