not pictured is Academic Dispute, which I would put in the "unhealthy but not banworthy" tier.

monument to endurance may seem like a weird pick but its an insane value engine always on the cusp of being totally broken

So i just hit Mythic with my Sultai Kasmina Combo deck and i thought its the right time to write up my findings with the new Combo from Fractured Reality.

The Combo is played with the new Card [[Jace's Machinations]] and [[Kasmina, Enigma Sage]]. You can immediatly ultimate the Jace Token due to Kasmina's static abilty and cast [[Enter the Infinite]] from your Library. You then use the 2 Mana of your [[Mox Amber]] to cast [[Thassa's Oracle]] and win the game.

I've been brewing around for the last 2 weeks and think I've found a solid list, that can win against most meta decks.

I started with a Sultai shell with a lot of Cantrips and Spellpierce as the only counter, also 4x Llanowar Elves to make a turn 3 goldfish win possible. I quickly learned that opponents removing the Elves or drawing second Elves was really punishing. So i shifted away from the early ramp and went towards a more controling, interacting shell.

There was also a time i tried brewing 4 color, because of [[Loyal Tutor]] and [[No more Lies]], but the manabase was way to hard to build and really life draining. (https://deckstats.net/decks/4506319-4C-Kasmina)

I also tried a version which played the lessons package, including [[Gran, Gran]], [[It'll Quench Ya!]], [[Accumulate Wisdom]] and [[Boomerang Basics]]. It played well, but removing Gran, Gran and late drawn Quenches really felt bad aswell. I also tried [[Geist of Saint Thalia]] in this version, since it enables Mox Amber and reduces the cost of noncreatures just like Gran, Gran, leading to some explosive turns. (https://deckstats.net/decks/4507757-Sultai-Kasmina-Lessons)

My final version now plays no creatures and tries to control the boardstate in the early turns against aggro and tries to also win in the long game versus control. (https://deckstats.net/decks/4508809-Sultai-Kasmina-Combo)

The cantrip package with [[Opt]], [[Impulse]] and also [[Narset, Parter of Veils]] makes sure we get our combo pieces in time.

We play 4x [[Fatal Push]], 2x [[Abrupt Decay]] and one maindeck [[Sheoldred's Edict]] to remove early threats.

We can counter noncreatures with [[Spell Pierce]] or everything played on curve with [[Censor]], which we can later cycle to draw another useful spell.

[[Drown in the Loch]] was my latest addition to the deck, which can in most cases be seen as a flex card between removal and counterspell and even if we don't mill our opponent ourself, it played really well against most decks and we also run [[Thoughtseize]] in our maindeck to fill the graveyard of our opponents a little bit.

Rest of the Deck is the 11 combo cards, which i never cut in sideboarding. 2x Enter the Infinite, because if we would play only one and draw it by accident, we would have to concede and we also don't play any ways to put it back in the library. One Oracle seemed fine to me, most opponents did not discard it with their hand disruption, but you surely have to be careful with it in hand.

Sideboard contains hate for everything in the meta right now: [[Unlicensed Hearse]] for graveyard decks, [[Mystical Dispute]] and [[Duress]] against control. More [[Abrupt Decay]] and [[Tear Asunder]] and [[Path of Peril]] vs creature heavy decks or to remove annoying artifacts/enchantments. [[Stock Up]] can also be good vs control, but i mostly bring it in versus discard heavy decks.

Some final learnings i had with the list, to be mindful of if you want to try it out yourself.

1. Be careful holding hands with dead cards, such as Enter the Infinite, Mox Amber, Oracle, since you theoretically start with less cards in your hand anyway, you can just mulligan.
2. If you got multiple copies of Jace's Machinations in hand, don't be afraid to use them. You either strip their removal/counters or draw 2 cards of it at least (if cast in their endstep e.g.)
3. Adjust your playstyle according to the enemy deck. If you play vs control, go for a draw-go playstyle and never just jam Kasmina into open mana. Versus Aggro/Midrange you can sometimes just play Kasmina and +2 her, and she will survive their creatures for one turn so you can Jace's Machinations on your turn.
4. If you got Kasmina on the Board and Jace's Machinations in hand and suspect the opponent to have an answer, you can sometimes just pass the turn and Jace's Machinations in response to their removal. Since you can activate the Token at instant speed you can resolve your Enter the Infinite before Kasmina gets removed and win on your next turn.

Let me know what you think of the list, i always appreciate the feedback.

Also if you want to root for me, I currently play in Acc95's pioneer league with this list. Sadly i lost to a previous champion Cone on Yorion Dimir Midrange 0-2, but i plan to win some games this league :)

See you around dear pioneer enjoyers!

