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Episodes
Keeping you up to date with what is new, interesting and powerful in the Magic the Gathering Pioneer format
Episodes
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/
Monday Mar 20, 2023
Monday Mar 20, 2023
This week we're shifting gears to focus more on the financial side of Pioneer as we discuss how people can play the format competitively while not spending an arm and a leg. The recent Pro Tour catapulted the Pioneer format to new heights but with that popularity some cards reached new heights in price as well. In the past we've focused on a few decks and tried to make budget versions of them in the $50 and $100 range, but we believe that has become unsustainable and unrealistic. Prices are going up, and people want to have fun playing Pioneer but also want to win. So this time around instead of building an inconsistent budget deck around a few pricey cards, we decided to do the opposite: replace the pricey cards of the deck with cards that can work with the strategy but are also a fraction of the deck's original cost.
If you want to know which expensive cards you can prune from the top decks in Pioneer and still be competitive, you'll definitely want to give this episode a listen. It could save you hundreds of dollars before you invest in a deck for your next event, and also enable you to build a very useful gauntlet of decks that emulate the Pioneer metagame.
Don't let your wallet dictate what decks you can or can't play and get creative with your builds of Pioneer metagame all-stars! If you have any other ideas for budget versions of decks be sure to join our discord and share 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 Mar 13, 2023
Monday Mar 13, 2023
With the fastlands in Phyrexia: All Will Be One, the Pioneer format finally finished all of it's enemy and friendly manabases (well all the relevant ones at least). We had complained on more than one occasion that the format wouldn't really be fair and fully functional until they all were printed. So now that we have them all, what has changed? Were our wishes granted? Did our manabase dreams come true? In this week's episode The First Pioneers talk about what the full manabase means for the format, from building them for all types of decks to how to splash when you need that extra color to cast a powerful spell.
If you're still working on collecting your lands for the format or want to learn how to fine tune the manabases in your current decks, be sure to check out this 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 Mar 06, 2023
Monday Mar 06, 2023
A combo deck won the last Pioneer Pro Tour. A few other combo decks have been showing up regularly in the format lately. Is Pioneer currently in a combo metagame? If so, do we need to be worried about it? This week The First Pioneers (+ Dreams of Ashiok) take a deeper look at the combo decks currently doing well in Pioneer, and also talk about the other ones that are very close to breaking into the top tiers of the metagame.
But maybe you're not a combo player? Maybe you're hoping to learn how to beat these combo decks. Don't worry, we got you covered from that angle too. We also go over the weakness of each combo deck, and which sideboard cards or strategies you can use to beat them. A must listen for all players before their next big Pioneer event!
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 Feb 27, 2023
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Due to the popularity of our last Pioneer 101 episode on Angels and Vehicles, as well as the renewed interest in the Enigmatic Fires deck after the Pro Tour, we thought we'd do another breakdown this week to get people up to speed on all the new tech that people are using. And who better to talk about the deck than one of its most vocal supporters and champion of Enchanties, Dreams of Ashiok. Aside from the new tech, Ashiok walks us through the core cards of the deck, the alternative cards you can play in it, Enigmatic Fire's match ups, and how to play it. Whether you're looking to use the deck in your next event or want to learn how to play against it, you don't want to miss this episode!
If you have any questions or want to talk more about it afterwards, be sure to join our Discord or tweet at us on Twitter!
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/