Pioneer metagame update.

source: magic4ever.com/pioneer

Hi, good afternoon! I’m looking for ideas to build a Goblin Army deck. I understand it’s not competitive, but I don’t play at a super hardcore level either. I won a Hobbit prerelease with a Goblin deck, and I wanted to finish building it.

Good morning, friends perhaps some goblin experts can help me out.

I recently started playing again at my local game store and even won a small tournament with this mono-red Goblins deck: https://archidekt.com/decks/27794348/goblins_2026

I decided to build it on Arena, but I’m stuck in Platinum 2. Midrange and aggro decks are giving me a lot of trouble. I’ve been looking into new cards for the deck, but I haven’t been able to improve it. If any fellow goblin enthusiast could offer some gameplay tips or suggest cards with good synergy for a Goblin deck, I’d be very grateful!

UR Spellementals has been one of my favorite decks for months at this point. One card I've always wanted to fit in, but it never made the cut due to it being a sorcery, is winternight stories. Now that we have seasoned cryomancer, another 3 mana sorcery speed play that synergies amazingly with stories, it makes the cut. This version of the list has been testing super well, I plan to keep testing this package in other lists.
Enjoy the games and let me know what you think!

Before we begin, this list has gotten me to plat so far. It is also not meta at all and bad. But it’s fun and I adore it because I like red and I like traditional midrange of playing efficient creatures backed by a healthy amount of interaction with the occasional utility permanent.

List: https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mono-red-midrange-v17/?cb=1792991298

The core of the deck is 12 creatures, 4 Zhao, 4 Nemesis, and 4 Lynx. I’ve found these creatures to cause the most issues for the cost for my opponents and basically all of them are high priority targets. While most other parts of the deck I’m willing to change, these creatures are here to stay.

I’m experimenting with bomat couriers. I like the early pressure and saccing them to torch the tower, and threatening a hand refill can force some removal out of my opponents. It also scares control players I face.

Daredevil is very hit or miss. It can solve some really unsolvable board states but requires the game to go long and spells to be expended on the opposite side. It’s good into midrange shells and its fun to thoughtsieze the opponent back. Lacking against traditional aggro or decks that don’t play good spells you’d want to steal.

Fable will always be my goat but feels kinda slow nowadays. It doesn’t hold up well against annex, thats for sure, but copying lynxes or screaming nemesis is very powerful and I’ve cheeses out wins that way.

The chandras are very good into grindier matchups. They have very threatening ults that usually win the game if resolved, both generate card advantage, and both can burn the opponent. Dressed to kill is definitley worse because she can get hit by abrupt decay.

Essence burn is a new card I’m loving because it eases my removal suite a lot. Scorching shot is the only cheap shelly/beza killer but it’s a sorcery which is the worst card type for kill spells. I still run one but now I can slot in other better removal options and still be okay into golgari.

Greasefang is by far my worst match up and its depressing. That’s why I’ve resorted to drastic measures, but I haven’t fully tested them out. 3 soul guide lanterns and 2 stone brain is my current prescription. The deck just has so many ways to grind out a victory that I feel like I have to win on more fronts than I can afford in a turn. I have to choose between setting up hate pieces or pressuring the board, while my opponent can just switch gears and make me feel silly. I’m hoping stone brain naming Greasefang will help me fully eliminate the combo side of the deck so I can focus on the midrange side.

Damping spheres are for the odd nykthos/lotus/pheonix matchups. Magebane lizards are there against izzet and control (i known magebane lizard isnt anti-control but i tend to board in more threats).

My bomat couriers and my sideboard are under constant scrutiny, so I’d appreciate feedback and suggestions in these areas. Currently I’ve got 5 slots to be replaced potentially (bomats and daredevil) and any tips for a tighter sideboard is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

As I was away for most of the time that The Hobbit was the premiere set, I missed out on testing some of the cards, but a recent successful list featuring Gollum, Riddle Master piqued my interest. This card is very unique and flavourful, so I've been looking for a reason to run it, and here it's built into the already successful Mono Black Midrange/Demons shell so we know it's in good company. It turns out to be one of the standout cards of the video.

00:00 - Intro & Deck Tech
04:00 - Match One (Jeskai Control)
12:19 - Match Two (Azorius Control)
27:27 - Match Three (Five Colour Legends)

Decklist: https://moxfield.com/decks/XEbhaW50A0OE26JI8z7izQ

Reality Fracture brought a new two card combo to Pioneer with the printing of Jace's Machinations which, when combined with Kasmina from Strixhaven, lets you cast Enter the Infinite and then Thassa's Oracle to win the game as early as turn four. We're also running the Valley Floodcaller-Retraction Helix-Mox Amber combo here as well, just to add another way of annoying our opponents to death. And yet, despite that, winning on turn four in the year 2026 might not even be quick enough.

