Charting a Course – DMU September Showcase
Arinceo breaks down the week of Pioneer data to provide a glimpse into the future of the format.
Welcome to the Latest Edition of Charting a Course!
It’s now been three weeks since the release of Dominaria United in the MTGO meta; culminating in a 259-player Showcase Challenge on Sunday!
Budget
‘Most Dominant’ Decks of the Week
| Week | Most Top 32s | Most Top 16s | Most Top 8s |
| Sept 3-4 | Rakdos Midrange (9) | Rakdos Midrange (6) | Rakdos Midrange (3) |
| Sept 10-11 | Rakdos Midrange (11) | Rakdos Midrange (7) | Rakdos Midrange (5) |
| Sept 17-18 | Rakdos Midrange, Green Devotion (13) | Rakdos Midrange, Green Devotion (7) | Green Devotion (5) |
In a clear reflection of our PlayingPioneer Tier List, Rakdos Midrange and Mono-Green Devotion have been the eminent decks of the format since release.
Since its latest update with Teferi, Who Slows the Sunset, Mono-Green Devotion has gone to another level, but still has a few poor matchups, such as Heroic and Mono-Blue Spirits. The deck has not received any massive changes with the release of DMU, only Karn’s Sylex as a tutorable board wipe. Rakdos Midrange, though, has benefited greatly from the latest expansion set.
Sheoldred, the Staple
While Liliana of the Veil has been a strong addition to Rakdos Midrange, the breakout star of the set so far has been Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. Early spoiler reactions pinned this card as very boring for a Praetor, but as more players have played with the card the tide has turned. Kalitas has now been usurped as the go-to four-drop in the deck, with the five toughness proving especially difficult to kill, seeing the revival of Roast as a sideboard card.
Paired with Lilliana and some smoother early mana thanks to Sulfurous Springs, Rakdos Midrange has kept a firm lid on the decks that prey on Mono-Green Devotion. Downticking LotV to force a creature sacrifice is usually backbreaking against Mono-Blue and Heroic.
If you want to dive into this season data further, click here to check out the full spreadsheet.
Decks to Watch
Atarka Red
In order to go wide enough to combat Rakdos Midrange and fast enough to outspeed Mono-Green Devotion, the Gruul color pairing has come to the rescue with an old favourite, Atarka Red. MTGO user medvedev experienced success with the deck in both weekend challenges, while PlayingPioneer team member IslandGOSAMe has also been playing the deck in events.
Atarka Red
Pioneer
2 mythic
37 rare
15 uncommon
6 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (33)
Instants (4)
Artifacts (2)
Lands (21)
60 Cards
$196.52
Sideboard
15 Cards
$23.31
Enigmatic Incarnation
With the addition of Leyline Binding, the Enigmatic decks now have a brilliant catch-all removal spell to deal with a variety of threats, while still maintaining a value engine that goes bigger than most decks in the format. Similar to Niv to Light, each Enigmatic deck can be tuned to your own local meta for maximum impact – if you want to try the deck be prepared for a few weeks of learning to find the optimal build and play patterns.
Enigmatic
Pioneer
2 mythic
60 rare
7 uncommon
11 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Companion
Creatures (15)
Enchantments (31)
Lands (34)
80 Cards
$718.94
Sideboard
15 Cards
$50.43
If there’s anything you’d like to see me examine further in these articles, you can reach me on Twitter and Reddit, or on our PlayingPioneer Discord if you are signed up to our Patreon.
