Back in 2022, Explorer was introduced as a format on MTG Arena. The goal was to mirror the Pioneer format that continued to grow in popularity in paper but would feature cards only found on Arena. Because the Pioneer format utilizes cards from sets like Magic Origins that were released before Arena was created, Explorer has been missing a lot of key cards for years.
Over time, though, a multitude of digital sets featuring Pioneer staples have been added to the client. Recently, Pioneer Masters was implemented as a big step in the right direction to get Explorer as close to competitive Pioneer as possible. It appears that Wizards is completely committed to making Pioneer an Arena format, and the format is coming sooner than you may think.
The Announcement
Today, along with the usual MTG Arena announcements that drop every Monday, a big announcement regarding Pioneer on the client was announced. According to Wizards of the Coast, the goal all along has been to replace Explorer with Pioneer, and they are “officially flipping the switch” on May 10.
Wizards noticed that in March, out of the 411 unique competitive Magic Online Pioneer decklists, only seven of them featured any cards that weren’t on MTG Arena. On top of that, the 50 Explorer decklists of Arena Championship 8 were extremely similar to common Pioneer decklists. The majority of Arena Championship competitors felt that there weren’t any problematic missing cards on Arena.
As such, Wizards is officially changing the name of Explorer to Pioneer on Arena. With the change, the Explorer banlist will directly mimic Pioneer’s meaning Tibalt’s Trickery will be unbanned at that time. There will also be an opportunity to play in a special competitive Pioneer event from May 10-May 13 on the platform, which features Pioneer-legal packs as part of the prize support.
New Additions to Arena
Notably, even with this change, Pioneer on Arena will not feature the same card pool as in paper. While nearly every card that is important to Pioneer from a competitive standpoint is on Arena, there are still over 2,000 individual cards missing.
Wizards made it clear in the announcement that as missing cards become more prevalent, they will be brought to Arena in a reasonable time frame. As a start, 11 Pioneer-legal cards (based on results from Magic Online events and suggestions from Arena Championship players) will be arriving to Arena in the near future. Here is the list:
- Battle at the Bridge
- Borborygmos Enraged
- Encroaching Wastes
- Kazuul’s Toll Collector
- Magmatic Insight
- Nissa’s Defeat
- Rakdos Charm
- Roast
- Sanctum of Ugin
- Triton Shorestalker
- Warping Wail
Some of these cards, like Rakdos Charm and Nissa’s Defeat, are sideboard cards that rarely make an appearance in Pioneer at the moment but easily could in the future if major metagame shifts come about. Others, like Encroaching Wastes and Borborygmos Enraged, aren’t likely to make any meaningful impact on the format. Nonetheless, the more cards that get added to Arena, the better.
The most meaningful of these inclusions are probably Triton Shorestalker, Sanctum of Ugin, and Kazuul’s Toll Collector. Despite only showing up in specific fringe archetypes, these cards are all important for the decks that play them.
Triton Shorestalker often makes an appearance in the Merfolk-heavy versions of the Dimir Ninjutsu shell. Triton Shorestalker pairs nicely with Kaito-Bane of Nightmares since it can reliably connect in combat, and also synergizes with Vodalian Hexcatcher as a cheap Merfolk.
Sanctum of Ugin is an essential element to Metalwork Colossus decks as a way to tutor up additional copies of the huge haymaker. Kazuul’s Toll Collector is a staple of the Colossus Hammer archetype which even won a Magic Online Pioneer Challenge back in February. So, these adjustments may not shake up the format a ton, but they’re quite useful for brewers.
A Long Way to Go
Unfortunately, many players that enjoy brewing are still disappointed by the range of cards that remain missing from Arena. Players were quick to bring up a handful of cards that they wish were on the client.
Some of them, like Silumgar’s Scorn, are pretty meaningful omissions that we’re surprised weren’t among the group of cards recently added. The arrival of Tarkir: Dragonstorm helped prop up Dimir Dragon control as a somewhat legitimate strategy in Pioneer. Silumgar’s Scorn is a huge piece of the puzzle, though. Without it, there’s little reason to go down this deckbuilding path.
Another player mentioned the lack of Gnarlroot Trapper, which often showed up in Pioneer Elves decklist. Pioneer Elves isn’t top tier by any stretch. Regardless, it could be a fun deck to climb the ladder with on Arena, especially given the focus on the creature type in MTG Foundations.
There are also plenty of cards not on Arena, such as Tears of Valakut (which gained popularity when Vein Ripper was dominating the format) that have strong applications in certain scenarios. Ideally, players would be able to look to these cards immediately rather than have to wait for Wizards to add them to Arena, especially for competitive events.
Overall, Pioneer may be arriving on Arena, but we’re still a way away from a perfect environment.
