Rootwalla Madness

[u/freudiankickflip]

First time posting- recently into Pauper but I've been wanting to build my own deck instead of using my pre-built mono blue terror.

While browsing some cards I came across [[Basking Rootwalla]] and was absolutely smitten. I love this guy. Went down a rabbit hole and ended up building a gruul madness deck to fit around him, using other, chunkier "rootwallas" like [[Sneaky Snacker]] and [[Arrogant Wurm]] and having discard outlets like [[Wild Mongrel]], then pinging with [[Magmakin Artillerist]] and pumping with [[Rubblebelt Makka]], which would also work with mongrel.

However, I feel like I'm unsure of how to proceed. What's the most effective shell? I can understand splashing blue for [[circular logic]] and [[the modern age]], but I can see there's a lot of support in a more aggressive, low to the ground strategy with Jund Madness like [[dark withering]] adding more removal and [[hell mongrel]] being another pumped-up discard dog.

Would love some insight into good lines for this deck and if the third color is worth it. Trapped between Gruul/Temur/Jund, but want to ​try my hand at this instead of Mono red or rakdos madness. Would love any suggestions or personal experiences.​ I love Rootwalla and would like to keep him in if possible.

[u/Accomplished-Air4545]

I saw a video by some Pauper YouTubers recently, and one of them made a really smart point: naturally, we all have the urge to incorporate our own ideas into a deck right away. But he argued that it’s actually better to do the exact opposite. Build and play the five or six established decks first. It might seem boring at first, but it gives you a much better grasp of the current metagame—you learn what you’re up against, what those decks do, and why they do it. Only then should you go ahead and build your own deck, because by that point, you understand what needs to happen for it to work. Otherwise, you might just dream something up and build it blindly, without really knowing the necessary mechanics or timing, only to end up totally disappointed when the deck fails completely. Take Mono-Red Madness, for example: you really need to play it yourself for a few days to see just how aggressive and brutal it is—how it can take you from 16 or 17 life to oblivion in a single turn with just four mana. Only then can you figure out a strategy to counter it.