Over the past four weeks something amazing has happened in Pauper. For the first time in as long as I can remember each week had a different deck as the post popular 5-0. Delver, Affinity, Kuldotha Tokens, and Dimir Flicker have topped the standings over the past month. While some of these are more popular others — Dimir Flicker has only just now topped 3% of the total undefeated metagame — the shift seems to indicate a fluid and dynamic metagame.

Dimir Flicker ? Pauper | In2theriver, 5-0 Pauper League

• Creatures (14)
• 2 Archaeomancer
• 4 Chittering Rats
• 4 Mulldrifter
• 4 Sea Gate Oracle

• Instants (14)
• 1 Echoing Decay
• 1 Exclude
• 1 Reaping the Graves
• 2 Disfigure
• 2 Ghostly Flicker
• 3 Doom Blade
• 4 Counterspell

• Sorceries (9)
• 1 Unearth
• 4 Chainer's Edict
• 4 Preordain

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Dead Weight

• Lands (22)
• 5 Swamp
• 6 Island
• 1 Barren Moor
• 1 Lonely Sandbar
• 1 Radiant Fountain
• 4 Dimir Aqueduct
• 4 Dismal Backwater

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Aura Flux
• 1 Dispel
• 4 Hydroblast
• 2 Relic of Progenitus
• 3 Shrivel
• 3 Stormbound Geist

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These shifts are a far cry from previous seasons where Delver or (more recently) Peregrine Drake decks were basically a lock to sit atop the scrum. While familiar for other formats it is a relatively new phenomena in Pauper. In the past one could simply run the same deck every week and expect a reasonable amount of success. Set releases would often introduce a new wrinkle or two but eventually the landscape would settle and the old favorites would rise back to the top. The returns are still early but this no longer looks to be the way of things.

As a case study let’s examine Stompy. Stompy has been one of the premier aggressive strategies in Pauper for much of the past year. It is one of Pauper’s Red Decks in that it runs cards with a high damage to cost ratio and relentlessly assails life totals. Replace Rancor with Hammer of Bogardan and Vines of Vastwood with Fireblast and it looks a lot like a Tempest era Sligh deck.

Stompy ? Pauper | Double Vision, 5-0 Pauper League

• Creatures (27)
• 1 Shinen of Life's Roar
• 2 River Boa
• 2 Silhana Ledgewalker
• 3 Skarrgan Pit-Skulk
• 3 Vault Skirge
• 4 Nest Invader
• 4 Nettle Sentinel
• 4 Quirion Ranger
• 4 Young Wolf

• Instants (13)
• 2 Mutagenic Growth
• 3 Hunger of the Howlpack
• 4 Groundswell
• 4 Vines of Vastwood

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Rancor

• Lands (16)
• 16 Forest

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Epic Confrontation
• 4 Gleeful Sabotage
• 2 Gut Shot
• 2 Natural State
• 4 Scattershot Archer

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Stompy has thrived due in part to its raw power but also because it is able to run threats that resist commonly played removal. Lightning Bolt and Chainer's Edict have been abundant in recent months and, between pump spells and Young Wolf, Stompy came prepared. The rise of Kuldotha Tokens and the lack of Peregrine Drake has given rise to the relevance of another removal spell which has helped to mitigate the efficacy of Stompy’s assault.

Journey to Nowhere can handle everything out of Stompy aside from a Silhana Ledgewalker. The Zendikar staple represents the third corner of a removal triangle that helps to define Pauper. While White is sometimes maligned as the worst color in Pauper the evidence seems to suggest otherwise as Journey to Nowhere serves as an important safety valve in the format, as do Chainer's Edict and Lightning Bolt.

These three spells represent the removal triangle of Pauper. They are representative of their respective colors and styles of play. In my experience at any given time Pauper is defined in part by which two are strong and which one is weak. To better explain my point let us take a look at the different spells and their support.

Lightning Bolt

Yet even though I believe Lightning Bolt defines Red removal the best kill spell in Red’s arsenal may just be Flame Slash. While limited as a sorcery it hits more threats including Spire Golem, Myr Enforcer, and Carapace Forger. The downside is that Flame Slash is unable to be aimed directly at a life total. It also struggles against threats outside the range so Gurmag Angler, Gearseeker Serpent, and Fangren Marauder easily survive the flames. Lightning Bolt and its ilk are best suited for decks that want to use all modes while Flame Slash is suited for decks that want to determine board position.

Red has access to a few other potent sweepers. Swirling Sandstorm takes some effort to set up but can take out every non-Serpent, non-Crusher commonly played ground pounder. The aforementioned Electrickery occasionally sees maindeck play in aggro heavy environments. Martyr of Ashes has seen play at various points in Pauper’s history while Krark-Clan Shaman finds its way into the sideboards of Affinity with some regularity.

