Magic: the Gathering

Deck Guide

Pauper: Esper Affinity - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

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Esper Affinity merges Cryogen Relic and the Bounce package with Kor Skyfisher and Glint Hawk with Refurbished Familiar and Blood Fountain, creating a new version of one of Pauper's most famous archetypes!

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translated by Romeu

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revised by Tabata Marques

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Esper Affinity is the latest iteration of the archetype that has been present in the Pauper metagame for over a decade but has gained status as one of the best decks in the format since the release of Modern Horizons II.

The archetype's current transformations to non-red versions are driven by the release of Cryogen Relic as an efficient source of card advantage. Combined with Glint Hawk and Kor Skyfisher, the new artifact functions similarly to Experimental Synthesizer, and the addition of Magic Symbol B to the deck maintains the familiar consistency of current Affinity lists, featuring Refurbished Familiar, Blood Fountain, and Eviscerator's Insight.

The Decklist

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Maindeck

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The famous bounce package.

Glint Hawk and Kor Skyfisher have efficient bodies for their cost and can reuse our main cards. They generate huge value with Cryogen Relic, become "removal" with Grim Bauble and Tithing Blade, and, in the worst-case scenario, become a land drop for the turn if we need extra mana.

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The Affinity package.

Refurbished Familiar has one of the best ETB decks in the format today, interacts with Glint Hawk and Kor Skyfisher and also offers another aggressive body with Flying to pressure the opponent for cheap.

Myr Enforcer doesn't have any additional effects, but a 4/4 that can be cast for free also provides a lot of pressure on the board, while the ETB artifacts we use reduce its cost quickly.

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The artifacts we want to return to the hand and reuse.

Cryogen Relic has been the main driver for Affinity decks without Magic Symbol R. Besides functioning almost like a blue Experimental Synthesizer due to its interactions, it replaces Ichor Wellspring in this list and can be sacrificed on its own or with Eviscerator's Insight to generate more card advantage.

Grim Bauble functions like a Dead Weight, an artifact that stays in play and can be returned with Glint Hawk and Kor Skyfisher, allowing us to deal with several small creatures with a single card over the course of the game. In a worst-case scenario, you can sacrifice it to filter the top.

Tithing Blade deals with larger creatures on empty boards and is a great maindeck tool against Bogles and Tolarian Terror. Its Craft ability is relevant in attrition matchups.

Blood Fountain puts two artifacts into play for one mana for our Affinity cards and can, in long games, return creatures from the graveyard to the hand. Common targets include two Refurbished Familiar or a combination of it with one of the creatures with Bounce. The Blood token also helps filter the hand.

Navigator's Compass "fixes" our mana while also providing a necessary life gain against Burn and Red Aggro. Its low cost makes it an easy bounce with our cards. We can sacrifice it to draw more cards with Eviscerator's Insight as the game goes on.

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Thoughtcast works as a Draw 2 for Magic Symbol U with some ease in this list and is our main individual source of card advantage, commonly complemented by Eviscerator's Insight, which can sacrifice Cryogen Relic to draw three cards and whose Flashback ability is our main reach for attrition games.

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Cast Down is the best unconditional removal in Pauper today, and we need this type of card to deal with troublesome creatures like Writhing Chrysalis, Priest of Titania, Cryptic Serpent, Murmuring Mystic, among others.

Thraben Charm has several functions in a single card. It works as removal if we have a minimally good board position, acts as graveyard hate in the maindeck against Spy Combo, High Tide, and Mono Blue Terror. The half-Disenchant mode also guarantees an answer against Bogles and cards like Makeshift Munitions.

Nihil Spellbomb complements the graveyard hate package in the main deck while also counting as an artifact for Affinity and as a target for Eviscerator's Insight.

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Our list is almost entirely composed of artifact lands, which leaves us vulnerable to cards like Dust to Dust and Cleansing Wildfire, so a copy of Plains is necessary to avoid potential locks in these games.

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Furthermore, we also have a copy of Bojuka Bog as another graveyard hate in the maindeck that we can reuse with Kor Skyfisher. If the Metagame becomes less reliant on graveyards, we can trade it for a second basic land or a fourth copy of Vault of Whispers.

Sideboard

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Cheap sweepers like Arms of Hadar and Suffocating Fumes are necessary for games against Faeries, Elves, Bogles, and also the more go-wide lists of Mono Red decks.

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Speaking of Red Aggro, a Hydroblast set provides an effective way to deal with Burn spells and cheap threats, while Navigator's Compass provides extra life gain against Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning.

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The extra copies of Nihil Spellbomb and Thraben Charm provide more protection against graveyard-based decks, with Thraben Charm also being relevant against Bogles and archetypes where we need more targeted removal.

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Duress is a comprehensive answer against archetypes where we need to deal with specific key cards like High Tide or where we expect many non-creature cards and/or need further details about the opponent's resources before making certain plays.

Dust to Dust remains very present in sideboards because Affinity is a popular deck, but compared to the past, I've felt less of a need to use it, at least in Leagues. It's still one of the best white cards in Pauper and a key way to address the mirror, but it's not as effective at dealing with Jund Wildfire, and we have fewer artifact-reliant archetypes in the current Metagame.

Sideboard Guide

Mono Blue Terror

IN

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OUT

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Jund Wildfire

IN

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OUT

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Mono Red Rally

IN

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OUT

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High Tide

IN

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OUT

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Faeries

IN

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OUT

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Grixis Affinity

IN

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OUT

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Elves

IN

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OUT

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Spy Combo

IN

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OUT

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Bogles

IN

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OUT

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Conclusion

That's all for today!

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

Thanks for reading!