I keep thinking about Pyramid Scheme for Pauper Extended now that we have some great new stuff from Rise of the Eldrazi.

Pyramid Scheme uses ETB creatures like Ravenous Rats, Phyrexian Rager, Citanul Woodreaders, and Aurochs Herd to amass card and board advantage while exerting control using black’s ample removal and discard options. Then, it employs graveyard recursion to repeat this process endlessly into the end game, winning with fat.Rise of the Eldrazi gave us some awesome entries for this archetype.

For starters, we have the dynamic duo of Nest Invaders and Kozilek’s Predator. These two are on the curve for their cost and come with at least one mana-producing token each. If you liked Sakura-Tribe Elder, you should consider these guys.

Ondu Giant plays the same role as Borderland Ranger but with a 2/4 body for only one more mana. However, he’s then competing with a true badass in the Pyramid Scheme archetype: Penumbra Spider. I think the arachnid is the clear winner here.

I really like Cadaver Imp despite the fact it’s a 1/1 flier for 3 mana. We’ve seen Pilgrim’s Eye played (in smaller formats) with the same stats. He sets up a nice Pyramid-y recursion loop and his evasion could turn the tide of battle. The fact that he’s 1 mana cheaper than Gravedigger means it’s easier to ramp into him.

And last but not least are the Eldrazi. They are the pinnacle of Pauper beats and truly seem at home in this deck. They certainly beg for Vines of Vastwood backup, but speeding into an Eldrazi and swinging a couple times would really ruin the opponent’s day.

I am a concept man, and I will leave the details to better deck designers than I…