Pioneer: Azorius Heroic - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

Heroic was once one of the most famous strategies in Pioneer and appeared in various versions: Mono White for budget, Orzhov when Lurrus of the Dream-Den was legal, and Boros when the ban happened and players migrated to Dreadhorde Arcanist and Monstrous Rage.

Now, the archetype returns in an Azorius variant with Elusive Otter as a complementary threat and Secret Identity, another card that doubles as protection, evasion, and pump all in the same slot.

In mid-February, player Bachipandi1 placed sixth in a Pioneer Challenge with a list very similar to this one. Some changes were made based on my personal experience during MTGArena ranked games, especially in the Sideboard, where Voice of Victory was added to the protection package.

Its game plan is straightforward: put a creature on the board and protect it as needed while using pumps and other effects to attack the opponent for large chunks of damage. Illuminator Virtuoso is your main win condition with the right sequencing and primary threat, but the other creatures are just as capable of winning games, even without such an efficient clock.

Maindeck

The threats.

Elusive Otter is the newcomer, even though it was released two years ago. It grows quickly with a sequence of spells and also removes blockers from the path in the process. The Adventure ability also matters: we can trigger multiple Heroic triggers and others with it, then have another threat on the board the following turn.

Illuminator Virtuoso can win games in a turn or two. If left unanswered, the right sequence of spells is all it takes to turn the match in your favor or finish it outright thanks to the combination of Connive and Double Strike.

Favored Hoplite comes down early and grows permanently with each spell cast on it. It has the bonus of preventing damage from its Heroic trigger, which saves it from most Burn spells and makes it a decent blocker in the early turns.

Stormchaser Drake guarantees extra draws with each spell that targets it. It turns our "cantrips" into "draw 2" and also has evasion to benefit from cards that put +1/+1 counters on it.

The pumps.

Defiant Strike and Honor have similar roles in increasing your creatures' power while drawing cards, ensuring the flow of threats and spells continues. Slip Through Space is also a cantrip, but it mainly serves to remove blockers from the path.

Homestead Courage provides two triggers from a single card and feeds Illuminator Virtuoso's connive positively. It generates card advantage with Stormchaser Drake.

Sheltered by Ghosts is the permanent interaction, essential for a more aggressive Metagame like the current one, where Mono Red Aggro and Izzet/Gruul Prowess are common strategies in ranked games.

The protection.

Secret Identity is the newest addition. Coming from Spider-Man, it lets you protect creatures by granting Hexproof in the same slot that turns them into 3/4s (and they keep their +1/+1 counters) and grants Flying to get over opponents. It easily wins games alongside Illuminator Virtuoso.

Slip Out the Back also has dual functionality: it protects our creatures and increases their power while also potentially removing a blocker at the end of the opponent's turn.

Gods Willing and Sejiri Shelter provide protection against a specific color, serving both for spot removal and for attacking unblocked.

We focus on Shock Lands in the mana base for the flexibility of having them untapped when we want. Temple Garden and Breeding Pool come in for Elusive Otter's Adventure, and two copies of Starting Town increase consistency in accessing green. The other duals aim to facilitate paying various blue and white costs frequently in a single turn.

Sideboard

Spell Pierce and Dovin's Veto protect our game plan from stack interaction while also answering some of the main problems in certain matchups, like Temporary Lockdown or Cori-Steel Cutter.

Surge of Salvation comes in against Midrange to protect our creatures or ourselves from a Thoughtseize, but it also prevents lethal attacks from aggressive red decks.

I used to run two copies of Skrelv, Defector Mite, but I find the card too slow for some matchups, and in others, it can't get through two removals. A one-of is still decent for games where we need more setup, but not more than that.

Voice of Victory is the answer I'm betting on today for matchups with lots of interaction. Like Skrelv, it demands an answer from the opponent to deal with our creatures, but there are some advantages: it locks down counterspells, puts two bodies into combat, and there are cases where we just need one creature to get through to use two pumps and close out the remaining damage, and it punishes permanent interaction the moment it enters, giving the opponent less of a window.

Light of Hope gains life against Mono Red, deals with troublesome enchantments like Temporary Lockdown, and, in the worst case, turns into another pump spell.

Rest in Peace protects us from Greasefang, Okiba Boss and also from Cauldron Familiar loops. If Greasefang is our main target, we could swap it for Ghost Vacuum to prioritize mana efficiency.

Portable Hole deals with small threats, Cori-Steel Cutter, Emberheart Challenger, and also Witch's Oven.

Mono Red Aggro

IN

OUT

Izzet Prowess

IN

OUT

Abzan Greasefang

IN

OUT

Azorius Control

IN

OUT

Orzhov Midrange

IN

OUT

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!