Making a commitment to the Legacy format can be a difficult decision for certain members of our community. The initial cost of the format or the fear of not getting enough value out of the investment scares people away. I personally feel the investment into Legacy is one of the best decisions anyone could make. There are not too many purchases we make these days where we can say we could turn around and sell the products for the same price, or more, than what we paid for it initially. Yes, there are examples of cards taking sharp drops, but I can make a case for the Legacy cards being a better investment than the stock market. Another reason the plunge is so daunting is people feel if they don’t buy Force of Wills, Underground Seas, and Tundras, they can’t even consider taking part in one of the purest forms of Magic left.
On the SCG Open Series, I would love nothing more than to see the gap between Saturday’s Standard Open and Sunday’s Legacy Open continue to lessen. In order for that to happen, people can’t be afraid to try new things. Every metagame is different, and there are times it’s better to be on the non-blue end of the spectrum. The following are some examples of Legacy decks that may be fun to consider. Some I have lots of experience with and others I am just starting to explore.
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Sideboard
After a long break from the game with no collection or access to many cards, the first deck I started playing at my local Legacy events was Mono Red. I played the deck to great success during the time Canadian Threshold was the deck to beat. That is a very winnable matchup for Mono Red. I have a soft spot for Mono Red in Legacy. I got my first SCG cash piloting it, and even a daily decklist mention on the Mothership found here.
To this day I have no qualms about sleeving up Mono Red in a Legacy environment. The deck is very powerful and, in the right meta, can be surrounded by positive matchups. Price of Progress is The Great Equalizer that pulls you so far ahead in so many matches. Think of all the three-colored decks with greedy mana bases full of nonbasic lands. Mono Red can prey on those decks. Mono Red has tools at its disposal to take different approaches.
Patrick Sullivan list above is a great list to try out. Cards like Vexing Shusher, Magma Jet, and Keldon Marauders might be more your style and are great options to swap in the deck and test out. Lots of different four-ofs can be swapped in and out. So have some fun with it and give it a try.
This was the approach I took to Legacy Zoo I played in Cincinnati
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- 3 Grim Lavamancer
- 4 Tarmogoyf
- 4 Wild Nacatl
- 3 Qasali Pridemage
- 4 Goblin Guide
- 4 Steppe Lynx
- 2 Stoneforge Mystic
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Drew Levin has been preaching Zoo with Wastelands for some time, and Patrick Sullivan proved it to be a great choice after Top 8ing the Invitational. The deck is very potent and fast. The beauty of it is your opponents never really expect Wastelands from a Zoo deck. I was able capitalize on the surprise factor to screw a good number of my opponents over.
I was also finding that Wasteland gave me just enough tempo in many of my matches to pull ahead and win a match I wouldn’t normally win. I Wastelanded two of my opponents who kept greedy one-land Brainstorm hands. Needless to say, those weren’t much of a game.
It’s truly magical if your opponent doesn’t see a Wasteland game one or two, and you catch them off guard to steal a game three from them. My testing against BUG control decks proved that Wasteland lets you reach that extra attack phase you so desperately need before your board is Deeded away. It can also force them to play Pernicious Deed suboptimally so you can deal with it, or just play around it. Legacy decks are much slower than they use to be, so keeping them off four mana *ahem Jace* is more important than ever.
I ended 6-3 on the day, but the deck performed very well and is one I would recommend to people who like to swing into the red zone. Two of my losses were to Reanimator and Aggro Loam. Both can be rough matchups depending on how the first few turns play out. When your Aggro Loam opponent opens with a Chalice for one on turn one on the play, it makes things really awkward if you don’t draw a way of dealing with it.
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I have been playing around with Aggro Loam lists lately, and I have to say they are a blast to play. I haven’t figured out if I want to be casting Seismic Assault or taking Mr. Greenbaum’s approach. Either way, playing a deck that is Mental Misstep proof and is ramping up to the second stage of the game while keeping your opponent in Stage 1 makes this a very appealing strategy. Devastating Dreams in Loam strategies is just insane, and if your creatures alone aren’t closing out the game, that card can do the trick. If you want to be playing non-blue, midrange Loam lists are a good place to start.
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When I was in Cincinnati, during the tournament, Mr. Boss was kind enough to show me his deck and talk to me about how his matches were going. I knew after listening to some of his theory, and how a few of his games were playing out, that he was going deep. He took it all the way to 3rd place, which was great to see. It was awesome seeing Mental Misstep used to protect the deck’s big, moneymaking 20/20 flying Avatar and Knight of the Reliquary. With Jace being so popular, it was also interesting to see how many applications Vampire Hexmage had during his matches. It’s one of those cards that people don’t really think about during the game until it’s cast to kill Jace, the Mind Sculptor. A Junk deck that can win matches out nowhere; sign me up!
Creatures (23)
- 4 Arc-Slogger
- 4 Rakdos Pit Dragon
- 4 Simian Spirit Guide
- 4 Gathan Raiders
- 4 Magus of the Moon
- 3 Taurean Mauler
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Sideboard
Is it time we bring it back? My good friend, Ian “the Warrior” Ellis is always good to play Dragon Stompy, and people just assume he’s crazy. I honestly am not too sure… In theory, sticking a Blood Moon, or Magus of the Moon, seems really good in a world of Team America. I have had friends tell me while playing Dragon Stompy they are forced to gamble more often than not. You are rolling the dice, but if you mulligan correctly and get your explosive starts, you are unstoppable.
I have seen some cool finishers in different builds, from Demigod of Revenge to Akroma, Angel of Fury, which are always cool cards to see on the table.
After reading this, I hope if you don’t have access to Underground Seas or Tundras, that you will consider playing Legacy. The format is too much fun to pass up. If your friends are hogging all the blue cards, don’t be afraid to try something else! Have some fun and, who knows, you might run hot during the tournament. There are so many deck options in Legacy, it’s amazing. These were just a few I have been practicing lately. Like the old saying goes, when you’re trying to pick a Legacy deck to play: “It’s Legacy, play what you want!”
Thanks for reading,
Gene Richtsmeier