Pauper: Jeskai Energy - Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

Jeskai Ephemerate, Jeskai Wildfire, or Jeskai Energy is a control archetype that has existed in Pauper for a long time in many versions throughout the years. However, it always included the powerful interaction between indestructible artifact lands and Cleansing Wildfire, which gives you value in two ways: it accelerates your mana curve and draws you a card.

This deck uses Archaeomancer and Ephemerate, which, together, can lock down the game in many ways. Jeskai combines the power of red removals with white's recursion, as well as blue's entire arsenal, including cantrips and counters that are very useful for the main game plan.

Currently, we use the Energy mechanic as fuel for Galvanic Discharge, which is the main removal in this list. Tune the Narrative is another Energy source in this deck because, as you'll be able to reuse spells in your graveyard, you'll always have a high number of Energy counters with it. Jolted Awake is another addition that adds more recursion to this deck, and matches the Energy mechanic really well.

Augur of Bolas is also key, as it works really well with Brainstorm and Ephemerate itself: it adds more resources to your hand and is an excellent blocker. Mulldrifter is another powerful card because it is a 2/2 body with flying that can perfectly interact with Ephemerate and create huge amounts of value. It never goes out of style in this format.

Kenku Artificer and Murmuring Mystic are this list's main finishers, and play similar roles. They fill the board and are great when you use Archaeomancer + Ephemerate to lock down the game.

As for Goliath Paladin, it is also very valuable in this list. You can get a lot out of it with Ephemerate, and take full of advantage of its Initiative mechanic.

Mulligan and Game Style

This deck is the closest you can get to a control deck in Pauper. In this format, you'll often call any deck with Counterspell or a few removals control, but the truth is that a real control deck uses very few win conditions and almost no creatures, like Turbo Fog or Golgari Gardens. Jeskai Ephemerate is very close to these two, but still plays out more like a midrange, and follows a value-focused game plan.

An ideal opening hand for this deck should have at least two lands, ramp, cantrips, and removals so you can start progressing your game plan. As you accelerate your mana curve and create value with card advantage, you'll quickly see yourself several turns ahead of your opponent, and will be able to control the board by locking down the game.

Vs. Kuldotha Red

Kuldotha is still popular in this format and is still a deck to beat nowadays because of how consistent it is. I believe Mono-Red is a good matchup for Jeskai, even nowadays, when the most consistent version of aggro is so popular.

Breath Weapon is one of the best cards against Kuldotha, and Galvanic Discharge makes dealing with occasional threats easy. It wasn't that easy with Skred, as it relies on snow-covered lands.

The best game plan for this matchup is to hold on until you can finally clear the board and start attacking. Murmuring Mystic and Kenku Artificer are excellent creatures to create value and buy time. God-Pharaoh's Faithful is one of the best cards for this matchup.

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Vs. Grixis Affinity

This is a very complicated matchup. You could say that, before MH3, it was even balanced, but the current metagame and the updates Affinity went through make it quite complex, even though you could have Dust to Dust. However, in this situation, we'll only have Cast into the Fire, which will have to be enough.

Refurbished Familiar is, by far, the most oppressive card in Grixis nowadays, as it can enter play as early as turn 2 and attack the resources in your hand. It is also a 2/1 with flying that can easily return with Blood Fountain, and is an artifact. The best plan for this matchup is to lock down game 1, create more value than your opponent, and attack with your hates in game 2 as you follow this same line of thought.

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In this matchup, I prefer 61 cards post-side because there are many cards I need and can't give up.

Vs. Golgari Glee

For this matchup, we'll consider Jund Glee, which is currently the most popular version. Initially, this deck has a very similar game plan to Jeskai, as it creates value with ramp and card advantage until it starts putting its pieces in play. The combo is also the center of it all, but it can also play matchups without relying on it completely.

In this case, you'll need to save your removals and counters for the right time, create value with your creatures and locks, and always keep an eye out for your opponent's threats (and deal with them at the right time). Post-side, the same hates you'll use against Affinity can be useful.

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Vs. Dimir Faeries

Dimir Faeries has shown up again in the metagame with Sneaky Snacker, The Modern Age, and a slower game plan. This matchup is quite balanced, but I believe Jeskai is slightly favored. Having access to red is an advantage, particularly because of Breath Weapon and Red Elemental Blast, which are great against Faeries.

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Vs. Gruul Ramp

This is a very complicated matchup that can easily escalate. Galvanic Discharge is not always enough, and Jeskai's slow start usually gives Gruul too much space. As dealing with a full board is quite complicated, the best out is to try to play Murmuring Mystic or Kenku Artificer as fast as possible. You should also fill the board with blockers as you remove what you can from the enemy board.

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In a metagame dominated by aggro decks, Jeskai Ephemerate is an excellent option that can stand out among other midrange and control decks and perform really well. It is still a great deck that, with the right game plan, can compete against the best archetypes in the format.

What about you? What did you think of this list? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!