5/11/21

Another huge shoutout to the many Pauper Derby contenders for keeping this event unique and creative. If restriction breeds creativity in Pauper, then Derby is a true designer's format. It has been an awesome thing to see so many well-tuned contraptions submitted with each event, and the 5CB Pauper Derby #4 was no different this time around.

For a recap of the rules and our Derby #1 results check out this article here.

The deck to beat was "Desert Pharaohs" submitted by our Champion of Derby #3 SpaceFisho. The list featured three Deserts and two Walls of Forgotten Pharaohs which had been an absolute fortress. Recently, ten contenders threw their creations in the collider and smashed over 45 games together over the past week. This time around the metagame responded in kind with creature removal in the forms of Geth's Verdict as well as auras like Bind the Monster and Oppressive Rays to keep the walls either frozen or off the board entirely. Resource denial with Sinkhole and Feldon's Cane made an appearance and quite frankly lots of annihilation with the likes of Introduction to Annihilation and Ulamog's Crusher.

The true stand out this week was a slow death engine created by MTGDelphi called "Geth's Loop" that utilized some interaction between Stream of Thought and Conjurer's Bauble to slowly and continually cycle Geth's Verdict which both kept the board clear as well as boltgunned their opponent by one over and over again. There were some close games where the Loop had only just won the race, however by the end of the event, it had officially won ninety percent of its matchups.

Currently, there are no changes to the Pauper Derby ban list, Cloudpost didn't seem to be a problem and will most likely see some continued experimentation as a mini or mega Tron in this format.

Our third derby all-star "Desert Pharaohs" has been dethroned and our newest Champion will be given the opportunity to submit a second list to compete with its winning submission and the others in the next Derby.
Congratulations to our new Champion, MTGDelphi with "Geth's Loop" taking the helm with a total of 48 points!
Here's our Top 5 and rankings for Derby #4.

Prize support includes our own timeshifted derby versions of our favorite pieces which are voted by our contenders upon submission. These will have an old school aesthetic and will also feature regressed errata for a classic vibe. These pieces will be officially printed and made available in playsets as prizes for our Top 5 ranked contenders.

Here are the prizes submitted by our contenders for Derby #4...

As always, the ultimate goal of this event is to gamify card interaction and brewing discussions as well as create a mini league or 'fantasy mtg league' of sorts. It's for knowledge, but mostly a fun way for seasoned players and brewers new to the format alike to interact amidst various other virtual Pauper community events operating at the moment.

To summarize, In the first week, we will give contenders a week to brew and submit their engines.

In the second week, matchups will be posted each day and will be opened up for immediate discussion so contenders can become more involved and talk about their matchups amongst themselves in real time. Results will then be posted at the end of the second week.

Geth's Loop is locked in as the deck to beat for the next round. Submissions for Round 5 will open Sunday, May 16th and will be the last Derby before the Grand Prix. Derby #5 submissions will close in exactly one week.
(5/16 - 5/23)

The 5CB Pauper Derby is free to enter. If you are interested in participating, please see the ‘Events’ channel on our Discord server for more details on how to submit your five-card decklist.

We'll check back in a few weeks with the results of our next derby, happy brewing racers, crash and burn!