Magic the Gathering (MTG) - Eternal Masters & Pauper - Many Amazing Rarity Downgrades to Common!

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

As with any reprint set, Eternal Masters includes many rarity shifts, including uncommons to rares, but more importantly rares to uncommon and uncommons to common. Heck, you even get a rare shifted to common once in awhile! But with Eternal Masters, there are some truly important new commons to consider. This is due to the fact that Pauper, the all-common only format, is getting some serious gas with cards only ever printed before at uncommon!

Which of these newly printed commons will have an impact on the Pauper format? Let’s take a look!

WHITE CARDS

Elite Vanguard

This vanilla 2/1 Soldier has been an uncommon forever. Making him a common is actually a pretty big deal. Pauper hasn’t had this guy before. How much he’ll actually impact the format remains to be seen since he still trades with pretty much every other one-drop. But he’s definitely one to watch and definitely is a power-up for one-drops in White.

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Humble

This uncommon instant seems like it should be a good sideboard option in Pauper. For 1W, you make a target creature a 0/1 creature with no abilities. There are some massive creatures even in Pauper and this is a way to easily dispose of them during combat at instant speed.

Mistral Charger

This 2/1 flyer may not look like much, but flyers are powerful in Pauper. While I doubt he makes a huge impact, this guy was only ever an uncommon in Dissension. Probably only going to be a factor in Eternal Masters limited, but it’s good to know he exists.

Monk Idealist

The Idealist has seen play in Commander for some time. You may notice that the Idealist is very similar to Auramancer. This is because Auramancer and Monk Idealist are the same card with different creature types. Auramancer does see some play in Pauper, so this may as well. Not going to be an impact card, though.

Rally the Peasants

Here is a card that could definitely impact Pauper. Originally an uncommon that was pretty good in Innistrad drafts, Rally the Peasants can be flashed back for 2R. Flashback spells are extremely powerful in Pauper. We’ve seen what White tokens can do with their flashback spells like Battle Screech. Making Red/White (Boros) Tokens a real deck is definitely possible with Rally the Peasants. This is a powerful effect to be downgraded to common

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BLUE CARDS

Cephalid Sage

Here’s a decent uncommon from Torment with Threshold. As long as you have at least 7 cards in your graveyard, you can activate the Sage’s Threshold effect. The Sage has the ability to draw three cards and discard two. This is pretty decent card filtering, and I can see this fitting into Pauper Control decks somewhere.

Glacial Wall

A 0/7 Defender for 3 mana is certainly nothing to scoff at. Being at uncommon since Ice Age means that Pauper players get to now test it out. But I don’t see it having much of an impact at a competitive level

Peregrine Drake

Perhaps one of the most surprising rarity downgrades in Eternal Masters is Peregrine Drake to common. The Drake is a big deal in Commander, since he can essentially cast himself for free. He’s part of some infinite mana combos, too. I can’t wait to see what the Drake can do in Pauper. I feel like this is going to be a bomb in the format.

(Ultimately, Peregrine Drake proved to be too good in Pauper and was banned in the format.)


Phantom Monster

Already available at common on Magic Online, the Phantom Monster is just a 3/3 flyer for 4 mana. The Monster is fine in Limited, but not competitive Pauper worthy at all.

Stupefying Touch

Another potential sideboard card, Stupefying Touch not only stops a creature from being able to activate abilities, but also draws you a card. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of too many activated abilities to stop in Pauper, though. But there are a few key ones. Quirion Ranger is one to target, and Stompy is a real deck. That may slow the deck down. It can stop Atog in Affinity, which is sort of a big deal. There are definitely cases, but I’m not sure it’s quite enough to take up sideboard slots. It might be, though.

Tidal Wave

While this is probably best suited for Eternal Masters Limited, Tidal Wave is a cute card. It makes a 5/5 Wall that you have to sacrifice at the end of the turn. It’s a nifty combat trick, but not really something that fits in competitive play.

Warden of Evos Isle

While the Warden is really at common to satisfy Eternal Masters limited, I could see a White/Blue flyers list in Pauper being enabled by this guy. Playing Squadron Hawk for a single White mana feels pretty good to me, and there are many other useful flyers in the format. I really like this guy at common.

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BLACK CARDS

Night's Whisper

Not only did this card desperately need a reprint, but wow, at COMMON? This was a $3 card due to a decent amount of Modern play. Pauper does already have Sign in Blood, and can target either player. However, being 1B does help Night’s Whisper fit better into other Control decks that may have not before considered Sign in Blood. This is an awesome reprint from not only a supply standpoint, but by giving Pauper players a new option.


