Regional Championship Qualifier season is on its way! MTG Pioneer is the format of focus, and a LOT has changed over three days. Before now, Pioneer seemed like a format that a few fundamental archetypes would dominate. Between paper and online events, it’s clear now that the format is actually wide open, and no one has any idea what the best choice is. Everything seems to beat something else, and meta shifts are causing dead decks to reemerge. Here are the highlights from various MTG Pioneer Regional Qualifiers this weekend!
Old Tech Renewed
Boros Heroic won the MTGO Super Qualifier alongside a more traditional Izzet Phoenix Combo list. While both decks highlighted a newer tech option to adapt to the current MTG Pioneer Metagame, the Boros one is much spicier.
Fiendslayer Paladin
Fiendslayer Paladin
First strike (This creature deals combat damage before creatures without first strike.)
Lifelink (Damage dealt by this creature also causes you to gain that much life.)
This creature can't be the target of black or red spells your opponents control.
does a beautiful job identifying a weakness in the current metagame. Previously seen in Azorius Auras builds in Pioneer, almost all of the removal spells running around right now are targeted black and red removal. This makes Fiendslayer Paladin an absolute nightmare to play against. With Phoenix and Rakdos decks being the premier removal-based midrange decks in the format, Fiendslayer Paladin becomes incredibly difficult to remove by blanking all of the format’s most common pieces of removal. Most decks interested in the cards that Fiendslayer Paladin targets are traditionally sketchy matchups for Boros Heroic. This new tech may flip the script and help the Heroic deck to climb to the top of the metagame!
The new Phoenix tech is not quite as interesting, but there’s a good reason for it. Izzet Phoenix Combo (utilizing
Temporal Trespass
Temporal Trespass
Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for {1}.)
Take an extra turn after this one. Exile Temporal Trespass.
and
Galvanic Iteration
Galvanic Iteration
When you next cast an instant or sorcery spell this turn, copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copy.
Flashback {1}{U}{R} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
for a possible win condition) in Pioneer is now maindecking two copies of Thing in the Ice. This is mainly in response to the rise of Mono-Green.
Thing in the Ice
Thing in the Ice
Defender
This creature enters with four ice counters on it.
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, remove an ice counter from this creature. Then if it has no ice counters on it, transform it.
gives the Phoenix deck an easy way to deal with Green’s board and win the game instantly through the turns combo when flipped. This makes what was a bad matchup into a better one.
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.
as an archetype performed strongly this weekend. As a result, keeping it in mind when going to your RCQ event is a must.
Something You’ve Never Seen Before
One paper MTG Pioneer Regional Championship Qualifier was split between a Rakdos and a Dimir player. While the Rakdos player didn’t have anything of interest, the Dimir player was on something that the format hasn’t seen yet. This wacky midrange deck utilizes various tempo-oriented pieces and aims to finish longer games with
The Scarab God
The Scarab God
At the beginning of your upkeep, each opponent loses X life and you scry X, where X is the number of Zombies you control.
{2}{U}{B}: Exile target creature card from a graveyard. Create a token that's a copy of it, except it's a 4/4 black Zombie.
When The Scarab God dies, return it to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.
. This may interest you if you’re looking to test a different way to attack the Pioneer meta.
Is Rakdos Actually Good Now?
For a while, Rakdos was the worst deck in Pioneer that everyone played. That being said, for the first time this weekend, Rakdos actually put up good results. Rakdos legend Luis Salvatto piloted an updated Rakdos Midrange deck to win a Pioneer Challenge over the weekend. The same list reached the top 8 in the Pioneer Super Qualifier. Not including the additional win from the RCQ split with Dimir Scarab God, Rakdos Sacrifice also put up decent results over the weekend. This build is based on a deck that MTG streamer D00mwake brewed up. Multiple players had good results in paper RCQs, taking down various events. When choosing between these builds for your tournaments, I advise you to reflect on your area’s meta. Suppose there are a lot of creature decks (aggro or midrange) running around, then Sacrifice is the way to go. Rakdos Midrange has a more solid matchup spread overall but also has the worst? This translates to: a good draw in Rakdos Midrange beats everything. A bad one loses to everything. As a result, this deck can be surprisingly decision-intensive if you choose to pick it up.
The biggest thing all the Rakdos decks have in common is that they don’t have a tremendous Mono-Green Devotion matchup. Results signal that Mono Green decks are being heavily targeted by the metagame right now. Many of the decks performing well are taking advantage of this, but Mono Green could make a resurgence!
Extinction Event
Extinction Event
Choose odd or even. Exile each creature with mana value of the chosen quality. (Zero is even.)
is a great new addition to address this, but if you’re expecting a lot of Mono-Green this weekend, stay away from Rakdos.
Esper Control?
Esper Control isn’t a deck you immediately think about when preparing for a Pioneer event. Yet, quietly, this archetype won two different RCQ’s over the weekend. Boros Heroic may be on an uptick with its success in the MTGO Super Qualifier, and having tools that can remove creatures, as well as address the opponent’s game plan in hand, is paramount to taking the deck down. Adding black to have access to
Thoughtseize
Thoughtseize
Target player reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card. You lose 2 life.
, as a result, is essential.
Gaining access to black gives these lists other powerful options to tap into.
Vanishing Verse
Vanishing Verse
Exile target monocolored permanent.
looks absolutely incredible in the current Pioneer meta.
Void Rend
Void Rend
This spell can't be countered.
