Is Cranial Ram too good for Pauper? | Affinity Ram Vs Gruul Ponza | Paper Gameplay | Mtg

[@GoodMorningMagic]

Me before watching this: "I am so glad we banned Cranial Ram." Me after watching Mengu Fling a Cranial Ram'd Creature: "I AM REALLY GLAD we banned Cranial Ram." (Yes we knew about Fling, just wild to see it in action.)

[@MengusWorkshop]

Thanks for watching Gavin! And thanks for banning Cranial Ram! 😅

[@godofacorns]

I'M PSYCHED UP FOR PAPER PAUPER. Love these "What If!" Exhibition matches. Let's see some Chatterstorm and Arcum's Astrolabe too...

[@MrPlow-jc4cr]

22:40 Not that it mattered a ton, but if you equipped 2nd Ram onto the bird it would have 3 toughness, so he'd have to sac a token to get Writhing to 3 power, and in response you Galv Blast it so he can only get it to a 3/4 in response to the Galv

[@MengusWorkshop]

Sweet line yeah

[@coolerdaniel9899]

That's really well spotted.

[@efe8025]

I don't get it, couldn't he just sacrifice in response?

[@Deej678]

The oop after flipping the fling is hilarious

[@aldeayeah]

ah, the Super Mengu Bros sound effect

[@THE_BASED_GOD]

Yes, i think its safe to say its been a good ban lol

[@andrewb378]

That honestly didn't seem that bad

[@THE_BASED_GOD]

@@andrewb378 Outside of specifically 1 new combo deck and bogles, creatures do not regularly reach over 7 or so power in pauper. This is even better than Cranial Plating which got banned in 2008 and has been since. It is a card that generates its own threat that can naturally be extremely gigantic without any extra work put in in a format that generally plays mostly 1 for 1 removal. Gingerbrute gives you unblockable. Ponza might be one of the only non combo decks that would put up a consistent fight against Affinity with this card because Writhing Chrysalis creating chump blockers. Control decks are already extremely weak in the current meta and this would destroy any chance of them winning. It would warp sideboards even more than they already are.

[@Starkipraggy]

@@THE_BASED_GOD to be fair, people would have adapted with maindeck end the festivities i think.

[@anthonycannet1305]

@@Starkipraggythat only removes the x/1 germ token, the problem with ram is that it’s an equipment which stays in play and can be attached to another creature making it an x/2+ and now end the festivities no longer kills it. It creates a constant threat that requires players to hold open interaction or else a seemingly non-threatening attacker can suddenly swing/fling for lethal. In an affinity deck it allows for you to attack with a practically unblockable giant creature while also fueling the themed mechanic of the deck. It’s possible for turn 2 ram to create a 5/1 germ after a turn 1 blood fountain with vault and furnace, and a follow up 8/2 ginger brute on turn 3 with a 3rd untapped artifact land assuming no affinity creatures. Even without the optimal turns, it’s extremely likely for that deck to create high powered threats just by top decking a ram, like the end of game 2. All the same logic for why it should be unbanned weren’t enough reason to prevent glitters from being banned, just expecting players to have removal in hand is not good enough. If a player does not have access to artifact removal within a turn of it being played, the odds of it not running away with the game are slim. The only reason game 2 seemed fine was because of 3 copies of deglamer having been drawn so close together… and that being the best artifact removal piece available also means the most likely response to ram is to only temporarily remove it.

[@malte54]

​@@anthonycannet1305 Whatever you say, it still didn't look banworthy this game. Game 2 mengu won because of a lucky top deck. Also gruul probably got a bad matchup against this deck anyway. Indestructible lands + Aggro Deck. I do think ram would look much worse against mono red, rakdos or glee, which are the most played decks atm In the end it just didn't look broken at all.

[@Lordmuhkuh23]

Couldn't have Tommy picked the Boarding Party from his last Initiative effect in the first game? It could have blocked the Gingerbrute, which was about to hit him with the Cranial Ram. :) Edit: Lul, right after the game ends they talk about it hahaha welllll....

[@MengusWorkshop]

But you got it first!

