This Week in Legacy: Legacy Round Table - The "Mom!" Edition
Howdy folks! It's time yet again for another edition of This Week in Legacy! I'm your host, Joe Dyer, and this week we are assembling yet another Round Table for Legacy! This is the first one since the bannings of Expressive Iteration and White Plume Adventurer, so it's definitely exciting! We've also got some Challenge data from this past weekend to look at.
Without further ado, let's dive right in!
The Legacy Round Table - The "Mom!" Edition
That's right folks. We have done it. We've assembled yet another Legacy Round Table to talk about the current state of Legacy! This Round Table is the first one since the bannings, so it's going to be interesting to get everyone's perspective on the format.
Let's introduce all the fine folks we have talking this week!
| Name | Social Media Links |
|---|---|
| Kinda | |
| Curran Delahanty (Testacular) | |
| Sahar Mirhadi | |
| Evan Lewis (Akaleth) | |
| Buffalo Chicken Dip Legacy | |
| Max Gilmore (Maxtortion) | |
| Chris McGuire | |
| Matt (PunishingWaterfalls) | |
| Danny Batterman | |
| Jarvis Yu | |
| The Dark Depths Podcast |
This is certainly a solid group of folks, so let's get onto the questions for this Round Table!
1 - What are your current thoughts on the Legacy format? Are you having fun? Is the format healthy?
Kinda: Very fun and probably the best Legacy has ever been since I started playing the format in 2009. Very diverse online metagame and even more so in paper when you look at results from places like Hareruya where we see results using 40k and Unfinity cards as well as random other strong cards like Harper Recruiter not on MTGO yet.
Curran Delahanty: Legacy is in a great spot right now. I am having a lot of fun playing the format. It is my third time writing and I would say that the format is healthy for the first time on one of these articles. With the bans of Expressive Iteration and White Plume Adventurer, a lot of archetypes are getting their opportunity to shine in different events. It's really nice to see diversity in matchups.
Sahar Mirhadi: I think the format is in a healthy spot and has lots of diversity to it. The recent bans have put Delver in a competitive but not oppressive position in the metagame. It is good to see other strategies, such as control, have a resurgence with new cards like Staff of the Storyteller. That said, there is an interesting tension as to what is canonically "the best deck" which I think is a positive aspect of a format, but makes things trickier if you are someone looking to win events, as there is currently no real "Tier 0" deck.
Evan Lewis: Legacy feels the best that it's been in a long while. Delver and White Initiative aren't particularly enjoyable matchups in my experience, and I'm glad that they both got the exact bans that I was hoping for. It feels like there's so much more room to explore without those decks policing the format the way they did in their previous forms.
As a forever Death and Taxes player, there's frequently not that much discovery for us to do right after a ban. Most of the points you get in deckbuilding are shifting a select few slots towards a target meta, and there's no sense in solving for problems when you don't know what those problems are yet. In that respect, things still feel very much in flux to me, particularly with the control decks figuring out what they want to look like now, and Reanimator is still managing to spike challenges and haunt leagues in the meantime. I would like things to settle a bit more in the near future, so that us Solitude enjoyers can do our refinement and stop playing Leyline of the Void. That said, I think it's a very refreshing change for their to not be a clear best deck for the first time in a very long while. I'm enjoying each match more on average than 3 months ago, and D&T lists are still performing quite well, which gives me very little to complain about.
Buffalo Chicken Dip Legacy: I’m having fun with the format. Additionally, I’m of the opinion that Legacy is healthy and has reached a stable equilibrium because Wizards of the Coast took the best course of action. Critics may say, “Delver is just another efficient card advantage engine away”, but nearly every archetype is a “card away” from being problematic. The White Initiative deck was a prime example of this. Delver and Initiative are both still viable strategies, but nothing appears to be too omnipresent or meta defining. We’ve come to a “Vintage like” rock-paper-scissors space in that Tempo, Combo, Control, and Ancient Tomb decks have become the pillars of the format and nearly all decks fit into these larger macro archetypes. Among these macro archetypes they all have strengths and weaknesses against each other. These strengths and weaknesses require deckbuilding choices which makes for more interesting and diverse gameplay. You can see this play out among the recent Legacy Challenge results and diversity among the top performing decks.
