Pauper - Spoiler Highlights: Red Herring and Extract a Confession

There have been quite a few good cards spoiled in Murders at Karlov Manor (MKM) for Pauper. You can see how they will likely affect Pauper here at Cards Realm: check out Pick Your Poison!

However, today we will look at two surprising cards that may impact the format positively - and no, it's not Thraben Inspector 2.0!

It's a Clue Fish and another Edict!

Red Herring is an interesting card from MKM. Let's see how it will affect the Pauper metagame and whether it can make Mono Red even better.

MKM spoiler season started on January 16th. On January 20th, Wizards spoiled Red Herring on their Instagram!

Red Herring can be a staple in multiple decks because it provides access to something really unique. It is a Haste threat that is an artifact, and, when it has provided its value or is outclassed, you can simply trade it in for another card.

Let's dive into specific decks to see how it can affect existing Pauper decks.

Mono Red

The fact this card is an aggressively costed 2 mana artifact creature with Haste is nothing to underestimate.

Dealing damage early in is critical because you can really punish the opponent for having a slow start. A lot of Kuldotha’s damage comes from turning your creatures sideways. Red Herring significantly helps with this, and adding another Haste threat to the mix isn’t a bad thing, especially if you are already clearing the opponent's board for Goblin Tomb Raider to come in later.

This card also increases this deck's artifact count, which means Galvanic Blast is, potentially, more of a mainstay option for these decks.

Other versions have begun to play cards like Mutagenic Growth to enable your Goblin tokens, and Goblin Tomb Raider and Voldaren Epicure to go through annoying 3 toughness cards, like Dawnbringer Cleric and Augur of Bolas. Unfortunately, Red Herring can’t trade through these cards, but it can try to overwhelm the opponent with all the Goblin Tokens.

The last interaction which really makes it interesting to me are the decks have been playing Seal of Fire lately due to how it can help activate Goblin Blast-Runner. Red Herring can be used for this too, and we can trade it in for a card and activate Goblin Blast-Runner's effect to ensure you can get even more damage through.

These are two Red lists I think can maximize Red Herring's potential:

Jeskai / Boros Glitters

Glitters decks are another strategy that may find this more useful, especially in Boros builds.

A pilot on Magic Online called ZAAAAMU has had recent success with a Boros list that uses Goblin Tomb Raider and Wedding Invitation.

I can see Red Herring playing a solid role in a deck similar to this because of the aggressive stance of this build. It increases the reward for having so much removal and clearing the way for both Tomb Raider and Herring. Finally, it is an artifact that will make your All that Glitters better.

I’d like to try it in Jeskai Glitters too, but there are so many great options already that adding another to this list doesn’t help.

However, Boros Glitters has a lot more flexibility and many ways to be built.

I would try something like this to start with:

This allows you to lean into Myr Enforcer and along with the early aggression from Goblin Tomb Raider.

Izzet Affinity

This may be a bit of a wild brew, but I'm really trying to lean into the early aggression of Goblin Tomb Raider and Red Herring, along with the backup of Myr Enforcer and other large Affinity creatures.

Extract is a simple card and another elegant sacrifice added to this format just after the addition of Tithing Blade.

This card is a little different as it does focus on sacrificing somewhat, so you can use it to control what the opponent sacrifices.

By Collecting Evidence and exiling six total mana value worth, you can ensure the opponent sacrifices their most powerful creature.

This can be really useful against Tolarian Terror decks, Bogles and All That Glitters.

There are great ways you can use this card, but it isn’t perfect. As it is a sorcery, this generally means that, for a deck like Bogles or Glitters decks, you have usually taken a full attack before you are using Extract a Confession on the threat in question.

The main use I really like about this card is how it avoids hate, similar to Sheoldred’s Edict in Legacy, and how it avoids other creatures when Marit Lage is in play. It avoids cards like Cartouche of Solidarity out of Bogles and Ornithopter in Glitters decks, and still forces them to sacrifice the creature that is suited up.

In terms of being good against Terror decks, I like that it can avoid the irritating creatures like Augur of Bolas and Fallaji Archaeologist. It even avoids sideboard hate like Rotten Reunion.

Dimir Terror

I think this card can really shine in this deck's sideboard because there are so many decks that it is useful against! Being able to Collect Evidence really early is crucial, and Lorien Revealed and one of your one mana cantrip enables Extract a Confession effortlessly!

Golgari Gardens

This is a deck in which enabling Extract takes no effort, especially when you Cycle Troll of Khazad-dum. This can be active as early as turn two. But there are other cards in the decks that enable it effortlessly, like Spinning Darkness.

Both of these cards appear to have a way to make it into the Pauper Metagame, and really bolster these strong decks!

I look forward to seeing how they are used.

Until then, happy brewing!