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Insider: Legacy Metagame Report

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Next Friday at noon begins the StarCityGames Invitational in Somerset, NJ, bringing Legacy back into the spotlight.

I am qualified and I'd like to improve upon my weak Legacy finish at the last Invitational in Columbus. Prior to that event, I studied all the online Legacy content I could find. I will do the same for this event, but I haven't found any recent Legacy metagame pieces, so I have taken the opportunity to write one myself. I have looked at Magic Online data from mtggoldfish.com along with info from SCG and other events found on mtgtop8.com

UWx Miracles

Miracles holds the biggest market share of winning Magic Online decklists at over 13% of the metagame. With around an 11% share of the paper metagame, it's also very well represented in live events. Miracles was quite successful at the last SCG Invitational and it won last weekend's Legacy Open in Syracuse, and there were three copies in thee Top 8 in Dallas the weekend before, also taking home 1st place.

This deck is the true control deck of the format, and it's largely reactive. It has very versatile and powerful answers that match up well against the format, but by its controlling nature it must be carefully built and metagamed. The deck is surprisingly flexible and there' s often a surprising amount of decklist variation between players.

On the other hand, this deck uses a common core of cards: Counterbalance and Sensei's Divining Top as a proactive combo that helps it to assert control of the game, and a means to kill the opponent, whether it be aggressively with Vendilion Clique or Entreat the Angels or incidentally with Jace, the Mind Sculptor.

Here's the decklist that won the SCG Syracuse Legacy Open:

Miracles

Maindeck

4 Scalding Tarn
4 Flooded Strand
4 Island
3 Tundra
2 Plains
2 Volcanic Island
1 Karakas
1 Arid Mesa
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Terminus
4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
4 Ponder
2 Counterspell
2 Entreat the Angels
1 Council's Judgment
1 Spell Snare
4 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Counterbalance
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Sideboard

1 Council's Judgment
1 Wear // Tear
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Pyroblast
2 Flusterstorm
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Pithing Needle
1 Batterskull
2 Vendilion Clique

Shardless BUG

Shardless BUG is the second most popular winning Legacy deck online at around 8% of the metagame. This to Legacy as Jund is to Modern: it operates on an attrition plan, is full of card advantage that powers of large removal suite, and has suffocating a board presence with creatures like Tarmogoyf.

It's often considered a foil to Miracles, which falls prey to card advantage and disruption like Liliana of the Veil, as well as Delver decks, which is weak against creature removal and lacks its own card advantage engines.

Shardless BUG is decidedly fair compared to other decks and it can fall prey to combo decks like Sneak and Show. With a properly built maindeck and sideboard, such as the inclusion of Thoughtseize or Hymn to Tourach, it seeks to prevent unfair opponents from doing unfair things, reducing them to a pile of loose cogs.

Here's a decklist from top SCG grinder Andrew Tenjum, who recently reached Top 8 in Syracuse:

Shardless BUG

Maindeck

4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Polluted Delta
3 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Wasteland
2 Bayou
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Swamp
4 Shardless Agent
4 Baleful Strix
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Brainstorm
4 Abrupt Decay
3 Force of Will
2 Thoughtseize
2 Hymn to Tourach
2 Liliana of the Veil
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Sideboard

1 Force of Will
1 Thoughtseize
1 Hymn to Tourach
2 Toxic Deluge
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Pithing Needle
2 Spell Pierce
2 Dark Confidant

BUG Delver

There was an error retrieving a chart for Delver of Secrets

Delver of Secrets comes in many flavors, all of which are relevant and important parts of the metagame online and in paper.

BUG Delver makes up around 6% of the online metagame. It's arguable that BUG Delver has been the most successful Delver deck in SCG events in 2014.

Pairing Delver of Secrets with Abrupt Decay gives it huge game against Miracles and their oppressive Counterbalance, along with a versatile answer to most of the format's relevant threats.

These decks tend to eschew Stifle, but some do play it, including a version that reached Top 8 in Syracuse. The deck typically plays discard like Hymn to Tourach, which generates card advantage and specifically puts incredible pressure on Miracles and combo decks like Sneak and Show.