Max Gilmore: The format is great! It appears that there's easily a dozen, if not more, reasonable decks to take to a tournament (with the primary objective being to win), and several more decks beyond those that I wouldn't be surprised to see win. Another indicator of a healthy format is that the deck I believe to be the strongest (8-cast) is particularly susceptible to targeted hate, such as Meltdown and Serenity. More cool things - We're simultaneously in a place where there are 20 ways to build a reasonable fair Blue deck, but at the same time, fair Blue is not over-represented or oppressive in the metagame at large.
Given that my favorite part of Magic is deck exploration, looking for unique and powerful ways to beat the meta, I'm having a blast! I'm relieved that the next Showcase challenge is a few weeks away because I'd have a hard time narrowing down a deck choice.
Obviously, the elephant in the room is that the WH40k and Unfinity cards aren't on MTGO, so we don't have a full picture of the meta, but I have been playing a decent amount of paper Legacy too. To summarize my feelings on these cards, we've got a lot of powerful role-players (e.g. Chaos Defiler, Pair o' Dice Lost, Triumph of Saint Katherine, Comet, Stellar Pup) that will strengthen archetypes, as well as a bunch more cards that meet the threshold of "playable," but none of them push anything beyond "yet another good choice for a tournament."
Chris McGuire: This was actually harder to answer than I initially expected it to be, but ultimately I'd say that the format is fun at the moment. Losing White Plume Adventurer did hurt personally, but I assumed the ban was coming for two months beforehand so I was prepared for it. I would say the format is "healthy-ish" at the moment, with combo seeing a bump taking advantage of a relative step back for UR Delver. There still does seem to be a significant amount of room to brew, experiment, and innovate, which is always cool.
Matt (PunishingWaterfalls): From someone who mostly plays leagues, I feel like combo is running rampant. That makes it kind of hard for some of the piles I play to get entertaining games in. Though, I think there are several competitive decks you can pick up and with a Challenge with which is nice.
Danny Batterman: I think this is the best Legacy has been since right after they banned Deathrite Shaman and Gitaxian Probe in 2018. Delver being brought down to mortal levels due to finally not having a good card advantage engine and Initiative being slowed down means other decks can compete in a meaningful way. A whole slew of decks that were previously pushed out, like UWx control piles or even Sneak and Show, now have solid footing. Even decks like 12 Post and ANT are seeing success as of late. People are always going to complain, but if someone doesn’t think this is a good format I’m not sure what they want.
Jarvis Yu: I believe the ban of Expressive Iteration and White Plume Adventurer did in fact open the format up quite a bit. I've played a reasonable amount of Legacy in the past few weeks (with Staff of the Storyteller Stoneblade, Natural Order Bant (with and without Yorion), 8Mulch, and Reanimator). Again format health depends a lot on how you define 'healthy'. If you define it as seeing a lot of diverse decks, then yes, I believe most people would say it's 'healthy'.
Dark Depths Podcast: The format is probably more healthy than it’s been in ages. The metagame feels more open than it has in some time without delver pushing a bunch of stuff out. There doesn’t seem to be a clear “best deck”. Combo has improved and become a bigger portion of the field without being dominant. As for enjoyment we’re split. Billy has played Delver for so long at this point that he feels like he has no home in the format now that it’s not as good. Mapson on the other hand is basically always ready to have fun. He’s been having a lot of fun and success with Cephalid’s and Depths.
2 - What changes would you make to the current format (bans/unbans) and why?
Kinda: I don't think any bans are needed in paper, but there are cards like Ratchet, Field Medic which are soft banned due to being bugged online. It recently got bumped up from "confirmed" to "in progress" on the bug forum and I expect it to be a power house in Legacy.
Curran Delahanty: At this point, I don't see a card that needs to be banned or unbanned. If they unbanned Deathrite Shaman though, I would be more excited than the day Allosaurus Shepherd was spoiled.
Sahar Mirhadi: I have spoken about this topic to a few people in the community and honestly, I would not actually change anything. Sometimes I wonder if Deathrite Shaman could be fine to unban as it could reasonably deal with things such as Uro, Murktide Regent or Dragon's Rage Channeler and then I realize that it would just homogenize Delver again and no one *really* wants that.
