How to beat Mono Red Madness in Pauper
Over the last 90 days of recorded Pauper matches, the decks with the best results against Mono Red Madness are Mono Red Rally (81% over 16 matches), Golgari Gardens (89% over 9 matches) and 4c Affinity (86% over 7 matches). Mono Red Rally's 81% sits in a 95% range of 57%–93%, which is the range a 16-match sample actually supports. The decks with the best records against it most often carry Pyroblast, Blue Elemental Blast and Red Elemental Blast in the sideboard — those are their sideboards in general, not cards chosen for this matchup.
Best records against Mono Red Madness
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 Mono Red Madness | Record | Matches | Sample | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mono Red Rally | 81.3% | 13-3 | 16 | Medium sample | 57%–93% |
| Golgari Gardens | 88.9% | 8-1 | 9 | Medium sample | 56%–98% |
| 4c Affinity | 85.7% | 6-1 | 7 | Low sample | 49%–97% |
| 4c Ephemerate | 85.7% | 6-1 | 7 | Low sample | 49%–97% |
| Ephemerate Tron | 56.7% | 17-13 | 30 | High sample | 39%–73% |
| Ruby Storm | 80.0% | 4-1 | 5 | Low sample | 38%–96% |
| Grixis Affinity | 53.6% | 15-13 | 28 | High sample | 36%–70% |
| Bogles | 66.7% | 6-3 | 9 | Medium sample | 35%–88% |
| Dimir Faeries | 57.1% | 8-6 | 14 | Medium sample | 33%–79% |
| Dimir Terror | 66.7% | 4-2 | 6 | Low sample | 30%–90% |
| Tron | 66.7% | 4-2 | 6 | Low sample | 30%–90% |
| Dimir Control | 54.5% | 6-5 | 11 | Medium sample | 28%–79% |
| Esper Affinity | 55.6% | 5-4 | 9 | Medium sample | 27%–81% |
| Snacker Gates | 57.1% | 4-3 | 7 | Low sample | 25%–84% |
| Mardu Synthesizer | 60.0% | 3-2 | 5 | Low sample | 23%–88% |
- High sample · 20+ matches
- Medium sample · 8–19 matches
- Low sample · 5–7 matches
23 further pairings (55 matches) fall below the 5-match floor and are not given a percentage. 4 pairings against archetypes that have left the Pauper metagame are excluded. Full history, retired archetypes included, is on Mono Red Madness's archetype page and in the Pauper matchup matrix.
What the decks that beat Mono Red Madness bring
Sideboard cards run by Mono Red Rally, Golgari Gardens, 4c Affinity, 4c Ephemerate, Ephemerate Tron. 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 Mono Red Madness, not a list to bring in.
| Card | Decks running it | Average copies | Which decks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pyroblast | 4 of 5 | 1.6 | Mono Red Rally, 4c Affinity, 4c Ephemerate, Ephemerate Tron |
| Blue Elemental Blast | 3 of 5 | 2.2 | 4c Affinity, 4c Ephemerate, Ephemerate Tron |
| Red Elemental Blast | 3 of 5 | 2.2 | Mono Red Rally, 4c Ephemerate, Ephemerate Tron |
| Hydroblast | 3 of 5 | 2.1 | 4c Affinity, 4c Ephemerate, Ephemerate Tron |
| Weather the Storm | 3 of 5 | 2.1 | Golgari Gardens, 4c Ephemerate, Ephemerate Tron |
| Breath Weapon | 3 of 5 | 0.8 | 4c Affinity, 4c Ephemerate, Ephemerate Tron |
| Vandalblast | 3 of 5 | 0.8 | 4c Affinity, 4c Ephemerate, Ephemerate Tron |
| Nihil Spellbomb | 2 of 5 | 0.9 | 4c Affinity, 4c Ephemerate |
| Troublemaker Ouphe | 1 of 5 | 3.0 | Golgari Gardens |
| Cast into the Fire | 1 of 5 | 2.8 | Mono Red Rally |
| Duress | 1 of 5 | 2.4 | Golgari Gardens |
| Krark-Clan Shaman | 1 of 5 | 1.8 | 4c Affinity |
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 Mono Red Madness beats
The other end of the same table. If you are choosing a deck to attack Mono Red Madness with, the record argues against these.
| Deck | Win rate vs Mono Red Madness | Record | Matches | Sample | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spy Combo | 17.6% | 3-14 | 17 | Medium sample | 6%–41% |
| Elves | 25.8% | 8-23 | 31 | High sample | 14%–43% |
| Jund Wildfire | 26.7% | 4-11 | 15 | Medium sample | 11%–52% |
| Gruul Ponza | 33.3% | 3-6 | 9 | Medium sample | 12%–65% |
| White Aggro | 40.0% | 4-6 | 10 | Medium sample | 17%–69% |
| Blue Terror | 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 Mono Red Madness in Pauper?
Across the last 90 days, Mono Red Rally (81% over 16 matches), Golgari Gardens (89% over 9 matches) and 4c Affinity (86% over 7 matches) hold the best recorded results against Mono Red Madness. 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 Mono Red Madness?
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 Mono Red Madness — Mono Red Rally, Golgari Gardens, 4c Affinity, 4c Ephemerate and Ephemerate Tron — most commonly run Pyroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Red Elemental Blast, Hydroblast and Weather the Storm in their sideboards. Those are whole-sideboard frequencies across every matchup those decks play.
What does Mono Red Madness beat?
Mono Red Madness's best recorded matchups over the same window are Spy Combo (82% across 17 matches), Elves (74% across 31 matches) and Jund Wildfire (73% across 15 matches). If you are picking a deck to attack Mono Red Madness 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 23 of those for Mono Red Madness 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 4 pairings here — their historical records are still on Mono Red Madness'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.