With Qualifier Season 2 opening up, Pioneer is still set to be the most popular and accessible competitive format of the season. Whether you're looking to dive in fresh, switch up your decks, or tweaking your sideboard to outmanoeuvre the competition, Draftsim writer David Garcia has shared a helpful breakdown of the current most popular decks in the meta. Let us know what you're playing in the comments, or (even better!) join us at our Birmingham store for some of our upcoming Pioneer events, including our Regional Qualifier for Legacy European Tour!
Pioneer Metagame Overview: October 2022, by David Garcia
Pioneer is a diverse format where, aside from two decks, there's no clear choice on what to bring to a tournament. There's a lot to choose from!
It may be challenging at first, but I’ve highlighted the most popular choices to discuss their primary plan, their position in the meta, and their price tag relative to other decks.
We cover all these and more over at my home site Draftsim.
Intrigued? Let's see if you can follow my trail!
These decks are the premium ones of the format. They have the best win rate and are the ones that have the best results across MTGO events and IRL RCQ’s.
They don’t need to accommodate much according to the meta because they’re the ones the rest of the decks need to adapt to beat them.
Their main weaknesses are bad draws and common deck issues like mana screw or flood, but they have few others.
 by Martina Fackova (800px).jpg)
Deck
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
4 Liliana of the Veil
4 Bloodtithe Harvester
2 Graveyard Trespasser
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger
1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
1 Tenacious Underdog
3 Dreadbore
1 Shatterskull Smashing
4 Thoughtseize
4 Bonecrusher Giant
4 Fatal Push
4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
4 Blightstep Pathway
3 Blood Crypt
2 Castle Locthwain
2 Den of the Bugbear
4 Haunted Ridge
2 Hive of the Eye Tyrant
1 Mountain
1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
3 Swamp
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Sideboard
1 Duress
2 Extinction Event
2 Hidetsugu Consumes All
1 Kaervek, the Spiteful
2 Kolaghan's Command
2 Reckoner Bankbuster
2 Rending Volley
2 Unlicensed Hearse
1 Witch's Vengeance
Before Dominaria United came around, this was probably a tier 2 deck aiming to be among the top. What changed, you may ask?
Two cards were introduced: Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, and Liliana of The Veil.
The first one surprised me as its static abilities may not seem very relevant. Still, the five toughness lets Sheoldred survive most of the removal that's being used across formats, and it can quickly punish decks like Izzet Phoenix who tend to draw multiple cards a game. If that weren’t enough, its other ability can stabilize you in just a matter of turns, and it excels when paired with Blood Tokens.
Liliana of the Veil was a solid staple in Modern and Legacy decks for a long time. Now the power level in these formats is such that it doesn't see much play, but it's a terrifying planeswalker that's been wreaking havoc in Pioneer since its introduction.
For context, before Dominaria United was released and Liliana of The Veil was added to the format, Dream Trawler was a solid answer against Rakdos decks that had a tough time dealing with it. Now, it's not only easy prey for the Edict effect Liliana has, but it also isn’t safe to hold it with counterspell backup because Liliana’s Plus ability will inevitably make you discard it.
The primary strategy of the deck is disrupting your opponents with Thoughtseize, solid removal with Fatal Push and Dreadbore, aggressive creatures like Bloodtithe Harvester, Bonecrusher Giant, and Graveyard Trespasser, and powerful planeswalkers and value spells such as Chandra, Torch of Defiance and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker. Pair that with bombs like Sheoldred and Liliana and you’ve got a blast of a deck that can earn you some straightforward wins if you master it.
In terms of price, this deck is around $700 IRL and 790 Tix on MTGO, which is the most expensive deck in the format.
 art by Jaime Jones (800 px).jpg)
Deck
4 Karn, the Great Creator
4 Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner
4 Cavalier of Thorns
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Old-Growth Troll
1 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Storm the Festival
2 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
4 Oath of Nissa
4 Wolfwillow Haven
1 Boseiju, Who Endures
13 Forest
3 Lair of the Hydra
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Sideboard
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
1 Damping Sphere
1 Esika's Chariot
1 God-Pharaoh's Statue
1 Heart of Kiran
1 Karn's Sylex
1 Meteor Golem
1 Pestilent Cauldron
1 Pithing Needle
1 Reckoner Bankbuster
1 Shadowspear
1 The Chain Veil
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Treasure Vault
1 Unlicensed Hearse
Before Rakdos Midrange gained its new tools, this was the deck of the format. Despite having gained absolutely nothing from the new set to run in the main deck, it remains a solid contender for the title of best Pioneer deck.
