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Pioneer Metagame

Explore the best decks in the metagame for the Magic: The Gathering Pioneer format. Our information is based on tournament data from MTG Meta and carefully curated by our expert players to ensure their accuracy. Data being collected for The Brothers' War(BRO).

Pioneer is the latest nonrotating constructed format featuring only Standard sets from Return to Ravnica and forward – no supplementary products. Currently, this format is available only for tabletop and Magic Online. We are including coverage on MTG Arena Zone as it will be coming to MTG Arena in the next few years and relates directly to its bridging format on MTG Arena, called Explorer. If you are interested in checking out Pioneer outside of MTG Arena, check out our beginner’s guide!

Metagame Matchup Matrix

pioneer
07 Jun 2022 - 06 Sep 2023
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win
rate
vs
rakdos midrange
vs
Mono Green Devotion
vs
azorius control
vs
mono white humans
vs
abzan greasefang
vs
izzet phoenix
vs
Lotus Field Combo
vs
rakdos sacrifice
vs
creativity
vs
mono red aggro
vs
gruul aggro
vs
5c enigmatic incarnation
vs
azorius spirits
vs
mono blue spirits
vs
angels
vs
bant spirits
vs
boros convoke
vs
omnath to light
vs
4c fires
rakdos midrange
13.78% metagame
9591 matches
global 50.1% [49.1%-51.1%]
-
43.3%
1357 matches
51.6%
880 matches
53.6%
825 matches
48.1%
674 matches
57.7%
494 matches
50.1%
467 matches
36.9%
374 matches
57.9%
549 matches
61.4%
236 matches
37.0%
395 matches
32.4%
370 matches
52.1%
288 matches
57.9%
195 matches
47.4%
154 matches
56.4%
133 matches
45.6%
248 matches
41.0%
134 matches
35.3%
116 matches
rakdos midrange
13.78% metagame
9591 matches
global 50.1% [49.1%-51.1%]
Mono Green Devotion
10.72% metagame
6958 matches
global 52.4% [51.2%-53.6%]
56.7%
1357 matches
-
49.7%
574 matches
38.4%
565 matches
54.3%
446 matches
48.9%
362 matches
55.3%
300 matches
59.1%
318 matches
59.6%
342 matches
53.8%
158 matches
56.5%
313 matches
53.4%
247 matches
34.8%
201 matches
34.9%
149 matches
56.9%
102 matches
42.0%
100 matches
53.2%
124 matches
57.9%
76 matches
62.0%
92 matches
Mono Green Devotion
10.72% metagame
6958 matches
global 52.4% [51.2%-53.6%]
azorius control
7.78% metagame
4770 matches
global 52.6% [51.2%-54%]
48.4%
880 matches
50.3%
574 matches
-
43.2%
345 matches
47.2%
341 matches
60.7%
247 matches
41.0%
210 matches
48.9%
190 matches
59.5%
220 matches
48.7%
119 matches
55.1%
178 matches
69.0%
113 matches
51.8%
141 matches
50.7%
67 matches
76.1%
