But that is next week. Today I want to talk about why you (yes you) should be playing Pauper.

For those unfamiliar, Pauper is a competitive format that utilizes only cards printed at common. Officially recognized on Magic Online, the official legality list matches the card set from the digital platform which means cards like Chainer's Edict, Battle Screech, and Beetleback Chief are all legal while High Tide, Goblin Grenade, and Hymn to Tourach are not. For a large format, the banned list is relatively small: Cloud of Faeries, Cloudpost, Cranial Plating, Empty the Warrens, Frantic Search, Grapeshot, Invigorate, Peregrine Drake, Temporal Fissure, and Treasure Cruise. That’s it. Load up the program and filter for commons and you have a bevy of options. This is perhaps the best selling point of Pauper — it’s accessibility.

Let’s be real for a moment: Magic is an expensive hobby. While there are many ways to play the game, it takes a serious investment of both time and money if one wants to compete at the highest level. Some people enjoy the competitive aspect of Magic but are limited in their ability to constantly afford the most important cards. Non-Rotating formats are great for these players as you can stick to an established deck that may be viable for years rather than months. Often times the amount of money required to keep up with these formats is a pittance compared to Standard. Pauper is a pittance on a pittance and once a player buys into the format a collection can be maintained for mere dollars from every new set. Again, while everyone’s budget for Magic is different and set by circumstances of that individual’s life, in the grand scheme of things Pauper requires far less financial investment than other competitive options, online or otherwise.

Pauper is also a format the rewards playing in the margins of games. Back in Mirrodin era Standard, Arcbound Ravager was referred to as the Fairy Godmother due to its ability to wallpaper over bad play by being so obscenely powerful. While Pauper does have cards that can spackle over mistakes — Ancestral Mask, Fling, Galvanic Blast, Mulldrifter — even these only go so far. Pauper rewards tight play and planning ahead like all competitive forms of Magic. However I have found the margins in Pauper to be so razor thin and the Fairy Godmothers to be of such a low power level that playing optimally takes on even more weight.

Pauper also removes Planeswalkers from the equation. Planeswalkers add a layer of complexity to any board and the ability to learn the ins and outs of Magic without having to understand whether or not it is correct to assail a life total or a permanent can be a boon. Once a player can understand what matters in a given archetype matchup then they can start to consider when it is right to attack a ‘Walker. Pauper provides an on ramp to more intricate and complicated forms of play.

Another hypothetical: the player with Nivix Cyclops has just cast Gush — how are you winning this game?

Despite there not being a ton of cards that can make up for mistakes, Pauper can be incredibly powerful. Cards that are not legal in other formats are allowed here as four-ofs. Ponder, Preordain, all six Artifact Lands, and even Gush are all fair game. More than that, for the most part these cards are all relatively fair in the format. An argument can be made that Ponder is a hair too good for Pauper but when the cards you are digging for are all of a similar power level it is less likely that Ponder is going to break anything. This is a Good Thing for people who like playing with powerful cards and strategies. You are just as likely to die to Fireblast as you are to Rancor as you are to the assembled Urza Tron in Pauper. Relying on commons does not make this any less Magic.

In the same way deck-building is rewarded. Pauper current has the best mana fixing in its entire history between the Khans of Tarkir Gain Lands, the original Ravnica Block Bouncelands, Terramorphic Expanse, Evolving Wilds, and newcomer Ash Barrens. Knowing how to correctly build your mana base is important and selecting the right cards for the job goes a long way toward victory. Again this is not a skill unique to Pauper but given the restrictions of a Pauper mana base assembling the proper configuration is no easy task.

Pauper is Magic with only commons. That is not only the allure but also the guiding principle of the format. To me this is what Pauper should be and it always frustrates me to see those who play the format obsess over what the format lacks. To be great Pauper does not need better mana or better sweepers. It does not need better removal spells or Planeswalkers. What Pauper needs to be great is simple: more players. Pauper needs more eyes and minds working to explore the format. Pauper needs more content creators to show off the format at a high level. Pauper can be so much more if it just had more.

Why should you play Pauper? You have to find your own reason. I got involved in the format because I wanted to exercise my Spike muscles without breaking my college student budget. I fell in love with the depth of the format but also the amount of unexplored space. I stayed enamored because I found a community of players who all wanted to strive to improve. I love Pauper for what it is but also what it can be in the wider world of our collective game. I cannot tell you why you should play my favorite format but I hope that I have given you a reason to give it a look.