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Keeping you up to date with what is new, interesting and powerful in the Magic the Gathering Pioneer format
Episodes
Sunday Feb 21, 2021
Sunday Feb 21, 2021
With Uro gone, graveyards have become a little bit safer, but also putting things INTO graveyards has become safer as well. Our good friend and MTGO Grinder Amit, AKA EkerossMTG, joins us to talk about one of his favorite decks, the sole purpose of which is to put things of your opponent's into their graveyard and then get cards out of yours. That's right, BR Arcanist, named after the card Dreadhorde Arcanist which is so good that it was deemed too powerful in older eternal formats. The deck always seemed to be on the cusp of greatness but was held back by the Simic Titan.
With Uro, Reclamation, Teferi, and the Spy cards from Oops All Spells gone the world is the Arcanist's playground. If you've ever wanted to play the deck, wanted to know how to play against it, or want to know all the inner workings and lines of play that go into piloting the archetype, you definitely don't want to miss this episode. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and also join our Discord for the full decklist. If you can't get enough of BR Arcanist, look for EkerossMTG on Twitch and follow him on Twitter with the same name!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
Sunday Feb 14, 2021
Sunday Feb 14, 2021
An absolute bomb was dropped on the competitive Magic the Gathering community last week in the form of an announcement that stated that there would be a banning of Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath across multiple formats in the second week of February. We couldn't just sit on this news and not react to it as soon as possible, so Kevin and I dropped everything that we were doing and talked about what this means for the Pioneer format going forward.
What decks will be affected by the banning? Which decks get better? What will the metagame look like with Uro nowhere to be seen? We cover all of these topics and more in this week's episode and hope you'll join us in our Discord or on our Twitter to discuss what you think of this announcement.
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
Monday Feb 08, 2021
Monday Feb 08, 2021
Dreams of Ashiok, Twitch streamer and MTGO grinder, joins us this week to talk about one of the most exciting decks of the new Kaldheim Pioneer season; Mono Green Planeswalkers. The deck has always been a competitor and has stuck around as a tiered deck since the beginning of the format. It's been hit multiple times by bannings but the deck continues to bounce back. Fresh off a top 8 in a recent Pioneer league, we thought it would be a great time to talk about this unique strategy.
The deck has gained a few new tricks from Kaldheim, namely Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider. But to understand just how much the deck has evolved with this new card and what else has changed since the Zendikar Rising metagame, you'll need to listen to the full episode. If you've ever been curious about the mono green planeswalkers deck, want to learn how to beat the mono green planeswalkers deck, or want to learn how to play it and win with it, this episode is a must listen!
Be sure to join our Discord channel if you want to see the full deck list, and follow us on Twitter if you want to find more Pioneer content!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
Sunday Jan 31, 2021
Sunday Jan 31, 2021
I have to admit, I've been rather skeptical of the last few sets and their impact on the Pioneer format, but ever since the full Kaldheim card gallery came out both Kevin and I have been brewing like crazy. While the "Spike's", or competitive players of the format, might be unexcited about what the new set brought to Pioneer, the "Timmy's" and "Johnny's" who like doing big things and trying to break things got lots of new toys. While some of these ideas probably won't pan out, quite a few are showing promise and have the potential of rising in the ranks of the Pioneer metagame soon, if not in this season.
Your hosts talk about some of our favorite Kaldheim cards to brew around, what cards got us excited to brew the most, share a few of our own brews and describe how they work, and also for the first time ever we did some "cross" content with another Pioneer podcast. The Crew3 podcast team graciously shared some of their own brews with us and we break them down and give some of our own ideas on other ways to work with their strategies! Be sure to join our discord channel for full access to the deck lists!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
Monday Jan 25, 2021
Monday Jan 25, 2021
Jonathan Medina may sound like he literally 'dialed it in' on the phone in today's episode, but audio issues and joking aside, set release time is one of the most exciting times of the year for the First Pioneers. Kaldheim is bringing a lot of brewing potential to the Pioneer format and while there are no clear cut broken cards like in some of the more recent sets, it seems like it will be adding a little to A LOT of strategies. Listen and find out where Kaldheim cards will fit into the Pioneer format, which archetypes we think will get better, what separates jank from the all stars, and what we think the best cards of the set are. Be sure to jump into our Discord afterwards to talk about what cards you're most excited for in Pioneer and don't forget to follow us Twitter for the latest Pioneer results and news!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
Monday Jan 18, 2021
Monday Jan 18, 2021
“The Tribes They are a Changelin”
Come gather ’round tribes
Wherever you roam
And admit that the power creep
Around you has grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be damaged to none
If your life to you is worth savin’
Then you better start blockin’ or you’ll die like a chump
For the tribes they are a-changelin’
Come warriors, angels
Please heed the company’s call
Don’t stand on the battlefield
Don’t block into open mana
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has been 2 for 1’d
There’s a battle on the table and it is ragin’
It’ll soon fill the playmat and rattle your walls
For the tribes they are a-changelin’
- Goblin NaBob Dylan
We've talked about the tribes of Pioneer before but Kaldheim has brought so many new tribal cards into the format that we thought it would be worth updating old strategies, giving a second look to tribes we passed over before due to a lack of cards, and also evaluating the power level of the tribal cards of the new set. The introduction of the Changeling ability brings new possibilities to the tribal decks of Pioneer, and we discuss a few places where those types of cards might fit in. We also cover the major tribal "Lords" of Pioneer and the narrow "buffs" that make your tribal cards stronger.
