Timeless Set Review: Pioneer Masters

Pioneer Masters is a Magic Arena reprint expansion focused on relevant cards from the Pioneer format that are not yet available on the digital platform. From established staples like Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to Sideboard cards like Hallowed Moonlight, the set brought some pieces that have made recent history in Magic: The Gathering.

Due to its high-power level, Timeless will not be as affected by the expansion as Explorer will be, but there are still some cards in Pioneer Masters that deserve attention at the peak of MTGArena's power level, either because they have a history in other eternal formats, or because they can show up as Sideboard cards.

In this article, we review the main Pioneer Masters cards for the Timeless format!

Chained to the Rocks occasionally shows up in the Boros Energy sideboard in Modern, sometimes even in place of Path to Exile. The same can happen with the Timeless version of the deck, and because we can reuse it with Lurrus of the Dream-Den if it gets destroyed.

Hallowed Moonlight is in the same category as Containment Priest, which doesn't see much play in Timeless these days because Show and Tell decks have an alternative game plan that doesn't involve putting creatures into play, and archetypes that historically put this card on the radar, like Indomitable Creativity, aren't present in the format.

A solid sideboard choice for certain Metagame, it may be worth a maindeck slot in a Best of One Midrange/Control archetype if you expect a lot of Reanimator and/or creature-based Show and Tell lists, but it's not an instant staple.

Silence is a card that we see some combo decks use to protect themselves from Counterspells and other interactions on key turns. This approach fell out of favor in Legacy over the years and is also not common in Modern and Vintage, being more relevant in Pioneer archetypes like Abzan Greasefang.

Today, Timeless's main means of disruption are targeted discards like Thoughtseize to hold the first few turns and execute its game plan, and none of the combos are so creature-based that they need to avoid removal frequently.

Silence can be worth Sideboard slots in Orzhov Goblin Charbelcher lists if the player expects some removal in response to the artifact, or for longer games where we need to extend the match for many turns. It offers a safety valve for other combos as well, but it will only be necessary if we have more disruptive archetypes in Tier 1 in the future.

Day’s Undoing has a combo with Narset, Parter of Veils that was well known in Pioneer and even in Modern for some time.

Since Narset costs three mana (and therefore forces to give up Lurrus of the Dream-Den), the combo seems a bit slow and not that beneficial for the current Metagame until we have a way to accelerate Narset as early as possible, and Day's Undoing on its own can help rather than hinder our opponents.

Jace, Vryn's Prodigy deserves an honorable mention for instances where we can use it with Psychic Frog to transform it early in Dimir Lurrus decks, which would allow us to reuse key spells every turn while we have Lurrus of the Dream-Den as recursion.

It will, however, compete with Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time while also being too similar to Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student on its role, and if this history between formats has taught us anything, it's that Jace, Vryn's Prodigy never had much impact outside of Standard while Delve spells were banned or restricted in Legacy and Vintage.

Tome Scour allows for some combos with Underworld Breach and Mox Amber with any blue legendary creature like Emry, Lurker of the Loch and Rona, Herald of Invasion to end the game with Thassa's Oracle.

I'm not sure if Timeless has a place for this archetype, since it has all the benefits of using cheap disruption in a combo that can be effective with other game plans, but in a much faster Metagame than Modern and with a scenario that is more hostile to having too many pieces to work and more passive to hate like Surgical Extraction.

Dark Petition is the Demonic Tutor we have in house. Personally, I think that Assemble the Team already works as the extra copies in the archetypes that need this type of card, and strategies like Jet Storm already benefit from Diabolic Intent for this purpose.

It could be an interesting test in Storm variants with Dark Ritual, but five mana, even reducing it with a Jet Medallion, is still a significantly high mana value.

With Reckless Bushwhacker, we're closer to a Kuldotha Red and 8-Whack in Timeless (and Historic) than we've been in a long time. Will it be competitively viable? Probably not, but it's still a cheap and fun archetype to play in Best of One matches.

It doesn't seem like Dragonlord Dromoka can have the impact in Timeless that it does in combo lists like Lotus Field in Pioneer, but it deserves an honorable mention for locking Counterspell and having a large enough body to have an impact on the board.

Sire of Insanity has been a target of Reanimate in the past. Today, this combo in Legacy is entirely focused on Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Archon of Cruelty (which is not yet available in Timeless), and Sire is practically no longer seen in the format.

Bringing it back to the battlefield or putting it into play on the first turn can ruin an opponent's entire plans. Today, without Entomb, it seems unlikely that we will get this effect in Timeless, but if we ever see this staple arrive, Sire of Insanity has a chance of being a role player of Reanimator.

Wear // Tear has sideboard viability for Boros Energy and could show up in some lists to deal with Omniscience, Goblin Charbelcher and other unwanted permanents. It has more staple potential than many of the cards listed above, but it doesn't seem to be in the right Metagame yet.

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth deserves an honorable mention for potential interactions in archetypes with more than two colors that want to take advantage of Necropotence and Necrodominance. It doesn’t seem like an instant staple, but it’s a relevant addition to the format in the long run.

That’s all for today!

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

Thanks for reading!