(edited my decklist after some comments: +1 Bala Ged Recovery, +1 Auroral Procession, +1 Impulse/-1 Mox Amber, -1 Censor, -1 Overgrown Tomb)

Looking to get into the format and honestly not sure what to craft. I was thinking of something like Mono W Humans or Mono G Devotion, but I am not sure.

The Theorist, Jace Beleren as a four mana, three loyalty Jace harkens back to the famous Mind Sculptor of old, so today we're taking him out for a spin in a Dimir Control list. While Dimir is often the poorer cousin of Azorius Control, this list has put up a strong result in a recent Magic Online challenge. We've also got another new card with Theorix Charm, which provides a lot of choice, all of which seem good in this deck.

00:00 - Intro & Deck Tech
05:15 - Match One (Legendary Greasefang)
25:46 - Match Two (Selesnya Greenshell)

Decklist: https://moxfield.com/decks/nS6ah6rYuUexgHsa9tL_rw

Howdy All! Back again playing one of the recent decks making waves in the Meta. Really surprised I have yet to try this properly in a video and Sac decks are 100% me! Ive taken Sac decks to many RCQs in the past! This is Jund Artifact Sacrifice utilising Biotech Specialist and Sackville Bagginses! Ive tried Biotech in many shells and been a big proponent of the card for years! However with Sackville we can double the effectiveness of the archetype. Deck almost feels like a delayed combo deck. Building up artifacts then sacking for lethal in one sweeping turn! Deck is soo fun to play and explosive! Check it out!

Decklist

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/8000204#paper

How do we feel about the comparison? Which one do you think is better and why?

Edit: I meant Mono R

Hello, I started playing Hammer decks a while ago, in Modern first and in Pioneer with [[Cori-Steel Cutter]] before the ban.

When Cori was banned, the deck was really not as efficient as it was and I stopped playing it.

The arrival of [[Kili the Resourceful]] made me want to try again and the deck works, it's not as powerful as it used to be but the fun is still there and a decent mount of wins too.

Here is the list I currently play: https://moxfield.com/decks/N0gY1UlGM0yN3CCf4smH6Q

Let me get you through the list with some thoughts about the choices I made:

- 20 creatures: I thought ar first that it was too much but the equipment alone don't do much so I had to make sure there is always a creature on the board or in my hand. If the opponent gets an empty board and no creature in your hands, there is almost never a successful comeback.

- The selection of creatures: as I only have 11 equipemnt pieces ni total, it seemed important to be able to tutor them consistently, which is why I run 8 tutors in total, 4 [[Cloud, Midgar Mercenary]] and 4 [[Kellan, the Fae-Blooded]].

[[Raubahn, Bull of Ala Mhigo]] and [[Fervent Champion]] are very efficent to recycle the equipment pieces already on the battlefield.

[[Kili the Resourceful]] is the reason why I gave the deck another try. It's a creature, it makes you draw, it's like a [[Sigarda's Aid]] all in one.

-14 equipments: Except for [[Leyline Axe]] that you always want in your opening hand, I don't run any playset of equipments, prefering the diversity and the utility of the equipments as I can easily tutor them.

[[Colossus Hammer]] is the finisher by essence, it's what converts the creature into big threats.

[[Shadowspear]] is very useful, but lifelink is brought by [[Sheltered by the Ghosts]] and Trample by [[Leyline Axe]], so a singleton seemed sufficient to me.

[[Dragonfire Blade]] and [[Swiftfoot Boots]] are here for protection. I used to run 2 [[Drafonfire Blade]] at he beginning but ther golgari decks hace too many multicolored removals, so one od each seems more exhaustive depending on the situation.

[[Chainsaw]] might be the most debatable choice, it's a personal favorite, I like the possibility to tutor a damage removal when needed.

Rest of the deck:

[[Mox amber]] looked like an obvious choici running 16 legendaries out of 20 creatures. I only run 3 of them because of the lack of free spots, maybe a mistake.

2 [[Sheltered by the Ghosts]] is always nice, tutorable with Kellan and granting, the rest of the playset is in the sodeboard.

4 [[Sigarda's Aid]] is the backbone of the deck, playset seemed obvious.

Please let me know if you agree or disagree with the choices made.

Feel free to give suggestions or other perspectives, I'd love to be able to improve the list to take it as close as possible to what it used to be, or to make it even better.

Thanks.

Cheers.

