It's actually been about a month since the most recent Paupergeddon event. Featuring one of Magic's most dynamic, exciting, and growing formats, the Spring Paupergeddon drew 943 players to battle it out in Italy for common card command.

So, what happened?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Elephant Avatars

Elves | Pauper | Fel95, 1st Place Paupergeddon Spring 2026

• Creatures (38)
• 1 Elvish Mystic
• 1 Sagu Wildling
• 4 Avenging Hunter
• 4 Fyndhorn Elves
• 4 Generous Ent
• 4 Llanowar Elves
• 4 Masked Vandal
• 4 Nyxborn Hydra
• 4 Priest of Titania
• 4 Quirion Ranger
• 4 Timberwatch Elf

• Sorceries (8)
• 4 Lead the Stampede
• 4 Winding Way

• Lands (14)
• 13 Forest
• 1 Gingerbread Cabin

• Sideboard (15)
• 4 Vitu-Ghazi Inspector
• 2 Primordial Pachyderm
• 4 Monstrous Emergence
• 2 Viridian Longbow
• 3 Faerie Macabre

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The winning deck of the event was Elves, played by Fel95.

This was surprising, not because Elves isn't great (it's one of the most storied and popular decks in the format) but because Mono-Red Madness was the reigning standout in Italy... And is the Elves deck's worst matchup. Fel95 managed to dodge Burn, but came prepared with a new one from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

This one is a head-scratcher for me.

It has comparables that aren't necessarily that comparable. Loxodon Hierarch was probably the best card of Ravnica Block. We've had all manner of Ravenous Baloths and Obstinate Baloths that can gain twice as much life as Primordial Pachyderm... But those aren't the comparables for Pauper.

How an Elves deck wants to react to Red is one of the main questions that Little Green Men players have to ask themselves. The responses are many.

Nylea's Disciple - You can potentially gain quite a bit more life with this one (at four mana), but the difference between 3/3 and 4/4 is not trivial when the opponent is going to be packing Lightning Bolt and probably Searing Blaze.

Pulse of Murasa - A great option at three mana, that gains a massive six life... But Elves players will sometimes have problems casting this for something they want, versus gumming up the board / developing an offense with an Elephantine 4/4.

Kitchen Finks - Sorry, I meant the kitchen sink. It's not uncommon for dedicated Elves players to side in a Tangled Islet (which is a Forest for Generous Ent and company) so they can cast Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast. This not only potentially stops a Red player's problematic setup Goblin, Guttersnipe, but can cut off Breath Weapon from other archetypes.

Spinewoods Paladin - The previous "hot new tech" life gain Creature... Spinewoods Paladin could be clunky and awkward with Plot, but had the upside of being able to rumble with Tolarian Terror in other contexts.

So, does Elves have its Red savior with Primordial Pachyderm? The card is actually more than a 4/4 that gains about the same as Vitu-Ghazi Inspector. With Reach and Trample it has additional utility on the body that can trickily bedevil Sneaky Snacker and Trample over... well... Sneaky Snacker and its pathetic 1 toughness.

Scientist: The Gathering

Grixis Affinity | Pauper | Malpelo96, 2nd Place Paupergeddon Spring 2026

• Creatures (13)
• 2 Utrom Monitor
• 3 Krark-Clan Shaman
• 4 Myr Enforcer
• 4 Refurbished Familiar

• Instants (12)
• 2 Toxin Analysis
• 3 Fanatical Offering
• 3 Reckoner's Bargain
• 4 Galvanic Blast

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Thoughtcast

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Makeshift Munitions

• Artifacts (10)
• 2 Blood Fountain
• 2 Chromatic Star
• 2 Nihil Spellbomb
• 4 Ichor Wellspring

• Lands (20)
• 1 Swamp
• 2 Silverbluff Bridge
• 3 Great Furnace
• 3 Mistvault Bridge
• 3 Seat of the Synod
• 4 Drossforge Bridge
• 4 Vault of Whispers

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Gorilla Shaman
• 4 Blue Elemental Blast
• 1 Nihil Spellbomb
• 2 Extract a Confession
• 4 Red Elemental Blast
• 1 Envelop
• 1 Arms of Hadar
• 1 Negate

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hasn't been shy with its contributions to the Pauper format. Not only did its giant (okay, relatively giant) Elephant help take the top prize, but second place was no slouch.

We used to think we played Pauper... But is it just Utrom Monitor's world now?

If you're scratching your head asking how is this that much better than Somber Hoverguard you aren't exactly wrong. I mean, when was the last time you saw a Somber Hoverguard in play? Pick:

1. "Okay, I'm wrong. But I'm not that wrong."
2. Technically wrong is the best kind of wrong.

Utrom Monitor costs one less mana than Somber Hoverguard. That one mana can and does come up.

Utrom Monitor has an additional toughness. 3/3 is bigger than 3/2, especially on defense.

Utrom Monitor is itself an Artifact. Somber Hoverguard was not. That means that Utrom Monitor can contribute to future Affinity for Artifacts cost reduction (not the least of which is the price of your next Utrom Monitor) and other potential synergies.

