How to beat Grixis Affinity in Pauper
Over the last 90 days of recorded Pauper matches, the decks with the best results against Grixis Affinity are Mono Red Rally (69% over 13 matches), Ephemerate Tron (67% over 12 matches) and Elves (58% over 12 matches). Mono Red Rally's 69% sits in a 95% range of 42%–87%, which is the range a 13-match sample actually supports. The decks with the best records against it most often carry Blue Elemental Blast, Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast in the sideboard — those are their sideboards in general, not cards chosen for this matchup.
Best records against Grixis Affinity
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 Grixis Affinity | Record | Matches | Sample | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mono Red Rally | 69.2% | 9-4 | 13 | Medium sample | 42%–87% |
| Ephemerate Tron | 66.7% | 8-4 | 12 | Medium sample | 39%–86% |
| Elves | 58.3% | 7-5 | 12 | Medium sample | 32%–81% |
| Bogles | 60.0% | 6-4 | 10 | Medium sample | 31%–83% |
| Mono-Blue Delver | 54.5% | 6-5 | 11 | Medium sample | 28%–79% |
| Jund Wildfire | 57.1% | 4-3 | 7 | Low sample | 25%–84% |
| Dimir Terror | 60.0% | 3-2 | 5 | Low sample | 23%–88% |
| Golgari Gardens | 60.0% | 3-2 | 5 | Low sample | 23%–88% |
- High sample · 20+ matches
- Medium sample · 8–19 matches
- Low sample · 5–7 matches
30 further pairings (69 matches) fall below the 5-match floor and are not given a percentage. 2 pairings against archetypes that have left the Pauper metagame are excluded. Full history, retired archetypes included, is on Grixis Affinity's archetype page and in the Pauper matchup matrix.
What the decks that beat Grixis Affinity bring
Sideboard cards run by Mono Red Rally, Ephemerate Tron, Elves, Bogles, Mono-Blue Delver. 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 Grixis Affinity, not a list to bring in.
| Card | Decks running it | Average copies | Which decks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Elemental Blast | 2 of 5 | 2.1 | Ephemerate Tron, Mono-Blue Delver |
| Pyroblast | 2 of 5 | 1.8 | Mono Red Rally, Ephemerate Tron |
| Red Elemental Blast | 2 of 5 | 1.8 | Mono Red Rally, Ephemerate Tron |
| Hydroblast | 2 of 5 | 1.7 | Ephemerate Tron, Mono-Blue Delver |
| Scattershot Archer | 2 of 5 | 1.4 | Elves, Bogles |
| Dispel | 1 of 5 | 3.0 | Mono-Blue Delver |
| Gut Shot | 1 of 5 | 3.0 | Mono-Blue Delver |
| Monstrous Emergence | 1 of 5 | 3.0 | Elves |
| Cast into the Fire | 1 of 5 | 2.7 | Mono Red Rally |
| Spirit Link | 1 of 5 | 2.2 | Bogles |
| Faerie Macabre | 1 of 5 | 2.1 | Elves |
| Mask of Law and Grace | 1 of 5 | 2.1 | Bogles |
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 Grixis Affinity beats
The other end of the same table. If you are choosing a deck to attack Grixis Affinity with, the record argues against these.
| Deck | Win rate vs Grixis Affinity | Record | Matches | Sample | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mono Red Madness | 42.9% | 15-20 | 35 | High sample | 28%–59% |
| Mono-Blue Faeries | 41.7% | 5-7 | 12 | Medium sample | 19%–68% |
| Ruby Storm | 33.3% | 2-4 | 6 | Low sample | 10%–70% |
| Tron | 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 Grixis Affinity in Pauper?
Across the last 90 days, Mono Red Rally (69% over 13 matches), Ephemerate Tron (67% over 12 matches) and Elves (58% over 12 matches) hold the best recorded results against Grixis Affinity. 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 Grixis Affinity?
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 Grixis Affinity — Mono Red Rally, Ephemerate Tron, Elves, Bogles and Mono-Blue Delver — most commonly run Blue Elemental Blast, Pyroblast, Red Elemental Blast, Hydroblast and Scattershot Archer in their sideboards. Those are whole-sideboard frequencies across every matchup those decks play.
What does Grixis Affinity beat?
Grixis Affinity's best recorded matchups over the same window are Mono Red Madness (57% across 35 matches), Mono-Blue Faeries (58% across 12 matches) and Ruby Storm (67% across 6 matches). If you are picking a deck to attack Grixis Affinity 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 30 of those for Grixis Affinity 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 2 pairings here — their historical records are still on Grixis Affinity'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.