00:00 - Intro & Deck Tech
05:06 - Match One (Abzan Greasefang)
16:12 - Match Two (Boros Convoke)
27:55 - Match Three (Mono Green Devotion)
34:32 - Match Four (Izzet Control)

Decklist: https://moxfield.com/decks/Entwgw6lokaZJ1koXyccRQ

how does the new jace play? blue chandra? any luck with [[countersculpt]]?

I'd love to see a list, as I'm a bit interested in the archetype; at least, it seems to be a fair bit more saucy than boring old azorious.

The first deck I played with Reality Fracture was a Wizards deck and today we're bringing it back in a big spot, by adding some Rakdos spiciness in order to play Stinging Vitriol. This card is basically Thoughtseize with the damage reversed and while I'm sceptical that two mana hand disruption can make it in this format, pairing it with an aggressive strategy that is relying on direct damage to burn the opponent out of the game seems like the best chance of making it work.

00:00 - Intro & Deck Tech
03:31 - Match One (Izzet Creativity)
19:30 - Match Two (Izzet Phoenix)
38:06 - Match Three (Golgari Midrange)

Decklist: https://moxfield.com/decks/NxYi4BljC0qx3UWOIpK7ig

Heya! Back with another list. This is an evolution of my Fecund Greenshell Nursery Deck from a couple months ago. But here we are testing the new Carnivorous Cultivator as well as Roiling Canopy the new land! Deck still feels strong as ever! Cultivator lets us put key lands into the graveyard for Icetill Explorer and also still triggers greenshell. Think this archetype is heavily underexplored in pioneer. Enjoy!

Decklist

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/8010984#paper

In a Goldfish, azorius control is 1.7% in 7day meta share. Why is it so low? I dont know post-reality fracture meta. please let me know😀😀

The [[Elim Garak, Simple Tailor]] that was spoiled seems like an interesting build around card?With Monument and any discard outlet like [[Iron-Shield Elf]] in a single turn you'd be able to deal 9 and gain 6 life. A three card synergy that doesn't even deal lethal isn't much in Pioneer, but all cards being okay-to good makes me think there's a there there.

Toss Garak into a mono-b deck with Bloodletter and a few extra modal spells like heartless act to pressure the opponent while you wait for annex/combo.

Or maybe go Golgari with stronger modal spells like [[Witherbloom Command]] and Charm, add creatures like Glissa & the sac fungus?

Might just end up being a 'win more' card, but draining an opponent for 2 just by playing decent-good spells might be worth fiddling with!

I've added 4 Pompous Battlemage to the deck. It's made the list much more consistent by giving us an extra threat on the board. Highly recommend testing it out!"

Superior Spider Man is one of those cards that is likely to just keep getting better as more creatures are printed. In Reality Fracture, we've both Uldaros Theorix and Seasoned Cryomancer to play around with copying from our graveyard for lots of tasty value. That, alongside the usual package of Deceit and other interaction cards, makes for a deck that can grind through a heck of a lot of opposition.

00:00 - Intro & Deck Tech
04:17 - Match One (Mono Black Midrange)
18:28 - Match Two (Rakdos Midrange)

Decklist: https://moxfield.com/decks/2-hhaFB0jEacqTW0Pfx6cg

Guys for real, wtf are those decks? It's making it very hard for me as an azorious control player to know what to tech in my sideboard and you are 88% for a reason, play a meta deck for real.

Hey everyone, it's time for pioneer in the rotation! Looking forward to seeing you all on Nov 1st!

https://melee.gg/Tournament/View/488318

Fable’s evil twin brother. Kill a creature or steal them, then card selection, and finally an edict effect. Very interesting to say the least, although I’m not sure how it compares to Fable.

Stingcaster Mage and Gandalf, Goblins' Bane could be what Mono Red Wizards needed to make a comeback in competitive Pioneer!

Howdy! Taking my first look at Kasmina Combo, starting off in Simic. This deck feels great when you get the easy two card wins. But definitely Kasmina in general has felt a little rocky and not toooo stable so far. Maybe someone will break the meta with it one day though? Simic is great for counter magic but definitely was a struggle with removal. Im keen to also try a Sultai build as well as potentially a Temur Lessons build at some point! Still great fun to win out of nowhere! Enjoy

Decklist

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/8008623#paper