Pauper: Synthesizer Burn - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

With the latest Banned and Restricted announcement on March 31, Pauper's Red Aggro decks took a significant hit with the banning of Kuldotha Rebirth, the card that spawned Kuldotha Red, an archetype that has remained a mainstay of the format for two years due to its mix of speed and mana efficiency.

Without its main enabler, Kuldotha Red is dead - but that doesn't mean players won't be preparing new versions to make the most of Goblin Tomb Raider's pre-established shell with artifacts to turn it into a Goblin Guide.

Without Rebirth, however, the archetype also needs to return to its Burn origins, and cards like Kessig Flamebreather return to the maindeck to extract additional value from each spell, extending the clock alongside Thermo-Alchemist.

In this article, we'll delve into the new version of Mono Red in Pauper, called Mono Red Synthesizer or, as I prefer, Synthesizer Burn.

This is a list that's very close to the standard we've been seeing in Magic Online Leagues since the start of April, along with a Sideboard that I consider relevant for matches in the first weeks of the new Metagame.

Despite Goblin Tomb Raider and Experimental Synthesizer, we're a very distinct deck from Kuldotha Red as we've lost the explosive potential of Kuldotha Rebirth and Goblin Bushwhacker. Our pivot turns now require a larger setup around accumulating three resources: enough mana, Kessig Flamebreather or Thermo-Alchemist, and the means to sequence multiple spells between two turns to maximize our damage output.

Kuldotha Red's original plan of low-cost creatures remains, but this is now our opening and will need to prove that they are more efficient than Ghitu Lavarunner or other one-drops—a job it has been doing well because the artifact shell also compensates for Galvanic Blast as the best Burn spell in the format today.

Maindeck

The artifact and one-drop core.

Voldaren Epicure puts a token on the board that enables Goblin Tomb Raider and deals damage to the opponent when it comes into play, slightly extending its reach in longer games. Its token can be sacrificed to discard lands from the hand to draw more cards.

Clockwork Percussionist no longer has the guaranteed value potential as we have no way to sacrifice it, but it is still a one-drop with Haste that enables Goblin Tomb Raider while, if destroyed, guarantees an extra "draw" for its controller.

Goblin Tomb Raider is one of the payoffs for playing artifacts as it becomes a 2/2 for without any additional conditions, in addition to having Haste to make an immediate impact on the board. A turn of Great Furnace with it already establishes considerable pressure.

Our plan is now more focused on Burn, and Kessig Flamebreather is one of the best ways to amplify the damage done by our spells - and it has the bonus of triggering with Experimental Synthesizer.

Thermo-Alchemist complements Flamebreather for the same game plan, with the advantage of helping to push a bit more damage each turn even with bad topdecks.

The Burn.

Galvanic Blast is the main reason to continue with the artifact shell in this list. Besides the obvious fact that four damage makes it better than Lightning Bolt, this number is essential for removing blockers like Myr Enforcer from the path, although this play line is less popular now that our plan is no longer go wide-oriented.

Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning complement each other as three-damage spells. It's important to know when to use it against a creature that can hurt you in other games, or when to save it for the best opportunity to burn through your opponent's life total.

The flexible slots.

Some lists run Needle Drop, others go for Ghitu Lavarunner, but I'm in favor of ​​having good answers against Faeries while maintaining the effectiveness of focusing on a game plan without deviating too much.

End the Festivities is a mini-sweeper against Faeries, Elves, and other decks with lots of X/1 creatures while not being completely useless in other matchups due to its extra point of damage and potential to trigger Kessig Flamebreather and Thermo-Alchemist.

Similarly, Lava Dart works as point removal against X/1 creatures, but can trigger up to two of those creatures and deal up to four damage with a single slot.

Our card advantage.

Experimental Synthesizer requires a bit more work to generate two cards with one slot, but in addition to interacting with the artifact shell, it provides another threat in longer games, since we can sacrifice it to create a 2/2 token.

Wrenn’s Resolve offers a “draw 2” for two mana in red with spells that we can use until the next turn while having good interactions with Kessig Flamebreather and Thermo-Alchemist.

Like Kuldotha Red, we have a set of Great Furnace to increase the consistency of Galvanic Blast and Goblin Tomb Raider. However, as the mana curve for the list has gone up, we've increased the land count from 16 to 18.

Sideboard

In the early part of the format, blue decks and Affinity have been the two standouts in Leagues, so we've dedicated more slots to them.

Pyroblast is our standard answer against Faeries, Tolarian Terror, and also works against Tron and any High Tide variants that may emerge.

It's common for lists to run a Cast into the Fire set, and some Gorilla Shaman against Affinity. Personally, I feel that including too many copies of these two against this matchup is counterintuitive to what we need to establish as a game plan.

So, instead of a Cast into the Fire set, we bet on Smash to Smithereens to deal with the opponent's artifacts while we advance our clock. It doesn't deal with Bridges, but the idea of ​​"attacking the mana base" to beat Affinity seems like a bad idea with this new version.

Cast into the Fire remains in the Sideboard and still enters against Affinity as removal, but it is on the list for the versatility that its other mode allows against Faeries, Elves and other archetypes with X/1 creatures

Relic of Progenitus is our answer against Tolarian Terror and Dredge, or other archetypes aiming to take advantage of the graveyard in some way, with the advantage of being an artifact for Galvanic Blast.

Flaring Pain is a conditional card and can become another slot if Moment’s Peace and other prevention effects are not prevalent in the new Metagame. Its main function is to ensure that our damage passes on the turn we cast it, usually accompanied by a setup to deal as much damage as possible.

Mono Blue / Dimir Faeries

IN

OUT

With the loss of interactions with Kuldotha Rebirth, I prefer to follow a more traditional line of sideboarding against Faeries where our goal is to make everything that enters have an impact and everything that resolves to deal damage. We removed Clockwork Percussionist because it trades poorly with several cards against in Mono Blue and Dimir today, while Thermo-Alchemist is a bit too slow.

Mono Blue / Dimir Terror

IN

OUT

The problem with this matchup is that we have a lot to add and relatively little that we want to take out. Cutting one of each of the most pertinent slots in exchange for Relic of Progenitus at least ensures a good flow of card advantage and consistency in enabling Galvanic Blast and Goblin Tomb Raider.

Affinity

IN

OUT

Not having permanent power to pressure the opponent for multiple turns means that our best route is to play under, cutting off sources of advantage in cards that don’t actively interact with our plan in favor of more interaction against blockers or their mana.

Gruul Ramp

No changes. If the opponent runs cards like Moment’s Peace instead of Weather the Storm, or others, it is possible to swap End the Festivities for Flaring Pain.

Elves

IN

OUT

The beatdown matters less here, since the opponent has plenty of blockers, so Tomb Raider becomes a dead card in your hand.

High Tide

IN

OUT

This game is a race, and we don't want to spend two mana resolving a card on our turn, especially since we need to always be ready to respond to High Tide or another key card.

Synthesizer Burn

No changes. You could consider Smash to Smithereens, but you'd generally be generating value for your opponent in exchange for three damage, and most maindeck cards work very well on the mirror. Just remember to use Chain Lightning at the most opportune moments.

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!