Pioneer: 5 Decks with Outlaws of Thunder Junction to try out!

The preview season for Outlaws of Thunder Junction has come to an end, and the new expansion for Magic: The Gathering arrives at digital platforms on next Tuesday, April 16th.

With it, several possibilities for new archetypes, additions and strategies emerge in competitive formats, with some cards becoming just specific additions, while others can establish new proposals for the Metagame.

In this article, we present five decklists for Pioneer with additions from Outlaws of Thunder Junction, based on the potential of some of the main cards to affect the format!

It's been a while since I updated Azorius Flash for the current Metagame, and Aven Interrupter offers a great reason to revisit the archetype with a shell that matches some of the Metagame's needs.

Aven Interrupter and Spell Queller perform similar roles in the list, where they are evasive creatures that offer an efficient Tempo play against our opponent, delaying them for a turn while we advance our game plan.

Despite increasing our number of three-drops, the inclusion of the new card complements the addition of useful one-drops that Murders at Karlov Manor provided us with Novice Inspector and the unbanning of Smuggler's Copter, in giving enough proactive actions for our second turn.

The rest of the list remains the same: No More Lies and Get Lost have become recent staples of the decks and Teferi, Hero of Dominaria has been moved to the Maindeck to make room for more answers in the Sideboard - we can even replace it with Hallowed Moonlight if the format demands it.

The combo of Rush of Dread with Bloodletter of Aclazotz and Warlock Class is a great reason to try and revisit one of the best-known archetypes in Ravnica-Theros Standard, Mono Black Devotion

As the pieces that double the amount of life loss caused by Rush of Dread are permanents that add good devotion and the high mana requirement to reach the third level of Warlock Class and/or cast Bloodletter of Aclazotz and Rush of Dread in the same turn, we aim to use several permanents with more than one black mana symbols that collaborate to fuel Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to make it an efficient ramp, but we can also execute the combo with impeccable timing if we interact enough with the opponent to cast Bloodletter on the fourth turn and end the game on the fifth.

All of our devotion sources work well on their own: Liliana of the Veil is excellent for attrition games, Gifted Aetherborn helps hold down the Aggro, and Phyrexian Arena offers card advantage, in addition to The Meathook Massacre functioning as a good sweeper.

Overall, this combo has the challenge of being more relevant and efficient than Archfiend of the Dross or even the ability to put Vein Ripper into play with Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord, and ramping with Nykthos can be essential to make it viable in the competitive Metagame.

Smuggler's Surprise and Calamity, Galloping Inferno give good reasons to explore Terror of the Peaks in Pioneer, as it now delivers immediate impact while being devastating alongside like Titan of Industry, in addition to enabling a “combo-kill” with Calamity.

The core of this list is the same as the old Gruul Ramp, which lost its Metagame share at the format in the second half of 2023, with additions such as Topiary Stomper and Glimpse the Core to ramp while Archdruid's Charm can find specific lands or to search for one of the pieces to be put into play with Smuggler's Surprise.

Dragonlord Atarka and Titan of Industry are lethal alongside Terror of the Peaks and Smuggler’s Surprise, enabling an insane amount of damage while also being very impactful on their own.

Ruthless Lawbringer offers a reason to try out a Vampires variant in Orzhov colors, where it offers a comprehensive answer and a useful body on the battlefield.

Its ability interacts well with Vampire variants that don't have access to other staples like Fable of the Mirror-Breaker or require including more copies of Dusk Legion Zealot or Preacher of the Schism, whose tokens can be used to feed Ruthless Lawbringer.

The rest of the list is, in essence, the same as the Mono Black variants that occasionally show up in Leagues, but with some additions we receive by gaining access to , such as Get Lost, Deafening Silence and Hallowed Moonlight.

Slickshot Show-Off is the closest we've ever had to Kiln Fiend while also being a Wizard and could give Boros Burn a new variant aimed at creatures of this type.

The main advantage of this variant is the possibility of going completely into the theme of cheap magic and creatures, with templates similar to what the archetype had before Lurrus of the Dream-Den was banned, with the addition of Bonecrusher Giant since we have no mana value restrictions.

An Izzet variant also seems possible, and I intend to try it, but the inclusion of Boros Charm adds a relevant clock as well as excellent interaction with the new creature's ability, as well as protecting it, making it the most attractive variant in this first week.

That's all for today.

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

Thanks for reading!