Creature (16)
Sorcery (8)
Instant (12)
Sideboard
Here’s a simple build based off an old classic interaction. Cheap and effective, with enough utility spells to protect your assets and keep things interesting.
Pauper doesn’t have all that many fancy lands that offer utility or surprise trickery to take advantage of, so aside from Lakeside Shack potentially functioning as a no-strings-attached dual land it’s just basic Forests and Islands as far as the eye can see. The splits are roughly equivalent.
Pauper has most of the useful tools that permit us to shield key cards already in play while we hunt down remaining combo pieces.
•Brainstorm and Ponder sift through what could be dead draws in favor of perfect answers.
•Spell Pierce and Counterspell fizzle dangerous spells the opponent hurls our way. Most of our creatures are capable blockers in the early game and end up being somewhat expendable, so don’t be afraid to sacrifice one to combat damage rather than squander a counter spell that might prove invaluable at a later junction.
There are essentially only two different permanents that we absolutely require to win, namely Axebane Guardian and Freed from the Real. It should be mentioned the latter is technically not necessary for the win, it only simplifies the path to victory.
In short, protect Axebane Guardian at all costs.
This is a well known combo, so there’s no need to tiptoe around it. We intend to have enough creatures with Defender in play so that Axebane Guardian can generate a boatload of mana to pump into a kill spell.
Choosing the right amount of the right walls proved trickier than I thought. Creatures with Defender have a surprising amount of variety when it comes to secondary abilities. In the end I settled on very cheap to cast wall-type creatures to ensure maximum battlefield presence for mana production. This may not be the best call so nothing is set in stone until I get more games under my belt and feel how things are shaping up. Consider this a placeholder set of creatures analogous to whatever the final draft picks end up being.
We need enough of these creatures so that if Freed from the Real doesn’t see play we can still pull the combo off, so 12 felt reasonable.
•Steel Wall is heavy defense in Turns 1-2, guaranteed to be cast because it isn’t fussy about color.
•Overgrown Battlement gives us just enough of a mana boost to potentially speed up our strategy, depending on how many pieces we have in hand. Also blocks like a champ at 0/4.
•Crashing Drawbridge is technically part of the combo engine, but makes for a nice blockade in and of itself. Since Axebane Guardian suffers from acute summoning sickness, the Drawbridge can circumvent this if cast the previous turn. Ergo, Axeman will be ready to immediately pop off and close out the game once he hits the table.
Remember folks, adding Freed from the Real into the equation means you can go infinite and end the game pretty much on the spot. If that sounds unsportsmanlike, there’s good news: it isn’t mandatory. Popping off with a couple smaller bursts over a turn or two is still lethal enough, and the 4x slots Freed from the Real occupied could be utilized in other useful ways. Simply remove the Enchantment and you’re good to go for a nice game of fair Magic.
A substantial amount of mana can be used in a multitude of ways, but I opted for the kill spell approach. The cards are off color but won’t be an issue as The Axeman produces more flavors than Baskin Robbin’s. Simply dump it all into either Soul Burn or Kaervek's Torch for an auto kill.
The Torch has the slight advantage of being more difficult to counter, requiring an extra mana as a tax.
Soul Burn on the other hand can bestow a golden shower of life points upon our upturned faces; handy when we either haven’t had the opportunity to play Freed from the Real, or you’ve opted out of the infinite combo ideology for a more sportsmanlike win. It’ll recoup a hefty chunk of lost life, buying time until the next onslaught begins.
•Populate the board with cheap to cast Defender creatures.
•Sift through your library to locate both Axebane Guardian and Freed from the Real.
•Mooch mana from your Defender creatures with Axebane Guardian, and on the turn he enters play with permission from Crashing Drawbridge.
•If you’re so inclined, repeat the above process courtesy of Freed from the Real until you’ve amassed enough mana of the appropriate color(s) to funnel into either kill spell, Soul Burn or Kaervek's Torch.
Instead of the usual toolbag to deal with unexpected threats, I went with a different approach. Swap out Freed from the Real, Soul Burn and Kaervek's Torch in favor of 4x Vines of Vastwood, Fling and Glyph of Destruction. Deck functions on the same premise but with a fortified wall now hurled at the opponent’s face.
“For their Defender is strong; He will take up their cause against you.”
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98% Casual
Competitive
| Date added | 3 weeks |
| Last updated | 16 hours |
| Legality | This deck is Pauper legal. |
| Cards | 60 |
| Avg. CMC | 1.80 |
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