It is rather common in Pauper circles to hear people bemoaning Limited due to that formats impact their format of choice. Their opinion is that the current design and development models leave little room for strong commons. Instead the cards that make up the Pauper card pool have to serve the themes of draft instead of the needs of Pauper. Personally I do not subscribe to this line of thought for a few reasons. The first is Pauper is, in some ways, defined by the limits of the rarity to which it is restricted. Second, despite this perception, there is no shortage of strong commons. Sometimes, as is the case with Eldritch Moon, it is due in part to the needs of Limited.

To explore this point let us look at Bloodbriar. While this is an exceedingly simple card in the text box the mere fact it triggers on any of its controller’s sacrifices gives it a high ceiling. In context of Limited this is a lenticular card. It is designed as a bridge between the U/G Clue driven deck from Shadows over Innistrad and Green based Emerge strategies with the addition of Eldritch Moon. The 2/3 stats are decent enough to see play as curve filler in Sealed or Draft and the ability to grow is just gravy. Sam Stoddard discussed this card’s role in Limited in his development recap of the set.

Yet when examined through the context of Pauper’s card pool Bloodbriar is ready to skip the steps and go right for the deep end. Pauper is chock full of cards that self-sacrifice for some benefit and there are plenty others that are very close to seeing play. Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse become slightly more palatable in the late game while Sakura-Tribe Elder starts to look playable once again. Creatures with Echo or Evoke already see play but having a Bloodbriar out with a Mogg War Marshal on deck or a Mulldrifter able to go the Divination route makes their impending sacrifice that much more palatable.

So how can this Limited cog fit into Pauper? Currently I am not entirely sure. There are plenty of decks out there that already attempt to make use of things dying. The first deck that comes to mind is a deck I like to call Goblin Pox.

Goblin Pox? AOKIS | 5-0 Pauper League, July 7 2016

• Creatures (11)
• 1 Goblin Bushwhacker
• 1 Krark-Clan Shaman
• 1 Mogg Raider
• 1 Sparksmith
• 2 Goblin Matron
• 2 Mogg War Marshal
• 3 Gurmag Angler

• Spells (30)
• 1 Terminate
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Crack the Earth
• 4 Kuldotha Rebirth
• 4 Molten Rain
• 1 Warren Weirding
• 4 Chromatic Star
• 4 Ichor Wellspring
• 4 Terrarion

• Lands (19)
• 2 Bloodfell Caves
• 4 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Snow-Covered Swamp
• 8 Snow-Covered Mountain
• 4 Great Furnace

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Krark-Clan Shaman
• 1 Terminate
• 2 Ancient Grudge
• 1 Coat with Venom
• 1 Electrickery
• 1 Gorilla Shaman
• 2 Grotesque Mutation
• 3 Pyroblast
• 2 Relic of Progenitus

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Goblin Pox has only found success with a single pilot, but it does have a smattering of 5-0 finishes over the past few months. The key card is Crack the Earth, as casting it early can absolutely wreck the development of decks relying on specialty lands. Having tested the deck I have found the build to be fragile in that it is reliant on establishing an early Gurmag Angler after stunting the opponent’s growth. It also has the problem of running out of gas in the late game. Black is only touched here for Angler and Terminate main and some Coat with Venom and Grotesque Mutation in the sideboard. I imagine these cards are used in combination with Sparksmith and Krark-Clan Shaman as a way to turn up their abilities, I know I’ve tried pairing Baleful Eidolon with Crypt Rats in the past to middling results and if you Coat the Shaman in Venom, well, you’ve built a Damnation.

That being said, Crack the Earth seems like a natural pairing with Bloodbriar. Green has plenty of early creatures worthy of dying, including Blisterpod and Young Wolf. Nest Invader and Scion Summoner also come with their very own Bloodbriar triggers included while also doubling as ramp elements. Green and Red are also the colors with the best access to land destruction making it easier to follow up a copy of Crack the Earth with a Stone Rain or Reap and Sow.

In the vein of mana denial, Stensia Innkeeper appears to be a very powerful card. One of the biggest problems with a Pauper land destruction deck is that after blowing up lands it would be hard to lay a reasonable threat. While the 3/3 body on Innkeeper is far from the biggest body in the format it is large enough to be a clock. Combined with the fact that it can apply a similar pressure while helping to bridge to a later game where a Bloodbriar can take over and we start to see the marks of a viable card.

Innkeeper does have one major problem at the moment and that is Peregrine Drake. When cast later on in the game the ability to lock down a land may simply not matter as a Peregrine Drake can unlock it for the turn. While this is important to note this is not enough of a deterrent to render Stensia Innkeeper unplayable.

