Magic players were bracing for the latest Banned and Restricted list announcement today (more on that later this week), but they weren’t prepared for Wizards of the Coast to reveal a brand-new Magic format. Pioneer is coming to Magic Online and tabletop tournaments near you this fall, so here’s the low-down.
What is Pioneer?
Pioneer is a non-rotating Magic format that includes sets from Return to Ravnica forward. All future Standard-legal sets will be legal in Pioneer.
Like Modern before it, Pioneer is meant to bridge a gap between two of Magic’s existing competitive formats – in this case, Modern and Standard. In fact, Wizards has stated that they chose Return to Ravnica as the first set of the Pioneer period because the Modern format debuted shortly before the release of Return to Ravnica. The new format will not include many of Modern’s hallmark cards – such as Lightning Bolt, Path to Exile, Tarmogoyf, and Snapcaster Mage – as well as any cards introduced into the Modern format through sets like Modern Horizons.
All that aside, the past several years have seen the release of powerful cards, and Pioneer has all the tools it needs to carve out an identity all its own. The format contains many of Modern’s best mana-fixing lands, as well as a host of efficient creatures and spells. From Deathrite Shaman and Siege Rhino to Treasure Cruise and Collected Company, Pioneer has no shortage of strong cards to build around.
Banned List
Pioneer also has its own banned list, which currently includes the following cards:
- Balustrade Spy
- Bloodstained Mire
- Felidar Guardian
- Field of the Dead
- Flooded Strand
- Inverter of Truth
- Kethis, the Hidden Hand
- Leyline of Abundance
- Lurrus of the Dream-Den
- Nexus of Fate
- Oko, Thief of Crowns
- Once Upon a Time
- Polluted Delta
- Smuggler’s Copter
- Teferi, Time Raveler
- Undercity Informer
- Underworld Breach
- Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
- Veil of Summer
- Walking Ballista
- Wilderness Reclamation
- Windswept Heath
- Wooded Foothills
Last updated: March 7, 2022
Be a Pioneer!
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