Pioneer: Discover Combo and the new threat to the Metagame

The new expansion, Lost Caverns of Ixalan, brought a new combo deck for Pioneer and Explorer - actually, two combos based on the Discover mechanic: the Quintorius Combo and the Four-Color Discover.

Since competing in the finals of the last Pioneer Showcase Challenge, both strategies have also taken over leagues and ranked matches at Magic Arena.

Today, we're going to talk about this new combo, what strategies work against it, and how an archetype little played in the format can be the ideal answer to dealing with the new threat!

The first point is to understand what the proposal of both combos is, and they are simple to understand.

The Discover keyword makes the player reveal cards from the top of their library until they reveal a spell with a mana value less than or equal to the number specified in the ability. As double-faced or modal cards consider the value of both sides, it is easy to build a deck where it is possible to manipulate the result of what we can find with this ability.

Four-Color Discover seeks to use Geological Appraiser as early as the third turn to start a loop. Once it comes into play, Glasspool Mimic or Eldritch Evolution will be revealed.

If the player reveals the mimic, it can copy Geological Appraiser and repeat the loop. If Eldritch Evolution is revealed, the player can sacrifice Geological Appraiser to fetch Trumpeting Carnosaur and continue the process. In the end, all copies of the cards above will be cast, and you can search for Doomskar Titan with Eldritch Evolution to attack with all of them in the same turn.

The version with Quintorius Kand seeks to use the Planeswalker to start the loop, where it findsSpark Double or Clever Impersonator to copy Quintorius and deal an arbitrary amount of damage with his passive ability to each time its controller casts another exiled clone.

This version has more response windows, is slower than the proposal above, but makes up for this with an excellent interactions package to hold the game and deal with hate while not closing the loop.

The problem in both cases is that the combo only requires one card - once the first Discover trigger resolves, it's game over if the opponent doesn't have an answer. It also does not require board position, so it creates situations where we cannot predict whether the opponent will win the game on the next turn.

The position of both combos today in the Pioneer and Explorer Metagame is relatively clear, where it punishes other non-interactive strategies like Mono Green Devotion, while requiring many concessions from interactive decks to hinder its free-win. Therefore, alternatives for dealing with it today include:

Be faster

Being faster than a third-turn combo is a difficult task, but it doesn't just mean trying to race before your opponent establishes the loop.

Boros Convoke, for example, is Pioneer's most explosive aggro deck today, with the ability to also win on the third or fourth turn with the right sequencing. But it also has some problematic specific pieces for the combo, such as Thalia, Guardian of Thraben in the maindeck to delay it for at least one turn.

Additionally, both versions of Discover suffer from a lack of card selection. There's no point in being able to win on the third turn if the right cards don't appear, and Boros Convoke is one of the best strategies to punish slow game starts in Pioneer and Explorer.

Be interactive, but on their turns

Against this combo, it's not enough to just play with four copies of Thoughtseize and some removal because both lists have numerous ways to play around it. Their topdeck is much more punishing than Mono Green Devotion or Lotus Field, as a single straight draw starts the loop.

A deck like Rakdos Midrange doesn't have the necessary tools to hold this strategy. Thoughtseize and Duress do a good job, Go for the Throat is a sure-fire way to avoid clones, and Torch the Tower is decent at dealing with Geological Appraiser, but this strategy is also too greedy and won't be able to hold off the opponent forever.

This proposition is also problematic in post-sideboard games, where Discover players increasingly rely on Chandra, Awakened Inferno or the combination of Magma Opus with Torrential Gearhulk to play around hate - this one being even more efficient in games against Midranges.

Azorius Control, especially the versions with Lotus Field, is well positioned against the combo because it has a dozen interactions against the opponent, and does not require interacting with it on its turn or make concessions to respond to the opponent.

Itsproblem, however, is that, today, Discover players recognize Control as their worst match, and have used more pieces for that specific game - a resolved Thought Distortion guarantees the combo on the next turn on most times.

The problem lies in the fact that Discover can "null" a dozen matches merely by being a quick and consistent one-card combo, so it only needs to worry about specific matchups: interactive games and the mirror.

This is one of the reasons why I don't like permanent-based answers to the combo: it's already pretty consistent on its own, it already runs Consign // Oblivion and Leyline Binding to deal with them before running the looping, and there are still between four and seven spaces in the Sideboard to add more answers if they prefer.

This strategy tends to evolve more as the weeks go by, and while players will find new ways to deal with hate, these will remain the same for at least three months before the next set is released.

Go for Tempo

As far as my experience discerns, the best proposal for dealing with Discover today is to pursue a proactive strategy, but one where we can play around the opponent every turn while establishing our clock. The best option for this proposal involves Tempo decks.

Both Spirits and Rogues are archetypes that fit into this category: they can pressure the board while interacting with the opponent through disruption and counterspells. Rogues also have some engines to avoid being caught off guard.

The problem is that both are very poorly positioned against the other best decks in the format today: Izzet Phoenix and Rakdos Midrange are a nightmare for both, and until the release of Lost Caverns of Ixalan, both were the predominant strategies in Pioneer.

That said, there are ways to address this problem efficiently, we just need to leave aside typical synergies and focus on the individual quality of each card.

Azorius Flash is a deck that I have been playing and building with over the last few months, and gained prominence in my content creation as the Metagame made Faerie Mastermind a better card in Pioneer - the idea was to create a strategy that could play well against attrition matchups, while also proposing some Tempo lines to punish non-interactive strategies, and whose card pool was flexible to changes in the competitive environment.

Since Discover Combo's expansion into the format, the list's priorities have changed, and the inclusion of Tishana's Tidebinder has made it an excellent choice for dealing with the format's latest threat.

If we compare it to the previous version, its core remains the same, with the inclusion of Tishana's Tidebinder instead of Shark Typhoon being the only significant change. Perhaps Brazen Borrower is a more efficient option, but the need for board interaction seems a little greater today than having a giant flying shark that draws a card and cannot be countered.

This version has several ways to interrupt the combo midway while maintaining its aggressive stance. In post-sideboard games, cards like Tishana's Tidebinder, Brazen Borrower and Spell Queller prevent us from being caught by a Thought Distortion and running out of answers.

The inclusion of the 'Control package', with Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, The Wandering Emperor and Reckoner Bankbuster allows you to change stances in certain matchups, especially against Midrange and Control .

The rest of the Metagame is average. The games against Izzet Phoenix are a puzzle, especially the versions with Ledger Shredder, the Control matchups are very close, and the Game 1 against Rakdos Sacrifice is a nightmare, but, in general, the shell has the necessary tools to adapt to each Metagame, and we can always include more pieces to play closer to Azorius Control if we need to.

Sideboard Guide

Discover Combo

IN

OUT

Quintorius Combo

IN

OUT

Rakdos Midrange

IN

OUT

Mono Green Devotion

On the Play:

IN

OUT

On the Draw:

IN

OUT

Rakdos Sacrifice

IN

OUT

Izzet Phoenix

IN

OUT

Mono White Humans

IN

OUT

Lotus Combo

IN

OUT

Boros Heroic

IN

OUT

Boros Convoke

IN

OUT

Azorius Control

IN

OUT

Bring to Light

IN

OUT

It is still uncertain whether the Discover mechanic will be broken to the point where it dominates Pioneer, or whether the Metagame will adapt to it as it adapted to Boros Convoke - once called the 'new Hogaak' in its first few weeks.

Until then, we'll need to find ways to respond and interact, with it, and Azorius Flash seems like a viable option for Pioneer today due to its efficient tools against the new threat.

Thanks for reading.