Pioneer: A New Frontier of Magic: The Gathering

We live in exciting times, while Standard stagnates in an Elk laden field of monotonous misery, a beacon of hope is lit to restore our faith in Magic: The Gathering. Almost as if Wizards of the Coast heard our cries of "Make Magic Fun Again!" A new format is announced: Pioneer.

What is Pioneer?

For those of you that don't know, Pioneer is a new "non-rotating" format that will bridge the gap between Standard and Modern. Perfect for those that are finding Standard lacking depth and wanting to branch out, but haven't been playing long enough to have a sufficient collection or can't afford to buy into Modern. The format also allows for some powerful deck builds, without the crazy power and combos you find in Modern.

The sets that make up the Pioneer pool are as follows, with an ever growing ban list as Wizards of the Coast monitor the evolution of the format.

Throne of Eldraine  Core Set 2020  War of the Spark  Ravnica Allegiance  Guilds of Ravnica  Core Set 2019  Dominaria  Rivals of Ixalan  Ixalan  Hour of Devastation  Amonkhet  Aether Revolt  Kaladesh  Eldritch Moon  Shadows over Innistrad

Oath of the Gatewatch  Battle for Zendikar  Magic Origins  Dragons of Tarkir  Fate Reforged  Khans of Tarkir  Magic 2015  Journey into Nyx  Born of the Gods  Theros  Magic 2014  Dragon's Maze  Gatecrash  Return to Ravnica

The announcement of Pioneer appealed to me personally as it just so happens that I started playing during Return to Ravnica block, so my collection starts exactly where Pioneer does. Although I didn't buy as many cards back then as I do now, I found that I had plenty to work with when it came to brewing.

I've played two Pioneer events so far with two different decks. My local game store have been testing the popularity of the format and have so far ran it at Friday Night Magic, where I ran Bant Spirits, and a Sunday Showdown, where I ran Jeskai Humans (I like tribal decks if it wasn't obvious.) Each event has had a great turnout and has proved that Pioneer is definitely a popular format, with calls for it to be run every FNM at my LGS. However, rightfully so, the store are taking care that it doesn't impact on other formats too much and alienate part of the player base. Trials as to which nights/days are best to run it and whether it will be best rotating it with another format at FNM are definitely the way to go. All I'll say is I want to play as much Pioneer as possible.

My First Pioneer Decks

Bant Spirits

I went 2-2 at the first Pioneer FNM with the Spirits list below. I'd been trying to build Spirits in Modern having most of the deck, but was lacking some of the more expensive pieces like the Aether Vial, Cavern of Souls and Noble Heirarch. However the announcement of Pioneer meant I could take what I had and build Spirits for the new format and save the cash.

Land 2x Botanical Sanctum 4x Breeding Pool 4x Glacial Fortress 3x Hallowed Fountain 1x Port Town 3x Temple Garden 3x Unclaimed Territory 1x Plains 1x Island Creatures 4x Mausoleum Wanderer 4x Spectral Sailor 3x Metallic Mimic 4x Rattlechains 4x Selfless Spirit 4x Supreme Phantom 2x Empyrean Eagle 4x Reflector Mage 4x Spell Queller

Spells 4x Collected Company Sideboard 2x Damping Sphere 2x Declaration in Stone 2x Teferi, Time Raveler 2x Knight of Autumn 2x Remorseful Cleric 2x Blessed Alliance 2x Dromoka's Command 1x Detention Sphere

The deck was fun to play but felt underpowered. It felt very much like what it was, a Modern deck that had been hobbled to be Pioneer legal. Rather than build the deck from the ground up, I was trying to have my cake and eat it by having the Modern deck without the cost. Without the Noble Heirarchs for ramp and fixing, the green splash for Collected Company made the mana base a mess. I tested Llanowar Elves in the run up to the event but the mana dork needs to be any colour, or at least the Bant colours like Noble Heirarch. Paradise Druid wouldn't cut it as it really needs to come down on turn one.

The sideboard was a hastily put together mish mash of fifteen cards that might have relevance in a new and as yet unexplored format. Board wipe was a clear omission that needed to be present.

I'll revisit the Spirits deck, but instead of trying to emulate Modern Spirits I'll re-assess the strategy and maybe stick to U/W and cut the Green and Collected Company.

Jeskai Humans

Next I decided I wanted to try something more aggressive and started on brewing a Humans deck. Learning from the issues I had with the spirits, I knew not to try and emulate Modern Humans. Instead I went back to when I played aggro humans in Amonkhet Standard and looked at what I liked about that. My build back then was Naya, but I knew I wanted to play Reflector Mage and Mantis Rider. Before settling on straight Jeskai I did consider four colour with a Green splash as a "Humans Matter" card I enjoyed playing back in Standard was Heron's Grace Champion as well as Sigarda, Heron's Grace. However I didn't feel it was worth destabilising the mana base for. So in the end I settled on the below list, which took me to 3-1 at Showdown this Sunday just gone.

Land 2x Clifftop Retreat 2x Glacial Fortress 2x Hallowed Fountain 2x Hanweir Battlements 2x Inspiring Vantage 2x Mystic Monastery 1x Needle Spires 4x Sacred Foundry 4x Unclaimed Territory 1x Wandering Fumarole Creatures 1x Kytheon, Hero of Akros 4x Soldier of the Pantheon 4x Glory-Bound Initiate 3x Kari Zev, Skyship Raider 3x Metallic Mimic 4x Thalia's Lieutenant 4x Hanweir Garrison 4x Mantis Rider 4x Reflector Mage 2x Storm Fleet Sprinter

Spells 2x Gideon Blackblade 3x Always Watching Sideboard 2x Damping Sphere 2x Embereth Shieldbreaker // Battle Display 2x Izzet Charm 2x Deafening Clarion 1x Detention Sphere 2x Teferi, Time Raveler 1x Time Wipe 3x Insult // Injury

This deck felt much better, aggressive and much more reliable (although not perfect.) Most of all it was so much fun to play. Getting to combine Glory-Bound Initiate and Always Watching to Exert to my hearts content with no down side was great and was just as awesome as the last time I did it. Adding cards I didn't get to use when I played Humans in Standard like Mantis Rider, Reflector Mage (as it had been banned at that point) and Soldier of the Pantheon is a real boon, and having never played a Jeskai deck before adding another colour combo to my résumé is always great. The mana base does need some tweaking, a few too many tapped sources when you really need them untapped, and I found myself missing blue sources a little too often. So I'll be working on that going forward.

Having played one event, as well as played the odd game with friends, I knew better what to expect and could tailor and curate my sideboard better for my local meta. Knowing there was at least one deck running "Fog" effects meant adding Insult // Injury was a must have in my fifteen.

Things to know about this deck, rulings wise, that some may question: Gideon Blackblade, although a Planeswalker spell, does enter the battlefield as a human so triggers Thalia's Lieutenant and enters with +1/+1 counter from Metallic Mimic.
Soldier of the Pantheon survives a board wipe from Deafening Clarion as it cannot take the damage thanks to its protection from Multicolored. This doesn't work with Time Wipe however, the distinction that one deals damage, the other just destroys.

In Summary

I think the Humans list is the one I will stick with in the long run for any future events, but will continue working on the Spirits as well as a multitude of other Pioneer brews I have in mind. All I can say is Pioneer looks to have a bright future and I can't wait to play more of it.