[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":1853},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002F2026-08-24-combo-class-part-1":3,"\u002Farticles\u002F2026-08-24-combo-class-part-1-surround":478,"authors-\u002Farticles\u002F2026-08-24-combo-class-part-1":485,"linked-\u002Farticles\u002F2026-08-24-combo-class-part-1":499},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"category":458,"date":459,"decks":460,"description":461,"extension":462,"location":446,"meta":463,"navigation":464,"path":465,"published":464,"readingTime":466,"seo":471,"sitemap":472,"stem":473,"tags":474,"thumbnail":476,"__hash__":477},"articles\u002Farticles\u002F2026-08-24-combo-class-part-1.md","Combo-cooking class with GiorgioCombo","Pietro Bragioto",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":445},"minimark",[10,15,19,23,26,29,32,35,38,42,45,49,52,55,69,72,119,138,142,150,180,201,209,213,216,219,242,245,249,252,265,268,279,426,429,432,435,438,442],[11,12,14],"h2",{"id":13},"lesson-1-distinguish-fresh-ideas-from-rotten-ones","Lesson 1: distinguish fresh ideas from rotten ones",[16,17,18],"p",{},"Sometimes it's not enough to just serve an existing recipe.\nSometimes you really want to amaze your diners or to make someone fall in love with you.\nWell, we all know cooking is great, but now you need an idea.\nYou already have one? Nice! But how to turn a cool idea into a special meal?\nI'm GiorgioCombo, brewmaster in MTG and in the kitchen. Today is the day you learn the secrets of cooking combos.\nToday is the day you start the course to become a true combo master chef!",[11,20,22],{"id":21},"step-1-identify-your-diners","STEP 1: identify your diners",[16,24,25],{},"Please, note that this series of lessons are about Gourmet combo-cooking in Pauper.\nSure, some of these concepts still applies to other formats, but many things are different in different environments.",[16,27,28],{},"Before you even start thinking about what to cook, you really need to identify the goal: are you trying to break the format, to build a fun deck for the upcoming tournament or just to brew for the sake of it?\nThat's really important, because that's the premise upon which you build your entire process.\nIt would be very hard for me to give you advice if your goal is just to create a new combo deck with no competitive goals in mind.",[16,30,31],{},"In that case, the best thing I can say to you is: “go for it and build what seems fun to you”.\nYou see, here we are talking about optimization, and optimizing something means making it function in the best way possible.\n“The best way possible” for what? If you want to win, then we can have numeric answers, but if your goal is to be creative and\u002For have fun, that's something that's not possible to optimize objectively, right?",[16,33,34],{},"Here I am focusing on the competitive aspect of the game, so I talk with this premise in mind.\nI need to be honest with you from the beginning: if you want to make a delicious meal, some ideas are just not workable (unless you really are into Futurist cuisine).",[16,36,37],{},"Before we move on, please ask yourself: for whom am I cooking tonight? For a competitive player with an insatiable appetite for nothing but the best in town, for a creative with refined tastes or for a gentleman who's mostly just seeking some company for a fun dinner together?",[11,39,41],{"id":40},"step-2-get-a-good-idea","STEP 2: get a good idea",[16,43,44],{},"Every successful meal starts with an idea.\nSometimes you see a nice deck played by the new guy at the LGS, sometimes you see a new card that combos with something else.\nOther times you just rummage through your collection or memories and you notice a nice synergy between some cards.\nBefore you dive into the workshop, it's better to think a little bit about the combo in and on itself.\nSuccessful combos share some similarities and, even though there are exceptions, most of the time you see a pattern.",[11,46,48],{"id":47},"how-many-cards-do-you-need-for-the-combo","How many cards do you need for the combo?",[16,50,51],{},"That's pretty simple, right? The bigger the number of cards required, the harder to find them in a timely fashion.",[16,53,54],{},"1 card combos are exceptionally rare but also extremely appealing.\nSpy is the prime example of such a combo, in fact it's already a contender in the metagame.\nWhen I developed the 5 Lands Spy deck I was stubborn on making the deck work because I know how good 1 card combos usually are.\nMost of the time, they need some strict requirements to work, so the hard part there was not to decide if the general idea was worth it, but how to properly serve the dish.",[16,56,57,58,63,64,68],{},"In theory, 2 cards combos are the ones you should look for: throughout the history of the game, A+B is the most widespread type of successful combo.\nThe problem is they are typically so strong and easy to spot that if such a combo exists, then it's frequently either already played or very bad for various reasons (",[59,60],"magic-card-tooltip",{"image":61,"name":62},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F8\u002F7\u002F87c1d85d-b2b8-4c9d-84fa-2566b14cb5ea.jpg?1783934842","Midnight Guard"," + ",[59,65],{"image":66,"name":67},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002Fb\u002Fb\u002Fbba661af-c4a8-4230-830e-a9ee22b25d6b.jpg?1783930356","Presence of Gond"," comes to mind here).",[16,70,71],{},"If 1 and 2 are very hard to find, and 4 is typically too many, the 3-cards group is the ground where you often end up finding your supplies: make sure they are not rotten, though!\nHere are some tips:",[73,74,75,97],"ul",{},[76,77,78,79,63,83,63,87,91,92,96],"li",{},"They get significantly better if you have more than 4 copies of at least one of the pieces (like ",[59,80],{"image":81,"name":82},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F2\u002F2\u002F22589a81-3ea8-4e78-98c9-c015e7539cf9.jpg?1783904550","Devoted Druid",[59,84],{"image":85,"name":86},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002Fa\u002F5\u002Fa5405de0-16c9-4e5a-8ceb-00508e212f12.jpg?1783904087","Guac & Marshmallow Pizza",[59,88],{"image":89,"name":90},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F7\u002Fa\u002F7aa3fdd0-34d8-47b3-9753-d2929838732e.jpg?1783935172","Retraction Helix"," \u002F ",[59,93],{"image":94,"name":95},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F3\u002F7\u002F371a769a-ddae-47f6-b2c2-957de5c18417.jpg?1783942692","Banishing Knack",");",[76,98,99,100,63,104,108,109,113,114,118],{},"They also get better when they are 2 card combos for infinite mana + a random mana sink (for example ",[59,101],{"image":102,"name":103},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F4\u002F8\u002F4892c152-1f4a-4616-8e7f-0ca4911e621a.jpg?1783942710","Pili-Pala",[59,105],{"image":106,"name":107},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F9\u002Fe\u002F9e2ebad5-0a56-4166-80af-7ebd20ae565a.jpg?1783923852","Careful Cultivation","), because most of the time you can just use the mana to dig through your deck with the draw spells you already play or you can turn good cards on their own into finishers (",[59,110],{"image":111,"name":112},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F9\u002F0\u002F902a969e-9f22-4e92-93eb-9d4536ca82e5.jpg?1783911257","Nyxborn Hydra",", ",[59,115],{"image":116,"name":117},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F0\u002Fe\u002F0ec92c44-7cf0-48a5-a3ca-bc633496d887.jpg?1783907352","Stormshriek Feral",", etc).",[16,120,121,122,124,125,63,129,63,133,137],{},"Even though neither ",[59,123],{"image":102,"name":103}," nor Pizza Combo are groundbreaking decks, sometimes you see them around, while I bet you never saw anyone doing well with ",[59,126],{"image":127,"name":128},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002Fb\u002F8\u002Fb82d8359-4841-478c-851b-13a1a0f94737.jpg?1783937042","Zhur-Taa Druid",[59,130],{"image":131,"name":132},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002Ff\u002F6\u002Ff6c39031-1c49-4c1e-83df-66c3795ddc72.jpg?1783944284","Orochi Leafcaller",[59,134],{"image":135,"name":136},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002Fc\u002F4\u002Fc47ee6f6-50c1-4f56-b9ce-4c309bfb92ca.jpg?1783935178","Freed from the Real",".