The plan is less elaborate at first: in the first two turns, you cast your cheap spells to ramp you up as much as possible. On turn three, start making powerful plays that usually involve dropping a Cavalier of Thorns or casting a Karn, the Great Creator to fill the board with multiple threats thanks to the upcoming Storm the Festival.
This deck is so flexible that it started running off-color planeswalkers like Teferi, Who Slows the Sunset, or Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God for a while thanks to the fixing Oath of Nissa provided. More recently, these slots have been replaced with Skysovereign, Consul Flagship because it's an excellent card against the other top deck of the format, Rakdos Midrange.
Despite its appearance, this deck is very tricky to maneuver. It rarely wins through combat despite running giant creatures like Old-Growth Troll and Cavalier of Thorns. They mainly serve as solid blockers that prevent your opponent from killing you before you assemble your combo, which involves Karn, the Great Creator, Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner, and The Chain Veil as main enablers.
This is a bit harder to explain, but in theory, you generate almost infinite mana, infinite planeswalkers activations, and finish your opponents with Pestilent Cauldron.
This can be very time-consuming, especially if you play it on MTGO, but a couple of repetitions in IRL will do the trick to get you used to it.
Relative to Rakdos Midrange, this deck is around $500, which is $100 less expensive. It’s significantly cheaper on MTGO at 350 Tix.
Following the best decks of the format, some are solid contenders but have an unfavorable match-up against the top tier decks.
They’re solid choices for the meta that, when set up, can win multiple games. When paired against the ones in Tier 1, they struggle a lot to win.
It’s not impossible if you plan your main deck and sideboard against them, but it isn’t optimal to be unfavored in game one most of the time or be good against one deck and bad against another.
 art by Vicot Adame Minguez (800px).jpg)
Deck
1 Liliana of the Veil
4 Greasefang, Okiba Boss
4 Raffine's Informant
4 Satyr Wayfinder
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Can't Stay Away
1 Duress
4 Thoughtseize
4 Witherbloom Command
4 Grisly Salvage
4 Esika's Chariot
4 Parhelion II
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
3 Blooming Marsh
1 Boseiju, Who Endures
1 Branchloft Pathway
4 Concealed Courtyard
3 Darkbore Pathway
1 Godless Shrine
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Swamp
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
4 Temple Garden
Sideboard
2 Duress
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
3 Abrupt Decay
4 Fatal Push
3 Graveyard Trespasser
2 Unlicensed Hearse
This is another deck that benefited slightly with the inclusion of Liliana of The Veil as another way to discard your vehicles from your hand while disrupting your opponents.
That said, this deck's central core is to assemble a combo of Greasefang, Okiba Boss, and Parhelion II on turn three.
The scary part of this is the consistency with which this deck manages to pull this over. You have multiple ways to send your Vehicles to the graveyard like Satyr Wayfinder or Grisly Salvage, but those cards also grant you lands that you can potentially use your next turn to cast your Greasefang, Okiba Boss or reanimate it if milled with Can't Stay Away.
To make matters worse, if the worst-case scenario didn't happen, you also need to fear a turn four Esika's Chariot that aims to close the game quickly if answered.
The cherry on top is that this deck also runs Thoughtseize to protect and disrupt your opponents.
Why isn’t this deck higher on the list? The issue is that its engine is way easier to break with multiple cards in the format that hate the graveyard. Some of them, like Graveyard Trespasser, are already run in the main deck of one of the two best decks.
Unlicensed Hearse is a card that any other deck can run, and Go Blank is a pain to play against. Pretty much every color or deck has its way of disrupting the graveyard, leaving you with an excellent game one and close to unwinnable matches on game two and three if you don't pull your combo early enough or you don't have a way to protect it.
