It's been quite some time since MTG Arena first launched, with the game fully launching in September 2019 after a year of open beta. Barely a month later in October 2019, Pioneer was announced as an official format that would soon be launching, spanning all the way back to Return to Ravnica. This posed a weird problem for MTG Arena, though: the client only counted Standard sets from Ixalan onwards. This meant that there were roughly six years of past releases that were legal in Pioneer but wouldn't be on Arena.

As such, Pioneer couldn't exist on the client. Instead, Wizards decided to slowly release old sets onto the client to help flesh things out. This began with Amonkhet Remastered in 2020 and Kaladesh Remastered that same year, giving players hope they'd be able to enjoy Pioneer soon enough. Instead, Wizards put their focus on the digital-only formats of Historic and Alchemy, leaving Pioneer in the rearview mirror for quite some time.

In 2022, they finally announced a temporary holdover for the Pioneer format in the form of Explorer. This would act as a format where you could play all Pioneer-legal cards on the client, and would eventually be replaced by Pioneer proper once enough cards were on Arena. Explorer Anthology releases followed, filling in the holes, and eventually leading to the releases of Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered and Khans of Tarkir on the platform.

Now, after five long years, we're finally closing the gap to having actual Pioneer. Pioneer Masters is on our doorstep, bringing with it the overwhelming majority of cards still needed that are relevant for the format on MTG Arena. The set won't include everything, but will provide enough cards that players will have access to roughly 99.95% of tournament relevant cards, per Wizards of the Coast. Others will come later down the line, likely in more Anthology releases.

Today, I want to take a look at some of the more relevant cards previewed over the course of the past week and see exactly what kinds of decks they're used in. In doing so, I hope to provide players excited to get into Pioneer a great way to see exactly how these new cards can be applied. If you're looking for a more in-depth look at top decks, check out this primer I wrote back in October ahead of the US Regional Championship.

Let's start this analysis right out of the gate with the big one.

The Lotus Field Pieces

By far, the most notable deck to functionally not exist on the MTG Arena client for Pioneer was the Lotus Field combo deck. Every so often, you'd see players try to make this work and come together properly using land untappers like Hope Tender to try making the combo happen. As you might expect, this ultimately didn't prove to really go anywhere, leading to the only Lotus Field deck in Explorer being the Azorius Lotus Field Control deck instead.

LotusField Combo | Pioneer | Raest, 6th Place MTGO Pioneer Last Chance

• Creatures (10)
• 1 Fae of Wishes
• 1 Lier, Disciple of the Drowned
• 4 Strict Proctor
• 4 Vizier of Tumbling Sands

• Instants (7)
• 3 Soul Partition
• 4 Archdruid's Charm

• Sorceries (19)
• 2 Dark Petition
• 2 Emergent Ultimatum
• 3 Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary
• 4 Hidden Strings
• 4 Pore Over the Pages
• 4 Sylvan Scrying

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Omniscience

• Lands (23)
• 1 Forest
• 1 Lush Portico
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 2 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 3 Mana Confluence
• 3 Thespian's Stage
• 4 Lotus Field
• 4 Razorverge Thicket
• 4 Spara's Headquarters

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Now with Pioneer Masters, however, we get the pieces to make the deck actually come together properly. The most important pickups for the deck are unquestionably Hidden Strings and Dark Petition. Hidden Strings is so important because it provides a cheap way to untap two lands, allowing you to untap two copies of Lotus Field, either originals or copies made with Thespian's Stage. Even if you can't cipher it onto a creature, just the one time effect is often enough, making it arguably the lynchpin of the deck as a whole. Dark Petition lets you find whatever you need to continue or even finish your combo, and usually gives you some mana to cast what you find.