\nAs I said, pretty simple: prioritize combos that require fewer cards.\nBut it's not that simple, actually, because the Pauper format has seen Familiars and Altar Tron being Tier 1 decks (even Tier 0, if you ask me) at some point.\nHow is that possible? Well…",[11,139,141],{"id":140},"what-digging-engine-do-your-combo-fit-in","What digging engine do your combo fit in?",[16,143,144,145,149],{},"When Altar Tron was super strong, the main spice came not from the “Altar” ingredient, but from the “Tron” one. By being a colorless combo, it naturally benefits from playing ",[59,146],{"image":147,"name":148},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F7\u002F2\u002F726039a0-6c0d-48ef-9b42-99de5d4e41d2.jpg?1783930155","Ancient Stirrings",", which also synergizes well with Tron lands.\nOnce Tron is assembled, drawing cards is easy, for you have a lot of mana, and that's why a 4 cards combo is usually assembled by turn 5 or so.",[16,151,152,153,157,158,63,162,166,167,171,172,176,177,179],{},"Ask yourself: if I play this combo, which draw engine will this combo benefit more from? It's not like we need to reinvent the wheel: we all know that Pauper has some card advantage mechanisms that are better than others.\nThe ",[59,154],{"image":155,"name":156},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F1\u002Fc\u002F1ccdb407-ac8f-4736-89d3-ab0d086096ea.jpg?1783927513","Ichor Wellspring"," + dispute effects is by far the best one, up there with the creature-centric ",[59,159],{"image":160,"name":161},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F9\u002Fe\u002F9e76b676-c7a3-4de6-a78d-3059a0df83f2.jpg?1783931034","Lead the Stampede",[59,163],{"image":164,"name":165},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002Fd\u002F3\u002Fd3340062-3071-4d8e-98f8-fd3343a011ad.jpg?1783911907","Winding Way",".\nThe rummage effects + Eidolons is one that has been floating around since the downshift of Izzet Charm, but just recently it was put into fruition thanks to new printings like ",[59,168],{"image":169,"name":170},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F7\u002F4\u002F74ca45a4-97ab-4255-9129-884e8b42b984.jpg?1783904933","Abandon Attachments"," and ",[59,173],{"image":174,"name":175},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F4\u002F5\u002F4584d5f7-b1f1-4c8e-80c5-ad35e44a968e.jpg?1783903635","Pursue the Past",".\nThere is also the ",[59,178],{"image":174,"name":175}," \u002F Flashback cards mechanism that you find in the Naya Cazzate deck popularized by Tommaso Loss and Lorenzo Montana, but that's more for midrange decks with, maybe, a combo as a plan B.",[16,181,182,183,63,187,191,192,63,196,200],{},"If you think about it, the best combo decks of the last few years relied on one of those engines: Glee Combo and Altar Tron on disputes, Walls Spy on the green one and Boros Tribe on Eidolons.\n",[59,184],{"image":185,"name":186},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002Fd\u002F1\u002Fd1f20175-8bfa-417a-912b-d6d472f091ab.jpg?1783945414","Seeker of Skybreak",[59,188],{"image":189,"name":190},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F4\u002F8\u002F485be72b-d784-4886-bb3a-48cff8f781c6.jpg?1783902931","Hawkeye's Bow"," lived for just a week, and it won multiple tournaments in the Naya Cazzate shell.\nIt also won a challenge in the golden hands of Alessandro Piraccini: we cooked a list that relied on a shell very similar to my version of Pizza Combo, using ",[59,193],{"image":194,"name":195},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002Ff\u002F4\u002Ff425b017-8c4d-457f-919a-f2686d71bcac.jpg?1783939995","Perilous Research",[59,197],{"image":198,"name":199},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F7\u002Fb\u002F7bfb33b6-e2bf-498f-8c58-ae21a840cf75.jpg?1783905984","Cryogen Relic",", basically the blue version of the dispute package.",[16,202,203,204,208],{},"The ability of most combo decks to win games is mostly predicated on their ability to see cards: you need to find your combo pieces in time and you need to find ways to beat interaction.\nThe more you draw, the more likely for those 2 things to happen.\nIf your deck is kinda forced to play a subpar draw engine, that's a red flag.\nAs an example, look at Tribe Combo: it has been a very strong deck in the UW version while ",[59,205],{"image":206,"name":207},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002Fd\u002F4\u002Fd4a3a921-3b7f-474c-b8c3-67a1a6ba5cc1.jpg?1783938742","Gush"," was legal, but after that it became less and less played.\nAfter many years in limbo, it returned as a better deck in the Boros Spirit archetype.",[11,210,212],{"id":211},"are-the-combo-cards-useful-outside-of-the-combo-itself","Are the combo cards useful outside of the combo itself?",[16,214,215],{},"Another metric that makes the difference.\nSometimes you fill your deck with cards that are unplayable in draft, and I must admit it's very satisfying when they become a game winning combination if put together.\nBut sometimes your life is easier, because you get to play with individually “good” cards.",[16,217,218],{},"The Pizza combo deck is a prime example of that:",[73,220,221,226,234],{},[76,222,223,225],{},[59,224],{"image":81,"name":82}," is a mana dork;",[76,227,228,229,233],{},"Pizza can be used to create a surprise block or as a protection spell vs opposing ",[59,230],{"image":231,"name":232},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F7\u002F6\u002F7673784e-db4b-43a1-8d55-1bb9fc1e284f.jpg?1783903008","Lightning Bolt","s, it even sticks around to be used to combo later: yay!",[76,235,236,237,171,239,241],{},"Helix can buy time by bouncing opposing creatures or draw cards by rebuying ",[59,238],{"image":155,"name":156},[59,240],{"image":198,"name":199},".",[16,243,244],{},"That's the reason Familiars has been one of the best contenders in the metagame so many times: yes, every combo they have access to is very slow and it requires many cards in order to be properly executed.\nBut every single card in there is good in the control game Fams is willing to play in most matchups.",[11,246,248],{"id":247},"is-your-combo-resilient-and-fast","Is your combo resilient and fast?",[16,250,251],{},"Everything we said so far was speculation upon the consistency and speed of a deck.\nConsistency is a metric of the ability of the deck to find the cards to execute its plan; speed can be thought to be the turn your opponent should assume they are dead on average if they don't interact with you.",[16,253,254,255,259,260,264],{},"When evaluating combos, there's another axis that should be taken into account, and that's resiliency.\nResiliency is the ability to beat interaction, and it's influenced by many factors.\nFirst, you need to understand on which axis a combo could be fought against.\nDoes it get stopped by creature removal? Every removal would do, or do they need a specific one? Maybe it dodges red ones? Or at least ",[59,256],{"image":257,"name":258},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002Fb\u002F1\u002Fb16dd041-451d-4914-8c46-aa315a90d802.jpg?1783933110","Lava Dart",", or maybe it gets around ",[59,261],{"image":262,"name":263},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F7\u002F5\u002F75bbe89f-09af-494e-b58e-271f64bde4b5.jpg?1783938751","Snuff Out"," by using black creatures? What about graveyard hate? Here's a list of the most common things that people throw at you.