Archived Analysis

The Pauper format appears to be in a generally healthy state, demonstrating both a diverse metagame and positive growth trends in both player counts and organized play. The recent Banned & Restricted announcement is also expected to positively influence the format's health.

The metagame currently exhibits strong diversity, offering numerous viable archetypes for players to choose from. While Mono Blue Aggro currently holds the largest share of the metagame, a variety of other strategies including Jund, Rakdos Aggro, and Red Deck Wins also maintain a visible presence. This spread indicates that the format isn't dominated by a single overpowering strategy, and there is room for innovation and counter-strategies.

Examining the broader trends within the metagame, aggro decks currently make up a substantial portion of the competitive landscape. While the percentage of aggro strategies is higher than the historical average, control and combo decks still maintain a presence. This slight shift towards aggro strategies could be a natural fluctuation within the format, or it could indicate a potential area for future adjustments.

Player participation in the Pauper format continues to show positive growth, with both paper and online numbers trending upward. Similarly, the number of organized play events has been steadily increasing month over month. These trends suggest that the community is engaged and active, which is a strong indicator of the format's long-term health.

The recent Banned & Restricted announcement is expected to further improve the health of the Pauper metagame. The bans of Basking Broodscale, Deadly Dispute, and Kuldotha Rebirth are likely to weaken some of the more dominant aggressive strategies, potentially opening up space for other archetypes to thrive. The unbanning of High Tide and Prophetic Prism could also introduce new and interesting deckbuilding possibilities without significantly disrupting the existing metagame balance.