Now this deck can actually function the way it's supposed to, providing players access to the much lauded combo deck of the format. In addition to the two aforementioned critical cards, we're also receiving a handful of other cards that have seen some play in the deck. The two most notable ones are Voyaging Satyr - sometimes used as an untapping option for your Lotus Fields - as well as Behold the Beyond. Behold the Beyond would allow players to stack their hand after casting an Emergent Ultimatum to win the game. Both options have fallen out of favor in recent lists, but are still welcome inclusions should players want to use them once again.

If you're looking to pick up your copies of Hidden Strings and go off, though, I recommend looking into this new Izzet-based list instead.

Izzet Lotus Field Combo | Pioneer | GinkoHS, 3rd Place MTGO Pioneer Challenge

• Creatures (5)
• 1 Lier, Disciple of the Drowned
• 4 Vizier of Tumbling Sands

• Instants (14)
• 1 Impulse
• 1 Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave
• 2 Valakut Awakening // Valakut Stoneforge
• 3 Dig Through Time
• 3 Into the Flood Maw
• 4 Consider

• Sorceries (14)
• 1 Bond of Insight
• 1 Wish
• 4 Hidden Strings
• 4 Pore Over the Pages
• 4 Sleight of Hand

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Artist's Talent

• Artifacts (3)
• 3 Expedition Map

• Lands (20)
• 1 Island
• 2 Otawara, Soaring City
• 2 Steam Vents
• 3 Thespian's Stage
• 4 Lotus Field
• 4 Riverglide Pathway // Lavaglide Pathway
• 4 Spirebluff Canal

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Anger of the Gods
• 1 Filter Out
• 1 Galvanic Iteration
• 1 Lier, Disciple of the Drowned
• 1 Mystical Dispute
• 1 Narset's Reversal
• 1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
• 1 Pyroclasm
• 1 Thassa's Oracle
• 3 Fiery Impulse
• 3 Leyline of Sanctity

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This list takes a far more streamlined approach to the combo deck. Previously, Lotus Field Combo lists relied on multiple colors because of the need to utilize Sylvan Scrying to find their deck's namesake. Now with Foundations, Expedition Map means the deck can ditch the Green to focus on a different list that takes advantage of the powerful enchantment Artist's Talent from Bloomburrow. I highly recommend giving it a whirl once Pioneer Masters releases.

The Niv to Light Pieces

Arguably just as important are the above two cards: Bring to Light and Sylvan Caryatid. Most people typically see Bring to Light as the major piece, as it's effectively the namesake of the Bring to Light deck. This is because it allows you to find Niv-Mizzet Reborn and draw an absurd amount of cards to ultimately take over the game. What people fail to remember is that Sylvan Caryatid is also a major piece, as you can see it appears as a four-of in this list from a recent Magic Online Pioneer Challenge.

Niv to Light | Pioneer | claudioh, 6th Place MTGO Pioneer Challenge

• Companion (1)
• 1 Yorion, Sky Nomad

• Creatures (13)
• 1 Elenda, Saint of Dusk
• 1 Hostage Taker
• 1 Knight of Autumn
• 1 Niv-Mizzet, Supreme
• 1 Valki, God of Lies // Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor
• 2 Niv-Mizzet Reborn
• 2 Omnath, Locus of Creation
• 4 Sylvan Caryatid

• Instants (9)
• 1 Abrupt Decay
• 1 Kolaghan's Command
• 3 Lightning Helix
• 4 Vanishing Verse

• Sorceries (9)
• 1 Deafening Clarion
• 1 Maelstrom Pulse
• 1 Sunfall
• 2 Pillage the Bog
• 4 Bring to Light

• Enchantments (12)
• 4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki
• 4 Leyline Binding
• 4 Up the Beanstalk

