Pioneer Masters is finally coming to MTG Arena! From our first look, it’s clear that this is going to be a fully draftable set with booster packs on the client. Aiming to get MTG Arena’s Explorer format as close to Pioneer as possible, three new necessary reprints have been announced for the client.
The first card we technically saw for Pioneer Masters was Hidden Strings, which MTG Arena has needed desperately for years now. The biggest difference between Pioneer and Explorer was the absence of Lotus Field Combo, which will be remedied with the release of Pioneer Masters.
In addition to Hidden Strings, three more cards have been revealed for Pioneer Masters.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth may not be the most exciting addition to MTG Arena in Pioneer Masters, but it is an incredibly necessary one. The land is commonly found in the mana base of Rakdos Midrange decks. The contents of that archetype have shifted over the years (right now, it’s Rakdos Demons), but Rakdos Midrange has been a pillar of the Pioneer format for an incredibly long time. For as long as Rakdos Midrange has been a deck, Urborg has been a part of its mana base.
Because Urborg is a legendary land, it’s dangerous to run the card in multiples. That said, Urborg helps your utility lands like Mutavault tap for additional versatility. The card simply ensures that you can cast restrictive black spells like Invoke Despair more consistently.
Urborg is likely to see play in all kinds of MTG Arena formats. Historic, Historic Brawl, and mono-black decks in Timeless may all be interested in this card. The card is a small quality of life improvement that helps MTG Arena become closer to paper formats.
Gladecover Scout
Gladecover Scout may not be the first card you think of when the Pioneer format is brought up, but it is a necessary part of a fringe archetype that sometimes sees some format success. The elf is a powerful tool in Boggles strategies that exist in the format.
Similar to Modern Boggles of the past, the goal of this archetype is to create a gigantic creature with a ton of Auras. Utilizing payoffs like Sram, Senior Edificer and Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice, creating a gigantic creature that closes out the game in record time is surprisingly easy. The problem? One removal spell restarts you to ground zero.
Because of this danger, utilizing cheap creatures with Hexproof is absolutely necessary. Without Gladecover Scout, this deck becomes almost unplayable into archetypes that run a ton of removal. Now that the card is coming to MTG Arena, Explorer fans can test out the Auras deck for themselves. That said, we don’t expect it to be that powerful based on its results in the Pioneer format.
While Bant Auras isn’t the best archetype in Pioneer, Auras lists have been historically successful in the Historic format. The addition of a Hexproof creature for one mana could encourage players to explore the archetype in older digital formats once again.
Mogis, God of Slaughter
This is a fully draftable set, so there are bound to be some additions that don’t make a ton of sense. Mogis, God of Slaughter is one of those cards.
Aside from the very scarce appearance in Jund Sacrifice sideboards, Mogis sees absolutely no Pioneer play whatsoever. Even mentioning that the card sees play at all is incredibly generous.
As a result, Mogis’s appearance in Pioneer Masters is a baffling one. That said, as long as MTG Arena gets all of the necessary Pioneer cards into the client, some extras like this one are perfectly welcome.
While Pioneer and Explorer fans may not be excited for Mogis, that may not be the case for Brawl players. This unique creature can certainly do some damage over long periods of time, and can become a problematic threat if you are able to make it become a creature.
So far, Pioneer Masters has shown off three necessary cards that are needed to complete the set’s mission: bring Pioneer to MTG Arena. This is a great start for the digital set, and we hope that future spoilers are as exciting as these.
Pioneer Masters will be available on MTG Arena starting December 10.
