Pioneer is currently one of Magic: The Gathering's biggest formats.

However, it is not currently a playable format on MTG Arena, Magic's premier digital client. It's on the roadmap and we're close, as we've currently got Explorer as a stopgap format, which is "everything legal in Pioneer that is currently on MTG Arena."

The issue is that it's taking a bit too long considering how close we are.

We've gotten various Explorer Anthologies (one of which is set to release in two weeks on July 18th), as well as "Remastered" sets that combine a few sets into one for a Historic/Explorer release, but one might ask:

"We've got 90%+ of all the cards in the top 15 decks in the format, why can't we just have an Anthology with the remaining 30-40 cards we would need to get all of the way there?"

This is a super common question from excited Pioneer players who are dying to play their favorite format on Magic's premier digital platform. There are RCQs and other big tournament to prepare for, while lots of other players just want to be able to play the same deck on MTG Arena that they play in paper.

However, this question is ultimately very short sighted.

Printing the proper 30-40 cards so the current top 15 decks in Pioneer are all playable in Explorer is not finally bringing Pioneer to MTG Arena; it's bringing the top 15 decks from Pioneer onto MTG Arena, and there's a key difference there.

What makes a format a format is all of the cards in it. The beautiful part about Magic: The Gathering as a game is that our last Pro Tour finals in Pioneer was a deck containing Secrets of the Key against a deck containing Hammerhand! There will always be format staples like Lightning Bolt, Thoughtseize, and what have you, but what makes deck-building special is finding the hidden gems that do just the right thing for your deck.

All of the above are a small sampling of oddball cards that have experienced some amount of serious play in Pioneer, but are also not currently legal on MTG Arena. These are cards that could conceivably be left out of some sort of Remastered release because they're not generically powerful or obvious, which would leave the format in a perpetual state of incompleteness.

There are 2,956 cards currently legal in Pioneer that are not yet on MTG Arena, and while a large portion of them would never see Constructed play in virtually any format, having access to the majority of them should be a major goal of MTG Arena.

Sure, it is extremely unlikely that anyone would ever put Abzan Guide or Air Servant into a Constructed Pioneer deck, but for every Abzan Guide or Air Servant there's going to be a random Accorder's Shield that someone will want for their weird combo deck. It's a very difficult line to walk as there are currently 14 sets in Pioneer not currently on MTG Arena:

• Return to Ravnica
• Gatecrash
• Dragon's Maze
• Magic 2014
• Theros
• Born of the Gods
• Journey into Nyx
• Magic 2015
• Khans of Tarkir
• Fate Reforged
• Dragons of Tarkir
• Magic Origins
• Battle for Zendikar
• Oath of the Gatewatch

This is not including the three Remastered releases, which combine two sets into one but do not include every card in both sets:

• Amonkhet Remastered (contains cards from Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation and released in 2020)
• Kaladesh Remastered (contains cards from Kaladesh and Aether Revolt and released in 2020)
• Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered (contains cards from Shadows Over Innistrad and Eldritch Moon and released in 2023)

Given the release rate of these remastered sets, we're not looking at a full Pioneer format on MTG Arena for many years.

This isn't acceptable.

So, what's the solution? MTG Arena seems to want to try and keep pushing releases with these Remastered Sets, but the question becomes is this more profitable than the allure of just having a true-to-paper Pioneer format on MTG Arena and the growth that will bring? I don't have all the answers here.

However, my solution would be to produce a huge Jumpstart release, similar to Jumpstart: Historic Horizons which basically gave Historic a huge kick of fun and playable synergy cards. There were an astounding 389 cards in that release, it was a fun Jumpstart format, and you can wildcard any of the cards in it for your Historic or Explorer decks.

This could be the avenue to get the majority of playable cards into Pioneer in one big dump, solving the problem of making sure that you get the vast majority of the cards that may be played and not just the highlight reel. Regardless, we shall see.

Wizards of the Coast is actively fighting against themselves here, because every highlight reel Anthology they produce makes each future Remastered Set less and less appealing, which means this can't be their only plan for getting all of Pioneer onto the platform.

When Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered was released, it was a bit of a letdown because we already had access to all the above cards on the platform, and this problem will only get worse with each new Anthology or Jumpstart release. Better to just do the whole thing in one shot and get Pioneer onto the platform as soon as possible than try to slow bleed it out.

Explorer Anthology 3 Wishlist

Regardless, we've got new Explorer and Historic Anthologies coming in two weeks, and while I'll be going over Historic next week, today I want to give my "Top 5 most wanted cards" for this upcoming release.

5. Roast

Not every card in each Anthology is going to be a high value banger, so let's get a good simple uncommon answer to Sheoldred, the Apocalypse into one of those uncommon middle-of-the-road slots.

Roast isn't exactly tearing up the format, but is the exact kind of card that would get overlooked if the focus was entirely on the big-time format staples. These sorts of specific answers are an important part of the format and each deck-builder's toolbox.

4. Thespian Stage

Lotus Field Combo is currently one of the biggest deviations between Explorer and Pioneer, as it's a deck that requires a lot of odd and obscure cards from older sets not currently on MTG Arena like Hidden Strings, Dark Petition, Behold the Beyond, and more. While that's a tough ask for a third of an Anthology to be a bunch of cards that are only effective in Lotus Field Combo decks, Thespian's Stage is a fun card that is actually seeing play alongside Lotus Field outside of combo decks in Lotus Field Control decks.

This is a way to work toward the goal of eventually having Lotus Field Combo on MTG Arena, but also allowing one of the most exciting new decks in Pioneer in Lotus Field Control to exist on MTG Arena as well.

3. Reckless Bushwhacker

Speaking of exciting new decks, the release of March of the Machine gave Pioneer a much-needed shot in the arm. Boros Convoke decks combining the classic Venerated Loxodon with the new Knight-Errant of Eos have been the talk of the format for the past few months in a very refreshing way. The deck has done well but not too well, which is everything a format could really ask for.

The deck is currently playable in Explorer without Reckless Bushwhacker, but it's definitely an important piece that also has fun applications in other decks as well.

2. Chained to the Rocks

One of the most important parts of a format is the removal spells available. This not only dictates how certain colors and decks can interact with their opponents, but also sets a barometer for creatures in the format.

One of the best removal spells in Pioneer not currently legal in Explorer is Chained to the Rocks. Chained to the Rocks is a heavily played removal spell in the five color Fires of Invention decks playing a bunch of Triomes, as well as commonly splashed in Mono-Red decks to give them an answer to large, difficult creatures like Old-Growth Troll and Sheoldred.

1. The Delve Spells

While the absence of Lotus Field Combo may be the biggest single deck difference between Pioneer and Explorer, the biggest card difference between the formats is the lack of the delve spells, specifically Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time.

Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time are one of the most unique elements of the Pioneer format, as they are banned in pretty much every other format they would be legal in. They're both very powerful cards that can see play in a variety of places and are honestly just waiting to be broken again, and are one of the key features of Pioneer as a whole.

Explorer has been missing these for far too long!

Historic Anthology 7 And More

If you know me, you know I'm basically the mayor of the Historic format at this point. It's one of my favorite formats and I've written about why before, and I am always very excited about a new Anthology release because not only are we getting a new Historic Anthology to go along with this Explorer Anthology, but the Explorer Anthology also might as well be a second Historic Anthology because they're both legal in Historic!

However, it's not all sunshine and roses.

Wizards of the Coast has been very lax in their support of Historic as a format, so next week I'm going to go over my thoughts on the format and how it should be curated better, as well as giving my wishlist for the top five cards I most want to see in Historic Anthology 7.

See y'all next week!