Pauper: 5 Land Spy - Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

One Land Spy is an iconic combo in Pauper that is quite similar to Oops! All Spells in Legacy. They use the same strategy: you'll put Balustrade Spy in play while you don't have any lands in your deck, then put your entire deck in the graveyard. The list itself, in fact, plays a huge number of creatures.

The oldest versions of this deck used Haunting Misery to deal damage according to how many creatures the Spy player had in their graveyard and win the game. Currently, Lotleth Giant is the win condition. It works just as the older versions, but it is more consistent.

Five Land Spy is a bit more consistent than the original version, as it plays a good number of cards so you can find all five lands in this deck before you play the main combo. Getting all five lands to play the combo will be a bit harder, but it will also make this deck more resilient, as you'll manipulate the top of your deck more times to look for your lands, all while you recycle the cards you draw.

Many Partings, Malevolent Rumble, and Land Grant will find your lands and manipulate the top of your deck.

Partings puts a Food in play, which you can sacrifice later on when you play your combo to bring Cauldron Familiar onto the battlefield. It will be one of the cards you'll sacrifice to cast Dread Return from your graveyard. Rumble will give you card advantage, as it will put creatures on the board that you can also sacrifice later on.

As for Land Grant, it lets you start the game with a hand without any lands, as long as it is one of the seven cards in your opening hand.

This deck also uses creatures that will give you the lands you need, all while they feed your strategy. Sakura-Tribe Elder and Gatecreeper Vine will give you any basic land, so you can actually play a few very interesting cards in your sideboard (which we'll discuss later on). Generous Ent and Troll of Khazad-dûm are basically fetch lands, but they're also excellent targets for Exhume. Ent, in particular, is one of the best blockers in the format, and the Troll is one of the best attackers.

Dimir House Guard gives you a way to tutor Spy when it's time if you can't draw it, and also feeds your strategy. You can use Crawl From the Cellar to get Spy or any other creature you need from your graveyard. In fact, you can even cast it with its flashback if you have enough mana. Finally, Songs of the Damned will give you the resources you need to play whatever you want.

Why Play 5-Land Spy?

5-Land Spy, just like One-Land Spy, only works when you get to play the combo, and is also very vulnerable to graveyard hate. However, this new version managed to make up for its weaknesses, and also has an alternative game plan with Exhume.

Now that no other combo list is that dominant in the format (though High Tide, for the first time in history, is making an appearance), and the meta has been quite diverse, particularly in the last few days, is, I believe, the perfect time to try making such a complex deck as Land Spy work. This could be a great time for this archetype.

It has also been performing rather well lately, so it must be its turn to shine.

Mulligan

The opening hand above has a very clear game plan. Land Grant will give you your first land, and then you can Cycle Ent or the Troll and play Exhume on turn 2. It's a good start in many situations, but quite dangerous in others. You can then look for the third and the fourth land easily, use Bauble to shuffle Exhume in your deck, and try to reanimate a second creature.

However, without the combo itself and if your opponent is playing removals, this plan can easily fail.

The key piece of the combo is already in this opening hand. You can start with Land Grant, then play Many Partings to look for the second land, and Gatecreeper to find the third one.

If all goes well, you'll be able to play your combo in just a few turns, and will have Exhume or Dread Return as backup if your opponent counters Spy or something of the sort. However, this hand is vulnerable against aggro decks, as you'll have to rely on your luck just a bit.

This hand leans towards a turn-5 combo, as you can use Dimir House Guard to tutor Spy. It is excellent against any deck, as long as it isn't blue and can't deal lethal damage before you can combo.

This sideboard has only one goal: to support the main game plan in numerous matchups. Most cards in it are quite redundant, but some are also very interesting.

Dispel is different from Pyroblast, though it does basically the same and can, as a bonus, stop problematic cards like Thraben Charm. Duress deals with whatever Dispel can't, and Healer of the Glade will give you some space against aggro lists.

Rust is a very special addition. It isn't in Magic Online yet, but it is simply excellent against Nihil Spellbombs and Relic of Progenitus. It counters their abilities and can even be an immediate answer while you're playing the combo if you have a Bauble in play to activate right after you mill your entire deck. Right when your opponent activates their Nihil or Relic, you can shuffle Rust into your empty graveyard and draw it straight away to cast it - thus protecting the combo. Don't forget that you need to save some green mana to use this tech card.

Vs. Mono-Blue Faeries

This is one of the hardest matchups for Spy. Faeries can counter everything you do while it creates value for free with its Ninjas. Exhume on Generous Ent is a strong play, but a Snap is enough to deal with it.

Dispel is the best card you can use in this matchup. You can also just pray you get really lucky.

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Vs. Mono-White Aggro

I also consider this matchup quite complex. Mono-White can put pressure on you rather quickly, and plays problematic cards like Thraben Charm and Prismatic Strands. Despite this, it doesn't have other ways to stop your combo. Try to catch your opponent off-guard in game 1 and get ready post-side.

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Vs. Grixis Affinity

Your opponent's plan is Nihil Spellbomb. There's not much they can do unless punish you with Refurbished Familiar, but, if all goes well, you'll be able to play around this by discarding the right cards.

A maindeck Masked Vandal will be incredibly strong alongside Ent and Troll, as it will let you attack your opponent's mana base on turn 2 or break Nihil before you play your combo. In game 2, Rust is your best friend, as it is perfect against your opponent's hate.

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Vs. Boros Synthesizer

Boros is more aggressive than Mono-White and can play Relic of Progenitus in the main deck, so it's definitely a strong opponent. However, it has the same weaknesses as White, and hardly plays any ways to prevent damage. This will be just one of the windows you can explore with Spy.

Vandal should deal with their main deck Relics pretty well, and Rust is more than enough post-side. Survive their burns and play your combo stress-free.

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Vs. High Tide

This matchup is a race. It is a duel between two combo decks that can both win the game very quickly. High Tide will play counters post-side, and Envelop will be quite problematic, but it's nothing a Dispel can't solve.

Duress is also a must in this matchup because it will let you mitigate enemy damage as much as possible and open some space so you can play your final strategy.

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5-Land Spy is rather complex. Despite its linear game style and clear game plan, the micro-decisions you'll have to make with it until you can play your combo will be the most critical moments of the entire match.

Each action, either yours or the opponent's, will open a new path, which can then lead you to a safe victory or a bitter defeat. It puts everything on a single strategy, but, when you manage to play it perfectly, it is unstoppable.

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Thank you for reading, and see you next time!