Pauper: UG Elves Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

Today's deck is my favorite, as it was my first, but I know many players hate playing against, and I'll explain why, but also talk about how this beloved tribe is in our current Metagame.

The first question is:

Why play Elves in Pauper?

And the answer is quite simple, the tribe is strong and is doing relatively well in the current Metagame.

Even with many targeted removals and sweepers like Fiery Cannonade and Suffocating Fumes, the deck has some draw spell that you can use to easily return to the game — cards like Lead the Stampede, Distant Melody and in some versions also Winding Way — I say in some versions because it's not a card I usually run.

The second question is: Why does anyone who doesn't play Elves hate this deck so much?

And here the answer is even easier: it's because you've definitely lost to Elves in just one attack and taking a lot of damage, or even conceded before not even seeing how much damage you would take. The strength of the Elves, united, is overwhelming, and it can be very fast.

Our list:

Talking about my list, I have to highlight one card in particular that was the last addition to the deck, being great in several situations in addition to being 1 cost with a 1/2 body, having reach to block creatures with flying - especially faeries. Also, it's another colored mana source:

We also have some essential cards in the deck:

The first one I want to talk about is Sylvan Ranger, which was considered as useless in the list with Jaspera Sentinel's arrival. I even played without it a few times and ended up missing it because the 8 creature that adds blue mana on the list can be dealt with. With Sylvan Ranger, the Island is guaranteed, and we can have counterspells to protect us.

I like Lys Alana Huntmaster, but I understand that there are many players who end up not running it. Even with the Elves generating a lot of mana, the fact that it costs 4 mana shouldn't get in the way, but sometimes it does. In this list, I add 3 copies as I feel that it helps me more than it hinders.

As for Distant Melody, I want to comment that I wouldn't trade it for Winding Way nor for the new You Meet in a Tavern. Only those who have cast a Distant Melody for 10 or even more cards will understand how strong it is, and it is still drawing cards and not just a creature. That is, you don't lose your sideboard or any important spell.

If you've never played Elves, I'm sure you've forgotten to make an effect and missed a creature trigger, or even lost a lethal for miscalculating. But don't worry, you're not the only one who's been through this. The deck may seem simple to play, but it's not. It is necessary to understand some interactions, and this you can only do with a lot of training.

Our posture must be that of an Aggro player and in many times of playing in the all win, the famous thought of "if they have a Sweeper, I lose", specially on Game 1 when they hardly have that sweeper.

With Elves, we need to remember and always think: "I don't want to lose my entire board at once". With that in mind, let's play enough Elves to win the game. Notice I said "enough"; you don't have to be desperate and play the whole deck. We will play the all-in, but often and depending on which opponent we are playing against, we will also be careful not to waste resources.

Our list plays with few lands, there are only 14, being 13 Forests and 1 Island. If compared to other decks this is too few, I still venture to say that I don't remember a Pauper that plays with less.

Sometimes this makes us mulligan regularly, but I don't see that many problems with a mulligan with our deck. We have 8 draw spells and often a hand with 1 land is enough to put up a good work and apply pressure on the opponent — and by fitting a Lead the Stampede or Distant Melody, we will be in a good position.

vs. Gruul Ponza

I want to start talking about this matchup since, as Gruul grew on the Metagame, Elves ended up growing too, and it's easy to understand why: Elves are its natural predator, since it makes no sense to destroy our lands if our creatures generate much more mana.

In this match, our biggest problem is post-side, since the opponent will have Fiery Cannonade against us, but we also have sideboard cards and the game is still favorable for us.

A situation that should be repeated a lot post-sideboard is, many times, taking out Lead the Stampede instead of Distant Melody. This is because Lead the Stampede will end up throwing our Sideboard to the bottom.

Side in:

Side out:

vs. Affinity

In this matchup, I'm sure some people will say that we need more Gleeful Sabotage, but my explanation is that the single Gleeful Sabotage isn't for Affinity's lands but against Makeshift Munitions, which gives us a huge headache, much more than their free creatures.

Speaking of creatures, there's our second-biggest problem, Krark-Clan Shaman — which easily cleans our board, and we can't interact so easily - so play carefully around it.

Side in:

Side out:

vs. Bogles

Here we have a good match for our deck, but one we must be aware of, or it might become a bad match. We need to have Wellwisher early in the game and, in theory, be able to gain more life than our opponent can take from attacking us.

As this game is already good, we don't have much to change. The main card is Gleeful Sabotage to destroy something specific that might be getting in our way, like an enchantment that provides trample, protection or even some lifegain

Side in:

Side out:

vs. Izzet or Dimir Faeries

Any of these opponents is annoying to play against, as they both have Spellstutter Sprite, which counters almost everything in our deck.

Both have many removals and some sweepers, but there is a difference in that: Dimir usually has Suffocating Fumes and even Echoing Decay in the maindeck, so we must consider it on Game 1. The Izzet version will have Fiery Cannonade and even Electrickery, but usually always on the sideboard, which gives us a slightly better Game 1.

One advantage that we can use in G1 is Jaspera Sentinel which, as I said at the beginning, is great against faeries.

On the side, we have good cards against both decks, like Scattershot Archer, Spidersilk Armor and even Viridian Longbow, although I don't usually like it.

Side in Vs. Dimir Faeries

Side out:

Side in Vs. Izzet Faeries

Side out:

vs. Elves

What to say about this matchup? Have you who read this far seen an Elves mirror? Both players with hundreds of creatures on the board and plenty of life, and wondering how the game ends? So, this is a summary of that matchup.

This is another matchup where whoever starts and get a little lucky wins. Pretty much whoever plays a Lead the Stampede, Distant Melody or Timberwatch Elf first ends up winning.

On the sideboard, there is a card that can also make a difference, Viridian Longbow, but only if the game is locked. I feel that if you leave the artifact in play and pass the turn, then your opponent generates a lot of mana and cast many creatures first, having Viridian Longbow isn't going to help as much.

Side in:

Side out:

Ending another article, I recommend that you play with the deck. It's fun, it's strong, and your opponents will be stunned when, in one turn, you play more than 10 creatures, gain a lot of life or win the game with just one strike.

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.