\nIt's by no means a complete collection, just a quick way to summarize things.",[16,266,267],{},"In the table below, you'll also find some examples with a number between 0 and 2.",[73,269,270,273,276],{},[76,271,272],{},"0 stands for “useless form of interaction against this combo”;",[76,274,275],{},"1 is for “works but it's not super effective” and",[76,277,278],{},"2 stands for “very good vs the combo”.",[280,281,282,303],"table",{},[283,284,285],"thead",{},[286,287,288,291,294,297,300],"tr",{},[289,290],"th",{},[289,292,293],{},"Glee Combo",[289,295,296],{},"Pizza Combo",[289,298,299],{},"Spy Combo",[289,301,302],{},"Altar Tron",[304,305,306,322,336,349,361,374,387,400,413],"tbody",{},[286,307,308,312,315,317,320],{},[309,310,311],"td",{},"Black removal",[309,313,314],{},"1",[309,316,314],{},[309,318,319],{},"0",[309,321,319],{},[286,323,324,327,329,332,334],{},[309,325,326],{},"Red removal",[309,328,314],{},[309,330,331],{},"2",[309,333,319],{},[309,335,319],{},[286,337,338,341,343,345,347],{},[309,339,340],{},"Sorcery speed removal",[309,342,319],{},[309,344,331],{},[309,346,319],{},[309,348,319],{},[286,350,351,353,355,357,359],{},[309,352,258],{},[309,354,314],{},[309,356,314],{},[309,358,319],{},[309,360,319],{},[286,362,363,366,368,370,372],{},[309,364,365],{},"Krark-Clan Shaman (KCS)",[309,367,314],{},[309,369,314],{},[309,371,331],{},[309,373,319],{},[286,375,376,379,381,383,385],{},[309,377,378],{},"Dispel",[309,380,319],{},[309,382,331],{},[309,384,319],{},[309,386,319],{},[286,388,389,392,394,396,398],{},[309,390,391],{},"Duress",[309,393,314],{},[309,395,331],{},[309,397,319],{},[309,399,331],{},[286,401,402,405,407,409,411],{},[309,403,404],{},"Graveyard Hate",[309,406,319],{},[309,408,319],{},[309,410,331],{},[309,412,331],{},[286,414,415,418,420,422,424],{},[309,416,417],{},"Disenchant effect",[309,419,314],{},[309,421,319],{},[309,423,319],{},[309,425,331],{},[16,427,428],{},"Looking at the table, you see that Glee Combo is the one that can be interacted with in more ways yet is the strongest.\nWhy is that? Firstly, as already stated, resiliency is not everything.\nAlso, resiliency is not just a function of how many cards are relevant to you in the abstract, but also of how much they are played and how hard they are to overcome.",[16,430,431],{},"If you play Spy, you mostly just care about KCS and graveyard hate, but the first one is really devastating, and the second one is ubiquitous.\nAlso, Spy has consistency problems that should be taken into account, but that's another story.",[16,433,434],{},"Glee, on the other hand, has a lot of “1”, because no card is super effective against them.\nSure, a timely removal spell could, in theory, stop the combo, but given the number of cards they see, the number of protection spells they have and the pressure they put on you by threatening the combo as soon as turn 3 without summoning sickness, it's very hard you would beat the deck with just 1 or 2 removal spells.",[16,436,437],{},"So, the matter is complex and you may start to grasp how speed, consistency and resiliency are different axes but also intertwined.\nI will not go into more details here; that will be the subject for another lesson.",[11,439,441],{"id":440},"recap","Recap",[16,443,444],{},"When evaluating if a combo can be turned into a “real” deck, prioritize combos with fewer cards required.\nAsk yourself if the cards would be good outside the combo.\nIf the answer is “no”, try to evaluate if the combo is resilient and fast enough to be worth it anyway.\nLastly, ask yourself which draw engine would fit better as a side dish for your main course: if the answer is “a very bad one”, I suspect it would not make for a gourmet meal.",{"title":446,"searchDepth":447,"depth":448,"links":449},"",2,3,[450,451,452,453,454,455,456,457],{"id":13,"depth":447,"text":14},{"id":21,"depth":447,"text":22},{"id":40,"depth":447,"text":41},{"id":47,"depth":447,"text":48},{"id":140,"depth":447,"text":141},{"id":211,"depth":447,"text":212},{"id":247,"depth":447,"text":248},{"id":440,"depth":447,"text":441},"article","2026-08-24",[],"Lesson One","md",{},true,"\u002Farticles\u002F2026-08-24-combo-class-part-1",{"text":467,"minutes":468,"time":469,"words":470},"10 min read",9.74,584400,1948,{"title":5,"description":461},{"loc":465},"articles\u002F2026-08-24-combo-class-part-1",[475],"Meta","\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Farts\u002Fmh2-240-the-underworld-cookbook.jpg","sdbLYsDkLV76RaL_S_ieJhw08K3bgSWaESmikAyH1yw",[479,484],{"title":480,"path":481,"stem":482,"description":483,"published":464,"children":-1},"Quanto è probabile assemblare Tron al turno 3?","\u002Farticles\u002F2026-07-31-probabilita-turno-tre-tron","articles\u002F2026-07-31-probabilita-turno-tre-tron","Matematica e simulazioni per capire le vere probabilità di Tron al turno 3 e il valore di Expedition Map.",null,[486],{"id":487,"avatar":488,"bio":489,"description":490,"extension":491,"meta":492,"name":6,"nickname":493,"socials":494,"stem":496,"url":497,"__hash__":498},"authors\u002Fauthors\u002Fbragioto-pietro.yml","\u002Fassets\u002Favatars\u002Fpietro-bragioto.jpg","Scribacchino di liste e report vari, saltuariamente scrivo qualche articolo interessante. Due volte l'anno provo la conquista dei Paupergeddon di Milano\u002FLecco e Firenze\u002FPisa, finora con discreti risultati.","Scribacchino di liste","yml",{},"crila-peoty",{"twitter":495},"https:\u002F\u002Fx.com\u002Fbragioto","authors\u002Fbragioto-pietro","\u002Fauthors\u002Fpietro-bragioto","sz69sqfJxuwxe2SGvRz_Rcns34Ut0BNuKckxABG5FHQ",{"links":500,"globalNormalizedLocationValues":1781,"relatedAuthors":1825},[501,1426,1515],{"id":502,"title":480,"author":503,"body":504,"category":458,"date":1412,"decks":1413,"description":483,"extension":462,"location":446,"meta":1414,"navigation":464,"path":481,"published":464,"readingTime":1415,"seo":1420,"sitemap":1421,"stem":482,"tags":1422,"thumbnail":1424,"__hash__":1425},"articles\u002Farticles\u002F2026-07-31-probabilita-turno-tre-tron.md","Hypergeomancer",{"type":8,"value":505,"toc":1397},[506,510,513,516,519,522,528,532,535,565,568,572,575,651,659,662,666,669,675,678,728,738,743,746,787,797,802,805,810,819,825,829,832,925,1077,1080,1084,1156,1163,1170,1173,1191,1195,1202,1205,1209,1291,1295,1298,1353,1357,1383,1386,1389,1393],[11,507,509],{"id":508},"introduzione","Introduzione",[16,511,512],{},"Assemblare Tron al turno 3 è la miglior partenza del mazzo e spesso porta a vincere direttamente la partita.\nTutto, dalla costruzione della lista alle scelte di mulligan, ruota attorno a una singola domanda: quanto spesso è davvero possibile assemblare le tre terre il più rapidamente possibile?",[16,514,515],{},"L'intuizione dei giocatori tende a oscillare tra due estremi: da un lato, la sensazione che Tron \"avvenga sempre\" quando serve; dall'altro, la frustrazione di mani che non ci arrivano nemmeno lontanamente.\nSenza numeri, è difficile capire quale delle due percezioni sia più vicina alla realtà.",[16,517,518],{},"In questo articolo fissiamo uno scenario di riferimento e analizziamo il problema in modo rigoroso ma concreto.\nVedremo come cambiano le cose al variare delle configurazioni e perché alcune carte e decisioni hanno un impatto molto più grande di quanto sembri.",[16,520,521],{},"Sono Hypergeomancer, matematico e giocatore competitivo di Magic.\nQuella che segue non è una guida strategica, ma un'analisi quantitativa che ha l'obiettivo di misurare quel che finora era stato soltanto intuito.",[523,524],"magic-cards",{":cards":525,"caption":526,"layout":527},"[\"Urza's Tower\",\"Urza's Power Plant\",\"Urza's Mine\"]","Le tre terre del Tron","hand",[11,529,531],{"id":530},"lo-scenario-di-riferimento","Lo scenario di riferimento",[16,533,534],{},"Per fare calcoli servono i numeri di uno scenario fisso.\nPrendiamo la configurazione 4-4-4-4 usata nei mazzi competitivi:",[73,536,537,544,550,556,562],{},[76,538,539,540],{},"4 ",[59,541],{"image":542,"name":543},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F1\u002Fe\u002F1e9f09b3-dd2d-4ba9-a57e-4f3c1793f752.jpg?1783915371","Urza's Tower",[76,545,539,546],{},[59,547],{"image":548,"name":549},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F3\u002F9\u002F396bbb7d-ae61-4d8d-b931-9ed2f712832e.jpg?1783915371","Urza's Mine",[76,551,539,552],{},[59,553],{"image":554,"name":555},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002Fb\u002F0\u002Fb0449a19-37f7-4169-9e32-928db5ec76fe.jpg?1783915370","Urza's Power Plant",[76,557,539,558],{},[59,559],{"image":560,"name":561},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F0\u002F8\u002F08e66835-c228-48fa-bcaa-eb96edbd4f5a.jpg?1783908888","Expedition Map",[76,563,564],{},"44 altre carte",[16,566,567],{},"Mazzo da 60 carte, mano iniziale di 7.\nQuesta struttura è praticamente universale nelle liste competitive: deviare da essa riduce la consistenza in modo drastico.\nStudieremo separatamente le varie configurazioni per assemblare le tre terre al terzo turno.",[11,569,571],{"id":570},"tron-naturale-pescare-tutte-e-tre","Tron Naturale: pescare tutte e tre",[16,573,574],{},"Il caso più semplice: la mano iniziale contiene almeno una copia di ciascuna terra del Tron.