Thread by @__Boland__

As an avid #MTGpioneer gamer, here's a quick info thread about the upcoming #Explorer format

Pio includes RTR forward, but Arena only includes Ixalan forward, so lots of relevant Pio sets are missing:

RTR block
Theros block
BFZ block
Origins
Shadows block
Kaladesh block

1/x

Off the top of my head, some relevant Pioneer cards that will be missing from the format are:

delve cards
Lightning Axe
Nykthos
Hidden Strings
BTE
Elvish Mystic
Day's Undoing
Eidolon/Swiftspear
Supreme Verdict

The Kaladesh Remastered set added lots of the relevant Kaladesh block cards to Arena, including the enemy-color fastlands and Fatal Push

Some clusters of Pio-playable cards *are* intact on Arena, including:

Greasefang/Parhelion
Teferi/Veto/Absorb
Thoughtseize/Kroxa/Trespasser
Mayhem/Cat/Anvil/Familiar/Meathook
Llanowar/Goose/Winota/Tovolar's Huntmaster

The best combo deck of the format, Lotus Field, is not intact; Lotus Field itself is Arena-legal, but the crucial Thespian's Stage, Hidden Strings, and Pore Over the Pages are not.

It's possible there's a new Lotus Field deck waiting to be built, though, since the card is absurd

Combining Narset with Timetwister-like effects is powerful in Pio right now. Narset herself is on Arena, but Day's Undoing, Collective Defiance, Dark Deal, and Whispering Madness aren't.

Emergency Powers and Commit/Memory are the only wheel effects that are, afaik

As far as my favorite deck, Arclight Phoenix: the Historic version is full of non-Pio cards like Faithless and DRC. Arena is missing lots of the Pio cards like Cruise and Temporal Trespass. Lots of the cards *are* on Arena, though, so I bet you could still build it somehow

I suspect Naya Winota will be the best deck in the Explorer format initially, since it's mostly intact with a few swaps.

Lightning Axe was in Jumpstart, and is listed as Historic-legal, so it likely *is* on Arena? I can't tell for sure. If so, that'll be a key anti-Winota card

Karn is Arena-legal, and has a pretty extensive toolbox of tutor targets available, but will likely struggle without Nykthos to ramp him out. I could definitely see some Karn deck being a major player, though, as the effect is really strong vs Anvil/Cat/Oven decks

Overall I think Explorer will be pretty different from the #MTGpioneer we're used to, at least until WOTC adds a reprint Anthology set or two.

Either way, it's exciting to see WOTC paying attention to Pio again and paving the way towards adding the format to Arena👍

/thread