Yes! My thoughts exactly. I have an awesome deck ready to go, but no one ever shows up where I go on Fridays lol. What happened to people going to FNM?
Whats wrong with that format ? Don't people like non rotating format, or do they they just prefer modern or even legacy (I'm pretty new to the game and don't even really know the differences between each format aside MTGAs)
I said the exact same thing when elder dragon highlander had just started and all my friends thought a 100 card deck was too much and would never catch on 😂
Pionner is the new modern. So accesible and a great diversity. With the challenger deck mono white and dimir control with a few cards I can play pioneer without any problem.
With decks about 300 - 500, my modern decks are at the same price range and I have a much bigger card range and more fun decks. I recently started pioneer and I couldn't find a cheap deck, that is fun for me at the same time. If the format was slower than modern it would be fine, but we sometimes play modern vs pioneer decks and you don't feel a big difference in power level.
@@melancholia34 Yes, I already play 10+ other games/formats, even the slightest hint of it being basically the same feel as modern, and not cheap on top of that, is enough to make me pass it up and continue playing other formats I know I enjoy.
@@riverfilms4548 the diff comes from the time frames on paper. Banning fetches makes a huge effort saver. modern despite twin ban still has much faster sudden kills.
My recommendation to you is to buy anything that is cheap that interests you now. If this format continues to gain an audience, it won't stay cheap for long.
I made my first pioneer deck with a chainsaw. I started with the heartwood of a mighty oak. I carved a historical replica of a Polynesian warclub and then sold it to the owner of a local cigar bar. I got the red green deck I heard it has Goldspan Dragon in it :) Haven't opened it yet though...
This was a super great summary of the format today. I really think Pioneer is the future. Today's Pioneer reminds me a lot of the Modern that I loved, prior to Modern Horizons. And I'm not bitter! I still really like Modern, and I like that there's a non-rotating format that WotC can curate a bit with powerful cards printed directly into it! But I like what pioneer is too. It feels more like "real" magic to me. Looking forward to the future!
When pioneer first started I made a homebrew deck around Thing in the Ice and Pteramander, supported by cards like Growth Spiral, Traverse the Ulvenwald and Blossoming Defense. It was better than I expected and really fun. Might have to revisit it 🧐
@@joeshmup961 I tried to reply with a link but for some reason the reply would disappear, so here's a wall of text: 4 Thing in the Ice 4 Pteramander 3 Traverse the Ulvenwald 3 Blossoming Defense 4 Growth Spiral 4 Consider 4 Merfolk Secretkeeper 3 Censor 2 Mission Briefing 2 Grapple with the Past 1 Dig Through Time 1 Treasure Cruise 3 Vessel of Nascency 4 Fabled Passage 4 Botanical Sanctum 2 Geralf's Masterpiece 2 Breeding Pool 3 Forest 5 Island 2 Barkchannel Pathway (Plus some bonus notes from my mtggoldfish list) I haven't visited this deck for a couple of years, so it may be a simply worse version of [[Arclight Phoenix]] at this point. Cards like [[Delver of Secrets]] might also just be better than what I have going on here. Most of the deck is what I originally had, but I made some clear adjustments like swapping [[Opt]] for [[Consider]]. Generally speaking, the deck plays proactively, but I wouldn't be surprised if it needs more spot removal. I imagine [[Brazen Borrower]] has a place in this deck. Maybe cut the [[Censor]]s and add 2x [[Brazen Borrower]] and a copy or two of [[Spell Pierce]]. [[Witness Protection]] seems like a solid removal spell and is also an enchantment which is valuable for this deck. Here's some more deck ideas: These cards help activate delirium while also being useful for attacking or filling the graveyard: [[Walking Ballista]] [[Perpetual Timepiece]] [[Stonecoil Serpent]] In decks that require creature damage to win, I often like planeswalkers as an alternate win condition in the sideboard: [[Nissa, Vital Force]] [[Nissa, Voice of Zendikar]] If we need to go wide, we could use delirium to our advantage for [[Ishkanah, Grafwidow]] (a SOI standard favorite). If you have different preferences than pushing damage through, you can use [[Snakeskin Veil]] or [[Tamiyo's Safekeeping]] over [[Blossoming Defense]]. This deck also probably want's [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] because that card is wack, but I didn't wanna throw off the price. Even cards like [[Lair of the Hydra]] or [[Lumbering Falls]] could have a place here IMO.
