Pioneer: the format explained
Modern cards without rotation, an affordable middle ground.
- Card pool
- All sets from Return to Ravnica (2012) onward.
- Notable
- Does not rotate: your cards stay legal forever.
Who is it for?
A middle ground between Standard and Modern: more powerful and durable than Standard, but cheaper and easier to follow than Modern.
Getting started with Pioneer
Pioneer is the natural next step after Standard. Every Standard set from Return to Ravnica onward stays legal, so a Standard collection gradually turns into Pioneer cards. You can play it online on MTG Arena, where Explorer was renamed Pioneer in 2025, and on Magic Online. A competitive deck usually costs more than in Standard and less than in Modern, and since nothing rotates, your cards stay useful.
How popular Pioneer is at stores varies a lot by region, so ask first whether there's a regular Pioneer night. Buy the core of one known deck instead of a pile of loose staples, and upgrade the mana base step by step. On Arena you can try a deck out before buying it in paper.
Building a Pioneer deck
A Pioneer deck has at least 60 cards, no more than 4 copies of any card (except basic lands, counted across deck and sideboard together), and a sideboard of up to 15 cards. Tournaments and most store nights are best-of-three, so your sideboard really matters. On Arena you can also play Bo1.
Plan on about 20 to 22 lands for aggro, 23 to 24 for midrange and 25 to 26 for control. The card pool has many cycles of two-color lands, so two colors work well and three colors are doable. Your curve can sit a bit lower than in Standard: decks are more efficient, and you need to react early.
Aggro, midrange, control and combo all have a place in the format. A first deck is often mono-color aggro or two-color midrange: affordable, easy to learn and easy to expand later. Combo decks are strong, but take more practice before you play them well.
Common mistakes
- Playing Pioneer like it's Standard. The format is faster and has combos, so a deck without cheap interaction sometimes loses before it gets going.
- Cutting corners on the mana base. Tapped lands instead of good two-color lands cost you tempo every game.
- No answer to combo or graveyard decks in your sideboard. Save a few slots for cards that slow those decks down specifically.
- Buying expensive singles without a deck in mind. Until you know what you'll play, a single pricey card is mostly a risk.
Frequently asked questions
- Which sets are legal in Pioneer?
- Every Standard set from Return to Ravnica (2012) onward. A card from a supplemental product, like a Commander deck, is only legal if it was also printed in one of those sets.
- Does Pioneer rotate?
- No. Cards stay legal unless they get banned. The ban list is on the Banned and Restricted page at magic.wizards.com.
- Can I play Pioneer on MTG Arena?
- Yes. Since 2025, the format formerly called Explorer is simply Pioneer on Arena and follows the paper ban list. Magic Online supports Pioneer too.
- What's the difference between Pioneer and Modern?
- Modern starts in 2003 and also includes sets made specifically for it, such as Modern Horizons. That makes Modern faster, more powerful and usually more expensive.
Other formats
Commander (EDH)StandardModernPauperLegacyVintageOathbreaker
See which of your cards are Pioneer-legal →
Last updated: 26 October 2026