‘Ello ladles and jellyspoons! Even though the sun is up, my garage is still an ice box, which isn’t exactly conducive for painting car body panels. Seeing as I have some time to kill this morning, I’m bring you some hot specs that I’ve got my eye on this week.
In no particular order.
[scryimg] drana, liberator of malakir [/scryimg]
I love this card (and I might just be a little biased here) but I feel like if there is going to be any sort of Bx aggro deck (or even Mono-Black Devotion) there should be some number of Drana in it (3x copies sounds about right). With us getting a sneak peak at Underworld Dreams in Theros: Beyond Death I could see an uptick in interest in Mono-Black Devotion decks.
[scryimg] archangel avacyn [/scryimg]
Oooooie! She is some serious value all at three dollars and change right now which I think is one hell of a bargain for what she does. She was quite the bully during her time in Standard and I feel she will have her place in the future of Pioneer as the meta adapts and develops (we have a B&R announcement coming up on 11/4). Fair midrange decks might be viable if Oko gets the axe.
[scryimg] pack rat [/scryimg] [scryimg] goblin rabblemaster [/scryimg]
Pack Rat & Goblin Rabblemaster.
I know what you might be thinking, “but those are two different cards?…” well they function the same in the sense that they can both single handedly take over games if left unchecked. With Pack Rat you are able to build around it’s ability to discard and turn it into value. With Rabblemaster you can profit off the ETB trigger that the token creates (think Impact Tremors) and lastly it’s a Goblin; Goblins matter (think Goblin Piledriver and Volley Veteran). Both cards saw a little uptick in price after the Pioneer announcement but I still feel like even at their current price they are fairly rpiced for how powerful they can be.
[scryimg] dromokas command [/scryimg]
Sweet Jeebus talk about value. Two mana instant speed and “choose two”. I’ve been saying this card had been undervalued for a long time even before Pioneer came out and for one dollar, ONE DOLLAR (that’s a spicy potato soft taco at Taco Bell!), this thing is a steal of a deal. Between this and Knight of Autumn, Abzan is looking really good. You already have the awesome Modern removal package of Push, Decay, and Trophy but you top it off with value cards like Dromoka’s Command and Knight… Mmm, tasty.
[scryimg] gisela, the broken blade [/scryimg]
I already know I’m going to get crap for this in the comment section but hear me out. In Modern this card is bad, I know. Paying four mana just for it to eat a Lighting Bolt is no bueno but in Pioneer where they have to at least pay two mana to Lightning Strike it isn’t as bad…. Now I’m not saying to jam 4x copies of this into your deck, but as a 1 or 2-of after the coast is clear she is a serious bomb. She is a mini Baneslayer Angel (the poster child for power creep in Standard). If you can scoop up a copy for 5 to 6$ give her a try, you might be surprised, in long grindy midrange games she is a scary top deck.
[scryimg] nykthos, shrine to nyx [/scryimg]
😞 Was on my list but jumped in price before I had time to write this. Basically a no-brainer spec in Pioneer. Quasi fills the roll of Tron by producing larger than normal amounts of mana to do dumb things with in Devotion decks. Already mentioned, if there is going to be any sort of competitive Devotion deck in Pioneer expect to see this card to jump in value (unless it receives a reprint in the upcoming Return to Theros set).
[scryimg] metalwork colossus [/scryimg]
Oh hey less broken Hogaak! Okay, so we have already seen how people can break a card by building around it’s casting conditions. Colossus was already a deck during it’s time in Standard and now we have even more artifacts to crank this thing out earlier than before. Keep an eye out for this reoccurring 10/10 beat stick in the proceeding future…
[scryimg] specters shriek [/scryimg]
With all these Bx midrange decks running around I predict this card will be the deciding factor in those Jund vs. Abzan vs. Sultai match-ups. Snag a Vraska or a Liliana. Or just make sure the coast is clear by sniping their Thoughtseize before they can strip your Oko with it. The cards good and should see some sideboard play.
[scryimg] wasteland strangler [/scryimg]
Not a suuuper crazy card but worth mentioning because I remember how well it performed in Standard. I feel like it’s a very “Jund” card because it’s a classic 2-for-1 that midrange value decks love. For three mana you get a 3/2 body and it usually kills something when it ETBs (assuming you can satisfy it’s conditions). Which leads me to the next card on the list…
[scryimg] doomfall [/scryimg]
I wish you could target the exact creature you want exiled but still able to deal with some really big “sticky” threats. It’s a modal spell and flexability is always good when you’re playing midrange and need options depending on how the game is progressing. Provides some Eldrazi with ingest/exile fuel in the process.
[scryimg] gideon of the trials [/scryimg] [scryimg] gideon, alley of zendikar [/scryimg]
Gideon of the Trials and Gideon, Alley of Zendikar.
Both of these saw some serious Standard play during their time (big Gideon hit 42$ each at one point!). They make the occasional appearance in Modern but aren’t exactly mainstays in UW Control decks. *From personal experience they wreak havoc on red decks 😭* Outside of silly Gideon tribal, I could see these two versions of Gideon being serious forces to be reckoned with in some capacity in Pioneer.
[scryimg] languish [/scryimg]
Love this card. It’s almost a tailor made Damnation for Abzan when played with Siege Rhino, Gurmag Angler, and Tasigur (notice how they all conveniently have 5x toughness and dodge dying to Languish 🤔).
[scryimg] declaration in stone [/scryimg]
And lastly, Declaration in Stone.
In a format void of Sword to Plowshares or Path to Exile, we need a way to neatly deal with things like Scarab God and Hangarback Walker before it pops (and actually, even if Hangarback pops you can still wipe up how many ever tokens it creates even if it gives them clues in the process. Sure beats dying to a bunch of flying damage…). Now if only it was instant speed so it could stop the Copy Cat combo as it goes off. *T3feri says hi.*
Welp, that’s all the cards on my quick list. Thanks for tuning in and be sure to be on the look out for my upcoming articles this weekend hopefully.
And as always, if you’re in the market for some snazzy new sleeves be sure to cruise on over to the shop and use my discount code MADMAGIC for 15% off on your next purchase.