I thought my Simic eldrazi deck was so unique until it got lumped into 8-elf with Winota of all things. I guess I'll have to console myself by casting reality smasher on turn 3 a few times.
would love to see a decklist for that! I tried building a budget version of Eldrazi Ramp for Modern many years ago, but by the time I finally pieced it together it would've been up against the "horizons" meta, so I never got to actually play it. been itching to cast some Reality Smashers ever since
I was out of the game since Lorwyn but I just got back in thanks to my son being introduced to it through his friends within the past couple of years or so. This looks like a format I want to try my tourney hand in at some point.
I'm no lipreader, but I swear the Prof was saying something different than "8-Opt" every time he was talking about that archetype... What was it? I'm so curious!
Thanks for the video Professor, it was nice to take a tour, even if it was things I already know, as an avid player of pioneer. Also we finally got to play my cube! on Cube Tutor: 6 Player Pioneer Party (AGTX).
Thanks for this video! Pioneer is seeing consistent play at my lgs and I wish more people would get into it across the community. Shoutout to mono blue devotion jank!
Thank you, this actually is helpful on building a pioneer deck because we can see the idea of what other decks do and can compare synergies we come up with to that and see if it has potential.
My experience before watching this. I went to modern and pioneer for the first time this week. For both I had $40 decks. And I got counterspell locked out of playing. So even without lighting bolt or counterspell, is the exact same experience. Controll locked, agro stomp. No matter what. If I'm getting cub stomped, I'd at least like to see some cool cards.
Man, what is this timing? Been struggling to start off building my very first deck, then bam, tolarian video. And a damn good video as well, on my favorite format so far.
Thanks for the lesson Prof! I've been itching to get into a Pioneer event to try the format and I've been trying to convince players at my local game store to run an event for it.
It's very interesting that before this video, I didn't know what to call (officially,; I have a name for it) my mono Green Explorer deck on Arena. It's named "The Turndra" and uses a Snow basic strategy with a lot of fight/direct damage effects to clear out smaller creatures/Planeswalkers before attacking. There's also some life gain and +1/+1 counters thrown in there to help out in the late game :D. But basically, it's 8 Elf lol.
My LGS announced that they'll be re-opening constructed events, and it will be pioneer. I'm going to build my first non-commander offline constructed deck and will have budget Scissors as a starting point. Wish me luck.
Thank you for this video! I’ve been iffy about getting into pioneer but I feel like I have a ton of the cards you mentioned. Maybe I’ll try my Hand at it sooner rather than later. 😁
Building an Orzhov Greasefang nd having so much fun just testing it virtually. Hopefully the format gains strenght so I can start bringing it to my LGS!
I wasn’t sure if Narset + Day’s was still workable after T3feri took the banhammer, but I love the combo and might have to try toying around with it! Great video per usual, Prof
The format is great *except (BIG asterisk here)* Mono Green and Winota. Their power and consistency is nothing like the rest of the format and unfortunately sully it atm. Pack your sideboard full of grafdiggers cage, rending volleys, burning hands, and alpine moons and you’ll still lose to these decks often.
Honestly this. I have no idea how they would fix this issue without either banning or releasing better cards for other decks. But then it'd just be modern again.
About what you said at 11:45 on mono red and their 1 drops : Prowess is knowing a resurgence right now, thanks to ledger shredder, and is both playing the 8 prowess and the 8 opt.
This is a pretty helpful guide into the archetypes and what to watch out for in Pioneer. Still haven't decided which decks I want to try most, though I'm considering modifying my UR giants deck into an 8-opt variety.
What I love about Pioneer is its a brewer's paradise. Power level where I can try wacky jank (flood of tears) and have a decent chance of succeeding even if it'll never be a tier deck
Modern is a brewer's paradise for anyone not stuck in the mindset of, "OMG Lurrus broken ban it...omg this card broken ban it...omg this card broken but not banned, play it." I've never played the meta because no meta deck has ever really played the way that I want it to. I've always brewed my own decks in Modern, whether they be combo, control, aggro, or some mix. I've always done well because I understand what needs to be beaten and no matter how much I want to use a particular card, if it is underperformed, then I replace it. So yeah, Modern is still very much a brewer's paradise, so long as you don't get caught up in the "gotta play the meta or lose" mentality that so many MTGO streamers have made their mantra these days.
