Introduction

This is my pauper cube, originally based off of Adam Styborski's famous pauper cube. My list diverged from his in 2013 to satisfy my personal preferences and design goals:

• modern card frame (8ED/M15 frames only, with a preference for the latter)
• adequately support strategies on both ends of the aggro-control spectrum
• reward drafting for synergy over raw card power to a greater extent than the original pauper cube
• support many different archetypes/synergies with plenty of cross-pollination, such that the draft experience is a many-layered and complex decision tree
• include famous and iconic cards throughout Magic’s history, cards played in constructed, and memorable draft format all-stars where possible
• avoid cards with high logistical cost/baggage like double-faced, dungeon, initiative, monarch, and silver-bordered cards
• capture the low-powered “limited” feel of a standard set booster draft instead of typical high-powered cubes

TODO note about removal/card advantage

Color Pair Synergies

These synergies are just intended to be suggestions. There are many ways to build decks of any color combination!

W/U Blink

Every color has creatures with “enters the battlefield” abilities, but they’re especially concentrated in white and blue. Drafting many of these creatures allows you to cast blink/flicker spells for card advantage. The deck can be more aggressive by leaning into ninjas and cheap evasive creatures, or more controlling by leaning into recursion loops (Archaeomancer/Mnemonic Wall, Ghostly Flicker/Displace, etc.).

U/B Spells in Graveyard

Traditional control decks often combine 1:1 removal/counterspells with draw spells to win by attrition. Blue/black in this cube offers some payoffs for drafting these spell-heavy decks, in the form of cards that get better the more spells are in your graveyard. The deck has overlapping synergy with spellslinger (which also demands a high density of spells) and self mill (which wants to actively fill its own graveyard for value).

B/R Aristocrats (Steal/Sac)

Black has many sacrifice outlets in the cube, and drafting enough of them allows you to take red's many Act of Treason effects (which few other drafters should want) and consistently turn them into premium removal. Red also contributes some creatures that benefit from being sacrificed (e.g. Mudbutton Torchrunner, Rukh Egg, etc). This type of deck can lean aggressive or controlling depending on the type of sacrifice outlets it prioritizes ("free" outlets like Carrion Feeder vs. slow outlets that provide card advantage like Gibbering Barricade).

G/W +1/+1 Counters

Green and white have many cards that spread counters and creatures that especially benefit from wearing the counters. The second group includes cards that specifically mention them (Ainok Bond-kin, Evolution Witness), creatures with lifelink and/or evasion (Healer’s Hawk, Sungrace Pegasus), and creatures with other subtle counter synergy (shoutout to Drowsing Tyrannodon, Bristlepack Sentry). An additional benefit of drafting enough of the “spreader” cards, is that cards that proliferate become anthem effects.

W/B Extort (No Combat)

White and especially black provide plenty of win-cons that don’t require combat, such as extort creatures, “draining” auras, and other repeatable sources of life loss. The main payoff for drafting these is it turns white’s bad/defensive removal that nobody else wants (e.g. Guard Duty, Candletrap, Weight of Conscience) into good removal since having to attack into defenders is no longer a concern. High toughness and deathtouch creatures are better than usual in this shell because they make attacking especially difficult for opponents.

U/R Spellslinger

Blue and red offer many cheap and aggressive creatures that benefit from spell triggers. Spell-based creature interaction, combat tricks, cantrips, flashback/rebound spells are all very good here. Adventure creatures allow a high spell density without skimping on threats. The deck tends to follow a tempo gameplan, leveraging removal/bounce/tap for explosive starts.

B/G Self Mill (Creatures in Graveyard)

Black and green have many creatures that mill, and cards that provide value from the graveyard. The latter group includes cards with escape, dredge, flashback, scavenge, and similar abilities. The deck wants reach creatures and ways to gain life to survive long enough to win with its slow but nearly bottomless card advantage. A high creature density is generally desired due to effects like Tapping at the Window, Winding Way, Crawling Infestation, and especially Gnaw to the Bone. One key card is Battlefield Scrounger (backed up by raise dead effects) which can both prevent decking and loop key spells forever.

R/W Tokens/Go-Wide

TODO

G/x 2-5c Ramp and/or Domain

TODO

Miscellaneous Synergies Devotion

TODO

Sprout Swarm

TODO

Deathtouch/Pingers

TODO