Last month we invested pretty heavily into commons. Commons have the least growth potential, but usually retain their value even when sets cycle. I expect to see no change at all in our portfolio's value so let's just check and see if that is true:

As expected, no changes this week. These are cards that should retain value, if not slightly increase, even when they cycle out of Extended/Standard. The biggest mover and shakers in price are Standard cards that rise sharply in value if used in decks and plummet when Standard cycles. When Standard cycles, the cards end up in a trough and we will definitely try to pick them up. I'm using MTG Fanatic (www.mtgfanatic.com) for pricing by the way.

This week though we'll pick up some stronger, more valued, cards to fill out the start of our non-Pauper deck. However, we're still going to be picking up mostly commons at this point. The biggest point to start at is finishing out our Kird Apes playset. So off the bat:

Card #1: Kird Ape (2) (Main Deck)
What can you say bad about a 2/3 for one mana with a very easy to meet condition? Beyond pick up four copies, not much. You'll be playing Green and Red whenever you play it, lucky for us, those are our colors. They run a $1.25 each if you pick them up in Revised, which you should since they are cheaper in Revised due to being common back in the day. I have a feeling that by the time you read this, Naya Shard from Alara will be heavily impacting Zoo and it's play. Good for us, although it may make some of the cards we want and don't have yet rise in value.
Subtotal: $2.50
Total: $2.50

Card #2: Wild Mongrel (4) (Main & Pauper Deck)
Wild Mongrel is as non-casual as it comes. It's a card that looks like complete jank until you see it go to town. In a weak player's hands, it ends up as a complete hindrance, causing misplays and obvious baits. In the right hands, it drives a deck leaving an opponent completely guessing at how to block and attack. At $0.79 each, it'll start our work towards some threshold cards, as it and Putrid Imp are the staple threshold drivers. No Imps today as we aren't going Black, but we may later.
Subtotal: $ 3.16
Total: $5.66

Card #3: Werebear (4) (Main & Pauper Deck)
I bet you were expecting to see no commons this month if you followed along . Here I am dropping yet another common list though. Werebear to me is a superior Lawnmower Elf. While it slows itself to turn three usage, it's late game usability is leaps and bounds better. This common will cost us $0.59 each, but is well worth it for both pauper and main deck play. A 4/4 for two mana is nothing to take lightly
Subtotal: $2.36
Total: $8.02

Card #4: Fiery Temper (4) (Main & Pauper Deck)
Yet another common; this one rounds out our burn for the week. Fiery Temper is a great card with some price fluctuation due to it re-entering Standard and then leaving. We'll be playing with it in Pauper and regular format for now and is always an interesting pick for deck inclusion. Find the Torment versions to save some cash at $0.79 each compared to the $0.99 timeshifted version. We get lucky as it's price just dropped with Time Spiral on the verge of cycling out with Alara entering. Hopefully it won't drop much more.
Subtotal: $3.16
Total: $11.18

Card #5: Basking Rootwalla (4) (Main & Pauper Deck)
Rootwalla ties in perfectly with threshold/madness themes and helps overwhelm opponents with sheer number due to it's zero cost with Madness. Plus look at him, he's so cute and sure of himself. How can you not play him? A little pricy at $0.69, it's still a great creature considering at it's worst he's a one drop, at his best he's a freebie.
Subtotal: $2.76
Total: $13.94

Card #6: Armadillo Cloak (4) (Main & Pauper Deck)
This card will round out many strategies and tie our decks together in Pauper. At a mere $0.99 this card is a powerhouse replacement for the much more expensive Rancor and Loxodon Warhammer. Notice this is our first inclusion into White. More White cards will follow next month as our base is firmly built now in two directions, and a little groundwork was laid for two other directions as well. Armadillo Cloak is one of the best if not the best card in Pauper formats period defining many decks that don't contain the words Mono, Blue or Black, Control
Subtotal: $3.96
Total: $17.90

