Pioneer is a flawed and imperfect format, but that's not going to stop us from playing it. Sometimes we get to play the best cards available to us, and other times we have to suck it up and play cards that ... kinda suck. That's one of the format's greatest charms in our opinion, that there isn't one card that's an auto include in every deck. Sometimes you have to play a card that isn't great because there simply isn't anything better for the situation. And don't even think about NOT running thi...
Sep 19, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 143
You might think with a new set out that the August metagame doesn't matter as much, but you'd be wrong. Pioneer is a format with many well established and optimized decks, and it's going to take some time until Dominaria can make bigger waves. Also, with some people going into their regional Pro Tour Qualifiers and last chance trials, knowing what you're up against and why these decks are doing well will be key to your success. One person who's no stranger to success in Pioneer, ClaudiohMTG, joi...
Sep 12, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 142
While there are a lot of obvious homes for the new cards from Dominaria United in Pioneer, some cards need to have their home built from the ground up. Others might have to have their homes totally rebuilt to be stronger against the ever changing Pioneer metagame. In this week's episode, the First Pioneers take a look at some of the lesser hyped and largely untested cards from Dominaria United and brew around them. If you're looking for new tribal, aggro, combo, midrange, or synergistic strategi...
Sep 06, 2022•51 min•Ep. 141
With a gripping story and a cast full of interesting characters, the new Dominaria United set has a lot going for it. But aside from some great new lore, the set is also overflowing with a lot of Pioneer potential. So much in fact that The First Pioneers needed to recruit MTGO grinder Conorman11 to sort through it all. Our guest brings the perfect balance of Timmy excitement and Spike energy needed to separate what could be playable, what could be fun, and what's not worth our time. Join us to h...
Aug 29, 2022•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 140
We still have about a week to go until all of the Dominaria United Spoilers are out, but there are simply too many things to talk about in one episode. To get a jump on it, MTGO legend ClaudiohMTG joins us this week to discuss the new mechanics, the cycles, and our favorite cards so far from the new set and also goes into all of the possibilities these cards could bring to the Pioneer format. While we're sure that Liliana of the Veil will be the most talked about card from Dominaria United, we d...
Aug 23, 2022•57 min•Ep. 139
I'm sure that most, if not all of our listeners, are fans of Pioneer. But we might have a friend, or a friend of a friend that just got into Magic through MTG Arena or their local game store and have only been playing standard for the last year or two. They find themselves on a precipice; Do they continue playing standard next season and buy into the next year of sets? Or are they ready for something more? In this week's episode we'd like to appeal to those friends of yours that are thinking of ...
Aug 15, 2022•50 min•Ep. 138
While most people are talking about what the first Explorer Anthology on MTG Arena didn't have, The First Pioneers thought we'd focus on what it did. What's the phrase, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade? With Explorer Anthology we took the jank and made brews out of them! While some are more straightforward than others, we did try to use as many of the cards from the Explorer Anthology I as we could. If you're like me, you've been testing out all of the new cards we got and trying to see...
Aug 07, 2022•41 min•Ep. 137
I don't know if you know this, but Harry13SCO is kind of a big deal in Pioneer (at least that's what we keep telling him to get him to come back on this show from time to time ^_^). With all of the Pioneer WPN qualifiers, MTGO Showcases and leagues, and everything else in between, there is a lot of information about Pioneer to compile these days. MTGO grinder and and TacTeam member Harry13SCO joins us once again to make heads or tails of the Pioneer format and to tell us where it's been and wher...
Aug 01, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 136
The standard rotation cycle is just over a month away and the Pioneer organized play season will be over soon as well. That means the market will be flooded with cheap cards, especially those that will no longer be in standard. But which ones are worth buying or holding onto from these sets, and which ones should you hold off on getting? This week, The First Pioneers sort through the chaff of Zendikar Rising, Strixhaven, Kaldheim, and Adventures of the Forgotten Realm and come up with some lists...
Jul 25, 2022•53 min•Ep. 135
Yes, we know that most of the Jumpstart cards won't be legal in the Pioneer format, but we recognize the opportunity the set has for Pioneer "lite", or Explorer on MTG Arena. For the first part of the show Kevin and I talk about what cards we'd like to see show up in the 4 new Pioneer challenger decks coming out in October and which reprints would help the format the most. From there, we move on to the announcement about each standard set having a corresponding Jumpstart release along side of it...