Evan Lewis: None. The only one that I would consider making is unbanning Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, though I can already hear the Blue players yelling at me. I'm not trying to make Delver better, I've just always believed that it was the wrong ban from that deck, and it's likely a much more manageable card with Expressive Iteration gone and fair non-blue decks potentially taking up a bigger chunk of the meta. That said, I wouldn't go to bat for changing anything. The B&R update was recent enough, and there's still plenty to discover about this iteration of Legacy.
Buffalo Chicken Dip Legacy: I’m for unbanning cards that aren’t necessary to be on the ban list for power level reasons. I’ve previously mentioned which cards specifically in past Round Tables, but there’s little incentive to unban anything as it’s not worth the risk if we’re at a point of equilibrium and it appears we are. Looking at the Legacy ban list there’s little I think would make an impact other than Survival of the Fittest and that may be too slow given how fast Legacy has become and that answers are more efficient and encompassing than they used to be.
Max Gilmore: To quote Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast, "If it's not Baroque, don't fix it."
Chris McGuire: I was, and still am, of the opinion that Murktide Regent should have been banned alongside Expressive Iteration. However, at the moment I can't justify any new bannings with the format still unsettled, so for now I'd ban nothing but have Murktide at the top of my watch list for when UR Delver inevitably settles back onto its throne. In terms of unbannings, Mind Twist would be at the top of my list. I don't believe it would do much in the current metagame, and even if it does fair Black decks could certainly use the boost, so I say go for it. Earthcraft and Zirda, the Dawnwaker are my other considerations for unbanning. The infinite mana combos with Zirda do make me nervous, but those combos are disruptable with creature removal and the Companion cost is sufficiently high enough that I think Zirda would not overpower the format, so I'd also unban it but keep it on my watch list. I'd love to unban Earthcraft as well because I don't think either the Shrieking Drake or Squirrel Nest combos are any better than the other two-card combos in Legacy, but I don't think you can unban any Reserved List cards anymore due to the effect on the secondary market, so on the banned list it stays.
Matt (PunishingWaterfalls): As far as bans go: 1. Initiative mechanic - Generates a ton of non-games and fights from an angle not meant for 2-player format. 2. Echo of Eons - I just dislike the fact that you can mull to 2 and need Force or Leyline since surgical effects don't get it. 3. Thassa's Oracle - I may be biased because I can't stand Doomsday, but the most powerful combo win-con ever can kick rocks. 4. Daze - Because it's caused more tilt than any card I've faced.
Unbans: 1. Earthcraft - seems so weak compared to what we have going on. 2. Mana Drain - Counterspell barely sees play and I doubt this would take over the meta. 3. Frantic Search - I can try High Tide again. 4. Survival of the Fittest* - I think this is slow enough that it could make some cool decks and we have more answers than ever. BUT, because of the RL I would not want it. I can't fathom what price it would hit.
Ban Yorion because of dexterity and free-ness.
Danny Batterman: Absolutely none. As mentioned previously, I think this is the most open Legacy has been since 2018. That’s not saying the gameplay is always the best (looking at you Reanimator players), but it’s not out of bounds for what you’d expect the format to look like in 2023. A decision to ban or unban something boils down to trying to force a drastic change to happen in the metagame. There isn’t a need for that at this moment in time, so don’t take a tool out of your toolbox for if/when the state of the format calls for it.
Jarvis Yu: I would currently change nothing. People are still figuring out interesting things to do, and the Warhammer 40k cards are likely to slowly make their way on MTGO which will also help the paper and MTGO format align.
Dark Depths Podcast: We are hesitant to say we’d change anything. As we said above, the metagame seems good for now so it’s hard to want to change it. We would like to see the companions Zirda and Lurrus, potentially come back though. While it’s very possible they would both still be too good, we never got to experience them with the updated rules.
3 - What do you think is the best-positioned strategy in the current Legacy format?
Kinda: I think the dual role aggro+combo decks are really well positioned now. There are a lot of them though like Doompo, Painter, even Reanimator with SB Dauthi and Magus/Sheoldred. I don't think there is a clear way to get an edge though in a big event like we had with Delver for a while or decks like Top Miracles which is very nice.
Curran Delahanty: Creature-Combo seems to be very strong right now. Basically Combo decks that have the ability to play a fair game and even grind in different matchups. One of the best feelings in Legacy is top-decking your missing combo piece during a fair game where you spent turns figuring out how to stall the board and even try to gain fair-game advantage. I think decks like Painter, Cephalid Breakfast and Cradle Control are very good choices which all shine especially in the hands of experienced pilots.
