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 6 matches), Mono Red Madness (75% over 32 matches) and Snacker Gates (83% over 6 matches). Ruby Storm's 100% sits in a 95% range of 61%–100%, which is the range a 6-match sample actually supports. The decks with the best records against it most often carry Pyroblast, Red Elemental Blast and Weather the Storm 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% | 6-0 | 6 | Low sample | 61%–100% |
| Mono Red Madness | 75.0% | 24-8 | 32 | High sample | 58%–87% |
| Snacker Gates | 83.3% | 5-1 | 6 | Low sample | 44%–97% |
| Golgari Gardens | 75.0% | 6-2 | 8 | Medium sample | 41%–93% |
| Mono Red Rally | 66.7% | 8-4 | 12 | Medium sample | 39%–86% |
- High sample · 20+ matches
- Medium sample · 8–19 matches
- Low sample · 5–7 matches
33 further pairings (54 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, Snacker Gates, Golgari Gardens, Mono Red Rally. 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 | 2.8 | Ruby Storm, Mono Red Madness, Snacker Gates, Mono Red Rally |
| Red Elemental Blast | 4 of 5 | 1.7 | Ruby Storm, Mono Red Madness, Snacker Gates, Mono Red Rally |
| Weather the Storm | 2 of 5 | 3.2 | Ruby Storm, Golgari Gardens |
| Relic of Progenitus | 2 of 5 | 2.1 | Mono Red Madness, Mono Red Rally |
| Cast into the Fire | 2 of 5 | 1.9 | 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 | 0.5 | Ruby Storm, Snacker Gates |
| Troublemaker Ouphe | 1 of 5 | 3.1 | Golgari Gardens |
| Duress | 1 of 5 | 2.6 | Golgari Gardens |
| Breath Weapon | 1 of 5 | 2.5 | Snacker Gates |
| Dust to Dust | 1 of 5 | 2.3 | 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% |
| Mono-Blue Faeries | 22.2% | 2-7 | 9 | Medium sample | 6%–55% |
| Esper Affinity | 25.0% | 2-6 | 8 | Medium sample | 7%–59% |
| Tron | 25.0% | 2-6 | 8 | Medium sample | 7%–59% |
| Spy Combo | 20.0% | 1-4 | 5 | Low sample | 4%–62% |
| Grixis Affinity | 41.7% | 5-7 | 12 | Medium sample | 19%–68% |
| White Aggro | 33.3% | 2-4 | 6 | Low sample | 10%–70% |
| Ephemerate Tron | 45.5% | 5-6 | 11 | Medium sample | 21%–72% |
| 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 Elves in Pauper?
Across the last 90 days, Ruby Storm (100% over 6 matches), Mono Red Madness (75% over 32 matches) and Snacker Gates (83% over 6 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, Snacker Gates, Golgari Gardens and Mono Red Rally — most commonly run Pyroblast, Red Elemental Blast, Weather the Storm, Relic of Progenitus and Cast into the Fire 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), Mono-Blue Faeries (78% across 9 matches) and Esper Affinity (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 33 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.