Summary
Pioneer Masters is a set that has brought several re-issued staples back toMagic: The Gathering Arena. While the set is primarily focused on givingArenaplayers cards to enjoy in the Explorer format, several cards from the set will alsothrive in multiple other formats. From Planeswalkers to Instants to returning Land cards, many cards from this set are well worth collecting for any player.
This list looks at 9 cards that will serve a player well in multiple formats, whether the player enjoys Brawl, Explorer, or Pauper. One thing to note about cards from this set is that they can only be played in Historic formats, meaning the cards available arenot legal for Standard.
8Fog
Prevent Combat Damage
Fog is a simple card, offering the player protection from combat damage for a turn. For the price of a single green mana, this is a powerful effect in any format and could be the difference between a victory and a defeat.
This card will shine most prominently in non-singleton formats like Explorer, allowing the player to run multiple copies of Fog in their deck, recurring the effect as many times as they can cast copies of the card. Despite this, it will still fare well in a format like Historic Brawl, should a player decide to include it in their deck.
7Burning Anger
Close Out The Game With Ease
Burning Anger is another relatively simple card, allowing a player to enchant a creature, and then tap said creature to deal damage equal to its power to any target. Attaching this aura to a powerful creature can easily help take out large threats on an enemy’s board, or even finish out a game if the opponent is low enough on life.
This card will likely see most of its play in formats like Brawl, thanks to the longer game time allowing for larger creatures to be played, thus offering more potent uses of Burning Anger.
6Spirit Of The Labyrinth/ Eidolon Of Rhetoric
Stop Opponents From Playing The Game
This entry consists of two cards with similar effects that can be used individually or in tandem to practically lock an opponent out of playing the game. Spirit of the Labyrinth is a 2 mana 3/1 creature that locks players into only drawing a single card each turn, and Eidolon of Rhetoric is a 3 mana 1/4 creature that locks players into only playing a single spell each turn.
Both of these are powerful effects, especially if combined with an effect like theAuthority of the Consuls from Foundations, or a spell that prevents opponents from casting spells outside their turn. There is nothing more satisfying than forcing an opponent to play the game much slower than they would like.
5Goreclaw, Terror Of Qal Sisma
Make Big Creatures Even Bigger
Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma is the first card on this list that shines in Historic Brawl as a commander for amono-green deck. As many mono-green decks already prioritize large creatures, this card gives the player the benefit of not only making their big creatures cheaper but also making them all bigger and giving them trample.
Even in the 99 of a Brawl deck, Goreclaw is a surefire way to make those big stompy green decks even more potent, trampling over any opponent.
4Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
Steal From Opponents
Ashiok is the firstPlaneswalkerto appear on this list, and has some potent abilities for all formats, but would work especially well as a commander for Brawl. Having the ability to exile cards from an opponent’s library, and then cast those cards for free on a later turn can be an easy way to completely shut down an opponent’s deck.
If a player can activate Ashiok’s -10 ability, they’ll get to play with not only an opponent’s entire graveyard but also all the cards in their hand, stealing away any potential plans they may have had to put a stop to the onslaught of exiled cards.
3Athreos, God Of Passage
Prevent Creatures From Dying
Athreos, God of Passage is yet another first for this list, being the first of the “God” type cards. Gods have a unique ability inMagic: The Gatheringthat allows them not to be creatures as long as a player’s devotion to their colors is below a certain threshold. Combining this with the Indestructible keyword means that a player can benefit from the ability of the god without risking their creature being destroyed.
Athreos’s ability allows a player to return creatures to their hand when they die, rather than put them into their graveyard, unless their opponent pays 3 life. This gives the player an advantage in that their opponent is forced to either damage themselves or allow them to recast a potentially game-winning creature.
2Mogis, God Of Slaughter
Ping Opponents With Consistent Damage
Another god for the list, Mogis, God of Slaughter is another powerful enchantment creature that will work perfectly as a commander in Brawl. Mogis' ability will constantly damage an opponent at the start of each of their turns unless they sacrifice a creature. While each damage tick is not a lot, the consistent ping of damage can be incredibly frustrating.
Combining Mogis with a card like Blood Artist would allow for a player to ensure their opponent loses life every turn, and they consistently gain life making the game an uphill battle for their opponent from the moment Mogis hits the battlefield.
1Liliana Vess
Command An Army Of The Dead
The final card on this list is Liliana Vess, a mono-blackPlaneswalkerwho has been the bane of manyMagic: the Gatheringgames for years. There are several versions of Liliana available in Pioneer Masters, however, Liliana Vess is arguably the most powerful.
Liliana Vess allows the player to force their opponent to discard cards, allows them to search their library for a specific card, and can return all creatures in both player’s graveyards to the battlefield under their control, flooding the board with creatures for a huge swing, which will often lead to the end of the game. Building a Brawl deck around Liliana is a pretty fun, and very strong, way to playif a player can pull her from a pack.
