Autumn Burchett – Dimir Inverter
Creatures (7)
Planeswalkers (6)
Lands (25)
Spells (22)
Whilst the addition of Thassa’s Oracle, Underworld Breach, and Heliod, Sun-Crowned has definitely narrowed the scope of what you can reasonably play at a competitive level in Pioneer, for now I still consider the format to have several clearly viable strategies, any of which you could reasonably justify taking along to this Open.
That said, I consider Dimir Inverter and Mono-White Devotion to be the two decks that stand the chance of cementing themselves as a step above the rest given enough time and further tuning. People are packing a lot of hate for Dimir Inverter specifically, but the deck has adapted important tools like Hero’s Downfall to help push back against this. Meanwhile cards like Ashiok, Nightmare Muse out of the sideboard can set you up to have a chance in the long game even after a resolved Lost Legacy has stripped the combo aspect from your deck. The deck’s raw power level, with Dig Through Time tying together its control and combo plans beautifully by making sure you always have exactly the cards you need, is hard to keep under control.
On a personal level, I’m pretty compelled to play Dimir Inverter not just because the deck is good enough that the whole format is twisting in on itself to try to contain it, but also because it is the deck I’ve played the most with and frankly it is just great fun to play. Setting up Inverter of Truth kills makes you think about Magic in a way you’ve never had to do before, pivoting roles after sideboarding in the face of hate and interaction is both challenging and rewarding, and some games are just so bizarre that weaving through them can’t help but be memorable.
Ari Lax – Dimir Inverter
Creatures (7)
Planeswalkers (7)
Lands (25)
Spells (21)
Dimir Inverter is the best deck in Pioneer. Period. That 49% win rate number doesn’t mean anything. It just has a high skill floor. The best 10% of players with it are unbeatable, while the other 90% donk it up.
You don’t get to be among that 10% of winners by not playing it. Better start learning those Thoughtseize skills quickly and finding the secrets like “sideboard in Mystical Dispute against Mono-White Devotion because nothing they cast matters besides expensive sorceries.”
Corey Baumeister – Azorius Control
Planeswalkers (8)
Lands (26)
Spells (26)
The funny thing about Azorius Control in Pioneer is I have always thought this is a very underpowered deck. That still may be true, but control decks get a lot better when the metagame is more condensed or solved. This may be the most-condensed Pioneer format we have ever seen.
I think this list has the tools to stand up against the powerhouse of the format, Dimir Inverter, thanks to Gideon of the Trials and counterspells. Beyond this matchup, I feel pretty good about any deck trying to turn creatures sideways thanks to four Supreme Verdict.
It’s finally time to reunite with the one true hero of the format: Teferi, Hero of Dominaria!
Emma Handy – Dimir Inverter
Creatures (7)
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (24)
Spells (24)
You know what they say: If it ain’t banned, don’t fix it. Or something like that.
In spite of what this week’s B&R announcement would have you believe, I’m still firmly of the belief that Dimir Inverter is the best thing to be doing in Pioneer, in spite of its seemingly lackluster win-rate. As complex as the deck is, winning through hate isn’t always academic and the number of games that demand perfect navigation is quite high.
That being said, if you get the reps and play the deck well, it’s doing something that is fundamentally stronger than anything else in the format, and is resistant to hate cards. Even if there were hate cards that were good against the deck, how good could they be against a pile of Thoughtseizes and Thought Erasures?
We don’t always have a given best deck in the format, but when there is one, deck selection should be a gimme.
Shaheen Soorani – Dimir Inverter
Creatures (8)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (25)
Spells (24)
With the failure to make the correct bans in Pioneer, it is getting tough to justify playing anything without Dig Through Time. I’m on the fence about playing my Dimir Control deck I wrote about a few weeks ago, but I’m leaning toward Peter’s deck for SCG Baltimore. Although I think the matchup Dimir Control has against Dimir Inverter is good, I’m not sure if the metagame will solidify behind the top two decks.
We haven’t had a premier event in Pioneer since the domination that occurred at SCG Indianapolis a few weeks ago, which leads me to think players will try to defeat this menace before falling in line to join. I have heard rumblings about the resurgence of Mono-Black Aggro and Lotus Breach, both of which have a decent matchup against Dimir Inverter. Once the field realizes that this deck is leaps and bounds above the others, then it will be time for me to unleash the power of Dimir Control in live play.