Pioneer - about to get hot (again)?
After a long hiatus, it's time for the blog to return with (hopefully) some interesting content, this time featuring Magic's newest paper format – Pioneer.
Pioneer was announced on October 21, 2019, and for a few months it was by far Magic's most exciting format. It was brewed and played and briefly banned at breakneck speed. Then it was finally decided that the pros would compete in the format and a few decks emerged as the best of the format: Lotus Field, Dimir Inverter, Oops all Spells and Heliod-Combo. More decks tried to keep up, but the format coalesced around the combo decks. At the same time, the spring of 2020 came to strand all paper magic and Wizards chose to calm down by briefly banning the format. Slowly but surely the Online players also got tired and it was hardly possible to find matches to play anymore.
But could it be that the format is on the rise again? Dedicated Pioneer players claim it's the best format in Magic right now, and when paper play picks up again, it's a great chance for players to get into a 60-card format if Modern discourages.
If you are keen to try out the format, then these are the games you can be prepared to face:
Izzet Phoenix
One of the most popular cards of recent years - Arclight Phoenix - dominates the meta in Pioneer. The game is about getting a Thing in the Ice down on turn 2, getting a bunch of Phoenixes down in the grave, and then casting lots of instants and sorcerys to get the Thing in the Ice to "flip" and your Arclight Phoenixes to come swinging out of the grave for to deal heavy damage in a single round. This is the most popular deck in the format, but whether it is the best is not at all certain.
Ascendancy combo
This deck wants to ramp out a Jeskai Ascendancy and then play a Sylvan Awakening that turns all lands into creatures. Together with non-creaturespells, you get (basically) infinite mana and your creatures get bigger and bigger. Finally, you attack your opponent with the lands that have become huge. This might be the best deck in Pioneer right now as it can often win on turn 4.
Jund- Sacrifice
If you've played Historic, you recognize the game and what it can do. Mayhem Devil and Cauldron Familiar take care of the opponent's creatures while Korvold and Bolas Citadel absolutely pulverize the opponent in card advantage.
Mono red
The deck comes in many variations, from insanely aggressive to a bit closer to midrange, but the tactics are largely the same. Hit fast and hit hard. Which variant is best depends on what opponent you are facing.
Mono- black Vampires
Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord is one of the strongest planeswalkers ever printed - but the card is only good in vampire decks (and maybe that's a good thing). This is another aggressive deck that suits anyone who wants to play tribal.
UW control
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and Supreme Verdict are a good base to build control decks on. All you then have to do is fill the deck with counters, cheap removal and card draw - Voila! How about playing Dig Through Time (banned in Modern and Legacy)? The game took a hit when Teferi, Time Raveler was finally banned and the control players had to settle for Narset, Parter of Veils as a replacement.
Straight dose midrange
If you always want a chance to win against almost any opponent, Rakdos is a good option. You have access to Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Kolaghan's Command and creatures that fulfill multiple functions (eg Bonecrusher Giant). There are different versions of the deck, one with Lurrus as a Companion that uses your graveyard, and a version that instead chooses to play Chandra, Torch of Defiance, and Sorin the Mirthless.
In addition to these games, there are plenty of others to choose from: Lotus Field combo, Boros Heroic, Spirits, Winota, Niv to Light and various Collected Company games are just a few. The format has something for everyone so don't hesitate to dig into a format that seems to be having a renaissance!
For information about the lane list, I recommend checking out Wizard's site:
https://magic.wizards.com/en/game-info/gameplay/rules-and-formats/banned-restricted
If you want to spend time checking out different games, there's always Mtggoldfish: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/metagame/pioneer#paper
Have a great time!
Sincerely
Pioneer cod