[@mashedmentality]

Let’s go! Love seeing the amazing content being cooked up in the Workshop. Pauper is an amazing format and we appreciate you showing more people how fun it is, even with banned cards haha

[@rykerm4249]

I recently got back into Pauper after leaving for a bit. I helped make a local scene, and our community is a delight. One of my best friends plays Grixis Affinity a ton, and the deck's resilience and ability to bounce back is insane. Cranial Ram would make it too over the top lol. That decks makes me rage because I'm an aggro player, so all my decks fold to Krark-Clan Shaman 😂

[@zakalwe3]

Love it, cheers Mengu and Tommi!

[@hellhound22_18]

I love the theros constellation lands. I use them in all my decks!

[@mc_apfelstrudel1982]

More hype Pauper content, just the right thing to cure my cold! :D

[@gmongo]

Another great vid, Mengu! Would love to see some more historical match-ups like you've done before!

[@dgh329]

I look forward to every Mengu's Workshop! Thanks.

[@Ian-qf5ny]

Very fun! Ive been wanting to get this in paper to pass around and play with

[@allanturmaine5496]

Alright, you're playing my favourite common from the set!

[@ha7e777]

Love those veedeos. It would be cool to see sinkhole and hymn of tourach 😊😊😊

[@AngelBaby-ct9kf]

Honestly, I want pauper leagues on Mengu main channel! For Mengu workshop it'd be cool if you guys played jund broodscale vs whatever you think the best deck is!

[@TheVesema]

Thanks to these videos and the great Pauper content from the Cardmarket channel, I have completely fallen for Pauper, and these videos have served as inspiration for putting together about 20 decks.

[@MengusWorkshop]

20 decks?? Ahah

[@TheVesema]

@@MengusWorkshop Yes, thanks to you mainly. I played Magic The Gathering around 2000, but then my friends stopped, and I didn't have anyone to play with. It wasn't until last year that I found out some colleagues at work still played, and I joined them. It wasn't easy to get back into the new techniques and rules, but your videos helped me a lot. And Pauper interested me the most. It's also the most accessible format, right? Last week, I finally got everything I needed for Izzet Skred, so I'll be testing this deck now, but I can also switch it to Dimir Terror or Mono Blue Terror. Inspiration, of course, came from you. So, thank you very much!

[@NorthDoesStuff]

Love the content, I want to see more pauper in general, but especially mono blue faeries

[@loxeggcheese]

Great video idea! It was fs the right call to pre ban the ram but I was sad I didn’t get to play the t0 mirror only format for like 2 weeks haha.

[@Pistolsatsean]

I like that when Tommy says "Rumble" it sounds like Rambo

[@andreadonelli3978]

Ottimo video come al solito❤

[@florentsabourin]

love those paper magic content

[@Erik_Sjostrom]

I want to see a Primal Prayers combo deck in modern against a tier deck

[@magic_taxes42]

Such great content!

[@spark1128]

I made my ponza deck into a gruul ramp deck by adding Glimpse the impossible, I realized the land destruction was really only good against the good matchups so I added some card advantage and removal

[@NNNNTTTT-q6c]

I did this too! Glimpse the Impossible really turns Writhing Chrysalis into a menace

[@jeromephelps5959]

Video idea: Pauper Deck (only commons) vs Deck of Only Uncommons (including lands). I feel like the pauper deck wouldn’t stand a chance due to cards like Force of Will, Sol Ring, Ancient Tomb, Reanimate, Mana Drain, Skullclamp, Channel, Tinker, Brainstorm, Expressive Iteration and Demonic Tutor however maybe the Pauper Deck is No-Banned List Pauper to balance it out?

[@chriswr_]

Pauper, woohoo!! I love that pizza token too haha!

[@XTempestBuster]

Ngl, i may get into pauper now.

[@matichribar5823]

Woo! Love your content

[@Dooby-Scoo]

I have some rouge list cooked up that preformed really well at my local a few weeks in a row. Would love to see viewer submitted decks like cardmarket does. I know they give the deck away to the person whos deck wins but yall dont even have to do that i was just thinking viewer rouge list vs another viewer rouge list since there are so many pauper decks to be explored

[@tryangles8986]

Smooth segway to the subscribe button 0:44

[@ihusitusi]

@4:28 the gingerbrute get +1 toughness aswell so not 12/1 but a 12/2

[@isaac-nk7jf]

Need More Mengu Veedeos

[@Zanji1234]

budget magic is the best magic :D

[@muhammadrafi4723]

I can attest that Cranial Ram is ridiculous in affinity. Even with slower manabase in Arena (They have no Mirrodin artifact lands) it can end game as early as turn 3. Got 3 straight wins in historic artisan using it

[@basvopheusden]

This was awesome to watch! It seems like the games were pretty close but the ponza deck being on the play probably helps a lot, how bad do you think the matchup would be on the draw?