The decklist I recommend is the one Tannon Grace used to Top 16 SCG Dallas, based off of Rich Shay's expert design:

BUG Delver

Maindeck

4 Underground Sea
4 Wasteland
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Misty Rainforest
2 Verdant Catacombs
2 Bayou
1 Tropical Island
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Ponder
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Force of Will
4 Daze
4 Brainstorm
1 Spell Pierce
2 Liliana of the Veil
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Sideboard

2 Spell Pierce
2 Golgari Charm
2 Submerge
1 Dismember
1 Disfigure
1 Null Rod
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Life from the Loam
1 Thoughtseize

RUG Delver

The longest running Delver deck is RUG Delver, formerly known as Canadian Threshold. It's a constant contender that regularly appears in the Top 8 of major events, and rivals the success of BUG Delver but has much more consistency in its construction. It makes up over 5% of the winning Magic Online metagame, and, by mtgtop8.com metrics, makes up around 8% of the paper Legacy metagame.

This is effectively an aggressive Fish deck that seeks to stick a threat and disrupt the opponent until they are dead. This deck seems to always use Stifle. This kills a bit quicker than the other Delver decks with Nimble Mongoose and has plenty of reach with a small burn suite highlighted by Lightning Bolt.

Here's a list that made Top 8 in SCG KC last month in the hands of grinder Matt Hoey, updated for his Top 16 in Syracuse:

RUG Delver

Maindeck

4 Wasteland
3 Volcanic Island
3 Tropical Island
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
1 Wooded Foothills
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Nimble Mongoose
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Ponder
4 Stifle
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Force of Will
4 Daze
4 Brainstorm
3 Spell Pierce
2 Gitaxian Probe
1 Forked Bolt

Sideboard

4 Submerge
3 Pyroblast
2 Flusterstorm
2 Grim Lavamancer
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Rough // Tumble

UWR Delver

While currently making up less than 3% of the online metagame, UWR Delver has made major impact in the paper world. This version of Delver has been a metagame staple since last year. Owen Turtenwald won a GP with the deck, which increased its popularity, but he has since moved off the deck after poor finishes, citing creative differences.

Others still champion the deck. Ben Friedman took the deck to the Top 8 of the last SCG Invitational, and last weekend in Syracuse it made Top 8 in the hands of Jared Boettcher and Dan Jordan, the current rookie of the year and a long-time grinder with plenty of PT experience--two players to always look for at the top of the standings, alongside Theodore Jung.

The key card here is Stoneforge Mystic, and it plays some True-Name Nemesis to present a potent clock and carry equipment.

With both Lightning Bolt and Swords to Plowshares, this deck is great against creature opponents. Opinions are split on Stifle and it's not historically popular in the deck. But as the archetype evolves, it has been gaining more popularity, so it may be a staple in the future.

Here's the list Jared Boettcher played last weekend, with Stifle:

UWR Delver w/Stifle

Maindeck

4 Wasteland
4 Tundra
3 Volcanic Island
3 Polluted Delta
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Arid Mesa
1 Flooded Strand
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 True-Name Nemesis
4 Ponder
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Force of Will
4 Daze
4 Brainstorm
3 Stifle
3 Spell Pierce
3 Swords to Plowshares
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull

Sideboard

1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Wear // Tear
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Pyroblast
2 Flusterstorm
2 Rest in Peace
3 Meddling Mage
2 Grim Lavamancer
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Vendilion Clique

Here's the list of Dan Jordan:

UWR Delver w/ Gitaxian Probe

Maindeck

4 Wasteland
4 Tundra
3 Volcanic Island
2 Flooded Strand
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Polluted Delta
2 Scalding Tarn
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 True-Name Nemesis
4 Ponder
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Force of Will
4 Daze
4 Brainstorm
3 Gitaxian Probe
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Spell Pierce
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte

Sideboard

1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Pyroblast
2 Flusterstorm
2 Rest in Peace
4 Meddling Mage
2 Grim Lavamancer
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Wear // Tear

Esper Stoneblade/Deathblade

While it has largely fallen from grace, Esper Stoneblade/Deathblade is still a relevant Legacy archetype. It makes up around 3.5% of the winning online metagame and it reached Top 8 of the SCG Open in Dallas.

This deck sits somewhere between Shardless BUG and Delver decks in style, making it a very rock solid deck, but it's neither as fast and aggressive as Delver nor as capable of playing the long game as Shardless BUG. On the other hand, it's stronger against combo than Shardless BUG, and it's more resilient to removal than Delver decks.

