A day ago I asked a question about some deeper flaws with Pioneer, and got a lot of great answers. I want to pitch a few changes to the format, with intent to fix these flaws.

This is still a learning exercise on my end, so please let me know if my changes are unhealthy for the format as a whole! And also let me know why as well.

First off, it seems that Pioneer being a turn-3 format puts a ton of pressure on the player on the draw; they are forced to stop their development to hold up a removal spell they may or may not have, and if they don’t many decks thrust themselves into certain victory by turn 3. If they do spend the removal, they are still behind in developmental terms.

Here are my suggestions towards fixing that:

  1. Making Pioneer a turn 4 format, excluding aggro. Ban cards that constitute towards strategies that end the game by turn 3–[[Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord]], [[Wildgrowth Walker]], and [[Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx]] are all prime targets. I know there are some Lotus builds that go off turn 4 which is fine, but the turn 3 builds need to be checked. I don’t know much about Lotus Combo though.

But decks that require a critical mass of cards to win (typically a lot), with creatures without ward costs and are removed by the format’s cheapest answers, should be rewarded for their speed and aggression.

  1. Removing black’s monopoly of the best efficient answers. I don’t mean banning black’s answers, but rather giving other colors access to such cheap and efficient answers. Giving white some version of [[Swords to Plowshares]] or giving red some version of [[Lightning Bolt]]. An instant-speed [[Strangle]]. Not free spells, but ones that rival the sheer efficiency of Fatal Push.

This should help keep aggro in check, as well as making it easier on the draw player to answer the go player, without sacrificing too much tempo.

A big issue that I see, is simply the fact that cards like Bolt and Swords are probably too much for Standard. WotC has said in the past the kind of effect Lightning Bolt has on Standard, and why they’ve refrained from reprinting it in that environment.