[Official] "What Pioneer Deck Should I Play?" Thread

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ktkenshinx
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Post by ktkenshinx » 4 years ago

New to the format and don't know where to start? Veteran player looking for something new? Questions about what fits with your playstyle? Ask it here!

Be sure to include the following in your posts:
  • Cards you already own.
  • Colors you like to play.
  • Budget.
  • Style you like to play (control, combo, aggro, midrange, tempo, ramp, rogue, etc.)
  • Level you want to play at, or aim to build up to (causal, FNM, MTGO Challenge, SCG IQ, GP, etc.)
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tempoEDH
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Post by tempoEDH » 4 years ago

I'm looking to get in to pioneer. Looking at some sort of tempo/aggro, GP level, low budget (200-300 dollars). I love playing any color, but not esper. Cards I already own seems hard to quantify for this because I'm not sure which cards would be relevant. Basically I just need to know any viable tempo/aggro decks in $2-300 dollar range.
Current Decks:
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death EDH
Karlov of the Ghost Council EDH
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant EDH
Edgar Markov EDH
Emmara, Soul of the Accord EDH
Yarok, the Desecrated EDH
Grenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
Kalamax (No infinites) EDH
Ghalta EDH
Current Projects:
Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa/Silas Renn, Seeker Adept EDH
Neheb, the Eternal EDH

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robertleva
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Post by robertleva » 4 years ago

You can get into the format pretty cheap with midrange and aggro. I would look into Boros Heroic, possibly knights. You can do mono blue merfolk on the cheap as well. There;s red prowess / burn too.
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Mapccu
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Post by Mapccu » 4 years ago

UW spirits/flash has some great tempo plays but perry thievery // brazen borrower is a large chunk of the budget.

There are some low to the ground red decks (calvacade if calamity goblin style decks that can pick up wins.

There are combo decks that have an aggro plan, like the new heliod/ballista combo decks that aren't shameful if the combo is interrupted.

Mono green is still a silly deck as you just jam absurd threats straight up the curve.

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robertleva
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Post by robertleva » 4 years ago

I'm not sure bout the price point but Mono G ramp / eldrazi is a very strong deck. Another very strong one I see a lot is BG control. IT thoughtseizes and duresses you early then abrupt decays and trophys you. Then it plays Nissa and 4cc Vraska. Any problems it plays the Demonic Tutor to with spell mastery and gets an answer.

THey are both very powerful Tier 1 types in my opinion.
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PeaceRibbon
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Post by PeaceRibbon » 3 years ago

Wow this has gone unused.
Thinking I'll be commiting to building my first Pioneer deck this summer so I'm posting for a little advice on deck suggestions.

Collection: My collection of cards consists mostly of cards I built into causal jank from the timeframe of Dominaria to Throne of Eldrane. The most powerful cards I remember were 3 Gideon Blackblade, 2 Circle of Loyalty, and a playset of Unbreakable Formation. Other cards I owned included some light planeswalker support from War of the Spark and some Aura/Equipment stuff in Dominaria/M19. I'm not requesting that any one of these be the basis of a new deck in particular, but if it inspires a suggestion I hope it helps. (Though getting to use Gideon Blackblade again would be pretty swell)

Colors: Playing white is basically non-negotiable for me since I have so many plains lying around, and its my favorite anyways. Mono-white is certainly fun, and I can enjoy playing any of the two color pairings with white too. Playing with the enemy color pairs in particular gives me a fun sense of dynamic in the deckbuild, but ally pairs are cool too.

Budget: I tend to play on the lowest budget possible, so I'll probably find ways to cut down price with whatever you recommend. Most of the money comes from lands anyways and I embrace the tapped-lands with open arms. :P

Style: Based on my experience play other card games in the interim, on a scale from aggro to control I typically play midrange with aggro elements, though I like to think I'm flexible. Tribal decks are a favorite of mine, since they tend to be positively gushing flavor.

Level: I hope by now its clear I'm just here to play casual and have a good time! Suggestions that lead into higher levels of play are perfectly fine in case we wanna future proof a little.

TL;DR
Likes: White, Enemy color pairs, Midrange with some aggro, Tribal decks, Gideon, Flavor.
Only hard request is that the deck has plains in it, otherwise open to all kinds of suggestions.

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The Fluff
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Post by The Fluff » 3 years ago

I suggest rw tribal knights. Benalish Marshal and Inspiring Veteran are cheap, and you can then add other knights that you like. A single the circle of loyalty is also nice, for added lord effect and a bit of card advantage.
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Post by PeaceRibbon » 3 years ago

Thank you vey much for the suggestion! I had been eyeballing knight tribal at little, so nice to see that it's a worthy recommendation.

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Post by The Fluff » 3 years ago

you're welcome. You can build it any way you like after getting the lords. Although I do recommend adding a tiny splash of black if you have the bw lands. Corpse Knight and curry favor of Smitten Swordmaster can deal a lot of direct damage to the opponent. Mana is made easier by tournament grounds, it's a land for knights. And all these cards are quite cheap,

there aren't many board wipes in pioneer... but I do have two Boros charm in the main of my knights deck to defend against anger of the gods and supreme verdict.
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Post by robertleva » 3 years ago

what you might want to look into is BW Orzhov when Strix drops.
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Post by PeaceRibbon » 3 years ago

Thank you for the reply! Strixhaven has no Knights in it so that would be a totally different deck, and I'd probably need to wait a little to let prices stabilize but Silverquill is probably my favorite college aesthetically so it's definitely an option.

Funnily enough, while researching WR Knights I got distracted by how neat Wintermoor Commander was and started theory crafting a WB knights deck based around those colors lol. Will probably theory craft the WR version to compare it to.

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Post by robertleva » 3 years ago

Gideon tribal in a BW control shell.
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Post by The Fluff » 2 years ago

PeaceRibbon wrote:
3 years ago
Funnily enough, while researching WR Knights I got distracted by how neat Wintermoor Commander was and started theory crafting a WB knights deck based around those colors lol. Will probably theory craft the WR version to compare it to.
when you have a deck built.. maybe you can create a knights thread at developing..

viewforum.php?f=105

we can theorycraft, discuss, and improve your deck further there. :)
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AnimEVO 2020 - EFZ Tournament (english commentary) // Clearing 4 domain with Qiqi
want to play a uw control deck in modern, but don't have Jace or snapcaster? please come visit us at the Emeria thread

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