Pauper is Magic’s commons-only format — every card in your deck must have been printed at common rarity at least once. Don’t let the name fool you: Pauper is one of the most skill-testing, strategically deep formats in Magic. The best part? Most competitive decks cost under $50.
Why Play Pauper?
- Ultra-Budget: Most decks cost $20-$75. You can own multiple competitive decks for the price of one Standard deck.
- Skill-Intensive: Without powerful rares, games come down to tight play and resource management.
- Deep Card Pool: Every common ever printed is legal (with a small banned list), giving you thousands of options.
- No Rotation: Build a deck and play it for years.
- Growing Community: Pauper has official Wizards support, organized play, and a passionate community.
Building for Pauper
Pauper decks are 60 cards minimum with a 15-card sideboard. Only cards printed at common rarity (in any set) are legal. The format rewards efficient creatures, card advantage engines, and precise removal. Classic archetypes like Burn, Faeries, Affinity, and Tron have Pauper versions that play beautifully.
Key deckbuilding principles for Pauper:
- Efficiency matters: Without splashy rares, every mana counts. Tight curves win games.
- Card advantage is king: Drawing extra cards or generating 2-for-1s separates winners from losers.
- Mana bases are simple: Most decks run 1-2 colors. Budget-friendly and consistent.
- Sideboard wins matches: 15-card sideboards are critical in a format with many linear strategies.
New to building on a budget? Our MTG Basics for New Players guide covers the fundamentals, and the Deck Checklist helps you tune any list.