Sahar Mirhadi: This question is tricky due to my previous points about format diversity. However, if we analyse purely on results since the recent bannings, 8-cast, Elves and Control have been performing well and I think are well positioned at this time.
Evan Lewis: Combo or proactive decks feel like the place to be, and I think that's certainly played out in both leagues and challenges so far. The fair blue decks are still doing a bit of soul searching, and proactive decks have been capitalizing on the lack of refinement. Most challenges since the banning of White Plume Adventurer and Expressive Iteration are jam packed with some combination of combo decks, particularly Reanimator and Elves, or aggressive Chalice of the Void decks, such as an Initiative variant or 8-cast. If I had to play a deck that isn't D&T, I'd probably be playing Elves, since I've enjoyed it a lot in the past.
Buffalo Chicken Dip Legacy: As the power level of Legacy has risen and so many cards can end the game on their own, the format has moved towards a place where it is advantageous to be proactive than reactive. However, the best strategy in the current Legacy is the one you’re most comfortable with. If you understand what patterns and cards are relevant in each matchup you can win any event. This is a great spot for the format to be in and will reward deck specialists and practiced Legacy players, but newer players and non-Legacy tournament grinders may take some lumps by auto selecting Delver.
Max Gilmore: The pilot-agnostic answer is either 8-Cast (not the Painter version), or Mono-Red Painter, but I don't think that either of those decks are enough better than the plethora of decks trailing right behind them to be favored against a really strong pilot of one of the dozen other great decks.
Chris McGuire: I think the red-based Painter and Cephalid Breakfast decks are the best positioned strategies today, especially while the UR Delver decks are still in a state of flux. Combo decks tend to find larger degrees of success in the immediate aftermath of bannings, but those two decks also provide a solid fast creature plan that must be respected.
Matt (PunishingWaterfalls): Well I feel like I can never beat Breakfast. Again, Oracle, is busted. You get a solid fair plan from Saga, SFM, and Staff. There are a lot of angles to cover and is a tough deck to interact with. If I cared about winning more, I would focus my attention to learning that deck more.
Danny Batterman: This is going to be a weird answer because I think the difference in the card pools between paper and Magic Online actually changes the answer to this question. Online it seems close enough that I would feel comfortable recommending anything in top 12 most played decks on MTGGoldfish. I primarily play in paper though, and in that realm think that Rb Painter stands solely on top of the heap because of Chaos Defiler. It being anywhere between one to three copies in the 75 changes things in two major ways:
1) It answers all permanent based hate as well as being repeatable removal with Welder.
2) Painter as a deck can no longer really be out grinded.
Number one is kind of an obvious point, but an important one. Rb Painter already had a lot of tools to sidestep hate like Null Rod that used to be lights out against the deck in the past. You now add a Council's Judgment on a stick, and now the deck needs multiple points of interaction to truly hate out. It’s also very castable thanks to the fact that you’re an Ancient Tomb deck.
Point number two is really what I think pushes the deck over the top. Despite being one sentence, this point is multifaceted. It’s not just the fact that Chaos Defiler is a two for one on a body – it’s the existence of the card ups the value of both Goblin Welder and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker. Those two cards being able to produce more Defilers means an even bigger target is placed on them for opposing removal spells. However, if you an opponent spends all their interaction on your Welders/Fables then they won’t have enough ways to stop you from comboing off. It’s a delicate dance that skilled Painter pilots can exploit to their success. The one caveat that I think will keep this deck from fully taking over the metagame post Defiler release is that it’s really hard to. Like, “the hardest deck in the format that doesn’t play Doomsday” levels of hard. People are going to have to get reps in with the deck, and it may seem underwhelming in the hands of those pilots. That may cause lower expectations, and players who know what they’re doing will reap the benefits.
Jarvis Yu: I don't think we actually have enough data to answer this question, but if you put a gun to my head, my answer would be Painter's Servant (a close second is Doomsday). It is an extremely strong Urza's Saga deck while being able to NOT overcommit versus Meltdown if necessary.
