Pauper: Izzet Faeries Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

Today's deck is Izzet Faeries, that's right, the one that counters stuff with a Faerie on turn 2, controls the game and takes advantage of the monarch by drawing many cards. Speaking like that, it may seem easy, having a deck that can easily play toe-to-toe with any opponent, but playing with this deck is not easy at all, it needs patience and calm, it's a deck that every wrong attitude can cost the game. It has gone through several lists and its biggest difficulty was after controlling the game, being able to have card advantage and for that, it has used cards like Accumulated Knowledge, Frantic Inventory and the monarch Crown-Hunter Hireling which was pretty bad compared to Crimson Fleet Commodore, which went really well on the deck. The most important card for playing with red is Skred, one of the strongest removals from Pauper that causes damage to a creature the number of snow lands you control and that recently gained a much-requested card, a snow dual with Volatile Fjord, which helps a lot in counting for this damage. I talked about card draw, removal, but let's talk about one of the most important cards in the deck and Pauper, which is Spellstutter Sprite. Only those who have played against know how bad it is to take a counterspell from it and then take the ninja that will return to the fairy to counter you again, but for those who are piloting the deck, this is what we most want to do because it is our main game plan. Still talking about the deck, I need to leave a note talking about Moon-Circuit Hacker, which was a potential staple in every Faerie variant, but after some tests it almost doesn't see play on non-monoblue versions. Our list doesn't run any copies, but there are versions where you end up running a few. Talking about the deck's mulligan isn't that complicated, as we have a deck with cantrips like Preordain or Brainstorm and even Faerie Seer that will help us look for what's missing, It's always good to have a removal, a counter with Spellstutter Sprite or Counterspell, of course, with all this we would have perfect hands, but our deck manages to filter the top to make that happen with our cantrips. The game posture is for me the main part of this deck, and the one I had the hardest time understanding because I like Aggro decks the most and here you need to combine two critical things, patience and calm, knowing that we're not going to win the game at once, that we must take advantage of each play, counter our opponent's key cards and know how to spend our resources. Playing control is not an easy task, it means being ahead in the game, it's knowing how to think with the opponent's deck, trying to anticipate the movements and plan ahead, managing to control the game and for that, you need to fit that Spellstutter Sprite at the right time, come back with Ninja of the Deep Hours and get ahead of your opponent.

vs. Mono Red Aggro

Let's start by talking about a match that has been happening frequently, as Mono Red Aggro has grown a lot lately. Usually, matches against red decks tend to be good for us, as they contain many low-cost spells that Spellstutter Sprite can easily counter. If in Game 1 we can have an advantage, in the post side it should be even better as we have Hydroblast.

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vs. Boros Bully

This is a game that we're going to have a lot of work to win since our opponent's deck has numerous creatures with flying and that interferes with our game plan. To win this match, we need to attempt to always be in front of the plays, which is complicated, but it's not impossible.

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vs. Auras

If there's a matchup that can also be excellent for us, it's this one, but it's not like it's the easiest game in the world, here we have several answers, but they need to be lined up. I put this match to show that even though we have one of the best removals from the format, which is Skred, here we can't kill any creatures, and it's the first card that comes out on post-side.

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vs. Grixis Affinity

If there's a game that used to be much better for us than it is today, it's this one. In the old days we just played Gorilla Shaman and the game was practically over, but nowadays with indestructible lands, things aren't quite like that, Gorilla Shaman still helps, but it might also do nothing. Although Affinity has very high drop creatures, the vast majority of spells are easily countered by Spellstutter Sprite, which is a great advantage for us, but we have to be cautious with Makeshift Munitions that is the worst card for us in this game, especially in Game 1.

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vs. Izzet Faeries

This is one of the worst mirrors to try to explain how to play. You need to think thoroughly about each attitude and plan as if you were playing chess, think about several steps ahead because if something goes wrong the game can end right there. In these matches, the game is often locked where players are just playing lands and passing, as taking the first attitude can also mean overextending. This game is all about patience and wisdom to get into a counter war and win, or lose deliberately, but on the opponent's turn, having them tapped out, so we can resolve a monarch with an empty board and be way ahead.

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Ending another article, I say that this deck is among the best decks in the format, it is not easy to play, but with training and acquiring skill with it, you can be rewarded with great results! Any questions or suggestions, just leave it here in the comments, and I'll come back to talk about it! Thank you very much, and I hope you enjoyed the reading.