Hi everyone, during the last few months I've been busy building my own Pioneer Battle Pack that we'll be playing with at my LGS from now on. The first tournament wasn't really a success (only 8 eight players registered and two of them finally couldn't attend the event) but we'll still continue at least once each month. I currently have 22 decks available, which are the following :

Mono White Humans - Mono Blue Mill - Mono Black Midrange - Mono Red Prowess - Mono Green Devotion - Azorius Control & Spirits - Boros Convoke - Dimir Control - Golgari Roots - Gruul Dragons - Izzet Phoenix & Creativity - Orzhov Pixie - Rakdos Weapons - Simic Merfolk - Selesnya Angels - Abzan Greasefang - Bant Lotus Field - Jund Sacrifice - 4C Enigmatic Incarnation - 5C Niv to Light

Recently I told myself that it would be great to finish it by adding the missing three-color combinations i.e. Esper, Mardu, Temur, Naya and Grixis (because I already have clear ideas for Sultai and Jeskai). I wonder if you have suggestions of any kind, I'm really open, even to brews ! The only really important thing to note is that I want these new decks to be as much different to the existing ones as possible.

Esper could use Ketramose for example, I've seen some good looking Grixis Moonshadow builds, I might enjoy Naya Adventures or older midrange piles (like the Cardmarket one from... 2022) and so on - but I can't truly decide yet. Another interesting thing to do would be to update lists that I could play elsewhere, like Mardu Discard, which is mostly legal in Standard too.

Let's admit the manabases won't be a problem (proxies are authorised in this case) but I don't want to spend too much for other expensive cards that I don't own e.g. Badgermole Cub. Therefore the decks don't have to be fully "budget" but with some cost limits though.

So thanks in advance, I'm really interested in seeing what you have to show me !

I was answering another post here about cards in the format that are being slept on and I came up with [[The Serpent Society]] because I feel like Fynn, the Fangbearer has been close to playable for ages. I had quick attempt at brewing with all the new cards that came out without me noticing.

https://scryfall.com/@Lee/decks/333d668e-3abb-492a-894a-727eb052e567

I feel like there are a bunch of neat little synergies through the whole deck. Rotpriest + Rabid Attack is my favorite of the bunch. Closely followed by Isareth the Awakener leading an attack into X=2 to bring Fynn back from the graveyard. Fynn, + Billious Skulldweller is three poison counters thanks to toxic, decent turn 2 attack if you can get it.

Anything main deck that I've missed and should consider?

Sideboard I'm already looking at mass reanimate/protection spell to come in game two, since every sweeper in the format is going to get brought in against me, golgari charm up to four copies, Immortal servitude, Call of the Death-Dweller and some kind of graveyard hate pieces, but what else?

Hello again! Ive been continuing to test different cards for RB Darklight Phoenix and today's card is Kroxa (and also plumb the forbidden). My thought process with Kroxa is that it is a creature that is able to able to create a death tigger the turn it comes into play, while also playing very well with all of our other sacrifice outlets. It also gives us a use for all of the extra cards stitchers supplier is dumping into the graveyard.
The darklight phoenix deck building challenge continues, let me know what you think!

I’ll go first: [[Zhao, the Moon Slayer]]

One of the most effective hatebears in the format in theory. 2/2 with menace for 2 that makes nonbasics enter tapped is a highly efficient threat that can take over a game if left unchecked (assuming you can curve out as normal).

The reason why its being slept on is because there’s better things to be playing in mono red tbh. Namely Emberheart challenger. Plus, in the matchups where it matters most, those decks typically play a lot of spot removal.

I think it’s telling that zhao’s effect on a 2mv enchantment would be insanely pushed. It’s his creature type that keeps him in check. Still, I’ve won plenty of games just by keeping the opponent 1 turn behind, esp on the draw. Zhao otp is brutal.

Updated versions with some of the ideas yall provided. Worked out well!

https://moxfield.com/decks/-9tJvP9JYEe0dv1kSeepLg

Hey everyone! I run the Arena Pioneer League (APL) in the Pioneer Discord. After 7 weeks of Swiss rounds, Season 9's Top 8 is finally set! Meanwhile, registration for Season 10 closes tonight at 10:00 pm CT (UTC-5), so there's still time to join our next event.

Season 9 Information

• 82 players, our largest event yet!

• Pioneer Best-of-3 on MTG Arena

• 7 Swiss rounds (1 per week)

• Top 8 single-elimination playoffs

Season 9 Top 8

Here are the eight players who made it through seven rounds of Swiss, along with their decklists:

1. .barru on 5C Elementals 6-1

2. bantknight on Golgari Midrange 6-1

3. swarm101 on 5C Enigmatic 6-1

4. acc95 on Golgari Midrange 6-1

5. maxisandallies on Mono Green Rhythm 6-1

6. shadymcshade on Golgari Acererak 6-1

7. danya4ever on Golgari Midrange 5-2

8. brodie930 on Simic Merfolk 5-2

Here's the Season 9 Melee link for more info.

