Explorer Anthologies
Explorer Anthologies should mostly contain Pioneer playable cards. An inspirational list is attached:

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Zaalo#40047 commented
The lackadaisical approach to porting Pioneer over to Arena is very befuddling…while I understand that making it ACTUAL Pioneer will take years, as it’s a very large card pool to port over, making it FUNCTIONAL Pioneer could be done with a single release — we’re really only missing about 25 cards from the regularly meta decks. I don’t understand why WOTC wouldn’t just release them in one fell swoop…it’s what the player base wants (and seems more than fine shelling out for)…at the very least it would be appreciated if WOTC could explain their reasoning here — it feels like they’re seriously trolling the player base.
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ApexOne#67594 commented
EA3 looks incredibly disappointing. The first two already contained a bunch of fluff that made people do double-takes, but they at least came with a handful of cards that were sorely missing and/or got people excited for them. This fails to deliver on either of these.
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DropBearHS#55802 commented
This anthology was a big letdown, I’ve been waiting ages to play pioneer decks I enjoy on arena to test for RCQs and I really thought this anthology was going to include key cards that would enable this (Dig Through Time, Treasure Cruise, Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy, Chained to the Rocks, Bring to Light, Abrupt Decay, Retraction Helix, Jeskai Ascendancy, this list goes on).
It feels like this set was aimed at Brawl players when the whole point of Explorer is supposed to be a bridge to Pioneer. The lack of engagement on this issue by WoTC following immediate feedback is also concerning, as it feels like the genuine concerns of players are being ignored.
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Architect#34692 commented
In just one anthology all the staples of the format could be added, it has already been noted that there are approximately 20 cards missing... why do you keep bringing cards that absolutely do not see play in any deck? the commitment should be 100% to bring Pioneer to the arena, a format already established and loved by many... nobody likes Explorer, we play for lack of options. anthology 3 was disgraceful, a lack of respect for consumers that Pioneer has been asking for for years. PT phyrexian was incredible... the return of IRL and certainly one of the most watched events in a long time... and the reason is PIONEER ... Explorer is not a format taken seriously, it's a joke, a format that doesn't exist, incomplete... Please have the least respect for consumers and do what you promise. Bring the missing 20 staple cards and change the format name and in short periods add missing cards in case one starts to see play... This is something SIMPLE. Stop with this nonsense and these meaningless cards in the anthologys... You are destroying the arena. You've already destroyed historic format by adding digital cards... don't destroy the rest.
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Maffi#64894 commented
Anthologies should be half actual playable cards and half fun buildarounds for brawl or jank decks. Explorer Anthologies even more so, since it's not an "open" format but has a direction towards which to go.
If they wanna complete the format through remastered, that's fine, don't make these abysmal anthologies with mostly cards no one wanted.
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Vykres#74618 commented
Seriously, considering quit Arena, because i put so much hype in this anthology
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WhatTheSphinxRevealed#68199 commented
My two cents trying to be positive about WotC: this anthology clearly moved us somewhat closer to pioneer (Xenagos/wurm combo, thespian state and prairie stream for UW control, sylvan scrying for eventually the lotus combo) but not by a significant amount. As the list above shows, getting to pioneer is within grasp of 1 oe 1.5 anthologies. It makes me wonder "perhaps most of those cards are going to be released sooner in a remastered set such as Khans remastered, Origins remastered, and BFZ remastered (these remastered sets would cover most of that list). But if this is the plan, PLEASE COMUNICATE IT! Many people feel disenfranchised by this anthology and perhaps wouldn't be if they knew the plan is to release the remastered sets and had a clear timeline of when those remastered sets would happen.
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mayonnaises#22834 commented
Please make Explorer anthologies actually for explorer and not packed full of brawl/historic cards.
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MioCid#98861 commented
I was waiting for months, since SOI was launched, for this anthology. Due to lack of time, Arena is the only way I can play these days and Pioneer and Modern are my favorite formats
Constantly checking social media looking for spoilers during last weekend, this felt like a slap in the face. Moreover, I understood this as a clear proof that you don’t mean to bring Pioneer to Arena at all
After 29 years playing, I am now on the brink of quitting competitive MTG at all. Please do better
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KomodoDrake#48606 commented
People who play Explorer play it because they want to play Pioneer eventually on the client. The Explorer Anthologies were supposed to be ways to get cards needed to play Pioneer onto Arena. Explorer Anthology 3 very much missed the mark on that assignment. One of my friends had the idea that, at this point, you should probably be looking to make Historic Anthology (cards mostly for 60 card Historic), Explorer Anthology (cards mainly for 60 card Explorer/Pioneer) and BRAWL ANTHOLOGY (cards mainly for casual players and/or Historic Brawl). It would be an additional anthology for players to buy, but more importantly, it would give a focus to each "expansion pack" rather than them feeling disjointed.
