Right as Legacy is reeling from the negative publicity of StarCityGames's recent announcement, this weekend brings us Grand Prix Seattle-Tacoma, a high-profile event that will shine a warm spotlight on the eternal format.

The Legacy metagame leading into the GP is undefined, because it was very recently thrown into disarray by the banning of Dig Through Time. The banning toppled the dominant Grixis Pyromancer and OmniTell decks.

Many experts identified Miracles as the obvious best archetype remaining; while Miracles did use Dig Through Time itself, it was a replaceable role-player in Miracles compared to the central role in took in the other archetypes. Early tournament results, particularly the Ovino 10 tournament in Italy, pointed to that being the case.

In the States, a natural reaction to a rise in Miracles and a decline in the disruptive Grixis deck was a move towards Infect, which Tom Ross used to win the SCG Legacy Open at St. Louis.

With OmniTell leaving Legacy’s combo niche unfilled, Storm Combo has found instant success in the new metagame, putting two copies into the Ovino Top 8, winning the 210 player MKM Series Legacy event in Prague, and finishing second in St. Louis.

I expect the metagame will be quite diverse in Seattle, but there are a few specific archetypes that appear to be excellent metagame calls.

Shardless BUG

Shardless BUG is filled with card advantage to fuel outstanding disruption spells and efficient threats, allowing it to prey upon the reactive Miracles deck.

Abrupt Decay stops Counterbalance cold, which Miracles can otherwise rely on surviving against most of the metagame. Without access to its powerful enchantment, Miracles is forced to play a fair control game, which it can’t do against a deck where every individual threat could be lethal.

Shardless BUG does tend to suffer against combo decks, which it lacks enough disruption to actually stop. The sideboard can give it a fighting chance against any specific combo deck, but it can't be built to beat them all.

Jund

Jund shares many of the same threats and disruption spells as Shardless BUG, but it doesn’t have nearly the same ability to generate raw cards. It does contain the Punishing Fire- Grove of the Burnwillows combo, which is extremely effective against creature decks as inexhaustible removal, and against control as a form of inevitability.

Jund is better than Shardless BUG at fighting creatures in general, which gives it a more favorable matchup against decks like Infect, Elves, and Merfolk, but it suffers against combo decks. Assuming Seattle is defined by Miracles and Infect, Jund would be an excellent metagame call.

U/G Post

U/G Cloudpost uses its namesake to generate massive amounts of mana, Glimmerpost to gain massive amounts of life, and Vesuva to add redundancy. They assemble their manabase using land tutors like Modern Urzatron, but Crop Rotation makes the deck much faster than one relying on Sylvan Scrying.

Candelabra of Tawnos adds a degenerate combo element to the archetype, which uses its big mana to power Primeval Titan for more mana and value, and ultimately Eldrazis to win the game. Sensei's Divining Top adds consistency, and Show and Tell allows the deck to get around hate cards like land destruction.

U/G Post slays Miracles decks, and it overpowers and outraces midrange decks like Shardless BUG. It's lacking against faster combo decks like Storm and Sneak 'n Show, and it finds itself on the wrong end of the Infect matchup. Assuming control and midrange define the Seattle metagame, U/G Post will be a great option.

Death and Taxes

With Storm and Sneak 'n Show bringing about a resurgence in combo decks, Death and Taxes is poised to play fun-police with its slew of mana denial and other hateful disruption. The archetype has also recently gained a powerful new tool in Vryn Wingmare, which provides non-legendary redundancy on Thalia, Guardian of Thraben.

Its core game plan is great against Miracles, and it’s equipped to fight a fair game with Shardless BUG, especially when packing Mirran Crusader. Creature decks like Infect and Elves will cause more of a problem, but on the whole Death and Taxes seems very well positioned in Seattle.

There is also a trend of splashing red for Imperial Recruiter, which can find almost any of the creatures already in the deck, another copy of itself to generate card advantage, or Magus of the Moon as an additional dimension to the archetype’s mana denial plan. Lightning Bolt even makes things easier against creature decks.

This evolution was nipped in the bud with the printing of Treasure Cruise. The departure of Dig Through Time brings the format back to where it was before, so I expect this evolution to continue from where it left off.

Legacy Specs

Jace, the Mind Sculptor

With Dig Through Time banned, Jace, the Mind Sculptor is now the most powerful blue finisher in Legacy. Make no mistake, Dig Through Time delivered the finishing blow to opponents, regardless of what actually cleaned up the mess.

Miracles decks had previously shaved down on the planeswalker, but now three and four copies will become commonplace again. Jace, the Mind Sculptor is also a key factor in Shardless BUG. With the card in two top-tier archetypes, demand will be high this weekend and beyond.

Candelabra of Tawnos

U/G Post is positioned as a serious contender in the current Legacy metagame, and a big finish at the Grand Prix could send demand for the archetype higher. Candelabra of Tawnos is essential for the deck to function at peak capacity, and as an Antiquities card it is in very short supply.

Over the past couple years we've seen a trend of the oldest, rarest Magic cards increasing in price, going back to the dual land spike after GP Richmond and the Power 9 spike after GP New Jersey and Eternal Weekend. Since then, the prices of many old, iconic cards have also increased.

Candelabra of Tawnos has been unaffected so far, but this will change. I expect there will be more than a few players at the GP attempting to acquire playsets on Friday and Saturday morning.

Flusterstorm

The rise of Storm combo is sure to be met by a rise in Flusterstorm, a highly effective hate card that also has applications in other matchups.

The price of this card is already quite high. But its inclusion in the sideboards of Miracles, Shardless BUG, and nearly every other blue deck, combined with the popularity of Storm, means the price is likely to go even higher.

Night of Souls' Betrayal

Night of Souls' Betrayal is a great sideboard card for Shardless BUG against decks like Infect and Elves, but I really point to the card for its applications in Modern. Players are becoming more savvy about how good this card really is, and it’s seeing more play in the format.

This card was on my mind before I checked any price movement, and I wasn't surprised to see the price trending upwards this week. It’s up to $6.50 from $6 a month ago. Also telling is the fact the MTGO price has grown from 1.7 tix on September 10 to nearly 5 tix today.

GP Pittsburgh at the end of the month has all the makings of a massive East Coast Eternal event, and it’s going to initiate an increased interest in Modern. I’m even more optimistic about the long-term prospects of Night of Souls' Betrayal.

-Adam