Prowling Pangolin

Here’s a guy from back in Onslaught that many players have probably never seen. 5 mana for a 6/5 is pretty decent. Yes, your opponent can choose to sacrifice 2 creatures to kill him, but that’s quite a cost. While I’m not sure Mono-Black Control will want him, this is a cool card to have at common. It’s actually quite similar to a card called Predatory Nightstalker, except this can prove to be a lot better.


RED CARDS


Avarax

This 5 mana 3/3 with Haste can search out another copy of himself and add it to your hand. I really like this in Eternal Masters limited, but not really in Pauper.

Carbonize

While Carbonize is pretty decent removal for Limited, I’m not feeling this for Pauper. There are better removal options.

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Desperate Ravings

An excellent card back in its Standard days and still good in Modern Storm, this is not a card I ever saw being printed at common. It’s at common for purposes of Eternal Masters Limited, but Pauper just got a great new tool. The Flashback being Blue is no problem for the Pauper decks that would want it. This is one of my favorite reprints in the entire set.

Dragon Egg

A fun little card that I’ve played around with in the past, Dragon Egg may not actually do anything in Pauper. But it’s cool to know that it’s a common now.

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Kird Ape

While Kird Ape has been a common in Paper Magic before, it wasn’t ever at common in Magic Online. This is a big deal for Pauper in the MTGO world. He’s a classic card for good reason and Red/Green decks in MTGO Pauper just got an amazing new weapon. For paper, it’s just a much easier to get foil copy.

Orcish Oriflamme

This card was amazing in the early days of Magic. It’s always been solid in Limited, and to have it at common seems a bit silly to me. Do I see Pauper decks including it? At 4 mana, I sort of doubt it. But it’s still a good card and it’s still in a lot of Commander decks.

Undying Rage

This is an Aura that if printed today would probably be at common anyway. So here it is. The fact that you get it back to your hand when the creature dies is pretty solid. But 3 mana for +2/+2 and making the creature unable to block isn’t as efficient as other Auras that exist now, even at common.

Wildfire Emissary

Protection from White is actually a good thing in Pauper. But otherwise I don’t really see anyone playing this in the format. It’s a solid Limited card, though.


GREEN CARDS


Elephant Guide

Already legal in Magic Online Pauper due to its Vintage Masters printing, this is already a good card. The +3/+3 boost is solid, but the fact you get a 3/3 Elephant token out of it when it dies just makes it really good. This was printed not long ago in Conspiracy in paper Magic, but it’s nice to have it at common.


Elvish Vanguard

Here’s a really solid Elf that Pauper has never seen before. Each time an Elf comes into play, including those you don’t control, the Vanguard gets bigger. I suppose this guy could get pretty big. I like him in Pauper, although I’m not sure that he’s good enough for competitive play.

Emperor Crocodile

This 5/5 for 4 mana was actually a rare previous to this Eternal Masters printing. The only drawback is that you have to sacrifice him if you control no other creatures. I’m not sure what he’ll actually do in Pauper, but that’s not a bad creature at common.

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Nimble Mongoose

One of the biggest downgrades to common is Nimble Mongoose. This guy was super powerful back in Standard and he still holds his own in Legacy today! To add a guy who can easily be a 3/3 for a single mana that also has Shroud is very powerful in Pauper. If the Mongoose doesn’t become a major player in Pauper, I will be shocked.

Roots

A decent way to tap down flyers in Limited, Magic Online already has this at common. It’s never seen Pauper play. It’s pretty good for a sideboard card in Eternal Masters limited, though.

Sylvan Might

Here’s a Flashback card I really like at common. Sylvan Might is decent enough at 1G giving a creature +2/+2 and trample until end of turn. While I don’t know how much Stompy wants this, I can see how it would be extremely good in that deck.

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Yavimaya Enchantress

Enchantress has been a pretty good archetype in the past. It’s been good enough that the key card in that deck, Argothian Enchantress, is at Mythic Rare in Eternal Masters. While Yavimaya Enchantress is not as good, putting her at common makes her eligible for Pauper. There are plenty of strong Enchantments in Pauper. It will be sweet to see if Enchantress truly takes off in Pauper!





Thanks to this full list of Eternal Masters rarity downgrades from reddit!

While many of the new commons exist primarily for purposes of giving the Eternal Masters limited environment an above-average power level, there’s no doubt that Pauper has picked up at least a half-dozen cards that will see considerable play. Peregrine Drake, Kird Ape, and Nimble Mongoose are the big winners. Yavimaya Enchantress makes an archetype more playable, as does Rally the Peasants. Best of all, you can still use the old uncommon printings (or rare in the case of Emperor Crocodile) since they are also legal in Pauper.

What do you think of these awesome reprints? Pauper just changed a bit forever.

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