Despite that, it bears repeating that this deck's consistency is fantastic, and it can be the best format deck on a good day.
This deck is around $400 IRL and a little less than 300 TIX on MTGO.
Deck
4 Thing in the Ice
4 Arclight Phoenix
1 Crackling Drake
1 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
4 Consider
4 Opt
4 Lightning Axe
1 Fiery Impulse
1 Flame-Blessed Bolt
1 Strangle
1 Spell Pierce
1 Chart a Course
1 Izzet Charm
3 Strategic Planning
3 Pieces of the Puzzle
4 Treasure Cruise
1 Temporal Trespass
2 Hall of Storm Giants
2 Island
1 Otawara, Soaring City
4 Riverglide Pathway
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Steam Vents
3 Stormcarved Coast
1 Galvanic Iteration
Sideboard
1 Spell Pierce
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
1 Crackling Drake
2 Unlicensed Hearse
2 Abrade
2 Aether Gust
2 Young Pyromancer
2 Mystical Dispute
Like Abzan Greasefang, Izzet Phoenix is another way that relies heavily on their graveyard to run their plans smoothly.
At first, the plan is to cast a bunch of cantrips like Consider or Opt to start filling your graveyard and deal with creatures with cheap removal. From time to time, send an Arclight Phoenix or a bunch to the graveyard and return them in just one go when you cast three or more instant or sorceries during your main phase.
Thing in the Ice is a card that can be turned into its flip side potentially the turn after it's cast. It’s a nonbo if you already have some Arclight Phoenix out, but it pairs up well with them if you had them in the graveyard. Most decks can’t survive that because the Horror will have returned most likely every other creature to their owner's hand.
Did I mention that this deck also runs Temporal Trespass to take extra turns and powerful card draw engines like Treasure Cruise to refill their hand? If you reach a point where you manage to pair any of those with Galvanic Iteration, chances are your opponent isn't winning that game anymore.
The problem is that this is another deck that relies heavily on the graveyard to accomplish its plans. Matchups improve with solid sideboard plans, but if anything wrong happens or you don't have a way to answer their graveyard hate early, you’ll be on the backfoot most of the time.
Compared to the other decks, this is the cheapest option at $420 and around 200 TIX on MTGO.
Deck
1 Cemetery Illuminator
2 Empyrean Eagle
1 Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Rattlechains
1 Remorseful Cleric
2 Selfless Spirit
4 Shacklegeist
3 Skyclave Apparition
3 Spectral Sailor
4 Spell Queller
4 Supreme Phantom
4 Collected Company
3 Adarkar Wastes
1 Barkchannel Pathway
3 Botanical Sanctum
4 Branchloft Pathway
1 Breeding Pool
1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
4 Hallowed Fountain
3 Hengegate Pathway
1 Island
1 Otawara, Soaring City
1 Temple Garden
Sideboard
1 Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr
1 Skyclave Apparition
3 Extraction Specialist
3 Lofty Denial
3 Portable Hole
1 Reidane, God of the Worthy
1 Toski, Bearer of Secrets
2 Unlicensed Hearse
Deck
4 Ascendant Spirit
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
2 Nebelgast Herald
4 Rattlechains
4 Shacklegeist
4 Spectral Sailor
4 Supreme Phantom
4 Geistlight Snare
4 Lofty Denial
1 March of Swirling Mist
1 Slip Out the Back
4 Curious Obsession
2 Faceless Haven
18 Snow-Covered Island
Sideboard
3 Slip Out the Back
4 Cerulean Drake
4 Mystical Dispute
3 Soul-Guide Lantern
1 Witness Protection
Both of these Spirits decks rely on their cheap evasive creatures and multiple ways to protect them to close the game.
The best way to think about this is a fish deck or a merfolk tribal deck where you start adding seemingly inoffensive creatures that, when in multiples and paired with their lords, present a quick clock against their opponents.
Bant spirits benefit from running Collected Company to get a bigger board presence. In contrast, Mono blue has the upside of having almost perfect mana and the ability to run more threats in the main deck than its counterpart.
