The full list of cards coming to MTG Arena in Pioneer Masters has been revealed! The goal with this set is to get MTG Arena’s digital Explorer format as close to Pioneer as possible, and the set has mostly succeeded. While these two formats weren’t worlds apart, there was undeniably a gap to bridge. Unsurprisingly, Pioneer Masters has done exactly that, adding almost every needed card in one fell swoop.
While all of the larger decks seem to be accounted for, some niche decisions don’t make a lot of sense. These are the MTG cards whose absence has players scratching their heads.
Borborygmos Enraged
A lack of Borborygmos Enraged isn’t the most unusual thing in the world. This card plays a very small role in the Pioneer format, so many MTG players wouldn’t bat an eye at its absence… normally. Two issues make Borborygmos’s disappearance bizarre: the other pieces of the Pioneer combo involving him are in the Pioneer Masters set, and Borborygmos is technically already on MTG Arena.
While Borborygmos Enraged is indeed hiding somewhere on MTG Arena, players cannot craft or play with it. Instead, you can find this bad boy randomly in the Momir format. Add on the fact that Enter the Infinite has been added to MTG Arena in Pioneer Masters, and the inability to use this card becomes somewhat puzzling. The rest of the deck is already available in MTG Arena.
Used with an Adventure package, this combo revolves around the card Possibility Storm. The idea is to have Enter the Infinite be the only Sorcery card in your deck. Then, you can use an Adventure spell like Heart’s Desire (the Adventure spell on Lovestruck Beast) to trigger Possibility Storm, turning it into Enter the Infinite. Draw your whole deck, putting Borborygmos back on top. Then, cast a creature spell (Stonecoil Serpent for zero is the usual choice) and turn that into Borborygmos. Discard your entire hand’s worth of lands to kill your opponent.
If Enter the Infinite weren’t in Pioneer Masters, Borborygmos’s absence would not be as strange, but because that card is being added, the inability to use Borborygmos is just bizarre.
Eldrazi Obligator
While Borborygmos’s absence is the most bizarre, Eldrazi Obligator’s may be the most important. This card sees some Pioneer play in the current metagame. It can primarily be found in the sideboard of Gruul Aggro decks, but it’s not an incredibly common card to see. In a similar vein, Eldrazi Obligator sees some Modern play and could see some play in older MTG Arena formats alongside the powerful Eldrazi from Modern Horizons 3.
As you may expect, Eldrazi Obligator’s work is best done in matchups where it can steal a gigantic creature and close out the game. Considering that Transmogrify decks are somewhat popular, there is definitely prey for Eldrazi Obligator to hunt.
Eldrazi Obligator, and the new Gruul Prowess aggro deck, are very recent additions to the Pioneer format, not in terms of printing, but in terms of the card and archetype seeing any play. As a result, it does make some sense that this card was missed, and as far as missing cards go, this isn’t a very serious one.
Sanctum of Ugin
Sanctum of Ugin isn’t a part of any Pioneer decks that are making a splash currently, but it is a part of a Pioneer deck that comes in and out of the metagame. A Gruul ramp deck using World Breaker and Dragonlord Atarka as some of its top-end threats utilized Sanctum of Ugin. The card could convert itself into an additional threat after a player successfully casts a World Breaker.
Right now, Sanctum of Ugin is not an important Pioneer card, but it could become one at any time. Considering its competitive history, Sanctum of Ugin would have made more sense as an inclusion over many of the other cards in Pioneer Masters that have seen no play whatsoever.
Void Winnower
Void Winnower is another incredibly niche Pioneer card, but it could come up. Transmogrify and Indomitable Creativity decks are becoming all the rage. While these decks opt for different monsters to cheat into play at the moment, Void Winnower could become a popular choice if the metagame shifts.
If, at any point, the metagame is primarily casting even-costed spells, Void Winnower could be a great way to shut decks down. Some of these lists already play alternative haymakers in the sideboard like Sire of Insanity (which is coming in Pioneer Masters), or the Worldspine Wurm and Xenagos, God of Revels (also on Arena after Pioneer Masters) to beat up on un-interactive decks like Lotus Field Combo. Void Winnower could play a similar role that impacts more matchups, but the card will be very metagame-dependent.
Almost Everything Addressed
For the most part, players should be able to play anything one-for-one that is common in the current Pioneer metagame on MTG Arena. Most of the missing cards that players care about are either for incredibly niche pet decks or are relatively new sideboard additions that rarely come up.
Of course, as Pioneer continues to innovate, there will likely be the odd card here and there that comes up in paper or on MTGO that isn’t on Arena, but that’s likely to just be the odd sideboard card barring an entirely new archetype is created using old cards.
That means that Pioneer Masters, at least in our opinion, seems like a stellar set. Sure, there are some weird additions in the set overall, but the MTGA team seems to have captured all of the important cards that the client was missing.