• Artifacts (2)
• 2 Ancient Cornucopia

• Lands (31)
• 1 Forest
• 1 Island
• 1 Mountain
• 1 Plains
• 1 Swamp
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Floodfarm Verge
• 1 Godless Shrine
• 1 Hallowed Fountain
• 1 Overgrown Tomb
• 1 Raffine's Tower
• 1 Raugrin Triome
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Savai Triome
• 1 Spara's Headquarters
• 1 Steam Vents
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 1 Ziatora's Proving Ground
• 2 Blazemire Verge
• 2 Hushwood Verge
• 2 Jetmir's Garden
• 2 Ketria Triome
• 2 Watery Grave
• 3 Indatha Triome

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Deafening Clarion
• 1 Yorion, Sky Nomad
• 2 Casualties of War
• 2 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
• 2 Rest in Peace
• 3 Thoughtseize
• 4 Fatal Push

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Sylvan Caryatid is the best way in a deck like this to ramp while also smoothing your mana. Most one mana options only tap for a single color a la Llanowar Elves while your other options to tap for any mana either require you to tap another creature or they cost two mana up front. In either case, they're vulnerable to removal, which makes them far less ideal than Sylvan Caryatid as a mana ramp option. This provides the deck with the glue it needs to truly function as a deck, finally providing players with a means to play the deck properly.

One Bogle, Please

A relatively minor deck that players have loved piloting for some time is Selesnya Auras - aka Bogles. No matter how good it is in any given meta, it's a sure bet that you'll see it show up because of how easily accessible it is and how simple of a deck it is to play. Recently, the deck got some fresh attention thanks to several cards in Duskmourn: House of Horror, chief among them being Optimistic Scavenger, Shardmage's Rescue, and the powerful Sheltered by Ghosts. Each of these gave a boost to the deck, and while it's currently ranked low in the meta lately, it's still something that you'll run into quite a bit on the Explorer ladder.

Now with Pioneer Masters the deck gets one more big card in the form of Gladecover Scout. Up until now, versions of the deck on Arena have largely relied on simply going all-in on a Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice or Toadstool Admirer. The deck was sorely missing an actual bogle, which it now has thanks to Gladecover Scout showing up. Here's the kind of list you can expect to see players rocking when it lands. Make sure you pack some enchantment hate!

Selesnya Auras | Pioneer | rasvd, 13th Place MTGO Pioneer Challenge

• Companion (1)
• 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring

• Creatures (16)
• 4 Gladecover Scout
• 4 Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice
• 4 Optimistic Scavenger
• 4 Toadstool Admirer

• Enchantments (24)
• 1 Alpha Authority
• 1 Cartouche of Solidarity
• 1 Gryff's Boon
• 1 Sentinel's Eyes
• 1 Warbriar Blessing
• 3 Shardmage's Rescue
• 4 All That Glitters
• 4 Audacity
• 4 Ethereal Armor
• 4 Sheltered by Ghosts

• Lands (18)
• 1 Forest
• 1 Plains
• 2 Branchloft Pathway // Boulderloft Pathway
• 2 Mana Confluence
• 4 Brushland
• 4 Razorverge Thicket
• 4 Temple Garden

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Get Lost
• 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring
• 2 Deafening Silence
• 3 Rest in Peace
• 4 Invasion of Gobakhan // Lightshield Array
• 4 Portable Hole

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Additions for Other Top Decks

The next bunch of cards I'd like to cover involves cards that tend to appear in Pioneer decks, but their absence hasn't totally hindered the play of those decks. Each of the decks these cards appear in usually found an alternative card or cards to put in to make up for them. In doing so, this creates only marginal differences in how the decks play, meaning that for those looking to experience them, they never had lost the ability to do so.

