Pioneer: Mono Black Midrange (2025) - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

In a recent article, I discussed how the Pioneer Metagame will need to adapt to the arrival of Sunspine Lynx as the format's Blood Moon / Price of Progress equivalent, and one of the main solutions to avoid being trapped by the new Red Aggro is to be more conservative and less greedy with one's own mana base, since this creates an “inevitability button” in this game and rewards the opponent for using multiple copies of Lynx in a row.

One of these proposals involves reducing colors, and there is no better example than Mono Black Midrange. Despite the lower response scope, the greater safety in using basic swamps while not giving up utility lands makes it one of the viable options for the current Metagame, and in this article, we delve into the most recent version of the archetype, focused on Invoke Despair.

This list is based on the version that player kaikas frequently runs in Pioneer Challenges and won first place on April 5th. The changes are few and only involve increasing the number of Invoke Despair to four and including Go for the Throat as another less conditional removal with no drawbacks in Aggro matchups.

Unlike Mono Black Slasher, this version focuses entirely on fair play. You want to trade one-for-one early in the match and then bury your opponent with card advantage with Sorin the Mirthless and Invoke Despair. This plan works very well against a good portion of the Metagame, but leaves you more vulnerable against archetypes where the free wins of the Unstoppable Slasher combo would be the only way out, especially against Goodstuff piles.

Despite that, this version feels much more appropriate for the current Metagame: you don't want bad cards and conditional answers. Everything needs to work well, and the timing needs to be impeccable to not succumb to Red Aggro or against Midrange mirrors against Rakdos Demons — fortunately, Mono-Black has many answers to Pioneer today: from cheap sweepers like Path of Peril to efficient graveyard hate like Go Blank, not to mention that it doesn't currently have a radar that points it towards specific Sideboard hate.

Maindeck

Our threats.

Gifted Aetherborn is the best two-drop available in black under the current format: it offers an efficient body that trades with any creature, and Lifelink provides important life gain against Aggro. It's not great at pressuring against Ramp and Control, but we can't have everything in the same slot yet.

Graveyard Trespasser also does a bit of everything: it's an efficient graveyard hate and life gain, it grows against reactive archetypes, and protects itself, forcing a two-for-one to be dealt with.

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse was once the best creature in the format. It no longer holds that title, but it retains all the priorities that made it that way last year: a considerable clock, and the ability to dictate the course of the game while it's on the board, pressuring the opponent and punishing their draws while rewarding us with Sign in Blood and Invoke Despair.

Our removal.

Murderous Rider doubles as a Hero’s Downfall that’s also a creature with Lifelink and a decent body. Personally, I feel like it’s a bit underpowered by current Pioneer standards, but it does its job well.

Fatal Push is still the best removal in the format. Unfortunately, we don’t have an easy way to trigger Revolt, but dealing with Emberheart Challenger or Bloodtithe Harvester on turn one on the draw is the main reason to use it.

Go for the Throat and Bitter Triumph complement the removals, and can be any other two-mana card that interacts with the board and fits your Metagame's needs. I like this split right now to have four answers against Planeswalker and a clean way to deal with four-drops or Greasefang, Okiba Boss in addition to Murderous Rider.

Thoughtseize is the cornerstone of Pioneer today that keeps a dozen strategies in check. If your deck runs black, there's no reason not to include a set of it today.

Liliana of the Veil complements disruption, is an essential tool in Midrange mirrors and in games against Control and Combo, but does not work as well against Aggro and Ramp. You can trade a copy in the maindeck for another card in the Sideboard, but it's important to have three of it in your 75.

Card advantage.

Sign in Blood is the simplest and most straightforward source of card advantage List statistic: two life for two cards. There are a few options we could consider instead, like Unholy Annex, but those would require more deckbuilding concessions by adding Mutavault to ensure trigger consistency.

Sorin the Mirthless does a bit of everything: it grants card advantage, puts bodies with Lifelink on the board, and its ultimate can win games if we pressure the opponent during the first few turns.

Invoke Despair is the late-game bomb. It deals with three of the opponent's permanents, or provides tons of card advantage with just one card and five mana. It can turn games around on its own, so a set seems essential to make up for the lack of flexibility in a monocolored deck.

While going for the Mono-Black route is a safe way to protect ourselves against Sunspine Lynx, we can't completely give up on non-basic lands.

Castle Locthwain works as another source of card advantage, especially in longer games where both players' resources are exhausted, and we enter topdeck mode.

Hive of the Eye-Tyrant is a complementary threat and works almost like extra copies of Graveyard Trespasser, functioning as another graveyard hate in the maindeck.

