Back on September 4th, Wizards made the shocking decision to retroactively change the legality of a handful of downshifted Zeta cards. As a result, 10 cards were added to the Pauper format, and we’ve already seen a major shift in the Pauper metagame. Even though their legality hasn’t changed on Magic Online yet, numerous paper tournaments show these cards are having a big impact.
MTG Baleful Strix
Unsurprisingly, Baleful Strix
Baleful StrixFlying, deathtouch
When this creature enters, draw a card. has seen a lot of play right out of the gate. The card functions as an incredible two-for-one, drawing a card and trading with either a removal spell or a creature. It shines especially bright against Mono-Blue Terror, which relies on hitting with big creatures and plays little in the way of removal.
This upside alone was enough to encourage players to brew around it even with no other synergies, as indicated by the emergence of Dimir Control. This archetype made top 4 and top 8 of a 109-player tournament yesterday, using removal and counterspells to keep opponents off-balance. Baleful Strix supports both game plans, even helping to fight over the Monarch.
Baleful Strix’s impact only grows in other archetypes that get more mileage out of its triggered ability and card types. This creature’s artifact nature, for example, has made it an Esper Affinity staple, serving as an early play that reduces the cost of Thoughtcast and Utrom Monitor. It also pairs perfectly with Glint Hawk, letting you draw extra cards cheaply.
In a similar vein, Baleful Strix’s evasive, value-generating nature makes it an elite enabler for Ninjas in Dimir Faeries shells. Most Dimir players have simply replaced Augur of Bolas with Baleful Strix, filling the same spot in the curve more effectively. It’s still early, but given how homogenized this card is becoming, it seems very likely that it will ultimately eat a ban rather quickly.
Dispatch
While nowhere near as flexible as Baleful Strix, Dispatch has also played an enormous role in incentivizing Grixis Affinity players to switch to Esper. This makes tons of sense, as Affinity decks have plenty of artifacts to enable this hyper-efficient removal spell quickly.
Digging deeper, though, Dispatch is also starting to appear in a variety of non-Affinity archetypes that are going out of their way to make it reliable. Some players have switched from Jeskai Ephemerate
EphemerateExile target creature you control, then return it to the battlefield under its owner's control.
Rebound (If you cast this spell from your hand, exile it as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast this card from exile without paying its mana cost.) to Esper Ephemerate, for instance, using various Modern Horizons 2 Bridge lands alongside Baleful Strix to set up Metalcraft. In a similar vein, some White Weenie enthusiasts have found success adding Ancient Den to the mix alongside Ornithopter
OrnithopterFlying and the eight “Inspectors” to maximize Dispatch.
Before Dispatch was printed, many white decks relied on more expensive removal like Journey to Nowhere, which is sorcery speed, to boot. Comparatively, it’s hard to overstate how incredible this card is in Pauper, and a ban could be looming here, too.
Cut Down
If you played Cut Down in Standard pre-rotation, you know how nice it is to have cheap removal that can trade up on mana. In Pauper, being able to kill Guttersnipe
GuttersnipeWhenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, this creature deals 2 damage to each opponent., Timberwatch Elf, or Ninja of the Deep Hours for just one mana is quite powerful. In this sense, Cut Down answers more than you might think over the course of the game.
Because of this, many black decks have added this card in small numbers. Dimir Control, Dimir Faeries, and Dimir Terror all fit the mold, utilizing Snuff Out to clean up bigger threats Cut Down couldn’t hit. Currently, Cut Down most commonly replaces a couple copies of Cast Down, letting these black decks interact earlier and more often.
Ultimately, this card isn’t anywhere near as egregious as Baleful Strix or Dispatch and likely won’t be banned, but it should keep making its presence felt in the format.
Vandalblast
With Affinity on the rise, it’s no shock that Vandalblast is emerging as a typical sideboard card. While five mana is a lot to pay, the upside of blowing up all mono-colored artifact lands and artifact threats like Myr Enforcer is quite high. Plus, early in the game, blowing up Great Furnace for one mana to set the opponent back still has plenty of appeal.
Vandalblast shines most in the sideboard of ramp decks like Tron or Gruul Ponza that can reliably reach five mana ahead of schedule. Yet, even in slower red decks like Boros Moxite or Mono-Red Madness, the card is still popping up from time to time.
Admittedly, Vandalblast isn’t really showing up in high numbers like I expected. After all, its inability to answer Bridge lands can be costly, and it’s less versatile than other artifact-hate options like Cast into the Fire. Nonetheless, things could easily change as players adjust to the metagame.
An Offer You Can’t Refuse
Of all the Zeta cards that have started to see Pauper play, An Offer You Can’t Refuse is certainly the hardest to evaluate. On one hand, its efficiency is unmatched, and having a hard counter for noncreature spells in addition to Counterspell is useful. At the same time, though, giving opponents Treasures is a big cost, especially when facing Affinity decks that can trade them in for cards with Reckoner’s Bargain.
Right now, this cheap counterspell has shown up in Dimir Faeries and Esper Affinity sideboards, but its impact is still relatively limited. The card’s overall success will largely depend on how the metagame develops.
Overall, while the format still has room to adapt, there’s no doubt the new Zeta commons are extremely impactful. With a ban announcement scheduled for October 2nd, don’t be shocked if some of these cards earn the hammer immediately.
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