The Pioneer Metagame shift following the Heartfire Hero ban has led to substantial changes in the competitive landscape. Izzet Prowess has solidified its position as the best deck in the format, while Badgermole Cub has propelled Selesnya Company into one of the Metagame's top contenders. More recently, Formidable Speaker has pushed Greasefang, Okiba Boss decks to shift back to an Abzan configuration, though the Monument to Endurance variant remains popular.
The format's demands have changed, and Midrange decks need to adapt alongside them—answers need to cover more ground, and the 
combination provides a considerable range of them with Abrupt Decay, Maelstrom Pulse, and Culling Ritual. Add the possibility of more explosive turns through Badgermole Cub interacting with mana dorks, and Golgari Midrange has become the format's most popular attrition deck.
The Decklist
Maindeck
The combination of Badgermole Cub with Llanowar Elves sits at the core of this version. Doubling the mana generated by your creatures enables more explosive sequencing with multiple threats and/or late-game bombs entering earlier, while also making Culling Ritual or Unholy Annex easier to cast.
Sentinel of the Nameless City survives various damage-based removal spells in Pioneer today while applying clock pressure, generating long-term value, and blocking reliably all in the same slot. Should the Metagame become less aggressive in the future, Preacher of the Schism becomes an option for Midrange mirrors.
Players remain divided between Ouroboroid and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse as the four-mana payoff of choice. Since this isn't an archetype where resolving combat with Ouroboroid on board creates an almost unsolvable board state without sweepers, we opt for a 2-2 split between them, though we could reduce to 1-3 in favor of Sheoldred.
Just like the Rakdos version, the interaction between Mutavault and Unholy Annex serves as our primary source of card advantage. Another important reason for including Badgermole Cub is the possibility of creating the enchantment's Demon token earlier.
Thoughtseize remains a vital staple in black decks even within an Aggro-heavy environment: combos are a common way to invalidate opponents' clocks, and Greasefang, Okiba Boss was one of the archetypes that benefited most from Lorwyn Eclipsed.
Duress rounds out the targeted discard package with the advantage of handling most problems, even against more proactive strategies like Izzet Prowess.
Like Thoughtseize, Fatal Push remains one of Pioneer's best interaction spells. The Map tokens created by Sentinel of the Nameless City make Revolt easier to trigger and expand the spell's range in Midrange mirrors, where we complement it with Go for the Throat.
The number of cheap non-creature permanents also motivates the green splash for the broad removal flexibility the combination offers. Abrupt Decay, for instance, handles Cori-Steel Cutter and Artist's Talent in the same slot where it answers Greasefang, Okiba Boss or Monument to Endurance. Tear Asunder and Maelstrom Pulse have no mana cost restrictions and even offer flexibility bonuses, though they require more mana.
Culling Ritual is our maindeck sweeper of choice for dealing with all of Izzet Prowess's permanents simultaneously. A second copy to complete a playset across the 75 can be included in place of Go for the Throat or one of the four-drops.
The mana base performs exactly as expected. We abandon any concern about playing around Sunspine Lynx and accept that the card's damage is consequential — we can hold Mono Red's clock long enough not to worry about their four-drop closing out the game.
Sideboard
The extra copies of Culling Ritual in the Sideboard provide more resilience against Prowess and also serve as a workable tool against other Aggro decks. The sweepers are complemented by Shadows' Verdict, whose exile effect also makes it an option against Food decks.
Go Blank adds graveyard hate while exhausting resources in matchups where removal matters less. In Control games, Duress supplements the discard package, while Carnage Tyrant bypasses stack interaction entirely and can be accelerated with Badgermole Cub and Llanowar Elves.
Necromentia is a key piece against combos and recurring threats. Naming Greasefang, Okiba Boss or Cauldron Familiar completely shuts down opponents' free win buttons, while naming Arclight Phoenix permanently solves one of the matchup's biggest problems.
Just as Duress supplements discard in slower games, Go for the Throat rounds out removal in matchups demanding more board interaction.
Sideboard Guide
Izzet Prowess
IN
OUT
Selesnya Company
IN
OUT
Mono Red Aggro
IN
OUT
Azorius Control
IN
OUT
Izzet Phoenix
IN
OUT
Abzan Greasefang
IN
OUT
Golgari Midrange
IN
OUT
Nykthos Ramp
IN
OUT
Jund Food
IN
OUT
Wrapping Up
That's all for today!
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