88 matches
60.3%
68 matches
65.8%
76 matches
67.6%
68 matches
69.4%
49 matches
azorius control
7.78% metagame
4770 matches
global 52.6% [51.2%-54%]
mono white humans
5.75% metagame
4418 matches
global 52.4% [50.9%-53.9%]
46.4%
825 matches
61.6%
565 matches
56.8%
345 matches
-
46.1%
271 matches
57.4%
256 matches
68.4%
190 matches
31.7%
161 matches
55.0%
171 matches
62.4%
93 matches
31.1%
177 matches
60.4%
139 matches
57.5%
120 matches
53.7%
82 matches
28.2%
78 matches
50.0%
54 matches
49.3%
73 matches
40.0%
50 matches
41.9%
62 matches
mono white humans
5.75% metagame
4418 matches
global 52.4% [50.9%-53.9%]
abzan greasefang
5.50% metagame
3747 matches
global 49.6% [48%-51.2%]
51.9%
674 matches
45.7%
446 matches
52.8%
341 matches
53.9%
271 matches
-
53.9%
154 matches
57.1%
154 matches
59.5%
148 matches
44.6%
193 matches
47.7%
88 matches
45.5%
121 matches
54.1%
122 matches
24.2%
124 matches
26.8%
71 matches
44.4%
54 matches
26.0%
50 matches
63.9%
72 matches
51.3%
39 matches
65.9%
44 matches
abzan greasefang
5.50% metagame
3747 matches
global 49.6% [48%-51.2%]
izzet phoenix
5.09% metagame
2946 matches
global 46.2% [44.4%-48%]
42.3%
494 matches
51.1%
362 matches
39.3%
247 matches
42.6%
256 matches
46.1%
154 matches
-
21.1%
123 matches
58.7%
92 matches
35.7%
70 matches
45.5%
99 matches
55.3%
123 matches
46.6%
73 matches
56.8%
44 matches
62.5%
64 matches
35.6%
59 matches
59.7%
67 matches
55.6%
18 matches
55.6%
27 matches
44.6%
65 matches
izzet phoenix
5.09% metagame
2946 matches
global 46.2% [44.4%-48%]
Lotus Field Combo
4.46% metagame
2644 matches
global 49.3% [47.4%-51.2%]
49.9%
467 matches
44.7%
300 matches
59.0%
210 matches
31.6%
190 matches
42.9%
154 matches
78.9%
123 matches
-
52.7%
93 matches
57.4%
148 matches
41.7%
60 matches
46.8%
124 matches
82.1%
67 matches
30.4%
56 matches
24.5%
53 matches
66.7%
42 matches
37.5%
32 matches
44.9%
49 matches
75.0%
40 matches
87.5%
24 matches
Lotus Field Combo
4.46% metagame
2644 matches
global 49.3% [47.4%-51.2%]
rakdos sacrifice
4.34% metagame
2321 matches
global 53.9% [51.9%-55.9%]
63.1%
374 matches
40.9%
318 matches
51.1%
190 matches
68.3%
161 matches
40.5%
148 matches
41.3%
92 matches
47.3%
93 matches
-
41.9%
93 matches
70.7%
58 matches
61.4%
88 matches
31.5%
92 matches
53.6%
112 matches
52.2%
23 matches
61.1%
36 matches
65.4%
26 matches
58.5%
53 matches
56.8%
37 matches
20.0%
10 matches
rakdos sacrifice
4.34% metagame
2321 matches
global 53.9% [51.9%-55.9%]
creativity
3.75% metagame
2774 matches
global 47.9% [46.1%-49.8%]
42.1%
549 matches
40.4%
342 matches
40.5%
220 matches
