Upstate NY Pauper | Mitch

You could argue the turns are almost as long (hyperbole) if they're going to time with a deck like Rally Red. Jund is often reactive, but still.

I will add - unrelated to the decks mentioned - that Cycle Storm does require the same amount of tracking or more by the player and their opponent.

It's definitely a good deck in the right hands, but I don't think it'll become oppressive or explode in popularity due to the skill floor required just to pilot it to reasonable success. Challenge Top 8s seem to have a healthy ebb and flow, but I won't claim to have dived deep into that data.

I agree. And that is why I didn't put it in my main response. It's just one angle to consider.

Not to mention, Pauper is now the only format where HT - an iconic eternal format combo deck - is viable. Having a spell-based combo option for those players is valuable. And the format is currently healthy.

Spy's there, but it's fragile and can feel more toxic being able to play interaction in the main since it's basically a 1-card combo. It's current play rate feels appropriate and fine, but look back at the debates when it was higher and you'll see that you don't want it being the defacto combo deck.

In the absence of HT, there probably isn't a viable combo deck to balance the format that I can see. Cycle Storm has been around for a long time, but it's also non-deterministic for a period of time while going off and has never even come close to the healthy 3-5% play rate we are seeing from HT.

Someone that goes to turns with Tide will likely go to turns with any deck short of the absolute fastest decks. Personally, I've seen the same player go to turns with Rally Red *and* Jund Wildfire. It comes down to pace of play and experience.

Can you elaborate? HT has floated around 3-5% play - which I've seen track locally as well - and the only blue top deck I can think of is Terror. I'd definitely say Terror is a top deck, but it floats around the 1st-3rd most played deck w/ Jund and Rakdos w/ Fae usually at 4th w/ half the play rate.

Speaking for my community. While many don't enjoy playing HT and find it boring to lose to, they have repeatedly expressed to me that they do not want to see it banned citing the health of the current meta, reasonable results by HT, and its low play rate.

And at our tournament, it caused no delays.

🧵To keep up with our events bookmark our Linktree and Spicerack page for easy access to all our events and socials! linktr.ee/upstatenypau...

I'd love to see one '26 UNYP Open cap at 128 players! 👀

Thank you for your continued patience and support. None of this is possible without you! #MTGPauper

🧵The standard cadence for UNYP Opens will continue in 2026 with the 1st of the 2026 Open Series taking place in early/mid-Mar., 2nd in early/mid-Jul., and 3rd in early Nov.

We plan to host Paup-ing Off for Charity!!! again in the summer of '26.
#MTGPauper #MTG #MagictheGathering

🧵Due to the honeymoon delay and other conflicting events, we were unable to schedule UNYP Open III in early Nov. as planned. Instead, we're looking to move the charity tournament proposed for early/mid-Jan. into Nov. or Dec. and push the UNYP Open into early Jan.
#MTGPauper #MTG #MagictheGathering

🧵Sorry for the radio silence. I was on my honeymoon!!! 🥰🥰🥰

We're working to set dates for UNYP Open III and our next charity event. I plan to post every date through the end of '26 to make your planning easier (dates may change as Con/EW dates are released).
#MTGPauper #MTG #MagictheGathering

Back at Commander Sealed jamming some 1v1 Pauper! Come find me at the tables in front of Steven Belledin’s booth and sling some commons for charity!

#CommanderSealed @upstatenypauper.bsky.social

@cmdrsealed.bsky.social put out a bounty. Someone has to be able to take at least a game! 🤣

Truly showing why you won the Open. Clearly it wasn't just Broodscale, lol. 💪💪💪

It's too bad,too. Those stickers are awesome. 🙄

Can you beat the Inaugural UNYP Open champion at her own game? Swing by the creator clash area at Commander Sealed to find out! 👀
#MTGPauper #MTG #MagictheGathering #MTGCommander #EDH

My biased take is that Atog would be fine in this economy 😬😬🥹

I've been corralling people to play this event! I wish I could compete for the quiver. It looks sick!

Hey! That's us! 🥰🥰🥰

Play MTGO. It's less gacha gamey and - personally - feels more like Magic.

The format is so open right now. We should be the poster child for a healthy format that others aspire to become. I say confirm the unbanning and evaluate for the next. Everything is awesome right now! Pauper is awesome.

That is certainly a way to pitch a stream 🤣

It's just those pilots. No one else is putting up finishes with Tide 😅, but I still love the deck. The format is so healthy right now

That could be part of it. I for one don't like spending lots of money if I can avoid it. It's satisfying to get older staples that cost a bit more, but I don't usually want to go out of my way to buy expensive cardboard for the format. I'll upgrade to fancier printings if the price is decent though.

Facts! Wide open. Super healthy. Great community. Affordable. Growing. What more can you ask for?

Pauper is definitely the superior format within MTG #mtg #mtgcommunity #mtgpauper #edh #magicthegathering

Always a great read! And who can argue with the content in this one? 😎 #MTGPauper #MTG #MagictheGathering

As always, thanks for the feature!

We are quickly running through our tickets for this year. If you want to be a part of all our fun and chaos, get your ticket today at commandersealed.com/main-event/ All of our artists, vendors, players, content creators, and friends are waiting for you!

Check out just SOME of our side events this year. We have something to do for everyone who enjoys the game of Magic! Legacy, Pauper, Cube, CEDH, Every Bracket, every format, included equally just like all humans should be! Keep helping us fight by signing up today at commandersealed.com/main-event/