Jul 18, 2022•55 min•Ep. 134
Stop me if you've heard this one; What's red, green, and blue all over? Parhelion decks. The powerful archetype started out in one color combination, but as the Pioneer metagame evolved so did the deck, spreading out into 3 other color combinations. Are they the same deck though? While they do have the same core of cards, Esper, Mardu, and Abzan Parhelion have access to a different suite of cards and play very differently from one other. If you're wondering how different they are, you'll want to...
Jul 11, 2022•51 min•Ep. 133
So much happened to Pioneer in June that it might be hard to keep track of it all. From bannings at the start of the month to the shifting metagame, we thought it would a good idea to put all this data and information in once place so that you don't have to go searching around the internet to know what's going on in the format. We talk about how a bunch of green meanies took over after Winota left, the Phantom Menace that followed, and also go over a lot of paper and MTGO results to discuss how ...
Jul 04, 2022•59 min•Ep. 132
Bacon and Eggs. Cookies and milk. Apples and Oranges? Sometimes a combination works so well it's hard to imagine one part without the other. Other times the two parts bounce off each other to crash and burn. Magic the Gathering is no different. We've seen a number of strategies come and go in the Pioneer format, some lost to time, while others suddenly come back repackaged and better than ever. Take Jund Food for example. It was an okay deck until it wasn't. Rakdos Anvil was also good deck in it...
Jun 27, 2022•46 min•Ep. 131
Fresh off a few top finishes and qualifying for the next Pioneer Pro Tour, IslandGoSAMe (Twitch streamer and MTGO Grinder) joined us to talk about his recent experiences with the new Atarka Ramp deck, as well how the Mono green devotion deck has been fairing since the Winota ban. While we did originally have on Dreams of Ashiok to talk about Mono green planeswalkers a while back, we thought it was time for an update and Sam was kind enough to join us with his take on the deck. We also took the n...
Jun 20, 2022•54 min•Ep. 130
Magic players felt a great disturbance in the Pioneer metagame last week as thousands of Naya Winota players suddenly cried out in terror and then were silenced. The ban hammer dropped hard on the archetype and effectively erased it from existence. While Expressive Iteration was also banned in the same announcement, the shockwave from the Winota banning will be felt for months to come. Just how wide reaching will it be and which decks will be the winners is yet to be seen, but luckily the First ...
Jun 13, 2022•45 min•Ep. 129
"Gotta find a card that 2 for 1s for meeee, Card to keep me drawin, drawin and keeping my synergyyyy Won't you take me to, Value Town? Won't you take me to, Value Town??" - Icatian Moneychanger bedtime song You can't blame those moneychangers for knowing value when they see it. When a effect gives you a board advantage, draws you a lot of resources, or is able to be used again and again, we call that "value". There's a reason decks like 5 Color Niv Mizzet are called "Value Piles". In this week's...
Jun 06, 2022•58 min•Ep. 128
We all have our pet decks, our favorite colors, or our favorite cards. We love them so much that sometimes we just can't see that they are bad. Blinded by our affection, sometimes the only way we can be made to see how we went wrong is with some tough love. Personally, I'm too much of a Timmy player to deal out that kind of pain, but luckily resident MTGO grinder and voice of reason Harry13SCO has none of those reservations. When we need the truth and want to be spared the ridicule of our deck c...
May 30, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 127
As more and more people flock to Pioneer, prices are heating up and inventory is going down. So where does that leave people wanting to get into the format? When the popularity of Modern hit a fever pitch a few years back, prices in the format got a little out of control as stock dried up. Wizards knew they had to do something to address the lack of inventory and get cards into the hands of players, so they released Modern Masters. Not only were the packs incredibly popular, but so was the limit...
May 23, 2022•51 min•Ep. 126
MTGO Grinder and Pioneer Twitch all-star Conorman11 joins us on The First Pioneers this week to talk about what's been happening in the format since Streets of New Capenna came out. We go over recent results, new cards making waves, resurrected archtypes, and how it will all fit together when Pioneer organized play finally starts next month. Listen for some valuable insight on deck selection and what you can expect to see a lot of at these events. With no new cards set to enter the Pioneer forma...
May 16, 2022•57 min•Ep. 125
One different card, one different line, and the entire way of playing a deck can change. If I told you that there were various versions of decks within the same colors with the same cards, would you believe me? What started as an idea to help new players evolved into what I'd like to call, "metashifting". Have you ever found your deck hated out of the format or your local meta? Do you only have access to a limited amount of cards? Do you find it hard to pick up an entirely new archetype, especia...