Destroy target nonland permanent.
adds a versatile option that’s rarely dead in hand.
Oath of Kaya
Oath of Kaya
When Oath of Kaya enters, it deals 3 damage to any target and you gain 3 life.
Whenever an opponent attacks a planeswalker you control with one or more creatures, Oath of Kaya deals 2 damage to that player and you gain 2 life.
can slow down aggressive decks and make it taxing to take down your walkers. Finally,
Thought Distortion
Thought Distortion
This spell can't be countered.
Target opponent reveals their hand. Exile all noncreature, nonland cards from that player's hand and graveyard.
grants access to control mirror-breaking tech.
Graveyard Hate is King, so Adjust
If the recent surge in price for Unlicensed Hearse hasn’t made this clear, then I don’t know what does. Expect a lot of graveyard hate to show up at your tables. This is especially true since we just finished a weekend where
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.
decks overperformed. There are Phoenixless Izzet Tempo-style decks out there that perform admirably. Those might be a better alternative for players who want to bring Phoenix. All of this said you should expect Phoenix in your field. I wouldn’t leave home without a plan for it.
Lotus Field is Resurfacing
Pioneer’s most infamous combo deck is resurfacing. This deck put up results in multiple Pioneer Challenges and won Hareruya’s Japanese weekend tournament. Players believed this deck was kept in check by Mono-Green Devotion (due to its ability to trigger devastating hate like
Damping Sphere
Damping Sphere
If a land is tapped for two or more mana, it produces {C} instead of any other type and amount.
Each spell a player casts costs {1} more to cast for each other spell that player has cast this turn.
) and Spirits. Still, with both of those decks struggling to put results up,
Lotus Field
Lotus Field
Hexproof
This land enters tapped.
When this land enters, sacrifice two lands.
{T}: Add three mana of any one color.
may have the green light again. You’re throwing the dice with this pick. Generally, you’re either heavily favored or unfavored in every matchup, so it’s like roulette. This is a tough deck to pilot to make things more difficult. If you don’t have experience with this deck, don’t sleeve it up this weekend. Do practice and get your reps in, but give yourself more time.
More savvy Lotus Field players seem to be solving the Mono-Green matchup. Results state that the matchup may not be as bad as people thought. Generally, if Lotus Field has the tools to remove any troublesome artifacts that
Karn, the Great Creator
Karn, the Great Creator
Activated abilities of artifacts your opponents control can't be activated.
+1: Until your next turn, up to one target noncreature artifact becomes an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to its mana value.
−2: You may reveal an artifact card you own from outside the game or choose a face-up artifact card you own in exile. Put that card into your hand.
tutors up, then Lotus Field outspeeds Mono-Green. A lot of Lotus Field lists, as a result, are playing a heavier artifact hate package, including multiple
Wilt
Wilt
Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
Cycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
s and
Natural State
Natural State
Destroy target artifact or enchantment with mana value 3 or less.
s in the sideboard, one or less in the main deck, and anywhere between 2-4
Boseiju, who Endures
Boseiju, who Endures
{T}: Add {G}.
Channel — {1}{G}, Discard this card: Destroy target artifact, enchantment, or nonbasic land an opponent controls. That player may search their library for a land card with a basic land type, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle. This ability costs {1} less to activate for each legendary creature you control.
. There are a lot of different approaches to this deck right now. Figuring out the correct configuration may reward experienced players with a qualification.
Mono Green and Spirits are Missing
Another interesting note is that, for core metagame contenders, Mono-Green Devotion and Spirit decks saw a bad performance online. Spirits have some appearances between top eights, but Mono-Green Devotion is almost nonexistent except for some smaller paper RCQs. With heavy ramp decks dominating MTG Pioneer recently, players are eager to put some counterspells in their 75 to address gigantic spells. This is a sort of cyclical pattern, however, because if decks stop sideboarding so heavily for Green, then Green stands to dominate the competition all over again. Since specific strategies shut this deck down, it may have similar standing to
Lotus Field
Lotus Field
Hexproof
This land enters tapped.
When this land enters, sacrifice two lands.
{T}: Add three mana of any one color.
in the meta right now as an excellent tool to do a sort of ‘meta check’ with if people start forgetting about it.
What I Recommend for This Weekend
It can be tough to know what to play for any of you, like me, who are going to competitive events this weekend. While a lot of decks’ performances will depend on your local meta, there are some general decks that I would keep an eye on. The big decision is whether Mono-Green will be popular or not. Since that deck, like Lotus Field, either has fantastic or terrible matchups, it can heavily impact the performance of your deck in the field. If you’re not expecting a ton of Green, Lotus Field, if, and only if, you’re an experienced pilot, as well as Rakdos Midrange/sacrifice stand to be healthy choices. If you expect Green, I would want to pilot a deck with much more interaction, like Esper Control. Phoenix seems like the most played MTG Pioneer deck on MTGO right now, so bringing a plan for that is essential. Otherwise, Phoenix may be your best option in an open field. If you do play Phoenix, respect Green. When disrespected by a Phoenix’s 75, Green turns into a bad matchup.
If you’re going into a more open field, I recommend something with a decent matchup spread(like Phoenix). There are so many viable decks in Pioneer that, unless you know your meta, it can be challenging to bring a targeting strategy right now.
If your goal is to qualify for regional championships, you should be playing in paper. Online MTG is not ideal for competitive ventures at the moment. As someone who would much rather play online, this coming from me is a bad sign.