Archived Analysis

Pioneer is in a weird spot. The format health index sits at 61.2, which is mediocre. We're looking at a format where aggro is king, and player interest is on the decline. It feels like we're stuck in a rut.

The numbers don't lie. Metagame Diversity is okay at 65.7, but the big red flag is the plummeting Event and Player Growth Scores – 36.0 and 28.5 respectively. Paper and MTGO numbers are both trending downwards. It's clear something needs to shake things up to bring players back. The Archetype Distribution score of 86.6 is solid, but it doesn't paint the whole picture.

Aggro is massively overrepresented at 72.2% of the meta. The decks to beat are clearly Red Deck Wins (at a whopping 26.5%) and Rakdos Aggro (12%). Arclight Phoenix at 9% tries to keep up, but Control is a distant memory. We’re a long way from the 5-year average, which saw control at 20.6%. This extreme aggro dominance has been building over time as the Diversity score has fallen year-over-year.

Reddit is buzzing about Rakdos Midrange's continued dominance. Players are debating optimal builds and sideboard tech. Mono-Green Devotion is also gaining traction, but its vulnerability to removal is a hot topic. Thoughtseize and Leyline Binding are seeing increased discussion too. The community's cautiously optimistic but also clearly aware of the format's issues. The lack of B&R changes is perceived as stagnation to some, as no cards were touched in the recent announcement. The overall sentiment is that diversity is needed, but no card is facing enough targeted hate to trigger calls for it.