Dark Depths Podcast: This is a difficult question to answer. The artifact decks, especially 8cast seem to be putting up pretty consistent results right now so maybe that. We’re loathe to say that though because that always feels to us like a strategy that can pretty effectively be hated out when it gets too big for its britches. Despite not having a high win rate according to the data, Cephalid Breakfast seems to be putting up a lot of challenge results. The hosts have also had two different experiences with the deck, Mapson thinks this might be the best positioned deck though as long as you understand how to play against the hate people are packing. Billy thinks the deck lacks the tools and flexibility to be a Tier 0 deck.
4 - What cards from March of the Machine are you most excited for?
Kinda: Halo Forager with the suspend cards like crashing footfalls. Ozolith, the shattered spire with cards like patchwork automaton and ledger shredder. Plus I think Battles in general will be played but need to try them out.
Curran Delahanty: There is only one card I am looking forward to trying out myself and it is Polukranos Reborn. At 3 mana, it makes for an interesting silver bullet in Cradle Control. Whether we cast Green Sun's Zenith or activate Fiend Artisan for it; it seems like a fun card to have in the Delver matchup. 5 toughness to contend with and eventually, we can sink mana into the activation to make it even more of an issue. I will be curious to see how it performs and if it makes the cut for my deck.
Sahar Mirhadi: I think March of the Machine is a good addition to the Legacy format in that it bolsters niche archetypes or provides alternatives, rather than redefines the entire format.
The card I am excited about is Invasion of Gobakhan // Lightshield Array in a mono-white stompy shell. Having additional copies of Elite Spellbinder is a great way of taxing your opponent. Faerie Mastermind is a great addition to blue control decks as well as Chrome Host Seedshark.
I am not sure if it is good but Khenra Spellspear // Gitaxian Spellstalker is one of my favorite cards for aggro/tempo decks. Trample + Prowess is a powerful set of keywords on a 2 mana value creature. Lastly, I think Invasion of Segovia // Caetus, Sea Tyrant of Segovia could be great in the right shell but I will let the brewers figure that one out.
Evan Lewis: I don't expect this set to affect Legacy much at all. That said, there are a number of exciting cards for my Pauper cube, such as Alabaster Host Intercessor, Cut Short, and Meeting of Minds. Convoke is one of my favorite mechanics in the game, and I'm excited every time it's revisited.
I'm also going to be hunting for a serialized Yorion (I'm looking for #229, DM me if you see it!)
Buffalo Chicken Dip Legacy: Faerie Mastermind - I’m excited to see if this card in particular influences the metagame. Making blue players question or have a cost as to whether to fire off a Ponder or Brainstorm is very real. However, this type of card could ultimately lead to a toxic play pattern if it becomes ubiquitous given how it could homogenize deckbuilding among the blue decks and snowball into a subgame of “remove Faerie Mastermind” before the game can continue. We’ve seen this type of play pattern with cards such as Dreadhorde Arcanist. While Faerie Mastermind is in no way on the power level of Dreadhorde Arcanist, this should give you an idea of what could happen, but I realistically see this card being closer to Narset, Parter of Veils that scales with more of them on the battlefield. Having two Faerie Mastermind in play and activating one of them once draws you three cards while your opponent draws one which would turn the tide of about any matchup in the late game. Combo decks have seen a bit of a resurgence with Delver being weakened. Faerie Mastermind could be a player against Combo decks given its ability to generate card advantage in response to a cantrip while Flash allows you to hold up interaction and play it as a clock if the Combo player passes the turn. Similarly, Faerie Mastermind could improve matchups against Control decks by punishing them for digging for an interactive spell.
Chrome Host Seedshark – Could this be the blue Monastery Mentor? Chrome Host Seedshark has good power and toughness along with Flying for 3 mana, but against Delver decks you may need at least one-piece removal to buy enough time to play this in the face of Daze. Another issue with this card is the higher mana value and mana intensive requirements related to the tokens it generates. The speed and mana required will make it too slow to be a viable threat against Combo. I’m skeptical as it’s slower and more mana intensive, but I think this could give bigger Midrange blue decks, something along the lines of Stoneforge Mystic decks, a source of virtual card advantage and inevitability, similar to how Urza's Saga decks make Construct tokens, to fight Control decks as these type of Midrange decks have traditionally struggled against Control decks.