@@Xoulrath_ modern can be but my problem is more just how consistently fast it is. Even if you're not playing meta you have to take the meta you're facing into account, and its only got faster and more powerful in the last 5 years. I used to brew in Modern but its less viable now, which is fine, not every format needs that, but puoneer is more viable. You can't honestly tell me that a deck built around using Flood of Tears would be as viable in modern as it is in Pioneer (and even in Pioneer its not exactly a tier 1 deck
@@invisiblegrif42 I just looked up Flood of Tears. I'd actually argue that I can make a better Modern deck with that card than I could a Pioneer deck. For starters, you want to have cheap nontoken permanents on the board as quickly as possible. This cards screams, "mana ramp me!" As just a quick idea, the first thing that I'd do is run 4 BoP and 4 Noble Hierarch. You want to (obviously) get the four permanents on board asap, while also trying to cast FoT immediately. So whenever I see cards that are 5 or 6 mana, I immediately start building some type of ramp deck to see if I can make them feasible. I actually tried a mana ramp build before that ran Gilded Goose as well, which then dropped a Tanazir as the win con. I used counter magic to protect it. It worked well, since I was always ahead on mana, and once Tanazir hit, it was typically game over the following turn. Force of Negation protected the combo once I tapped out. You'd basically be looking to do something similar with Flood of Tears instead of Tanazir, but ramping there is the surest path to victory. The primary issue with this plan now is Fury, since an opponent can play it for "free" if need be, wiping your board. That said, you're in Blue, so you do have options to protect against something like that. Either way, best of luck to you for competitive Modern or Pioneer builds for Flood or anything else that you want to play because it's fun too.
@@invisiblegrif42 also forgot to mention, yes Modern is very fast now, but that doesn't bother me because I've always built decks to be able to win or take control of the game by turn 4. And yes, you do have to take the meta into consideration. I did mention this in my initial paragraph and that is true of any format.
I've been playing commander exclusively since I started playing magic in 2019. This pioneer seems like a breath of fresh air! Anyone have recommendations for pioneer content or content creators out there?
I actually love Pioneer. Modern is a bit much for me and a little too top heavy with it's meta. In pioneer I play a dog deck that rotated out of standard a while back. While it's not very meta it can still complete and it's really fun to play! I always look to play something a little more janky and fun in card games, that's something I hadnt really been able to do in magic until pioneer.
I hope the format don't start to suck like modern before I try it. I've never liked modern, I used to play it in magic workstation and it was a total cancer
I came back to this video when it occured to me that I could switch up my mono-green (splashing WB) wolf deck by adding MKM Voja, citing the 8 elves I'd need. TY Professor, you've saved my marriage. Radical.
I have quite a few home brews that do really well when played. I have a feather deck with annex and cymede that is busted, a red green energy build that 1 shots turn 4 with the right hand, mono red goblins, and my pet deck ashiok tribal. Ashiok tribal is o.g. mono black pioneer list with blue for the 3 legal ashioks and counter magic. So pack rats and rankles then all the control
Interesting to learn that Dread Fugue isn't the right support for Thoughtseize. It misses a few targets of inquisition but I have used it to great effect in my mono black standard deck on Arena. Also shocked no Soul Sisters on the list. Greasefang is certainly a deck I might want to try if I wanted to get in the format. Though I suppose downgrading my Modern Azorius Spirits deck could work. - Swap Drogskol Captin for Favourable Winds - Swap Mana Leak for Giestlight Snare - Swap Vapor Snag for Fade Away or Opt - Replace Path to Exile with some other cheap removal. - Replace the fetches with non fetchlands. - Replace Moorland Haunt with some different land, likely Unclaimed Territory.
Thanks, I really needed a video like this to get going with pioneer. I think I'll start with mono white humans because it's cheap and i have most of the cards. But I really like Lotus field combo, as soon as I have the money for it.
So far, my LGS only plays Standard and Commander (which is odd). Hopefully now that Pioneer is recognised by Wizards, maybe they would have this format? I like this format.
"The squeaky wheel gets the grease." Get the ball rolling somehow just mention it next time you go i bet half really want to try the format and the other half are at least willing to try it if everybody else is playing.
The second I heard professor say "the cat oven combo" my mind IMMEDIATELY went to the end of that Julian Smith skit "Malk" Gotta love when art imitates life
When it first came out I built a really fun grixis deack with Nicol Bolas flip creature, some random one of planeswalkers that I cannot even remember (Jace AoT, Liliana from Amonket, Ob Nixilis) a few board wipes and of course Fire of Invention. The only cards that i really hate playing against are counterspells.
My only Pioneer deck is a BG Git-Rock Monster land-centric deck I built a couple years ago and have only played maybe 10-15 games with. I like it alot, in theory, but when the format first dropped, there just wasn't enough of a following for me to get very involved with it, even though a vast majority of my card collection is cards from RTR forward. Hopefully with the reemergence of it's "release", that will change. Plus, any deck I get to run a playset of Deathrite in, I am all about it. Sure, a playset of Fabled Passage and Evolving wilds doesn't compare to the real fetches, but I'll take what I can get!