By the time you listen to this week's podcast the full spoiler list will probably already be out, but before you start brewing up a storm be sure to listen to what we have to say about all of these new tribal cards to save you time in evaluating them and also to give you a few ideas for the starting points of your decks. There was so much to talk about that we didn't have time to cover everything tribal related, so if you have any other ideas or cards you'd like to suggest be sure to let us know on Twitter or on Discord!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
Tuesday Jan 12, 2021
Tuesday Jan 12, 2021
Martin Porter, aka Harry13SCO on Twitter and Twitch, world renowned MTGO grinder, joins us once again to talk about Magic the Gathering and Pioneer. In this week's episode we continue our series that explores the decks of the Pioneer format and Martin tells us all about his favorite deck; Sultai Reclamation. He's been tearing up the leagues and other online events with this deck and we wanted to know how he's doing it.
We go over how to play the deck, what cards are used in the deck or what can be used as alternatives, his current list, match ups, and much much more! If you're looking to become more competitive in Pioneer, want to build this archetype, or want to learn how to beat it, don't pass by this episode!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
Monday Jan 04, 2021
Monday Jan 04, 2021
In other eternal formats the mana bases have been set for quite a while now. You'll always need playsets of Dual Lands for Legacy, and fetch lands for Modern. Shocklands see play in all of the eternal formats to some extent, but they are the best 'duals' that Pioneer has at the moment. For the format to truly come into its own, Wizards needs to complete the rest of their land cycles. It will happen eventually, but it will probably take quite a long time to finally be able to build any deck you want and have perfect mana for it.
But what will the format looks like when that happens? Today the First Pioneers explore what land cycles are unfinished and what a perfect mana Pioneer format will look like in the future. Which decks and cards would get better from more pain lands? From more fast lands? From more Triomes? We cover a variety of archetypes and what ifs and also talk about what the finished Pathway cycle will mean for Pioneer.
If you want to share your thoughts on a perfect mana Pioneer format be sure to hop on over to the Discord channel after listening to discuss it or drop us a few lines on Twitter!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
Sunday Dec 20, 2020
Sunday Dec 20, 2020
There were many ups and downs in 2020 for Magic the Gathering, and none were affected more by all the upheavals than Pioneer. The format started off promising at the beginning of the year after a few rounds of bannings right after its inception. The Magic Fests revealed a number of new decks for players in January, and the release of Theros Beyond Death shook up Pioneer even more. But the shadow of the COVID 19 pandemic has overshadowed everything this year, impacting the "Gathering" part of Magic horribly and removing any momentum the format had. How has Pioneer survived this year so far and what path is it on for the future?
In this week's podcast the First Pioneers and our good friend Amit (EkerossMTG) goes over where the Pioneer format has been in 2020, where it's at, and where it's going in 2021. We cover bannings, metagames, decks, and a variety of other Pioneer related topics so that our listeners are prepared for what is to come next year.
As always if you like the topic and want to discuss or comment on it please join our discord or follow us on Twitter!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Volcanic Hike Survivor. Visitor of over 70 Countries. Eaten at over 20 Michelin Star restaurants. Food Blogger. Paid Artist. Film Critic. Fashion model. There are many things that Gavin Verhey has done in his life, but first and foremost he's a Senior Magic: The Gathering designer at Wizards of the Coast.
We wanted to do something big for our 50th episode spectacular, so we shot for the stars. Gavin graciously accepted our invite and allowed us to ask everything we've always wanted to know about Pioneer straight from the mouth of a Wizards of the Coast employee. We talk about the Pioneer format, Pioneer design space, as well as a number of other Pioneer related topics you've always wanted to know about so don't miss this episode!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer