Songs of the Darned

Pauper BR (Rakdos) Budget Combo Cycling Pauper Sacrifice

Balaam__

Creature (24)

• 4x Blood Pet
• 4x Death Cultist
• 4x Horror of the Broken Lands
• 4x Lurching Rotbeast
• 4x Monstrous Carabid
• 4x Street Wraith

Instant (12)

• 4x Dark Ritual
• 4x Songs of the Damned
• 4x Village Rites

Land (16)

• 4x Bloodfell Caves
• 12x Swamp

Sorcery (8)

• 4x Bump in the Night
• 4x Consume Spirit

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Sideboard

Sorcery (4)

• 4x Night's Whisper

Creature (4)

• 4x Carrion Feeder

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Maybeboard

Instant (2)

• 1x Deadly Dispute
• 1x Reckoner's Bargain

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Pauper is an appealing format to me for a couple of reasons. The cardpool is both expansive and restrictive at the same time, creating the odd sensation of needing to make every card count while also never feeling too backed into a corner.

Once the deck is finished, nothing beats the thrill of just rubberbanding it together and throwing it in a backpack as you make your way to your LGS. No sleeves, no OCD flare ups about chipped edges, just the knowledge that if a card gets damaged it’s only .25 cents away from replacement. Try viewing a (multi?) thousand dollar EDH deck in the same light.

The Mana Base

• Swamp . 12 of them to be precise. Since the majority of cards will cost a lone to cast/cycle, and as we also have access to other means of mana production, 12 is enough.

•A set of Bloodfell Caves for incidental life gain and access to . This will permit us to cast the Flashback cost of a particular card.

• Dark Ritual is a supplemental source of , allowing for multiple Turn 1 plays. It’s value in the deck cannot be overstated.

• Blood Pet is ready to give its all for when we need an additional . Don’t be afraid to chump block with it only to immediately sacrifice it for its mana.

• Songs of the Damned is an absolute necessity. It can produce many, many times more mana than it costs to cast.

Support Spells

These cards help bind the deck together, filling in the gaps.

• Village Rites will let us draw two cards, with the proclivity that we sacrifice a creature. Since we want creatures in our graveyard, we’re only too happy to oblige.

• Bump in the Night is here to keep the pressure on and the opponent preoccupied. Better to have them waste a Mana Leak on it than on one of our finisher spells. Recast it for its Flashback cost on a subsequent turn. Everyone always forgets about Flashback cards. Remind them.

Bring Out Your Dead

For everything to go according to plan, we need a pile of bodies filling up our graveyard. The quickest, fastest, easiest way to do this in Pauper is through the cycling mechanic. Most of these creatures will never be hardcast, with the few that are meant to detailed below.

• Blood Pet , as mentioned above, is a great Turn 1 play. Even better if he’s part of an opening hand that also holds a Dark Ritual . Whatever the case, cast him for and sacrifice him when ready.

• Death Cultist is another great potential Turn 1 drop. After that, chump block with him to get him into the graveyard.

• Street Wraith can be cycled early on for a modest 2 point hit to your life total, allowing precious mana to be allocated to another source.

• Monstrous Carabid , Horror of the Broken Lands and Lurching Rotbeast are all meant specifically for cycling.

It’s the Sound...of Silence

After only a few turns we ought to be ready to close out the game. We’re looking for a specific sequence of events to have taken shape:

•The graveyard is filled with as many creatures as possible

•We have both Songs of the Damned and Consume Spirit in hand. In an ideal world, you’d be looking at two copies of Songs of the Damned and maybe a Dark Ritual or two, but work with what you’ve got in hand.

Cast Songs of the Damned , filling your mana pool with a bunch of , and then cast Consume Spirit targeting the opponent for a massive death blow.

TL;DR

•Cycle as many creatures as possible

•Cast Songs of the Damned

•Cast Consume Spirit

The Sideboard

Right now the sideboard is rather bare bones. I have a set of Carrion Feeder and Night's Whisper , two cards left over from an earlier draft of this deck. Not sure what else to include, since I haven’t played much Pauper and I’m not familiar with typical sideboard staples for the format. Any suggestions are appreciated.

”In their lamentation they will sing a dirge...”

Top Ranked	Achieved #1 position in Pauper Pauper 3 years ago
Date added	3 years
Last updated	1 year
Legality	This deck is Pauper legal.
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.45
Folders	Pauper, .Pauper