Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Pioneer”
Despite all the tumultuous periods in Pioneer’s lifetime, the format has more or less settled. There are still top dogs in the format, with Dimir Inverter, Lotus Breach, and Mono White Devotion reigning supreme. The tier below that looks incredibly diverse, and is the fuel that keeps Pioneer chugging along. The format has slowed down a bit — both in …
Pioneer has changed drastically since the companion rules change earlier this month. Dimir Inverter is still one of the top dogs, but Lotus Breach, Mono-Red, Mono-White, and Mono-Black are all going strong. In fact, the format looks more or less the way it did before Ikoria was released — and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But now that Core …
Pioneer has been defined by companions, Inverter, and midrange amalgamations since the release of Ikoria. While things have mostly settled, I’m always up for shaking things up a bit. Here are five cards from the Modern format that I believe would be great additions to Pioneer. A lot of these cards would change the format for the better and allow …
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on February 27, 2020. We want to ensure you have the most up-to-date information about popular decks, so we’ve updated this post and re-published it on April 28, 2020. When Wizards first introduced Pioneer, the stated mission of the format was to give players who have been around for the last seven years …
From Godzilla to companions, giant cats to tiny nightmares, Ikoria really does have it all! It’s a jam packed set that’s bound to change Pioneer as we know it, and the cards that seem the most innocuous may have the biggest impact. Let’s jump right in! Easy Prey This card will always have a use in decks like Mono-Black Aggro …
A lot can happen from nothing. Last week’s Banned and Restricted announcement was pretty highly anticipated. Many discussions across social media centered around Pioneer — the format’s overall health and the power levels of the proverbial Boogeymen. People even started talking about how the metagame would change after the presumed bans, projecting deck positions and power shifts. It was an …
Mono-Black is one of Pioneer’s oldest archetypes, and has continued to be a mainstay. It’s an aggressive strategy that utilizes cheap, resilient creatures like Bloodsoaked Champion and Dread Wanderer to get the ball rolling, while using the most powerful interaction spells in the format in Thoughtseize and Fatal Push to drive your threats home. Just in case your smaller creatures …
Pioneer was the hot new thing at the end of 2019, and now we’re living through its first big test as a format. As tuned, consistent combo lists like UB Inverter and Lotus Breach take a firm grip on the metagame, many players seem to feel the format is losing the creative spirit that its name evoked. But even with …
This past weekend was yet another showcase for Pioneer, and it did not disappoint. With the Players Tour and Grand Prix happening in Phoenix, as well as the SCG Team Open and Classic in Philadelphia, there was no shortage of the Pioneer metagame on display. Some of the big questions going into the weekend involved Inverter and Underworld Breach decks. …
At Players Tour Nagoya, I played Five-Color Humans. This probably wouldn’t seem odd if you assumed I was playing Modern, but no — I played Five-Color Humans in Pioneer. So, why did I register a Modern deck that was missing half its cards in a Pioneer tournament? At the start of my testing, I didn’t know what was good. I …
