Pauper: Boros Snacker - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

Sneaky Snacker is one of Pauper's most intriguing cards. While it would naturally show up in Dimir Terror or even Faeries lists, the card has migrated to archetypes that don't even run in their colors to cast it, with the most successful example being Madness Burn.

Recently, Boros Bully players have tried the card as a way to have more permanent power on the board and take full advantage of the archetype's various Looting effects. In this article, we explore this new version of the deck with a guide to the current Pauper metagame!

As explained above, this list has the Boros Bully shell but applies some choices to ensure the Sneaky Snacker engine, which requires more draw and discard effects to trigger. This inclusion aims to ensure greater resilience for the archetype, as it's common to use wipes like Electrickery or Cast into the Fire to deal with Squadron Hawk and Battle Screech.

There are some concessions made in including this line. The main one is the exclusion of Prismatic Strands from the maindeck, a conscious choice, given that the most relevant archetypes in the format today can play around damage prevention or completely ignore the card.

Our plan, however, remains the same: fill our board with creatures, use Battle Screech for the Flashback cost by discarding it with one of our looting effects, and cast Rally the Peasants to finish the game while having enough draw sources to sustain our momentum in longer games.

Maindeck

Novice Inspector and Thraben Inspector are good early-game blockers and guarantee a token that offers extra draws as the game progresses. It's worth remembering that these draws are essential in this version as they help trigger Sneaky Snacker, so use Clues wisely.

Squadron Hawk seeks more copies of itself, functioning as a "Draw 3" and guaranteeing more fodder for looting effects or more bodies on the board to cast Battle Screech and end games with Rally the Peasants.

The looting effects.

Raffine's Informant doesn't guarantee two draws with one card, but it's another body to block or attack and another way to help pay for Battle Screech's flashback cost.

Faithless Looting is Pauper's best draw-discard effect: it costs little, serves as fodder for other discard effects, and triggers Sneaky Snacker twice if needed.

Thrilling Discovery is the most powerful looting effect we have, without the need to discard cards if we just need to gain life. With it, we can discard two Snackers and return them in the same turn.

Lunarch Veteran functions as an early-game one-drop that slows down Aggro decks and generates card advantage with looting effects, transforming it into an additional threat with flying.

Sneaky Snacker is a persistent threat even in the face of Electrickery effects and the like. It's also relatively resilient against one-shot graveyard hates like Nihil Spellbomb.

Battle Screech guarantees two free Flying creatures when played from the graveyard and up to four creatures when cast twice. It's one of the best ways to load the board for a Rally the Peasants the next turn.

Lightning Bolt serves a dual purpose as cheap interaction and to speed up the clock. Personally, depending on the Metagame, I might consider Thraben Charm as a more comprehensive answer against graveyard-based decks and Writhing Chrysalis, but for a more open environment, Bolt is your go-to card.

Besides basic lands and Shattered Landscape to fetch them, we have the combination of Boros Garrison with ETB lands to generate value, with Kabira Crossroads and Wind-Scarred Crag granting extra life, while Bojuka Bog functions as graveyard hate.

Sideboard

Pyroblast is the classic answer against Mono Blue Terror, Faeries, High Tide, and other blue archetypes in the format. If they grow even further, it's worth remembering that we can include copies 5 and 6 of this effect with Red Elemental Blast.

Dust to Dust remains relevant because Affinity is still a popular strategy, even if it's recently been overshadowed by Jund Wildfire decks. It can also be used against Boros Synthesizer and three-color variants.

Cast into the Fire guarantees artifact hate that also works to deal with X/1 creatures from Faeries, Elves, and the mirror. We can include two more copies in place of Dust to Dust if we choose not to respect Affinity as much.

Thraben Charm has multiple functions in a single card, especially in a go-wide list like ours. It provides instant graveyard hate, takes care of enchantments like Makeshift Munitions or Armadillo Cloak, and also deals with almost any creature, especially Writhing Chrysalis.

Relic of Progenitus complements the graveyard hate, essential against Spy Combo and Dredge, while also working decently against Mono Blue Terror. However, remember that it also exiles your graveyard, so use it at the appropriate time and/or consider whether the resources you lose are worth the response against your opponent—it's usually worth it against Spy Combo and the like.

Prismatic Strands provides damage protection, making it essential against Mono Red Rally and Burn, in addition to taking care of sweepers like Breath Weapon.

Mono Blue Terror

IN

OUT

High Tide

IN

OUT

Jund Wildfire

IN

OUT

Grixis Affinity

IN

OUT

Mono Red Rally

IN

OUT

Faeries

IN

OUT

Elves

IN

OUT

Spy Combo

IN

OUT

Madness Burn

IN

OUT

That's all for today!

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

Thanks for reading!