Pauper: 5 Decks with Commander Masters

Commander Masters is a set full of reprints, and it is through sets like this one that Pauper receives downgrades of uncommon and rare cards to common. CMM brought various new additions to the format, but only some of them really stand out. In this article, I'll suggest five decks with Commander Masters cards, but, before, I think it is important to discuss the impact this set had on the format so far.

With a bit more than a week after the set was released officially on August 4th (I've written this article six days after the release), the set has already popped up in a couple of lists, bringing forth interesting decks for the format, but changing very little of the current dynamic. Current Pauper is a speed-focused format which hoards resources. The decks which can best execute these two things, or at least one of them, can survive in the metagame.

When the set was revealed, right away the card which stood out was All That Glitters, being quoted as the new Cranial Plating, and bringing up once more the discussion about banlists, as many swore strategies such as Affinity would become invincible. But, after the first Challenges weekend, another card stole the spotlight, showing that truly, not all that glitters is gold.

After testing out the set, I collected my personal selection of the best CMM cards for Pauper, and the lists I'll bring here will be focused on these cards and their competitive potential. I believe there are still cards which can be explored in the format, but currently these are the ones who stand out the most:

Azorius Familiars

Murmuring Mystic is, by far, the best card of the set for Pauper, and it already showed us it's here to stay, as it is a creature with an excellent body to hold off attacks, and has an ability which really helps tremendously in many situations, being capable of populating the board with evasion creatures, and serving as a token engine in spellslinger-style decks.

This card came up first in Control decks which used Tolarian Terror, but no deck can abuse its potential like Azorius Familiars can. The strategy is highly recursive, being able to create mini-loops which interact continuously with the opponent through the interaction of Ephemerate and Ghostly Flicker with Archaeomancer, this way controlling the game.

Once the game is controlled, you can win through the air with your Flying creatures. Murmuring Mystic brings a new face to the deck, being a way easier wincon to hit.

Glitter Affinity

All That Glitters may not be everything we thought it to be at first, but it is still an excellent addition for the format, and it is worth it to invest in a different Affinity version. This enchantment places the deck in a more Aggro approach than its Grixis version, which is why I believe Esper is the correct color combination to support the new addition without losing the deck's main trait of creating an absurd amount of value.

Creatures with evasion or protection are very important in the strategy, but I see that Kenku Artificer loses a bit of space in the deck, and, as a result, one copy should be enough.

Saiba Cryptomancer is incredible in this list, serving as an instant-speed protection, and a great target creature for All That Glitters. The deck's engine is preserved, keeping the absurd speed and consistency which Affinity has.

The black part stands out with its removals, filling the space left by the red color. Gingerbrute and Vault Skirge are extra options to finish the game with their evasions.

Bogles

If Affinity can take advantage of All That Glitters, Bogles can bring forth the full potential this card has in Aggro strategies, sharing the slot with Ancestral Mask and adding more consistency and speed to the deck. Bogles' idea is to finish the game quickly by putting the auras on one of your Hexproof creatures, and dealing absurd amounts of damage to your opponent.

With All That Glitters, the deck has a similar effect to Ethereal Armor decks, costing one mana more than Ethereal, but cheaper than Mask.

Izzet Terror

Another excellent addition which was released to Pauper in Commander Masters is Cryptic Serpent, a sort of worst Tolarian Terror, but which can still be more efficient than Gurmag Angler, with 1 extra power and a graveyard synergy which fits UX Terror decks better.

Dimir Terror has already adopted the new serpent, but another list using Cryptic Serpent popped up last weekend.

Izzet Terror is a slower version of Dimir Terror, with less trust in the Turbo Terror plan and a more sequential game, answering the opponent's actions, and then stabilizing the board to finish with more snakes. The red color brings some advantages over the black color, such as having access to Pyroblast in the sideboard or using Lightning Bolt to finish the game.

On the other side, the list loses speed and needs to compensate for that with more interaction. This list has also incorporated Murmuring Mystic, which can fit in well, giving you another line of attack and protecting the Monarch.

Speaking of the Monarch, this is another game plan for this list. Crimson-Fleet Commodore can kill the opponent with a few strikes, going over blockers, besides the continuous card advantage that the Monarch provides.

Izzet Terror is stronger than Dimir for the "mirror" between the two, and with Dimir's rising popularity in the meta, it might be a viable option to swap black for red.

One-Land Spy

We close the decks in this article with the most interesting addition to Commander Masters, Dread Return. This card gave one more piece to Pauper's All Spells, more commonly known as Land Spy Combo. Be it with one, two, or three lands, this strategy comes out from the depths of the format as a new option for combo lovers.

The combo is quite complex, but, to sum up, it consists of casting Balustrade Spy or Destroy the Evidence when your deck doesn't have any more lands, targeting itself to place all your deck in the graveyard, and then, you'll cast Songs of the Damned, creating a gigantic amount of mana and using Crawl From the Cellar to place Lotleth Giant in play and finish the opponent with lethal.

With Dread Return, the list now counts with an extra Reanimate effect, which can be cast for free from the graveyard, which is why the list uses three copies of Dregscape Zombie; so they can be the Return targets. Lotleth Giant is another wincon, with a good synergy in the strategy, and counting as a creature for the ritual.

Commander Masters brought cards with great potential to Pauper, which can move the format in a different direction in the next few weeks. I believe Affinity with All That Glitters won't overshadow the Grixis version, as I consider Affinity Control quite stronger, but I think the format will have even more reasons to use Dust to Dust and Gorilla Shaman.

Murmuring Mystic seems a more impactful card to me, being able to be added to countless blue decks, and giving them a different line. I hope to see Dread Return and Lotleth more from now own, as I think One-Land Spy is very interesting, and, despite suffering a lot with graveyard hates, there are ways to counter that, and the format needs different decks to bring more diversity.

Another article finished, I hope you liked it. Leave your comments, suggestions, critiques and questions down below, and I'll try to answer all. See you next time!