May 09, 2022•44 min•Ep. 124
Pioneer is one of the most fun (and affordable) eternal Magic the Gathering formats out there, and while the number of players grows daily it still hasn't reached its full potential. Wizards of the Coast's Arena team released a new format last week called "Explorer", which eventually will turn into the Pioneer format we know and love on this somewhat 'free' platform. But should you play it? In this week's episode I try to convert my co-host Kevin, who is a long time MTGO player, to Arena. While ...
May 02, 2022•42 min•Ep. 123
Demon, Cats, and Angels oh my! EkerossMTG joins us again after a long break to talk about Streets of New Capenna Pioneer brews (and the people who love them). We go over a variety of archetypes, both new and old, and discuss if some of these new cards finally give some decks what they needed to win. Listen and choose which brew you think is the best, and then join us on Twitter or Discord to share your brews and ideas! Our Discord: https://discord.gg/SBRF8DH Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/MtgP...
Apr 26, 2022•55 min•Ep. 122
Is Streets of New Capenna good for Pioneer? Is it bad? Which cards will probably see play and which cards could start a new archetype? MTGO grinder and recent Face to Face games event winner Dreams of Ashiok (@DreamsofAshiok on Twitter) joins Ryan and Kevin on The First Pioneers to walk these "streets" and to recruit some hired muscle for our favorite Magic the Gathering format. Find out if your favorite cards from the set make the cut! If we missed it, be sure to hop into our Discord or Twitter...
Apr 18, 2022•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 121
Or at least I'd like to think that we know what cards you need for Pioneer if you're getting into the format. We've been doing Pioneer set reviews for longer than I care to remember, and we also went over every plane in Pioneer before Eldraine came out, breaking down all of the mechanics, staples, and playable cards in each. That, coupled with our constant contact with MTGO greats like Harry13SCO, ClaudiohMTG, and EkerossMTG, leads me to believe we know or stuff and we want you to know it as wel...
Apr 11, 2022•53 min•Ep. 120
We prayed so hard for Wizards to give some relevancy to Pioneer over the last two years and after some teasing (the challenger decks) and some hiccups (never getting Pioneer on Arena), finally our prayers were answered in the form of the new Organized Play system. If you're a new player you're probably not sure what organized play is and wondering what this means for you. If you're a Pioneer player you're probably excited but not sure what steps you need to take next as excitement around the for...
Apr 04, 2022•51 min•Ep. 119
Before 5 Color Humans could run in Pioneer, they had ClaudiohMTG holding their hands to help them walk. He was an early supporter of the archetype and along with his and a few others' efforts, a new deck was born. The deck isn't quite fully optimized just yet but it's close and with a few missing lands and one or two key cards it should be able to take down any kind of event! Whether you're a fan of the archetype in other formats, think the deck looks like fun, or just looking for something fres...
Mar 28, 2022•38 min•Ep. 118
Competitive Pioneer made its return to Paper Magic in the USA at the Star City Games Open and 5k and The First Pioneers wanted to have a good look at all the decks that were being played at the event. While it was part of a team event, Pioneer fans should still get a lot of great data and information about the format from the results. We also took a look at the 5K event the following day as well. Aside from the results, last weekend we also got a chance to see what the format was like without it...
Mar 21, 2022•47 min•Ep. 117
We had originally planned to have Harry13SCO on last weekend for another topic but when the Lurrus ban in Pioneer was announced we dropped everything to record our take on it. Aside from the obvious discussion on what decks will be getting worse without our favorite ethereal feline, we also talked about what decks would get better, which 3 drops might see play in aggro decks now that there's no longer a "soft" 2cmc limit to permanents, and also made 3 wishes about what we'd like to see happen in...
Mar 14, 2022•54 min•Ep. 116
The closer Pioneer moves to the mainstream the higher the price of decks are going to become, but that doesn't mean you still can't play some of the best decks in the format. While the $300 average price tag of Pioneer decks are relatively cheap compared to other eternal formats like Modern and Legacy, it's still a hefty amount for some people which is why we at The First Pioneers like to make cheaper versions of the top decks to help people get into the format from time to time. We once again c...
Mar 07, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 115
It's been a while since we had our good friend and MTGO grinder Harry13SCO (Martin Porter) on so we thought we'd ask him to stop by and give us his thoughts on how the Kamigawa Neon Dynasty Pioneer metagame is shaping up. Well he had some thoughts, and then had some more. Martin gives us a great in-depth look at how the metagame started when Kamigawa was released, as well as how it has continued to evolved a few weeks in. Following last week's Gauntlet episode, we also asked him what decks he wo...
Feb 28, 2022•49 min•Ep. 114