A big example of this is with Oath of Nissa. For a long time, the absence of this card was seen as a major hindrance to Mono-Green Devotion (aka Nykthos Ramp) because of how the card smoothed out finding the key pieces of the deck and fueled devotion. With the release of March of the Machine in 2023, though, we saw the printing of Invasion of Ixalan // Belligerent Regisaur. This battle provides players a slightly more expensive alternative. Because it searches deeper into the deck and doesn't legend rule extras away, it's actually become a mainstay of the deck, as you can see here:

Nykthos Ramp | Pioneer | Thief_Of_Crowns, 5th Place MTGO Pioneer Challenge

• Creatures (23)
• 1 Ulvenwald Oddity // Ulvenwald Behemoth
• 2 Voracious Hydra
• 4 Cavalier of Thorns
• 4 Elvish Mystic
• 4 Llanowar Elves
• 4 Old-Growth Troll
• 4 Outcaster Trailblazer

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Storm the Festival

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Leyline of the Guildpact

• Planeswalkers (4)
• 4 Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner

• Battles (4)
• 4 Invasion of Ixalan // Belligerent Regisaur

• Lands (21)
• 12 Forest
• 1 Hostile Hostel // Creeping Inn
• 2 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 2 Lair of the Hydra
• 4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
• 1 Emrakul, the Promised End
• 1 Unlicensed Hearse
• 2 Arasta of the Endless Web
• 2 Pick Your Poison
• 2 Scrapshooter
• 3 Setessan Petitioner
• 3 Tail Swipe

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This recently high performing list is an example of the deck dropping Oath of Nissa outright in favor of Invasion of Ixalan // Belligerent Regisaur. The deck fails to function without Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx so having a card that sees more cards is ultimately way more important for how the deck functions. Oath of Nissa still shows up as a one or two-of depending on the list, though, so it's extremely welcome here.

In addition to Oath of Nissa being a major player for Mono-Green, Temporal Trespass is a big card for Izzet Phoenix decks. Much like with Oath, Temporal Trespass is a card that once was a huge player for the deck that no longer sees quite as much play as it once did. The big reason to play it is that you cast a Galvanic Iteration before casting Temporal Trespass to get two extra turns instead of just one, providing you with a powerful window to land a finishing blow with your Arclight Phoenixes and Ledger Shredders.

Izzet Phoenix | Pioneer | VitorCarvalho01, 5th Place MTGO Pioneer Challenge

• Creatures (13)
• 1 Brazen Borrower
• 4 Arclight Phoenix
• 4 Ledger Shredder
• 4 Picklock Prankster

• Instants (18)
• 1 Into the Floodmaw
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 1 Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave
• 1 Torch the Tower
• 3 Fiery Impulse
• 3 Lightning Axe
• 4 Consider
• 4 Opt

• Sorceries (8)
• 4 Sleight of Hand
• 4 Treasure Cruise

• Enchantments (3)
• 1 Proft's Eidetic Memory
• 2 Artist's Talent

• Lands (18)
• 3 Island
• 1 Hall of Storm Giants
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 1 Stormcarved Coast
• 4 Riverglide Pathway // Lavaglide Pathway
• 4 Spirebluff Canal
• 4 Steam Vents

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Abrade
• 1 Beacon Bold
• 1 Brazen Borrower
• 1 Brotherhood's End
• 1 Chandra's Defeat
• 1 Negate
• 1 Prismari Command
• 1 Torch the Tower
• 1 Unlicensed Hearse
• 2 Annul
• 2 Crackling Drake
• 2 Mystical Dispute

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Things have changed quite a bit over the last few months, though, and now decks are relying on copies of Proft's Eidetic Memory and Artist's Talent to close out games. As noted previously with Lotus Field, Artist's Talent just chews through your deck. Not only does this allow you to find whatever you need for a specific situation, but rummaging enough times with a copy of Proft's Eidetic Memory on the battlefield can make one of your creatures massive and nigh impossible to deal with. As such, Temporal Trespass has largely fallen off, though it's still a good addition for the handful of Phoenix pilots who prefer this option.

Lastly are a small handful of other small additions for other lesser decks, or cards that have minor impacts for major decks. Case in point, the addition of Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. This land helps smooth out mana bases for all kinds of Black-based decks ranging from Rakdos Midrange to Mono-Black Waste Not. By and large, the addition of this card is very minor for these decks, as they generally had solid mana bases to begin with. Interestingly, it's most notable for the Waste Not deck, which uses a large number of colorless lands like Field of Ruin and Geier Reach Sanitarium.

