facebook

CoolStuffInc.com

MTG Outlaws of Thunder Junction available now!
   Sign In
Create Account

Stir It Up

Reddit

Tron lands are an interesting aspect of the Pauper format. For a lot of players, the gameplay feels very similar to the Modern Tron decks. Someone assembles the Urza lands early and buries you in Mulldrifters, Dinrova Horrors, and Capsize. In reality, the deck plays much more similarly to old Modern and Extended builds of wu or ub Tron, accruing small amounts of value over the course of a game. That said, there are some variations on Pauper UrzaTron decks that try to emulate the Modern plan of assembling Tron and casting haymakers until your opponent dies. Let's take a look:


Ancient Stirrings
This style of Tron deck is really interesting because of how polarized its matchups are. At its core, the idea is similar to Modern Tron. You have a bunch of Expedition Maps, Chromatic Spheres, and Ancient Stirrings to help you assemble Tron on turn three. Prophetic Prism gives you consistent access to colored mana and Crop Rotation is a reasonable substitute for Sylvan Scrying to power out Tron early.

The difference is the threats. Pauper has no card like Karn Liberated or Ugin, the Spirit Dragon that can come down and end the game on the third turn. Instead, you're looking to resolve cards that let you gain more incremental advantage. Wretched Gryff is your preferred threat against counterspells and Delver of Secrets. Assembly-Worker is your go-to against removal spells like Doom Blade and Chainer's Edict. If you're behind on the board, Fangren Marauder is a great way to stabilize and gain a bunch of life, particularly against opposing Atogs.

Ulamog's Crusher is, of course, the highest variance threat you have. It's the worst against removal spells and counterspells, but is the most capable of just ending games before they really get started. You can even resolve a crusher on the third turn if you have natural Tron, Prophetic Prism, and Crop Rotation. You can use one of your 7 mana to cast Crop Rotation and find another Tron land to put together 8 mana for your Crusher.

It may not look like it, but there's a lot of flexibility in these style of Tron decks to try to beat various fair decks. Moment's Peace is your only chance against the likes of Kiln Fiend and Inside Out decks, but against fair decks you have a myriad of options like Haunted Fengraf, Maul Splicer, and Fierce Empath depending on how exactly you want to attack your opponents. If you're expecting more control and midrange, there's even the possibility of using Entourage of Trest.

This deck may look fairly linear, but the sequencing is very particular, and many games are won and lost based on how you plan your access to Fangren Marauder triggers, and matchups are swung based on which combinations of threats and recursion you decide to play. If you want to play ramp in Pauper, this may be your best option.


Rivals of Ixalan is Now Available!

Sell your cards and minis 25% credit bonus