By Sarah Nies
You know that place between Standard and Modern. The place where “member berries” kick in. You member when that card you loved was still good. You member when you didn’t have to have Pithing Needle. You member Mutavault, Voice of Resurgence, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Devotion decks, and Izzet Charm. At Mulligan’s Gaming Pub… we member. Now stop remembering because Wizards of the Coast blew a breath of fresh air into Magic The Gathering with the new format called Pioneer.
Get the facts about the Pioneer format.
- The Pioneer format covers every set and expansion dating back to Return to Ravnica.
- Many older cards have spiked in value since the format was announced. Visit our TCG store to see the full list to search through our complete Magic inventory.
- Get a handle on the meta for the format, and what’s been banned.
- Mulligan’s Gaming Pub holds weekly Pioneer tournaments every Tuesday.
What is Pioneer exactly?
Sixteen years ago, Wizards of the Coast introduced the Modern format to fill in a gap for players who wanted to use cards that to rotated out of Standard, but had no place in older formats (Vintage and Legacy). Now Modern has an insanely large card pool and is so far stretched from Standard there are hundreds of great cards that are going unused. So, Wizards announced Pioneer—a constructed-deck non-rotating format featuring cards from Return to Ravnica through Throne of Eldraine, with upcoming sets also being legal.
What Cards Are Good?
Good is subjective, but I can tell you what I member being the best. For you this could be the best investment monetarily: the best one drop, the best big bomb, the best draw card spell. No matter what, I won’t include lands, though. Maybe some are member berries, but here are some cards you could profit from having kept in your trade binder:
- Arclight Phoenix
- Llanowar Elves
- Liliana, the Last Hope
- Archangel Avacyn
- Sphinx’s Revelation
- Dig Through Time
- Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
- Burning Tree Emissary
- Oko, Thief of Crowns
- Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx (OK, so maybe one land)
Gather for the Magical Announcements
Pioneer already made two ban announcements. The fetchlands (Bloodstained Mire, Flooded Strand, Polluted Delta, Windswept Heath and Wooded Foothills) got the boot, along with Leyline of Abundance, when the format was first announced. Since then, Felidar Guardian, Oath of Nissa and Veil of Summer have gotten chopped.
Oko, Thief of Crowns might have been banned from Standard, but you can still play him in your Pioneer deck if you’ve got a thing for turning your opponent’s permanents into Elks.
Dates to Know
Now that this new Pioneer format is in motion, we know people are excited about breaking out their older cards and combining them with their Standard-legal spells and creatures. Mulligan’s Gaming Pub now holds Pioneer events each Tuesday at 7 p.m. Mulligan’s full MTG event schedule is as follows:
Mondays – Modern
Tuesdays – Pioneer
Wednesdays – Star City Game Night
Fridays – Friday Night Magic
Sundays – Commander (casual)
All MTG official events begin at 7 p.m. Commander fires at 1 p.m. On Sundays.
Bidding You Adieu
Maybe you are ready to play those old friends you’ve been looking at in a binder. Mulligan’s Gaming Pub is here with all the cards you need, the tables to put them on, and the other players to stomp. We even installed new chairs to our play area. Contact Mulligan’s Gaming Pub for all of your Magic The Gathering questions and needs. Give us a call at (423) 406-1580, email us at mulligansgamingpub@gmail.com, or come by our store at 5334 Fort Henry Drive in Kingsport, TN.
