Pauper: Cycling Dispute Storm Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

The history of Pauper is filled with complex combos that can win games in a single turn. Thanks to cards like Dark Ritual, Lotus Petal, and Cabal Ritual, the format has struggled numerous times against strategies involving the Storm mechanic.

Fortunately, Grapeshot, Galvanic Relay, and Chatterstorm are no longer part of the format, but Pauper is still home to Reaping the Graves, a card that is the heart of Cycling Storm.

The deck's sideboard is well-focused on specific situations that disrupt the game plan, such as counter spell decks, fast aggro, graveyard hate, other combos, and damage prevention.

Keep in mind that the more sideboard cards you use, the lower the post-sideboard consistency, putting your plan at risk. So use the sideboard wisely.

Vs. Mono-Red Aggro or Burn

This match is defined as a race. The faster one wins, and most of the time, Mono-Red will be the victor. Post-side, we have Weather the Storm, which can be a secret win condition against the opponent, but we will have to deal with Relic of Progenitus and even artifact hate, which complicates the game significantly.

It's not impossible to win, but the speed of Mono-Red is higher than that of Cycling Storm, so luck needs to be on our side. Bring in a number of Ingot Chewer equivalent to the number of graveyard hate cards the opponent may bring (depending on their list, they might have two, three, or even four Relics in the sideboard). Street Wraith is a strong card, but in this matchup, it can hurt you.

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Vs. Affinity

Here we have a more balanced game. Affinity has a slow start but becomes faster from turn 3 onward, which gives us a window to act. If the game goes beyond that, things can get a bit complicated.

Nihil Spellbomb, Krark-Clan Shaman, and Galvanic Blast are problematic cards. I usually keep 61 cards after sideboarding.

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Vs. Bogles

Another race. The faster deck wins, but unlike against Mono-Red, the opponent will hardly have any interaction and will go all-in, relying on luck to have the pieces needed to accelerate damage. Weather the Storm is excellent after sideboarding.

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Vs. Dimir Delver

A game that I consider also balanced but leans more towards the side of Storm. Dimir Delver takes a Tempo stance and relies on cheap interactions like Spell Pierce, Counterspell, and Snuff Out. Play around the counterspells and focus on resolving the key pieces.

Having two or more Stingers is usually enough to overcome the opponent's removal. Post-side, Red Elemental Blast will do all the work of protecting the combo.

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Vs. Goblins Combo

A near-mirror match between two combos. Goblins are faster than Cycling, consistently comboing off on turn 3. The latest versions use Troll of Khazad-Dum and Exhume, offering an alternative win plan, but the danger lies in the deck's combo, to which we have no answer in game 1 and need to respond at any cost in game 2. The same doesn't always apply to the opponent, who uses main deck graveyard hate and has artifact hate and discard.

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Cycling Storm is a complex deck, full of details, and demands a lot from its pilot, but achieving victories with the deck is very rewarding, as it's fun and challenging. If you, like me, love interesting combos and different ways to win the game, then this deck is an option to play in Pauper.

Leave your questions and suggestions in the comments, and I will try to respond to all of them. Until next time!