Magic: The Gathering Announces New Competitive Game Format
There are quite a few different formats that players can use when playing Magic: The Gathering. Many, like Standard, are quite competitive, giving players special rules to follow when in matches. A new format is soon to arrive on the scene called Pioneer, giving players another way to engage with each other and hopes to place itself somewhere between the new player friendly Standard gameplay and the intimidating Legacy format.
The Modern format was designed years ago around giving players who weren’t ready to play the daunting Legacy format a chance to use their cards in different ways than was possible through Standard. Now that Modern has settled into what the developers wanted it to be and Standard is doing an excellent job of giving new players a rewarding experience as well, it’s time to fill the gap that’s left in between. A recent blog post on the subject of Pioneer reveals that the developers hope that the new game format can serve as a bridge between the two, rather than a full-on replacement.
The format will begin with the Return to Ravnica set and contain all the sets after, with the exception of fetch land cards. Blake Rasmussen explains in the post that they banned fetch lands from the format in the hopes of breeding a more diversity within player’s decks.
Mana bases with fetch lands and shock lands are very strong and make playing three or four colors too easy. Decks can become more homogenous and the format becomes more defined by how many of the strongest cards players can squeeze into one deck. More constraints on mana bases add diversity to the format and make decks play differently from one another.”
Magic: The Gathering Arena is available exclusively for PC players, though there’s no word if the new Pioneer format is going to be entering the game. The new game format itself will be available to try out on October 23rd and soon after it will be used in Pioneer premier and qualifying events. Let us know your thoughts on Magic the Gathering’s new Pioneer format and more in the comments section below. As always don’t forget to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter for 24/7 coverage of all things gaming and entertainment.
Chris Calles1560 Posts
Known as "Stash" or Yippee Calles. He's a student of everything, avid adrenaline junkie, and creator of random things. When he's not delving into a game, book, or movie - He's out teaching himself new things or taking part in some pretty epic adventures. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr.
