Explorer: 5 Decks with Pioneer Masters to try out

Pioneer Masters has finally brought a dozen key cards to Magic Arena to make the Explorer format closer to its physical version. With the arrival of staples like Bring to Light and Hidden Strings, we can expect some changes in the ranked scenario, whether in Best of One, where we will have new Aggro and Combo categories, or in Best of Three, where attrition and value archetypes have gained new acquisitions.

In this article, we present five decks enabled in the Explorer format with the arrival of Pioneer Masters, from Niv to Light to Lotus Combo, and in which scenarios and/or versions they can stand out in Magic Arena!

Niv to Light

Niv to Light is the most efficient toolbox in the Pioneer Metagame today and the most powerful value deck in the format.

Its key card finally arrived at Magic Arena with Pioneer Masters: Bring to Light grants the archetype any number of one-of spells to be searched, while another ideal target includes Niv-Mizzet Reborn, which due to the two-color configuration of the spells, can draw around four to seven cards in its ETB.

To further amplify this cumulative value, the archetype runs with four copies of Up the Beanstalk and four copies of Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, which helps both in filtering the hand and ensuring proper access to the right mana in a five-color list.

Due to its combination of cards, Niv to Light is best suited for Best of Three scenarios, as one-ofs provide a strategic advantage in many different games, but some matchups require more precise answers that are found in multiples in the Sideboard. Another important difference is the Metagame: due to its mana base, this is a deck that struggles against very fast Aggro, which tends to predominate in scenarios without a Sideboard.

Izzet Lotus Field

Lotus Field is another card that took a long time to grow in Explorer due to the absence of Hidden Strings, but now that it has arrived on Magic Arena, one of Pioneer's most famous combo archetypes can be reproduced on the digital platform - to the dismay of opponents who will spend a few minutes watching their opponent play on their own.

There are several variants of the combo, but the most famous currently and possibly the easiest to play is Izzet, which combines Artist's Talent with a dozen cheap spells to make a "Storm without Storm", playing one spell after another until finding Wish, which will search for Niv-Mizzet, Parun or Thassa's Oracle to win the game.

There are other variants of this version, such as some that try to win the game by recycling Lightning Strike with Bond of Insight, and it's up to each player to decide which version is best for their list.

The Lotus Combo has a very steep learning curve, so if this is your kind of archetype, it's important to train extensively with any variant you have to understand the lines and outs it allows, since most games will be decided by how well you can pilot the deck to reach the combo.

Atarka Red

Reckless Bushwhacker may not be as present in Boros Convoke anymore, but it's still an essential piece in Atarka Red, where its combination with Burning-Tree Emissary and/or cards with the Plot ability make it a very explosive turn enabler.

This is classic red go wide in its purest form: cheap creatures with relevant power, preferably with Haste and/or evasion, and a dozen cards to increase their power, interact with the opponent and/or expand the scope of the damage caused.

It also has a Prowess sub-plan involving Monastery Swiftspear and Heartfire Hero alongside Monstrous Rage, but any other creature becomes a threat with this spell, and we can't forget the extra damage potential provided by Atarka's Command when we choose the +1/+1 and damage to the opponent modes.

This is a strong, consistent list, and probably very well-suited for Best of One, where Atarka Red has to be faster than other Aggro and/or more unfair than combos.

Atraxa Neoform

And speaking of combos, Hooting Mandrills is now joined by Tasigur, the Golden Fang and even Soulflayer to establish its famous combo with Neoform, which can bring Atraxa, Grand Unifier into play as early as turn three.

The combo involves milling as many cards as possible as early as possible to put one of the Delve creatures into play and sacrificing it with Neoform to get Atraxa, Grand Unifier. This combo has now been complemented with Zombify in case the player puts an Atraxa in the graveyard and/or if it is destroyed.

There are more "all-in" versions of the combo, but I like the interactive variants that include cheap removals like Fatal Push and disruptions like Thoughtseize and Stubborn Denial, as they give us more breathing room against the Metagame, especially in the Best of One environment, where this deck should excel.

Merfolks Combo

Merfolks is not a very popular archetype in Pioneer or Explorer, but it has several enthusiasts in the casual scene, and Kiora’s Follower has arrived at Magic Arena to allow testing with the more combo-oriented version.

The combo involves having Deeproot Pilgrimage in play and two copies of Kiora’s Follower and/or Forensic Researcher. From the moment all the pieces are on the board, we can tap one of the creatures to untap the other and repeat this loop as many times as we want, creating a 1/1 Merfolk token with Hexproof each time.

Once that’s done, we can draw the entire deck with Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca to find Thassa’s Oracle, or we can tap these merfolks to give an absurd amount of power to the other creatures. Keep in mind that, unlike Magic Online or tabletop, Magic Arena usually generates timers when the player establishes loops, so the clicks need to be very fast to finish the game in time.

That’s all for today!

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

Thanks for reading!