The First Pioneers

By The First Pioneers

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What's The First Pioneers about?

Keeping you up to date with what is new, interesting and powerful in the Magic the Gathering Pioneer format

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The First Pioneers episodes:

06.10.2024
#194 - Pioneer 101: Waste Not
They ridiculed me. They laughed at me. They told me Waste Not would never be a playable deck in Pioneer. BUT WHO'S LAUGHING NOW?!?!? This week the First Pioneers break down the latest build of the Waste Not deck and...
04.13.2024
#193 - Outlaws of Thunder Junction Pioneer Set Review
Howdy Partners! This week the First Pioneers put on our cowboy boots, holster our six-shooters, and straighten the brim of our Stetson hats to bring you the Pioneer set review for Outlaws of Thunder Junction! We go over what cards...
03.26.2024
#192 - Back to Square One
It's been quite a while since we talked about one drops in the Pioneer format (almost 3 years to be exact. Strixhaven had just come out!), but with the recent influx of powerful and useful one drops in Pioneer we...
03.05.2024
#191 - New Blood in Pioneer at Pro Tour Murder at Karlov Manor
Vampires had been counted out of Pioneer for a while. It was a fun deck and one of people's favorite typal strategies, but it hadn't been relevant for a while. That all changed last weekend during Pro Tour Murder at...
02.16.2024
#190- Murders at Karlov Manor Pioneer brews and early results
Welcome to a new Pioneer Metagame! Or is it? While a few new cards have snuck their way into Pioneer this season from the newest set, most of the other cards seem to be biding their time and waiting for...
02.02.2024
#189 - The Murders at Karlov Manor Pioneer Set Review
There seems to be a lot of killing going on in Ravnica, but does the Murders at Karlov Manor set have any killer cards for Pioneer? This week the First Pioneers team once again breaks down all of the cards...
01.23.2024
#188 - Murder Afoot: A first look at Murders at Karlov Manor in Pioneer
After a slow winter vacation for The First Pioneers and the Pioneer format, both of us are ready to get back into the swing of things. Murder is afoot in Ravnica and a group of magical gumshoes are on the...
12.27.2023
Pioneer Year in Review: 2023
Pioneer has had some good and bad things happen in 2023, so in this final episode of the year we go over what we think had positive impacts on the format, as well as what things hurt it. We also...
12.12.2023
#186 - Welcome Back Co(p)ter
"Welcome back Your ban was your ticket out Welcome back to that same old place That you hovered about Well, the card names have all changed Since you flew around But those decks have remained And they've turned around Who'd have thought they'd need you (Who'd have thought they'd...
11.27.2023
#185 - Lost Caverns of Ixalan Brews and News!
It's been an exciting time in Pioneer since Lost Caverns of Ixalan was released. The format has seen new decks, new cards, and new strategies pop up all over the place. Aside from doing our usual brew episode, we added...
11.12.2023
#184 - Lost Caverns of Ixalan Pioneer Set Review
There was quite a bit of apprehension about the newest Magic the Gathering set after recent misfires, but to say that people aren't excited about the Lost Caverns of Ixalan set would be an understatement. While people expected a number...
11.03.2023
#183 - First Look at Lost Caverns of Ixalan and a Goodbye to WOE Pioneer
This week's special bonus episode wraps up the Wilds of Eldraine Pioneer metagame and goes over the mechanics of the Lost Caverns of Ixalan. A lot has changed in Pioneer since the start of October and in this episode we take...
10.24.2023
#182 - Pioneer 101: Boros Heroic
With the Boros Pia, Boros Convoke, and even Boros Burn (way back in the day), the only Boros (red/white) deck we hadn't covered yet on The First Pioneer's podcast was Boros Heroic. It was never really a player in the...
10.09.2023
#181 - The First First Pioneers Fantasy Fantasy Draft
No, you didn't read that episode title wrong. This week we did our first ever "draft" of the best cards, our favorite cards, or cards we just straight up "vibe" with in the Pioneer format. But it's not a draft...
09.25.2023
#180 - First Look at the Wilds of Eldraine Pioneer Meta
After all the talk players made about which Wilds of Eldraine cards would break out in the new season of Pioneer, we finally have some initial results and they are quite promising! Join the First Pioneers as we take a...
09.12.2023
#179 - Wilds of Eldraine Pioneer Brews!
Updates, upgrades, and new decks galore in this episode of The First Pioneers! We go over no less than 10 Pioneer decks total this week and showcase a variety of archetypes such as combo, aggro, and midrange that have added...
