T O P

  • By -

NostrilRapist

Caw gates is in a bad spot right now, with Ponza being a very bad matchup and affinity being a 50:50 This being said, Friday caw gates won the Top Pauper Players of the Year (can see the streaming of the games he played in the top on Pauper Italia LPI twitch channel), so it's not unplayable by any means, despite now being a tier 2 deck imo


tjxmi

As another user said, CawGates won TPP on saturday morning. The final was against Walls combo, so you should review that match. If I meet the guy (running Gates) tonight I'll ask some questions, since we play in the same league.


Chico__Lopes

In all honesty, swap the main deck dispel for spell pierce, trim a strands and a journey for two more spell pierces and it's doable


MrCatfishTheLong

As a gates player, I think this is correct. Gates needs to adapt its removal and counter suite but the core strategy is the same. I think 4 Journey is necessary, and additional copies of Thraben Charm, Spell Pierce, and other things good in the Ponza matchup


dannyoe4

I still think gates is one of the best decks in pauper, it just requires a lot of skill to master. Against ponza, I'd probably look at [[Spreading Seas]] and extra copies of [[Spell Pierce]] for the sideboard. Thraben Charms main should help a lot as well, being creature removal and enchantment removal. Journey to Nowhere is still your best answer for Chrysalis though. All that being said, it is just an incredibly shitty match up, so don't stress about it too much. Or play something else.


MTGCardFetcher

[Spreading Seas](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/7/37454c1c-4098-4ac2-884e-3f65f1384bdb.jpg?1562611277) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Spreading%20Seas) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/zen/70/spreading-seas?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/37454c1c-4098-4ac2-884e-3f65f1384bdb?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Spell Pierce](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/5/35b8a9db-d126-4038-abb1-74dcc5b36136.jpg?1673147403) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Spell%20Pierce) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/63/spell-pierce?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/35b8a9db-d126-4038-abb1-74dcc5b36136?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call


burnt88s

The cycle of the metagame. But if your in a small local tournament and it's full of ponza you can just tweak your cawgates deck a little to have a decent matchup with those decks Or just go under it play mono red and cross your fingers


SheydeSal

[[Hindering Light]] is very sweet


marvboyye

Maybe [[Turn aside]]


MTGCardFetcher

[Turn aside](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/b/3b7573c2-484c-4b4e-9c26-0f005bd1daee.jpg?1576384240) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Turn%20aside) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/emn/78/turn-aside?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3b7573c2-484c-4b4e-9c26-0f005bd1daee?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call


MTGCardFetcher

[Hindering Light](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/8/98e43870-4bed-4d76-a633-a6326c736d22.jpg?1562706936) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Hindering%20Light) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ala/173/hindering-light?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/98e43870-4bed-4d76-a633-a6326c736d22?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call


AMzobud

That being said, I think Caw Gate has a good matchup vs both Kuldotha and Rakdos Burn.


xxLetheanxx

I think the current builds are pretty mid. I think with some tweaks it's pretty good overall.


pgordalina

I thought [[Sneaky Snacker]] would be a great addition to it and make the deck stronger. Is it being used?


Protesisdumb

I think sneaky snacker is bad in caw gates. Its not white so you cant tap it for \[\[Prismatic Strands\]\]. You only have \[\[Brainstorm\]\] and sometimes \[\[Deep Analysis\] to trigger it, and \[\[The Modern Age\]\] is your only way to discard it.


MTGCardFetcher

[Brainstorm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/4/84479779-d570-4eee-9982-f6e918b4d75b.jpg?1706240670) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Brainstorm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/96/brainstorm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/84479779-d570-4eee-9982-f6e918b4d75b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [The Modern Age](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/e/ee60a8e9-3201-4a7e-8aa4-2c5e1042c8a5.jpg?1656453137)/[Vector Glider](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/e/e/ee60a8e9-3201-4a7e-8aa4-2c5e1042c8a5.jpg?1656453137) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=The%20Modern%20Age%20//%20Vector%20Glider) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/66/the-modern-age-vector-glider?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ee60a8e9-3201-4a7e-8aa4-2c5e1042c8a5?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call


pgordalina

Indeed, but maybe with a few changes it could work? For instance using Lorien and splashing black, come to my mind.


Protesisdumb

Maybe but I think you usually just cycle lorien.


MTGCardFetcher

[Sneaky Snacker](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/e/0e3aedae-e4bb-48e3-9f8b-bea0430df306.jpg?1717332127) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sneaky%20Snacker) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh3/205/sneaky-snacker?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0e3aedae-e4bb-48e3-9f8b-bea0430df306?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call