New Format Announced: Pioneer!
Today Wizards announced the creation of a new format called Pioneer. Pioneer is similar to the player-created format Frontier as a post-Modern format. The format includes cards starting with Return to Ravnica and currently running through Throne of Eldraine (although future Standard-legal sets will also be legal in Pioneer when the are printed). The format begins with a five-card banned list featuring the five allied fetchlands printed in Khans of Tarkir.
Unlike other, similar formats that were made by players, Pioneer is a competitive format with the full support of Wizards. While it will not be available on Magic Arena, it is coming to Magic Online this week, after downtime on October 23, and will be heavily featured in the competitive scene right away, with PTQs in November and as part of the Player's Tour events happening in February. Later in the spring of 2020, the format will also be featured in tabletop qualifying events, and while not officially announced, a Pioneer Grand Prix seems likely in 2020.
While Pioneer will give players a place to revisit some powerful decks from past Standard formats, it is also big enough that we'll likely see new decks and synergies arise as players start to brew and experience the format. If you want to get a head start on brewing for Pioneer, the MTGGoldfish deck builder supports the format now and you can see what people are brewing in the User Submitted Decks. We'll have more content featuring the format in the coming days.
