MTGO
ARENA
PAPER
Kuldotha Red Guide: Burning Down the House in Pauper
Intro
Hey everyone!
Today, I'll share everything I know about a deck that is relatively easy to learn but, in my humble opinion, difficult to master. It is especially relevant because Pauper is a Showcase format
this season on Magic Online and Kuldotha Red is one of the key archetypes in the current Pauper meta.
Lastly, even if you're not interested in playing the deck yourself, you can now gain valuable insights to make it easier to defeat it in your next tournament.
The Deck: Elevator Pitch on Kuldotha Red
This deck is fast, consistent, and very effective at punishing slow draws. Pauper is filled with lands that enter the battlefield tapped, as well as land cyclers, which indicates the perfect time to strike. Furthermore, Kuldotha Red puts pressure on the opponent to find specific interactions within a very narrow time frame, which ultimately leads to more mulligans from the opponent.
This past weekend, I was lucky enough to reach the finals of a Pauper Challenge, so I'll use my decklist as a reference.
(7 - 2)
77% in MTGO Pauper Challenge 32 #12631043 [52 Players] — 21-Apr-2024
$75/59.9 Tix
Maindeck (60)
| Creature [19] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 Goblin Blast-Runner | $0.35 | |
| 3 Goblin Bushwhacker | $3.49 | |
| 4 Goblin Tomb Raider | $0.35 | |
| 4 Reckless Lackey | $0.35 | |
| 4 Voldaren Epicure | $0.49 | |
| Artifact [8] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 Experimental Synthesizer | $0.79 | |
| 4 Implement of Combustion | $0.39 | |
| Instant [6] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2 Galvanic Blast | $1.99 | |
| 4 Lightning Bolt | $1.29 | |
| Sorcery [8] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 Chain Lightning | $0.49 | |
| 4 Kuldotha Rebirth | $1.79 | |
| Enchantment [2] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2 Seal of Fire | $0.39 | |
| Land [17] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 Great Furnace | $2.29 | |
| 13 Mountain | $0.01 | |
| Sideboard [15] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2 Electrickery | $0.59 | |
| 2 End the Festivities | $1.99 | |
| 3 Pyroblast | $5.99 | |
| 2 Gorilla Shaman | $0.39 | |
| 2 Flaring Pain | $4.99 | |
| 4 Relic of Progenitus | $6.49 | |
$59.90 Tix @cardhoarder
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Visual View
Similar Decks
Proxies
Archetype Analysis
Magic online format
Apprentice and MWS .dec
Card Choices
Creature Suite
The creatures in the deck are both very interchangeable, and they have different synergies with each other and with the rest of the deck.
Blast-Runner needs a certain number of sacrifice outlets (blood from Epicure, artifact from Kuldotha Rebirth, Reckless Lackey to itself, Implement of Combustion, Seal of Fire, and Experimental Synthesizer). Tomb Raider needs another artifact - Great Furnace being the best, and Goblin Bushwhacker really likes the multiple bodies of Kuldotha Rebirth.
With that being said, the creatures are totally serviceable on their own and represent repeating sources of damage. The other side of the coin is that opposing sweepers like Breath Weapon and Drown in Sorrow - and to a lesser extent spot removal - become virtual lifegain spells. The best draws of this deck are a combination of creatures and burn spells to finish off the opponent.
Burn Spells
As always, the classic one mana deal three damage are easy auto includes.
On the other side there's a conversation to be had regarding Seal of Fire and Galvanic Blast. Seal of Fire stays in play for zero mana interaction later (good when you are tapped out vs. cards like Basilisk Gate and All That Glitters) while Galvanic Blast potentially deals four damage to a bigger creature or to reduce your opponent's life total.
I feel like getting metalcraft is not trivial with this deck, so I've went with the split. In most games, both cards are a serviceable Shock.
Other Spells
Implement of Combustion
I've chosen to list the Implement here because its main purpose is to provide sacrifice fodder to Kuldotha Rebirth, to make Goblin Blast-Runner a 3/2 menace and to help with metalcraft for Galvanic Blast. An unimpressive card on the surface, but a very important cog in the engine.
Experimental Synthesizer
The experimental synthesizer enables the same two things as Implement Combustion while also providing the deck with some needed durability in longer games. It is worth noting that the 2/2 creature from its 2R ability is white, so sometimes you gain valuable percentage points against cards like Prismatic Strands and Crimson Acolyte because of its color.
Tips: Sequencing
Playing out your spells in the right order is the difference between going 3-3 and winning the tournament. Very often you can use your knowledge about the opponent's deck and their interaction package to determine the order you play your cards. Knowing about cards like sweepers, counterspells and blockers in the metagame lets you play the cards that are the most likely to provide you with the maximum amount of damage.
Here are some examples:
Vs. Spellstutter Sprite: Resolve the most important one drop because they hold up 1U. Having Lightning Bolt or Galvanic Blast in hand or Seal of Fire in play can "counter" the trigger from the faerie. Note that even a kicked Goblin Bushwacker has a mana value of 1.
Vs. Dispel: I had an interesting situation vs. Jeskai Control where my opponent revealed Dispel from an Augur of Bolas trigger and was tapped out. I had two Lightning Bolts in hand which I wasn't in a hurry to cast until that point, but realizing that my deck doesn't have that many instants made me cast them right away. I never drew another instant and the opponent died with Dispel in hand.
Vs. Breath Weapon/Drown in Sorrow: Sometimes you can afford to sandbag a creature, and sometimes you can't play around it and need to maximize your pressure. Even though it feels bad to get three creatures killed on turn three, losing the game because you didn't apply enough pressure feels even worse.
Sideboard Plans
Mirror:
Boros Glitters + Azorius Affinity:
Dimir Terror:
Dimir Faeries:
Golgari Gardens:
No changes
Jeskai Ephemerate + Familiars:
Caw-Gates:
Boggles:
Going Further
For those looking to see real gameplay of the deck, you can check out the following video from the Pauper Challenge Finals where I played versus multiple decks.
Final Thoughts
Thank you for reading. I hope this was useful whether you plan on picking up the deck yourself or simply had enough losing to it.
See you at the tables!