Pioneer Set Review: Outlaws of Thunder Junction

Previews of Magic's 100th expansion, Outlaws of Thunder Junction, and its list of special cards, The Big Score, have finally come to an end. And with them, we begin our set reviews for the main competitive formats.

In this article, we analyze the latest set's potential for Pioneer, with first impressions of its main cards from both the base set and Big Score cards, which will be legal in the format.

Aven Interrupter is a good Spell Queller variant who better fits the proposal of a Flash deck and/or a white archetype that doesn't have access to blue, being a situational piece for Metagames where every deck it requires more specific interaction, and we need to punish the opponent's topdeck, which cards like Elite Spellbinder are unable to do.

The Rogue subtype in white is new (and even a bit strange in terms of color philosophy), but the cost should restrict the possibility of using it in some Esper Rogue variants.

As a sweeper, Final Showdown is less comprehensive than Farewell and more expensive than Supreme Verdict or Sunfall, so its advantage is limited to the versatility of the first module, of which makes creatures lose their abilities during a turn - allowing to lock Amalia Benavides Aguirre for a turn, or even make it easier to deal with a troublesome creature.

The design team appears to be looking for ways to “lock in” Lotus Combo and other archetypes that sequence many spells in a single turn, such as Izzet Phoenix.

High Noon is another one of these attempts and doesn't make much difference compared to Deafening Silence in these games, but it can be useful in case of the return of mechanics or abilities that come directly from creatures to play other spells, like Geological Appraiser or Trumpeting Carnosaur.

Its mana value and the possibility of cracking it for a Lava Axe can give it some advantages in decks like Enigmatic Fires.

Requisition Raid can be an excellent Sideboard card for Boros Convoke, where all its modules are useful and, unlike other hate spells against artifacts and enchantments, this can interact directly with the deck's game plan.

Archetypes like Humans and Spirits can take advantage of the new card as well, but their space may be more limited in these strategies.

Duelist of the Mind may not have a place in the Izzet variants of Arclight Phoenix decks, but the mix of cheap removals, cantrips and Thoughtseize in the Dimir shell can give it a home, as we can be more aggressive with it while protecting it from removals.

Geralf, the Fleshwright offers yet another way to initiate “Storm” streaks on Pioneer and establish a threatening, or even lethal, board alongside Reckless Bushwhacker.

However, it seems like a more fragile and less consistent option than Lotus Combo or even the Jeskai Ascendancy decks, which have been declining in the competitive Metagame since Expressive Iteration was anned.

Jace Reawakened allows a new combo with Valki, God of Lies to cast Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor earlier. Due to its rules text, it isn't as fast or consistent as the format demands - so it likely won't enable this strategy on its own.

It can, however, serve as a complement to Kellan Joins Up, which allows performing the same combo one turn earlier than the Planeswalker.

Phantom Interference is a Quench that can occasionally put a Spirit into play and may deserve some testing in the Spirits lists, especially in the Mono Blue variants, as they don't have access to No More Lies.

For practical purposes, Preacher of the Schism is still the best black creature to generate card advantage in Pioneer today. Caustic Bronco is as flawed an attempt to copy Dark Confidant as other variants such as Pain Seer or Asylum Visitor.

Forsaken Miner interacts well with effects that deal targeted damage to the opponent or a creature they control, such as Mayhem Devil, and cards that sacrifice creatures.

Unless we have a Phyrexian Altar reprint or some interaction where we generate mana while sacrificing it, it lacks the potential to generate infinite loops, but it deserves a mention for its potential on aggressive Rakdos Sacrifice variants.

Gisa, the Hellraiser has a high cost for the format, but casting it followed by a removal or discard already guarantees ten power with little effort and can easily take over the game, in addition to protecting herself relatively well.

It can be worth a slot as a one-of in Rakdos Midrange and in the Mono Black or Golgari variants.

