Pioneer is the up-and-comer of magic formats. Formed in 2019, it gave players a middle ground between the variety of Standard and the power of Modern that could be played in paper or online. Pioneer includes all cards from the Return to Ravnica set onward, so it encompasses a decent variety of cards that contemporary players should largely be familiar with already.
While Pioneer initially struggled to gain players due to the Pandemic, it has since gained a sizable following. Anyone interested in checking out Pioneer in paper, on MTGO, or in Arena has plenty of decks available to them, including many beginner-friendly options. Pioneer also has a surprising number of budget-friendly decks, so the barrier to entry is relatively low.
Mono White Human Aggro
Pioneer's premiere aggressive deck Mono-White Humans is well-played and powerful while also being reasonably priced. While most other decks around its power level cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 to 600 dollars, Mono White Humans can very easily be built for under 200 dollars. This deck plays lots of cheap, building a wide board with disruptive creatures that can be buffed by key cards like Thalia's Lieutenant or Coppercoat Vanguard. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben leads the disruptive package of Mono White Humans by punishing opponents for playing non-creature spells. The deck backs up its aggressive and disruptive humans with spells like Brave the Elements to keep the creatures alive.
Like all aggro decks, Mono White Human's skill floor is not too high, so it's great for anyone intimidated by high-complexity decks. Mono White Humans has great matchups against mid to late-game decks like Green Devotion or Lotus Field Combo. It also packs sideboard silver bullets like Portable Hole and Unliscenced Hearse to strike back against other popular decks in the format.
Izzet Pheonix
Izzet Phoenix is a deck built around Arclight Phoenix, a powerful mythic from the Guilds of Ravnica set. Arclight Phoenix benefits from the many powerful and cheap instants and sorceries in blue and red, and its power really ramps up when a player can get two or three Arcliht Phoenixes into the graveyard. Izzet Phoenix is a great choice for players with a few more hours in Magic's other formats, but it's still relatively straightforward and budget-friendly.
While Phoenix is a great card, the other powerhouse threat in the deck is Thing in the Ice. Thing in the Ice is a wall that transforms into a large horror that returns all creatures to their owner's hands. Thing is transformed by casting instants and sorceries, which means it complements the Phoenix's game plan perfectly. The deck is then filled with cheap cantrips and burn spells like Consider and Lightning Axe. As an added bonus, some decks play Temporal Trespass, which is an extra turn spell with Delve.
When playing this deck, opponents will have some solid sideboard cards. If the graveyard is exiled, it can seriously hurt the deck's ability to play to its main gameplan. The deck is surprisingly versatile though, with multiple ways of winning beyond the Phoenixes, including sideboarded Young Pyromancers and Crackling Drakes.
Gruul Midrange
While Rakdos Midrange is the more famous Pioneer midrange deck, Gruul Midrange is no slouch. The deck is built around getting out big creatures to crew vehicles easily that in turn power the synergies of the deck and overwhelm most opponents before they can get their game plan off the ground. Gruul Midrange also plays light interactive elements to disrupt the opponent's plans, especially in the Sideboard. Gruul midrange can be built for around 250 dollars.
Gruul Midrange plays several mana dorks, like Elvish Mystic, and uses the mana from them to play three drop beaters and high-impact vehicles ahead of curve. Reckless Stormseeker is the most synergistic of these as it gives a creature +1/+0 and haste at the start of combat, letting vehicles attack immediately. The vehicles in the deck then have plenty of attack triggers, like Skysovereign, Consul Flagship's burn effect.
Pioneer's Gruul deck is light on interaction for a midrange deck. As a trade-off, it's a lot faster and board wipe-resistant than other aggro decks. The deck is very good for those who already like aggro and want to try slightly slower and more interactive strategies.