How to beat Elves in Pauper
Over the last 90 days of recorded Pauper matches, the decks with the best results against Elves are Ruby Storm (100% over 7 matches), Mono Red Madness (74% over 31 matches) and Dimir Control (100% over 5 matches). Ruby Storm's 100% sits in a 95% range of 65%–100%, which is the range a 7-match sample actually supports. The decks with the best records against it most often carry Pyroblast, Red Elemental Blast and Relic of Progenitus in the sideboard — those are their sideboards in general, not cards chosen for this matchup.
Best records against Elves
Matches played in the last 90 days, from events that publish round-by-round pairings. Ranked by the bottom of each 95% range, not by the headline percentage, so a small sample cannot outrank a large one.
| Deck | Win rate vs Elves | Record | Matches | Sample | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby Storm | 100.0% | 7-0 | 7 | Low sample | 65%–100% |
| Mono Red Madness | 74.2% | 23-8 | 31 | High sample | 57%–86% |
| Dimir Control | 100.0% | 5-0 | 5 | Low sample | 57%–100% |
| Mono Red Rally | 76.9% | 10-3 | 13 | Medium sample | 50%–92% |
| Snacker Gates | 83.3% | 5-1 | 6 | Low sample | 44%–97% |
| Golgari Gardens | 75.0% | 6-2 | 8 | Medium sample | 41%–93% |
| Ephemerate Tron | 57.1% | 8-6 | 14 | Medium sample | 33%–79% |
| Dimir Faeries | 57.1% | 4-3 | 7 | Low sample | 25%–84% |
- High sample · 20+ matches
- Medium sample · 8–19 matches
- Low sample · 5–7 matches
31 further pairings (58 matches) fall below the 5-match floor and are not given a percentage. 1 pairing against archetypes that have left the Pauper metagame is excluded. Full history, retired archetypes included, is on Elves's archetype page and in the Pauper matchup matrix.
What the decks that beat Elves bring
Sideboard cards run by Ruby Storm, Mono Red Madness, Dimir Control, Mono Red Rally, Snacker Gates. This is not a sideboard guide for this matchup. We record who beat whom, not what either player boarded, so these are whole-sideboard frequencies across every matchup those decks play — a hint about the kind of card that punishes Elves, not a list to bring in.
| Card | Decks running it | Average copies | Which decks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pyroblast | 4 of 5 | 2.5 | Ruby Storm, Mono Red Madness, Mono Red Rally, Snacker Gates |
| Red Elemental Blast | 4 of 5 | 1.8 | Ruby Storm, Mono Red Madness, Mono Red Rally, Snacker Gates |
| Relic of Progenitus | 3 of 5 | 1.6 | Mono Red Madness, Dimir Control, Mono Red Rally |
| Cast into the Fire | 2 of 5 | 2.0 | Mono Red Madness, Mono Red Rally |
| Smash to Smithereens | 2 of 5 | 1.7 | Mono Red Madness, Mono Red Rally |
| End the Festivities | 2 of 5 | 1.3 | Mono Red Madness, Mono Red Rally |
| Flaring Pain | 2 of 5 | 0.7 | Ruby Storm, Snacker Gates |
| Annul | 1 of 5 | 3.7 | Dimir Control |
| Hydroblast | 1 of 5 | 3.5 | Dimir Control |
| Weather the Storm | 1 of 5 | 2.4 | Ruby Storm |
| Tamiyo's Safekeeping | 1 of 5 | 1.6 | Snacker Gates |
| Dust to Dust | 1 of 5 | 1.4 | Snacker Gates |
Average copies is expected copies per deck — average copies played multiplied by the share of that archetype's lists running the card — so a 4-of in half the lists reads as 2.0.
Decks Elves beats
The other end of the same table. If you are choosing a deck to attack Elves with, the record argues against these.
| Deck | Win rate vs Elves | Record | Matches | Sample | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bogles | 0.0% | 0-5 | 5 | Low sample | 0%–43% |
| Esper Affinity | 22.2% | 2-7 | 9 | Medium sample | 6%–55% |
| Mono-Blue Faeries | 25.0% | 2-6 | 8 | Medium sample | 7%–59% |
| Grixis Affinity | 35.7% | 5-9 | 14 | Medium sample | 16%–61% |
| Tron | 33.3% | 3-6 | 9 | Medium sample | 12%–65% |
| Jund Wildfire | 33.3% | 2-4 | 6 | Low sample | 10%–70% |
| White Aggro | 33.3% | 2-4 | 6 | Low sample | 10%–70% |
| Spy Combo | 40.0% | 2-3 | 5 | Low sample | 12%–77% |
- High sample · 20+ matches
- Medium sample · 8–19 matches
- Low sample · 5–7 matches
Questions
What beats Elves in Pauper?
Across the last 90 days, Ruby Storm (100% over 7 matches), Mono Red Madness (74% over 31 matches) and Dimir Control (100% over 5 matches) hold the best recorded results against Elves. Records come from events that publish round-by-round pairings, and both decks in a match have to be identified for it to count, so these are the pairings we can see rather than every match played.
What should I bring in against Elves?
We do not have sideboard choices tied to individual matches, so this is not a sideboard guide. What the data supports is narrower: the 5 decks with the best records against Elves — Ruby Storm, Mono Red Madness, Dimir Control, Mono Red Rally and Snacker Gates — most commonly run Pyroblast, Red Elemental Blast, Relic of Progenitus, Cast into the Fire and Smash to Smithereens in their sideboards. Those are whole-sideboard frequencies across every matchup those decks play.
What does Elves beat?
Elves's best recorded matchups over the same window are Bogles (100% across 5 matches), Esper Affinity (78% across 9 matches) and Mono-Blue Faeries (75% across 8 matches). If you are picking a deck to attack Elves with, these are the ones the record argues against.
How reliable are these Pauper matchup numbers?
Not very, and the page says so per row rather than in aggregate. Every pairing shows its match count, its sample band and a 95% range; the strongest band we award is 20+ matches, which is still roughly a ±20-point range around the figure shown. Pairings under 5 matches are counted but never given a percentage — there are 31 of those for Elves right now. Rankings use the bottom of each range rather than the headline percentage, so a small sample cannot outrank a large one it has not earned.
What period does this cover?
Matches played in the last 90 days, filtered on when each match was actually played. Archetypes that have dropped out of the Pauper metagame are excluded from the ranking, which removes 1 pairing here — their historical records are still on Elves's own archetype page and in the format matchup matrix.
What each number on this site measures, and where it is least reliable, is set out on the methodology page.