White is not a color that translates well into PDH. It is known for its use of weenies (cheap 1/1 or 2/2 creatures) and life gain, talents that fall flat in a format that favors mid-range decks (decks with higher powered, mid-costed creatures) and Commander Damage. It also has a severe lack of card advantage, sporting no draw cards and most of its spells focusing on single targets. It has no ramp, relying on artifacts for acceleration and has no finishers, relying heavily on its commander to close out games. It is a color that requires shrewd playing and forethought. However, even with all of these disadvantages, White brings several abilities to the table that no other colors can match, making it one of the best secondary color choices in the format. These are the abilities of Protection, Recursion, and Removal...
PROTECTION
White has a plethora of cards that can prevent the opponent from attacking (called Pacifism effects) that are perfect for stalling fast voltron decks. An alternative to these types of cards exists in the form of Decoys, taking their name from the iconic Master Decoy. These have the advantage of serving as feet on the ground at the cost of being easier to remove. White also has the ability to prevent damage using cards such as Gossamer Chains and Circle of Protection: Red, a blessing in a format that relies on evasion. Instant based damage prevention is also quite common, shirking the telegraphed plans of permanents at the cost of card advantage.
Pacifism Effects
Prevention Effects
Holy Day Effects
Decoys
RECURSION
While Black may have the largest quantity of recursion spells in the format White is a decent runner up and has a lot more versatility in what it can return. It is the best color for returning artifacts and enchantments, fitting for a color so reliant on non-creature permanents to survive. White also features the largest collection of blink and return to hand effects outside of Blue, allowing you to get second helpings of your ETB's or save them from being removed.
Artifact Recursion
Creature Recursion
Enchantment Recursion
Blink Effects
Return to Hand Effects
REMOVAL
White has a litany of removal spells for and in multiple different card types, making it one of the best colors to splash for removal.
Creature Removal
Enchantment and Artifact Removal
Hopefully you have a better understanding of White's strengths in Pauper EDH after reading through. In the next installment of this series I will take a look at White's weaknesses (draw, filtering, and damage output) and how to shore them up. Questions or comments? Contact me on my TappedOut page or on my Pauper EDH Primer.
-Ruffigan
@PDH_Homebase
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