The problem with these decks is their awful match-up against Rakdos Midrange. They have a good match against mono green, but opponents can quickly fix that in games two and three if they’re running Skylasher in their sideboard.
The bant version is around $400 IRL while the mono blue version is only $120.
On MTGO, prices drop to 200 TIX and 41 TIX, respectively, making these decks some of the cheaper and more competitive options for Pioneer.
Deck
3 Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
2 Bounty Agent
4 Brutal Cathar
4 Dauntless Bodyguard
1 Extraction Specialist
4 Hopeful Initiate
4 Luminarch Aspirant
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Brave the Elements
1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
4 Mutavault
15 Plains
2 Shefet Dunes
Sideboard
1 Damping Sphere
1 Declaration in Stone
4 Portable Hole
2 Reidane, God of the Worthy
3 Soul-Guide Lantern
1 Sungold Sentinel
1 Tomik, Distinguished Advokist
2 Wedding Announcement
This is the aggressive deck of the format, and you can't get a much better one that manages to curve out from turn one through three with the right set of cards.
Thalia's Lieutenant is the key card because it pumps and gets pumped by other creatures. In multiples, they become a nightmare.
This deck also has access to Brave the Elements to protect the party. Cards like Supreme Verdict can clean the board and bypass this form of protection, but chances are that either the Mutavault will close games or Thalia, Guardian of Thraben will make it unplayable.
This all seems excellent, and it's not a deck that relies on the graveyard to perform well. What's the catch here? Consistency. Unlike Abzan Greasefang, this deck doesn't have a reliable way of closing games rather than just curving out perfectly every game. If it doesn't manage to do this and get its threats answered, the game is already lost.
Against Rakdos, they do well if they start on the play, but it's a nightmare being on the draw and starting games with Thoughtseize in the face on turn one. Green, on the other hand, is a better match and Brave the Elements does a ton of work here. If you don't draw it soon enough, they can combo you out before you kill them.
This deck costs $170 IRL, while its average on MTGO is around 130 TIX.
Deck
3 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
3 The Wandering Emperor
1 Doomskar
1 Farewell
2 Supreme Verdict
2 Absorb
1 Behold the Multiverse
4 Censor
2 Dovin's Veto
2 March of Otherworldly Light
2 Memory Deluge
2 Saw It Coming
4 Portable Hole
2 Detention Sphere
3 Shark Typhoon
1 Castle Ardenvale
1 Castle Vantress
4 Deserted Beach
1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
2 Field of Ruin
2 Glacial Fortress
2 Hall of Storm Giants
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Irrigated Farmland
2 Island
1 Otawara, Soaring City
2 Plains
Sideboard
1 Dovin's Veto
2 Aether Gust
1 Baneslayer Angel
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Lyra Dawnbringer
2 Mystical Dispute
2 Narset, Parter of Veils
2 Rest in Peace
1 Starnheim Unleashed
1 Temporary Lockdown
Last is Azorius Control, a deck that’s always on top no matter the meta.
The main plan is to resolve a Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and win the game from there. The deck runs multiple ways to protect it, like Supreme Verdict or Portable Hole, or counter magic like Absorb and Censor. It’s somewhat easy if you play your stuff correctly.
It also runs many other value cards that, with their compound effect, will lead you to a close to unlosable position on the board, most notably The Wandering Emperor and Shark Typhoon.
The main reason isn’t higher on the list is that it has a bad match against Rakdos Midrange and a 50/50 match against Mono Green, but it’s favored against the rest of the field.
Unlike the other options at this tier, this deck is a bit pricier at $470 IRL and 220 TIX.
The decks below aim to claim the first spot and are still solid choices for the meta, but they tend to struggle a bit more against some matchups.
Some of these decks can shine against aggressive strategies while others tend to fall behind hard against midrange or control decks.
They can win against some of the best decks on a good day, but they don’t win consistently enough to go higher on the list.