[@MaKs2K5]

Suggestion for a video : I'd like you to play a modern deck based around the card Sphinx-Bone Wand. This is what I was playing back in standard 15 years ago and I'd like to see your take on this card. Where would you go to build a deck around it.

[@Leuber]

@Mengu, did you realize the latest video (Phlage vs Psychic frog) is now private and can’t be watched anymore? 😢 (I hope it wasn’t something I said… although I don’t really like current modern I’ll still watch all Mengu’s Workshop videos! Because the interaction between you and Tommi is always great to see! 😃)

[@MengusWorkshop]

Check again! It s back with some improvements.

[@Buckship]

I'd like to see two different paupergeddon winner decks against each other next time

[@matichribar5823]

What a win

[@the_snakelicious]

Would be cool if the cards that are displayed on the screen after someone makes a play were the same version and art of the physical card that was played.

[@Buckship]

I love pauper content

[@guidocampostrini]

pauper is awsome man

[@Christjs27]

More Pauper!

[@igolark]

I would like to see storm

[@Myyraman]

Paper Pauper les goo!!!

[@DigitamaHatch]

Bad thing about pauper is accessibility of the cards.

[@Zen-708]

Stiflenought in premodern please!

[@RocKM001]

I lived/played through Mirrodin when Affinity and Cranial Plating was a thing that was some huge degenerate stuff back then. I stopped playing after IRL got too busy and now I see a common Cranial Plating that comes in as a creature? Yeah I can see why that was banned =P

[@gusdernbach7390]

Hello Mengu! Considering you guys played limited in the form of the MH3 prerelease, would you consider bringing some games of your cube to the workshop? As a cube builder myself I always love to see personal cubes in action. Cheers!

[@ajax4709]

"Cascade is only when you cast." "...no"

[@willmcneilly9942]

I am commenting to comment by commenting

[@udhh2619]

I just watch to see tommy mengu is pretty cool too i guess jk love you guys

[@joeybres5158]

3:23 this joke goes crazy ngl

[@simonisphording]

Feels like tommy could have played this a bit more aggressive sometimes. Ponza isn't great at defense

[@DiscardatRandom]

Affinity is already the best deck rn so it definitely didn’t need ram

[@nik6494]

Ram was surely too strong for pauper 😂

[@janmelantu7490]

A Ramp deck vs a Ram deck

[@superluckyhappylife2358]

Ponza is the originate in italy

[@MengusWorkshop]

It s an island in italy, not sure it comes from italy though

[@hvc-sc1on]

The Name Ponza Origins from a dish of deep fried calzone at Jimmy's Grotto in Waukesha/Wisconsin, the Ponza Rotta (Most likely an american Interpretation of the italian panzerotti). It has the cheese (Burn), the meat (big Creatures) and spicy Sauce (Land destruction), designt by Brian Kowal and Adrian Sullivan, late 90s

[@hvc-sc1on]

Oh, and of course : Love the Workshop, your Videos, Tommi❤❤... Keep on doing what you Love🙏

[@superluckyhappylife2358]

@@hvc-sc1onthank you 👍

[@bariltrailette]

Why ram is a common?

[@Molker]

TCG Player does not ship to Latin America, you got my hopes up, sadge

[@MengusWorkshop]

🥲

[@TehKorwinMikke]

Was Mengu tired of losing that he chose to play the correctly banned card? xD

[@kaiirkens9190]

Imagine the ram would be plating 😅

[@celeste-y9x]

haha i think this card that looks like an uncommon might have been a bit too good for pauper

[@astrograph7875]

#UnbanTheRam

[@opgang7861]

it seems not that powerful at all? or maybe bcuz the build up is not the perfect one?

[@troublemack9876]

Why reckless impulse over night’s whisper

[@mimico4340]

Thank god the card was banned, hopefully the indestructible lands go too.

[@MARIOGARCIA-dg4rn]

Plays ponza blows no lands xD

[@lorsev3840]

Like if you want pauper for arena!

[@ChristianEdwards-i9r]

Pauper bans seem like calling in the SWAT team for jaywalking.