Card #7: Forgotten Cave (4) (Main & Pauper Deck)
A simple land that lets you either put into play tapped or cycle. The coming into play aspect of it occasionally bites you in the butt, but the utility to toss it for a new card and feed the yard outweighs it nine times out of ten. We won't be running four of these probably ever, but might as well get four since it's only $0.19 each.
Subtotal: $0.76
Total: $18.66

Card #8: Tranquil Thicket (4) (Main & Pauper Deck)
Same situation as Forgotten Cave, it's just Green mana this time. Again we'll only probably play two unless going mono-Green. These puppies will run us $0.19 each as well.
Subtotal: $0.76
Total: $19.42

Obviously this was another major Pauper week, however we established a base that will allow to build numerous Pauper decks without only a few dollars and changes and more importantly the base of spells needed to make several tourney decks, especially Gaea's Might. I'll show you the threshold deck and then talk a little bit about how to use it.

As a pauper deck, you have two distinct periods of assault with this deck. Early on, you'll want to get a Wild Mongrel into play and begin an overwhelming blitz attack utilizing madness and aggro threats to overpower your opponent. Your sole purpose in all this is to get the player low enough that they are grasping for straws. You want to be aggressive, putting your opponent into defensive mode constantly and then convert into a winning strategy or as I call it phase two. Your two win strategies are thresholding Werebear into a 4/4 or cloaking a Ledgewalker. If you've played aggressively enough, the sheer amount of early damage and burn spells should take your opponent down to the point where either of those finishing strategies is too much for them to handle.

Just think of Wild Mongrel as a blitz offense. Without him doing the dirty work and laying down some shock and awe before drawing removal, your two finishers won't have the path laid out in front of them to roll through. Cloak in the finishing scenario helps to let you power through time and time again. You may be getting hammered while you power through, but you should have more life than them, and the lifelink helps keep you in the running. Ledgewalker being troll-shrouded makes removal near impossible, and in Pauper, blocking her is often frustrating; especially if she's trampling with +2/+2. Werebear isn't as ideal as the Silhana, but his 4/4 body is often larger than anything else your opponent might call out. Werebear also can carry a Cloak, but not as well due to his targetability. Your main Werebear support is top decking burns and Tusker-body (not cycle!) support.

Next month, we'll begin to build up a non-pauper deck into a distinguishable form and introduce a little more White for an entirely different Cloak-driven pauper deck. Things may change if Naya shard card prices aren't too outrageous as there's some definite power uncommons and commons in those sets, but likely they will be too overpriced for now. In the meantime, enjoy that pauper deck, it is tournament level and could easily win many pauper tournies and probably non-pauper match ups as well.

We may see a small drop in our portfolio next month as Invasion and Odyssey blocks rotate out of Extended and card prices shake up a little. However, we're dealing with commons only at this point, so we may do alright. While we're building tournament caliber decks, this is still a casual collection, and we really don't care if our cards are Extended or Standard legal unless we actually go to a tourney. As such, initially while building, we'll choose the best cards at the best price to build numerous decks. In fact, I waited for October 1st to finish the article and actually was able to afford eight cycle lands instead of four with a couple price changes that hit Rootwalla and Fiery Temper, but let me know in the forum:

Was it prudent to buy Wild Mongrel, Armadillo Cloak, Werebear, and Basking Rootwalla with them rotating out this month or should I have waited an additional month?

~Cashew~

Articles Spotlights from 2008:
A Fresh Perspective: Stasis - Part One.
The Apprentice Magician - Part Six.
Design on a Dime: The Lunch Meat Edition!
Fit the Flavor 2008 - FINALE!
The Games People Play - Market & EDH.
Sarpadian Empires, Vol VII: Foreword.
More Evil Than Evil.
Pauper Chronicles: Top O' the Morningtide to You!
Words from the Streetz: Uncommon and Common Magical Treasures.
The Writers Guild: The Inside Scoop.