Glint Hawk | Scars of Mirrodin | Art by Dave Allsop
13, Jan, 25

Up-And-Coming MTG Strategy Shines In New Format

Bouncing across the borders between formats.

In a fun twist, the biggest Magic: The Gathering trend of 2025 so far is self-bounce decks. We’ve seen Esper Pixie gain a lot of ground in Standard after Spotlight: Foundations, and we’ve seen a similar list crop up in Pioneer as well. This week, thanks to Orzhov Blade in Pauper, the MTG self-bounce archetype has scored a successful hat trick.

Thanks to a potent combination of artifact and self-bounce synergies, Orzhov Blade managed to claim first place in a 53-player Pauper event this past weekend. That’s a great result for a deck that’s just starting to step into the spotlight. If you’ve been enjoying Esper Pixie in Standard, this could be your gateway into a whole new format.

Orzhov Blade In MTG Pauper

Orzhov Blade MTG Pauper

The Orzhov Blade list we’ll be looking at today comes via Micael Martinho, who piloted the deck to a first-place finish at MTG event Liga Portuguesa de Pauper 2025 this past Saturday. The deck, sometimes known as Orzhov Midrange instead, is similar to the old Kor Skyfisher decks that defined Pauper in the past.

The core strategy here is simple. You play cheap permanents with beneficial enters-the-battlefield effects, then bounce them back to your hand to replay for value. In terms of bounce effects the deck is running two absolute Pauper classics: Glint Hawk and Kor Skyfisher. Both are very efficient fliers for their mana costs, especially in Pauper. They provide some crucial pressure in the air, which pairs with the grindy value elsewhere in the list very nicely.

In terms of good bounce targets, Orzhov Blade is inundated. The deck takes its name from Tithing Blade, which is probably the most significant among them. A two mana edict effect is honestly well-costed for Pauper, so getting one that sticks around as an artifact is a great deal. Replay a Blade just a couple of times and you’ll likely get your opponent’s board into a manageable state.

Even better, you can Craft it into Consuming Sepulcher later on to put your opponent under some extra pressure. Given how grindy Orzhov Blade can be, this is a major plus and not just a frivolous bell or whistle. As an artifact Blade can be bounced by both Glint Hawk and Kor Skyfisher, and it also has some synergy with the other major bounce target in the deck.

Play It Again, Sam

Orzhov Blade MTG Pauper Bounce Targets

Beyond Tithing Blade itself, the defining card of this strategy is almost certainly Refurbished Familiar. Arriving as part of last year’s Modern Horizons 3, it’s hard to imagine a card better suited to the deck than this.

Thanks to Affinity for artifacts, this Zombie Rat will be coming down for a single black mana most of the time. We’ve talked about Tithing Blade already, but the deck also runs Thraben and Novice Inspectors for cheap Clue tokens, and Lembas for an artifact cantrip. Along with eight artifact lands in the mana base, these stack up quickly to get one-mana Familiars online as early as turn two. Once you reach that point, Familiar is another cheap flier that directly attacks your opponent’s hand. It can even draw you cards instead if your opponent is hellbent.

Combined with Blade, this allows you to hit your opponent’s resources on two fronts. Familiar is also an artifact, so you can pick it up with Glint Hawk and sacrifice it to Deadly Dispute if need be. It also adds to Affinity for other copies you draw later.

It seems odd to put so much weight on two cards when discussing a deck, but Orzhov Blade really does revolve around the pair. If you’re not playing or bouncing one or the other, you likely aren’t doing much of anything here. That is a bit of a weakness, but between Deadly Dispute and Lembas, you have plenty of ways to dig through your deck. In a way, Orzhov Blade is a strategy reminiscent of the MTG Delver decks that used to dominate Pauper and Legacy. You control the opponent’s resources, then ride an efficient flier to victory.

Bouncing Into Tier One?

Pauper Metagame

Orzhov Blade is an interesting MTG deck, but how well does it slot into the current Pauper format? Honestly pretty well, all things considered. The big players in the format right now are Burn, Affinity, and Basking Broodscale Combo. Orzhov Blade has game against all of them, which explains its first-place performance over the weekend.

Burn doesn’t run any fliers, so you can easily race them in many situations. The current version of the list is fairly creature-heavy, so if you can use Tithing Blade to whittle down their board you can buy yourself a lot of time. This matchup is still a bit of a tossup since both decks have the potential for highrolls, but it’s not unfavorable overall.

Affinity is an easy win. They rely on a small number of big creatures to win, which is a strategy that folds quickly to a few Tithing Blades. Krark-Clan Shaman, the deck’s big board clear, also doesn’t hit the majority of the creatures in Orzhov Blade. An excellent matchup overall.

Broodscale Combo, like Burn, is a bit more hit-or-miss. The deck can combo off quite early, but you do have Cast Down to interact with it. The bigger problem is the deck’s Midrange backup plan. Writhing Chrysalis is an absolute nightmare for Orzhov Blade to deal with, since it provides fodder to protect against Tithing Blade. It’s not an unwinnable matchup by any means, but it is tricky.

Overall, Orzhov Blade is pretty well-positioned in the current metagame. It’s not going to steamroll every game, but it can deliver great results in Challenges and Leagues, as this weekend’s performance indicates. If you’re looking for a different spin on an artifact deck in the format, it’s well worth a try.

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