#GPLouisville is coming up soon, and Legacy is the least explored it has been in quite awhile. That means one of two things: Either you can go with what you know by reverting back to your last deck and hope it remains well-positioned in the metagame, or you can seize the opportunity and bring something unexpected.
Recruiter of the Guard is a recent addition to Legacy that has mostly seen play in a revitalized Aluren variant and some Death and Taxes lists, but there’s a lot more the tutor on a stick can do in as large a format as Legacy.
The three-mana cost is steep for the fast format, but Aether Vial comes in to mitigate that cost and functions quite well in a creature-heavy deck. Rather than set up a combo, Recruiter of the Guard is here for pure value in a somewhat aggressive but primarily disruptive, creature deck. The result is something between Death and Taxes, and Zoo. Without Stoneforge Mystic it isn’t as good in longer games as the former, nor does it apply as much pressure as the latter, but if you strike the right balance and keep your opponents guessing exactly what’s going on, then you can get the benefits of both decks.
But to win the long game in Legacy you’ll need more than a two-for-one creature. Fortunately, Recruiter of the Guard finds Knight of the Reliquary, which finds Grove of the Burnwillows for your Punishing Fires. Combined with your powerful creatures this engine gives the deck the necessary card advantage to compete into the late game and a way to close games even when your opponent has killed all your creatures.
The toolbox here may be a little overboard, but all these creatures have their purpose. Grim Lavamancer for small creatures; Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Spirit of the Labyrinth for low mana, cantrip-heavy decks; Scavenging Ooze for a bit of lifegain and graveyard interaction–nothing out of the ordinary here. The one somewhat strange target is Kavu Predator, but with Grove of the Burnwillows that really just means Recruiter of the Guard can search for a big creature to compete with Tarmogoyf, which is a nice option to have.
As long as you keep sufficient aggressive elements, the toolbox can be tailored to your local metagame or expected metagame for #GPLouisville, so go nuts and make Wild Nacatl in Legacy fetch again. Everyone already loves cats.
Creatures (22)
- 1 Grim Lavamancer
- 1 Kavu Predator
- 1 Gaddock Teeg
- 1 Flickerwisp
- 4 Wild Nacatl
- 2 Knight of the Reliquary
- 2 Qasali Pridemage
- 1 Scavenging Ooze
- 1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
- 4 Deathrite Shaman
- 1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
- 3 Recruiter of the Guard
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (23)
Spells (13)