I also was just about finished building Winota for Pioneer when she got the ban-hammer, but thankfully I had already owned most of the cards I put in it, and didn't have to buy any.
You've made me enthusiastic for Explorer 😉 On paper, I only play limited and commander, while I stopped playing historic on Arena after MH2. I like the appeal of a non-rotating format on Arena, but it is too big a card investment, if they upheave it that often. This looks nice, though
if WOTC wants Pioneer to be the more affordable and lower power Modern they need to reprint shock lands more often right almost a third of most deck builds budgets com from the shock lands. i have a Selesnya toxic deck and run 3 temple gardens and it take up almost a third of the cost and it would almost be half if i didn't have heroic intervention in the side board.
I love how is subtly mentions tiny leaders whenever possible. I liked that format and oathbreaker but it doesn’t have much traction… brawl was fun for a bit but pioneer is my new home… as long as they keep supporting it..
I brought back my dimir flash (nonrogues) mutate for pioneer, I still making adjustments. I want to believe that Unwind and rewind are viable, I love the idea I can play counter and then deploy at end of turn. I will see how it goes
Fun fact: Mono Green Devotion used to be purely a stompy deck until Kanister, a brewer, discovered an infinite mana combo involving Karn, an MDFC artifact that exiles itself using its back side, and Kiora, behemoth beckoner.
I'm experimenting in Pioneer with Rakdos Madness Vampires. My goal is to utilize Blood tokens to act as engines to cast Madness cards thanks to Falkenrath Gorger.
I really think if people just gave pioneer a chance they’d love it.
Yes! My thoughts exactly. I have an awesome deck ready to go, but no one ever shows up where I go on Fridays lol. What happened to people going to FNM?
Whats wrong with that format ? Don't people like non rotating format, or do they they just prefer modern or even legacy (I'm pretty new to the game and don't even really know the differences between each format aside MTGAs)
If my store gave pioneer a chance I’d love it…
My problem with pioneer is that combo kinda sucks (outside of 1 storm style deck). I would want some more combo to get me to play the format.
I said the exact same thing when elder dragon highlander had just started and all my friends thought a 100 card deck was too much and would never catch on 😂
As one of the team that created/ran the first Red Deck Wins back in 2002-03 I'm always pleased to see the archtype just keep going on and on.
Standard may be temporary, but Red Deck Wins is forever
Me too🎉
Pionner is the new modern. So accesible and a great diversity. With the challenger deck mono white and dimir control with a few cards I can play pioneer without any problem.
With decks about 300 - 500, my modern decks are at the same price range and I have a much bigger card range and more fun decks. I recently started pioneer and I couldn't find a cheap deck, that is fun for me at the same time. If the format was slower than modern it would be fine, but we sometimes play modern vs pioneer decks and you don't feel a big difference in power level.
@@riverfilms4548 bummer, guess I won’t try pioneer after all 😔
@@Sehon13Ultd did you really base your decision solely on one youtube comment?
@@melancholia34 Yes, I already play 10+ other games/formats, even the slightest hint of it being basically the same feel as modern, and not cheap on top of that, is enough to make me pass it up and continue playing other formats I know I enjoy.
@@riverfilms4548 the diff comes from the time frames on paper. Banning fetches makes a huge effort saver. modern despite twin ban still has much faster sudden kills.
Man, so many deck archetypes for this brand new format!
Been very much enjoying this format over others, cheaper than the others so been a lot nicer
My recommendation to you is to buy anything that is cheap that interests you now. If this format continues to gain an audience, it won't stay cheap for long.
I made my first pioneer deck with a chainsaw. I started with the heartwood of a mighty oak. I carved a historical replica of a Polynesian warclub and then sold it to the owner of a local cigar bar. I got the red green deck I heard it has Goldspan Dragon in it :) Haven't opened it yet though...
Did you open it?
My friends and I all built pioneer decks and are having fun with them. Definitely a nice change of pace from our usual commander decks.
I'm considering to propose this to my friends as well, as we only play cube and commander
This was a super great summary of the format today. I really think Pioneer is the future. Today's Pioneer reminds me a lot of the Modern that I loved, prior to Modern Horizons. And I'm not bitter! I still really like Modern, and I like that there's a non-rotating format that WotC can curate a bit with powerful cards printed directly into it! But I like what pioneer is too. It feels more like "real" magic to me. Looking forward to the future!
When pioneer first started I made a homebrew deck around Thing in the Ice and Pteramander, supported by cards like Growth Spiral, Traverse the Ulvenwald and Blossoming Defense. It was better than I expected and really fun. Might have to revisit it 🧐
Totally not stealing this idea 😅
@@benmajor08 it’s a lot of fun! Also I think 1-2 copies of Geralf’s Masterpiece is really strong in the deck
what's your decklist for that look like, i'm curious
I totally forgot about Thing in the Ice! That was one of my favorites!
