Pauper EDH (pEDH)
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Nov. 23, 2016, 2:58 a.m. by iBleedPunk
Hey all. I am thinking about making a Pauper EDH deck and am looking for any tips on deckbuilding, manabases, any advice on the subject in general, or recollections of experiences while playing Pauper EDH.
So I know that in Pauper EDH you use an Uncommon Creature as the "commander" with the rest of the deck following color identity and I think my friend said something about 30 starting life rather than 40. I apologize for my ignorance on the topic, I just decided off an impulse to try it out..
- Golgari
Shaman of the Pack: It should be a simple concept. Flood out as many Elf creatures then drop Shaman to chip off some decent life from an opponent.
- Selesnya
Dryad Militant: I dont know if GY hate needs to be (or is) a thing in pEDH but using the Miltant sure hates on Instants and Sorcery slinger decks.
- Dimir
Diregraf Captain: Obviously the deck would become a Tribal Zombie deck, boarding up as many possible Zombies to apply pressure. The added bonus of life loss when his fellow Zombies die under his reign is a-oh-kay by me.
and/or
Inkfathom Witch: As much as I hate to see the (2UB: unblocked creatures become base P/T 4/1) on a Dimir colored card I will admit it has me wanting to try it even more. It would be tricky but its time to live the dream folks.
- Izzet
Izzet Guildmage: I think I am going to love this guy leading a Countermagic/Burn deck. It would definitely add some much needed diversity to the line up of decks I am going to build.
and/or
Spellheart Chimera: This would be a more proactive approach to the line ups Izzet deck, playing marginally more interactive games than Guildmage would. I like this route but as I have said before I can make both lists and try them out.
- Azorius
Ascended Lawmage: Upon doing research for pEDH info multiple forums constantly referenced to the Lawmage due to her Flying/Hexproof body. This type of "commander" is very well placed to lead a Voltron strategy, doling out mass amounts of pain with either a menagerie of Aura buffs or attached Equipment.
- Rakdos
Kulrath Knight: I saw this guy and an avalanche of dirty tricks ran through my mind. Playing this guy leading a -1/-1 centric, Aggro style deck would be fun in my opinion. That and I am curious to see how he would interact with other decks that try to power through with creatures.
- Gruul
Tattermunge Maniac: The main attraction I had to this guy as the Gruul "commander" was he is a T1 play that must attack each turn. An obvious Aggro "commander", I would love to hear any opinions of other possible Gruul Uncommons to lead the deck as well.
- Esper
Sludge Strider: This would basically end up as an Artifact filled Drain 'n Gain deck in one of my favorite color combinations. I find myself slightly excited to see what could happen with this build.
- 5C
Fusion Elemental: Goodstuff with a splash of beautiful 8/8, nuff said..
These are all just first thoughts, still missing some color combinations. I DO NOT want to delve into mono colored "commanders" for pEDH unless the Uncommon creature is worth the loss of color options. Thanks in advance for any help
Edit: If anyone would like to collaborate on one or some of these decklists, we can get in touch over Facebook or over PM here on T/O
It is not really an official format by any means. You can adjust starting lifetotals and even deck sizes - my group plays with 50 card decks and 30 life.
There is a list of Pedh generals on this site somewhere. I would suggest avoiding everything that says hexproof on the general. Lawmage with Steel of the Godhead is incredibly uninteractive and ends games easily.
I played an izzet spells-matter deck with Fluxcharger and the helm and pretty much every flashback and rebound spell. My friends had decks with Noxious Ghoul Zombie tribal, boros agro with Sunhome Guildmage tokens, voltron Lorescale Coatl with counterspells and pump and draw, Ruthless Deathfang control...
November 23, 2016 3:22 a.m.
libraryjoy says... #4
We just did a bit with Pauper EDH in my playgroup. I built Paragon of the Amesha, Drove of Elves (which could also be helmed by Jagged-Scar Archers or Wolf-Skull Shaman, Guttersnipe (stuffed every burn spell I had in there) and counters with Enduring Scalelord was crazy fun. At the table we also had Uncle Istvan voltron and the winner was Trostani's Summoner ramp & populate. The summoner kept dying and being recast.
Pauper Commander Enduring Scalelord
November 23, 2016 11:24 a.m.
libraryjoy says... #5
Also, for Gruul, I would love to see a Savage Ventmaw Pauper EDH deck.
November 23, 2016 11:27 a.m.
My Fusion Elemental deck eventually became a five color good-stuff deck. I originally went with the Alara cycle of three color commons that get a boost from having other multi colored creatures. Since I took those out I have the Worldheart Phoenix as my alternate. Being able to dodge the commander tax by casting it from my graveyard is disgusting.
There are a bunch of other great generals from Alara. The Lorescale Coatl can get pretty nasty, (g)(u) gives you both ramp and draw, even better the draw grows your general. The Scarland Thrinax is my favorite Jund PDH general. Sigil Captain is another fun one, getting value out of 1/1 creatures. Plus you have the nasty combo of Midnight Guard and Presence of Gond.
The one thing I have found as a issue in PDH is the lack of wraths, when someone's board state get's out of hand it can be very hard to stop them.
enpc says... #2
Kulrath Knight can apparently be quite gross. When our play group "went through that phase" of somebody wanting to play pEDH we all gave it a crack. As far as Commanders go, either Paragon of the Amesha or Dragonsoul Knight are both really good. Not only do they open you up to all 5 colours, but they both come with a really solid mana sink that provides evasion.
If you wanted to play G/R though, Bloodbraid Elf is the way to go.
November 23, 2016 3:21 a.m.