Exploring the Frontier

So there’s been some talk of the Frontier Friday Night Magic coming in a few weeks and i'm here to sell you on this amazing format. Most people have never played, or ever seen the format played in paper. I assure you, it’s worth the time and investment.

Who remembers this beautiful little lady? My personal favorite part of this format is that nothing is even banned yet. Smuggler’s Copter? Absolutely. Felidar Guardian and Saheeli Rai? Sure why not? Everything from Magic 2015 and up is legal. The power level of the format is deceivingly absurd. This can bring up some exciting strategies close to the fun of Modern.

Now I know this is gonna be the most controversial part of the article, but really, Frontier isn’t that expensive. For the most part, your mana base is gonna be the biggest dent and if you're playing less than three colors, your deck doesn’t need the Khans fetch lands. That being said the Frontier decks submitted to MTGGoldfish are an average of $200 and feature three to four colors.  

The best seller to Asgard Keep picking up this format, is that its absolutely unexplored. You can play whatever you want and not have to worry about being ridiculed for playing a “tier” anything deck. You can just jam whatever your favorite standard deck was from the last few blocks with an updated list and be fine. I personally can’t wait to give this format a try, and hopefully we can see you on the Frontier!

Making Pauper Simple and Easy at Your Local Magic Shop

By: CardboardKeeper

    My store has started attempting pauper as a format, whis caused me to do a metric ton of reading about how other shops have done Paper Pauper, these are some helpful options to run your Paper Pauper tournament: use this card pool and ban list and to post it weeks in advance at the physical locations, on your website, and on any social media you use.

Card Pool

All magic the gathering commons printed in paper and/or online except the following ban list:

Ban List

Goblin Grenade

High Tide

Hymn to Tourach

Merchant Scroll

Sinkhole

Cloud of Faeries

Cloudpost

Cranial Plating

Empty the Warrens

Frantic Search

Grapeshot

Invigorate

Peregrine Drake

Temporal Fissure

Treasure Cruise

That means: 

     If a common version of a particular card was ever released in Magic paper or online, any version of that card is legal in this format.

      Example: Counterspell was a common card in Seventh Edition Core Set. Counterspell was reprinted in Masters Edition II with an uncommon expansion symbol. Both versions of the card can now be used in pauper.

     Other than that, the usual rules for constructed decks apply:

Minimum of 60 cards in the main deck

(There is no maximum size for main decks)

Up to 15 cards in your sideboard, if used

No more than 4 of any individual card in the main deck and sideboard combined (with the exception of basic lands)”

     The reason for keeping all the commons printed on paper and/or online is so you don’t segregate any of your player base. Examples are below:

     When you use only the MTGO common card pool you anger the magic player that has never looked at MTGO or possibly even the internet two ways(unclear). He sees someone using Chainer's Edict, printed only as an uncommon in paper, he is angry because he thinks they are cheating.  He is wrong because Chainer's Edict was printed as a common in vintage masters on magic online, but he didn’t know that. The other reason he will be angry is he won’t be able to play some of his commons from his old sets. He will sit down to play a game of magic with his Mon's Goblin Raiders and he will have to replace them with basic lands. This could turn him away from the format forever.

     When you use only the MTG paper card pool, you may anger the guy that wants to build the deck he has on MTGO.  He comes to play his Chainer’s Edict, which is legal on MTGO pauper, and has to replace it with a basic land. 

     The reasons the shop wants it this way: 

It keeps the most players happy, more players... more fun!

More cards are legal, a more diverse card pool.

It is the easiest card pool and ban list to stay aware of, less confusion... better tournament.

     The shop should call the tournament Paper Pauper list the FNM as create your own Paper Pauper so that the judge at the shop will use this card pool and ban list instead of the one for MTGO, which some judges think is correct, or the other one I have seen that doesn’t incorporate the MTGO commons, which other judges think is correct.

     I personally don’t like banning cards, especially in a play group that is small enough to hate out something, but after reading many forums I went with this ban list.  Your local game store can always add to the ban list.  I suggest caution in doing so.

     If you have comment or corrections send them here 6u6673633@gmail.com

     Links that helped me come to these conclusions: 

https://magic.wizards.com/en/game-info/gameplay/formats/pauper

https://www.channelfireball.com/cards-legal-in-channelfireball-pauper-tournaments/

http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/other-formats/paper-pauper-and-peasant/662888-differences-between-mtgo-and-paper

These cards aren’t printed in paper as common but are printed as common on MTGO and are legal: 

Adarkar Sentinel

Addle

Aeolipile

Afterlife

Alluring Scent

Anaba Ancestor

Anaba Spirit Crafter

Armor Sliver

Armored Griffin

Arrogant Wurm

Balduvian Conjurer

Barbed Sliver

Barktooth Warbeard

Battle Screech

Beetleback Chief

Bone Flute

Bottle Gnomes

Brass Man

Brilliant Plan

Brindle Shoat

Chainer's Edict

Circular Logic

Citanul Druid

Claws of Wirewood

Coal Golem

Dauthi Mercenary

Death Spark

Demonic Torment

Desperate Charge

Drift of the Dead

Ebony Horse

Elven Lyre

Elven Rite

Exile

Fellwar Stone

Feral Thallid

Fire Drake

Flying Carpet

Foul Spirit

Gilded Light

Glasses of Urza

Goblin Commando

Goblin Firestarter

Goblin General

Gravebind

Heavy Fog

Horned Sliver

Hunting Cheetah

Hyalopterous Lemure

Icatian Lieutenant

Icatian Phalanx

Icequake

Icy Prison

Ironhoof Ox

Jedit Ojanen

Jerrard of the Closed Fist

Just Fate

Killer Whale

Kjeldoran Elite Guard

Kjeldoran Skycaptain

Knights of Thorn

Kobold Taskmaster

Lady Orca

Lava Flow

Lesser Werewolf

Library of Leng

Lightning Blow

Mana Prism

Mightstone

Mistmoon Griffin

Mnemonic Sliver

Oasis

Obsianus Golem

Ogre Taskmaster

Onulet

Patchwork Gnomes

Peach Garden Oath

Phantasmal Forces

Phantasmal Mount

Predatory Nightstalker

Primal Clay

Ramirez DePietro

Red Cliffs Armada

Righteous Avengers

River Merfolk

Rockslide Ambush

Royal Trooper

Sea Sprite

Serra Bestiary

Shield Sphere

Shu Elite Companions

Shu General

Shu Soldier-Farmers

Shyft

Sir Shandlar of Eberyn

Sivitri Scarzam

Skirge Familiar

Skirk Drill Sergeant

Skyshaper

Slashing Tiger

Sol Grail

Soltari Emissary

Spoils of Victory

Staunch Defenders

Tangle

Tawnos's Wand

Telekinesis

Telethopter

Thallid Devourer

The Lady of the Mountain

Thermokarst

Thrull Retainer