Red removal thrives in known metagames. Cards like Lightning Bolt are never bad since they can also reduce a life total but a card like Flame Slash is going to look mighty silly if Stormbound Geists and Gurmag Anglers are everywhere. Similarly Red removal tends to shine at times when the format trends aggressive as its can help to both end the game and protect a life total, often at instant speed. The low cost of Red spells also makes them prime candidates for times when the format wants to go wide with smaller threats as it is very easy to double up on removal spells during the developing stages of play. Firebolt’s value goes up as the length of game goes down.

Despite being stronger when the field of battle is established there are still times when relying on Red spells is wrong. When the threats are too large or too resilient it is time to look for something that doesn’t deal with fire, bolts, or lightning. In metagames where there are strong defensive decks Red removal is less attractive as these builds can often turn off the “kill your opponent” mode on many Red spells. Regardless of Swirling Sandstorm, when decks try to go wide with creatures larger than X/1s, Red’s board wipes fall short.

Chainer’s Edict

Black also has a plenty of Doom Blades. Cheap targeted removal, often with a restriction, these spells are perfect for when you need to reach out and slay something. Victim of Night sees more play than Doom Blade despite the mana cost. Snuff Out can cost nothing besides some life and catch opponent’s unprepared. Ghastly Demise has become increasingly popular with decks that maintain a large graveyard. The final point-and-click spell has fallen out of favor but Oubliette was once standard. The ability to remove almost any creature while also nabbing a pesky Rancor, all while fueling Devotion for Gray Merchant of Asphodel, made the Enchantment a strong contender. As Mono-Black Control has needed to lower its curve the old time Oblivion Ring has found itself in exile.

Headlined by Crypt Rats, Black has access to the best sweepers in Pauper. Crypt Rats scales as the game goes long and can double as a Black Fireball. It has the advantage of being a viable Unearth target making it a solid choice for metagames with a variety of threats. Its ability can be stacked such that the Rats can take out creatures with Undying or Persist unlike other cards on this list. Pestilence is similar to Rats but can be harder to keep on the table unless paired with a sufficiently tough creature. Evincar's Justice acts as both a turn four sweeper and a win condition late. Echoing Decay can take out a small threat or an army of tokens while Shrivel, Nausea, Festercreep, and Wail of the Nim are best suited for dealing with the second half of that equation.

The right time for Black removal is when a deck wants to be jam packed with the stuff. Black removal plays very well with itself, such as with Chainer's Edict setting up a Tragic Slip or a Crypt Rats setting up a Chainer's Edict. Black’s cheaper removal spells can’t hold a candle to Red’s and as such the color is better set up to control the board from the middle of the game on. This can prove problematic as many of Black’s best threats also want to be deployed in the middle of the game. As metagames shift to place emphasis on going wide in the first few turns, Black starts to struggle. While cards like Evincar's Justice can do good work in stalling board development it does so at the cost of some life which can be fatal given an adversary with an abundance of reach. Black is also worse than Red when its removal does not line up. A Lightning Bolt facing off against a Young Wolf is far from ideal but the Lightning Bolt also represents part of a win condition. Chainer's Edict in the same situation fares far worse. Grasp of Darkness is great when Gray Merchant of Asphodel is commonplace but what happens if that target is Gurmag Angler? Black decks need to constantly evolve their removal to keep up and being even a spell off can prove disastrous.

Journey to Nowhere

White’s restricted removal is just that — restricted. Sunlance sees heavy play when there are fewer White decks running around while Celestial Flare can fill a similar role as Diabolic Edict against decks with singular large threats (although it is rather bad against an Ulamog's Crusher). Last Breath has seen occasional play but the drawback can be the difference between winning and losing. Angelic Purge is similar to Oblivion Ring but requires a spare permanent often slowing it down by at least a turn.

Combat based removal has seen minimal play in Pauper but deserves a mention. Searing Light, Righteous Blow, Gideon's Reproach, and Exile are all costed reasonably. What keeps them down is that they simply have too many conditions.

So with all this then, why should one run White removal? It fits the sweet spot between Black and Red. Whereas Black is better late and Red early, White removal has similar applications throughout the course of a game — Journey to Nowhere is always good. The ability to draw a removal spell and always have it perform the intended task is vitally important. Spells are selected to do fulfill a function and Black and Red removal can find themselves useless at times. Journey to Nowhere and Oblivion Ring will also perform their intended task, for a time.

Pauper is starting to experience a shifting metagame. Being able to correctly predict the threats that are likely to emerge in a given league run can give you a significant advantage. Knowing when to run your Lightning Bolts over Chainer's Edict can give you a serious edge. Understanding when to cut Red or Black for White may be the difference between winning and losing.