Azorius Inside Out (Pauper)

Writeup by u/D_Machine

How the Deck Works

Inside Out combo is not a new deck. In fact, it has been around for years (Hipsters of the Coast’s Lexie Mettler wrote a great article about the deck in 2015). Through the years, the core goal of the deck has remained the same:

• Play Tireless Tribe.
• Attack with Tireless Tribe. 2b. Make Tireless Tribe unblockable with Shadow Rift if needed. Tapping blockers with Gigadrowse also works.
• Play Inside Out on Tireless Tribe.
• Discard 5 cards to give Tireless Tribe +20/+0.
  With a perfect hand, this can be done on turn 2 on the play or the draw. If you wait longer, you can combo with protection from counterspells. An important note is that Inside Out and Shadow Rift draw you cards, making discarding 5 cards much easier it would appear at first glance.

Also important is the odd quirk that you can discard cards after playing Inside Out and still get +4/+0--If you don't believe me, try it on MTGO or read MTG Comprehensive Rule 613.3.

Attacking with your 1 power creatures when you can also allows you to combo by discarding fewer cards – remember the life total “breakpoints” at which you need to discard one less card to win (25, 21, 17, 13, 9).

The Combo:

Tireless Tribe: The creature half of the combo. Outside the combo, the tribe can protect itself from burn spells by discarding cards. However, remember that once Inside Out is played, Tireless Tribe cannot protect itself and will even die to burn played previously in the turn.

Inside Out: The spell half of the combo. Outside the combo, extra copies of Inside Out can be used to kill Thermo-Alchemist, Mnemonic Wall, Llanowar Augur, and other 0-power creatures, shrink Kiln Fiends, make 1-power creatures die to Augur of Bolas, “cycled” etc. Be creative!

Shadow Rift: The unofficial third part to the combo. Don’t be afraid to “cycle” extras by targeting your creatures to sneak in 1 damage on non-combo turns, or even target opponent’s creatures to make sure your spell isn’t countered by a kill spell on your creature.

Match-Ups

I’m going to review the odds of match-ups against top tiers of the moment, how to play against them, and how to sideboard. I’ll use the following ratings and corresponding approximate win percentages: Strong (>60%), Toss-Up (40-60%), and Weak (<40%) NOTE: Win percentages are based on my own personal wins, recorded on a spreadsheet, with some guessing added in to account for small sample sizes.

Urza-Tron
Match-Up: Toss-Up
This matchup relies on getting a quick kill before the opponent sets up. Be aggressive and if the opponent creates an opening for you to win by tapping lots of cards, go for it. Pro tip: Mnemonic Wall can be killed by Inside Out!

Izzet Pieces/Horns
Match-Up: Strong
Be patient and poke with your tiny creatures while you wait and build up protection.Many of their key cards are sorceries and you can frequently win when they tap low to cast them. Gigadrowse can set up a win here.

Auras
Match-Up: Strong
A race. Counter lifegain cards because they can quickly bring the opponent out of kill range. After sideboard, bring in Piracy Charm because they will likely have Standard Bearer which is a must kill card. If you have trouble with this match-up, add Patrician’s Scorn to the sideboard for loads of fun.

Stompy
Match-Up: Strong
This is strictly a race. They have one piece of disruption main deck – Vines of Vastwood, which can be used to stop Inside Out targeting Tireless Tribe. After sideboard, Viridian Longbow is lights out unless you have Disenchant or sly moves with Prismatic Strands, and watch out for Fog effects.

Izzet Blitz
Match-Up: Strong
Tread carefully against burn spells and save your counterspells for their creatures, the combo turn, and to stop Temur Battle Rage. After sideboard, Hydroblast helps a lot, but prepare to face Pyroblast and Dispel out of their sideboard.

Affinity
Match-Up: Strong (I think)
Save your counterspells for your combo turn or against fatal burn spells like Galvanic Blast or Fling. After sideboard Hydroblast will help, but watch out for Pyroblast, Dispel, and even Hydroblast--Inside Out is Red!

