Slimefoot, the Stowaway - Budget/Pauper Deck (EDH / Commander)

"Scholars still debate whether the Thallids were truly sentient."
—Sarpadian Empires, vol. III

=== I N T R O D U C T I O N ===

With the release of Dominaria, Commander deck brewing enthusiasts like me got a bunch of new legendary creatures to play with. Among them is a complete cycle of dual color uncommons, which tempted me to brew Pauper EDH decks for some of the uncommon legendary creatures from Dominaria over the course of the weeks to follow.

What's neat about uncommon legendaries is that they're legal commanders in both Pauper EDH and Commander, so each of my brews will come with a 10 card maybeboard, consisting of uncommons, rares and mythics. The cards suggested there will increase the deck's power to a great degree if swapped with the commons listed beside them, and may be used as a sideboard for "regular" Commander games. As a self-imposed budget limit, the maybeboard won't cost more than the actual deck.

The first Dominarian legend on my to-do list was Slimefoot, the Stowaway.

Be sure to check out my other Budget/Pauper EDH decks:

• Shanna, Sisay's Legacy: https://deckstats.net/decks/58688/998879-shanna-sisay-s-legacy-budget-p
• Tatyova, Benthic Druid: https://deckstats.net/decks/58688/975300-tatyova-benthic-druid-budget-p

A fully upgraded Slimefoot EDH deck that's still affordable can be found here:
http://deck.tk/7weS1DZQ

=== S T R A T E G Y ===

Game plan:
a) Fix and accelerate mana in the early game. Slimefoot has to enter the battlefield turn 3 no matter what, hence Rampant Growth and Sakura-Tribe Elder instead of Cultivate and Kodama's Reach.
b) Establish a strong board presence. Generate saprolings with Slimefoot's ability as often as feasible.
c) Use the saprolings and graveyard recursion effects in conjunction with sacrifice outlets to generate value over time, grinding out a victory.

Win conditions:

1. Of course, Slimefoot's triggered ability. The damage dealt to opponents will add up over time, while you're sitting pretty behind your wall of vegetables and pull off all kinds of shenanigans. Gruesome Fate and Evincar's Justice help speeding up the process.
2. Good ol' beatdown. This deck isn't overly aggressive, but has quite a few creatures that can throw a punch if must be. Whispersilk Cloak, Dirge of Dread and Wildheart Invoker are there to get the hurt through.
3. Phyresis. Once you have ten saprolings and a free sacrifice outlet on the battlefield, all you need to win the game is this combo piece. Enchant Slimefoot, sac saps, GG. If your playgroup loathes infect, use Rancor instead.

Mentionable synergies:

• Snake Umbra
  Slimefoot's triggered ability doesn't cause life loss, but deals damage (hence Phyresis works). Since Snake Umbra triggers from ANY damage the enchanted creature deals to opponents, it is a potential source for massive card advantage. Having to pay only {4} to deal 3 damage, gain 1 life and draw three cards (in addition to the benefit from the sacrifice outlet) is an excellent bargain. Plus, since the aura has Totem Armor, it protects Slimefoot.
• Dimir House Guard
  While this creature is also a free sacrifice outlet that can chump block for days, its main purpose is to tutor for 4 CMC spells via its Transmute ability. This way, Dimir House Guard can fetch some powerful spells from the library; among them are Pestilence, Syphon Mind, Mold Shambler and Faceless Butcher.
• Faceless Butcher
  Due to the "Fiend Hunter glitch", this nightmare horror can exile creatures for good. As soon as its first triggered ability goes on the stack, sacrifice Faceless Butcher in response, e.g. to Viscera Seer. When the effects resolve, you will get to scry 1 first; the creature you targeted gets exiled only after. But at that time Faceless Butcher has already left the battlefield, so its second ability can never trigger. Use graveyard recursion to repeat as necessary.

Tips & tactics:
This deck wants to run a marathon, not a sprint. Fly under the radar. Play defensively. Don't create saprolings with Slimefoot or sacrifice them in your main phase just because you can. It is far more beneficial to sac creatures "in response" to detrimental blocks or enemy removal spells. Have some mana ready for answers during your opponents' turns. You can sink it into Slimefoot (or Sprout Swarm, or Unmake the Graves, or Nessian Asp...) at any time before your next untap phase.

=== C O N C L U S I O N ===

I can't wait to assemble this deck for real and playtest it. Heck, I would even run it against regular Commander decks, just to see how it performs. I would love to hear about your impression of my design, so please leave a comment. Thanks!

=== O N P A U P E R E D H ===

What distinguishes Pauper EDH from "regular" Commander? The rules are mostly the same, with three exceptions:

1. ANY uncommon creature can be your commander; it doesn't have to be legendary.
2. Each card in the 99 must have been printed at common rarity in a Magic set or product (paper OR Magic Online) to be legal in this format variant. Please note that the ban list for the Magic Online format Pauper doesn't apply to Pauper EDH, because in a 100 card singleton format these cards have much less of an impact.
3. Due to the lesser power of commons, players start with a life total of 30, and a player that's been dealt 16 or more combat damage by the same commander over the course of the game loses the game.

What's great about Pauper EDH is that the decks are really cheap to come by. An average Pauper EDH deck is worth something between 20 and 30 €. Some may be a bit more expensive, but most of them can be assembled for FAR less money, because many players already own most of the cards they'll need - draft chaff lying around in some box on a shelf, collecting dust.
Another advantage of Pauper EDH is its diversity. Due to the sheer amount of uncommon creatures (3,135 at the time according to Gatherer) there are far more possible deck strategies compared to Commander.
And last but not least: While the players who spend more money on cards than the rest of their playgroup also tend to win more Commander games, the odds of winning a Pauper EDH game are more even. Here, the power of an individual card (which, in most cases, is proportional to its price) counts to a lesser extend than your overall deck brewing prowess and your playing skills.