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bields33#62219 commented
I have spent a lot of time and money on arena and I love the game. I really wish you as a company showed any kind of care at all for your player base. You will make money, you dont have to milk the player base over everything. There is no way you dont understand how important these anthologies are and how important getting pioneer is. Doesnt have to even be all 25 but more than 2-3 would be sweet.
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ETgoBoom#78207 commented
I only play arena to practice for pioneer. Making the two experiences the same is necessary for me to continue playing either. I do not mind spending money on the cards I am missing, I just need you to make them available.
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A_Moose_IRL#70711 commented
I appreciate you trying to push some lesser used archetypes to make explorer more different from pioneer, but nobody is seriously playing those because we have so many actual pioneer decks in the format. Like we have Rakdos mid, Rakdos sac, mono-g ramp, U/W control, greasefang, mono-U spirits, mono-W aggro, and enigmatic incarnation fires. The faster we get the last few decks we're missing the happier everyone will be.
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OrniSapphirethopter#32734 commented
If you just give us **** why do we pay money to you?
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Stanislav#32842 commented
The strategy behind this anthology is both puzzling and disappointing. Clearly the Pioneer format is being prioritized quite highly by the organized play team, as it's the most common format for Regional Championships and the RCQ seasons. It's likewise apparent that the team behind these Anthologies is aware of the competitive Pioneer metagame, and has even shared a stated goal of mirroring the Pioneer and Explorer environments. And yet withholding specific cards needed to play certain decks, such as Hidden Strings in Lotus Field, deserves some kind of public acknowledgement or explanation.
What is the point of these anthologies if not to expedite the transition from Explorer to Pioneer? How do you explain the decision to add cards that see little to no play in paper or Magic Online, while simultaneously withholding cards that are format staples such as Treasure Cruise, Oath of Nissa, Chained to the Rocks, and Hidden Strings?
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CaptainFranko#03781 commented
I would like the community to make Wizard understand how many missed opportunities they are having with Arena. Pioneer intentionally distant, Historic ruined by Digital Cards. It would take very little to make Arena their flagship platform.
Instead of adding unnecessary cards with the addition of just 25 (+ Fetches), there would even be a pseudo-modern. It would just take the will to do it.
Fetches +
1. Grief
2. Fury
3. Solitude
4. Endurance
5. Subtlety
6. Wrenn and Six
7. Murktide Regent
8. Blood Moon
9. Stoneforge Mystic
10. Urza’s Saga
11. Prismatic Ending
12. Force of Vigor
13. Dress Down
14. Force of Negation
15. Fire/Ice
16. Shardless Agent
17. Violent Outburst
18. Living End
19. Archon of Cruelty
20. Crashing Footfalls
21. Engineered Explosive
22. Dauthi Voidwalker
23. Santifier En Vec
24. Strangleroot Geist
25. Valakut, The Molten Pinnacle -
fab47#18975 commented
This anthology is a slap in the face for every pioneer player that had hopes that one day explorer will become pioneer.
Even though it was announced that anthologies are shaped by the pioneer meta we have now proof three times that this is not the case.
Our hopes were not high and we still got let down
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pdb#08279 commented
20+ year competitive player here, other than introducing monthly limited arena opens (which are basically a license for wizards to print money anyway), the handling of this client has been disastrous. This anthology is an especially egregious example. I cannot fathom the reasoning behind it. Even allowing for multiple "remastered" sets coming down the pipeline where you'd want to hold off on highly played pioneer cards from them, this suite of cards is unacceptable.
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Alphanet#29227 commented
As fireshoes correctly pointed out, this EA3 was just a huge slap in the face to all the Arena users. Choosing cards so poorly that you managed to disenfranchise a central member of the community like fireshoes is impressive, and the fact that you didn't even provide an explanation for the card choices shows how little you care for your customers. Which is a pity, because Magic is great and it would be so much fun if you gave more relevance to player feedback
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Astor_Of_Keld#00289 commented
The anthology should focus more on putting Pioneer playable cards on Arena, not Accorders Shield