Over the past few days, there have been a multitude of major Pioneer events. Over the weekend, there were Regional Championships in Canada, Japan and South America. On Monday and Tuesday, there were multiple Magic Online Pioneer Last Chance events, where players that go undefeated through five rounds earn their chance to compete in a Showcase Qualifier. Unsurprisingly, for these events with lots on the line, top tier archetypes were heavily represented.
Geological Appraiser
Geological Appraiser
When this creature enters, if you cast it, discover 3. (Exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card with mana value 3 or less. Cast it without paying its mana cost or put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom in a random order.)
Discover combo was in full force, making top eight of both Regional Championships. Izzet Phoenix was heavily represented as well, especially at the Regional Championship in Canada. The Canadian Regional Championship saw five of the top eight players register
Arclight Phoenix
Arclight Phoenix
Flying, haste
At the beginning of combat on your turn, if you've cast three or more instant and sorcery spells this turn, return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
in their decks!
Interestingly, though, while the winner of the Regional Championship was utilizing Arclight Phoenix, they weren’t doing so in the traditional Izzet shell. Instead, they were playing a unique Grixis Phoenix build, primarily Dimir-focused. Then, multiple players went undefeated in the Pioneer Last Chance events with identical decklists! It’s unusual to see brews at high-level tournaments have this level of success right away, but this deck has a lot going for it.
The Value of Adding Black
With the decent level of success that Izzet Phoenix has been having in the format since the introduction of
Picklock Prankster
Picklock Prankster
Flying, vigilance
and
Sleight of Hand
Sleight of Hand
Look at the top two cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the other on the bottom of your library.
, it may seem a bit strange for the deck to go through further adaptations. However, honing on a Dimir-centric shell makes a lot of sense in the current metagame. The biggest addition this deck gains is definitely
Thoughtseize
Thoughtseize
Target player reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card. You lose 2 life.
. Thoughtseize is a cheap piece of interaction that helps a lot against opposing combo decks. In a field dominated by Discover combo, adding Thoughtseize makes a lot of sense.
Even if Discover combo sees a ban on December 4, which is quite likely, getting to nab
Venerated Loxodon
Venerated Loxodon
Convoke (Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of that creature's color.)
When this creature enters, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature that convoked it.
from Boros Convoke or
Sylvan Scrying
Sylvan Scrying
Search your library for a land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
from
Lotus Field
Lotus Field
Hexproof
This land enters tapped.
When this land enters, sacrifice two lands.
{T}: Add three mana of any one color.
combo can be game-changing. Izzet Phoenix does get to make use of cards like
Spell Pierce
Spell Pierce
Counter target noncreature spell unless its controller pays {2}.
but having to hold up counter magic can sometimes come at the price of bringing back Arclight Phoenixes from your graveyard to play. Thoughtseize, by contrast, can be used proactively as one of the three spells you cast on your own turn to help trigger Arclight Phoenix.
Of course, running Thoughtseize has been an option for a while. So has replacing
Fiery Impulse
Fiery Impulse
Fiery Impulse deals 2 damage to target creature.
Spell mastery — If there are two or more instant and/or sorcery cards in your graveyard, Fiery Impulse deals 3 damage instead.
with
Fatal Push
Fatal Push
Destroy target creature if it has mana value 2 or less.
Revolt — Destroy that creature if it has mana value 4 or less instead if a permanent left the battlefield under your control this turn.
. What helped push this decision to move to black over the edge was the release of
Bitter Triumph
Bitter Triumph
As an additional cost to cast this spell, discard a card or pay 3 life.
Destroy target creature or planeswalker.
in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. Bitter Triumph fills a very similar role to
Lightning Axe
Lightning Axe
As an additional cost to cast this spell, discard a card or pay {5}.
Lightning Axe deals 5 damage to target creature.
, as it adds both a removal spell for big Creatures and an extra discard outlet for Arclight Phoenix in one. Bitter Triumph is even more flexible, since you can choose to pay three life and not discard any cards when it’s convenient to do so. It also helps kill Planeswalkers that would otherwise be difficult to deal with.
Read More: MTG Players Worried About Lack of Competitive Support
Maintaining Izzet Phoenix’s Core Gameplan
All of the non-black cards in the deck are pretty standard inclusions for the Phoenix archetype. Cantrips, like
Opt
Opt
Scry 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom.)
Draw a card.
and
Consider
Consider
Surveil 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put it into your graveyard.)
Draw a card.
, help in a bunch of ways.
First, they are cheap spells to cast that replace themselves, helping you chain spells together to bring back Arclight Phoenixes. Second, they help dig for interaction. Finally, and most importantly, they fuel the best card in the deck:
Treasure Cruise
Treasure Cruise
Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for {1}.)
Draw three cards.
.
Treasure Cruise is an absurd MTG card that’s banned in Modern and Legacy for a reason. The key to making it strong in Pioneer is fueling Delve without being able to use Fetchlands. These cheap cantrips alongside Picklock Prankster and
Ledger Shredder
Ledger Shredder
Flying
Whenever a player casts their second spell each turn, this creature connives. (Draw a card, then discard a card. If you discarded a nonland card, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.)
all but guarantee your ability to cast Treasure Cruise for cheap and keep the card advantage flowing. Ledger Shredder is a solid threat on its own as well, threatening to grow over time and discard copies of Arclight Phoenix that could otherwise get stuck in your hand.
