Pauper: Boros Metalcraft - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

The search for a successor to Kuldotha Red continues. Red lists with Kessig Flamebreather have become the benchmark for aggressive Experimental Synthesizer decks in Pauper and have shown the most consistent results, but other strategies are emerging in Leagues to expand the card's potential.

In this article, we analyze one of these new decks with Boros Metalcraft, a classic Pauper archetype that now takes advantage of recent releases such as Clockwork Percussionist and Goblin Tomb Raider to gain a more consistent and aggressive clock while extracting value from the interaction between Glint Hawk and Experimental Synthesizer.

This is a standard list for Boros Metalcraft today and one of the reasons we're trying this archetype now is the importance of having cheap and aggressive drops in an artifact shell without relying exclusively on Goblin Bushwhacker to increase damage in the go wide plan and not trying to go too go big with Myr Enforcer — besides, unlike the versions with Kor Skyfisher and a more Midrange plan, we can beat Big Mana through efficient beatdown if necessary.

Maindeck

The combination of Clockwork Percussionist with Goblin Tomb Raider is well known among Pauper's red Aggro, and we complement this line with Ardent Recruit and Novice Inspector.

We can swap Novice Inspector for Voldaren Epicure to ensure a bit more range in the topdeck, but the Clue token tends to be more relevant than the Blood in these longer games, and Inspector survives with a Barbed Batterfist equipped on it.

The Glint Hawk package with Experimental Synthesizer provides more breathing room in the game and has a “similar” effect to Kuldotha Rebirth in terms of clock, exchanging one power for an extra exiled card for each interaction.

Barbed Batterfist can also be reused with Glint Hawk to create more tokens on the board, and its low equip cost increases the clock of our creatures. One of its favorite targets is Auriok Sunchaser, whose Metalcraft-enabled body is very resilient and offers a fast clock with Burn spells.

A common play in this list is to cast Glint Hawk to reuse your lands, especially to play two-drops.

With a more aggressive stance, it's only natural to increase the number of burn spells in the maindeck.

Lightning Bolt and Galvanic Blast are the classic combination that have made their way from traditional Burn lists to Rakdos Affinity variants, and can be used as both removal and extra reach in games to finish off opponents quickly.

Chain Lightning complements the damage output as a slower version of Lightning Bolt, which we need to be careful with when playing against other red decks.

A set of each artifact land and Rustvale Bridge is complemented by Abraded Bluffs to both increase color consistency in a list with high color requirements and many cheap cards. 18 lands seems like the ideal number, given that most cards cost one mana and none—not even in the Sideboard—cost more than two.

Sideboard

End the Festivities ensures a more balanced matchup against Faeries, Elves, and other lists with many one-toughness creatures, and it's one way to deal with Bogles before your opponent fills their creatures with enchantments.

Krark-Clan Shaman complements the gameplan against Bogles and also deals with X/2 or higher threats in the format. We don't run many copies of it because, despite having plenty of artifacts, we don't want to sacrifice them frequently.

Relic of Progenitus interacts with the gameplan of the list and is the best graveyard hate for the current Metagame. Ideal against Tolarian Terror, Dredge and also works in games against Affinity.

Thraben Charm has three relevant modes and can enter many games where at least one of them is relevant. It is not common to use it as removal in Aggro mirrors since we already have twelve cards in the list and a few more in the Sideboard for this purpose, but it is a safe side-in against Tolarian Terror and Bogles.

Gorilla Shaman is the counter choice against Affinity. We could include Dust to Dust instead, but that would increase the mana requirements, and we aren't as consistent in casting three-mana cards at the right speed to delay Affinity games—on the other hand, it's more effective against Myr Enforcer.

Navigator's Compass provides a much-needed life gain against Burn while also interacting positively with our game plan and making it easier to get Metalcraft on the second turn.

Pyroblast remains the most important card in the format right now, as blue-based decks remain at the top of the Metagame in the second week post-bans. It's our go-to removal against Faeries, Terror, High Tide, Ephemerate Tron, and other blue-heavy decks.

Affinity

IN

OUT

Faeries

IN

OUT

Synthesizer Burn

IN

OUT

Madness Burn

OUT

Blue Terror

IN

OUT

Bogles

IN

OUT

Elves

IN

OUT

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!