Companion
1 Jegantha, the Wellspring
Deck
3 Dreadhorde Arcanist
4 Favored Hoplite
4 Illuminator Virtuoso
4 Monastery Swiftspear
3 Tenth District Legionnaire
4 Ancestral Anger
4 Homestead Courage
4 Defiant Strike
4 Gods Willing
2 Invigorated Rampage
4 Reckless Rage
1 Sejiri Shelter
4 Battlefield Forge
1 Den of the Bugbear
1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
4 Inspiring Vantage
4 Needleverge Pathway
4 Sacred Foundry
1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
Sideboard
1 Den of the Bugbear
2 Jaya, Fiery Negotiator
1 Jegantha, the Wellspring
3 Portable Hole
2 Rending Volley
4 Showdown of the Skalds
2 Unlicensed Hearse
This deck has a great match against Mono Green and a terrible one against Rakdos Midrange.
The primary game plan is to resolve and protect a small creature like Illuminator Virtuoso and kill your opponent with a big swing thanks to your infinite cheap spells.
Dreadhorde Arcanist is an excellent addition to the deck because it can reutilize whatever spell you have used already. Even after a board wipe, any haste creature like Tenth District Legionnaire or Monastery Swiftspear can finish the job.
On the other hand, this deck requires the mana and creatures to cooperate so between not having lands or having multiple pump spells and no creatures you might mulligan a lot. If you pair that with a format that has access to the best removal spell and the best discard spell ever printed, it’s no mystery why this has an awful match against Rakdos.
Boros Heroic is still a solid choice, mainly if your meta consists primarily of mono-green players.
Its price is around $250 IRL, and the 180 TIX on MTGO.
Deck
3 Anax, Hardened in the Forge
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Fanatical Firebrand
3 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
2 Monastery Swiftspear
2 Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
4 Bonecrusher Giant
4 Play with Fire
3 Embercleave
4 Kumano Faces Kakkazan
2 Castle Embereth
4 Den of the Bugbear
14 Mountain
2 Ramunap Ruins
1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
Sideboard
2 Hazoret the Fervent
3 Rending Volley
3 Roast
4 Unchained Berserker
3 Unlicensed Hearse
Mono red is here when called on, no matter the format.
In Pioneer, mono red can be done in two ways: spell heavy and creature heavy.
The first version has become less popular because the creature version is more resilient to removal thanks to Anax, Hardened in the Forge, the explosive Burning-Tree Emissary, and the surprise one-turn kill with Embercleave.
There’s not much to add to that. You just need to cast your creatures on curve, but the problem against other decks is that red is very weak to life-gain cards and dedicated hate ones like Aether Gust and Knockout Blow.
Compared to other decks in a higher tier, this is a bit more expensive at $270 IRL and around 350 TIX on MTGO.
Deck
4 Mayhem Devil
4 Witch's Oven
2 Village Rites
2 Mountain
4 Bloodtithe Harvester
4 Blightstep Pathway
4 Fatal Push
4 Cauldron Familiar
2 Swamp
2 Den of the Bugbear
4 Claim the Firstborn
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Hive of the Eye Tyrant
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
4 Blood Crypt
1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
1 Castle Locthwain
4 Deadly Dispute
4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
2 Haunted Ridge
4 Unlucky Witness
Sideboard
2 Ob Nixilis, the Adversary
2 Unlicensed Hearse
1 Lava Coil
1 Jegantha, the Wellspring
4 Thoughtseize
2 Graveyard Trespasser
3 Go Blank
The other face of Rakdos is the one running Cauldron Familiar and Witch's Oven as part of their primary plan.
Once you assemble this two-card engine, you can start grinding the game. By adding cards like Claim the Firstborn or Village Rites, you have a pseudo Steal and Sacrifice theme.
With all these things being sacrificed, a staple of the deck must be Mayhem Devil, a creature that can quickly sweep entire boards on its own and a hard-to-beat card for aggressive decks.
This deck has an ok match against mono green, but it has a somewhat bad time against Rakdos Midrange, especially if they are main decking Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet. The newly introduced Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is another very problematic card for the deck unless you hold Fatal Push, a plan that falls over against opposing Thoughtseize.
This deck also suffers a bit against Azorius Control. If you don’t kill Mono Green in time, Karn, the Great Creator, will shut down your strategy almost completely. Decks like Abzan Greasefang are faster.
For this reason, this deck remains a solid tier 3 one, but it's one of my favorite archetypes in the format.
