Top 10 Cards We Need on Arena NOW (to Make Explorer into Pioneer)
Ever since the format was launched a little over a month ago, I've had a ton of fun playing Explorer—way more fun than I expected, honestly. However, the real goal of Explorer is to bring the full Pioneer format to Magic Arena. While a ton of sets and cards need to be added before Arena will have literally every Pioneer-legal card, Wizards could speed up the process of turning Explorer into Pioneer greatly by adding a relatively small number of cards to the client.
As such, today, we're going to count down the top 10 cards that Wizards should add to Arena now to help turn Explorer into Pioneer. Before getting to the list, a quick word on the methodology. My main goal in choosing cards for the list was to look for cards that would add a new deck (or multiple decks) to the Explorer format if they were added to Magic Arena. What this means in practice is that a card like Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet isn't on our list, even though it would certainly see a lot of play in Explorer. While Kalitas is a fine midrange threat, it's not necessary for any deck to exist or be competitive. While I do hope that Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet comes to Arena soon, considering it seems that we'll be getting cards added through things like Anthology releases for the short term, at least, it's necessary to prioritize and ideally add the cards that will make the biggest impact (and add the most new decks to the format) first. Anyway, here are the top 10 cards we need on Arena now to help turn Explorer into Pioneer.
#10: Spell Queller
Spirits are one of the best tribal decks in Pioneer proper but thus far have been lacking in Pioneer because some key tribe members aren't on Arena. While Mausoleum Wanderer and Selfless Spirit are important to the deck and also need to come to Arena soon, if I had to choose just one Spirit to add to the client to make a deck like Bant Spirits or UW Spirits functional, it would be Spell Queller. Along with potentially making multi-color Spirits a thing, adding Spell Queller to Arena could also lead to some new UW Tempo–style decks, as a bonus.
#9: Bring to Light
Niv to Light—a deck that combines the card advantage of Niv-Mizzet Reborn with the tutoring power of Bring to Light—has long been a staple deck in Pioneer, but I don't think I've played against a Niv deck once in Explorer. This is primarily because of the lack of Bring to Light, which gives the deck extra copies of Niv-Mizzet Reborn while also allowing it to tutor up various sweepers and removal spells when the situation calls for them. Adding Bring to Light to Arena would immediately make Niv to Light playable and could open up the possibility of other janky five-color piles as well.
#8: Soulflayer
While Soulflayer is the definition of a tier-three deck in Pioneer, it is a really unique archetype that's super fun to play. All that's missing to make the deck happen in Explorer is Soulflayer itself since most of the graveyard fillers and exile fodder are already on the client.
#7: Reflector Mage
The idea of adding Reflector Mage is that it should open up the possibility of Five-Color Humans. Thanks to getting another five-color tribal land in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, the deck has started to take off in Pioneer itself, but there just aren't enough good blue or red Humans to make going five-color worth it in Explorer. This was actually a pretty difficult choice because Mantis Rider is another key piece of Five-Color Humans that is missing from Arena. But Reflector Mage wins out because it also sees play in Bant Humans in Pioneer (another deck that currently doesn't exist in Explorer), while Mantis Rider only shows up in Five-Color Humans. As such, adding Reflector Mage to Arena should add not just one but potentially two new Humans decks to the Explorer format.
#6: Thing in the Ice
Izzet Phoenix has long been one of the best decks in Pioneer, but it hasn't really made its mark in Explorer, in large part because Thing in the Ice isn't available. Along with helping Izzet Phoenix, the horrific two-drop also shows up in various control decks and occasionally in Young Pyromancer spellslinger decks in Pioneer.
#5: Treasure Cruise
Two of the most important spells missing from Explorer are the two big delve card-draw spells Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time. While both would be solid additions to Arena, Treasure Cruise sees more play, making it the correct choice if we have to pick between the two. In many ways, Treasure Cruise is like Thing in the Ice in that its main tier home is Izzet Phoenix, but it also shows up in various control, spellslinger, and prowess decks. It's also a key piece of Jeskai Ascendancy combo, which will matter once the enchantment comes to Arena.
#4: Monastery Swiftspear
At a quick glance, you might assume that Monastery Swiftspear is here to help decks like Mono-Red Aggro or Burn. While those decks would get a burst of power thanks to the addition of the one-drop, the reason why Monastery Swiftspear]] ranks so highly on our list is that it actually supports a bunch of different archetypes in Pioneer, ranging from Prowess Aggro to heroic decks to combo-ish Feather, the Redeemed brews. Eidolon of the Great Revel might be a better addition if our goal were just to improve Burn, but the flexibility of the Human Monk makes Monastery Swiftspear the right choice for #4 on our list.
#3: Mutavault
While just a land, [[Mutavault] has had a huge impact on the Pioneer format, powering mono-colored aggro decks like Mono-Black and Mono-Red, giving tribal decks (which are currently extremely lacking in Explorer) a chance to compete, and even being a combo piece in conjunction with The Book of Exalted Deeds in some mono-white midrange and devotion shells.
#2: Elvish Mystic
The first thing I think of when I think about Pioneer is the play pattern of mana dork into three-drop thanks to the tandem of Llanowar Elves and Elvish Mystic, but this is currently missing from Explorer because just one of the dynamic duo is on the client. Adding Elvish Mystic to join Llanowar Elves would go a long way toward making Explorer feel like Pioneer and would also make various midrange creature decks (like Gruul), mono-green builds, and potentially even Elf Tribal into real decks in the format.
#1: Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
If I could add just a single card to Magic Arena to help turn Explorer into Pioneer, it would be Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, and it's not even close. Literally every color of devotion deck is playable in Pioneer proper, with Mono-Green, -White, and -Black being tier decks and Blue and Red Devotion showing up on occasion. The only thing holding these decks back in Explorer is the lack of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Once the land hits the clients, we'll immediately have at least five new playable decks in the format, and you could argue the number could be closer to 10 when you consider variants. (For example, there are ramp-focused Green Devotion decks in Pioneer but also more aggressive Stompy versions, both of which need Nykthos.)
Conclusion
Anyway, that's all for today! Those are my top 10 cards that we need added to Arena now to help turn Explorer into Pioneer. But I'm curious: what cards do you want added most to Arena to support Explorer? What did I miss? Let me know in the comments! As always, leave your thoughts, ideas, opinions, and suggestions, and you can reach me on Twitter @SaffronOlive or at SaffronOlive@MTGGoldfish.com.