\nLa probabilità esatta, calcolata con la distribuzione ipergeometrica, è:",[576,577,580],"span",{"className":578},[579],"katex-display",[576,581,584,621],{"className":582},[583],"katex",[576,585,588],{"className":586},[587],"katex-mathml",[589,590,593],"math",{"xmlns":591,"display":592},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.w3.org\u002F1998\u002FMath\u002FMathML","block",[594,595,596,616],"semantics",{},[597,598,599,603,608,612],"mrow",{},[600,601,602],"mn",{},"4.71",[604,605,607],"mi",{"mathvariant":606},"normal","%",[609,610],"mspace",{"width":611},"1em",[613,614,615],"mtext",{},"(circa 1 mano su 21)",[617,618,620],"annotation",{"encoding":619},"application\u002Fx-tex","4.71\\% \\quad \\text{(circa 1 mano su 21)}",[576,622,626],{"className":623,"ariaHidden":625},[624],"katex-html","true",[576,627,630,635,640,644],{"className":628},[629],"base",[576,631],{"className":632,"style":634},[633],"strut","height:1em;vertical-align:-0.25em;",[576,636,639],{"className":637},[638],"mord","4.71%",[576,641],{"className":642,"style":643},[609],"margin-right:1em;",[576,645,648],{"className":646},[638,647],"text",[576,649,615],{"className":650},[638],[16,652,653,654,658],{},"Meno di una partita su venti.\nSe ti sembra poco, hai ragione: ",[655,656,657],"strong",{},"il Tron Naturale da solo non può reggere un archetipo competitivo",".\nCon questa frequenza, aspetteresti in media circa 21 partite prima di vedere una mano con tutte e tre le terre.\nA un torneo di 8 turni, potresti non vederlo neanche una volta..",[16,660,661],{},"Perché è un numero così basso? Perché servono carte specifiche da tre gruppi diversi.\nAvere quattro copie di ciascuna aiuta, ma con 60 carte nel mazzo e solo 7 in mano, la combinatoria è spietata.",[11,663,665],{"id":664},"tron-assistito-il-ruolo-di-expedition-map","Tron Assistito: il ruolo di Expedition Map",[667,668],"magic-card-art-crop",{"card":561},[16,670,671,672,674],{},"Ed è qui che entra ",[59,673],{"image":560,"name":561},".\nIl piano B, e, come vedremo, il piano principale.\nUna mano con due terre del Tron diverse e almeno una Mappa permette di cercare il pezzo mancante e assemblare il Tron al turno 3.",[16,676,677],{},"La probabilità di questa configurazione è:",[576,679,681],{"className":680},[579],[576,682,684,706],{"className":683},[583],[576,685,687],{"className":686},[587],[589,688,689],{"xmlns":591,"display":592},[594,690,691,703],{},[597,692,693,696,698,700],{},[600,694,695],{},"10.20",[604,697,607],{"mathvariant":606},[609,699],{"width":611},[613,701,702],{},"(circa 1 mano su 10)",[617,704,705],{"encoding":619},"10.20\\% \\quad \\text{(circa 1 mano su 10)}",[576,707,709],{"className":708,"ariaHidden":625},[624],[576,710,712,715,719,722],{"className":711},[629],[576,713],{"className":714,"style":634},[633],[576,716,718],{"className":717},[638],"10.20%",[576,720],{"className":721,"style":643},[609],[576,723,725],{"className":724},[638,647],[576,726,702],{"className":727},[638],[16,729,730,731,733,734,737],{},"Più del doppio del Tron Naturale.\nE non è una coincidenza: ",[59,732],{"image":560,"name":561}," trasforma ",[655,735,736],{},"ogni coppia"," di terre del Tron in un potenziale Tron completo.\nSenza Mappa, servono combinazioni da tre carte specifiche; con Mappa, bastano combinazioni da due carte specifiche più una generica (la Mappa stessa, appunto).",[739,740,742],"h3",{"id":741},"la-mappa-conta-molto-più-di-quanto-pensi","La Mappa conta molto più di quanto pensi",[16,744,745],{},"Il rapporto è netto:",[280,747,748,759],{},[283,749,750],{},[286,751,752,755],{},[289,753,754],{},"Configurazione",[289,756,758],{"align":757},"center","Probabilità",[304,760,761,768,775],{},[286,762,763,766],{},[309,764,765],{},"Tron Naturale",[309,767,639],{"align":757},[286,769,770,773],{},[309,771,772],{},"Tron Assistito (con Mappa)",[309,774,718],{"align":757},[286,776,777,782],{},[309,778,779],{},[655,780,781],{},"Tron al Turno 3 (totale)",[309,783,784],{"align":757},[655,785,786],{},"14.91%",[16,788,789,790,792,793,796],{},"Questi due eventi sono mutualmente esclusivi: una mano non può essere sia Tron Naturale che Tron Assistito, quindi la probabilità totale è semplicemente la somma: ",[655,791,786],{},", circa ",[655,794,795],{},"1 mano su 7"," (una coincidenza numerica degna di Tron).",[798,799],"bar-chart",{":data":800,"seriesName":758,"title":801},"[{\"name\":\"Naturale\",\"value\":4.71},{\"name\":\"Assistito\",\"value\":10.2},{\"name\":\"Totale\",\"value\":14.91}]","Tron al Turno 3 - Composizione",[16,803,804],{},"Ma il dato più rilevante è la composizione di quel 14.91%:",[806,807],"pie-chart",{":data":808,"title":809},"[{\"value\":68.4,\"name\":\"Tron Assistito\"},{\"value\":31.6,\"name\":\"Tron Naturale\"}]","Composizione del Tron al Turno 3",[16,811,812,815,816,818],{},[655,813,814],{},"Più di due mani iniziali su tre"," che assemblano Tron al turno 3 lo fanno grazie a ",[59,817],{"image":560,"name":561},", non per fortuna nelle pescate.\nIl rapporto è 2.17 a 1: per ogni volta che peschi Tron Naturale, la Mappa lo assembla più di due volte.",[16,820,821,822,824],{},"Questo spiega perché ",[59,823],{"image":560,"name":561}," è giocata in quattro copie in ogni lista competitiva recente senza eccezione.\nNon si tratta di un semplice \"aiuto\", ma è il motore principale dell'archetipo.",[11,826,828],{"id":827},"la-matematica-del-mulligan","La matematica del mulligan",[16,830,831],{},"Una mano su sette non sembra granché.\nMa nel Magic esiste il mulligan, e per Tron significa molto.\nOgni tentativo è un nuovo lancio di dadi indipendente dal precedente: rimescoli, peschi, e le probabilità ripartono da zero.",[16,833,834,835,865,866,924],{},"La formula è semplice.\nSe ",[576,836,838,851],{"className":837},[583],[576,839,841],{"className":840},[587],[589,842,843],{"xmlns":591},[594,844,845,849],{},[597,846,847],{},[604,848,16],{},[617,850,16],{"encoding":619},[576,852,854],{"className":853,"ariaHidden":625},[624],[576,855,857,861],{"className":856},[629],[576,858],{"className":859,"style":860},[633],"height:0.625em;vertical-align:-0.1944em;",[576,862,16],{"className":863},[638,864],"mathnormal"," è la probabilità di successo per singolo tentativo (cioè la probabilità di assemblare Tron al turno 3 in una singola mano), la probabilità di trovare almeno una mano buona in ",[576,867,869,890],{"className":868},[583],[576,870,872],{"className":871},[587],[589,873,874],{"xmlns":591},[594,875,876,887],{},[597,877,878,881,885],{},[604,879,880],{},"n",[882,883,884],"mo",{},"+",[600,886,314],{},[617,888,889],{"encoding":619},"n+1",[576,891,893,914],{"className":892,"ariaHidden":625},[624],[576,894,896,900,903,907,911],{"className":895},[629],[576,897],{"className":898,"style":899},[633],"height:0.6667em;vertical-align:-0.0833em;",[576,901,880],{"className":902},[638,864],[576,904],{"className":905,"style":906},[609],"margin-right:0.2222em;",[576,908,884],{"className":909},[910],"mbin",[576,912],{"className":913,"style":906},[609],[576,915,917,921],{"className":916},[629],[576,918],{"className":919,"style":920},[633],"height:0.6444em;",[576,922,314],{"className":923},[638]," tentativi è:",[576,926,928],{"className":927},[579],[576,929,931,972],{"className":930},[583],[576,932,934],{"className":933},[587],[589,935,936],{"xmlns":591,"display":592},[594,937,938,969],{},[597,939,940,942,945,949,951,953,955],{},[600,941,314],{},[882,943,944],{},"−",[882,946,948],{"stretchy":947},"false","(",[600,950,314],{},[882,952,944],{},[604,954,16],{},[956,957,958,961],"msup",{},[882,959,960],{"stretchy":947},")",[597,962,963,965,967],{},[604,964,880],{},[882,966,884],{},[600,968,314],{},[617,970,971],{"encoding":619},"1 - (1-p)^{n+1}",[576,973,975,994,1016],{"className":974,"ariaHidden":625},[624],[576,976,978,982,985,988,991],{"className":977},[629],[576,979],{"className":980,"style":981},[633],"height:0.7278em;vertical-align:-0.0833em;",[576,983,314],{"className":984},[638],[576,986],{"className":987,"style":906},[609],[576,989,944],{"className":990},[910],[576,992],{"className":993,"style":906},[609],[576,995,997,1000,1004,1007,1010,1013],{"className":996},[629],[576,998],{"className":999,"style":634},[633],[576,1001,948],{"className":1002},[1003],"mopen",[576,1005,314],{"className":1006},[638],[576,1008],{"className":1009,"style":906},[609],[576,1011,944],{"className":1012},[910],[576,1014],{"className":1015,"style":906},[609],[576,1017,1019,1023,1026],{"className":1018},[629],[576,1020],{"className":1021,"style":1022},[633],"height:1.1141em;vertical-align:-0.25em;",[576,1024,16],{"className":1025},[638,864],[576,1027,1030,1033],{"className":1028},[1029],"mclose",[576,1031,960],{"className":1032},[1029],[576,1034,1037],{"className":1035},[1036],"msupsub",[576,1038,1041],{"className":1039},[1040],"vlist-t",[576,1042,1045],{"className":1043},[1044],"vlist-r",[576,1046,1050],{"className":1047,"style":1049},[1048],"vlist","height:0.8641em;",[576,1051,1053,1058],{"style":1052},"top:-3.113em;margin-right:0.05em;",[576,1054],{"className":1055,"style":1057},[1056],"pstrut","height:2.7em;",[576,1059,1065],{"className":1060},[1061,1062,1063,1064],"sizing","reset-size6","size3","mtight",[576,1066,1068,1071,1074],{"className":1067},[638,1064],[576,1069,880],{"className":1070},[638,864,1064],[576,1072,884],{"className":1073},[910,1064],[576,1075,314],{"className":1076},[638,1064],[16,1078,1079],{},"Ogni mulligan che non trova Tron \"usa\" un tentativo, ma la probabilità cumulativa cresce rapidamente.",[739,1081,1083],{"id":1082},"i-numeri-tentativo-per-tentativo","I numeri, tentativo per tentativo",[280,1085,1086,1101],{},[283,1087,1088],{},[286,1089,1090,1093,1095,1098],{},[289,1091,1092],{},"Tentativi",[289,1094,765],{"align":757},[289,1096,1097],{"align":757},"Tron Assistito",[289,1099,1100],{"align":757},"Tron T3",[304,1102,1103,1114,1128,1142],{},[286,1104,1105,1108,1110,1112],{},[309,1106,1107],{},"1 (nessun mulligan)",[309,1109,639],{"align":757},[309,1111,718],{"align":757},[309,1113,786],{"align":757},[286,1115,1116,1119,1122,1125],{},[309,1117,1118],{},"2 (mulligan a 6)",[309,1120,1121],{"align":757},"9.19%",[309,1123,1124],{"align":757},"19.36%",[309,1126,1127],{"align":757},"27.60%",[286,1129,1130,1133,1136,1139],{},[309,1131,1132],{},"3 (mulligan a 5)",[309,1134,1135],{"align":757},"13.46%",[309,1137,1138],{"align":757},"27.52%",[309,1140,1141],{"align":757},"38.90%",[286,1143,1144,1147,1150,1153],{},[309,1145,1146],{},"4 (mulligan a 4)",[309,1148,1149],{"align":757},"17.52%",[309,1151,1152],{"align":757},"34.79%",[309,1154,1155],{"align":757},"47.98%",[1157,1158],"line-chart",{":categories":1159,":series":1160,"title":1161,"yAxisName":1162},"[\"1 (nessun mulligan)\",\"2 (mulligan a 6)\",\"3 (mulligan a 5)\",\"4 (mulligan a 4)\"]","[{\"name\":\"Tron Naturale\",\"data\":[4.71,9.19,13.46,17.52]},{\"name\":\"Tron Assistito\",\"data\":[10.2,19.36,27.52,34.79]},{\"name\":\"Tron T3\",\"data\":[14.91,27.6,38.9,47.98]}]","Probabilità Cumulativa per Numero di Mulligan","Probabilità %",[16,1164,1165,1166,1169],{},"Un singolo mulligan da solo quasi raddoppia le probabilità: da 14.91% a 27.60%.\nDopo due mulligan si arriva a 38.90%, e con tre tentativi si sfiora ",[655,1167,1168],{},"48%",". Quasi un lancio di moneta.",[16,1171,1172],{},"Due osservazioni importanti:",[1174,1175,1176,1182],"ol",{},[76,1177,1178,1181],{},[655,1179,1180],{},"Il primo mulligan è il più prezioso."," Il salto da 14.91% a 27.60% (quasi +13 punti percentuali) è il guadagno più grande. Ogni mulligan successivo aggiunge meno: è la natura della crescita esponenziale.",[76,1183,1184,1187,1188,1190],{},[655,1185,1186],{},"Il rapporto Assistito\u002FNaturale resta costante."," A ogni mulligan, il Tron Assistito è circa 2.17 volte più frequente del Tron Naturale. Questo significa che il valore strategico di ",[59,1189],{"image":560,"name":561}," non dipende dalla profondità del mulligan: è strutturale.",[739,1192,1194],{"id":1193},"cosa-vuol-dire-in-pratica","Cosa vuol dire in pratica?",[16,1196,1197,1198,1201],{},"Se giochi Tron e sei disposto a mulligare aggressivamente fino a 5 carte, hai circa il ",[655,1199,1200],{},"39%"," di probabilità di assemblare Tron al turno 3.\nIn un torneo di 8 turni, questo si traduce in circa 3 partite con Tron assemblato subito: abbastanza per rendere l'archetipo competitivo.",[16,1203,1204],{},"Se arrivi fino a mulligan a 4 (rischioso, ma a volte necessario), sfiori 48%.\nQuasi un lancio di moneta.",[11,1206,1208],{"id":1207},"i-numeri-riassunti","I numeri riassunti",[280,1210,1211,1221],{},[283,1212,1213],{},[286,1214,1215,1218],{},[289,1216,1217],{},"Evento",[289,1219,1220],{"align":757},"Valore",[304,1222,1223,1231,1239,1251,1259,1267,1275,1283],{},[286,1224,1225,1228],{},[309,1226,1227],{},"Tron Naturale (mano a 7)",[309,1229,1230],{"align":757},"4.71% (1 su 21)",[286,1232,1233,1236],{},[309,1234,1235],{},"Tron Assistito (mano a 7)",[309,1237,1238],{"align":757},"10.20% (1 su 10)",[286,1240,1241,1246],{},[309,1242,1243],{},[655,1244,1245],{},"Tron T3 (mano a 7)",[309,1247,1248],{"align":757},[655,1249,1250],{},"14.91% (1 su 7)",[286,1252,1253,1256],{},[309,1254,1255],{},"Tron T3 dopo 1 mulligan",[309,1257,1258],{"align":757},"27.60% (1 su 3.6)",[286,1260,1261,1264],{},[309,1262,1263],{},"Tron T3 dopo 2 mulligan",[309,1265,1266],{"align":757},"38.90% (1 su 2.6)",[286,1268,1269,1272],{},[309,1270,1271],{},"Tron T3 dopo 3 mulligan",[309,1273,1274],{"align":757},"47.98% (1 su 2.1)",[286,1276,1277,1280],{},[309,1278,1279],{},"Quota di Tron T3 da Mappa",[309,1281,1282],{"align":757},"68.4%",[286,1284,1285,1288],{},[309,1286,1287],{},"Rapporto Assistito \u002F Naturale",[309,1289,1290],{"align":757},"2.17",[11,1292,1294],{"id":1293},"verifica-un-milione-di-partite-simulate","Verifica: un milione di partite simulate",[16,1296,1297],{},"Per controllare la correttezza di questi risultati, li abbiamo verificati simulando un milione di mani iniziali al computer (con il metodo Monte Carlo).\nI risultati simulati coincidono con i calcoli teorici con un margine d'errore inferiore a 0.1% (compatibile con la casualità statistica):",[280,1299,1300,1315],{},[283,1301,1302],{},[286,1303,1304,1306,1309,1312],{},[289,1305,1217],{},[289,1307,1308],{"align":757},"Teorico",[289,1310,1311],{"align":757},"Simulato",[289,1313,1314],{"align":757},"Errore",[304,1316,1317,1329,1341],{},[286,1318,1319,1321,1323,1326],{},[309,1320,765],{},[309,1322,639],{"align":757},[309,1324,1325],{"align":757},"4.70%",[309,1327,1328],{"align":757},"0.01%",[286,1330,1331,1333,1335,1338],{},[309,1332,1097],{},[309,1334,718],{"align":757},[309,1336,1337],{"align":757},"10.25%",[309,1339,1340],{"align":757},"0.05%",[286,1342,1343,1345,1347,1350],{},[309,1344,1100],{},[309,1346,786],{"align":757},[309,1348,1349],{"align":757},"14.95%",[309,1351,1352],{"align":757},"0.04%",[11,1354,1356],{"id":1355},"conclusione-tre-cose-da-ricordare","Conclusione: tre cose da ricordare",[1174,1358,1359,1371,1377],{},[76,1360,1361,1364,1365,1367,1368,1370],{},[655,1362,1363],{},"Senza Mappa, Tron non può essere un archetipo."," Il 4.71% di Tron Naturale è troppo basso per competere. ",[59,1366],{"image":560,"name":561}," porta il totale a 14.91%, trasformando una curiosità in una strategia (non a caso, un precedente ban di ",[59,1369],{"image":560,"name":561}," ha reso il mazzo praticamente non competitivo per mesi).",[76,1372,1373,1376],{},[655,1374,1375],{},"La Mappa non è un piano B, è il piano A."," Più di due terzi delle mani che assemblano Tron al turno 3 passano per Mappa. Trattarla come \"supporto\" è un errore concettuale.",[76,1378,1379,1382],{},[655,1380,1381],{},"I mulligan aggressivi funzionano."," Ogni mulligan aggiuntivo offre una nuova possibilità indipendente. Due mulligan portano a 39%, tre a 48%. La struttura 4-4-4-4 è progettata per reggere questa strategia.",[16,1384,1385],{},"Alla fine, Tron è un archetipo fondato su due pilastri: una configurazione del mazzo ottimizzata e una gestione disciplinata del mulligan.