Card Highlight: Fallaji Archeologist on Pauper

The Brother's War promises to rock several formats, and with Pauper it couldn't be different. Fallaji Archaeologist has been revealed and has already gained the attention of Dimir Terror enthusiasts with the promise of being the new Augur of Bolas.

In this article, we'll look at the impact the card can have on Pauper and whether Tolarian Terror decks will become even stronger and more present in the Metagame.

Augur of Bolas is a card that has always had a space in Ux Control and that throughout its history in the format has always been mentioned as a possible ban target. However, the current Pauper seems to have no more room for Augur, as decks prefer to guarantee some draws than risk an Augur that may not put anything in our hand. Even its 1/3 body, which once seemed so relevant, doesn't make much of a difference anymore.

Fallaji Archaeologist, in turn, can feed the graveyard to a Tolarian Terror or Gurmag Angler, as well as recover a non-creature spell from among milled cards or enter a 1/4 body.

An interesting detail of this card is that its ETB ability may or may not be used according to its controller's wishes, which makes it much more versatile than Augur itself. All these qualities make Fallaji Archaeologist a perfect addition to the Terror decks and maybe even on Faeries, entering the slot that currently belongs to Augur of Bolas.

We will now look at three possible lists using the new card:

The first deck is the favorite Dimir Terror. This is one of the most played Pauper decks currently, and also one of the most effective. The addition of Fallaji Archaeologist is sure to make the deck even more present.

A card I'd like to try out in this deck with Fallaji would be Exhume. One or two copies of this card could be very interesting because one of the things that annoys me the most in Dimir is when I play a Mental Note and throw two or three important creatures into the graveyard.

Mono Blue Terror also featured heavily in the Pauper League 5-0. I have preferred this version and will test it with the new card in the Augur slot.

This version is usually more aggressive than the Dimir version, and I was able to get good results with it in Leagues.

Finally, I will discuss a list that, I think, has some potential: Izzet Terror. This deck would be the Pauper version of Modern's mighty Izzet Murktide, with Tolarian Terror in Murktide's Role, Delver of Secrets and Skred. I tested a few versions of this deck, but none seemed as effective as Mono Blue or Dimir. We'll see if the deck will be better positioned with the new addition.

Notes

In all of the above lists, Fallaji Archaeologist's main role is to feed the graveyard and speed up the game plan while recovering resources (putting Deep Analysis into the graveyard and getting back a Counterspell is powerful enough).

Another important detail that makes this card relevant is the fact that it protects itself against Lightning Bolt and becomes a great blocker against Kuldotha Burn.

It is also worth mentioning some other possible interactions that this card can provide in Reanimator decks (thinking about the same interaction I mentioned earlier with Exhume and other similar cards) and Tortured Existence, providing a more effective tool to search for the enchantment, in addition to of being a creature.

Fallaji Archaeologist is an extremely versatile card that will have space alongside Tolarian Terror. I don't know if Augur of Bolas will stop being used altogether. Perhaps both enter the decks or share space in the varied lists and techs that the Ux Control archetype encompasses.

The Brothers' War will be released on the November 15 on Magic Online and the 18th on Tabletop. You can check all the previews here on Cards Realm!

Don't forget to leave your questions and impressions in the comments!