@@joeshmup961 I tried to reply with a link but for some reason the reply would disappear, so here's a wall of text:
4 Thing in the Ice
4 Pteramander
3 Traverse the Ulvenwald
3 Blossoming Defense
4 Growth Spiral
4 Consider
4 Merfolk Secretkeeper
3 Censor
2 Mission Briefing
2 Grapple with the Past
1 Dig Through Time
1 Treasure Cruise
3 Vessel of Nascency
4 Fabled Passage
4 Botanical Sanctum
2 Geralf's Masterpiece
2 Breeding Pool
3 Forest
5 Island
2 Barkchannel Pathway
(Plus some bonus notes from my mtggoldfish list)
I haven't visited this deck for a couple of years, so it may be a simply worse version of [[Arclight Phoenix]] at this point. Cards like [[Delver of Secrets]] might also just be better than what I have going on here. Most of the deck is what I originally had, but I made some clear adjustments like swapping [[Opt]] for [[Consider]]. Generally speaking, the deck plays proactively, but I wouldn't be surprised if it needs more spot removal. I imagine [[Brazen Borrower]] has a place in this deck. Maybe cut the [[Censor]]s and add 2x [[Brazen Borrower]] and a copy or two of [[Spell Pierce]]. [[Witness Protection]] seems like a solid removal spell and is also an enchantment which is valuable for this deck. Here's some more deck ideas:
These cards help activate delirium while also being useful for attacking or filling the graveyard:
[[Walking Ballista]]
[[Perpetual Timepiece]]
[[Stonecoil Serpent]]
In decks that require creature damage to win, I often like planeswalkers as an alternate win condition in the sideboard:
[[Nissa, Vital Force]]
[[Nissa, Voice of Zendikar]]
If we need to go wide, we could use delirium to our advantage for [[Ishkanah, Grafwidow]] (a SOI standard favorite).
If you have different preferences than pushing damage through, you can use [[Snakeskin Veil]] or [[Tamiyo's Safekeeping]] over [[Blossoming Defense]].
This deck also probably want's [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] because that card is wack, but I didn't wanna throw off the price. Even cards like [[Lair of the Hydra]] or [[Lumbering Falls]] could have a place here IMO.
I thought my Simic eldrazi deck was so unique until it got lumped into 8-elf with Winota of all things.
I guess I'll have to console myself by casting reality smasher on turn 3 a few times.
would love to see a decklist for that! I tried building a budget version of Eldrazi Ramp for Modern many years ago, but by the time I finally pieced it together it would've been up against the "horizons" meta, so I never got to actually play it. been itching to cast some Reality Smashers ever since
1. have cards that are legal in pioneer
2. put them in your deck
3. you now have a pioneer deck
I just came here to say that I absolutely ADORE the intro song. It's incredibly nostalgic but I can't pinpoint exactly what it reminds me of haha
Do One of this for pauper pls, we need a MODERN version of this topic
My first Pioneer decks were Standard decks that rotated out and I had kept, UW Heroic and RG Madness. My deck of choice now is Sram Auras.
does uw heroic stand on pioneer? Because i playes in theros and now i want to play pionner but my friends says no and to go for the boros heroic!
I was out of the game since Lorwyn but I just got back in thanks to my son being introduced to it through his friends within the past couple of years or so. This looks like a format I want to try my tourney hand in at some point.
I hope to someday play magic with my son as my step father did with me ❤
I'm no lipreader, but I swear the Prof was saying something different than "8-Opt" every time he was talking about that archetype...
What was it? I'm so curious!
Same!
Yep, the line was definitely ADR'd in editing to fix an error
Pretty sure it was 80-point. You know, because "8O pt."
noticed it too... no idea what he really said lol
8 post? like the legacy archtype?
Just the video I needed. Been looking to get into the format
Thanks for the video Professor, it was nice to take a tour, even if it was things I already know, as an avid player of pioneer.
Also we finally got to play my cube! on Cube Tutor: 6 Player Pioneer Party (AGTX).
Thanks for this video! Pioneer is seeing consistent play at my lgs and I wish more people would get into it across the community. Shoutout to mono blue devotion jank!
Thank you, this actually is helpful on building a pioneer deck because we can see the idea of what other decks do and can compare synergies we come up with to that and see if it has potential.
Got the hidden strings challenger deck and made a few upgrades, I'm having a blast
Really excited to start playing Pioneer in person, my LGS is finaly reopening to instore play
My experience before watching this.