Who are you rooting for to win Season 9?

Season 10 Registration

Registration for Season 10 closes tonight!

• Free entry (need to join the Pioneer Discord)

• Best-of-3 Pioneer on MTG Arena

• Swiss rounds will take until December 1 at most

• Top 8 will take until December 22 at most

• Get enrolled in the Season 10 Melee link

If you've been thinking about joining, there's still time to sign up!

Wrapping Up

• Season 9's playoffs are now underway! I'll be back with the results as we get closer to crowning our next champion.

• Whether you're joining Season 10 or just want to discuss Pioneer and share your brews, come hang out in the Pioneer Discord.

• Have questions? Leave a comment or send me a message!

Pioneer’s paragraphs weren’t useless despite having no changes. They mentioned Golgari and Izzet of course, but also highlighted Jund Sac. They did note the uptick in Izzet, and they will have more scrutiny coming in to the next banlist update, which I think is late November or early December, just before the arena direct. Whether they do something before then or not is anyone guess, but they seem to have izzet as the main target, which I don’t disagree with.

Pioneer metagame update.

EDIT: Fixed a bug with UR Lessons and Izzet Midrandge (vivi) names missmatching and merging the two decks. Thanks to u/Educational-View4306

Currently Izzet Midrange at +33% conversion

source: magic4ever.com/pioneer

Mono White Lifegain has never really taken off in Pioneer. The closest thing is the Angels deck but that's more about beating down with flyers. Reality Fracture has quite a few new cards like Liliana and two-mana Ajani that seem to compliement the strategy though. Most interesting is Enlightened Confidant, the White counterpart to Bob. While it has the disadvantage of not always drawing a card, it doesn't cause any life loss and triggers the turn it comes into play, which can be a big deal. Let's see if these new cards are enough to turn the deck into a viable strategy.

00:00 - Intro & Deck Tech
05:01 - Match One (Dimir Self Bounce)
30:36 - Match Two (Jund Sacrifice)

Decklist: https://moxfield.com/decks/rveBHn5mHEOY15yrB4gcEQ

Heya! Back again taking another look at my Treasure deck. Previously we focussed on Smaug but now I want to give Draconic Visitor a go! Because it’s 5 mana I’m only trying two copies but feel free to try more over some smaugs? Here we are playing a treasure sacrifice plan but in late game we can either snipe our opponent with a Smaug for alot of damage. Or with the new Draconic Visitor start churning out 5/5 dragons to overwhelm. Deck is super fun! Enjoy
Decklist:

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/7989978#paper

I'd like to be able to play with blistercoil weird in silly brews in pioneer on arena. It is legal but not on the client. Is there a way to request that it be added?

Ive been playing various builds of Vivi storm decks for months and they have all felt close. Geist of Saint Thalia is a huge upgrade for the archetype. It lets us have an always active Gran-Gran which allows for combo kills as early as turn 3. Let me know what you think!
Decklist:
https://www.streamdecker.com/deck/rbtZUxM4ML

So basically Im returning to the game after like 3 year or so (brothers war or something)

I remember really liking Cavalcade mono red aggro but it fell off, I was wondering if any new cards released since then can help improve the deck. Any ideas?

(Deck shown is what I was running years ago)

This is probably the single most fun deck Ive played since the new set came out. Stingcaster Mage is my Goat. Plays well with Claim // Fame and Tyvar and is just a better Bloodbraid Elf to be honest. I hope yall enjoy and I do want to say Im really close to 1k subs (lets me monetize videos) and appretiate any and all help.

Thanks!

https://moxfield.com/decks/k5KBeilmTkKIb9zHTV_uxA

Today it's time for the deck everyone loves to hate: it's Izzet Prowess. We know that this has been strong in the format for a while, but it's got a new card from Reality Fracture in the form of Pompous Battlemage, a new one red mana Prowess creature. Although this one is only a 1/1, it has the advantage of having Prepared and a spell that comes along with it, meaning it can trigger its own Prowess ability and gives you an additional noncreature spell outside of the ones already in your hand.

00:00 - Intro & Deck Tech

04:35 - Match One (Mono Green Devotion)

15:58 - Match Two (Lumra Scapeshift)

29:32 - Match Three (Golgari Roots)

Decklist: https://moxfield.com/decks/5iU3DPtc5UqrV0dHzOQkMA

Hello! I know this is a long shot but I played against someone on Pioneer on Arena that was playing a super sick Bilbo list. It has Bilbo, this spider woman with menace? Quantum riddler, the new red samut, k command, sheoldred’s edict and flow state and some other cards.

If you see this can you share your list?! It was super cool to see.

Thank you!