Field of Ruin provides a response against unwanted nonbasic lands like manlands, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, or the opportunity to respond to the activation of a Thespian’s Stage — while it’s rare for an opponent to try to copy Lotus Field with a Field of Ruin in play, it can happen sometimes.

Takenuma, Abandoned Mire provides a way to bring back our Planeswalkers or creatures in longer games, while Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth ensures consistency in having enough black mana to play Invoke Despair even with Field of Ruin in the list.

Sideboard

Ray of Enfeeblement is mostly an answer to Greasefang, Okiba Boss, but it works against some other creatures as well: common X/1 threats in the format in decks like Ninjas, Heartfire Hero on turn one, Zur, Eternal Schemer, among others that make it a key card in the current Metagame.

Cut Down is a complementary removal that deals with Emberheart Challenger and Manifold Mouse, as well as other minor creatures from Aggro or Tempo decks.

In sweepers, Path of Peril is our main answer against archetypes with many low mana value creatures, mainly against Red Aggro, Ninjas, Humans, and occasional appearances of Boros Convoke and Spirits.

Extinction Event is more comprehensive, but costs more mana. One advantage of it is that it can be used as a two-for-one or greater against Rakdos Demons, Izzet Phoenix and other Midrange or even Big Mana.

Go Blank is our main graveyard hate and also works as a disruptive tool in Midrange mirrors and games against Combo and Control, where it forces a two-for-one effect that is never useless if the opponent has any minimal interaction with the graveyard.

Duress enters Control and Combo games to delay the opponent's turns, or to ensure that a key card resolves. Additionally, it provides information on what cards we need to play around.

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet does a bit of everything: it's an active graveyard hate against Izzet Phoenix and Sacrifice, a life gain against Aggro, and a tool for attrition in Midrange mirrors. It's a card I occasionally consider adding to the maindeck, but we already have too many four-drops and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is a universally better creature.

Mono Red Lynx

IN

OUT

The choices are pretty simple in this matchup: we avoid cards that make us lose life or are subjective while adding all kinds of interactions that are beneficial to the table, where the game tends to develop.

Rakdos Demons

On the play:

IN

OUT

On the draw:

IN

OUT

Resources in hand tend to matter more in this matchup than putting pressure. If we dominate the topdeck dispute, we can play “over” our opponent and get the most out of our late-game bombs. Go Blank is better than Thoughtseize when we're on the play, but we need it on the draw to deal with Unholy Annex as soon as possible.

Izzet Phoenix

IN

OUT

If the opponent runs Ledger Shredder, it's preferable to remove four Thoughtseize and keep the Fatal Push, but Izzet Phoenix's current iteration is very much geared towards Arclight Phoenix and Picklock Prankster — in both cases, Extinction Event solves the problem more efficiently.

Nykthos Ramp

IN

OUT

This is not a favorable matchup, and while it's tempting to use Ray of Enfeeblement and Cut Down to remove the mana dorks, our problem lies in Nykthos' interactions with Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner and/or Storm the Festival, so we need to focus on removing them from the opponent's hand and keeping the devotion in check for long enough.

Azorius Control

IN

OUT

Although Go for the Throat may seem redundant, it's common for the opponent to include cards like Beza, the Bounding Spring or another creature in Game 2, and we need answers in the maindeck. In the worst-case scenario, we can deal with a Hall of Storm Giants with it.

Mardu Greasefang

IN

OUT

Ray of Enfeeblement is our best answer to Greasefang, Okiba Boss, and tends to make pus play around a Parhelion II from the graveyard at any time until we have Go Blank or another efficient way to create a recurring graveyard hate.

Valor’s Flagship can be quite troublesome, so there are situations in longer games where letting your opponent reanimate it to respond with Murderous Rider / Bitter Triumph and then exiling it with Graveyard Trespasser the next turn is a better option than removing the enabler.

Dimir Ninjas

IN

OUT

This is a tough matchup to interact with because everything your opponent has costs less than what we pay to deal with. If a Kaito, Bane of Nightmares resolves too early, and we don't have an answer, it takes over the game. Focus on as many early game interactions as possible, and respect the possibility of a Spell Pierce against Invoke Despair.

Jund Ygra

IN

OUT

The matchup is more tiring than bad. It is necessary to always stay aware of what the opponent is doing and to time Go Blank as efficiently as possible. Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is a great combo hamper and should be protected with Duress or Thoughtseize before casting it.

Lotus Combo

IN

OUT

This game is all about removing key cards, putting on early pressure, and doing everything possible to keep your opponent out of resources while your creatures attack. Pushing the topdeck with one or two threats in play is your best bet, and your mana when activating lands should prioritize Hive of the Eye-Tyrant — the more turns you give them, the easier it is for them to close the combo with whatever comes from the top.

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!