I went to modern and pioneer for the first time this week. For both I had $40 decks. And I got counterspell locked out of playing.
So even without lighting bolt or counterspell, is the exact same experience.
Controll locked, agro stomp. No matter what.
If I'm getting cub stomped, I'd at least like to see some cool cards.
Fantastic video! This really helps to get an idea of what the format actually looks like. Now what I really need is this video for the pauper format.
Whoever is doing the animations for the video is knocking it out of the park!
Man, what is this timing? Been struggling to start off building my very first deck, then bam, tolarian video. And a damn good video as well, on my favorite format so far.
The "opt" dub is cracking me up. Great video! I've been wanting to try out Pioneer
Yes, some Pioneer love! I have been playing the format for a couple months and it's awesome!
I've only played standard and watched people play commander. This seems fun! Definitely gonna try it out thanks prof!!
@@nicks4802 I've wanted to for a while now but I haven't had the finances to get even a precon 😭
I hope there will be an update version somewhere in 2023. Loved the video.
Great video! Though i really wish you would have talked about popular sideboard options in pioneer.
Thanks for the lesson Prof! I've been itching to get into a Pioneer event to try the format and I've been trying to convince players at my local game store to run an event for it.
It's very interesting that before this video, I didn't know what to call (officially,; I have a name for it) my mono Green Explorer deck on Arena. It's named "The Turndra" and uses a Snow basic strategy with a lot of fight/direct damage effects to clear out smaller creatures/Planeswalkers before attacking. There's also some life gain and +1/+1 counters thrown in there to help out in the late game :D. But basically, it's 8 Elf lol.
My LGS announced that they'll be re-opening constructed events, and it will be pioneer. I'm going to build my first non-commander offline constructed deck and will have budget Scissors as a starting point.
Wish me luck.
That 700K is right around the corner. An early congrats to the Professor!
Pioneer and Explorer are my favorite formats in years. Will probably play only them for the foreseeable future
I JUST got it MTG(thanks Kawigama) never would’ve thought that Pioneer was this recent
Thank you for this video! I’ve been iffy about getting into pioneer but I feel like I have a ton of the cards you mentioned. Maybe I’ll try my Hand at it sooner rather than later. 😁
I was just recently thinking about pioneer and this is the exact video I needed
SO freaking in time! thank you, delivered when i need the most
The ADR in this video was almost impossible to find. Very clean!
I cannot wait to get to play regular magic again after I've moved after the summer. Pioneer is wsjt I will focus on besides standard and edh. ❤️
Building an Orzhov Greasefang nd having so much fun just testing it virtually. Hopefully the format gains strenght so I can start bringing it to my LGS!
Loving that '8 Opt' lip dub ;)
I love the 90’s sitcom theme music…..
Great video, need to play pioneer now 🙂
i hope there's people playing pioneer at some LGS close by, cause i am really tempted to make a mono red aggro
I wasn’t sure if Narset + Day’s was still workable after T3feri took the banhammer, but I love the combo and might have to try toying around with it! Great video per usual, Prof
The format is great *except (BIG asterisk here)* Mono Green and Winota. Their power and consistency is nothing like the rest of the format and unfortunately sully it atm.
Pack your sideboard full of grafdiggers cage, rending volleys, burning hands, and alpine moons and you’ll still lose to these decks often.
Honestly this. I have no idea how they would fix this issue without either banning or releasing better cards for other decks. But then it'd just be modern again.
ban winota n shrine to nyx
It's banned kekw
Hush up troll
Gotta love that 8 "opt" XD
Great video as usual prof! Just getting into pioneer myself.
I'm curious what he mistakenly said while filming
About what you said at 11:45 on mono red and their 1 drops : Prowess is knowing a resurgence right now, thanks to ledger shredder, and is both playing the 8 prowess and the 8 opt.
This is a pretty helpful guide into the archetypes and what to watch out for in Pioneer. Still haven't decided which decks I want to try most, though I'm considering modifying my UR giants deck into an 8-opt variety.
Every day the Prof draws closer to looking like a refined Denethor.
What I love about Pioneer is its a brewer's paradise. Power level where I can try wacky jank (flood of tears) and have a decent chance of succeeding even if it'll never be a tier deck
Modern is a brewer's paradise for anyone not stuck in the mindset of, "OMG Lurrus broken ban it...omg this card broken ban it...omg this card broken but not banned, play it."
I've never played the meta because no meta deck has ever really played the way that I want it to. I've always brewed my own decks in Modern, whether they be combo, control, aggro, or some mix. I've always done well because I understand what needs to be beaten and no matter how much I want to use a particular card, if it is underperformed, then I replace it.
