6/13/21

After five consecutive Derbies, the creativity continues to flow as contenders come up with new and inventive ways to crush each other. When we started this event I didn't quite know what to expect and I certainly didn't think the creations would be as fresh as they have been. The meta never seems to stabilize in a way where lists are adjusted and tinkered with in order to stay on top. Our contenders habitually hit the drawing board from scratch each time to craft these violent miniature delights. It's chaotic and unpredictable, yet distinguished and refined which makes it pretty heavy metal, so I'm definitely here for it!

For a recap of the rules and our Derby #1 results check out this article here.

Amidst the great sportsmanship and valuable analyses on card interaction, there have been many pieces discussed via this event that have personally helped inspire some awesome brewing sessions, so thanks again to all of the participants who continue to make this event what it is!
I consistently look forward to the end of the first week of the Pauper Derby where I'll be introduced to the new engines everyone has been working on and what names they are given. The fifth and final Derby in this season did not deviate from this formula one bit and had some surprising synergies as our group battled for five-card supremacy.

In our most recent event, the previous Derby #4 Champion MTGDelphi was not content with giving up the gold and went back-to-back by not only defeating the engines of the other contenders but their previous Championship list as well. "Wistful Baloth" crushed the field with near sixes across the board for a total of 51 out of a possible 54 points.

The list sought to overwhelm other designs by using Tinder Wall and Lotus Petal to ramp into a deadly concoction that not only effectively disrupted opponents entire hands with Wistful Thinking, but quickly suspended five power on the board via Durkwood Baloth making it highly aggressive and more than difficult to deal with.

Grats to our two-time Champ MTGDelphi for pulling out the bigs guns for our fifth event! After 45 simulated games, I'm pleased to announce our Top 5 and rankings for Derby #5.

Entry is always free for the 5CB Pauper Derby and our prize support includes our very own signature timeshifted versions of our favorite Pauper pieces which are voted by our contenders upon submission. These pieces have an old-school aesthetic and feature regressed errata for a classic vibe.

Here are the prizes voted by our Top 5 contenders for Derby #5.

These pieces will be officially printed and made available to our winners after the conclusion of our season finale, the 5CB Pauper Grand Prix.

As always, the ultimate goal of this event is to gamify card interaction and brewing discussions as well as create a mini-league or 'fantasy mtg league' of sorts. It's for knowledge, but mostly a fun way for seasoned players and brewers new to the format alike to interact amidst various other virtual Pauper community events operating at the moment.

To summarize, In the first week, we will give contenders a week to brew and submit their engines.

In the second week, matchups will be posted each day and will be opened up for immediate discussion so all contenders can become more involved and talk about their matchups amongst themselves in real-time. Results will then be posted at the end of the second week.

#5 was the last derby before the final event of Season 1, the 5CB Grand Prix. The GP, will give contenders the chance to submit two lists for double the chances of grabbing the gold. In addition, each of the Champion lists from the previous derbies 1-5 will also be entered giving the top contenders not just two, but three or four chances to claim the cup. The 5CBGP will open for submissions on Wednesday, June 16th, and will close in exactly one week on Wednesday, June 23rd. Matchups will then be posted and contenders will have one week to smash their lists together and determine winners with the event ending on Wednesday, June 30th just before the Holiday weekend.

The 5CB Pauper Derby is free to enter. If you are interested in participating, please see the ‘Events’ channel on our Discord server for more details on how to submit your five-card decklist.

We'll check back in a few weeks with the results of our first grand Prix for Season 1, happy brewing contenders!