Here's the list that reached Top 8 in Dallas:

Esper Stoneblade

Maindeck

4 Marsh Flats
3 Polluted Delta
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
2 Island
2 Flooded Strand
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Karakas
1 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Scrubland
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Baleful Strix
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Ponder
2 Spell Pierce
2 Thoughtseize
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Council's Judgment
1 Counterspell
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
1 Liliana of the Veil

Sideboard

1 Spell Pierce
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Enlightened Tutor
2 Rest in Peace
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Pithing Needle
2 Meddling Mage
1 Engineered Plague
1 Duress

Some versions use Deathrite Shaman to speed up the deck and make it more powerful at the expense of the manabase. Here's a list SCG grinder Justin Uppal recently used online:

Deathblade

Maindeck

4 Polluted Delta
4 Underground Sea
4 Flooded Strand
3 Wasteland
3 Tundra
2 Marsh Flats
1 Scrubland
1 Tropical Island
1 Karakas
4 True-Name Nemesis
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Vendilion Clique
4 Thoughtseize
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce
1 Ponder
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Liliana of the Veil
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull

Sideboard

1 Force of Will
1 Spell Pierce
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Pithing Needle
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Rest in Peace
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Zealous Persecution
3 Meddling Mage

Death and Taxes

This archetype is never extremely popular, but it's always a contender. It's a prison deck that hates on combo like Sneak and Show but has tools to beat decks like Miracles and Delver.Here's the list that won the SCG Open in KC:

Death and Taxes

Maindeck

10 Plains
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
3 Karakas
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Eiganjo Castle
4 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Mother of Runes
3 Flickerwisp
3 Serra Avenger
2 Aven Mindcensor
1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Aether Vial
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Fire and Ice

Sideboard

1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Manriki-Gusari
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Meekstone
2 Cataclysm
2 Enlightened Tutor
2 Oblivion Ring
1 Moat
2 Rest in Peace
2 Wilt-Leaf Liege

Beyond those archetypes, the Legacy metagame picture starts to fall apart, with most of the metagame share being composed of various unfair combo decks of varying construction:

ElvesCombo a.k.a. Elfball

Elves Combo makes up a tremendous amount of the winning Magic Online metagame at nearly 8%, and comes in as the third most popular deck. This is not an extreme portion of the metagame, but it's certainly worth taking stock off. In paper, this deck makes up around 6% of the winning field according to mtgtop8.com metrics.

Elves did extremely well in major paper events prior to the last SCG Invitational, but shifts in the metagame, including the rise of bad matchup Miracles, left it poorly positioned in the metagame. How Elves fairs in the future will hinge on how prepared the field is and how many players bring the deck to action.

This deck operates as a degenerate combo deck around Glimpse of Nature, but it's capable of playing a fair game as a rush creature deck. Green Sun's Zenith provides amazing utility, while Natural Order gives it a powerful endgame and potential Plan B combo with Progenitus.

Notably, this deck had a major addition from M15, Reclamation Sage, which is an out to Counterbalance ans improves the Miracles matchup.

Here's a list from the Top 16 of Syracuse:

Elfball

Maindeck

3 Gaea's Cradle
3 Misty Rainforest
2 Windswept Heath
2 Bayou
2 Forest
2 Dryad Arbor
2 Verdant Catacombs
2 Wooded Foothills
1 Tropical Island
4 Wirewood Symbiote
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Quirion Ranger
3 Nettle Sentinel
3 Heritage Druid
2 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Birchlore Rangers
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Llanowar Elves
4 Glimpse of Nature
4 Green Sun's Zenith
3 Natural Order
2 Gitaxian Probe

Sideboard

1 Natural Order
3 Cabal Therapy
1 Progenitus
2 Swan Song
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Sylvan Library
1 Pithing Needle
1 Null Rod
2 Thoughtseize

Dredge

Dredge is the winningest degenerate deck online, making up 5% of the winning metagame, and it reached Top 8 of the SCG Dallas Legacy Open. This deck is minimally interactive but can consistently execute its gameplan to go over the top of opponents. It lives and dies by the opposing sideboard, floundering against dedicated hate but flourishing when unopposed. Here's a decklist from Dallas:

