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Keeping you up to date with what is new, interesting and powerful in the Magic the Gathering Pioneer format
Episodes
3 days ago
3 days ago
The Boros Convoke deck has made big waves in Pioneer over the last few weeks but not everybody has been able to wrap their heads around it. As with every other new deck that breaks onto the scene, at first it seems broken and unstoppable. But is it? Does it have any bad match ups? And what about its good ones? What are the main cards of the deck and what is the best deck list?
This week The First Pioneers give you the total run down on this new strategy and talk about its place in the new Pioneer metagame. We go over the last few weeks of Pioneer tournament results, including the Grand Open Qualifier at Valencia, and discuss what Pioneer will look like going forward with this new deck.
If you're looking to learn to play or play against Boros Convoke, definitely give this week's show a listen!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
You can find our other episodes on the Untap Leagues website as well! https://untapleagues.com/author/the-first-pioneers/
Monday May 22, 2023
Monday May 22, 2023
This week The First Pioneers hop into the way back machine to revisit some of the best decks the Pioneer format has ever seen to talk about what made them tick, what the format lost when the decks disappeared, and what happened to the deck's cards when the deck was forgotten. We believe it's time to take another look at some of those past strategies and cards to see if they could have life once more in the Pioneer format in some other shape or form.
While we were on the topic of cards that were once we good, we thought it would also be good to talk about cards that we think people should give a chance to in Pioneer. New cards are always pushing old ones to the forefront in Magic the Gathering, but just because we find one thing that works doesn't mean we should stop looking. Join us this week as we rediscover cards and look for new things to do in Pioneer!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
You can find our other episodes on the Untap Leagues website as well! https://untapleagues.com/author/the-first-pioneers/
Monday May 15, 2023
Monday May 15, 2023
This Mother's Day, skip out on the flowers and candies and get her something special, like a break down of the Pioneer metagame leading up to March of the Machines Aftermath. She'll be grateful for your thoughtfulness and happy that you care (about Magic the Gathering).
While short, the MOM metagame created a lot of innovation and added a lot of new lines of play to a wide variety of decks. But will the new decks and cards stick around as the Aftermath cards shake things up yet again? Will we continue to see decks innovate and optimize or players give up on doing so until after the next Pioneer qualifier season? Listen to The First Pioneers discuss what's happened to the Pioneer metagame since March of the Machines since it launched, and where we think it will go now that Aftermath is out.
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
You can find our other episodes on the Untap Leagues website as well! https://untapleagues.com/author/the-first-pioneers/
Monday May 08, 2023
Monday May 08, 2023
The paint on the cards in March of the Machines had barely dried when Wizards of the Coast decided to release Aftermath, a supplemental, undraftable mini set (but Standard/Pioneer legal). How will competitive players react to this set? Will they embrace the cards or will they dismiss them as an afterthought? The First Pioneers believe we should give some of them a try in the Pioneer format, but with players still feeling out the last set, it might be some time before any of the Aftermath cards makes a splash in the format.
If you're feeling some new set fatigue or just don't want to devote any time to the new cards right now, let us give you some suggestions to get you started brewing or to prepare you for what you might see in the metagame this summer. And if we missed some cards be sure to pop into our Discord or onto our Twitter to let us know how you'd build decks with them!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
You can find our other episodes on the Untap Leagues website as well! https://untapleagues.com/author/the-first-pioneers/
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
One of the biggest decks to come out of the Phyrexia: All Will Be One metagame was Neoform Atraxa. The deck joins a long list of powerful midrange strategies that can effectively combo out early into an Atraxa, Grand Unifier and take over the game with either a huge creature or incredible card advantage. While it might not be able to always play against the top decks of the format like Rakdos Midrange, it has shown itself not to be taken lightly and that it can take unsuspecting metagames by storm.
With Dreams of Ashiok still on vacation, he introduced us to one of his friends in Canada that has a lot of experience with the deck. The First Pioneers welcome Canadian Magic the Gathering player Andrew (@andrw1232) to tell us everything he knows about this new and exciting strategy. Whether you've been wondering how to play the deck, or how to beat it, be sure to listen to this week's episode!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
You can find our other episodes on the Untap Leagues website as well! https://untapleagues.com/author/the-first-pioneers/
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Does Pioneer have an aggro problem? Absolutely, but it's less the cause of the problem and more the result of everything else. Recently The First Pioneers discussed how Combo decks in the format had taken advantage of Pioneer, and while midrange and control decks have been able to keep combo in check somewhat, the rise of these archetypes has totally pushed aggro out. But you might be saying "what about mono white humans?" Well, can you honestly name any other recent aggro decks in Pioneer that have done well consistently in the format? Sure we have the occasional "flash in the pan" deck that can spike tournaments, but it seems like whenever somebody sleeves up mono red aggro or Atarka red, it's just one unlucky result after the other.
