Pauper: The History of Affinity in the Format

Grixis Affinity is, without a question, the most important deck in the history of Pauper, and has existed practically since the format began. Currently, this archetype is a midrange list that plays a lot more like a control list and takes advantage of the mechanic that names it, Affinity, to create an absurd amount of value with a mana base made of artifact lands. To win, it draws countless cards and leans on recursion.

But, what did it look like when it first came up in Pauper? Did it look too different from what it is today? The history of this deck is intimately tied to how this format developed throughout the years, and it was essential in many key moments for Pauper as a whole.

It has been a real pillar in this format, though it has gone through multiple bans. It has never disappeared completely, and has always come back stronger.

We can say that, at first, Affinity's base was the original artifact lands and Atog, which might be the most important creature in the history of this deck. Simply playing it made it a super effective aggro list, with a built-in combo: the interaction between Atog and Fling.

This version couldn't create as much card advantage as the current versions, and its mana base was a lot less consistent, but it was enough at the time. Cards like Witching Well and Prophetic Prism did their job well. As this deck wasn't that popular, heavier hates, like Dust to Dust, were unthought of at the time, but Gorilla Shaman was nearly always enough to destroy the dreams of any Affinity player.

After Commander Legends came along, decks like Jund Cascade and Tron conquered a lot of space, and even blue decks became dominant for a brief period of time until Fall From Favor was swiftly banned from the format. It was right around this time that another version of Affinity started gaining traction: Grixis Affinity with Disciple of the Vault and Makeshift Munitions.

This version leaned on its combo even more than the Jeskai version. Atog and Disciple were at the very center of the entire strategy, and Munitions was an alternative win condition. Temur Battle-Rage also showed up in those lists as another win condition with Atog, almost like a Fling.

Modern Horizons 2

Modern Horizons 2 was the first big turnaround for Affinity. It brought cards that not only made this archetype a lot stronger, but also changed this format entirely. It might have even been one of the worst metas in Pauper, as it was basically dominated by three decks: Storms with Chatterstorm, Affinity with Sojourner's Companion and the iconic indestructible lands, and Faerie decks that were basically the only anti-meta decks viable back then.

Sojourner gave Affinity four extra copies of Myr Enforcer that you could use to get an artifact land, which was a great way to fix your mana base. Indestructible artifact lands are another thing altogether, though: their presence in this format has been the topic of debate since they were released, and it still comes up to this day, as the community often suggests banning them. They make this deck a lot more consistent and also enable a series of interactions that came up a bit later. Let's see them.

Pauper Format Panel

This might be a hot take, but I can't help but think Affinity with indestructible lands became a real list right when the PFP, the panel that defines what will be banned in Pauper, was born.

PFP was created a few months after MH2 was released, and straight away decided to ban some cards, including Sojourner, Atog, Disciple of the Vault, and even Prophetic Prism, precisely to nerf Affinity. Storm decks disappeared after these bans, but Affinity, as incredible as it sounds, remained strong. Whenever one of its cards was banned, a new set brought new cards that ended up in this archetype.

The problem for most of us was, of course, indestructible lands, which still made the Grixis version possible and forced us to use cards like Dust to Dust and Revoke Existence. It was either that or resorting to other strategies. However, Affinity's growing presence always made decks like Bogles, Heroic, Elves, and other creature-centric lists a lot weaker.

The biggest reason PFP gave us, on several occasions, for not banning indestructible lands was because they enabled strategies that weren't that harmful for the format, like decks with Cleansing Wildfire (Cascade, Ephemeral, and, currently, Jund Midrange). This has always been a relatively controversial take, and should remain so as long as these cards are valid in Pauper, even though now we have many ways to deal with them.

All That Glitters

Yet, Grixis Affinity has gone through some bad days. After Commander Masters was released, All That Glitters became Pauper-legal, and a new, even more powerful Affinity came along, completely overshadowing the good, old Grixis.

Glitter decks were another striking chapter in the history of Pauper - starting as Affinity until they became the Boros versions that looked nothing like the original Affinity lists. Still, they were only possible thanks to the solid artifact base present in this format.

Glitter decks created a meta as toxic as Atog's, and All That Glitters was really similar to it as well: it could simply win the game whenever you played it, no matter what your opponent had, and, as such, forced us to prepare to play against it at all times. Even then, we could still lose to it.

Once again PFP had to ban a card, which they did perhaps a bit too late. Right afterward, Grixis Affinity was back in the meta with more upgrades.

Modern Horizons 3

The current Affinity list is perhaps one of the strongest versions since Atog was banned. Its game plan is well-defined and includes cards like Refurbished Familiar and Toxin Analysis, which open a wide array of possible plays, and attack your opponent's most important resources, both in their hand and their board. Today, these lists have nearly no real enemies, and Affinity is considered by many the best deck in the format.

Its greatest strength is, without a question, the amount of card advantage it creates and how redundant it is, which both make it unbelievably consistent and fast. You'll draw so many cards and have so many resources that your opponent will lose simply by how much ahead you'll be in turns. As the Affinity player, you'll play your turns earlier and earlier, either by drawing many cards or attacking their resources. Affinity plays around value, and it is the best at it.

Affinity is one of the greatest pillars of Pauper. With it in the meta, this format looks different, and, without it, it might not look like Pauper at all. This archetype always inspires difficult conversations which seem endless, but one thing we can all agree on: Grixis Affinity is one of the most important decks in the history of this format, and will probably always be.

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Thank you for reading, and see you next time!