\nLa matematica quantifica quello che i giocatori esperti sanno per istinto, e conferma che quel singolo artefatto da un mana è, probabilisticamente parlando, la carta più importante del mazzo.",[1387,1388],"hr",{},[1390,1391],"video-preview",{"url":1392},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FB_UUarIJt2E",[1394,1395],"paper-preview",{"url":1396},"https:\u002F\u002Fzenodo.org\u002Frecords\u002F18802326",{"title":446,"searchDepth":447,"depth":448,"links":1398},[1399,1400,1401,1402,1405,1409,1410,1411],{"id":508,"depth":447,"text":509},{"id":530,"depth":447,"text":531},{"id":570,"depth":447,"text":571},{"id":664,"depth":447,"text":665,"children":1403},[1404],{"id":741,"depth":448,"text":742},{"id":827,"depth":447,"text":828,"children":1406},[1407,1408],{"id":1082,"depth":448,"text":1083},{"id":1193,"depth":448,"text":1194},{"id":1207,"depth":447,"text":1208},{"id":1293,"depth":447,"text":1294},{"id":1355,"depth":447,"text":1356},"2026-07-31",[],{},{"text":1416,"minutes":1417,"time":1418,"words":1419},"6 min read",5.515,330900,1103,{"title":480,"description":483},{"loc":481},[475,1423],"Data Analysis","\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Farts\u002Fatq-85b-urza-s-tower.jpg","FDHCbUTHTGxKbnmg83uQNg2aR3F7FtLxn4wDQDUXQ9w",{"id":1427,"title":1428,"author":6,"body":1429,"category":458,"date":1499,"decks":1500,"description":1501,"extension":462,"location":446,"meta":1502,"navigation":464,"path":1503,"published":464,"readingTime":1504,"seo":1509,"sitemap":1510,"stem":1511,"tags":1512,"thumbnail":1513,"__hash__":1514},"articles\u002Farticles\u002F2026-07-29-intervista-walker.md","4 Questions with Walker",{"type":8,"value":1430,"toc":1493},[1431,1434,1438,1441,1444,1447,1451,1454,1457,1467,1470,1473,1476,1480,1483,1487,1490],[16,1432,1433],{},"With the recent win of the Pauper Showcase Qualifier event, Walker735 aka Paolo Donfrancesco qualified for the Pro Tour, the MOCS and the Regional.\nA true Godtracker of Jund!",[11,1435,1437],{"id":1436},"lets-start-with-jund-i-want-you-to-weight-the-factors-of-your-deck-choice-best-deck-pet-deck-and-expertise-do-you-choose-jund-only-because-you-think-it-is-the-best-deck-in-pauper-right-now-or-because-of-the-comfort-pick-factor","Let's start with Jund, I want you to weight the factors of your deck choice: best deck, pet deck and expertise. Do you choose Jund only because you think it is the best deck in Pauper right now or because of the comfort pick factor?",[16,1439,1440],{},"Both. On one hand, with only four days to prepare for the event, Jund was the only deck I could confidently play at these stakes. I have about 1.5k matches with Jund, while with most other Pauper decks my experience ranges between 10 and 200 matches. So, if I have a pet deck, it's definitely Jund. You could even call it my \"baby\", since I had the biggest role in the deck's development from the start.",[16,1442,1443],{},"On the other hand, the reason why I've played a disproportionate amount of matches with Jund is that it has consistently been among the top three best Pauper decks during the last two years, even occupying the #1 spot for most of the time. I like Jund's play style, but believe me: it gets boring after you play a thousand times against the same decks. At most tournaments, I simply can't justify playing anything else.",[16,1445,1446],{},"When you play an invitational where you know the names of all your opponents, there is always the possibility of making a meta call and bring a deck that is good against them. But the existence of Jund basically nullifies this possibility, because rather than playing a weaker deck that should be well-positioned, you can simply adapt Jund's flex slots to beat what you're expecting to face.",[11,1448,1450],{"id":1449},"what-do-you-think-of-qualification-system-we-have-right-now","What do you think of qualification system we have right now?",[16,1452,1453],{},"I've always been a big fan of the MOCS circuit on Magic Online. Having the champions of each format battle against each other for such high stakes is very exciting, and the very idea of a format champion is a huge goal for the players of that format.",[16,1455,1456],{},"Many people chase the MOCS qualification for the cash and invites it brings. Now that I'm here, I care about those things too, but for 6 years, I've dreamt of winning the Pauper Showcase Qualifier because I wanted to be the best Pauper player, and I only considered the cash to be a way of guaranteeing the prestige of this title.",[16,1458,1459,1460,241],{},"When I had just started playing Pauper, the amazing Pauper Player's Podcast by Frucile published the interviews to the top4 players of that year's Showcase Qualifier (it was actually called Pauper Championship at the time). I'll link here the interview to the champion Kirblinxy, but from there, you can also check out the other three ",[1461,1462,1466],"a",{"href":1463,"rel":1464},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=4bxBwIpLLZQ",[1465],"nofollow","ep. 18-20",[16,1468,1469],{},"These interviews inspired me to take the format more seriously and try to get in that position. For the first time, something like that felt achievable because I only needed to play a 50$ deck from the comfort of my home (as delusional as that was).",[16,1471,1472],{},"I have fond memories of when I played my first Showcase Qualifier by renting for a day the only computer station at a casino in Dublin, because it was the only facility that would stay open through the night. And I like nerding on this stuff so much that I recently asked Kirblinxy to make a spreadsheet with the historical data of Pauper Showcase Qualifiers.",[16,1474,1475],{},"The only critique I have for the current showcase system is that I don't like Last Chance events. Nobody likes single-elimination tournaments, and for good reason. But I do understand that it's a way for Daybreak to make players burn play points, and that has an overall positive effect on the game's economy.",[11,1477,1479],{"id":1478},"how-are-you-going-to-live-the-mocs-and-the-pt-preparation-tryharding-all-the-formats-place-your-bet-in-a-specific-portion-letìs-say-modern-or-chill-your-way","How are you going to live the MOCS and the PT preparation? Tryharding all the formats, place your bet in a specific portion letìs say Modern or chill your way?",[16,1481,1482],{},"While it's true that I've barely played other formats, having checked all my boxes in Pauper makes me willing to find new goals, and the invites to the MOCS and the Pro Tour will challenge me in new ways.\nI'm sure that those tournaments will be great experiences even if I don't win a single match, but I don't want to go there just as a tourist. I want to get there well-prepared. It will be hard and it will be very different from what I'm used to, but I'm willing to try and put in the work.\nFinding a team will be essential, I hope that someone will be willing to take me in, but I'll have to ask around and see how that works.",[11,1484,1486],{"id":1485},"are-you-satisfied-of-the-current-state-of-pauper-in-the-competitive-world","Are you satisfied of the current state of Pauper in the competitive world?",[16,1488,1489],{},"This is the hardest question. Pauper is home to all kinds of players, thanks to a perfect balance of competitive and community-driven elements.\nAs much as I like the idea of having more opportunities in Pauper, upsetting the current balance would carry the danger of ruining the vibes and make Pauper unrecognizable.",[16,1491,1492],{},"A solution that I'd be willing to entertain would be to have just 2-3 more PT slots per year come from Pauper.\nEnough to entice some Pauper players, but not enough to make the average Pauper tournament participant be someone who is specifically looking for an invite.",{"title":446,"searchDepth":447,"depth":448,"links":1494},[1495,1496,1497,1498],{"id":1436,"depth":447,"text":1437},{"id":1449,"depth":447,"text":1450},{"id":1478,"depth":447,"text":1479},{"id":1485,"depth":447,"text":1486},"2026-07-29",[],"Showcase Qualifier Winner",{},"\u002Farticles\u002F2026-07-29-intervista-walker",{"text":1505,"minutes":1506,"time":1507,"words":1508},"5 min read",4.425,265500,885,{"title":1428,"description":1501},{"loc":1503},"articles\u002F2026-07-29-intervista-walker",[475],"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Farts\u002Farb-55-godtracker-of-jund.jpg","pEVNiSn6DYApafQU-W6oGYpqKm1_h_zR4WxRWT0smCY",{"id":1516,"title":1517,"author":1518,"body":1519,"category":458,"date":1765,"decks":1766,"description":1767,"extension":462,"location":446,"meta":1768,"navigation":464,"path":1769,"published":464,"readingTime":1770,"seo":1775,"sitemap":1776,"stem":1777,"tags":1778,"thumbnail":1779,"__hash__":1780},"articles\u002Farticles\u002F2026-07-05-descent-into-madness.md","A Descent into Madness","Paolo Donfrancesco",{"type":8,"value":1520,"toc":1757},[1521,1524,1530,1536,1540,1544,1547,1553,1556,1586,1601,1604,1607,1610,1621,1641,1647,1650,1658,1664,1669,1672,1675,1678,1693,1708,1712,1718,1721,1724,1727,1731,1734,1737,1740,1746,1750],[11,1522,1517],{"id":1523},"a-descent-into-madness",[16,1525,1526,1527,1529],{},"This Monday, many competitive Pauper players were shocked to learn about ",[59,1528],{"image":185,"name":186}," 's ban.