Back in August, Wizards of the Coast made an enormous ban announcement that affected multiple formats. The goal was to shake things up, as many players had voiced their complaints for quite some time.
When it comes to Pioneer, seeing Rakdos Vampires and Abzan Amalia get hit with bans wasn’t too surprising. These two decks were incredibly dominant, and also completely warped the format around them. Following the ban, however, there was some initial concern that the announcement didn’t go far enough. Could it be that another strategy like Izzet Phoenix or mono-green Devotion would rise up to rule the format with the two boogeymen gone?
Well, if early Regional Championship data showcases anything, it’s that the format is actually incredibly diverse. Beyond just the overall metagame breakdown that reveals a wide variety of strategies getting played, it appears that the top tables following day one of the 1817-player event are represented by a boatload of different archetypes. Let’s take a closer look at how the metagame has developed and how it compares to the format over a month ago.
Where Things Started
In the days leading up to the ban announcement on August 26th, it seemed obvious that, at minimum, Rakdos Vampires was going to take a hit. After all, the deck made up nearly 30% of the Pioneer metagame. It also had sustained long-term success and proved to be very difficult to hate out.
There were debates about the health of the format with Abzan Amalia in it, but obviously, the namesake card got banned here as well. While some players were excited about these cards going away, others were nervous that these bans alone wouldn’t go far enough.
First, with Abzan Amalia out of the picture, there was an expectation that mono-green Devotion would rise up again. Abzan Amalia was a notably poor matchup for mono-green, but mono-green still had some success praying on the rest of the format. Beyond that, Izzet Phoenix had a clear target on its head, as Treasure Cruise had been on the watchlist for a long time.
Yet, post-ban, we quickly saw some unique metagame shifts unfold. Initially, aggro decks like Boros Convoke and mono-white Humans gained popularity, with the goal of going wide and beating up on Izzet Phoenix before the opponent could get the ball rolling. Since then, we’ve seen more drastic changes to the format. Fortunately, no particular deck is too dominant, and there is plenty of room for innovation.
Read More: Dimir Doomsday Demon Combo Makes Waves in Pioneer Out of Nowhere
Where Things Headed
One of the biggest surprises following the bans was the emergence of Rakdos Aggro as a top-tier deck choice. Rakdos Aggro is incredibly fast, using pump spells and Callous Sell-Sword to try to end the game in short order.
This sudden surge for the Rakdos Aggro shell was far from the end all be all, though. From there, Azorius control utilizing the power of High Noon proved to be a solid way to fight the metagame at hand. In fact, Azorius control was the most played deck at the Regional Championship in Washington D.C. Not Rakdos Aggro or Izzet Phoenix.
These three archetypes were indeed heavily played, but collectively, they only made up about 41% of the room. Furthermore, that number would decrease to 39% entering day two, with a plethora of different archetypes making their presence felt.
After day one, 33 players held a record of 8-1 or better. Among those 33 players, over 15 different strategies were represented! Five-color Enigmatic Incarnation was one of the undefeated decks, which utilizes a multitude of new cards (most importantly, Overlord of the Hauntwoods). This was far from the only unique strategy showcased this weekend, though.
Read More: MTG Stax Piece Sees 650% Price Increase After Taking Over Entire Format
Tons of Decks at the Top Tables
A whopping 13% of the field on day two made up the “other” category in the Regional Championship metagame breakdown (presumably, this group represents decks used by three or fewer players). Plus, these intriguing decks are heavily represented at the top tables at the time of writing this article.
After 13 rounds of Swiss, Selesnya Company featuring a full playset of Enduring Innocence sits at 11-2. Just below Selesnya Company at 10-2-1, Izzet Creativity makes a splash. Moving to the 10-3 bracket, Dimir Rogues and Sultai Dungeon combo are among the strategies being played.
It isn’t too surprising that both players that sit atop the standings at 12-1 are playing Izzet Phoenix. Nonetheless, the level of diversity shown this weekend is a breath of fresh air. We even got to witness some completely off-the-wall decks like Dimir Ninjas (just barely missing day two).
It’s been a long time since Pioneer was as wide open as it is right now. No deck is too dominant. At the same time, players can adapt as specific decks start to get stronger, just like we saw with the rise of Azorius control. We look forward to seeing how the Regional Championship ends up unfolding and how the metagame shifts in the next few weeks.
Read More: Unexpected Reanimator Deck Wins Major Event with Tons of Duskmourn Cards