This deck may be labeled Grixis Phoenix, but it truly is a Dimir deck that happens to play four copies of Arclight Phoenix. The manabase is entirely Dimir colored outside of two copies of
Steam Vents
Steam Vents
({T}: Add {U} or {R}.)
As this land enters, you may pay 2 life. If you don't, it enters tapped.
. Steam Vents is utilized solely as a way to hard cast Arclight Phoenix when needed, which can be essential in the face of graveyard hate.
Read More: Broken Ixalan MTG Uncommon Gives Life to New Standard Deck!
Helping in the Mirror Match
As mentioned, the addition of Thoughtseize helps a ton against opposing combo decks, so in a vield dominated by Discover combo, playing black makes a ton of sense. Even with a likely
Geological Appraiser
Geological Appraiser
When this creature enters, if you cast it, discover 3. (Exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card with mana value 3 or less. Cast it without paying its mana cost or put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom in a random order.)
ban looming, the addition of black helps a ton in the “mirror”, which is unlikely to go anywhere. Adding black allows you to make use of one of the most powerful threats in Pioneer:
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
Deathtouch
Whenever you draw a card, you gain 2 life.
Whenever an opponent draws a card, they lose 2 life.
.
As a 4/5, killing it isn’t always easy for Izzet Phoenix to do. They essentially need
Lightning Axe
Lightning Axe
As an additional cost to cast this spell, discard a card or pay {5}.
Lightning Axe deals 5 damage to target creature.
or multiple removal spells. Not to mention you may be able to clear the way with Thoughtseize. Additionally, Sheoldred is a nightmare for Phoenix decks if they can’t kill it immediately, since a huge portion of the Phoenix deck is dedicated to drawing cards.
If that weren’t enough, you essentially get to free-roll
Cling to Dust
Cling to Dust
Exile target card from a graveyard. If it was a creature card, you gain 3 life. Otherwise, you draw a card.
Escape—{3}{B}, Exile five other cards from your graveyard. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its escape cost.)
as a permanent answer to opposing copies of Arclight Phoenix, as well as utilize
Go Blank
Go Blank
Target player discards two cards. Then exile that player's graveyard.
out of the sideboard to keep your opponent’s Treasure Cruises in check. Thoughtseize can prevent you from getting blown out by
Narset’s Reversal
Narset’s Reversal
Copy target instant or sorcery spell, then return it to its owner's hand. You may choose new targets for the copy.
when you go to cast your own Treasure Cruises, which will ultimately pull you ahead.
Read More: Unique Kiki-Jiki Combo Deck Emerges in Modern!
Strengths and Weaknesses
As strong as adding black is for the Phoenix deck in the current metagame, there are some matchups where this is a downside. One of the biggest things you lose as a Dimir deck compared to Izzet is the ability to run Artifact hate out of the sideboard.
Brotherhood’s End
Brotherhood’s End
Choose one —
• Brotherhood's End deals 3 damage to each creature and each planeswalker.
• Destroy all artifacts with mana value 3 or less.
and
Abrade
Abrade
Choose one —
• Abrade deals 3 damage to target creature.
• Destroy target artifact.
were great cards against Rakdos sacrifice, as well as excellent answers to
Unlicensed Hearse
Unlicensed Hearse
{T}: Exile up to two target cards from a single graveyard.
Unlicensed Hearse's power and toughness are each equal to the number of cards exiled with it.
Crew 2
. Hearse is a reliable way to both keep Treasure Cruise and Arclight Phoenix in check that the Dimir deck has a hard time dealing with.
Speaking of graveyard hate, the Dimir version also lacks
Crackling Drake
Crackling Drake
Flying
Crackling Drake's power is equal to the total number of instant and sorcery cards you own in exile and in your graveyard.
When this creature enters, draw a card.
. Crackling Drake was a solid sideboard card that could win the game through
Rest in Peace
Rest in Peace
When this enchantment enters, exile all graveyards.
If a card or token would be put into a graveyard from anywhere, exile it instead.
out of decks like Azorius control or Spirits. Between the minimal number of red sources needed to hard cast Arclight Phoenix and the lack of extra win conditions out of the sideboard, this deck definitely has a harder time beating graveyard hate when it hits the board.
Still, having access to Thoughtseize means that, in many cases, it can be hard for your opponent to stick a piece of graveyard hate in the first place. The addition of Bitter Triumph gives you a much better chance at beating resolved Planeswalkers, such as
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
+1: Draw a card. At the beginning of the next end step, untap up to two lands.
−3: Put target nonland permanent into its owner's library third from the top.
−8: You get an emblem with "Whenever you draw a card, exile target permanent an opponent controls."
.
It’s unclear exactly what will get banned or unbanned on Monday, but the focus from the WeeklyMTG ban discussion yesterday was primarily directed towards Discover combo and mono-green Devotion. This Dimir-centric Phoenix deck is extremely strong and could theoretically be getting even stronger after the ban announcement. If you enjoy playing Pioneer, definitely make sure this deck is on your radar moving forward.
Read More: MTG LOTR Holiday Release Card Makes Waves in Highly Competitive Format!