The Field: #NRGINDY Pioneer Metagame Breakdown

February 20, 2020 NRG Series, Pioneer

Over 150 players came to play Magic’s newest format as the NRG Series traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana for the first time! The #NRGINDY Pioneer Trial was the first major event after Players Tour Phoenix, which featured a battle between the “Splinter-Twin-esque” combo of Dimir Inverter and the rising star Lotus Breach combo. With those two pillars of the format in mind, here’s what our players chose to battle with last weekend:


It’s not much of a surprise that our metagame featured Lotus Breach and Inverter as the top two decks, with Bant Spirits, Sultai Delirium, and UW Control rounding out our top 5. What is surprising, however, is how these decks finished. Inverter put 4 copies into our Top 16, but players came prepared for Lotus Field, which didn’t have a single copy in our Top 16.

While we could only fit 16 decks into our Top 16 article, one of my favorite parts of presenting these metagame breakdowns is taking a look at some of the rogue decks that players submitted that fell a little short. Here are some of my favorites:

Derrick YorkGB EldraziExport to:
Creatures (30)4 x Llanowar Elves2 x Gilded Goose4 x Eldrazi Mimic2 x Scavenging Ooze4 x Wasteland Strangler3 x Murderous Rider4 x Thought-Knot Seer4 x Reality Smasher3 x Beanstalk Giant
Spells (6)3 x Thoughtseize3 x Abrupt Decay
Lands (24)4 x Llanowar Wastes4 x Mutavault4 x Overgrown Tomb3 x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth2 x Blooming Marsh2 x Field of Ruin3 x Forest2 x Wastes
Sideboard4 x Leyline of the Void3 x Return to Nature2 x Carnage Tyrant2 x Damping Sphere2 x Infinite Obliteration2 x Ritual of Soot
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Ryan SearbyNaya HexproofExport to:
Creatures (14)4 x Gladecover Scout4 x Bassara Tower Archer3 x Paradise Druid3 x Ghor-Clan Rampager
Enchantments (22)4 x Ethereal Armor4 x Sentinel’s Eyes3 x Gryff’s Boon3 x All That Glitters4 x Season of Growth4 x Unflinching Courage
Spells (4)4 x Boros Charm
Lands (20)4 x Mana Confluence4 x Stomping Ground4 x Temple Garden3 x Rootbound Crag3 x Sunpetal Grove1 x Plains1 x Forest
Sideboard4 x Leyline of Sanctity3 x Eidolon of the Great Revel3 x Rampaging Ferocidon3 x Tomik, Distinguished Advokist2 x Gideon of the Trials
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Mark NaborsUG DevotionExport to:
Creatures (29)4 x Harbinger of the Tides4 x Thassa’s Oracle3 x Merfolk Trickster4 x Gadwick, the Wizened3 x Risen Reef2 x Brazen Borrower 4 x Master of Waves2 x Thassa, Deep-Dwelling2 x Cavalier of Gales1 x Agent of Treachery
Enchantments (4)4 x Leyline of Anticipation
Spells (3)3 x Wizard’s Retort
Lands (24)4 x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx3 x Hinterland Harbor3 x Temple of Mystery2 x Breeding Pool12 x Island
Sideboard3 x Ashiok, Dream Render3 x Essence Capture2 x Ashiok’s Erasure2 x Grafdigger’s Cage2 x Negate2 x Unsummon1 x Pithing Needle
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Nick JanoskiGB Seasons PastExport to:
Creatures (14)1 x Scavenging Ooze4 x Lovestruck Beast2 x Courser of Kruphix2 x Murderous Rider 1 x Tireless Tracker1 x Gonti, Lord of Luxury1 x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet1 x Questing Beast1 x Walking Ballista
Spells (20)4 x Fatal Push4 x Thoughtseize2 x Abrupt Decay2 x Assassin’s Trophy1 x Hero’s Downfall1 x Read the Bones1 x Languish1 x Vraska’s Contempt3 x Dark Petition1 x Seasons Past
Lands (26)4 x Fabled Passage4 x Temple of Malady2 x Field of Ruin2 x Hissing Quagmire2 x Overgrown Tomb1 x Blast Zone1 x Castle Locthwain6 x Swamp4 x Forest
Sideboard3 x Damping Sphere2 x Languish1 x Ashiok, Dream Render1 x Collective Brutality1 x Cry of the Carnarium1 x Duress1 x Grafdigger’s Cage1 x Lost Legacy1 x Noxious Grasp1 x Pithing Needle1 x Tireless Tracker1 x Unravel the Aether
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David LamUG EldraziExport to:
Creatures (32)4 x Elvish Mystic4 x Llanowar Elves4 x Satyr Wayfinder4 x Brazen Borrower4 x Lovestruck Beast4 x Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath4 x Thought-Knot Seer4 x Reality Smasher