All these things do make the card better than a card that hadn't seen play since Mirrodin Block Constructed approximately two decades ago, even in a commons-only format. I mean, its old running mate Myr Enforcer is right there as a four-of. Thoughtcast, too!

Does that single point of toughness (and slightly lower cost, and being an Artifact itself) really make such a difference?

It turns out that the answer, in context, really is yes.

Why?

Faeries.

You have all these tiny Faeries that fly, which is their shtick.

They aren't very big. And, to be clear, couldn't get through a 3/2, either. But because they all fly, these Creatures could set up non-Teenage / non-Mutant Ninjas, like Moon-Circuit Hacker and Ninja of the Deep Hours.

Now those Creatures have 2 power, and tussling with a 3/2 becomes annoying for the defending player. I get a trade? Didn't they just draw a card? A trade sucks.

But what if you start off with a 3/3 flyer instead? What if it might come down a full turn earlier on account of costing less mana? Now are we talking?

A 3/3 gobbles up a 2/1 or 2/2 no problem.

The cost to the Grixis Affinity deck is kind of negligible. I mean, as long as the Vorthos in you is okay playing a card with the type "Scientist" in a game called "Magic". Personally, that kind of stuff doesn't bother me. Not when for almost no cost I get to blank one and a half opposing archetypes! And I get to hold off Sneaky Snacker out of the Red Deck also?

Sign me up?

In addition, if the opponent isn't Faeries, I also get kind of a fast 3/3 flyer that my opponent might not be able to block efficiently. I started off with a pretty great 2/1 flyer (Refurbished Familiar), but for all the above reasons, a 2/1 might be a lot easier to hold off. If you have a 3/3 that's gotten in offensively a couple of times your one Makeshift Munitions starts closing out the game a lot more often, a lot more quickly.

Some people might even consider playing four.

The Big Score (featuring actual Big Score)

Ruby Storm | Pauper | DataPusher, 3rd place Paupergeddon Spring 2026

• Creatures (10)
• 2 Spider Manifestation
• 4 Goblin Anarchomancer
• 4 Thornscape Familiar

• Instants (17)
• 2 Electric Revelation
• 3 First Day of Class
• 4 Manamorphose
• 4 Seething Song
• 4 Big Score

• Sorceries (16)
• 2 Seize the Storm
• 2 Wrenn's Resolve
• 4 Glimpse the Impossible
• 4 Pirate's Pillage
• 4 Reckless Impulse

• Lands (17)
• 5 Mountain
• 4 Geothermal Crevice
• 4 Hickory Woodlot
• 4 Sandstone Needle

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Gruul Turf
• 1 Firebending Lesson
• 2 Pyroblast
• 3 Red Elemental Blast
• 1 Abandon Attachments
• 1 Flaring Pain
• 1 Origin of Metalbending
• 3 Weather the Storm
• 1 Waterbending Lesson

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This deck is called Ruby Storm in honor of the Modern archetype of the same name. It, however, has zero Ruby Medallions and zero cards featuring the Storm mechanic, so will force you to engage your imagination somewhat, flavor-wise.

What will not force you to engage your imagination is the efficacy of the deck. I, personally, put the whole g-d seventy-five into my cart last night. I haven't played it for a single solitaire match, but it was a buzzsaw through Paupergeddon, with something like a 100% Day Two conversion rate, including the impressive Top 4 by DataPusher.

So, what's going on here?

While the deck has no actual Ruby Medallions, it does have several Creatures that can reduce the cost of Red spells.

All these cards cost two mana, which might have you scratching your head. No one-drops? What kind of a Red Deck is this? The kind with twelve of these:

This deck accumulates an explosive amount of mana, not only with Sol lands, not only with cost reducing two-drops, but Red Ritual-types like Seething Song plus Treasure production via Big Score and Pirate's Pillage.

You draw cards, dig through your deck, exile and reveal, until you can make a gigantic Seize the Storm Elemental token.

Or two? It has flashback.

Once you have even the one, you can just kill the opponent with First Day of Class. That is, the Elemental will enter with Haste, and naturally has Trample. First Day of Class is already a Death Wish-esque Tutor card that can find you Firebending Lesson if you need removal, or Abandon Attachments or Waterbending Lesson if you need more cards. But if you're actually trying to kill the opponent, the Lesson you might want is Origin of Metalbending.

Good luck killing my already gigantic Elemental now, point removal-packing opponent! Here's a little +1/+1 to boot!

There are a lot of question marks around Ruby Storm that don't even have to do with the deck's name. Like, people already play Nihil Spellbomb and Tormod's Crypt in this format... Don't those kind of spit in your veritable cereal? I want to say "yes" ... But it's really difficult to argue with the deck's performance at Paupergeddon. My guess right now is that Ruby Storm just leverages so much card advantage, and has so much access to excess mana, that it can withstand at least one hate Artifact and just keep drawing.

I'll let you know once my cards come in the mail. From here obviously! Promo code FLORES.

Love

Mike