45.0%
171 matches
55.4%
193 matches
64.3%
70 matches
42.6%
148 matches
58.1%
93 matches
-
37.5%
40 matches
60.9%
87 matches
54.0%
113 matches
50.0%
90 matches
45.2%
31 matches
56.4%
39 matches
56.7%
30 matches
52.4%
63 matches
50.0%
40 matches
65.0%
20 matches
creativity
3.75% metagame
2774 matches
global 47.9% [46.1%-49.8%]
mono red aggro
3.53% metagame
1442 matches
global 46.7% [44.1%-49.3%]
38.6%
236 matches
46.2%
158 matches
51.3%
119 matches
37.6%
93 matches
52.3%
88 matches
54.5%
99 matches
58.3%
60 matches
29.3%
58 matches
62.5%
40 matches
-
37.8%
37 matches
54.3%
35 matches
62.9%
35 matches
51.7%
29 matches
29.6%
27 matches
56.3%
32 matches
47.1%
17 matches
22.2%
9 matches
28.6%
21 matches
mono red aggro
3.53% metagame
1442 matches
global 46.7% [44.1%-49.3%]
gruul aggro
3.30% metagame
2309 matches
global 51.9% [49.8%-53.9%]
63.0%
395 matches
43.5%
313 matches
44.9%
178 matches
68.9%
177 matches
54.5%
121 matches
44.7%
123 matches
53.2%
124 matches
38.6%
88 matches
39.1%
87 matches
62.2%
37 matches
-
30.6%
72 matches
50.0%
50 matches
53.1%
32 matches
36.4%
44 matches
56.1%
41 matches
36.0%
25 matches
38.5%
13 matches
41.4%
29 matches
gruul aggro
3.30% metagame
2309 matches
global 51.9% [49.8%-53.9%]
5c enigmatic incarnation
3.00% metagame
1997 matches
global 51.1% [48.9%-53.3%]
67.6%
370 matches
46.6%
247 matches
31.0%
113 matches
39.6%
139 matches
45.9%
122 matches
53.4%
73 matches
17.9%
67 matches
68.5%
92 matches
46.0%
113 matches
45.7%
35 matches
69.4%
72 matches
-
31.5%
73 matches
28.0%
25 matches
50.0%
30 matches
50.0%
22 matches
54.5%
44 matches
30.0%
30 matches
84.2%
19 matches
5c enigmatic incarnation
3.00% metagame
1997 matches
global 51.1% [48.9%-53.3%]
azorius spirits
2.33% metagame
1703 matches
global 55.0% [52.6%-57.4%]
47.9%
288 matches
65.2%
201 matches
48.2%
141 matches
42.5%
120 matches
75.8%
124 matches
43.2%
44 matches
69.6%
56 matches
46.4%
112 matches
50.0%
90 matches
37.1%
35 matches
50.0%
50 matches
68.5%
73 matches
-
71.4%
14 matches
46.7%
15 matches
50.0%
12 matches
46.7%
45 matches
80.0%
25 matches
100.0%
1 matches
azorius spirits
2.33% metagame
1703 matches
global 55.0% [52.6%-57.4%]
mono blue spirits
1.78% metagame
1084 matches
global 53.2% [50.3%-56.2%]
42.1%
195 matches
65.1%
149 matches
49.3%
67 matches
46.3%
82 matches
73.2%
71 matches
37.5%
64 matches
75.5%
53 matches
47.8%
23 matches
54.8%
31 matches
48.3%
29 matches
46.9%
32 matches
72.0%
25 matches
28.6%
14 matches
-
33.3%
15 matches
55.0%
20 matches
37.5%
16 matches
100.0%
9 matches
52.9%
17 matches
mono blue spirits
