Every now and again, a cool, forgotten piece of MTG tech makes a resurgence out of nowhere. That is exactly what happened in Pauper this weekend, as one player boasted a 5-1 record in a 64-player event by including an 8-year-old Dinosaur in their deck. Despite seeing little to no play up to this point, Frilled Deathspitter made a resurgence as a gnarly combo engine.
Adding Another Combo to Tireless Tribe
At its core, this deck is designed to execute one of two different combo kills to end the game. The first focuses on
Tireless Tribe
Tireless Tribe
Discard a card: This creature gets +0/+4 until end of turn.
, which is nothing new to the Pauper format.
By combining the Tireless Tribe with
Inside Out
Inside Out
Switch target creature's power and toughness until end of turn.
Draw a card.
, you can easily set up a surprise 20+ damage attack. You can even use
Escape Tunnel
Escape Tunnel
{T}, Sacrifice this land: Search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
{T}, Sacrifice this land: Target creature with power 2 or less can't be blocked this turn.
to make Tribe unblockable, letting you win past a hoard of pesky blockers.
Where this deck gets really spicy, though, is with
Frilled Deathspitter
Frilled Deathspitter
Enrage — Whenever this creature is dealt damage, it deals 2 damage to target opponent or planeswalker.
. This Dinosaur serves as an entirely separate combo piece, allowing you to deal infinite damage with the help of
Guilty Conscience
Guilty Conscience
Enchant creature
Whenever enchanted creature deals damage, this Aura deals that much damage to that creature.
and
Loran’s Escape
Loran’s Escape
Target artifact or creature gains hexproof and indestructible until end of turn. Scry 1.
.
See, once Deathspitter is enchanted and given Indestructible, all you need to do is have it deal damage to the opponent or any of their creatures, and Guilty Conscience will trigger. By then sending damage to Deathspitter itself, you’ll trigger the creature’s Enrage ability and create an infinite damage loop.
It might seem a bit weird to combine these two non-overlapping combos together, but there are some benefits to doing so. Loran’s Escape is already solid protection for Tireless Tribe against opposing removal spells, so adding it as a combo piece is low-cost.
There are also scenarios where Tireless Tribe doesn’t get the job done, such as against a deck with
Moment’s Peace
Moment’s Peace
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn.
Flashback {2}{G} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
, but Deathspitter still works since it’s noncombat damage. Even beating a big
Weather the Storm
Weather the Storm
You gain 3 life.
Storm (When you cast this spell, copy it for each spell cast before it this turn.)
can be tough for Tireless Tribe since you might run out of cards to discard to buff it, but Deathspitter’s damage is infinite.
There is a real risk that you draw all the wrong combo pieces, failing to assemble either combo, but this deck is designed with that in mind.
Pursue the Past
Pursue the Past
You gain 2 life. You may discard a card. If you do, draw two cards.
Flashback {2}{R}{W} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
,
Thrilling Discovery
Thrilling Discovery
You gain 2 life. Then you may discard two cards. If you do, draw three cards.
, and
Abandon Attachments
Abandon Attachments
You may discard a card. If you do, draw two cards.
all let you discard redundant combo pieces in search for the ones you need.
These discard outlets also enable
Sneaky Snacker
Sneaky Snacker
Flying
When you draw your third card in a turn, return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.
, giving the deck an alternate fair gameplan. Because they are all multicolored, you can even discard and rebuy
Sandstorm Eidolon
Sandstorm Eidolon
{R}, Sacrifice this creature: Target creature can't block this turn.
Whenever you cast a multicolored spell, you may return this card from your graveyard to your hand.
or
Aurora Eidolon
Aurora Eidolon
{W}, Sacrifice this creature: Prevent the next 3 damage that would be dealt to any target this turn.
Whenever you cast a multicolored spell, you may return this card from your graveyard to your hand.
to generate long-term card advantage.
Appealing to Different Matchups
Thanks to this deck’s flexible approach, you have game in a lot of different matchups. On one hand, Tireless Tribe lines up quite well against burn spells out of Mono-Red Madness and Mono-Red Rally.
After all, up until your combo turn, you can simply discard a card to get Tribe’s toughness out of range of
Lava Dart
Lava Dart
Lava Dart deals 1 damage to any target.
Flashback—Sacrifice a Mountain. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
or
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt deals 3 damage to any target.
. Meanwhile, this one-drop serves as an elite blocker, buying you time against potential
Goblin Bushwhacker
Goblin Bushwhacker
Kicker {R} (You may pay an additional {R} as you cast this spell.)
When this creature enters, if it was kicked, creatures you control get +1/+0 and gain haste until end of turn.
starts.
Given that Tribe can threaten lethal with the right hand as early as turn two, the combo also has a lot of appeal against other combo shells like Golgari Spy and Ruby Storm. These decks tend to be light on disruption, and your best draws are faster than theirs.
Meanwhile, against decks that rely on life gain or preventing combat damage, such as Golgari Gardens and Turbo Fog, Deathspitter is your strongest path to victory. The presence of Sneaky Snacker even protects you against
Tithing Blade
Tithing Blade
When this artifact enters, each opponent sacrifices a creature of their choice.
Craft with creature {4}{B} ({4}{B}, Exile this artifact, Exile a creature you control or a creature card from your graveyard: Return this card transformed under its owner's control. Craft only as a sorcery.)
and other Edicts, which is a big deal.
Unfortunately, even with Loran’s Escape in the mix, beating decks with tons of cheap disruption is very hard. The combination of counter magic and Snuff Out from Dimir Control, for instance, is really hard to overcome. Faeries is also a matchup you’d prefer to avoid, since you have little resource against
Spellstutter Sprite
Spellstutter Sprite
Flash
Flying
When this creature enters, counter target spell with mana value X or less, where X is the number of Faeries you control.
getting repeatedly bounced.
Given how popular these decks are following the arrival of
Baleful Strix
Baleful Strix
Flying, deathtouch
When this creature enters, draw a card.
to Pauper, this shell certainly faces an uphill battle. Still, there’s a lot to like if you can dodge these matchups, and there’s no denying this multi-combo shell can be super fun to play.
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