\nIt was the fastest-ever action in the format's history, pre-bans excluded, and it raised questions about the Pauper Format Panel's methodology.",[16,1531,1532,1533,1535],{},"In this article, I won't focus much on establishing whether the ",[59,1534],{"image":185,"name":186}," combo was too strong or not, because that's not what the Pauper Format Panel's statement is about.\nI will highlight the flaws in the philosophy that led the Pauper Format Panel to the ban, and I will draw some general conclusions from how the whole story unfolded.",[523,1537],{":cards":1538,"caption":1539},"[\"Hawkeye's Bow\",\"Seeker of Skybreak ()\"]","Seeker of Skybreak's combo",[739,1541,1543],{"id":1542},"the-pauper-format-panel-statement","The Pauper Format Panel Statement",[16,1545,1546],{},"Let's start breaking down the official announcement.",[1548,1549,1550],"article-quote",{},[16,1551,1552],{},"The Naya Gates deck has won all three Magic Online challenges at the time of writing this article, and sideboards are full of cards to help fight against this deck.",[16,1554,1555],{},"Three Challenges over two days aren't a meaningful sample for evaluating a new deck.\nThe results are highly sensitive to variance, and they tell us almost nothing about how the metagame can adapt.\nBut let's discuss the second part of this sentence, which I find ambiguous.\nI will address both possible meanings:",[73,1557,1558,1575],{},[76,1559,1560,1561,1563,1564],{},"The format is naturally well-equipped to fight the ",[59,1562],{"image":185,"name":186}," combo.",[73,1565,1566],{},[76,1567,1568,1569,1571,1572,1574],{},"I agree that the format has good counterplay to the combo.\nThis would be an argument against banning ",[59,1570],{"image":185,"name":186},".\nI assume this is meant to contrast with the three Challenge wins.\nIn other words, despite all the available hate, ",[59,1573],{"image":185,"name":186}," still won.\nBut tool availability isn't the only factor: players also need time to learn how to play against a brand-new combo deck and how to sideboard correctly.\nI think that the combo was only a modest boost to the existing Naya Gates deck.\nThe Challenge results from Friday through Sunday already seemed to support this conclusion.\nUnfortunately, those events fell outside the time window considered by the Pauper Format Panel.",[76,1576,1577,1578],{},"The format's sideboards were warped to fight Naya Seeker of Skybreak.",[73,1579,1580],{},[76,1581,1582,1583,1585],{},"If this is the intended meaning, then the statement isn't consistent with the available decklists.\nMost lists didn't change after ",[59,1584],{"image":189,"name":190},"'s release.",[1548,1587,1588],{},[16,1589,1590,1591,1595,1596,1600],{},"After a lot of discussion over the past two weeks, we have decided that cheap and easy-to-run two-card combinations are not something we think are healthy for Pauper.\nIf they're more expensive to cast or require more pieces, that can be fine — I want to stress that combos themselves are not something we are against — but letting players run eight cards that can be easily slotted into a deck a la ",[59,1592],{"image":1593,"name":1594},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F5\u002Ff\u002F5feba5d6-99a6-4e9b-8a7d-90d955868fc3.jpg?1783911263","Basking Broodscale"," (or ",[59,1597],{"image":1598,"name":1599},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F5\u002F8\u002F580fbbf8-ba7e-4889-a5ea-d066f3ea8cea.jpg?1783938401","Splinter Twin",") and that can combo this quickly is a play pattern that we want to keep out of the format.",[16,1602,1603],{},"This statement is just unrealistic.\nThey say they aren't against combo per se, but how can a combo deck ever be tier 1 while complying with their standards?",[16,1605,1606],{},"Creature combo decks requiring multiple pieces, such as Goblin Combo and Walls Combo, have succeeded in the past.\nThe format, however, has become much more powerful.\nToday, a creature combo deck that needs three or more cards is unlikely to become a serious tier 1 contender.\nIf two-card combos are ruled out on principle, relevant creature combo decks effectively disappear from Pauper.",[16,1608,1609],{},"This is particularly alarming because in a creature-centric format like Pauper, creature-based combo decks are the most honest and interactive combo decks that I can imagine.\nIf even those are banned for philosophical reasons, I can't imagine other kinds of combo decks surviving in tier 1.",[16,1611,1612,1613,1615,1616,1620],{},"On the other hand, the Pauper Format Panel let a spell-based combo deck like High Tide survive for 8 months, giving it a lot more leeway than ",[59,1614],{"image":185,"name":186},", despite being a significantly less interactable combo deck.\nSo I might be missing something about their hierarchy of values.\nBut they did eventually ban ",[59,1617],{"image":1618,"name":1619},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002Fb\u002Fa\u002Fbabd2248-5517-4b7b-a159-9a1f7b5583c8.jpg?1783918492","High Tide",", so I doubt we're going to see spell-based combo decks in the future.",[16,1622,1623,1624,1626,1627,171,1629,1626,1631,1635,1636,171,1638,1640],{},"That still doesn't cover every possibility.\nWe also have graveyard-based combo decks such as Cycling Storm, and mixed combo decks such as Gruul Storm, which uses both creatures and spells.\nSuppose one of these decks received enough support to become tier 1.\nWould the Pauper Format Panel allow it to remain legal? Maybe.\nThey haven't explicitly taken a stance against these archetypes.\nThen again, I'd place them somewhere between ",[59,1625],{"image":185,"name":186}," or ",[59,1628],{"image":1593,"name":1594},[59,1630],{"image":1618,"name":1619},[59,1632],{"image":1633,"name":1634},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002Fb\u002F3\u002Fb34f0ac1-6894-4761-b62c-b85d927acf09.jpg?1783926835","Chatterstorm"," on the spectrum of fairness.\nIf ",[59,1637],{"image":185,"name":186},[59,1639],{"image":1593,"name":1594}," are already considered unacceptable on principle, it's hard to imagine Cycling Storm or Gruul Storm surviving for long as tier 1 decks.",[16,1642,1643,1644,1646],{},"You might recall that I'm not against philosophically motivated bans, as I wanted a ",[59,1645],{"image":1618,"name":1619}," ban on that basis.\nBut spell-based combo decks are the only kind of combo deck that I wouldn't allow in Pauper, due to a lack of relevant interaction in the format.\nIn my opinion, other kinds of combo decks should receive the same scrutiny as any Pauper deck, i.e.\nonly get banned if they are too strong.\nI'm not against combo in general.\nThe Pauper Format Panel claims to be in the same boat, but its actions speak differently.",[16,1648,1649],{},"A healthy Magic ecosystem needs combo decks.\nMoreover, Pauper is many players' first introduction to competitive Magic and is a great place to learn Magic fundamentals.\nFor me, that education included learning how to play both with and against combo decks.\nI hope future players get the same opportunity.",[1548,1651,1652,1655],{},[16,1653,1654],{},"Now, let's look at question two: What are the odds we ban a card on August 10 if we don't ban one now?",[16,1656,1657],{},"Well, given our discussion around the first question, we would say the odds are extremely high.",[16,1659,1660,1661,1663],{},"This confirms that the ",[59,1662],{"image":185,"name":186}," ban doesn't have power level in mind.\nIt's a ban on principle, and I fundamentally disagree with that, for the reasons stated above.",[1548,1665,1666],{},[16,1667,1668],{},"In a format like Pauper, which can stay consistent for long stretches of time, having something new show up, even if temporarily, can be nice.",[16,1670,1671],{},"This is another important point.\nThe last time a new tier 1 deck emerged was in April 2025, with Mono Red Madness, more than one year ago.