How to beat Blue Terror in Pauper
Over the last 90 days of recorded Pauper matches, the decks with the best results against Blue Terror are Mono Red Rally (75% over 8 matches), Grixis Affinity (80% over 5 matches) and Elves (60% over 5 matches). Mono Red Rally's 75% sits in a 95% range of 41%–93%, which is the range a 8-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 Blue Terror
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 Blue Terror | Record | Matches | Sample | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mono Red Rally | 75.0% | 6-2 | 8 | Medium sample | 41%–93% |
| Grixis Affinity | 80.0% | 4-1 | 5 | Low sample | 38%–96% |
| Elves | 60.0% | 3-2 | 5 | Low sample | 23%–88% |
| Mono Red Madness | 60.0% | 3-2 | 5 | Low sample | 23%–88% |
- High sample · 20+ matches
- Medium sample · 8–19 matches
- Low sample · 5–7 matches
21 further pairings (30 matches) fall below the 5-match floor and are not given a percentage. Full history, retired archetypes included, is on Blue Terror's archetype page and in the Pauper matchup matrix.
What the decks that beat Blue Terror bring
Sideboard cards run by Mono Red Rally, Grixis Affinity, Elves, Mono Red 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 Blue Terror, not a list to bring in.
| Card | Decks running it | Average copies | Which decks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pyroblast | 3 of 4 | 2.7 | Mono Red Rally, Grixis Affinity, Mono Red Madness |
| Red Elemental Blast | 3 of 4 | 1.6 | Mono Red Rally, Grixis Affinity, Mono Red Madness |
| Relic of Progenitus | 2 of 4 | 2.1 | Mono Red Rally, Mono Red Madness |
| Cast into the Fire | 2 of 4 | 1.9 | Mono Red Rally, Mono Red Madness |
| Smash to Smithereens | 2 of 4 | 1.7 | Mono Red Rally, Mono Red Madness |
| End the Festivities | 2 of 4 | 1.3 | Mono Red Rally, Mono Red Madness |
| Monstrous Emergence | 1 of 4 | 3.0 | Elves |
| Hydroblast | 1 of 4 | 2.7 | Grixis Affinity |
| Faerie Macabre | 1 of 4 | 2.1 | Elves |
| Blue Elemental Blast | 1 of 4 | 1.8 | Grixis Affinity |
| Vitu-Ghazi Inspector | 1 of 4 | 1.7 | Elves |
| Spinewoods Paladin | 1 of 4 | 1.7 | Elves |
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.
Questions
What beats Blue Terror in Pauper?
Across the last 90 days, Mono Red Rally (75% over 8 matches), Grixis Affinity (80% over 5 matches) and Elves (60% over 5 matches) hold the best recorded results against Blue Terror. 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 Blue Terror?
We do not have sideboard choices tied to individual matches, so this is not a sideboard guide. What the data supports is narrower: the 4 decks with the best records against Blue Terror — Mono Red Rally, Grixis Affinity, Elves and Mono Red Madness — 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.
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 21 of those for Blue Terror 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 — their historical records are still on Blue Terror'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.