Pioneer: Thor Lessons - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

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Thor has arrived on competitive Pioneer as a powerful win condition for Lessons decks!

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Translated byRomeu

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Revised byTabata Marques

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It was expected that Lessons, in the Control/Midrange variant, would eventually reach Pioneer. The combination of Gran-Gran with Accumulate Wisdom is too strong to ignore, and spells like Divide by Zero enable an efficient toolbox in the Sideboard.

Variants have merged this package with cards like Quantum Riddler, Stormchaser's Talent, and even Vivi Ornitier as complementary win conditions, but player jtl005's list bets on a new card from Marvel Super Heroes: Thor, God of Thunder.

The Decklist

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Maindeck

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Our main win condition boils down to pinging the opponent. Lindblum, Industrial Regency creates a token that deals damage to the opponent with each noncreature spell before being played as a land. Thor, God of Thunder was a recent addition that has proven extremely efficient with the Learn package combined with the Lessons in the Sideboard, enabling explosive turns when we sequence multiple spells.

Both benefit from Improvisation Capstone, one of our primary Lessonboard targets when we have enough mana.

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Gran-Gran is a staple for Lessons decks and easily provides "free mana," letting us sequence multiple two‑mana value spells in a turn, while also turning Accumulate Wisdom into a half‑Ancestral Recall.

Tablet of Discovery provides another resource for the turn while also being a mana rock that doubles in value for noncreature spells, enabling more explosive turns and casting higher‑mana‑value spells earlier.

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Abandon Attachments fuels our graveyard and filters our hand, letting us cast Accumulate Wisdom as a "Draw 3" for two mana (or even Magic Symbol U with Gran-Gran) as early as possible.

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For interaction, Firebending Lesson answers most early threats and can even destroy a Sheoldred, the Apocalypse as the game goes long. Combustion Technique scales with each Lesson in the graveyard, and Iroh's Demonstration has the flexibility to handle multiple tokens and mana dorks, or a single larger creature at a low cost.

To protect ourselves from Planeswalkers and stack interaction, we run a full set of It'll Quench Ya!. It is not ideal against Badgermole Cub decks, but we usually do not want to keep it on the battlefield anyway.

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The tutors for the Lessonboard. Divide by Zero interacts with both the stack and the board, while Pop Quiz lets us fetch any of the cards with a proactive spell that does not depend on an opponent's action to work.

Lessonboard

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Price of Freedom is the "go‑to target" when we do not want a specific card, since it can be used proactively to attack the opponent's mana base while drawing a card. With any of the Learn spells and Thor, this combination adds up to five damage split between two targets.

Boomerang Basics works as a cantrip if we cast it on Tablet of Discovery or even on Thor in some cases. Otherwise, it is an efficient Tempo play that also permanently answers Unholy Annex's token.

Iroh's Demonstration adds to board interaction. More copies of it are a common side‑in against Aggro, but we want at least one in the Sideboard.

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The extra copy of Accumulate Wisdom provides card advantage at a low cost. Aang's Journey secures the land drop of the turn and a little extra life against Aggro.

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The win conditions.

Improvisation Capstone finds, on average, two spells per turn, triggering our creatures with a single card repeatedly. Mascot Exhibition enables a more board‑oriented line, with three distinct threats and a cost that is easy to pay with Tablets.

Sideboard

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Soulless Jailer is the only Sideboard card that is not a Lesson. It is necessary against Greasefang, Okiba Boss, locks down Arclight Phoenix while dodging the deck's main removal spells, and also prevents loops with Aftermath Analyst and Scapeshift.

Sideboard Guide

Abzan Greasefang

IN

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OUT

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Orzhov Greasefang

IN

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OUT

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Selesnya Counters

IN

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OUT

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Azorius Control

IN

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OUT

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Dimir Midrange

IN

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OUT

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Wrapping Up

That's all for today!

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

Thanks for reading!