[STX] Strixhaven Pioneer Discussion

[The Fluff]

feels like we should have a thread for the new set.

so let's discuss

@robertleva

this is a reply to your Shadrix post in State of Pioneer thread.

https://mythicspoiler.com/stx/cards/sha ... quill.html

yeah, he does look strong. But requires careful deckbuilding.

it feels like we often want the phyrexian arena effect or the token, while giving the opponent the counters.

[robertleva]

I would think we want him cranking out tokens, giving the opponent counters yes. In theory we keep their board clean because its a BW deck full of board sweepers and such. Or you are RBW and using Nahiri...

I could brew around this dragon I think.

Pro's:
-Immune to Fatal Push
-Practically immune to red removal at 5 toughness
-Get a token right away, making it a 2 for 1 and counting
-Creates a board of it's own or pushes an existing board over the top

Con's
-Is a creature
-Giving opponent modes can be awkward

[The Fluff]

the immediate problem I see is if the opponent is a fast swarm strategy.. like goblins or a token deck of some sort, giving their creatures +1/+1 counters would be dangerous. Sideboard need to have sweepers that kill small creatures, but does not kill Shadrix.

orzhov color looking strong. Maybe more support cards would be revealed later.

[robertleva]

You can always opt out of the effect alltogether so you never have to worry about helping the other guy too much. Every time you let the effect happen you set it up so it favors you.

[robertleva]

This is playable.

Straight away any card with Learn needs to be looked at. There are enough useful lessons spoiled at this point that Learn is a solid 2 for 1 mechanic.

[motleyslayer]

learn is definitely gonna be good. Are the enemy colour show me lands/this half of the shadows lands gonna be okay or they just too bad?

[The Fluff]

"outside the game", means the sideboard, right? Can get a powerful learn card, or maybe have a little filtering by discarding a card and draw.

[robertleva]

learn is definitely gonna be good. Are the enemy colour show me lands/this half of the shadows lands gonna be okay or they just too bad?

Enemy show lands dont really ping my radar. Nice to have but no impact. When this set drops we will see all formats finding ways to use Learn to best effect. Some new decks may arise but I see Learn adding versatility to a ton of decks without sacrificing that most precious of resources: deck space.

[motleyslayer]

yeah the show lands are more something nice to have rather than something that will impact much. Learn is super interesting, especially because it adds to versatility by making a wishboard you can really tailor, with what looks like little cost

[The Fluff]

are there more cards with Learn, or is that the only one revealed right now?

[Mookie]

are there more cards with Learn, or is that the only one revealed right now?

They've also revealed Guiding Voice, Rise of Extus, Pop Quiz, Professor of Symbology, and a few others. Most of them appear to be a bit niche, but Learn is strong, so....

[robertleva]

I think Pop Quiz is another playable. 3cc instant that draws you 2 cards, one of them being from the wish board. Yeah.

[The Fluff]

Pop Quiz seems fairly costed. u for cantrip, and 2 for tutoring something useful.

and I'm surprised it's just a commoon.

[robertleva]

Strict Proctor Is an important card to Pioneer because we do not have Torpor Orb effects.

Go Blank seems playable. Lorehold Excavation seems possibly playable in some kind of control shell.

[The Fluff]

used crypt incursion as sideboard against Living End and other yard decks that used creatures in modern. With the lower power level of pioneer, Go Blank looks playable, and it exiles the entire yard, not just creatures.

[motleyslayer]

Strict Proctor Is an important card to Pioneer because we do not have Torpor Orb effects.

Go Blank seems playable. Lorehold Excavation seems possibly playable in some kind of control shell.

I'm really excited for Strict Proctor and will be picking up foil copies of Go Blank in case it's good

[The Fluff]

proctor does look like a good investment. There might be a strong deck with many citp abilities later in this format.

not sure about the excavation. 2cmc makes it easier to cast though... maybe an alt win con for a pillowfort style deck? Assuming the opponent has no way to deal with it - multiple excavations can stack the damage up quickly.

@drmarkb

interested to hear your opinion on excavation.

[robertleva]

Solid sideboard for boros or uwr.

[robertleva]

Another playable. This lesson is main-deckable even.

[The Fluff]

usable lesson indeed. It's sort of similar to Skyclave Apparition..

[robertleva]

Merchant Scroll for Pioneer. This seems fairly costed since it has no color restriction, and is on par with the other tutors.

[The Fluff]

merchant scroll is 2 cmc, but could only search for blue spells, and only instants. For an additional 1, Solve the Equation can search for any color instant or sorcery. Fair enough, I'll take it.

[robertleva]

New staple for mono black aggro here. Even control shells can look at this because:

1. It's a flyer so it cannot be ignored for it's damage value
2. Learn is especially powerful in black, in my opinion. Black lacks filtering and Learn is the best kind of filtering / card advantage.

[PeaceRibbon]

If I commit to this format I gotta say, turn 1 Clever Lumimancer into turn 2 Arrester's Zeal + some other 1 cost card is hilarious enough to make me want to try a Magecraft-Addendum build.

[robertleva]

Playable, really nice spell here.