Pioneer - Atarka Red - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

Outlaws of Thunder Junction is already impacting major competitive formats, and one of the main cards behind these changes is the latest aggressive two-drop - Slickshot Show-Off.

Also present in Standard and Modern, the new creature also left its mark in Pioneer, where it won two Challenges and has proven to be one of the main motivators for the return of Aggro decks to the Metagame, especially with the new interaction of a very well-known archetype in Khans of Tarkir Standard, Atarka Red.

In this article, we delve into the newest Pioneer trend and present a guide for the current Metagame.

This was the list ran by the player MJ_23 to win the Pioneer Challenge on April 21, and serves as the basis for any future deck update in the format.

As we can see, this new version of Atarka Red is essentially a prowess deck in the Grull colors, using the already known red core with spells such as Monastery Swiftspear and Monstrous Rage while adding protection and added value with green, in addition to the important inclusion of Atarka's Command as a way to give the deck more reach while preventing, for example, life gain and/or to help at making better trades.

Maindeck

The classic one-drops of red aggressive decks.

Starting the match with any of them is a good sign for us to start putting pressure on the opponent, in addition to them interacting with our spells and adding to the pressure established by our other threats.

Slickshot Show-Off essentially works like a Kiln Fiend on steroids. Although the increase in power is smaller, its immediate impact and the possibility of plotting it a turn earlier to start an explosive sequence of spells and protection in the next turn made it have its moment in multiple formats, being the main motivator for the recent rise from Atarka Red.

Questing Druid is one of the main reasons to run green in this list. In addition to being a threat that grows with each spell we cast, it offers more gas during the match and allows us to sequence more spells in a turn.

Picnic Ruiner allows for some combo-kills alongside Monstrous Rage or Audacity, but is vulnerable to most removals and a little too slow in certain games.

Our pumps.

Monstrous Rage does everything we want from this list: it increases the power of our creatures, grants evasion, triggers Picnic Ruiner and makes any creature a threat on its own, functioning almost like a pseudo -Embercleave.

Blossoming Defense is a protection that we can use proactively to add more damage during the match, but it is better to keep it as an interaction “check” on turns when we need to be more explosive.

Audacity should be used proactively and helps establish permanent pressure on the board and ensures evasion for our one-drops or two-drops.

Just like Slickshot Show-Off, Demonic Ruckus can be plotted for a more explosive turn, which ensures that our lethal attack connects with the opponent.

Our interaction and reach.

Atarka’s Command does a little bit of everything we need: increases the power of our creatures, deals damage to the opponent, prevents them from gaining life with Wildgrowth Walker, and allows us to trade more favorably against creatures with flying.

Play with Fire deals with small creatures while also speeding up our clock, it's scry 1 has uses in turns where we need a specific piece to deal lethal damage, so remember you can use it at your own upkeep.

Witchstalker Frenzy is easy to enable in this list and can even deal with Sheoldred, the Apocalypse or Vein Ripper, making it an excellent removal for the current Metagame.

As this is an aggressive deck, we maximize the number of lands that come into play untapped, including with a set of Karplusan Forest since we don't mind taking some damage as long as it guarantees us access to the right colors.

The other lands aim to maintain our range and pressure in the face of excessive sweepers or removal, with Den of the Bugbear being an excellent way to pull in some extra points of damage if the game goes on for too long. Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance and Ramunap Ruins add a slight “surprise factor” in long games.

Sideboard

Magebane Lizard is another recent addition from Outlaws of Thunder Junction that does a good job of keeping in check strategies that take advantage of multiple spells in a single turn, being a good answer against Lotus Combo and Izzet Phoenix.

Rampaging Ferocidon remains a need against Abzan Amalia, but it can enter any game where the opponent has large doses of life gain and, preferably, few ways to deal with creatures.

Redcap Melee gains space as red decks grow, being ideal for the mirror or for Mono Red Aggro or Boros Heroic. Furthermore, due to its low cost and Atarka Red's ability to play well with few lands, we can use it as complementary removal in games where we need to keep certain creatures in check.

Rending Volley remains an ideal solution against Abzan Amalia, Ledger Shredder, Duelist of the Mind and has gained more space in matchups as players try new variants of Humans with Collector's Cage.

Witchstalker Frenzy enters in games where large threats like Sheoldred, the Apocalypse or Vein Ripper are present, making it a good complement.

Pick Your Poison has become more important in the Metagame for dealing with Vein Ripper without triggering its ability. It also serves to remove Waste Not and other troublesome enchantments or artifacts.

Case of the Crimson Pulse is our main means of maintaining our gas in longer games where we suffer from removals, and its drawback isn't very relevant for Atarka Red given the deck's ease in emptying its hand in the first few turns.

Atarka Gruul

IN

OUT

Rakdos Vampires

IN

OUT

Izzet Phoenix

IN

OUT

Lotus Combo

IN

OUT

Abzan Amalia

IN

OUT

That's all for today.

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

Thanks for reading!