So yeah, Modern is still very much a brewer's paradise, so long as you don't get caught up in the "gotta play the meta or lose" mentality that so many MTGO streamers have made their mantra these days.
@@Xoulrath_ modern can be but my problem is more just how consistently fast it is. Even if you're not playing meta you have to take the meta you're facing into account, and its only got faster and more powerful in the last 5 years. I used to brew in Modern but its less viable now, which is fine, not every format needs that, but puoneer is more viable. You can't honestly tell me that a deck built around using Flood of Tears would be as viable in modern as it is in Pioneer (and even in Pioneer its not exactly a tier 1 deck
@@invisiblegrif42 I just looked up Flood of Tears. I'd actually argue that I can make a better Modern deck with that card than I could a Pioneer deck.
For starters, you want to have cheap nontoken permanents on the board as quickly as possible. This cards screams, "mana ramp me!" As just a quick idea, the first thing that I'd do is run 4 BoP and 4 Noble Hierarch. You want to (obviously) get the four permanents on board asap, while also trying to cast FoT immediately. So whenever I see cards that are 5 or 6 mana, I immediately start building some type of ramp deck to see if I can make them feasible.
I actually tried a mana ramp build before that ran Gilded Goose as well, which then dropped a Tanazir as the win con. I used counter magic to protect it. It worked well, since I was always ahead on mana, and once Tanazir hit, it was typically game over the following turn. Force of Negation protected the combo once I tapped out.
You'd basically be looking to do something similar with Flood of Tears instead of Tanazir, but ramping there is the surest path to victory. The primary issue with this plan now is Fury, since an opponent can play it for "free" if need be, wiping your board. That said, you're in Blue, so you do have options to protect against something like that.
Either way, best of luck to you for competitive Modern or Pioneer builds for Flood or anything else that you want to play because it's fun too.
@@invisiblegrif42 also forgot to mention, yes Modern is very fast now, but that doesn't bother me because I've always built decks to be able to win or take control of the game by turn 4. And yes, you do have to take the meta into consideration. I did mention this in my initial paragraph and that is true of any format.
I've been playing commander exclusively since I started playing magic in 2019. This pioneer seems like a breath of fresh air! Anyone have recommendations for pioneer content or content creators out there?
Darthjacen @youtube
He also has a discord where everyone talks pioneer and explorer
I got to rebuild my old deck that rotated out and it is alot of fun to play agian . and all the different decks you can build cheap
While ii is currently down, I was surprised not to see Niv 2 Light (Niv Mizzet Reborn) under the "single powerful card" category.
Good video =)
I actually love Pioneer. Modern is a bit much for me and a little too top heavy with it's meta.
In pioneer I play a dog deck that rotated out of standard a while back. While it's not very meta it can still complete and it's really fun to play! I always look to play something a little more janky and fun in card games, that's something I hadnt really been able to do in magic until pioneer.
I hope the format don't start to suck like modern before I try it. I've never liked modern, I used to play it in magic workstation and it was a total cancer
The voice over work is fantastic!
I started pioneer with a Jeskai Running with Scissors. Super fun and fast deck.
I have always loved how informative your content is and this breakdown has given me so many ideas to brew around. Keep it up!
I've been interested in pioneer glad the professor made a video on it
I came back to this video when it occured to me that I could switch up my mono-green (splashing WB) wolf deck by adding MKM Voja, citing the 8 elves I'd need. TY Professor, you've saved my marriage. Radical.
And just when I thought "I am so bored by edh but would like to go on playing mtg"
The Prof publishes this Video 😄
Mono-Blue Mill works too. The SNC lands that sacrifice themselves really help it go.
I have quite a few home brews that do really well when played. I have a feather deck with annex and cymede that is busted, a red green energy build that 1 shots turn 4 with the right hand, mono red goblins, and my pet deck ashiok tribal. Ashiok tribal is o.g. mono black pioneer list with blue for the 3 legal ashioks and counter magic. So pack rats and rankles then all the control
i like the "OPT" being cut in post :D
Just came to say you're amazing Prof. Thanks for everything you do :)
Interesting to learn that Dread Fugue isn't the right support for Thoughtseize. It misses a few targets of inquisition but I have used it to great effect in my mono black standard deck on Arena.
Also shocked no Soul Sisters on the list.
Greasefang is certainly a deck I might want to try if I wanted to get in the format. Though I suppose downgrading my Modern Azorius Spirits deck could work.
- Swap Drogskol Captin for Favourable Winds
- Swap Mana Leak for Giestlight Snare
- Swap Vapor Snag for Fade Away or Opt
- Replace Path to Exile with some other cheap removal.
