All Pioneer Articles

Charting a Course – January 26th
Arinceo breaks down the week of Pioneer data to provide a glimpse into the future of the format.

The Best Phyrexia: All Will Be One Planeswalkers
DarthJacen ranks the plethora of new planeswalkers in All Will Be One, with a focus on Pioneer and Explorer.

Bant Humans Deck Guide
Darthjacen covers one of his favorite decks and all of its many tools. Company bolsters Thalia and Reflector Mage in Bant Humans!

Why your Brew Sucks
In this new series, DarthJacen goes over some tips and tricks on things that your brew may be missing to take it to the next level.

Situational Awareness: How to Play Around Things
PVDDR takes us through some next-level mindset needed to succeed at the top levels, in how and when to play around the cards you’re afraid of.

Izzet Drakes Deck Guide
DarthJacen covers the best Phoenix-Alternative, the graveyard resilient Izzet Drakes!

Keep or Mull: January 2023
Brush up on your Pioneer mulligan game with IslandGoSAMe!

Azorius Control Deck Guide
DarthJacen breaks down the more recent 80-card version of Azorius Control, which is better tuned to counter the current meta than its 60-card counterpart.

The Allied Fastlands and Their Impact on Pioneer (and Explorer)
PVDDR breaks down Pioneer and Explorer decks that would be significantly improved by the printing of the Allied Fast Lands in the new set.

Magic: but Cheaper – Dalakolossus
Darren covers a hot new community brew featuring some of the least appreciated standard allstars of all time.

Charting a Course – A Year with No Data
Arinceo breaks down the week of Pioneer data to provide a glimpse into the future of the format.

Mono-White Humans: Pioneer’s Premier Aggro Deck
PVDDR breaks down Mono-White Humans – Pioneer’s premier aggro deck – and shares his sideboard guide.

Rakdos Midrange: Piloting The Best Deck In Pioneer
Todd Anderson takes us through the ins and outs of Pioneer’s current reigning champ, Rakdos Midrange.

Selesnya Auras Deck Guide
DarthJacen covers Pioneer’s best way to build your own threat.

So… You Wanna Beat Rakdos?
SCG Champ Vinny V takes us through some of the best ways to tackle our Rakdos problem in Pioneer right now!

Pioneer Drip From Dominaria Remastered
rose-emoji ranks the Pioneer-playable alternate art cards set to release with Dominaria Remastered on January 13.

Charting a Course: 6 ways to start playing Pioneer in 2023
Arinceo goes into all the ways we can play our favorite card game

Magic, but Cheaper: Angels
ServoToken breaks down Pioneer’s premier life gain deck that raises your life total without raising the price.

Sideboarding in Pioneer
PVDDR joins us again, but this time to go over the ins and outs of Sideboarding in Pioneer

Returning to Paper Play
PVDDR comes to us to share the tricks and tips to returning to paper magic

Brewing 101: Building Around a Specific Card
Alex Covers the basics of brewing with today’s focus on brewing for a single card

Metagame Breakdown December 21st, 2022
Join Darthjacen for a breakdown of this week’s top Pioneer decks and the meta shifts that were seen in recent events

Charting a Course – December 15th, 2022
Arinceo breaks down the week of Pioneer data to provide a glimpse into the future of the format.

PVDDR On Pioneer
In PVDDR’s debut article for PlayingPioneer, he goes over some competitive tips, Pioneer’s top decks and shares his pick for the best deck in the format right now.

Keep or Mull? December 2022
Brush up on your Pioneer mulligan game with IslandGoSAMe!

Metagame Breakdown December 14th, 2022
Join Darthjacen for a breakdown of this week’s top Pioneer decks and the meta shifts that were seen in recent events

Lotus Field Deck Guide
DarthJacen breaks down Pioneer’s longest-standing combo menace in Lotus Field/Hidden Strings Combo.

Old Decks, New Tech: Rally the Ancestors
Iglooboi explores some decks from standards’ past to see how they might stack up in todays Pioneer Meta game.

Metagame Breakdown December 7th, 2022
Join Darthjacen for a breakdown of this week’s top Pioneer decks and the meta shifts that were seen in recent events

Magic but Cheaper: BW Reanimate
ServoToken breaks down a new graveyard brew in this month’s Budget article!

Rakdos Midrange Deck Guide
DarthJacen breaks down Pioneer’s premier midrange deck, which has answers for every permanent and threats to boot. Sideboard guide inside!

LATP! An exploration of: Hardened Scales
Bradcifer explorers what could be possible with Hardened Scales – a seemingly forgotten Pioneer archetype.

Selesnya Angels Deck Guide
Darthjacen takes a look at Pioneer’s premier life-gain deck and learns just how easy it is to get to 27 life

Explosive Impacts: The Best Cards From M14 And Theros Block
Briger joins us this week for his series, Explosive Impacts ,and shares the top cards from each set in M14 and Theros Block

Deck Tech: Selesnya Auras
Michael Letsch shares his Dreamhack Atlanta Regional Championship Top 8 deck and goes over his playtesting and decision-making.