08.30.2023
#178 - The Wilds of Eldraine Pioneer Set Review
The next set has finally dropped and The First Pioneers are ready to head deep into the woods with the Wilds of Eldraine! As always we focus on the cards we think will have the biggest impact on the Pioneer...
08.21.2023
#177 - The Future of Pioneer
Gen Con in Indianapolis dropped A LOT of information about the future of Magic the Gathering, or at least one heck of a timeline of new sets that will be affecting the Pioneer format when they release. Before we jump...
08.10.2023
#176 - The Less Things Change, The More They are the Same
Pioneer players were met with the news that there would be NO cards banned or restricted in Wizards of the Coast's annual ban announcement this week, deflating a lot of people's hope that the format would have some new life...
07.17.2023
#175 - Exploring the Unexplored Reaches of Pioneer
One of the great things about Pioneer is that new decks are still being discovered every season. While it might now be at the same frequency as the format's early years, you can still count on things to be shaken...
07.04.2023
#174 - Dear Wizards of the Coast . . .
As the end of the Pioneer regional qualifier season draws to a close, The First Pioneers go over the most recent results from the last 2 weeks of events and talk about the future of the Pioneer format. While the...
06.19.2023
#173 - Can You Dig It?
The First Pioneers aren't some group of jive turkeys. We're cooler than cool, hipper than hip, and if you want to play a card nobody else plays in Pioneer, we can dig it. In fact, we love to dig up...
06.05.2023
#172 - Pioneer 101: Boros Convoke
The Boros Convoke deck has made big waves in Pioneer over the last few weeks but not everybody has been able to wrap their heads around it. As with every other new deck that breaks onto the scene, at first...
05.22.2023
#171 - Pioneer’s Days of Future Past
This week The First Pioneers hop into the way back machine to revisit some of the best decks the Pioneer format has ever seen to talk about what made them tick, what the format lost when the decks disappeared, and...
05.16.2023
#170 - March of the Machines Spring Metagame Recap
This Mother's Day, skip out on the flowers and candies and get her something special, like a break down of the Pioneer metagame leading up to March of the Machines Aftermath. She'll be grateful for your thoughtfulness and happy that...
05.08.2023
#169 - March of the Machines: Aftermath Pioneer Set Review
The paint on the cards in March of the Machines had barely dried when Wizards of the Coast decided to release Aftermath, a supplemental, undraftable mini set (but Standard/Pioneer legal). How will competitive players react to this set? Will they...
05.02.2023
#168 - Pioneer 101: Neoform Atraxa
One of the biggest decks to come out of the Phyrexia: All Will Be One metagame was Neoform Atraxa. The deck joins a long list of powerful midrange strategies that can effectively combo out early into an Atraxa, Grand Unifier...
04.24.2023
#167- Pioneer’s Aggro Problem
Does Pioneer have an aggro problem? Absolutely, but it's less the cause of the problem and more the result of everything else. Recently The First Pioneers discussed how Combo decks in the format had taken advantage of Pioneer, and while...
04.18.2023
#166- March of Machines Pioneer Brews
Midrange and Combo players rejoice! Mother of Machines brings tons of new cards that can slip right into your existing decks in Pioneer, and some that are great for building around. Whether they'll end up being strong enough for competitive...
04.11.2023
#165 - March of Machines Pioneer Set Review
Wizards of the Coast has been giving us less of what we want and more of what we need in Pioneer, at least from my point of view. Gone are the days when one card would go into every deck....
04.03.2023
#164 - Wrapping up the Phyrexia All Will Be One Pioneer Metagame
It's been a while since the Pro Tour flipped the Pioneer metagame on its head. We had a few new decks join the metagame, and a few others make a glorious comeback. But when the dust settled, where did that...
03.28.2023
#163 - A Pioneer Home for Modern Refugees
The Modern format has always been known for the strong power level of its cards. At the inception of the format there were a number of bannings and as more and more cards were added into the pool, those once...
03.20.2023
#162 - Pioneer on a Budget
This week we're shifting gears to focus more on the financial side of Pioneer as we discuss how people can play the format competitively while not spending an arm and a leg. The recent Pro Tour catapulted the Pioneer format...
03.13.2023
