Pioneer: Rona Combo Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

Rona Combo is a deck that gained some popularity after the release of March of the Machine, and has since appeared in Pioneer League results on Magic Online, having conquered some trophies.

Its strategy revolves around the interaction between Rona, Herald of Invasion and Mox Amber. It is a complex combo that is very close to Lotus Combo while being faster and having access to tools that help in the Midrange plan.

There are a few versions of the deck running in leagues, but I'll focus on the Sultai version.

Mana Base

The mana base has 21 lands well distributed to guarantee the necessary splashes.

Creatures

The list has 10 creatures, the main one being the one that gives the deck its name and makes the combo possible. Rona, Herald of Invasion has three abilities, a passive that causes it to become untapped every time you cast a legendary spell, one that lets you tap it to draw a card and then discard a card, and the third with which you can pay 5 mana of any color plus 2 life or one black mana to turn it into a powerful creature with which can even end the game. However, only the first two abilities are essential for the combo with Retraction Helix and Mox Amber.

Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is a creature that will help dig the deck searching for combo pieces or some necessary interaction and later on, will become a Planeswalker that works very well in the deck, generating a lot of value with spells like Treasure Cruise. It's also worth noting that if you survive long enough to ult, Jace becomes an alternate win condition.

Diligent Excavator is another important part of the combo, being the main win condition.

Support Spells

Thoughtseize is one of the best black cards in the format and is a great way to protect your game plan by attacking your opponent's resources.

Fatal Push is perfect in this deck. With the Rona/Helix/Mox interaction you can always remove creatures with mana value 4 or less and Power Word Kill manages to cover certain situations where Fatal Push isn't enough.

Consider and Treasure Cruise work perfectly well together and will keep the deck running throughout the game.

Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler is the engine of the deck, being able to fill the graveyard and speed up a Cruise while looking for Rona or Diligent, making it possible to dig the entire deck if you have already enabled the Rona/Mox/Helix combo.

Combo Pieces and Its Execution

Mox Amber is an artifact unique to Pioneer, acting as a mana rock that synergizes with Planeswalkers and legendary creatures. When you cast Retraction Helix targeting Rona, Herald of Invasion you can generate infinite mana with Mox since Rona can return it to your hand, and you can put it back on the field for 0 mana, untapping Rona and being able to repeat the process as many times as you want.

Having Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler with the active combo, you can put it in play, use its -2, return it to your hand and put it in again with Mox's infinite mana to literally Mill your entire deck until you find Diligent Excavator and end the game. Having Jace, Vryn's Prodigy flipped, you can still reuse Cruise and Consider to accelerate the process.

As a combo deck, an ideal hand should at least contain some combo pieces and ways to find the remaining pieces with enough mana to be able to execute the combo and cards that protect your strategy.

The above example illustrates an excellent starting hand with the potential to win on turn 3.

The game stance is the same adopted by any combo deck whose victory condition is independent of the combat phase. You need to protect your main pieces (Rona, Tyvar, Excavator, Mox).

Against Aggro, the match will be a race: whoever reaches inevitability first takes the game. Against Midrange and Control, it all depends on whether you're on draw or play and whether your starting hand is consistent enough.

The sideboard has cards that will help a lot in complex matchups.

Cankerbloom, in addition to being a creature that can impose a good clock, can act as a hate for artifacts and enchantments.

Glissa Sunslayer is a great alternative plan against some decks, as it can attack and block very well while generating value.

Pithing Needle is a good card against many decks. Duress and Mystical Dispute are great cards against Midrange and Control.

Witch's Vengeance is a good way to deal with aggro, especially now that we have Boros Convoke in the format, while Ray of Enfeeblement will serve as an extra spot removal.

As the deck can use Jegantha, the Wellspring so it's there, but be aware, because it won't be able to be a companion when you sided Witch's Vengeance in.

Vs. Rakdos Midrange

Rakdos Midrange is one of the best decks in the format right now, but it has a certain weakness against combos, especially very fast ones - even so, this match is far from favorable for Rona.

Having Thoughtseize in your starting hand is crucial, as a well-placed removal or discard from your opponent can be game-defining. Don't worry too much about your opponent's creatures, if all goes well, you can end the game before they make any difference.

Being on the draw, be careful to keep a combo focused hand, instead it may be better to open a hand that can play around Duress and Thoughtseize while looking for your game winning pieces.

IN

OUT

Vs. Mono-White Humans

In this matchup, you must go for the Race, try to survive and combo as quickly as possible.

Fatal Push can kill anything the opponent puts on the board, and Thoughtseize can sap resources from it. Remember that Rona can flip and hold the game if needed.

IN

OUT

Vs. Nykthos Ramp

Here we have a more favorable matchup. Mono-Green is a deck that comes closest to a combo/prison deck, and for that reason, the game will be set on the race. Rona Combo has the advantage as it can consistently combo on turn 3 before Mono-Green has a chance.

Once again, Thoughtseize and Fatal Push will be indispensable to delay the opponent's game. While on the play, you will work with Thoughtseize, removing a Kiora or Karn from the opponent's hand, and on the draw, Fatal Push could be better, killing that elf on turn 1.

IN

OUT

Vs. Spirits

This is a very complicated matchup that will hardly last long. The opponent can press fast through the air and can interact well with counterspells.

Thoughtseize is an important card once again, being able to protect the combo. Fatal Push works well too, removing threats and preventing the opponent from pushing too hard.

Mausoleum Wanderer and Spell Queller can be quite troublesome for us. Work with speed, but be careful and know how to play around them.

On the post-side, you will have access to the Witch's Vengeance, which can give you a higher chance of survival.

IN

OUT

Vs. Rona Combo

Closing this guide with the most interesting matchup of all, the mirror. Just like the game against Mono-Green, we have a combo race here, but this time the opponent can interact and knows exactly what they need to deal with.

Whoever is on the play will have a total advantage. As I said before, the deck can easily combine on turn 3. In the draw, you will prefer hands that can interact through removals or discards.

Tyvar is a very strong card in this matchup, as it can reanimate a Rona or Excavator and fill up the grave for a Treasure Cruise.

IN

OUT

Rona Combo is a really complex and fun deck that can demand a lot from the player. The abundance of clicks could be a reason why the deck hasn't grown much more in popularity on MTGO, even though competing with other combos like Mono-Green and Lotus that are mainstays of the format, but I believe this deck has its own charm and deserves its place in the format.

As I said before, there are other versions of the deck. There are versions running Jeskai Ascendancy, where you can use the combo to create an army with Saheeli, Sublime Artificer, or even versions that aim to cast Atraxa, Grand Unifier. The Rona/Helix/Mox combo can generate varying win conditions and can be used in multiple strategies. It's a versatile interaction, and if you like complex combos and decks that win in a single turn, you should give Rona Combo a try.

Coming to the end of another article. I hope you enjoyed!

Leave your doubts, comments, suggestions and/or criticisms in the comments, I will try to answer them all.