Charting a Course – DMU Season Wrap and First Regional Championships
Arinceo breaks down this weekend’s first regional championships to provide a glimpse into the future of the format

Metagame Breakdown November 23rd, 2022
Join Darthjacen for a breakdown of this week’s top Pioneer decks and the meta shifts that were seen in recent huge paper events

Atlanta in Review: an On-Site Weekend Recap
Darren covers the weekend’s festivities at RC Atlanta!

Pioneer Meta Snapshot: October/November 2022
Ruckman breaks down the last month of the Pioneer meta, just in time for the Dreamhack Atlanta Regional Championships.

Brewing With Power: Five Applications of BRO Powerstones
Alex digs into Brothers’ War’s new mechanic: Powerstone Tokens, providing five decklists that take advantage of the easy-to-create artifacts.

Brothers’ War Top 10
Ruckman and Servotoken take a look at their top picks from the new set!

Metagame Breakdown Nov 16th, 2022
Join Darthjacen for a breakdown of this week’s top Pioneer decks and the meta shifts that were seen in recent events including some new faces

Gruul Vehicles Deck Guide and SCG Philly Tournament Report
Vinny Vitanza breaks down the Gruul Vehicles deck he piloted to win SCG Philly this weekend, and writes about his experience and matchups.

Extra Life Charity Stream Tonight to Feature MTG Wrestling
Friends of PlayingPioneer, the Crew3 Podcast, is hosting an Extra Life charity stream all day today, culminating in some good ol’ fashioned MTG wrestling.

Karn’s New Toys: What to Tutor?
DarthJacen covers some of Karn’s new Toys from the Brother’s War!

Charting a Course – Balance in the Meta?
Arinceo breaks down the week of Pioneer data to provide a glimpse into the future of the format.

Mono-Blue Spirits Deck Guide
Darthjacen takes a look at Pioneer’s premire tempo deck and how it fits into the format as a whole

Metagame Breakdown November 9th, 2022
Join Darthjacen for a breakdown of this week’s top Pioneer decks and the meta shifts that were seen in recent events including some new faces

Tier 1 at Home: Green Devotion
Cris (IglooBoi) takes a spin at making FNMs and casual events more fun in this new series!

Obosh Red Deck Guide
Darthjacen takes a look at how to pilot Mono Red through today’s meta-game like a pro

Metagame Breakdown November 2nd, 2022
Join Darthjacen for a breakdown of this week’s top Pioneer decks and the meta shifts that were seen in recent events including some new faces

Golgari Elves Deck Guide
Darthjacen breaks down one of pioneer’s premier tribal decks in Golgari Elves

Keep Or Mulligan? Real-Life Examples and Outcomes
IslandGoSAMe uses real-life examples in this edition of Keep or Mulligan, and breaks down the outcomes of the decisions.

Grixis Grabs, Dominaria Edition
Alex goes into great detail about the changes Grixis control went through with the last set release.

Metagame Breakdown October 26th, 2022
Join Darthjacen for a breakdown of this week’s top Pioneer decks and the meta shifts that were seen in recent events

The Grand Open: Warsaw
Skura dived deep into the meta game and even more into the top 8

Mono-White Midrange Deck Guide
Darthjacen dives right into Mono-White Midrange and sees how this latest Karn pile takes down some of the top decks of Pioneer

Magic, But Cheaper: Bushwacker on a Budget
ServoToken breaks down an even more budget-friendly version of Atarka Red – which might just be the best budget-adjacent deck in the format as it is.

Gruul Boat Deck Guide
Bailey (BCS8995) reveals his own sideboard guide and provides a in-depth overview of Gruul Vehicles

Charting a Course – Go Wide or Outgrind?
Arinceo breaks down the week of Pioneer data to provide a glimpse into the future of the format.

Metagame Breakdown October 19th, 2022
Join Darthjacen for a breakdown of this week’s top Pioneer decks and the meta shifts that were seen in recent events

Old Decks & New Techs: Rakdos Arcanist
Join Iglooboi in their first of a new article series, as they imagine what Rakdos Arcanist might look like in the current meta

You Suck at Sideboarding
IslandGoSAMe thinks you suck at sideboarding, and uses some existing English words and some new ones to try to help you improve your games two and three

Metagame Breakdown October 12th
Join Darthjacen as he breaks down some of the meta shifts that took place before this week’s uneventful banned and restricted announcement

Pick Your Poison: Choosing a Greasefang Variant
Bailey covers the four Pioneer-viable Greasefang variants before sharing insight on his own build.

2022 Challenger Decks: A Competitive Analysis, Part Two
DarthJacen finishes breaking down the last two of the four upcoming Pioneer Challenger Decks and analyzes their competitive viablility out of the box.

Challenger Decks 2022: $50 Upgrades
ServoToken takes a look at upgrading this winter’s coming Challenger Decks on a $50 budget!

Charting a Course: Deja Vu All Over Again
Arinceo compares and contrasts the weeks leading up to Winota, Joiner of Force’s ban and the most recent weeks of Pioneer competitive play in this edition of his data-driven series.

2022 Challenger Decks: A Competitive Analysis, Part One
DarthJacen breaks down two of the four upcoming Pioneer Challenger Decks and analyzes their competitive viablility out of the box.

