The Princes of Pauper

Rich reports on his Top 8 appearance in NYC's Season 6 invitational with WallsSpy while the Dark Prince gives expert input on the construction of the deck, which deck he would've played, and the overall state of the meta.

If you're reading this, you already know what this podcast is (mostly) about. But who are the winners (and sadly losers) with the coming of cards like Vandalblast and Baleful Strix? The Princes have opinions. Boy do they have opinions on this one...

Join Rich and Mike for a Tuesday night League at Hex and Company! Kinda sorta a live tournament report. The Princes both play Mike's 20-land Mono-Red deck but also talk about 2x Eternal World Champion Roland Chang's different (and beautifully foiled Mono-Blue deck) and say goodbye to League stalwart Sophia Han.

"Include your Madness list so we don't get yelled at." -Rich "Okay." -Mike // 4 Faithless Looting 4 Lava Dart 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Grab the Prize 4 Sazacap's Brew 4 Kessig Flamebreather 4 Sneaky Snacker 4 Guttersnipe 4 Fiery Temper 4 Fireblast 20 Mountain sideboard: 2 End the Festivities 4 Pyroblast 1 Red Elemental Blast 4 Cast Into the Fire 4 Searing Blaze

Rich is joined by Will Lupica for a deep dive on his vaunted Gruul Tokens deck that went undefeated in the Paupergenesis Swiss.   Decklist: https://mtgdecks.net/Pauper/gruul-tokens-decklist-by-willlupi-3020142  

Rich and Mike are back from the inaugural PauperGenesis and have lots of fun stories (and some Pauper strategy) to share. For example Mike's prophetic Smokestack [not legal in Pauper] dream, that nevertheless was the talk of the tournament. How to correctly sideboard in Mono-Red Madness. What cards to side out in Walls Spy. Whether Rich is going to League later today (spoilers, the Mayor said not to). And. So. Much. More.

Remember that time the Princes got specifically Hawkeye's Bow banned in Pauper? Yeah, well... Neither do we. See you at PauperGenesis!

In case you've been living under The Rock, there is a new weapon from Marvel Super Heroes that threatens to warp the Pauper format. This episode starts with Mike and Rich talking about some of the different Hawkeye's Bow decks but then descends into an issue of What If? regarding the upcoming PauperGenesis. PauperGenesis in just a couple of weeks is going to be the largest Pauper event ever outside of Italy. The Princes believe that at its best an event like this (co-organized by our own Jenn the Judge mind you) can help recreate what Jenn has done so lovingly in New York City... But maybe not if Hawkeye's Bow is legal.  Ideally you'd want to see the breadth of the Pauper format, a battle between Terrors and Guttersnipes; or a cool new combo deck like Ruby Storm that comes completely out of left field. Pauper has mid-range. Pauper has pure aggro. Pauper has Mono-Blue with only four hard counters... For newcomers to buy into what makes Pauper so great, we believe we want to see that in action at the top tables and the Top 8... Not just a splashy new combo that is about to get banned. Hawkeye's Bow has already won 100% of the MTGO Challenges that have occurred since the card has become legal, and the Princes outline at least 3-4 different takes on building it in just this episode, a mere two days since it's become legal in paper. Our conclusion? Our plea? Ban Hawkeye's Bow before PauperGenesis. Thanks!

Mike is reminded by his old Star City broadcasts partner Joey Pasco that a Mono-Red Madness primer was promised way back in the first episode of The Princes of Pauper! So our Princes go down the road of one of their favorite decks. It's all Guttersnipes and Fireblasts in this one. Is Voldaren Epicure the weakest card? How do you contend with combo? Find out in The Mono-Red Madness Deep Dive! Here's a link to Mike's most recent list: https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/michaelflores-04022026-revisiting-my-pauper-burn-deck

Mike and his triad are victorious in Hex and Co's Team Trios Event! Mike played Walls Spy so the Princes put their heads together and deep dive on a deck they both know and love. Mike also takes a little foray into goldfishing Ruby Storm, which he has only played one game of (but HAS watched Jon Finkel goldfish)! Mike's Spy article on Coolstuff: https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/michaelflores-04102026-a-deep-dive-on-pauper-walls-spy Rich's Spy List: https://moxfield.com/decks/zDlcEVO4NEa2UUn7_9BwvA Mike's Ruby Storm List: https://www.instagram.com/p/DYAHW2xgLBo/