This deck costs around $480 IRL and 420 TIX on MTGO.
Deck
1 Hullbreaker Horror
2 Torrential Gearhulk
2 Extinction Event
1 Go Blank
1 Shadows' Verdict
2 Censor
4 Consider
1 Dig Through Time
1 Eliminate
4 Fatal Push
1 Hieroglyphic Illumination
2 Make Disappear
2 Memory Deluge
3 Negate
4 Sinister Sabotage
4 Shark Typhoon
1 Castle Vantress
2 Clearwater Pathway
4 Drowned Catacomb
2 Fabled Passage
1 Fetid Pools
2 Field of Ruin
2 Hall of Storm Giants
3 Island
1 Otawara, Soaring City
2 Swamp
4 Watery Grave
1 Ertai Resurrected
Sideboard
1 Eliminate
1 Go Blank
2 Aether Gust
1 Enter the God-Eternals
3 Graveyard Trespasser
1 Mystical Dispute
1 Narset's Reversal
1 Soul Shatter
1 Summary Dismissal
1 The Scarab God
1 Thoughtseize
1 Unlicensed Hearse
Dimir Control is the other version of control in the meta. It doesn't have access to powerful planeswalkers like Teferi, Hero of Dominaria or The Wandering Emperor, but it has access to the best removal in the set, Fatal Push, along with multiple graveyard hate cards.
It recently received a buff with the introduction of Ertai Resurrected, but it's somewhat minimal because most decks usually run only one or two.
This deck also somewhat relies on its graveyard synergies. It runs cards like Torrential Gearhulk to finish the game and card advantage engines like Dig Through Time.
The problem is that it takes a while to close a game. If you manage to shut down their graveyard, the problem aggravates.
It's still a fine choice, but I would personally run Azorius Control; the graveyard hate doesn't do much to it, and it has more solid win conditions.
The price on this deck is around $340 IRL and 140 TIX on MTGO.
These decks are part of the rest of the meta. They usually try to accomplish their own game without caring about other decks. If you disrupt them once or twice, it's probably game over.
If they manage to accomplish their goals quicker than their opponents can disrupt, it's tough to lose from there.
Deck
4 Battle Cry Goblin
4 Conspicuous Snoop
4 Fanatical Firebrand
4 Foundry Street Denizen
2 Goblin Piledriver
2 Goblin Warchief
4 Hobgoblin Bandit Lord
4 Legion Loyalist
4 Rundvelt Hordemaster
2 Skirk Prospector
2 Squee, Dubious Monarch
2 Castle Embereth
2 Den of the Bugbear
17 Mountain
2 Mutavault
1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
Sideboard
3 Goblin Chainwhirler
2 Goblin Ringleader
1 Redcap Melee
3 Rending Volley
3 Roast
3 Unlicensed Hearse
This deck is slowly rising in popularity because it received a bunch of buffs from Dominaria United like Rundvelt Hordemaster and Squee, Dubious Monarch.
The only reason it isn’t in a higher tier is that it does well if you draw well, but it suffers from being faster than the other aggressive strategies and needing a powerful spell to close the game.
Most of your wins will come through curving out while your opponents stumble. That's when the lords will come, and an unexpected Conspicuous Snoop can seal the deal in seconds.
In all honesty, this deck could perform better if only Muxus, Goblin Grandee were legal. Since it's not, it remains at the bottom of the most popular decks played. If it keeps receiving buffs, it can rise in playability from one day to another.
It’s a deck to keep an eye on and has a price of $170 IRL and $180 TIX on MTGO.
.jpg)
Deck
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Blooming Marsh
4 Llanowar Wastes
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2 Forest
1 Boseiju, Who Endures
1 Lair of the Hydra
4 Collected Company
2 Circle of Dreams Druid
2 Realmwalker
4 Steel Leaf Champion
4 Shaman of the Pack
4 Elvish Clancaller
4 Leaf-Crowned Visionary
4 Elvish Warmaster
2 Dwynen's Elite
3 Jaspera Sentinel
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Elvish Mystic
Sideboard
2 Golgari Charm
3 Shapers' Sanctuary
3 Fatal Push
3 Epic Downfall
4 Leyline of the Void
Like Goblins, this is another deck that received a buff with Leaf-Crowned Visionary, the green lord printed in Dominaria United. As a result, it has risen in popularity over the last couple of weeks.
