Last month, Wizards of the Coast announced Pioneer, a brand newMagic: The Gatheringconstructed format featuring a card pool that begins with 2012’s Return to Ravnica set. Due to the scope of the cards that can be played in Pioneer, this new format has hitherto only been available onMagic: The Gathering Onlineand in paper. However, a recent announcement indicates that this will not be the case forever, as Pioneer is coming toMagic: The Gathering Arena.
This information comes as part of yesterday’sMTG Arena: State of the Game, in whichWizards of the Coastdetailed its plans to add “remastered sets” to the new digital platform. These “remastered sets” will be condensed versions of oldMagic: The Gatheringsets, and they will include only “the most relevant cards” from these sets. This implies thatMTGA’s “remastered sets” will contain all of a set’s constructed playables, and Wizards states that this will “eventually lead to additional format support.”
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The additional format that WotC specifically points to is Pioneer, indicating that supporting it onArenais something that the developer is “working towards.” Indeed, this phrasing suggests that it may be a while before fans can play a game of Pioneer onMagic Arena, and Wizards addresses this head on, saying, “it’ll be a longer journey before [it] can talk specifics.” WotC goes on to emphasize that it will be “focusing on delivering the best play experiences that these iconic card sets can offer” as it works towards full support ofMTG’s Pioneer format.
While some fans may be disappointed to learn that Pioneer will not be available onMagic: The Gathering Arenain very short order, others will simply be happy to have confirmation that it is coming down the line. Without question, Pioneer is already gaining a great deal of traction, and many fans would love to see it available onMTG Arena. However, untilArenacan offer Pioneer,MTGA-exclusive players that are looking for an alternative to Standard may wish to try their hand at theHistoric format, which will be getting a batch of “new” cards next week.
Source:Wizards of the Coast
