The First Pioneers

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Keeping you up to date with what is new, interesting and powerful in the Magic the Gathering Pioneer format

Last refreshed: July 3rd, 2025 at 1:41 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

#109 -The Good, the Bad, and the Gauntlets

The Kamigawa Neon Dynasty metagame is starting to heat up so The First Pioneers thought we should talk about some of the fun new decks everybody is playing as well as how our picks did in our set review episode. We also thought it was a good time to talk about making a Pioneer Gauntlet. Many of the decks in the current metagame have been around for more than a few seasons so it would make sense to prepare yourself for strategies that you're going to see over and over again in competitive Pioneer...

Feb 21, 2022•45 min•Ep. 113

#108 - Brewing with Neon

With a set leaning heavily on technology and the futuristic, you can be sure that there will upgrades galore in the Pioneer format. But technology also brings changes. Old tech becomes obsolete and things that used to work very well in the past are now thrown away. In this week's episode MTGO grinder and streamer ClaudiohMTG joins us again to talk about what cards he's excited to brew with, how he'll be making "upgrades", and also helps out the First Pioneers with their brews. If you have cards ...

Feb 14, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 112

#107 - Kamigawa Neon Dynasty Pioneer set review

The Pioneer format continues to grow and draw in new players. Decks are being optimized and new strategies are being made viable every week. Even with all this remarkable growth there is still a lot of exploring yet to be done and with Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty the format is set to expand once more. Twitch streamer and MTGO grinder EkerossMTG joins us this time to talk about what cards he's excited for in competitive Pioneer, while Kevin gives us his "Johnny" perspective and Ryan brings you jank th...

Feb 07, 2022•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 111

#106 - Neon Tinted Glasses: A First Look at Kamigawa Neon Dynasty

With Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty just around the corner, the First Pioneers wanted to get a jump on some of the new cards and mechanics and talk about what kind of impact the newest Magic the Gathering set will have on the Pioneer format. We're happy to welcome back returning guest ClaudiohMTG to talk about his recent experiences in Pioneer, his thoughts on the Pioneer Mana Traders invitational, as well as what he's most excited about from the new Kamigawa set. We break down the newest spoilers and h...

Jan 31, 2022•58 min•Ep. 110

#105 - Making a Splash

No, we're not remaking the classic Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah rom com, this week we're discussing "splashing" a color into Pioneer decks. We want to explore what it means to splash a 2nd or 3rd color into an existing deck, what impact a splash of color can make, which cards are worth adding another color for, and which deck could improve with another color. If your brew hasn't been doing as well as you would like it to, you want to make your favorite deck fresh again, or just want some ideas as ...

Jan 24, 2022•50 min•Ep. 109

#104 - Breaking the Mirror

The Pioneer format is heating up and with more events firing online and more events being held in Paper, there's a good chance you're going to be doing some tournaments this year. While the format is diverse and there are various builds of individual archetypes out there, every once in a while you will face the dreaded mirror match. If you're joining the metagame, and not attacking it, then you better be prepared to be your own worst enemy. In this week's episode Kevin and Ryan talk about which ...

Jan 17, 2022•50 min•Ep. 108

#103 - Wrapping and Ramping Up the Crimson Vow Pioneer season

ClaudiohMTG, streamer and S-tier MTGO player, joins us to wind down the Crimson Vow Pioneer season and to talk about what the future holds for the format. In this week's episode we go over how the format has evolved since the most recent set was released, the latest results from large events like the Pioneer PTQ at the start of January, how the SCG event announcement will affect paper Pioneer, as well as if Ryan is making a good or bad deck choice for next week's paper Pioneer event in Tokyo. If...

Jan 10, 2022•44 min•Ep. 107

#102 - Revisiting Mechanics

In our last episode of 2021, the First Pioneers thought we'd wrap up the year with another look at the mechanics of Pioneer. Having already finished talking about the Planes of Pioneer, we thought it would be a good idea to talk about how the newer mechanics fit into the format from Ikoria forward. New mechanics mean new opportunities and we don't want to miss a chance. So which of the newer mechanics are worth playing? Which have potential? And how does the returning mechanic of Ninjutusu find ...

Dec 27, 2021•43 min•Ep. 106

#101 - Pioneer 101: Interview with a Vampire (player)

We've been putting together Pioneer 101 shows for a while now to help new players and curious ones who want to know more about the decks of the Pioneer format, so it seemed like a perfect idea for our 101st episode. This also coincided with one of the most prestigious Vampire players making their comeback to Pioneer so of course we had to ask EkerossMTG to come on two weeks in a row to tell us whether or not vampires suck in the literal sense or just when they find their prey. Whether you want t...

Dec 20, 2021•57 min•Ep. 105

#100 - Pioneer 2021: A Format Odyssey

The were many ups and downs in 2021 for Magic the Gathering but after some shaky footing in 2000, the Pioneer format hit the ground running and never looked back. We had some bans, some new decks, some brave new strategies, but most of all we had a record number of players turn to the format. Just what lies in store for Pioneer in the future? Special guest EkerossMTG makes his triumphant return to the podcast (after his big move and new job) and joins The First Pioneers to close out the year and...

Dec 13, 2021•55 min•Ep. 104

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