How to beat Golgari Gardens in Pauper
Over the last 90 days of recorded Pauper matches, the decks with the best results against Golgari Gardens are Rakdos Madness (67% over 6 matches). Rakdos Madness's 67% sits in a 95% range of 30%–90%, which is the range a 6-match sample actually supports. The decks with the best records against it most often carry Nihil Spellbomb, Extract a Confession and Duress in the sideboard — those are their sideboards in general, not cards chosen for this matchup.
Best records against Golgari Gardens
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 Golgari Gardens | Record | Matches | Sample | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rakdos Madness | 66.7% | 4-2 | 6 | Low sample | 30%–90% |
- High sample · 20+ matches
- Medium sample · 8–19 matches
- Low sample · 5–7 matches
35 further pairings (63 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 Golgari Gardens's archetype page and in the Pauper matchup matrix.
What the decks that beat Golgari Gardens bring
Sideboard cards run by Rakdos Madness. 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 Golgari Gardens, not a list to bring in.
| Card | Decks running it | Average copies | Which decks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nihil Spellbomb | 1 of 1 | 2.7 | Rakdos Madness |
| Extract a Confession | 1 of 1 | 2.2 | Rakdos Madness |
| Duress | 1 of 1 | 1.9 | Rakdos Madness |
| Cast into the Fire | 1 of 1 | 1.7 | Rakdos Madness |
| Smash to Smithereens | 1 of 1 | 1.0 | Rakdos Madness |
| Dark Withering | 1 of 1 | 0.7 | Rakdos Madness |
| End the Festivities | 1 of 1 | 0.6 | Rakdos Madness |
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 Golgari Gardens beats
The other end of the same table. If you are choosing a deck to attack Golgari Gardens with, the record argues against these.
| Deck | Win rate vs Golgari Gardens | Record | Matches | Sample | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mono Red Madness | 11.1% | 1-8 | 9 | Medium sample | 2%–44% |
| Elves | 25.0% | 2-6 | 8 | Medium sample | 7%–59% |
- High sample · 20+ matches
- Medium sample · 8–19 matches
- Low sample · 5–7 matches
Questions
What beats Golgari Gardens in Pauper?
Across the last 90 days, Rakdos Madness (67% over 6 matches) hold the best recorded results against Golgari Gardens. 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 Golgari Gardens?
We do not have sideboard choices tied to individual matches, so this is not a sideboard guide. What the data supports is narrower: the 1 deck with the best records against Golgari Gardens — Rakdos Madness — most commonly run Nihil Spellbomb, Extract a Confession, Duress, Cast into the Fire and Smash to Smithereens in their sideboards. Those are whole-sideboard frequencies across every matchup those decks play.
What does Golgari Gardens beat?
Golgari Gardens's best recorded matchups over the same window are Mono Red Madness (89% across 9 matches) and Elves (75% across 8 matches). If you are picking a deck to attack Golgari Gardens 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 35 of those for Golgari Gardens 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 Golgari Gardens'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.