1.78% metagame
1084 matches
global 53.2% [50.3%-56.2%]
angels
1.74% metagame
996 matches
global 50.1% [47%-53.2%]
52.6%
154 matches
43.1%
102 matches
23.9%
88 matches
71.8%
78 matches
55.6%
54 matches
64.4%
59 matches
33.3%
42 matches
38.9%
36 matches
43.6%
39 matches
70.4%
27 matches
63.6%
44 matches
50.0%
30 matches
53.3%
15 matches
66.7%
15 matches
-
38.5%
13 matches
100.0%
9 matches
18.2%
11 matches
66.7%
21 matches
angels
1.74% metagame
996 matches
global 50.1% [47%-53.2%]
bant spirits
1.58% metagame
892 matches
global 49.7% [46.4%-52.9%]
43.6%
133 matches
58.0%
100 matches
39.7%
68 matches
50.0%
54 matches
74.0%
50 matches
40.3%
67 matches
62.5%
32 matches
34.6%
26 matches
43.3%
30 matches
43.8%
32 matches
43.9%
41 matches
50.0%
22 matches
50.0%
12 matches
45.0%
20 matches
61.5%
13 matches
-
50.0%
2 matches
60.0%
5 matches
46.2%
26 matches
bant spirits
1.58% metagame
892 matches
global 49.7% [46.4%-52.9%]
boros convoke
1.38% metagame
1126 matches
global 49.1% [46.2%-52%]
54.4%
248 matches
46.8%
124 matches
34.2%
76 matches
50.7%
73 matches
36.1%
72 matches
44.4%
18 matches
55.1%
49 matches
41.5%
53 matches
47.6%
63 matches
52.9%
17 matches
64.0%
25 matches
45.5%
44 matches
53.3%
45 matches
62.5%
16 matches
0.0%
9 matches
50.0%
2 matches
-
60.0%
20 matches
0.0%
1 matches
boros convoke
1.38% metagame
1126 matches
global 49.1% [46.2%-52%]
omnath to light
1.05% metagame
743 matches
global 49.3% [45.7%-52.8%]
59.0%
134 matches
42.1%
76 matches
32.4%
68 matches
60.0%
50 matches
48.7%
39 matches
44.4%
27 matches
25.0%
40 matches
43.2%
37 matches
50.0%
40 matches
77.8%
9 matches
61.5%
13 matches
70.0%
30 matches
20.0%
25 matches
0.0%
9 matches
81.8%
11 matches
40.0%
5 matches
40.0%
20 matches
-
-
omnath to light
1.05% metagame
743 matches
global 49.3% [45.7%-52.8%]
4c fires
0.75% metagame
727 matches
global 49.2% [45.6%-52.9%]
64.7%
116 matches
38.0%
92 matches
30.6%
49 matches
58.1%
62 matches
34.1%
44 matches
55.4%
65 matches
12.5%
24 matches
80.0%
10 matches
35.0%
20 matches
71.4%
21 matches
58.6%
29 matches
15.8%
19 matches
0.0%
1 matches
47.1%
17 matches
33.3%
21 matches
53.8%
26 matches
100.0%
1 matches
-
-
4c fires
0.75% metagame
727 matches
global 49.2% [45.6%-52.9%]
vs
rakdos midrange
vs
Mono Green Devotion
vs
azorius control
vs
mono white humans
vs
abzan greasefang
vs
izzet phoenix
vs
Lotus Field Combo
vs
rakdos sacrifice
vs
creativity
vs
mono red aggro
vs
gruul aggro
vs
5c enigmatic incarnation
vs
azorius spirits
vs
mono blue spirits
vs
angels
vs
bant spirits
vs
boros convoke
vs
omnath to light
vs
4c fires