If Mono Black Devotion decks gain more space in the competitive Pioneer with the Rush of Dread combo, Insatiable Avarice could be a way to have more card advantage and a tutor for the combo pieces in a single slot.

Lively Dirge is the cheapest Entomb effect that Pioneer has today, and can start some combos by itself in the format if the other piece is already in the graveyard.

For example, we can pick up Amalia Benavides Aguirre or Wildgrowth Walker and return them both to the battlefield, or pick up one of them and return it along with Lunarch Veteran to trigger the combo.

The same logic can be applied with Greasefang, Okiba Boss, where we can pick it up to return it from the graveyard, or even pick up Parhelion II and return Greasefang to start the combo. However, in this case, Lively Dirge's mana value is too high and can hinder the progress of an archetype that opts for cheap self-mill mechanics and tutors like Traverse the Ulvenwald.

Rush of Dread enables a new combo in Pioneer alongside Bloodletter of Aclazotz and Warlock Class, where its modality of making the opponent lose half of their life has a doubled effect and rounded up. For example, if the opponent has 15 life, instead of losing 8, they will lose 16.

It is uncertain whether this combo will be viable in the format and even whether it will surpass other proposals we have in the current Metagame, such as Archfiend of the Dross with Metamorphic Alteration or Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord with Vein Ripper, but its presence in the format and high mana requirement, in addition to the values in its core pieces, seem to give a good reason to try new variants of Mono Black Devotion.

Calamity, Galloping Inferno enables a powerful combo alongside Terror of the Peaks.

When Calamity comes into play, Terror of the Peaks will deal 4 damage to the opponent. When attacking saddled by the dragon, Calamity will create two copies of Terror of the Peaks - the first will trigger the original's ability, dealing 5 damage, and the second will trigger the original and the copy for an additional 10 damage, for a total of 19 before even getting to combat damage.

As its mana cost to execute is high and requires the opponent not to interact with any of the pieces before combat, I believe there is no room for it in the competitive Metagame, but cards like Smuggler's Surprise or Genesis Ultimatum helps cheating on mana costs while both can be useful enough on their own, perhaps serving as good payoffs for a Big Mana with efficient ETB effects like Titan of Industry.

Magebane Lizard joins the hate against Lotus Field and other archetypes that cast multiple spells in one turn. It may not do as much as Roiling Vortex when the opponent casts Omniscience or starts a loop with Quintorius Kand, but it does significant damage while it is also a creature, which can give it a home in Red aggro.

In addition to being the closest to a Kiln Fiend that Pioneer has, Slickshot Show-Off is a Wizard and thus joins Soul-Scar Mage as a mid of turning Wizard's Lightning into a Lightning Bolt while having immediate impact.

It seems like a sure addition to Prowess and Burn decks, and it could also find a home in Heroic lists due to its evasion.

Honorable mention.

Bristly Bill, Spine Sower has very explosive synergies with Hardened Scales and similar effects in the format. It doesn't seem like the card that will leverage this strategy to the competitive level, but it's another good addition to the archetype.

Goldvein Hydra is difficult to evaluate because we don't have efficient Big Mana in the format that isn't coupled to a Devotion shell and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - and in Mono Green, Voracious Hydra presents itself as a more efficient threat to its game plan.

However, its keyword soup and immediate impact are reminiscent, in some points, of Questing Beast, and can offer it a spot in the maindeck or sideboard of aggressive archetypes with an efficient mana curve, such as Gruul Vehicles.

Smuggler’s Surprise doesn’t have as good targets in Pioneer outside Atraxa, Grand Unifier, of which there are more cost-efficient ways to cheat. Therefore, its space may be a little limited in the Metagame when compared to Indomitable Creativity.

Some Big Mana/Ramp archetypes might be interested in it if there are enough payoffs (like the aforementioned Terror of the Peaks and Calamity, Galloping Inferno combo), or it might find a home in strategies that can make the most of its other modules, such as Abzan Greasefang.

