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Pauper: What to expect when you are waiting!

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On this article, I discuss my expectations for the future of Pauper, from a player's point of view.

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Hello friends, I'm Betão and I want to talk a bit about my expectations for the future of Pauper. Of course, I'm not a Pauper specialist, let alone Magic in general, however, differently than other articles I have written, in which I only described the way Pauper behaves, its strategies and some deck lists, thus, a general look at the format, seeking impartiality, today I'll allow myself to write in first-person and to declare, thus, my current interpretation of the current scenario, future expectations and also my opinion about safe directions Wizards of the Coast may take to guide us forward.

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I believe it's the opinion of the majority of the Pauper community that the collection Double Masters was one of the sets that brought a lot of really good cards into the format. Some downgrades may have been unexpected, and became important additions, like it is the case with

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and although there are apparently better cards on the current meta, Abrade is a card which has two different functions that may be chosen, and that is really important, as it is a versatile removal that may help in any moment of the game.

Another card, which brought an even greater impact, was

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and it is a removal which comes to become the best of the format, as, for only two manas, one of which is generic, which allows for multicolored decks to make use of this resource. The player may use Cast Down to remove almost any creature on Pauper, with the exception, of course, being creatures with Hexproof or Protection, and that also raises a point of worry about the Power Level of the format, whichI'll discuss later.

Another reprinted card was the already known

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which will maybe allow for a cheaper and broader access to this card than the one we had until recently.

These downgrades, reprints, and even the recent bans led me into thinking that Wizards may be giving more attention to the format, and may give even more attention on the next sets, which is very good for us, players, as it will bring more cards, which may improve decks which are currently weak on the meta, maybe bring a new land to allow for the addition of one or more colors in aggro decks or even cards permitting the creation of new decks which may raise up to the level of the best decks we have today.

I truly believe that Wizards is planning on giving Pauper more attention. Of course, this attention may feel too slow, as it has been more than a year since the format was sanctioned in its printed form, which happened only after 11 years since it's online creation and it was only until this year that the company released an edition with the greatest number of cards with potential to see play.

But it's not all roses, as good cards are created for the format and downgrades are made, Wizards should be very careful with these releases, as raising the power level of the cards too much may cause Pauper to lose its essence, as it isn't just a format with cheap cards, but also, a format in which the player is able to develop the game more openly, and I don't know if it would be healthy if we had too many games ending in a few turns, like what happens in other formats. Some cards leave us worried, like

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which as power way beyond the usual. And, as I've mentioned earlier, I feel like Cast Down is a downgrade which wouldn't be missed if it wasn't done. However, it greatly increased the power of decks which use black mana, and that is worrisome as I personally wouldn't like to see the Power Level increasing that much. It may be that this type of card shows up with more frequency and transforms Pauper. It may become better or not, but it is of the utmost importance that, if Wizards really has the intention of giving attention and monitoring the format more closely, it will need to be done very carefully and analytically. New cards are always welcome, much more than exclusions through bans, that makes the format more attractive, but I would like to see coherent additions related to what Pauper really is, and I will be very satisfied if Wizards respects the format's essence.

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I want to leave here my opinion about what Pauper needs the most today, not only in terms of cards, collections and bans, Pauper needs more investment on tournaments, it needs championships directly supported by Wizards. It's past time that we receive a Pauper Grand Prix. Of course Imay be asking for too much today, maybe it is something utopic, but I believe that's something we all want. It has it's pros and cons, like in any other format, games and in other things in life, but we deserve this, it would show respect towards the entire Pauper community.

Thank your for reading this article and until the next one.