Peregrine Drake combo in pauper.
- Thread starter Suicufnoc
- Start date
Grillo_Parlante
Contributor
Don't you just take the old familar deck and run x4 drakes instead of COF?
I don't think you need it to be the same deck. You no longer need any cost reducers to get infinite mana, so you can run more disruption. I was thinking of brewing something up, or maybe just throwing in the combo into my Acid Trip deck and see what happens. If I ever go deep into it I'll post a list here.
Grillo_Parlante
Contributor
Are you thinking or running it alongside warden of evos isle and mulldrifter?
I could see making a more midrangy flyers list, but not sure that type of deck should be running high tide; or maybe we're just looking for a high tide combo list?
Drake seems potentially much better with that card than COF
I could see making a more midrangy flyers list, but not sure that type of deck should be running high tide; or maybe we're just looking for a high tide combo list?
Drake seems potentially much better with that card than COF
haven't played a single game of pauper, but cavern harpy came to mind instantly, can you do anything with it?
Ok. I have some time free tonight. Let's do some brewing.
First up let's just throw it in some old shells:
A straight swap for Cloud of Faeries in the old version of the deck. I also added a couple more Lone Missionary to help in the vacant 2-drop slot. I can't really see the point of the black splash in this deck any more as the familiars aren't needed due to Flicker Drake netting you mana regardless. Pretty meh. Let's try some current decks using ghostly flicker already.
This is a pretty new deck that has been having some success recently. It already runs Flicker as a value card, so if we take out a Beetleback Chief and a couple of 1-of's we can fit in some Drakes to combo off.
UB control with a combo finish. I like the look of this deck and could be pretty competitive if we fiddle with the numbers.
So that will be enough with trying to cram it in with old decks. It is hard to know what to take out. Also the fact that you want to be running it with Mnemonic Wall and Mulldrifter means that your 5-drop slot is stacked. In pauper this is not where you want to be as you will probably be dead by then. I guess this is why the familiars deck worked alright because it had the early drops to gum up the board AND reduce the costs of your combo.
Mmm... Maybe I didn't have enough time to brew. That took longer than expected to type out those decklists... I'll think of ideas while I am at work and hopefully I can turn them into full decks here later.
First up let's just throw it in some old shells:
Esper Familiars
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A straight swap for Cloud of Faeries in the old version of the deck. I also added a couple more Lone Missionary to help in the vacant 2-drop slot. I can't really see the point of the black splash in this deck any more as the familiars aren't needed due to Flicker Drake netting you mana regardless. Pretty meh. Let's try some current decks using ghostly flicker already.
Kuldotha Grixis
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This is a pretty new deck that has been having some success recently. It already runs Flicker as a value card, so if we take out a Beetleback Chief and a couple of 1-of's we can fit in some Drakes to combo off.
Dimir Teachings
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UB control with a combo finish. I like the look of this deck and could be pretty competitive if we fiddle with the numbers.
Mmm... Maybe I didn't have enough time to brew. That took longer than expected to type out those decklists... I'll think of ideas while I am at work and hopefully I can turn them into full decks here later.
The only time I have ever seen it used is in the combo of 1-land spy. Where it is used to recast Gray Merchant of Asphodel a bunch of times after gaining a bunch of mana off Songs of the Damned. I think it sees no play mainly due to the fact that Kor Skyfisher exists. It means that the Harpy can't get through and the Skyfisher you can play it even if you have no creatures, unlike the Harpy.
Grillo_Parlante
Contributor
This is the harpy list I know of.
Its not very good: the combo pieces are not very good at winning the game individually, and its not very good at sifting to find the combo.
I played against some more traditional familiar lists that were running harpy, and they were ok: harpy does a good job protecting itself. It was more focused on making a massive board and beating down than comboing though, kind of like the simic familiar decks, but not as ramp focused.
The reason you want to run the black in familiar is reaping the graves, which single handily beats all of the midrange and control decks in the format (and why this downshifting is probably bad for the format). Black raise dead effects make the combo very resilient, and reaping the graves it the best of the bunch. You also get nightscape familiar, which reduces the cost of all of those 5cc spells, and blocks while you sift through your deck. Its also possible to run chittering rats as a lock piece.
Familiar always ran an unusually high density of 3+cc spells, which are normally unplayable in pauper. Keep in mind that you were never actually resolving COF anywhere near on curve: it was generally a game ending threat.
Drake means a couple of things:
1. You can't do a mini-mana gush like you used to, as easily.
2. Its harder to respond to removal with snap to protect your untapper.
3. You are more dependent on familiars to go off.
Which makes the deck more clunky, slower, and easier to disrupt.
In return:
1. You get a more difficult to remove threat
2. A threat whose stats are good enough to warp a board around itself.
3. You can either cut the bouncelands or the familiars. (which is a pretty big deal)
Keep in mind that the deck theoretically existed before, since with familiars you can chain snap archeomancer for infinite mana. I just never saw a polished list, and knowing pauper thats probably just a result of it being a casual format with no incentive to brew and polish a deck.
Its not very good: the combo pieces are not very good at winning the game individually, and its not very good at sifting to find the combo.
I played against some more traditional familiar lists that were running harpy, and they were ok: harpy does a good job protecting itself. It was more focused on making a massive board and beating down than comboing though, kind of like the simic familiar decks, but not as ramp focused.
The reason you want to run the black in familiar is reaping the graves, which single handily beats all of the midrange and control decks in the format (and why this downshifting is probably bad for the format). Black raise dead effects make the combo very resilient, and reaping the graves it the best of the bunch. You also get nightscape familiar, which reduces the cost of all of those 5cc spells, and blocks while you sift through your deck. Its also possible to run chittering rats as a lock piece.
Familiar always ran an unusually high density of 3+cc spells, which are normally unplayable in pauper. Keep in mind that you were never actually resolving COF anywhere near on curve: it was generally a game ending threat.
Drake means a couple of things:
1. You can't do a mini-mana gush like you used to, as easily.
2. Its harder to respond to removal with snap to protect your untapper.
3. You are more dependent on familiars to go off.
Which makes the deck more clunky, slower, and easier to disrupt.
In return:
1. You get a more difficult to remove threat
2. A threat whose stats are good enough to warp a board around itself.
3. You can either cut the bouncelands or the familiars. (which is a pretty big deal)
Keep in mind that the deck theoretically existed before, since with familiars you can chain snap archeomancer for infinite mana. I just never saw a polished list, and knowing pauper thats probably just a result of it being a casual format with no incentive to brew and polish a deck.
So Alex Ullman, the most noted author in the Pauper world has written an article with all of the new spoils from EMA. It has 4 different Peregrine Drake lists all of which are pretty rough to start with (heck even the Esper familiars deck is almost the same as I posted above) but they give an idea at how significant this set is in the world of Pauper.
I for one am looking forward to this brave new world.
I for one am looking forward to this brave new world.