Metagame Tier List

Tier 1
? The premier decks of the format. These are the most likely decks to win challenges or preliminaries on Magic Online and often survive even while being targeted directly by other top decks.

see full list
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Tier 2
? These are very strong decks that are poised to top 8 the challenges and may even win them, but generally have a specific weak matchup either against other A tier decks or against some number of S tier decks, which hold these decks back from the top spot.

see full list
Tier 3
? These are the last of the decks that are likely to put up strong results in the Challenges Online. These decks tend to have skewed matchup spreads, needing to win the matchup lottery to overperform and usually are more like to top 16 a Challenge than top 8.

see full list
Tier 4
? These are decks that can 5-0 a league and will occasionally spike a larger event, but generally they fall victim to too many bad matchups in the upper tiers of the metagame or lack the consistency outside of a single pilot to put up consistent results.

see full list
Tier 5
? These decks show up often enough to warrant mention outside of FNM tier and can sneak into top 16s some amount of the time, but on a week to week basis, these decks are liable to leave you outside of prizes in competitive events.

see full list
auras
46.7% win rate0.89% metashare326$
dimir control
43.6% win rate1.51% metashare345$
4c humans
61.5% win rate0.03% metashare450$
Izzet Tempo
46.7% win rate0.16% metashare350$
esper control
46.9% win rate0.52% metashare266$
Pyre Humans
47.6% win rate0.23% metashare461$
grixis phoenix
53.3% win rate0.01% metashare676$
Mardu Greasefang
48.7% win rate0.15% metashare680$
Vampires
62.5% win rate0.12% metashare359$
esper greasefang
41% win rate0.34% metashare502$
neoform
48.6% win rate0.81% metashare512$
mono black aggro
48% win rate1.11% metashare561$
jeskai control
37.1% win rate0.06% metashare808$
izzet control
42.9% win rate0.24% metashare331$
5c humans
43.1% win rate0.09% metashare390$
bant humans
37% win rate0.14% metashare319$
esper humans
33.3% win rate0.00% metashare238$
gruul ramp
55.3% win rate0.06% metashare673$
transmogrify
49.1% win rate0.99% metashare555$
creativity
47.9% win rate3.75% metashare532$
jeskai fires
40.9% win rate0.04% metashare827$
orzhov humans
48.5% win rate0.12% metashare441$
Selesnya Company
48.4% win rate0.38% metashare251$
azorius spirits
55% win rate2.33% metashare318$
elves
50.5% win rate0.53% metashare418$
goblins
54.2% win rate0.77% metashare413$
grinning ignus combo
42.3% win rate0.18% metashare372$
orzhov greasefang
0% win rate0.00% metashare504$
azorius soldiers
46.3% win rate0.07% metashare233$
dimir shredder
52% win rate0.08% metashare605$
other
31.5% win rate0.96% metashare910$
acererak combo
39.4% win rate0.07% metashare553$
azorious metalwork colossus
47.2% win rate0.04% metashare175$
bant company
41.9% win rate0.07% metashare363$
big red
48.8% win rate0.05% metashare342$
boros hammer
46.9% win rate0.08% metashare298$
boros midrange
47.1% win rate0.06% metashare162$
demonic bargain combo
54.1% win rate0.11% metashare357$
dimir rogues
49.4% win rate0.84% metashare343$
dread presence lands
20% win rate0.02% metashare627$
ensoul artifact
38.3% win rate0.17% metashare289$
golgari sacrifice
50.8% win rate0.15% metashare372$
grixis midrange
50.2% win rate0.45% metashare619$
gyruda
39.1% win rate0.03% metashare104$
jeskai ascendancy
43.9% win rate0.33% metashare477$
merfolk
35% win rate0.02% metashare125$
mono black discard
40.4% win rate0.39% metashare642$
mono blue devotion
47.8% win rate0.04% metashare506$
mono white midrange
53.6% win rate0.19% metashare448$
orzhov midrange
48.5% win rate0.19% metashare664$
possibility storm
48.1% win rate0.07% metashare289$
soulflayer
55% win rate0.04% metashare510$
storm herald combo
41.4% win rate0.08% metashare508$
4c omnath
40% win rate0.02% metashare580$
abzan sacrifice
45.8% win rate0.01% metashare339$
azorious artifacts
52.9% win rate0.01% metashare305$
azorious midrange
45.2% win rate0.03% metashare359$
azorius yorion
52.9% win rate0.01% metashare515$
birthing pod
50% win rate0.00% metashare262$
boros aggro
37.7% win rate0.27% metashare239$
boros convoke
49.1% win rate1.38% metashare270$
doom foretold
37.1% win rate0.03% metashare483$
elementals
45.8% win rate0.04% metashare645$
esper legends
55.7% win rate0.12% metashare626$
gates
30% win rate0.01% metashare145$
golgari midrange
42.7% win rate0.14% metashare561$
golgari vehicles
46.9% win rate0.12% metashare482$
grixis tempo
45% win rate0.02% metashare430$
hardened scales
20% win rate0.03% metashare500$
izzet apparatus
23.1% win rate0.01% metashare184$
jeskai transmogrify
0% win rate0.00% metashare0$
jund midrange
42.4% win rate0.04% metashare689$
jund transmogrify
45.6% win rate0.12% metashare736$
mardu midrange
50% win rate0.03% metashare689$
mono black midrange
48.6% win rate0.16% metashare560$
naya aggro
41.7% win rate0.03% metashare464$
naya tokens
33.3% win rate0.02% metashare571$
omnath to light
49.3% win rate1.05% metashare604$
paradox engine combo
50% win rate0.02% metashare692$
rona combo
46.9% win rate0.45% metashare701$
selesnya heroic
43.8% win rate0.02% metashare134$
stompy
41.5% win rate0.07% metashare539$

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