- Replace the fetches with non fetchlands.
- Replace Moorland Haunt with some different land, likely Unclaimed Territory.
Thanks, I really needed a video like this to get going with pioneer. I think I'll start with mono white humans because it's cheap and i have most of the cards. But I really like Lotus field combo, as soon as I have the money for it.
So far, my LGS only plays Standard and Commander (which is odd). Hopefully now that Pioneer is recognised by Wizards, maybe they would have this format? I like this format.
"The squeaky wheel gets the grease." Get the ball rolling somehow just mention it next time you go i bet half really want to try the format and the other half are at least willing to try it if everybody else is playing.
Most LGS will start doing pioneer if enough people ask for it
The second I heard professor say "the cat oven combo" my mind IMMEDIATELY went to the end of that Julian Smith skit "Malk"
Gotta love when art imitates life
I really love pioneer-events. Because of the multiple rounds you can play against different people. Because it is a faster pace than commander.
When it first came out I built a really fun grixis deack with Nicol Bolas flip creature, some random one of planeswalkers that I cannot even remember (Jace AoT, Liliana from Amonket, Ob Nixilis) a few board wipes and of course Fire of Invention. The only cards that i really hate playing against are counterspells.
Really like the content, informative and helpful.
My only Pioneer deck is a BG Git-Rock Monster land-centric deck I built a couple years ago and have only played maybe 10-15 games with. I like it alot, in theory, but when the format first dropped, there just wasn't enough of a following for me to get very involved with it, even though a vast majority of my card collection is cards from RTR forward. Hopefully with the reemergence of it's "release", that will change.
Plus, any deck I get to run a playset of Deathrite in, I am all about it. Sure, a playset of Fabled Passage and Evolving wilds doesn't compare to the real fetches, but I'll take what I can get!
I also was just about finished building Winota for Pioneer when she got the ban-hammer, but thankfully I had already owned most of the cards I put in it, and didn't have to buy any.
Huh, I might just have to build my first pioneer deck. Looks worth checking out.
pioneer/explorer is now my favorite 60 card format.
Pioneer is coming back strong now here in Rio de Janeiro... Finally...
YAY! Safe to say the Prof has caught the Pioneer bug.
I personally like modern, but what's nice is that a lot of my modern decks like spirits can transfer over to pioneer
Pioneer has been a great amount of fun!
You've made me enthusiastic for Explorer 😉
On paper, I only play limited and commander, while I stopped playing historic on Arena after MH2. I like the appeal of a non-rotating format on Arena, but it is too big a card investment, if they upheave it that often. This looks nice, though
if WOTC wants Pioneer to be the more affordable and lower power Modern they need to reprint shock lands more often right almost a third of most deck builds budgets com from the shock lands. i have a Selesnya toxic deck and run 3 temple gardens and it take up almost a third of the cost and it would almost be half if i didn't have heroic intervention in the side board.
Thanks for this.
A use for Hidden Strings!
I would love to play Red Deck Wins, Rakdos Midrange and Rakdos Aristocrats from this list. Izzet Control might be fun too.
Thanks for the meta breakdown
I’ve been having a good time with Mardu Greesefang on explorer lately
Pioneer is my favorite format right now
I have an old mono red deck in arena with a lot of cards from ravnuca and I think I might make that deck up in paper now… looks interesting
I love how is subtly mentions tiny leaders whenever possible. I liked that format and oathbreaker but it doesn’t have much traction… brawl was fun for a bit but pioneer is my new home… as long as they keep supporting it..
I brought back my dimir flash (nonrogues) mutate for pioneer, I still making adjustments. I want to believe that Unwind and rewind are viable, I love the idea I can play counter and then deploy at end of turn. I will see how it goes
Well now I have to try to force angel tribal in pioneer. And make it part of the meta
It will be interesting to see what witch's oven does for these new LOtR cards
Definitely building up to a Greasefang Esper deck, I was originally going to get into Modern but then I saw what was involved and was like “nah”
May just have to pull a professor and make a number of decks myself and let my playgroup pick.
Fun fact: Mono Green Devotion used to be purely a stompy deck until Kanister, a brewer, discovered an infinite mana combo involving Karn, an MDFC artifact that exiles itself using its back side, and Kiora, behemoth beckoner.
I'm experimenting in Pioneer with Rakdos Madness Vampires. My goal is to utilize Blood tokens to act as engines to cast Madness cards thanks to Falkenrath Gorger.
At the time I just looked back at my favorite standard decks and beefed them up
We really need to keep hyping up Pioneer and building decks for it.
Great video. Informative and concise. Really well done.