It might be slightly better than Goblins because it has access to Collected Company, which making it more resilient to disruptive decks. Collected Company can also end games in the blink of an eye if you manage to put a couple of Shaman of the Pack in play with other Elves that may already be there.
This is another deck with a lot of potential that only needs something like Craterhoof Behemoth to finish games faster or a tutor that can help you search for your crucial, game-ending spell.
The downside is that if you draw irrelevant cards like Llanowar Elves or Jaspera Sentinel without a powerful follow-up, you’re easy prey for the other most consistent format decks.
It's expensive for a tier 4 deck. Its price IRL is around $400, while it costs 170 TIX on MTGO.
Companion
1 Jegantha, the Wellspring
Deck
1 Nahiri, the Harbinger
1 Klothys, God of Destiny
3 Niv-Mizzet Reborn
1 Selfless Glyphweaver
4 Sylvan Caryatid
1 The Scarab God
1 Valki, God of Lies
4 Bring to Light
1 Deafening Clarion
1 Dreadbore
1 Extinction Event
1 Slaughter Games
1 Abrupt Decay
3 Growth Spiral
1 Kolaghan's Command
2 Vanishing Verse
1 The Celestus
4 Leyline Binding
1 Blood Crypt
2 Drowned Catacomb
1 Forest
1 Glacial Fortress
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Indatha Triome
1 Jetmir's Garden
1 Ketria Triome
1 Mana Confluence
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
1 Raffine's Tower
1 Raugrin Triome
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Savai Triome
1 Spara's Headquarters
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Temple Garden
1 Watery Grave
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Xander's Lounge
1 Zagoth Triome
Sideboard
1 Klothys, God of Destiny
1 Deafening Clarion
1 Arlinn, the Pack's Hope
1 Ashiok, Nightmare Muse
2 Dovin's Veto
1 Go Blank
1 Jegantha, the Wellspring
1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
2 Rending Volley
2 Thoughtseize
2 Weathered Runestone
In a format with Shock Lands and a complete Cycle of triomes, it may seem easy to play five color decks without being punished. In practice, you either enter the battlefield tapped or you pay life to play your cards on curve.
The main plan of the deck is to play Bring to Light and cheat your most potent spells like Tibalt, Cosmic Imposter (the flip side of Valki, God of Lies) or Selfless Glyphweaver // Deadly Vanity according to the situation. You should also aim to refill your hand with Niv-Mizzet Reborn, which can also help you tutor for Bring to Light.
The major upgrade it received from Dominaria United is Leyline Binding. Is has the promise of being a one mana removal as soon as turn two if you play and draw your lands correctly. Herd Migration is another interesting card that I haven't seen played much. It has lots of potential as another way to fetch for land if needed with the upside of creating five bodies in one swing. I did the latter against an Izzet Phoenix deck while testing it, and it was a hilarious way to win. They didn't have enough resources to deal with all five beasts!
Most recently, this deck won an MTGO Challenge, and it has increased in popularity in the MTGO Leagues. It feels like you’re always behind, struggling to catch up, and you rely a lot on winning post-sideboard games.
This deck goes for $540 or 220 TIX on MTGO, another expansive deck compared to other options.
Deck
4 Arboreal Grazer
1 Lier, Disciple of the Drowned
4 Vizier of Tumbling Sands
3 Bala Ged Recovery
1 Behold the Beyond
4 Emergent Ultimatum
4 Hidden Strings
1 Mastermind's Acquisition
4 Pore Over the Pages
1 Shimmer of Possibility
4 Sylvan Scrying
1 Dig Through Time
4 Impulse
1 Inscribed Tablet
1 Omniscience
3 Boseiju, Who Endures
4 Botanical Sanctum
1 Breeding Pool
1 Island
4 Lotus Field
2 Otawara, Soaring City
2 Temple of Mystery
4 Thespian's Stage
1 Yavimaya Coast
Sideboard
1 Approach of the Second Sun
2 Behold the Multiverse
2 Mystical Dispute
2 Natural State
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sphinx of the Final Word
3 Supreme Verdict
1 Thought Distortion
2 Zacama, Primal Calamity
This deck has been around for a while, swinging between top of the format and the “good, but inconsistent” crowd.
