Episodes

Monday Oct 05, 2020
#40 - The Planes of Pioneer: Theros
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Our journey through the planes of Pioneer continues as we make a stop at Theros to talk about how much the plane impacted the format. Many people thought Wizards of the Coast was taking a big risk when they added Theros block, RTR block, and M14 into what was basically the casual "Frontier" format. Many people who had played during Theros block remembered the pain that Thoughtseize brought with mono black decks, and how it single handedly let Abzan aggro take over the following Khans of Tarkir meta. But are those fears unfounded? Just how many Theros cards have what it takes to make it into Pioneer?
Be sure to listen as we go over each color and talk about the best cards from them, as well as what Theros has to offer in terms of archetypes and strategies to the format.
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer

Sunday Sep 27, 2020
#39 - The Party People of Pioneer
Sunday Sep 27, 2020
Sunday Sep 27, 2020
What's up PARTY PEOPLLLLE! "DJ" Hobbyist and Icky Fink of the First Pioneers comin' at you LIVE from the rising of Zendikar to bring you the sickest hits and some of the hardest Warriors, Clerics, Wizards, and Rogues Pioneer has to offer.
We're bringing some of the maddest beats each tribe has in the format and hope you'll consider raising the roof for some of them before you kick them out to the curb. Drop the needle and listen to us spit the truth of the heartiest, partiest people!!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer

Friday Sep 18, 2020
#38.5 - Zendikar Rising Pioneer Set Review Part 2
Friday Sep 18, 2020
Friday Sep 18, 2020
Continuing our discussion from last time, the First Pioneers and guest Jonathan Medina dive deeper into the the stony depths of Zendikar Rising to see what makes it tick. In part 2 we talk about red, green, multicolor, artifacts, and lands. Does red bring the "fire" and green bring the "beats"? Are the lands actually relevant if they don't have another mode on them? And which cards are not quite good enough for Pioneer play? Be sure to listen to the rest of our set review to find out, and join our Discord and follow our Twitter to see what cards we ended up choosing for our top 5!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer

Monday Sep 14, 2020
#38 - Zendikar Rising Pioneer Set Review Part 1
Monday Sep 14, 2020
Monday Sep 14, 2020
Jonathan Medina joins the First Pioneers once again to talk about a new set and today we discuss how we see the cards from Zendikar Rising fitting into the Pioneer format. We ask and try to answer all the hard questions about the new set. Is the set better than the panned Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch sets? Will Zendikar Rising have any impact on the Pioneer format? Where will these new cards fit in? And most importantly, why does Ryan keep talking about jank?
Part 1 covers all of the white, blue, and black cards from ZNR. We talk about the new "Party" mechanic, how to use the new modal lands in constructed play, and also throw some sweet interactions and deck ideas your way. Be sure to listen to it before listening to Part 2 later this week!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer

Monday Sep 07, 2020
#37 - Pioneer gets Wild Post Bans
Monday Sep 07, 2020
Monday Sep 07, 2020
If you haven't been following the Pioneer format since the flurry of bannings over a month ago, you're in for a shock. The competitive environment has totally changed since we last talked about the metagame, and to make sense of it all the First Pioneers once again asked our resident MTGO grinder "Harry13" to explain what's been happening. If you're getting back into Pioneer after a break, are a casual player looking to up your game, or just wondering if the decks you built in the past are still viable, you don't want to miss this episode.
Martin tells us what's good, what's not good, why, and how we can prepare ourselves for this new metagame going into the Zendikar Rising season.
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer

Sunday Aug 30, 2020
#36 - Heavy Rotation
Sunday Aug 30, 2020
Sunday Aug 30, 2020
September 2020 marks the first ever standard rotation in Magic the Gathering where Pioneer is an official format. While the cards from Ravnica Allegiance, Guilds of Ravnica, War of the Spark, and the M20 core set have all been legal in Pioneer since they were printed, the standard format is going to lose more than 1000 cards. In the past, many a player loathed this month as a time when all of the cards they paid premiums for had their values reduced to pennies since almost none of them could ever cut it in eternal formats like Legacy or Modern. That's not the case anymore however, and today the First Pioneers would like to help current standard players to the Pioneer format since they can't play their cards in their format anymore, as well as to inform current Pioneer players what cards they should pick up as rotation nears and prices bottom out on previously expensive cards.
If we don't mention a card you think should on the list, be sure to comment on it here or on our discord channel in the link below!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer

Monday Aug 24, 2020
#35- Pioneer on a Budget
Monday Aug 24, 2020
Monday Aug 24, 2020
It's been far too long since the last time we looked at budget options for Pioneer, so in today's episode the First Pioneers would like to revisit that topic. We initially talked about 6 deck choices in episode 15 of this podcast which you can find here. Today we bring you 6 brand new deck choices, and just like before we have a $50 "super budget" version that helps you learn the basics of the deck and build your core cards, as well as a $100 version that is more powerful and adds in staples to make your deck competitive.
As always feel free to comment on today's decks, add your own, or view the decklists we talked about in this week's episode on our discord channel and be sure to subscribe so you know when the next show is released!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer

Sunday Aug 16, 2020
#34 - Historically Speaking: Remastering Amonkhet on MTG Arena
Sunday Aug 16, 2020
Sunday Aug 16, 2020
Ryan and guest Thomas Fletcher hijack the show from Kevin today to talk all about the new Amonkhet Remastered set on MTG Arena and how it fits into the Historic format. As we rush towards a full Pioneer format on Arena this winter at break neck speed, we want to make sure that people don't overlook any of the great cards from the plane of Amonkhet. In this episode we explore what cards you should be considering for your decks in Historic, as well as which of those you should be looking to acquire before Pioneer launches.
As each of us were previously Frontier players we can all remember the time when the cards from Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation impacted that format. Hopefully our suggestions and insights help you so you aren't caught off guard and can hit the ground running! Make sure you don't get buried in the sand!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer

Monday Aug 10, 2020
#33 - A Banner Year for Bans
Monday Aug 10, 2020
Monday Aug 10, 2020
If you're an overpowered Magic card in Pioneer, your days are numbered. The entire Pioneer Magic community was shocked by the sudden banning of Walking Ballista, Inverter of Truth, Kethis the Hidden Hand, and Underworld Breach. While players had been calling for some kind of shake up in the format, nobody expected Wizards to make such a decisive move that would not only 'nerf' one deck, but a handful of them all at once.
In today's episode we dive deep into the reasons behind the bannings, how the bannings will affect each archetype in Pioneer, and also which decks have the most to gain from this shakeup. If you're a player trying to make sense of things after your favorite card was banned, or if you are a returning player that is looking to pick up a new deck in this fresh meta, the First Pioneers and special guest MTGO grinder Harry13 cover a variety of options for both of you. While I'm sure some people will claim that their deck is dead, perhaps with a change or two your deck will be back on its feet with a new way to win! Be sure to listen to all of our suggestions and insights, and leave some of your own if you want!
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer

Monday Aug 03, 2020
#32 - M21 Metagame Snapshot
Monday Aug 03, 2020
Monday Aug 03, 2020
Before the banned and restricted announcement shook up the Pioneer format during the M21 season, the First Pioneers took a look at how the format was shaping up with the unbanning of Oath of Nissa. New power ranking predictions, what decks have been doing well, and some sweet deck ideas from Japan are discussed in this week's show.
We also complained about how the format had too much combo in it and that it would do Pioneer good to have a little more variety. Little did we know how right we were! We also compared Pioneer to other eternal formats like Modern and Legacy and tried to explain why some decks such as burn or Jund don't exist in Pioneer but can in other formats.
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgPioneer