December 2, 2019 Pioneer Banned Announcement | MAGIC: THE GATHERING
\===============
02 Dec 2019 - 31 Jan 2025
success
fail
[](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/december-2-2019-pioneer-banned-announcement# “Share via My Web Archive”)[](https://archive.org/account/login.php “Sign In”)[](http://faq.web.archive.org/ “Get some help using the Wayback Machine”)[](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/december-2-2019-pioneer-banned-announcement#close “Close the toolbar”)
[](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/http://web.archive.org/screenshot/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/december-2-2019-pioneer-banned-announcement “screenshot”)[](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/december-2-2019-pioneer-banned-announcement# “video”)[](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/december-2-2019-pioneer-banned-announcement# “Share on Facebook”)[](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/december-2-2019-pioneer-banned-announcement# “Share on Twitter”)
COLLECTED BY
Collection: Save Page Now Outlinks
TIMESTAMPS
The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/december-2-2019-pioneer-banned-announcement
Products
Featured
Tabletop
Digital
Coming Soon
Play
Casual Events
Formats
Resources
MTG ArenaDecember 2, 2019 Pioneer Banned Announcement
Posted in News on December 2, 2019
By Ian Duke
BioArchive
Ian Duke is a developer in Magic R&D; and has been with Wizards of the Coast since 2012. A gift of an Ice Age starter deck in 1995 sparked Ian’s lifelong passion for Magic. He also enjoys math, physics, board games, and puzzles. To the surprise of few, his favorite guild is Azorius.
Share Article
Announcement Date:December 2, 2019
Pioneer:
The list of all banned cards in Pioneer is here.
Effective Date:December 3, 2019
Next Pioneer Banned Announcement: December 9, 2019
Over the last several days, a series of Pioneer PTQ tournaments were held as a part of Magic Online’s Pioneer week. The results of these tournaments, and data from league play, show how the environment has evolved under further competitive pressure.
While the results look promising and changes so far have been moving the format in a good direction, our data shows three outstanding issues that are preventing the metagame from arriving at a better balance. These are:
- The strength of Mono-Black Aggro and other aggressive decks featuring Smuggler’s Copter
- That Field of the Dead ramp decks are suppressing controlling and reactive decks
- The general prevalence and dominance of green decks as a group, with Once Upon a Time being a key common factor to those decks’ success
As a result, we’re choosing to ban Smuggler’s Copter, Field of the Dead, and Once Upon a Time in Pioneer. We believe that these changes will result in greater diversity among aggressive decks, a clearer role in the metagame for reactive and controlling decks, and a push toward better color balance among competitive decks.
This weekly, rapid iteration of the banned list in the early days of Pioneer as an alternative to launching the format with a pre-populated ban list has been an interesting and positive experiment thus far. We’ve been able to use real-world data and results to arrive at what we believe is a smaller and more accurate ban list that we hope will provide a more fun, dynamic metagame compared to a preemptive approach. Our plan remains to slow the pace of changes as we approach the new year, and we hope to sync up Pioneer changes with the regularly scheduled B&R announcements for all formats starting early next year. After that time, we expect the frequency of changes to Pioneer to be closer to that of other nonrotating formats.
Posted in News on December 2, 2019
Share Article
FEATURED ARTICLES
NEWS June 30, 2022
Love Your Local Game Store Returns with Double Masters 2022Wizards of the Coast
More promos, more events, and more love for you and your local game store!
CARD IMAGE GALLERY June 24, 2022
Double Masters 2022 Card Image GalleryWizards of the Coast
The Card Image Gallery is updated each day following the latest card previews. Double Masters 2022 releases on July 8, 2022.
FEATURE June 16, 2022
Collecting Double Masters 2022 and Product OverviewMax McCall
Powerful cards and double the drafting fun are waiting for you with Double Masters 2022.
NEWS May 12, 2022
A First Look at Magic: The Gathering’s Universes Beyond Warhammer 40,000 CollaborationBillie Kaplan
Get ready for a thrilling collaboration of two tabletop titans, Warhammer 40,000 and Magic: The Gathering, coming October 7!
Latest News Articles
NEWS June 30, 2022
Love Your Local Game Store Returns with Double Masters 2022by, Wizards of the Coast
Love Your Local Game Store is back, and stores are excited to welcome players back with awesome events and promos! In-Store Foil Retro Frame Sol Ring Promo Beginning July 1, you can c…
NEWS June 27, 2022
Updated Release Timing for Warhammer 40,000 Commander Decksby, Wizards of the Coast
Due to ongoing global supply chain challenges and delays in production, the global release of Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks is now October 7, 2022. This release date change includes bo…
Articles
Articles
News Archive
Consult the archives for more articles!
Find a Store
Social
- [](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/https://www.facebook.com/MagicTheGathering)
- [](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/https://twitter.com/wizards_magic)
- [](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/https://www.twitch.tv/magic)
- [](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8ZGymAvfP97qJabgqUkz4A)
- [](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/https://www.instagram.com/wizards_magic)
Find
Company
Brands
[](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/https://www.hasbro.com/)
[](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170135/https://www.esrb.org/EPCConfirm/916/)
TermsCode of ConductPrivacy PolicyCustomer SupportCookiesFan Content PolicyDO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
© 1993-2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.