So how do we fix this aggro problem and what caused it? In this week's episode, we go into depth about the current state of aggro and offer some solutions on how to fix it. After listening, if you have some thoughts of your own on what to do about the current state of Pioneer, be sure to reach out to us on Twitter or on Discord!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
You can find our other episodes on the Untap Leagues website as well! https://untapleagues.com/author/the-first-pioneers/
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Midrange and Combo players rejoice! Mother of Machines brings tons of new cards that can slip right into your existing decks in Pioneer, and some that are great for building around. Whether they'll end up being strong enough for competitive play is yet to be seen, but if you're itching to try out something new, The First Pioneers have a little bit for everyone. This episode we bring you no less than 11 MOM brews for Pioneer! We have decks centered around +1/+1 counters, a never before seen tribal strategy (Phyrexians!), and even a deck with Happily Ever After as one of its win conditions! You'll definitely want to check out the decklists and listen to how we would play them! After listening, if you have some sweet brews of your own be sure to stop into our Discord and share them in our Decklists or Jank channels!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
You can find our other episodes on the Untap Leagues website as well! https://untapleagues.com/author/the-first-pioneers/
Monday Apr 10, 2023
Monday Apr 10, 2023
Wizards of the Coast has been giving us less of what we want and more of what we need in Pioneer, at least from my point of view. Gone are the days when one card would go into every deck. Nowadays where a card fits into the metagame has become more blurred. Cards that seemed unplayable in the format now find themselves as core cards of previously fringe decks thrust into the spotlight due to new cards. However, this doesn't always work out. Will Mother of Machines further expand the Pioneer metagame, or be nothing more than just a few updates to what we already have?
This week The First Pioneers look into how Mother of Machines will Impact Pioneer. Will the Battles fight their way into midrange decks? Will Collected Company get new hits to put into the battlefield at the end of turn? Or perhaps control will find new ways to spoil our fun. Find out all this any more in this week's episode! And after listening, if we didn't get a chance to talk about one of your favorite cards from the new set, be sure to drop us a line on Twitter or Discord!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
You can find our other episodes on the Untap Leagues website as well! https://untapleagues.com/author/the-first-pioneers/
Monday Apr 03, 2023
Monday Apr 03, 2023
It's been a while since the Pro Tour flipped the Pioneer metagame on its head. We had a few new decks join the metagame, and a few others make a glorious comeback. But when the dust settled, where did that leave Pioneer? In our final episode before the Mother of Machine spoilers explode all over the internet, The First Pioneers talk about what has happened in the format over the last few months, where Pioneer was at the start of MTG ONE, and how this last season not only changed the cards we play with, but also how we play the game.
Whether you're looking forward or backward in Pioneer, we got you covered with this week's show!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
You can find our other episodes on the Untap Leagues website as well! https://untapleagues.com/author/the-first-pioneers/
Monday Mar 27, 2023
Monday Mar 27, 2023
The Modern format has always been known for the strong power level of its cards. At the inception of the format there were a number of bannings and as more and more cards were added into the pool, those once powerful cards were now deemed disposable. Players who had shelled out top dollar for cards like Liliana of the Veil and Phyrexian Obliterator were finding that their favorite cards were becoming more and more irrelevant due to new sets like Modern Horizons.
If you had asked me at the start of Pioneer if these Modern playable cards would have been good for the format I would have had my doubts, but here we are. Both those mentioned cards (Liliana of the Veil and Phyrexian Obliterator) are now legal in Pioneer which makes me want to ask; is it time to bring more past Modern power level cards to The First Pioneer's favorite format?
In this week's episode we talk about all the cards that have made their way to Pioneer from Modern so far, what Modern mechanics have been introduced into the format, what other cards sharing those mechanics we'd like to see, as well as other mechanics and cards not yet in Pioneer that we think would make a great addition to the format.
Be sure to join the Discord if you already haven't to talk about what other Modern cards and mechanics you'd think make great additions to the Pioneer format in the future!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
You can find our other episodes on the Untap Leagues website as well! https://untapleagues.com/author/the-first-pioneers/