Back in April 2022, the Explorer format was added to MTG Arena. This format was, in part, created to closely mimic Pioneer. Both Pioneer and Explorer are comprised of cards from premier sets. Any cards legal in Pioneer that would get implemented on Arena via a digital set would then become legal in Explorer.
The big difference is that a bunch of Pioneer-legal sets were never fully-added to Arena. Pioneer utilizes cards dating back to 2012, as far back as Return to Ravnica. Unfortunately, many of these older sets were simply not made available on Arena upon its launch in 2019.
So, even with the influx of cards to Arena via Explorer Anthology sets and such, there’s always been a disconnect between Explorer and Pioneer. The good news, though, is that’s all about to change very soon.
Pioneer Masters
Releasing December 10th, 2024, Pioneer Masters is officially coming to Arena. The goal here, of course, is to bring a ton of the Pioneer staples that currently don’t exist on Arena to the client. Unsurprisingly, once this set releases, Explorer will be pushed out to make way for Pioneer on Arena. Notably, this won’t quite include every card missing, but the most popular ones should all be addressed.
On top of this, this 394-card set will indeed be draftable. If you’re a fan of drafting, this should end up being a really unique Limited format.
With this in mind, not every card included will end up being a Pioneer all-star. This is a perfect opportunity for Wizards to bring fan-favorite cards like Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy to Arena. Pioneer Masters has been a long time coming, and we’re happy to see it arrive before the end of the year.
Important Additions
With such an important collection of cards making their way to Arena, it’s worthwhile to look at which archetypes should be getting some necessary improvements. Likely the biggest change is that multiple combo decks will be receiving key pieces.
At the top of that list, we have Lotus Field combo. While Lotus Field has been on Arena for a while, Hidden Strings has not. Hidden Strings is an essential part of the deck, allowing you to untap two copies of Lotus Field and get a huge boost of four mana.
Niv-to-Light is another example of an archetype that has been without one of the deck’s most important cards. In this case, that card is Bring to Light. Bring to Light’s ability to grab anything from board wipes to Unmoored Ego in addition to Niv-Mizzet Reborn is huge. Without Bring to Light, the deck just falls flat.
For creature-style combo enjoyers, Gladecover Scout is another must-add. Auras decks with Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice, despite not being super popular, have gotten some noise since Duskmourn’s release. After all, Sheltered by Ghosts is a premium removal spell for the deck.
Speaking of decks that got better with Duskmourn, Enigmatic Incarnation shells will now have access to Chained to the Rocks as a cheap removal spell. Other upgrades should include Reckless Bushwhacker for Gruul aggro and Oath of Nissa for mono-green Devotion.
As you can see, Pioneer Masters has the potential to fill a lot of these gaps between Explorer and Pioneer. Arena fans rejoice!