Dredge

Maindeck

4 Gemstone Mine
4 Mana Confluence
4 Cephalid Coliseum
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Narcomoeba
4 Ichorid
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
3 Golgari Thug
2 Putrid Imp
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
4 Breakthrough
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Faithless Looting
4 Careful Study
1 Dread Return
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Bridge from Below

Sideboard

1 Putrid Imp
4 Lotus Petal
1 Ashen Rider
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Chain of Vapor
3 Firestorm
2 City of Brass

Storm

Various Storm decks, such as Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT) and The Epic Storm (TES), make up around 4.5% and 3% of the online metagame. Taken together they make Storm strategies the most popular combo decks.

ANT is a more stable deck with a more solid manabase and a ton of card selection, while TES plays Burning Wish and is faster and more explosive but more vulnerable to disruption.

ANT Storm reached the Top 8 of the Dallas Open and won the Prague Eternal 2014 tournament last month and is what I'd both recommend and expect to play against at live events. Here's the list from Dallas:

ANT Storm

Maindeck

4 Scalding Tarn
4 Polluted Delta
2 Gemstone Mine
2 Underground Sea
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Volcanic Island
4 Dark Ritual
4 Preordain
4 Ponder
4 Infernal Tutor
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Duress
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Brainstorm
2 Cabal Therapy
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Past in Flames
1 Ad Nauseam
4 Lotus Petal
4 Lion's Eye Diamond

Sideboard

2 Cabal Therapy
3 Chain of Vapor
1 Empty the Warrens
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Xantid Swarm
1 Karakas
1 Tropical Island
2 Massacre

Sneak and Show

Once the bogey man, over the past year the entire format has shifted around this deck to the point that it may no longer even be a part of the top tier. It makes up around 5% of the mtgtop8.com paper metagame, and under half a percentage of the Magic Online metagame.

The format certainly knows how to beat it, but Sneak and Show is still hugely powerful and will easily rise back to the top if players become lax and start cutting their hate, which will start to happen as the deck falls from mind.

This deck uses namesake cards Sneak Attack or Show and Tell to cheat into play Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or Griselbrand and overpower the opponent.

Here's a list that made Top 16 in Dallas:

Sneak and Show

Maindeck

4 Scalding Tarn
3 Ancient Tomb
3 Volcanic Island
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Island
2 City of Traitors
1 Mountain
4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Griselbrand
4 Brainstorm
4 Show and Tell
4 Ponder
4 Spell Pierce
4 Force of Will
3 Gitaxian Probe
4 Lotus Petal
4 Sneak Attack
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Sideboard

1 Shattering Spree
3 Pyroclasm
3 Through the Breach
2 Swan Song
1 Echoing Truth
3 Blood Moon
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All

Burn

Burn exists in Legacy as something like a 6-card combo deck: it is largely uninteractive and seeks to throw damage at the opponent until they are dead, which usually takes around 6 cards. Legacy burn spells are powerful and many deal 4 or more damage, and creatures like Goblin Guide may deal more than their fair share.

This archetype has been reinvigorated and re-popularized with the printing of Eidolon of the Great Revel.

Here's the list that reached Top 8 at SCG Syracuse:

Burn

Maindeck

20 Mountain
4 Goblin Guide
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Rift Bolt
4 Fireblast
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Price of Progress
4 Lava Spike
4 Chain Lightning
3 Flame Rift
3 Searing Blaze
2 Sulfuric Vortex

Sideboard

1 Sulfuric Vortex
2 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Vexing Shusher
2 Mindbreak Trap
2 Pyroblast
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Smash to Smithereens

Wrap-Up

These dozen archetypes make up the lion's share of the Legacy metagame and paint an accurate picture of what to expect at the top tables of any competitive event. Please share in the comments any thoughts, ideas, opinions, decklists, or anything else related to Legacy.

-Adam

4 thoughts on “Insider: Legacy Metagame Report

  1. This may be a dumb question, but Is there a way to tell immediately if a article is for paper or digital? I am reading articles on digital cards and I think I am reading about paper until something is mentioned about online gaming. Thanks just trying to read about strictly paper if anyone can help out

    1. We’ve begun tagging MTGO-specific articles in the headlines lately. I”ll make sure this is done more consistently.

      if it’s not specified, assume the article is talking about paper prices.

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