Max Gilmore: YUUUUTAAAAAAAA
Chris McGuire: Obviously Invasion of Ikoria has the most hype surrounding it, thanks to Vampire Hexmage, and it will probably be the card from March of the Machine that sees the most Legacy play at least in the near future. However, there are a handful of MoM cards that I am looking forward to trying out in my decks. In no particular order:
-- Lithomantic Barrage. In the grand tradition of Combust, Rending Volley, and Fry, I can't wait to try this out in the sideboard of Red Stompy and become immensely disappointed by round 3. In all seriousness though, I do like that this spell can be potentially used to answer a turn 1 Dragon's Rage Channeler before it can be fully powered up. Of course, this doesn't answer most Murktide Regents, which is a major strike against it.
-- Mistmeadow Vanisher (CMD) and Guardian of Ghirapur. These interest me as I'm continuing to work on various Wx Initiative decks, and I am definitely interested in Flicker effects for the various ETB effects the decks play. In particular, repeatable Flickers that require no additional mana have the potential to be very strong.
-- Phyrexian Censor. In addition to Flicker effects, more white prison pieces are also worth a look, especially at the 2W mana cost sweet spot. The fact that this will cause your own creatures to come into play tapped is a downside that will have to be worked around.
Matt (PunishingWaterfalls): Faerie Mastermind is the only one I've got to play so far and it exceeded expectations. Flash threat that generates card advantage through opponents' cantrips and has an ability to generate 2-for-1 is really cool design.
Chrome Host Seedshark seems wild. I'm not sure how well Incubate will work in legacy, but I think it is interesting enough to test.
Kroxa and Kunoros might fit in some Altar of Dementia shell for some fringe combo deck which may be fun and degenerate.
Danny Batterman: Thankfully, March of the Machine seems like it’s continuing the trend of the last few standard legal of sets of adding a few role players to the format, but nothing like Expressive Iteration that completely turns the format on its head. I think the most popular card from the set is probably Faerie Mastermind, but I really like Halo Forager. There are lots of shenanigans with it and Aether Vial that I want to explore.
Jarvis Yu: Monastery Mentor! (/s). Joking aside, I think most of the cards are not priced to move for Legacy, but my personal pick is Invasion of Ikoria (alongside Vampire Hexmage in some form).
Dark Depths Podcast: Faerie. Mastermind. Mapson has been playing this card a lot in pioneer, and quickly fell in love. After finally getting the chance to play it in Legacy, his love only grew. Having this card in Blue mirrors is a delight. We are also excited about a healthy number of green cards. Wrenn and Realmbreaker, Invasion of Ikoria, and Deeproot Wayfinder all have potential of being good In Lands and Depths strategies. While he hasn’t had the time yet, Mapson is very excited to get “into the lab” and see if GB Depths can be good again. The last cards we are interested are two of the red invasions; Tarkir and Mercadia. While not super likely that either ultimately ends up making the cut, both of these cards have potential in UR tempo strategies. In a world where it’s uncertain what Delver looks like, it can’t hurt to try new things, right?
5 - Write a Legacy Haiku. Be Creative!
Kinda:
Eternal power,
Ancient spells and artifacts,
Legacy endures.
Curran Delahanty:
Open Attractions
Best Take The Initiative
Also Eighty Cards
Sahar Mirhadi:
Storm inside my mind,
Thoughts whirl and ideas take form,
Brainstorm clears the way.
Evan Lewis:
First Strike with Jitte
Wins all combats easily
Attack with no fear
Buffalo Chicken Dip Legacy:
DRC will fly
Minor misstep your red blast
Delver will not die
Max Gilmore:
Legacy players!
Prices on Magic Online
Are quite low right now.
Chris McGuire:
Sol land plus Chrome Mox
I take the initiative
I miss ya, White Plume
Matt (PunishingWaterfalls):
Play my winning spell
Brew is better that I thought
Island returned, daze.
Danny Batterman:
Legacy is easy.
Unlike writing a Haiku.
Wait, got that backwards.
Jarvis Yu:
EI, WPA eat bans.
Any colours can win matches!
Go forth and Brainstorm!