#161 - March of the Manabases
With the fastlands in Phyrexia: All Will Be One, the Pioneer format finally finished all of it's enemy and friendly manabases (well all the relevant ones at least). We had complained on more than one occasion that the format wouldn't...
03.06.2023
#160 - Combo Breaker
A combo deck won the last Pioneer Pro Tour. A few other combo decks have been showing up regularly in the format lately. Is Pioneer currently in a combo metagame? If so, do we need to be worried about it?...
02.27.2023
#159 - Pioneer 101: Enigmatic Fires
Due to the popularity of our last Pioneer 101 episode on Angels and Vehicles, as well as the renewed interest in the Enigmatic Fires deck after the Pro Tour, we thought we'd do another breakdown this week to get people...
02.21.2023
#158 - Pro Tour Phyrexia: All Will Be Meta
Pioneer was front and center on the biggest stage of Magic the Gathering last weekend: The Pro Tour. The excitement that had been building through the previous qualifier seasons finally boiled over into the mainstream. Tens of thousands of players...
02.13.2023
#154 - Pioneer 101: Angels and Engines
While we wait for the upcoming Pioneer Pro tour to shake things up, The First Pioneers decided it would be a good idea to showcase two of the biggest decks to rise to popularity in the last season: Angel Company...
02.06.2023
#157 - Phyrexian Pioneers: All Will Be Brews
At first glance Phyrexia: All Will Be One might not have any obvious homeruns for the Pioneer format, but maybe that's a good thing? If we don't know where the cards go at first we'll just have to brew with...
01.30.2023
#156 - Phyrexia, All Will Be One Pioneer Set Review
Will Phyrexia, All Will be One be another Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty set for the Pioneer format with a huge impact, or be more subdued like Innistrad: Crimson Vow with only a handful of cards seeing any play? Returning guest Dreams...
01.23.2023
#155 - Phirst Pioneer Impressions from Phyrexia: All will be One
With our Pioneer set review due out next week for Phyrexia: All Will be One, we thought we'd save ourselves some time by talking about what cards we think will have a big impact on the format like the reprint...
01.09.2023
#153 - For Better or Worse: Historic Cards in Pioneer
While everybody is currently focused on the future and what the next set will bring for Pioneer this February, we thought it would be a good idea to look back. We did a few episodes on Explorer last year and...
12.26.2022
#152 - The 2022 Pioneer Wrap Up
The year 2022 started very unassuming for Pioneer but it ended up being one of the most eventful years since the format's inception. We had tons of break out cards, new decks appeared, some old ones returned to the metagame,...
12.19.2022
#151 -The First Pioneer’s 2022 Holiday Wishlist
She's making a list, and checking it twice, going to find out who's naughty or nice, She-oldred is coming to town. She knows when you are drawing, She gains life while she's awake, She know if your removal is goodorbad...
12.12.2022
#150 - Is Pioneer Playable on Arena with Explorer Anthology 2?
While our 150th episode probably deserves more pomp and celebration, there is simply too much going on in the world of Pioneer to take a week off! With the Explorer Anthology 2 dropping on MTG Arena this week, we're guessing...
12.05.2022
#149 - A look back at our Top 5 Pioneer picks in 2022: What we Got Wrong
Continuing our tradition from last year, Kevin and I over at The First Pioneers own up to the mistakes we made on our Top 5 picks during our Pioneer set reviews (and also gloat about the picks we DID get...
11.29.2022
#148 - Pioneer 101: Bard Class and the Case for Combo
The Bard Class deck in Pioneer has been on everybody's radar for a while now, but it's yet to be played in large numbers. Part of this is probably because many people don't understand how the deck works and how...
11.23.2022
#147 - Pioneer in Action at the Regional Championships
We had a huge weekend for the Pioneer format last week as hundreds of players from all over the world gathered in their countries and other central areas for their Regional Championships. To make sense of it all, we invited...
11.14.2022
#146 - Brother’s Brews for Pioneer
Not going to lie, brewing Pioneer decks with Brother's War cards has been some of most fun I've had in a long time. Don't listen to the people saying that the Brother's War set won't have an impact on the...
11.08.2022
#145 - The Brother’s War Pioneer Set Review
I for one welcome our robot overlords to Pioneer and hope they have a good time. Following up our last episode on Artifacts in Pioneer, we finally got a look at all of the new artifacts and have found quite...

