Jackie Chan’s First DeathTouchTrampleStrike
Pauper Budget Combo Deathtouch First strike RG (Gruul) Trample
Creature (18)
Sorcery (4)
Sideboard
Instant (10)
Artifact (1)
Maybeboard
Enchantment (2)
Artifact (1)
Sorcery (1)
Disclaimer
Jackie Chan is far and away my favorite ‘martial arts movie star’, and every time I hear the words “First Strike” in the context of MtG my mind invariably conjures up the legendary ladder fight from Jackie’s movie of the same name.
I designed this Pauper deck to be a simple, inexpensive entry to the format, making use of a plethora of helpful buffs like First Strike, Deathtouch and Trample. It’s straightforward, easy to learn and great for beginners. Sideboard swaps encourage experimentation and a more interactive playstyle for intermediate players.
May you dole out just as much punishment to your foes as Mr. Chan has to his. Ok, maybe not quite that much!
Most everything here is cheap to cast, and the splits are roughly even (skewing slightly more toward ).
•Basic Forests and Mountains have us covered, but the interesting card here is Bleeding Woods. The idea of a dual land entering play untapped in Pauper format is very tantalizing, and depending on the type of deck we’re going up against it’s entirely plausible.
Why snakes? Because many of them have Deathtouch already built in, and having a bunch of cards with the same creature type combos nicely with Crown of Fury.
There isn’t much else to discuss here, other than hitting your drops on curve (but don’t be afraid to plunk down two one-drops instead of one card—aside from Deathtouch none of our snakes do anything fancy; we’re fighting a war of attrition and the more bodies in play usually yields better results. So go ahead and populate the tabletop, showing your opponent why your snake style is better than their white weenie style!
Time for the fun stuff. Deathtouch is a given, but that won’t amount to much if we just end up trading damage with the opponent and both our creatures wind up in our respective graveyards. We need a way to maximize the lethality of Deathtouch, and that way happens to be First Strike.
•Warlord's Fury is a cheap way to temporarily boost our offensive capabilities, and it replaces itself with a draw which is always convenient.
•Sparring Collar is a means to play musical chairs with the keyword ability—it’s cheap to cast/equip, and can be transferred rather painlessly so shift it around as needed.
•Crown of Fury is our ace card. Permanent +1/+0 and First Strike to whatever it’s attached to, but it really shines when sacrificed. We run 99% snakes, so each and every one will also get the buff that turn. Essentially a mobile board wipe in waiting.
Whether the board is relatively clear or not, Trample will help chip away at your opponent’s life pool.
•Barge In buffs one of our slithery friends while granting all the others Trample in the process, and all at instant speed.
•Nylea's Forerunner is both our tank and a permanent Trample enabler. Plop him down and send him on his way!
•Start building a board presence with Deathtouch snakes.
•Once we’ve laid out enough ropes for our opponent to hang themselves, pop in that classic martial arts movie Jackie Chan’s First Strike and attack!
•In the case of stubborn, evasive creatures, Break Glass for Trample power and push that damage right on through.
Lots of options to play around with; feel free to customize to suit your taste.
•Life Goes On for big life gains.
•Natural State for targeted removal.
•Lignify is worth its weight in gold—after all, what use is a 0/4 tree against Deathtouch?
•Tormod's Crypt because Reanimator is a thing.
•Pyroblast is rather pricey, but should be run in nearly all Pauper decks that do more than just splash .
”And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people…died.”
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96% Casual
Competitive
Revision 1 See all
(2 months ago)
| +4 | Barge In | main |
| -4 | Crash Through | main |
| +1 | Horrific Assault | maybe |
| -2 | Life Goes On | side |
| +2 | Tamiyo's Safekeeping | side |
| Top Ranked |
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| Date added | 2 months |
| Last updated | 3 weeks |
| Legality | This deck is Pauper legal. |
| Cards | 60 |
| Avg. CMC | 1.79 |
| Tokens | Treasure |
| Folders | Do You Play Pauper? |
| Votes | |
| Ignored suggestions | |
| Shared with | |
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