A Bloodbriar powered Crack the Earth deck may look something like this:

R/G Bloodbriar ? Pauper | Alex Ullman

• Creatures (20)
• 2 Scion Summoner
• 3 Mogg War Marshal
• 3 Stensia Innkeeper
• 4 Arbor Elf
• 4 Bloodbriar
• 4 Nest Invader

• Spells (18)
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 2 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
• 4 Crack the Earth
• 4 Stone Rain
• 4 Utopia Sprawl

• Lands (22)
• 7 Mountain
• 9 Forest
• 2 Jund Panorama
• 4 Evolving Wilds

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I am not sure as to the competitive strength of this build, but if Goblin Pox can make it to 5-0 on more than one occasion I believe a deck like this can achieve it as well. Being able to Crack away a Scion or Spawn and leave behind a bigger Briar, while disrupting development, could get out of hand quickly.

Red and Green have another way to power up Bloodbriar. As a top end in an aggressive deck, Bloodbriar does an excellent job of wearing Rancor. Red has plenty of 1-drops eager to pop like Insolent Neonate and Mogg Fanatic. Combined with Green’s aggressive options and Morbid spells like Brimstone Volley, you have the beginnings of a fairly robust beatdown deck.

Bloodbriar Aggro ? Pauper | Alex Ullman

• Creatures (28)
• 4 Basking Rootwalla
• 4 Bloodbriar
• 4 Insolent Neonate
• 4 Keldon Marauders
• 4 Mogg Fanatic
• 4 Skarrgan Pit-Skulk
• 4 Wild Mongrel

• Spells (10)
• 2 Brimstone Volley
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Rancor

• Lands (22)
• 8 Forest
• 8 Mountain
• 2 Terramorphic Expanse
• 4 Evolving Wilds

Buy This Deck

The issue with decks like this in the past is they fail to stack up in the mid-to-late game. Bloodbriar fills that role by being a reasonable card on turn three that only gets stronger as the game goes on. Again it manages to turn late game creatures that would otherwise be lackluster into reasonable business.

Brimstone Volley is not the only spell with Morbid that can work with Bloodbriar. Tragic Slip currently sees plenty of play and happens to be in a color with Wakedancer, a card with a rather high ceiling that has yet to find its footing. Black has plenty of cards that work in concert with Bloodbriar and the fact that many of them assault the hand via discard helps quite a bit in the current environment. Augur of Skulls and Mournwhelk both have self-destruct buttons while Thrull Surgeon requires a bit more setup. Fume Spitter is a standard inclusion in Black decks while Seal of Doom could do some work as a way to grow Bloodbriar while also dealing with pesky creatures that have a habit of cycling in and out of play. Executioner's Capsule has a similar investment in mana as the Seal but it can be spread across multiple turns. All of these different card types are conveniently found by Vessel of Nascency. The Green Impulse impersonator, along with its Black cousin Vessel of Malignity, both will trigger Bloodbriar. Vessel of Malignity also happens to exile cards from the hand which could prove valuable given how important the graveyard is currently. All of these different card types makes Moldgraf Scavenger a reasonable inclusion as well. Stitching it all together is Sakura-Tribe Elder and a few copies of Yavimaya Elder, because sometimes not only to do you want to find lands, you also want to make your threat a bit more imposing.

Bloodbriar Delirium ? Pauper | Alex Ullman

• Creatures (22)
• 2 Wakedancer
• 2 Yavimaya Elder
• 3 Augur of Skulls
• 3 Fume Spitter
• 4 Bloodbriar
• 4 Moldgraf Scavenger
• 4 Sakura-Tribe Elder

• Spells (15)
• 2 Pulse of Murasa
• 2 Snuff Out
• 3 Tragic Slip
• 2 Seal of Doom
• 2 Vessel of Malignity
• 3 Vessel of Nascency
• 1 Executioner's Capsule

• Lands (23)
• 7 Forest
• 7 Swamp
• 1 Jund Panorama
• 4 Evolving Wilds
• 4 Jungle Hollow

Buy This Deck

Eldritch Moon is packed with interesting cards that provide a plenty of potential for Pauper. Even with all of the decks examined today we have barely scratched the surface on Bloodbriar. Just imagine setting it up with the Clues from Thraben Inspector or trying to recycle uses with Otherworldly Outburst or Undying Evil. And, something tells me there are going to be more cards with the word “sacrifice” in the not too distant future. When they get printed, Bloodbriar will be there waiting to feed on their demise. Things can get out of hand quickly. You best be the one in control of the situation.