On the Cusp of Greatness: Vampires
Briger, a humble researcher, takes a look at the history of Vampires in the Pioneer format.

Metagame Breakdown October 5th
Join Darthjacen for a breakdown of this week’s top Pioneer decks and the meta shifts that were seen in recent events

September Monthly Meta Snapshot
Ruckman tackles September’s twists and turns in this month’s Monthly Meta Snapshot

Izzet Creativity Deck Guide
DarthJacen breaks down the latest iteration of Indomitable Creativity deck, featuring Worldspine Wurm as the big payoff.

Like a True Pioneer – An Exploration of: The Other Lords of Dominaria
Bradcifer goes over what can be done with the *other* lords from Dominaria United in Pioneer.

Playing Pioneer Special Edition: Pioneer Challenger Decks 2022 – Decklists Revealed
WOTC finally dropped the deck lists for us and Ruckman is hear to tell you our first thoughts on each.

Keep or Mulligan – September 2022
Brush up on your Pioneer mulligan game with IslandGoSAMe!

Bant Spirits Deck Guide
Join Darthjacen as he breaks down the best tempo deck in Pioneer: Bant Spirits. Can this tempo deck take down the likes of Rakdos Midrange and Karn Devotion or will it simply ghost the metagame and fall back into the middle tiers?

Pioneer Meta Guide: September 28
DarthJacen breaks down some of the meta shifts that took place this week – notably, the inclusion of an S+ Tier, which we have never used before, for Rakdos Midrange

Abzan Greasefang Deck Guide
DarthJacen breaks down two versions of Abzan Greasefang, which has somewhat recently overtaken all other variants of the archetype to represent the strongest home for Parhelion II in Pioneer.

The History of Green Devotion
Anthony Dolce looks back on the entire evolution of Green Devotion in Pioneer, from its humble beginnings as a stompy deck to its current state of looping an infinite combo.

Rakdos Sacrifice Guide
DarthJacen breaks down Pioneer’s oldest way to invalidate combat and count up to 20, one at a time.

An Elf’s Tale
ServoToken goes all-in this week discussing Elves in Pioneer and the different archetypes that are emerging with some new tools from Dominaria United.

Charting a Course – DMU September Showcase
Arinceo breaks down the week of Pioneer data to provide a glimpse into the future of the format.

Pioneer Metagame Breakdown: Top Decks for the Week of September 21, 2022
DarthJacen goes over this week’s Pioneer tier list and offers insights to each deck’s viability and tier list movements this week.

A Letter from the Publisher (Sept.2022)
Hello! It is with great joy and humility that I find myself in the position to write to you all today. As you may have seen elsewhere already, there are some big changes happening within our sphere here, and i’m looking forward to the opportunity to give you all the run down. Here at Playing…

Izzet Pyromancer Deck Guide
DarthJacen breaks down Pioneer’s new Izzet deck, full of cheap threats, interaction and a stream of card filtering and cantrips.

Explosive Impacts!
Briger joins us this week for his new series, Explosive Impacts and shares the top three cards from each set in the Ravnica Block

Play Dumb Decks, Win Dumb Prizes: Fog
In September’s edition of “Play Dumb Decks, Win Dumb Prizes”, Ricky introduces the deck that just may lose you all your friends in Turbo-Fog.

The Return of Tribal
IslandGoSAMe shows what new tribal decks might just have their time in the limelight in the Post-DMU Pioneer

Pioneer Metagame Breakdown: Top Decks for the Week of September 14, 2022
In the first of PlayingPioneer’s weekly Meta Guides (which will replace our weekly tier list breakdowns), DarthJacen goes over this week’s Pioneer tier list and offers insights to each deck’s viability and tier list movements this week.

Niv to Light Deck Guide
DarthJacen breaks down Pioneer’s long-standing toolbox deck that has been a scourge on the format’s midrange players from the beginning.

Magic, but Cheaper: Bard Class
ServoToken goes over a truly legendary Strategy but for the common player

August Meta Snapshot
Ruckman covers the changes over the last month of Tier Lists in August’s Meta Snapshot.

Omnath’s Dominarian Domain
Michael Schwander imagines a new version of our known Omnath piles using some of the new cards from DMU.

Jund Sacrifice Deck Guide
DarthJacen dives into the newest iteration of Jund Food – a variant closer to Rakdos Sacrifice than ever and seems to have staying power.

Charting a Course – SNC Retrospective and DMU First Look
Arinceo breaks down the week of Pioneer data to provide a glimpse into the future of the format.

The Defiler Cycle: Infinite Combos in Each Color
Kevin Finkle explores the Phrexian Defilers from Dominaria United! Getting whacky with some brews, he shows off the weirdness they bring to the table, showcasing new infinite combos in every color!

Boros Heroic Deck Guide
DarthJacen breaks down one of the best aggro decks in Pioneer and provides a matchup and sideboard guide based on the current meta.

Pioneer Tier List Update September 6, 2022
An explanation of this week’s Pioneer tier list movements and placements.

Dominaria United Deck Upgrades
Darthjacen explains where some of of the New cards from DMU might find homes.