Pauper: New Common Legends - Possibilites & Interactions

There are currently 13 legendary creatures in Pauper. Twelve of them come from the Legends and Homelands sets, released in the first two years of Magic: The Gathering, and their abilities are limited to flavor text or effects that are completely useless for practical purposes.

Nineteen years later, Pauper received its first legendary since its inception and official format recognition: Skoa, Embermage was a reference to Fireblast from Modern Horizons 3, and while players tried to make it work for a while, the format's power and speed didn't allow it to have a place.

Now, with Universes Beyond being an essential part of the game's releases, it's only natural that more legends will be released in Magic than before: every iconic character needs to be represented, and in some cases, these are so commonplace in the universe where they're set that it's natural to portray them as common cards: among them are the legends from Marvel's Spider-Man, the game's new set scheduled for release on September 26th.

With some having relevant abilities and perhaps even a home in an established archetype, it's a good time to revisit cards that care about legends in Pauper and what options the revealed spoilers of the set bring to the format!

It's hard to imagine these are the only Legends in Spider-Man, and most of them have a relatively low-power level by Pauper standards, but the Comic-Con previews also showcased a new ability found in at least two Legends in the set that deserve attention:

Web Slinging functions partially as a Ninjutsu that cannot be used during combat, in that we cast the card by returning a tapped creature instead of putting it directly into play. In parts, it feels like a nerfed mechanic, but it's in colors where we don't normally have this kind of interaction.

Spider-Man, Web-Slinger will be the most important of these because it interacts directly with a color and card type that already has relevant ETBs, complementing Kor Skyfisher in decks like White Weenie, where it can return Lone Missionary and similar, Summon: Choco/Mog, Thraben Inspector and Salt Road Packbeast, and since it doesn't require an attacking creature but a tapped, it also interacts with Battle Screech or even Prismatic Strands to activate Web-Slinging.

Spider-Man, Brooklyn Visionary has a significant ETB and might work with more impactful green cards like Avenging Hunter, but it seems to be suited to more traditional Ramp lists and doesn't interact with Writhing Chrysalis while requiring virtually similar slots or slots occupied by it in the format today.

It's likely there will be other common legendary cards in the set, and even if there aren't, the likelihood of legendary cards at this rarity will only increase as new sets come out, especially if they follow a model like Spider-Man, which could also indicate an increase in interactions with them.

A recent example includes Lord of the Rings. Despite the lack of common legends, several cards at this rarity have addressed legendary creatures in some way:

Great Hall of the Citadel would be a perfect manafix if we have more support for this subtype in the future, even if they come in a wide variety of colors.

Errand-Rider of Gondor seems like the kind of card that benefits from the release of Spider-Man, Web-Slinger, and if we have another relevant white drop there or in Avatar that can enter White Weenie, it seems like an excellent replacement for cards like Salt Road Packbeast or even Thraben Inspector due to the mix of a more relevant body and useful ETB that we can reuse with the hero.

Deadly Dispute was a problem, and Fanatical Offering and similar see play primarily through interaction with Ichor Wellspring and now with Cryogen Relic and/or Experimental Synthesizer. Nasty End offers the same flexibility if we have enough legends in the list, but with the restriction of only working with creatures, which can limit its space.

Three mana is far from ideal for playing Ramp cards in Pauper, but a bonus Divination can offer some options.

Another important detail that could indicate legendary themes in Pauper in the future is to take a second look at the various cards with the The Ring Tempts You mechanic. This ability functions like an Emblem, and its first effect transforms any creature into a legend and offers additional bonuses to them as we cast more cards with this ability.

With Spider-Man, Web-Slinger, for example, we can consider using a card with this ability to increase Nasty End's consistency in drawing three cards in a creature-heavy deck, including the possibility of turning any threat into a powerful clock if we reach the Ring's full ability set.

That's all for today!

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

Thanks for reading!