What's The First Pioneers about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The First Pioneers episodes:

#194 - Pioneer 101: Waste Not

#193 - Outlaws of Thunder Junction Pioneer Set Review

#192 - Back to Square One

#191 - New Blood in Pioneer at Pro Tour Murder at Karlov Manor

#190- Murders at Karlov Manor Pioneer brews and early results

#189 - The Murders at Karlov Manor Pioneer Set Review

#188 - Murder Afoot: A first look at Murders at Karlov Manor in Pioneer

Pioneer Year in Review: 2023

#186 - Welcome Back Co(p)ter

#185 - Lost Caverns of Ixalan Brews and News!

#184 - Lost Caverns of Ixalan Pioneer Set Review

#183 - First Look at Lost Caverns of Ixalan and a Goodbye to WOE Pioneer

#182 - Pioneer 101: Boros Heroic

#181 - The First First Pioneers Fantasy Fantasy Draft

#180 - First Look at the Wilds of Eldraine Pioneer Meta

#179 - Wilds of Eldraine Pioneer Brews!

#178 - The Wilds of Eldraine Pioneer Set Review

#177 - The Future of Pioneer

#176 - The Less Things Change, The More They are the Same

#175 - Exploring the Unexplored Reaches of Pioneer

#174 - Dear Wizards of the Coast . . .

#173 - Can You Dig It?

#172 - Pioneer 101: Boros Convoke

#171 - Pioneer’s Days of Future Past

#170 - March of the Machines Spring Metagame Recap

#169 - March of the Machines: Aftermath Pioneer Set Review

#168 - Pioneer 101: Neoform Atraxa

#167- Pioneer’s Aggro Problem

#166- March of Machines Pioneer Brews

#165 - March of Machines Pioneer Set Review

#164 - Wrapping up the Phyrexia All Will Be One Pioneer Metagame

#163 - A Pioneer Home for Modern Refugees

#162 - Pioneer on a Budget

#161 - March of the Manabases

#160 - Combo Breaker

#159 - Pioneer 101: Enigmatic Fires

#158 - Pro Tour Phyrexia: All Will Be Meta

#154 - Pioneer 101: Angels and Engines

#157 - Phyrexian Pioneers: All Will Be Brews

#156 - Phyrexia, All Will Be One Pioneer Set Review

#155 - Phirst Pioneer Impressions from Phyrexia: All will be One

#153 - For Better or Worse: Historic Cards in Pioneer

#152 - The 2022 Pioneer Wrap Up

#151 -The First Pioneer’s 2022 Holiday Wishlist

#150 - Is Pioneer Playable on Arena with Explorer Anthology 2?

#149 - A look back at our Top 5 Pioneer picks in 2022: What we Got Wrong

#148 - Pioneer 101: Bard Class and the Case for Combo

#147 - Pioneer in Action at the Regional Championships

#146 - Brother’s Brews for Pioneer

#145 - The Brother’s War Pioneer Set Review