Izzet Faeries
Match-Up: Toss-Up (although other players have reported amazing numbers with maindeck Gigadrowse)
Protect Tireless Tribe from being countered early, and don’t go for the combo without several protection cards. After sideboard, Gigadrowse sets up combo turns and Piracy Charm or Gut Shot kills faeries. Spellstutter Sprite is key here; it can counter Tireless Tribe and can't be countered by Dispel. Hands that can play Tireless Tribe turn 1 or 2 are almost always definite keepers.

Dimir Control
Match-Up: Toss-Up
This is a tricky match that frequently involves guessing your opponent’s hand and playing around it. For example, playing Augur of Bolas before Tireless Tribe protects it from Chainer’s Edict but exposes it to Counterspell. If you suspect your opponent has a critical mass of hate cards in hand, hold Tireless Tribe until right before the combo turn, preferably after the opponent tapped low for a creature.

Elves
Match-Up: Strong
A tough race. Thankfully, they have almost zero disruption besides gaining life to set your combo back. After sideboard, use Piracy Charm to kill Wellwisher or other Elves. Disenchant is for destroying [[Viridian Longbow]].

Burn
Match-Up: Strong
Game 1 is rough. A capable opponent can hold instant speed burn to stop you from completing the combo, then unload that burn on the final turn to kill you and win. After sideboard, the match becomes much easier with Lone Missionary and Hydroblast. If you really hate burn, bring Circle of Protection: Red. Pro tip: Inside Out kills Thermo-Alchemist!

Mono-Black Control
Match-Up: Weak
Black kill spells are very difficult to deal with. Coumbajj Witches are tough, but don’t forget that once your opponent activates them, you can cast a spare Inside Out to kill them. Watch out for Tendrils of Corruption, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, and Corrupt which can put your opponent’s life total above combo range.

Boros Monarch
Match-Up: Strong
Lots of burn and Journey to Nowhere make this a tough match to combo through. After sideboard, you can even blow up Journey to Nowhere with Disenchant to release a Tireless Tribe and win out of nowhere.

Mono-Blue
Match-Up: Weak
Extremely interactive decks are a nightmare, and this is your worst match-up. Playing around Spellstutter Sprite can get you caught by Daze, and vice versa. Ninjutsu for Ninja of the Deep Hours, while game-ending in the long-run, forces the opponent to tap low and removes a blocker, creating an opportunity to resolve Tireless Tribe or combo out on your turn. After sideboard, you have more game against Spellstutter Sprite with Piracy Charm or Gut Shot. Gigadrowse is a great way to shut down a hand full of counterspells to enable a combo turn against a newly tapped out opponent.

How to Beat Inside Out

Know How the Combo Works The combo requires an attacking Tireless Tribe, 1UU mana for Shadow Rift and Inside Out, and, if your life is at 18-21, 5 cards in hand to discard (including Shadow Rift and Inside Out!). Checking if I have that much mana and cards and if I have any extra lets you know if a combo turn is coming and how many counterspells you might have to face. But remember that Gush can pop my hand size suddenly and Daze and Circular Logic are counterspells that might not cost me a card on the combo turn.

Remember that Tireless Tribe can protect itself from Disfigure and Lightning Bolt on most turns, but on the crucial combo turn, it will have only 1 toughness and will be vulnerable to cheap kill.

Counter Tireless Tribe Once Tireless Tribe is on the board, I have access to the cheap counterspell, Circular Logic. Spellstutter Sprite is almost impossible for me to beat if it wants to counter Tribe.

Don’t Tap Out Frequently, I have the combo in hand but delay pitching everything because I don’t think I have enough protection to beat your hate. Tapping out gives me the all-clear to kill you. On the other hand…

Keep the Clock Ticking If you aren’t applying any pressure, I have lots of time to build up a hand full of protection to deploy the combo at my leisure. Especially if you are a deck with few disruptive cards, pressuring my life total forces me to assemble the combo sooner or even try to combo out without all the pieces in hand at the beginning of the turn.