Reckless Bushwhacker also represents another deck long pushed off to the sidelines: Gruul Aggro. This isn't a Prowess build necessarily, but relies on cards like Cunning Coyote and Atarka's Command to get the job done. Bushwhacker merely represents the top end of the deck that's been lacking in terms of Arena playability. It just so happens this also benefits formats like Historic and Timeless, which can now play 8-Whack builds thanks to the recent addition of Goblin Bushwhacker via Special Guests as well as Legion Loyalist also in Pioneer Masters.

On the lower end of things are cards like Chained to the Rocks for Boros Pia, Kytheon, Hero of Akros for Mono-White Humans, and Retraction Helix for Rona Combo. Wizards was even kind enough to include both Soulflayer and Chromanticore to allow players an opportunity to play a classic deck. By pitching Chromanticore, you can delve it away to cast a cheap Soulflayer with tons of keywords to decimate opponents. Other excellent inclusions are the likes of Hallowed Moonlight, Painful Truths, Skylasher, Dreadbore, and Wear // Tear - all of which play niche roles in certain specific decks.

So, What's Left?

While Pioneer Masters is designed to bring Pioneer to MTG Arena proper and replace Explorer in the process, it's not creating a perfect one-to-one. The Arena team noted that at the recent Pioneer Regional Championships, 1473 unique cards were registered across the multiple events. Of these 1473 cards, only 29 won't be on the Arena client with the release of Pioneer Masters. The question is: are any of these relevant?

Looking through some lists compiled online, such as this one by The Joe Chaney on Bluesky, most of the cards that don't seem to be coming aren't the biggest players. Some of the more notable ones seem to be the likes of Roast, Warping Wail, and Rakdos Charm in terms of general playability. Additionally, Gnarlroot Trapper and Goblin Piledriver have been known to show up in Elves and Goblins builds, respectively. Also, while not marked in the list, Tears of Valakut became a sideboard staple in the era of Vein Ripper. While the card has fallen off with the banning of Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord, it could come back sometime in the future.

In truth, the majority of these cards were likely left off as concessions to Limited playability. For example, the aforementioned Gnarlroot Trapper and Goblin Piledriver may be great for their respective typal decks, but outside of those spaces they're useless. With virtually no other elves or goblins to speak of, these cards might as well be blank. Additionally, cards like Warping Wail, Reality Smasher, and Wasteland Strangler played with very specific mechanics and aspects of the Battle For Zendikar block that weren't well received. Trying to include them in a draft environment here also doesn't work. Given this, each of these seems like a shoe-in for a future Anthology-style release.

The one real outlier of all these is Borborygmos Enraged. While most of the other cards never existed on Arena in any real form or fashion, Borborygmos did. If a player reached eight mana in the Momir format, one of the creatures included in the 8-drop slot was - you guessed it - Borborygmos Enraged. Since your whole deck is nothing but basic lands, this would provide a way to land an easy kill. Why then it wasn't included in Pioneer Masters is anyone's guess, but I have to imagine we'll see it eventually.

I've covered quite a lot here today, and this is but a small fraction of the cards coming to the client. Despite the handful of notables still missing, for all intents and purposes we're going to finally be able to turn Explorer into Pioneer proper. As a longtime champion of the Pioneer format, I couldn't be more excited. The format is at the best it's been in a very long time, and it's almost a disappointment that there aren't any RCQ formats coming up in the next year to support it - especially now that this release is finally coming out. If you've been holding off on checking out Pioneer for one reason or another, I highly recommend you give it a try now. I'm sure you'll find something for you to enjoy.

To check out the full card list for Pioneer Masters, be sure to check out the official Card Image Gallery right here.

Paige Smith

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