The main plan of the deck is to put a Lotus Field in play and copy it with Thespian's Stage. From there, you have access to multiple mana from just two lands. Untap them with effects like Hidden Strings to cast an Emergent Ultimatum and make your opponent select from Mastermind's Acquisition, Omniscience, or Pore Over the Pages most of the time. The best they can do is select Mastermind's Acquisition and pray you run out of gas with an Omniscience in play. This usually doesn't happen, so you’ll kill them one way or another with some of your win conditions in the sideboard.
I don't know why it fell out of favor, but I assume that it's because Rakdos Midrange wasn’t previously as prevalent as it is now. Mono green also now has a way to tutor for the best hate card against this deck, Damping Sphere.
This deck suffers from being a bit slow, and your chances of winning aren’t high if you’re paired on the draw against a faster deck.
It's also a very skill-intensive deck. You need to be familiar with it before getting good results because some lines are very intricate.
This deck can still jump a couple of categories if it's piloted exceptionally well. It still has the same problems, but you’ll now see lines that you previously couldn't and steal a couple of games in the process.
This deck comes in with a price tag of $300 IRL and 200 TIX on MTGO.
Companion
1 Jegantha, the Wellspring
.jpg)
Deck
4 Llanowar Loamspeaker
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Strategic Planning
3 Sylvan Awakening
4 Treasure Cruise
4 Consider
3 Fiery Impulse
4 Opt
3 Chained to the Rocks
4 Jeskai Ascendancy
4 Botanical Sanctum
4 Breeding Pool
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Island
3 Jetmir's Garden
1 Otawara, Soaring City
3 Raugrin Triome
2 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
1 Sunpetal Grove
Sideboard
2 Abrade
1 Jegantha, the Wellspring
2 Malevolent Hermit
4 Mystical Dispute
2 Radiant Flames
2 Soul-Guide Lantern
2 Spell Pierce
Last is Jeskai Ascendancy, another deck like Lotus Field in that you aim to assemble your combo to kill your opponents quickly.
The idea here is to resolve a Jeskai Ascendancy along with Sylvan Caryatid or the newly introduced Llanowar Loamspeaker to generate almost infinite mana and loot through your library to find Sylvan Awakening.
The issue? As with other combo decks, it’s weak to Thoughtseize and other disruption spells.
It's on the same level of playability as Lotus Field because it's also very skill intensive. Without a doubt, you need tons of reps to master it. You’ll feel great when you manage it, and chances are that you can achieve outstanding results in no time against more linear decks like Mono White or the other aggressive decks of the format.
This one is around $380 IRL and only 64 TIX on MTGO.
Those were the most popular decks in Pioneer, from the best to the “just okay.”
It's worth noting that prices can vary drastically based on some cards you may decide to run. Unlicensed Hearse is one of the priciest cards for IRL and MTGO, but it’s a sideboard card that can be replaced with others like Soul-Guide Lantern, Tormod's Crypt, or Klothys, God of Destiny. You can always swap other cards for cheaper options.
Which are your favorite decks in Pioneer? Was there another deck you hoped to see? Let me know in the comments!
And if you play Pioneer’s MTGA companion format Explorer, be sure to check out Arena Tutor over at Draftsim.
It was a pleasure writing to you, and I hope we can meet each other soon! Take care, everyone!
Editor's note:
Thanks David for this helpful and comprehensive guide to the format, and to Draftsim for bringing it to us!
Remember to check out the rest of the Manaleak site to pick up your singles, sealed products and accessories! If you'd like to join us for more in store Pioneer events, come and join in with our regular FNMs, join us for our next Pioneer win a box on 19th November 2022, or watch our player group and events page for tickets to our Modern & Pioneer Regional Qualifer weekend on the 3rd & 4th of December, on sale now!
- Leila
Write a Comment