While it continues to be neglected by Wizards in terms of major events, Pioneer is still very much a part of the Magic ecosystem. In fact, the format has seen a good bit of evolution recently. Thanks to Avatar’s new Lesson package, Izzet Prowess is one of the top dogs in the format, while Selesnya Company picked up a big boost from a certain mythic mana dork. MTG Pioneer is currently in the process of adapting to these changes, which is where Orzhov Midrange comes in.
Blending ideas from several successful Pioneer decks past, this new brew is laser-focused on combating the current metagame. It’s doing a pretty good job of it so far, too. With multiple first-place Challenge finishes under its belt, as well as a bunch of other impressive Challenge results, this is clearly an up-and-comer in the format. Whether it can keep up this hot streak remains to be seen, but it’s hard to deny the deck’s potential.
Orzhov Midrange In MTG Pioneer
Orzhov Midrange is, essentially, a mix of two established MTG Pioneer archetypes: Mono-Black Midrange and Mono-White Token Control. Some versions, like Arkany1’s fourth-place Challenge list from Friday, lean harder into the former. For the most part, however, players are running with more balanced lists, in the vein of SpockVidaLoka’s first-place build.
Multi-format classic Enduring Innocence is really the heart of this new MTG strategy. As a resilient source of card advantage, it allows Orzhov Midrange to keep pace with other grindy decks in the format, like Rakdos Midrange. It works just as well with Beza, the Bounding Spring and Elspeth, Storm Slayer here as it did in Mono-White Token Control. Adding black also gives you access to Preacher of the Schism, which is another great token generator for the card.
This engine keeps the cards flowing, which lets the deck leverage a lot of one-for-one removal profitably. Between Duress, Thoughtseize, and Fatal Push, you have plenty of this to go around. These spells help you throw your opponent off-balance, creating a window for you to land one of your haymakers, like Beza or Sheoldred the Apocalypse. In a lot of games, these high-value cards are what will ultimately close things out, once you’ve cleared the runway for them.
Bridging the gap between the deck’s card advantage and removal suites is The Wandering Emperor. This is a huge card in Pioneer Azorius Control lists, as a reactive removal piece that can get more value later. It’s even better in Orzhov Midrange, too, since the token mode can get you a bonus draw with Innocence, on an opponent’s turn, no less.
Beating The Best
While its Midrange core is impressive, what really makes Orzhov Midrange special is the way it works what would normally be tech cards into its main deck. By doing so, it specifically answers a lot of the biggest decks in Pioneer right now.
Pioneer Azorius Control staple High Noon, for example, is an ideal answer to new meta player Izzet Prowess. This is a deck that all but requires multi-spell turns to function, and High Noon shuts those down for cheap. It also doesn’t hurt you nearly as much, since your individual cards are much more impactful. The fact that you have a bunch of instant-speed plays to get around the restriction helps too.
High Noon is joined by a couple of other crucial tech pieces in Pest Control and Vanishing Verse. Pest Control is incredible against both Selesnya Company and Gruul Prowess, sweeping away mana dorks and early aggressive boards alike. You can even cycle it to make better use of your mana under High Noon. Vanishing Verse answers the vast majority of the creatures played in the format right now, while also dealing with stickier problems like Cori-Steel Cutter and Unholy Annex.
This package of tech cards allows Orzhov Midrange a ton of flexibility in its game plan. Depending on the matchup it finds itself in, it can function either as a Midrange or Control deck, and even flit between the two at will. Given how well the deck is doing at this early stage in its development, this could well be the winning formula for cracking current Pioneer wide open.
Here To Stay?
That said, nothing is set in stone just yet. While Orzhov Midrange has a ton of advantages in MTG Pioneer right now, it’s far from unstoppable.
While its matchups against faster decks are great, especially with an on-curve High Noon, Orzhov Midrange struggles elsewhere. As with most Midrange decks, Control and Combo are major problems for Orzhov. Azorius Control, which commits harder to going long and answering everything, shouldn’t have much trouble dealing with what Orzhov puts out.
Combo decks like Greasefang and Jeskai Ascendancy are also tricky, since Orzhov doesn’t really apply enough pressure to race them. High Noon can certainly shut down the latter, but they also have plenty of answers to it as well.
Overall, Orzhov Midrange’s current success is mostly down to how well-tailored it is to the new big decks. It should stick around as long as they do, but its future is uncertain beyond that. In any case, its breakout performance over the past week is definitely worthy of note. With enough care and iteration, this could easily carve out a permanent niche in the Pioneer format.
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