Mr. Orfeo, the BoulderMr. Orfeo, the Boulder | Illustrated by Daarken

I've tried to make big creatures work many times in Pauper Commander. I've had decks that make a ton of mana, like Tatyova, Benthic DruidTatyova, Benthic Druid; decks that care about attacking, like Tori D'Avenant, Fury RiderTori D'Avenant, Fury Rider; and decks that specifically want huge spells, like Imoti, Celebrant of BountyImoti, Celebrant of Bounty, but over and over, I have the same problem. Pauper doesn't really have any good monsters. Once you go above six power or so, the best thing you've got is Ulamog's CrusherUlamog's Crusher, and even that massive Eldrazi is pretty mediocre in a four-player, 120-life format. (90 if you're playing pEDH.) I mean, seriously, what are you gonna do with it? Attack and force someone to sacrifice two permanents every turn cycle? Annihilator 2 is strong, but not damning like it is in a 60-card format, and an 8/8 without trample is just going to get blocked until it dies to a board wipe. But that's the best we've got!

So I've more or less dismissed the idea of making a big creatures deck. As far as I could tell, it was never gonna work, and if I wanted large numbers, I'd just have to settle for infinite combos. But then I found Mr. Orfeo, the BoulderMr. Orfeo, the Boulder, and I think that maybe, just maybe, he could make a feasible big creatures deck.

There's a few reasons why he changes the game. First and and foremost is his color identity. Red, green, and black? Jund is basically the shard of big scary things. Dragons, Dinosaurs, Dragon Dinosaurs, you name it. With access to three colors, the range of creatures we can pick from becomes much wider, and therefore, much better. Conveniently, these three colors are the best possible ones for our theme.

Then there's Mr. Orfeo's actual ability. Whenever you attack, double target creature's power until end of turn. Very simple, but it spells out our strategy for us. Get some power on the board, then double that power. About as basic as it gets. We're just gonna play creatures that deal a ton of damage, and use them to deal twice that damage. Nothing to it!

XL Creatures

While we don't have anything like Ghalta, Primal HungerGhalta, Primal Hunger, there are still plenty of big creatures for us to take. Some of them may be mediocre by most standards, but as long as they're reasonably costed and carry decent keywords, like trample, they'll work just fine. Rust GoliathRust Goliath is a good example. Ten mana for a 10/10 isn't a great deal, but hey, we'll be playing the ramp needed to cast it, and Mr. Orfeo can turn it into a 20-power trampler. Annoyed AltisaurAnnoyed Altisaur, Maelstrom ColossusMaelstrom Colossus, and Ulamog's CrusherUlamog's Crusher are all in here for the same reason. Big power, reasonable cost.

But despite all the ramp we're gonna be playing, we still are gonna have a few turns where seven-drops are dead in hand. That's why it's gonna be wise to play creatures with cycling. For the sake of draft formats, Wizards of the Coast has started printing huge creatures with cycling (or discard) abilities in every single set. It improves Limited decks, and it can improve ours as well. In go Greater SandwurmGreater Sandwurm, Valley RannetValley Rannet, and Troll of Khazad-dûmTroll of Khazad-dûm. OliphauntOliphaunt also fits in this category, but it's really here because it gives other creatures trample.

We'll also keep an eye out for creatures that are cheaper to cast. We can't afford to be spending seven mana on every creature, of course. Luckily, cards like Molten MonstrosityMolten Monstrosity do just that, by reducing their own cost. There's also GargadonGargadon, which can be suspended for two, and then Miming SlimeMiming Slime, which could be a three-cost 20/20 if it's played at the right time.

A Bit of Backup

But of course we're gonna need some support for all these big guys we're casting. While Colossal DreadmawColossal Dreadmaw is great, it doesn't do all that much on its own, so why don't we cast Temur Battle RageTemur Battle Rage on it and send it swinging in for 24? We can also use our big creatures as forms of removal, with some fight spells. PrizefightPrizefight, Pit FightPit Fight, Ram ThroughRam Through, all are great ways to take our opponents' creatures out. Why waste space on an effective removal spell like Feed the SwarmFeed the Swarm when we could be reliant on a big creature? Well... okay, maybe we should just play the typical removal spells, but hey, fight spells are cooler and on-theme.

There are a few cards that can do some actually unique tricks with high power, however. I'm talking about FlingFling, of course. Swing in for 20 damage, cast Fling, deal 20 more damage, and you've killed a player. That's a pretty great trick that's won more games than I can count, and because we're in Jund colors, we can play Rite of ConsumptionRite of Consumption and Essence HarvestEssence Harvest as well! These cards are most likely how this deck is going to close out a game.

Finally, we've got to make sure we're hitting our ramp quota, because a high curve has to be compensated for. It shouldn't be difficult, however. Green is packed full of cards like Llanowar ElvesLlanowar Elves, Elvish MysticElvish Mystic, and Sakura-Tribe ElderSakura-Tribe Elder, plus the classic sorceries, Rampant GrowthRampant Growth, Kodama's ReachKodama's Reach, and CultivateCultivate. Pretty good, but we can do even better. We'll include all the Signets, and a Thought VesselThought Vessel to boot, but the best ramp cards are cost-reducers. Conveniently, we're in just the colors to play Thunderscape FamiliarThunderscape Familiar and Goblin AnarchomancerGoblin Anarchomancer. The discounts those cards provide will rack up huge numbers by the end of the game.

So that's how to build a power matters deck in Pauper. I've been thinking about it for so long, and I've finally got a pile that works! Mr. Orfeo's ability is just nuts. I mean, doubling the power of a creature? That kind of ability used to be reserved for mythics, like Xenagos, God of RevelsXenagos, God of Revels. Now, we can do the same thing with a Pauper commander. Spectacular! Yes, this deck is held back by a high mana curve and creatures that only really do one thing, but hey, they do that one thing really well, and FlingFling really seals the deal. Mission success, I'd say.