When a new Magic set comes out, as Foundations has today, many players immediately go into brewing mode. Which of the new cards will be good enough for Standard? How about Commander, or Pioneer, or Modern? To answer these questions, every format gets to enjoy a brief burst of innovation right about now.
Unsurprisingly, this surge in innovation also applies to the less popular formats. Thanks to a quiet downshift, a powerhouse Elf, Dwynen’s Elite, is now legal in the MTG Pauper format. Will it prove worthy of a permanent spot in lists? Based on early results, it already has.
Dwynen’s Elite In MTG Pauper
- Mana Value: 1G
- Rarity: Common
- Stats: 2/2
- Card Text: When Dwynen’s Elite enters, if you control another Elf, create a 1/1 green Elf Warrior creature token.
For the uninitiated, let’s quickly go over Dwynen’s Elite itself before we discuss its potential in MTG Pauper. This is a very simple Elf creature card from back in Magic Origins. It has Grizzly Bears stats and can bring another 1/1 Elf along with it provided you have another Elf in play. That’s 3/3 in stats, with relevant types, over two bodies for two mana. That’s a pretty tasty deal, all things considered.
The card was originally printed at uncommon in Origins, which barred it from Pauper play. Each of its multiple reprints over the years shared the same fate. For Foundations, however, Wizards has seen fit to knock the card down to common. This was doubtless largely done to improve the consistency of Elf decks in Foundations Limited. As a side-effect, however, one of Pauper’s most popular decks gets a considerable upgrade.
Elves is a really interesting deck in Pauper. Turns out a lot of very powerful Elf support cards, like Priest of Titania and Quirion Ranger, have been printed at common. This allows for a competent typal strategy that doesn’t feel too far removed from full-fat Elves in other formats. While largely Mono-Green, some Elves decks splash blue for Distant Melody as a card draw engine. Others dip into red and white for sideboard pieces like Flaring Pain.
While it isn’t a top-tier deck by any means, Pauper Elves has consistently occupied a small meta share for years. Ramping mana and swarming the board with bodies is a universally effective strategy, it turns out. Dwynen’s Elite is the kind of card that does exactly what the deck wants to do. As a result, its downshifting has led to the card being tested in Pauper just one day into the new format.
Promising Early Results
Bnoru, a long-time Pauper Elves player on MTG Online, piloted a list featuring Dwynen’s Elite to a 5-0 finish in a recent Pauper League. According to his celebratory tweet, he was the first-ever player to do so.
“Officially the first player to trophy with Dwynen’s Elite in #MTGPauper Elves.”
Bnoru
This is a great achievement and a serious endorsement for the deck as a Pauper prospect going forward. One League victory does not a meta player make, of course, but it’s a good start regardless. Bnoru took down Kuldotha Burn, Golgari Fog, Gruul Cascade, and Izzet Terror during his run, only dropping a single game to Kuldotha in the first match.
Both Kuldotha Burn and Izzet Terror are more powerful decks on paper, so these are excellent early results. In the comments of his post, Bnoru went into some of the specific interactions Dwynen’s Elite enabled for the deck.
“It’s pretty solid, specially against Kuldotha (it’s essentially a 2-for-1 if you trade Elite + the token for Tomb Raider + Epicure).”
Bnoru
This sounds like an incredibly obvious point in a vacuum, but Pauper is a much more board-centric format than others in MTG. Taking favorable trades is hugely important, and Dwynen’s Elite enables that against the best deck in the format. A 2/2 and a 1/1 can indeed trade evenly into Goblin Tomb Raider and Voldaren Epicure, two of Kuldotha Burn’s best early creatures. The 2/2 can even survive, provided the Kuldotha player gets unlucky with artifacts.
“Other than that it helps Priest of Titania and Timberwatch Elf a bit. Maybe with Elvish Vanguard it would be even stronger.”
Bnoru
Additionally, Elite is just a great enabler for the many Elf synergies in the deck. It lets Priest of Titania generate two more mana, adds +2/+2 to Timberwatch Elf’s buff, and provides Elvish Vanguard with two counters. It can also generate mana of any color on entry alongside Birchlore Rangers. Basically, it puts two bodies on the board in a deck that’s almost solely about doing just that. I expect Elite to become a new staple of Pauper Elves before long.
More Notable Downshifts?
This is exciting stuff indeed, but Dwynen’s Elite isn’t the only new downshift for Pauper in MTG Foundations. Three other uncommons from the past got the same treatment. While these aren’t as obviously powerful as Elite on the surface, I suspect they’ll see their own testing in time.
Starting with the most interesting, Bushwhack actually looks like another potential addition to Pauper Elves. Grabbing a basic can help with fixing in variants of the deck that splash multiple colors. The fight mode is also very relevant with Timberwatch Elf. Using your buffed Elf to take down a Tolarian Terror or Gurmag Angler and clear the way will feel great every time. Elsewhere the card looks less exciting, but Gruul Ramp is another potential home.
Pilfer is up next, and despite its great art, it may be the weakest of the three. Discard effects just don’t really see any play in the format. Even if they did, Pilfer feels overcosted at two mana compared to the likes of Duress. If Hymn to Tourach was legal there might well be a home for this, but as it stands this downshift will only be affecting Foundations Limited.
Finally, we have Involuntary Employment, all the way from the Streets of New Capenna. Like Pilfer, this looks a bit too expensive at first glance. I think it has potential, however, thanks to the Treasure token it produces. Artifacts on board are very important in Pauper, whether for Kuldotha Burn or Grixis Affinity. Adding one to your artifact count, then, is very solid. The card can also grab the big threats put out by Terror decks for a turn. I see this as a sideboard card against such decks more than anything else.