Spells (4)4 x Stubborn Denial
Lands (24)4 x Botanical Sanctum4 x Breeding Pool4 x Yavimaya Coast3 x Hashep Oasis3 x Ipnu Rivulet2 x Blast Zone2 x Island2 x Forest
Sideboard3 x Scavenging Ooze3 x Mystical Dispute2 x Damping Sphere2 x Disdainful Stroke2 x Tireless Tracker2 x Vivien, Arkbow Ranger1 x Blast Zone
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Kyle HintzeGrixis PyromancerExport to:
Creatures (12)4 x Dreadhorde Arcanist4 x Young Pyromancer1 x Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger3 x Brazen Borrower
Planeswalkers (3)2 x The Royal Scions1 x Ashiok, Nightmare Muse
Spells (22)4 x Fatal Push4 x Opt4 x Thoughtseize2 x Drown in the Loch1 x Dreadbore3 x Kolaghan’s Command3 x Mystical Dispute1 x Hero’s Downfall
Lands (23)4 x Blood Crypt4 x Spirebluff Canal4 x Watery Grave3 x Fabled Passage3 x Steam Vents1 x Drowned Catacomb2 x Swamp1 x Island1 x Mountain
Sideboard3 x Damping Sphere2 x Ashiok, Dream Render2 x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet2 x Legion Warboss2 x Moment of Craving1 x Anger of the Gods1 x Dig Through Time1 x Hero’s Downfall1 x Mystical Dispute
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Ivan EspinosaGB StompyExport to:
Creatures (32)4 x Elvish Mystic4 x Llanowar Elves4 x Scrapheap Scrounger2 x Scavenging Ooze4 x Lovestruck Beast4 x Rotting Regisaur4 x Steel Leaf Champion2 x Rhonas the Indomitable2 x Yorvo, Lord of Garenbrig2 x Surrak, the Hunt Caller
Planeswalkers (1)1 x Vivien, Arkbow Ranger
Artifacts (6)3 x Heart of Kiran3 x The Great Henge
Lands (21)4 x Blooming Marsh4 x Llanowar Wastes4 x Overgrown Tomb1 x Hashep Oasis8 x Forest
Sideboard4 x Thoughtseize3 x Fatal Push3 x Leyline of the Void2 x Assassin’s Trophy2 x Kraul Harpooner1 x Scavenging Ooze
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Tyler Cooper5-Color Niv-MizzetExport to:
Creatures (13)3 x Gilded Goose4 x Sylvan Caryatid2 x Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath4 x Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Lands (28)4 x Fabled Passage3 x Breeding Pool2 x Mana Confluence2 x Overgrown Tomb2 x Temple Garden2 x Temple of Enlightenment1 x Godless Shrine1 x Stomping Ground1 x Sunpetal Grove1 x Temple of Abandon1 x Temple of Deceit1 x Temple of Epiphany1 x Temple of Silence1 x Woodland Cemetery1 x Plains1 x Island1 x Swamp1 x Mountain1 x Forest
Planeswalkers (6)4 x Teferi, Time Raveler2 x Nahiri, the Harbinger
Spells (13)2 x Thoughtseize3 x Abrupt Decay1 x Dreadbore1 x Slaughter Games1 x Utter End4 x Bring to Light1 x Hour of Devastation
Sideboard2 x Thoughtseize2 x Voice of Resurgence1 x Deafening Clarion1 x Enter the God-Eternals1 x Infernal Reckoning1 x Knight of Autumn1 x Questing Beast1 x Rakdos’s Return1 x Rest in Peace1 x Selesnya Charm1 x Solar Blaze1 x The Scarab God1 x Thought Erasure
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Douglas BlackSultai Villainous WealthExport to:
Creatures (21)4 x Elvish Mystic4 x Llanowar Elves4 x Sylvan Caryatid2 x Scavenging Ooze4 x Courser of Kruphix3 x Hydroid Krasis
Planeswalkers (2)2 x Ashiok, Dream Render
Spells (16)4 x Thoughtseize2 x Assassin’s Trophy4 x Unmoored Ego2 x Dig Through Time4 x Villainous Wealth
Lands (21)4 x Overgrown Tomb3 x Breeding Pool3 x Fabled Passage2 x Blooming Marsh2 x Watery Grave1 x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx1 x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth2 x Swamp2 x Forest1 x Island
Sideboard3 x Mystical Dispute2 x Abrupt Decay2 x Collective Brutality2 x Grafdigger’s Cage2 x Vraska’s Contempt2 x Witch’s Vengeance1 x Ashiok, Dream Render1 x The Scarab God
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Thanks for reading The Field! Be sure to check out the metagame from the Modern Trial at #NRGINDY. And if you want some more Pioneer action on the NRG Series, check us out on March 21-22 in Milwaukee! Until next time!

Max Kahn is the Event Manager for the NRG Series and the Judge Manager for all Nerd Rage Gaming events. When he’s not answering your judge calls or working behind the scenes at your local event, he splits his time between Chicago, Seattle, and Twitter.

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