Akul, the Unrepentant suffers from the same problem as Smuggler's Surprise: there are better options for what it sets out to do, but a 5/5 for four mana with evasion has other uses besides cheating on costs of mana, and can create some good interactions in the Metagame.

Annie Joins Up has the potential to be used as a one-of in multicolored decks with a high number of effects coming from legendary permanents, such as Four-Color Omnath, or that care about enchantments and can take advantage of its ETB effect to interact with the board, like Enigmatic Fires, where we can get Elder Gargaroth or Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines, or Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves.

Kellan Joins Up allows, with the perfect combination, to cast Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor from Valki, God of Lies, serving as a complement to a game plan started with Jace Reawakened.

These cards also make it possible to cast the alternative cost of Bramble Familiar and complement Invasion of Alara in terms of cheating on mana, having the potential to create a new archetype in the competitive Metagame.

Lilah, Undefeated Slickshot may deserve some testing at Niv-to-Light due to the deck's ease in casting multicolored spells and extracting value from its abilities, but it sounds like a “win more” effect rather than something that it really adds to the already limited space of this archetype.

Ruthless Lawbringer is in the ideal creature type and has the right abilities to establish some powerful combinations in Vampire variants, where we can sacrifice Dusk Legion Zealot or a token created by Preacher of the Schism to destroy any nonland permanents in play, as well as having an appropriate cost and body to impact the board.

Grand Abolisher is a useful addition that can change the way we handle creature-based combos in the format, especially ones who run tutors like Traverse the Ulvenwald or Chord of Calling to fetch them.

It shouldn't become an immediate staple, but it has the potential to deserve a toolbox slot in Abzan Amalia.

Harvester of Misery sounds almost “too strong” to hold Aggro decks, but it shouldn't have that much of an impact on Pioneer, as we can't get it into play early.

It could emerge as a viable replacement for Bonecrusher Giant in Rakdos Midrange or even as a staple for Mono Black Midrange variants if the Metagame demands to better deal with go-wide strategies, such as Boros Convoke.

The problem is that Wizards seems to have defined that low-cost Aggro cannot prevail in Pioneer - Pest Control is good proof of how the design team has created more barriers to limit the space of cheap archetypes in the format.

This spell shouldn't be as impactful in Pioneer as it will be in Legacy or even Modern, but it becomes another great limiter for token-based go-wide and/or one-drops in the format's Metagame.

It's difficult to gauge Lost Jitte's potential in Pioneer because we don't have Stoneforge Mystic or Urza's Saga to pick it up in the format, and its main ability isn't that impactful unless we're untapping Lotus Field or other land that generates an absurd amount of value.

It will probably start showing up in some Sideboards or even in Ensoul Artifact strategies to get the most out of it, but its appearance in the maindeck and/or other archetypes will largely depend on its initial results.

Sword of Wealth and Power is, in essence, equipment that grants protection against removal, but Pioneer is a format where Bloodtithe Harvester, Leyline Binding and Skyclave Apparition have certain recurrence in the Metagame, which limits its space.

Furthermore, just like Lost Jitte, the new sword doesn't have efficient tutors to add consistency in having it in your hand, and given the low presence of other cards from its cycle in the format, I don't think it will be in the competitive scene.

Torpor Orb is, perhaps, the most important card for Pioneer - not because it does anything very absurd or specific in the current Metagame, despite stopping ETB effects like those of Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Trumpeting Carnosaur, in addition to disrupting Amalia's combo by “locking” the lifegain of Prosperous Innkeeper and Lunarch Veteran, but for the potential of serving as an answer to any problematic effect in the future for any deck.

If artifacts become more relevant at some point, Fomori Vault is almost as good as an Impulse every turn for an archetype more dedicated to them. Its activation cost does not seem attractive for Ensoul decks, but they can benefit from the recent Control lists with Whir of Invention.

That's all for today.

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

Thanks for reading!