\nAnd the last time that a new card gave rise to a new tier 1 deck was with MH3, more than two years ago.",[16,1673,1674],{},"A stable format certainly has its upsides, but some change is required to keep players engaged.\nThe discontinuation of Masters sets, draftable Commander sets, and Modern Horizons has left Pauper players with few opportunities to receive new cards that can compete with the established staples for the foreseeable future.",[16,1676,1677],{},"In this situation, the rare additions to the format are particularly cherished, and banning a new combo without even giving it a chance to show whether and how powerful it is leaves many players utterly demoralized and disenfranchised.",[1548,1679,1680],{},[16,1681,1682,1683,1687,1688,1690,1691,241],{},"While we've been looking at ",[59,1684],{"image":1685,"name":1686},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards.scryfall.io\u002Fnormal\u002Ffront\u002F0\u002Fe\u002F0e3aedae-e4bb-48e3-9f8b-bea0430df306.jpg?1783911245","Sneaky Snacker"," for a while, having this deck showing up and be yet another ",[59,1689],{"image":1685,"name":1686}," deck was not lost on us.\nAnd while it was still right for us to ban the combo given our goal of avoiding cheap and resilient two-card combos, we want to take a very serious look at ",[59,1692],{"image":1685,"name":1686},[16,1694,1695,1696,1698,1699,1701,1702,1704,1705,1707],{},"I talked about the ",[59,1697],{"image":1685,"name":1686}," situation in my last article.\nI don't have a strong opinion on a ",[59,1700],{"image":1685,"name":1686}," ban, but I'm glad it's being discussed.\nI think the ban would be reasonable because ",[59,1703],{"image":1685,"name":1686}," heavily warps the meta, but I worry about the potential consequences, which are very hard to predict.\nAfter mono red got two cards banned in recent times, ",[59,1706],{"image":1685,"name":1686}," is the last thing keeping some version of mono red competitively viable.",[739,1709,1711],{"id":1710},"descending-into-madness","Descending into Madness",[16,1713,1714,1715,1717],{},"The most troubling part of how the Pauper Format Panel handled ",[59,1716],{"image":189,"name":190}," is how they fueled widespread panic on the internet.\nThe card wasn't even out yet, and the Pauper Format Panel was asking on social media whether it should be banned.\nNobody I know was particularly worried during spoiler season.\nTo me, it felt like the Pauper Format Panel was waving the ban hammer in search of a problem.",[16,1719,1720],{},"This situation generated the biggest mobilization of internet commenters I've ever seen in the context of Pauper.\nEvery social media platform was flooded with comments demanding a ban or talking as if the ban was a foregone conclusion.\nI could tell that most of those people weren't familiar with Pauper, as I kept reading outlandish takes that revealed a lack of basic format knowledge.",[16,1722,1723],{},"Now, not being knowledgeable in Pauper isn't a sin.\nIt's always great to see new people discovering the format.\nI just wonder what is to be gained from asking the internet how to manage the format, when it's well established that internet commenters often overestimate their knowledge of any topic.",[16,1725,1726],{},"Maybe the fact that the panel members are all public figures is an incentive for them to seek external validation.\nAnonymity would better serve those who manage a format.",[739,1728,1730],{"id":1729},"the-maturity-of-pauper","The Maturity of Pauper",[16,1732,1733],{},"The Pauper Format Panel took over when Pauper was still a very niche format.\nIn recent years, Pauper has grown a lot and is now the first or second most popular 60-card format in several regions of the world, regularly bringing around a thousand people together for Paupergeddon.",[16,1735,1736],{},"We should give the Pauper Format Panel their flowers for being part of this period of massive growth for the format.\nNonetheless, I'd be happy to see Pauper take a step further and go back to being managed by Wizards of the Coast, like every real 60-card format.",[16,1738,1739],{},"This would grant anonymity to the decision-makers, but it would also save them from a strange conundrum that current Pauper Format Panel members find themselves in.\nBecause Pauper Format Panel members are active players, people naturally expect them to participate in major tournaments to stay connected with the format.\nAt the same time, the increasing stakes of those events would create a perception of a conflict of interest.\nWotC employees wouldn't face the same tension.",[16,1741,1742,1743,1745],{},"The ",[59,1744],{"image":185,"name":186}," ban exposed structural problems in the way Pauper is managed: incoherent and unrealistic principles, public pressure influencing decision-making, and panel members placed in an inherently awkward position.\nAs the format continues to grow, a better framework should be found.",[739,1747,1749],{"id":1748},"read-next","Read next",[16,1751,1752],{},[1461,1753,1756],{"href":1754,"rel":1755},"https:\u002F\u002Fmagic.wizards.com\u002Fen\u002Fnews\u002Fannouncements\u002Fexplanation-of-pauper-seeker-of-skybreak-ban-for-june-29-2026",[1465],"Explanation of Pauper Seeker of Skybreak Ban for June 29, 2026",{"title":446,"searchDepth":447,"depth":448,"links":1758},[1759],{"id":1523,"depth":447,"text":1517,"children":1760},[1761,1762,1763,1764],{"id":1542,"depth":448,"text":1543},{"id":1710,"depth":448,"text":1711},{"id":1729,"depth":448,"text":1730},{"id":1748,"depth":448,"text":1749},"2026-07-05",[],"Commento al Ban di Seeker",{},"\u002Farticles\u002F2026-07-05-descent-into-madness",{"text":1771,"minutes":1772,"time":1773,"words":1774},"9 min read",8.2,492000,1640,{"title":1517,"description":1767},{"loc":1769},"articles\u002F2026-07-05-descent-into-madness",[475],"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Farts\u002Fdescent into madness.jpeg","VWyD0qiIcAIRRM_aZmWi0C1u3u6uwdf9YZQbvfQZo1M",[1782,1783,1784,1785,1786,1787,1788,1789,1790,1791,1792,1793,1794,1795,1796,1797,1798,1799,1800,1801,1802,1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811,1812,1813,1814,1815,1816,1817,1818,1819,1820,1821,1822,1823,1824],"pisa","roma","lecco","lucca","amsterdam","cento","torino","ravenna","castellanza","milano","modena","rivoli","aquila","alto adige","cuneo","senigallia","lodi","brescia","firenze","piacenza","japan","adria","asti","bologna","versilia","vittorio veneto","sanremo","livorno","messina","mediavalle e garfagnana","novara","vicenza","genova","ferrara","caserta","la spezia","l'aquila","treviso","gaeta","lecce","sarzana","rovigo","colonia",[1826,1829,1838],{"id":487,"avatar":488,"bio":489,"description":490,"extension":491,"meta":1827,"name":6,"nickname":493,"socials":1828,"stem":496,"url":497,"__hash__":498},{},{"twitter":495},{"id":1830,"avatar":1831,"bio":1832,"description":1833,"extension":491,"meta":1834,"name":1518,"nickname":1833,"socials":484,"stem":1835,"url":1836,"__hash__":1837},"authors\u002Fauthors\u002Fdonfrancesco-paolo.yml","\u002Fassets\u002Favatars\u002Fpaolo-donfrancesco.jpg","Walker735 on Magic Online. Golden Pigs member and Paupergeddon finalist.","Walker735",{},"authors\u002Fdonfrancesco-paolo","\u002Fauthors\u002Fpaolo-donfrancesco","bWa9MMM18Q7oFkz060ZdC4oEGnyN46vPpp5KLM5zvSs",{"id":1839,"avatar":1840,"bio":1841,"description":1842,"extension":491,"meta":1843,"name":503,"nickname":1844,"socials":1845,"stem":1850,"url":1851,"__hash__":1852},"authors\u002Fauthors\u002Fhypergeomancer.yml","\u002Fassets\u002Favatars\u002Fhypergeomancer.png","Hypergeomancer legge il destino tra le carte del mazzo. Formule, simulazioni e un pizzico di magia trasformano i dubbi dei giocatori in numeri che indicano la strada verso la vittoria.","Matematico",{},"hypergeomancer",{"twitter":1846,"reddit":1847,"github":1848,"youtube":1849},"https:\u002F\u002Fx.com\u002FHypergeomancer","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fuser\u002FHypergeomancer","https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002FHypergeomancer","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@Hypergeomancer","authors\u002Fhypergeomancer","\u002Fauthors\u002Fhypergeomancer","-HJLY9zxOIlipwW2d7GM2wQZ1K3bDUQeTla1-fAIMdY",1787574939926]