Dark Depths Podcast:
In this great format
You can play what you want to
But so can your foe
Legacy Challenge 4/29
The first Challenge of the weekend was the early morning Saturday event. This event had 59 players in it thanks to the data collected by the Legacy Data Collection Project.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Reanimator and UR Delver both were very popular here, but UR Delver had a very poor win rate, while Reanimator did exceptionally well. Sneak and Show, Elves, and Death's Shadow all did very well, as did Mono Green Cloudpost.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Death's Shadow | 1st | Rimril |
| Reanimator | 2nd | snoopy-magic |
| Boros Stompy | 3rd | Locutus79 |
| Hammer Time | 4th | CrusherBotBG` |
| Reanimator | 5th | LegacyBrewPub |
| Elves | 6th | almostomniscient |
| 4C Uro Control | 7th | trunks132 |
| Reanimator | 8th | sandahl123 |
Lot of Reanimator here in the Top 8 alongside some Ancient Tomb decks, but at the end of the event it was Death's Shadow that won.
Very clean list here, and very powerful. The sideboard has some strong gameplay in it, with cards like Tourach, Dread Cantor for decks playing Swords to Plowshares and cards like Court of Cunning for card advantage and a win condition versus decks that can't easily steal the Monarch.
In Second Place we've got Reanimator.
It is very interesting to see how much Reanimator has diversified its threats over time. Cards like Serra's Emissary and Archon of Cruelty really pushed the deck and its power level, but Atraxa giving the deck a crazy amount of card selection is really powerful. Don't sleep on Reanimator, is the takeaway here. It's far better than people think it is.
Also in this Top 8 we had Boros Stompy.
The primary red splash here is into the other four mana value Initiative creature (Caves of Chaos Adventurer) but otherwise this is very much like the White Initiative decks we saw pre-ban. The red splash does create some manabase stretching, but it's not too bad. The sideboard copy of Gaea's Blessing is definitely quite smart given the presence of decks like Painter in the format.
Further down the Top 8 we had Hammer Time.
This deck is very powerful honestly, and it's a deck to really keep an eye on. It's fast, has a ton of strong opening plays, and can win a game on Turn 2 if it really wants to. If that isn't Legacy power level, I don't know what is.
Legacy Challenge 4/30
The second Challenge event of the weekend was the mid-afternoon Sunday event. This event had 101 players in it thanks to the data collected by the Legacy Data Collection Project.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
UR Delver was the most popular, but its win rate was just mildly over 50%. Jeskai Control was also popular but it did very poorly. Reanimator actually suffered a bit in this event, having done its job in reminding the format of its existence. D&T had a solid win rate as well in this event.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Yorion Zenith | 1st | fishduggery |
| Mono Green Cloudpost | 2nd | Didackith |
| Red Painter | 3rd | ganesh_69 |
| Lands | 4th | fj_rodman |
| UR Delver | 5th | Delthar |
| Boros Stompy | 6th | Sinizter_6 |
| 8Cast | 7th | kauffj |
| Death's Shadow | 8th | MM_17 |
Wildly interesting Top 8 here. A neat variety of decks here for sure. At the end of the event, it was our good friend fishduggery on Yorion Zenith who won.
Right off the bat, I am digging how insane this list is, but also getting to see new card Thalia and The Gitrog Monster here is stupendous. This deck is just super cool.
In Second Place we've got Mono Green Cloudpost.
Very clean and solidly powerful deck here. This deck knows what its game plan is (ramp out big things and win the game) and it does it very well.
Also in this Top 8 we had some Red Painter action.
Painter continues to really be one of those incredibly powerful decks and it is important to keep on one's radar when thinking about an event. This list is very powerful and this deck continues to get better over time especially when cards like Chaos Defiler come to Magic Online.
Also in this Top 8 we had Lands.
It's nice seeing Lands about again. This is a really solid-looking list. No frills, and it has a strong game plan.
Around the Web
- Everyday Eternal has a new episode on The 22nd God of Legacy event! Check it out here.
- Eternal Durdles continues their Legacy 101 Series with an episode on Daze. Check it out here.
- Bryant Cook has a video on Blue Dredge! Check it out here.
- Our good friend Sahar Mirhadi was on the Humans of Magic podcast! Check it out here!
The Spice Corner
You can find this past week's 5-0 deck lists over here.
The only really wild one I saw this week was Sneak and Show with One with the Multiverse in it.
Wrapping Up
That's all the time we have this week folks! Thanks for continuing to support the column and join us next week as we continue our journey into Legacy!
As always you can reach me at all my associated links via my Link Tree! In addition, I'm always around the MTGGoldfish Discord Server and the MTGLegacy Discord Server.
Until next time!
