Last week I kicked off the idea of the Overextended format, which we have decided to call "Throwback." Just a quick reminder: The sets that are legal are Mercadian Masques block forward, with the core sets starting with Seventh Edition through the current. Over the next few weeks, I will be looking at a few other archetypes, but this week is aggro! As a little-known fact, I am a proud member of Team Lives-in-the-Red-Zone, as popularized by Sheldon Menery. This week is my opportunity to let that side shine.

Let's begin with the current crop of Legacy decks that can reasonably be described as aggro. Zoo is the gold standard for pure aggression. Depending on your build, Zoo is typically only missing one or two cards at the most. Some builds run Mother of Runes, which is of course not legal. Another big issue is the loss of Swords to Plowshares. Of course, maximizing the number of Path to Exile can certainly minimize this issue, but another replacement or two will need to be found. Card-drawing in Zoo is also a little lacking, with Sylvan Library no longer legal, and this is a missing card that has no obvious fix—but I'm certain decks will be able to adapt. There are three problematic cards, though: Price of Progress, Chain Lightning, and Fireblast. Chain Lightning can probably be replaced with Lava Spike without too much difficulty, but the other two cards necessitate some serious retooling. Legacy Zoo has some good potential, but there are a few big changes that need to happen.

The next aggressive deck is Goblins. Goblins is probably the best of the "aggressive" combat-oriented decks, but I feel that it's less of an aggro deck than Zoo. Goblins has a few tricks up its sleeve that Zoo just doesn't have access to. Truthfully, the only really large hit that Goblins takes is losing Goblin Lackey. While this is admittedly a large hit, Goblins proved quite formidable in formats where Lackey was not legal, and I'm confident it will do so again. Most Legacy decks have shied away from using Goblin Guide, and I think this would be a great chance for him to make an appearance. Like many other decks in the format, Goblins loses Wasteland, but I think something like Dust Bowl might make a suitable replacement. The number of Rishadan Port will need to be maxed out as well, of course. Goblins can also pick up some much-needed late-game stamina by shifting to a R/B version, comparable to the old Goblin Bidding lists of yore.

One of the other standouts from Legacy is White Weenie, specifically Quest-type decks. As silly as it might sound, it's difficult for some decks to beat getting your permanents vindicated on turn two. Quest was once considered to be something of a silly fad in Standard, but continues to put up impressive numbers. White Weenie unfortunately loses some of its late-game reach. Without Armageddon and Ravages of War, if games go longer, I fear some of the control decks will rapidly outclass the soldiers. That being said, I think a quick metagamed Quest deck might do well in a wide-open format.

The last of the truly aggressive decks from Legacy is Affinity. Affinity will be especially dangerous in the new format due to the loss of literally nothing. Unless you are one of the Affinity players who sideboards in cards such as Red Elemental Blast, you will find the deck virtually untouched. As an added bonus, you will also get both your Disciple of the Vault and Skullclamp back, at least until testing shows how stupidly broken they are. Expect that to happen early in week one.

A note on the decks not listed here: If a deck sees some play in Legacy but is primarily more of an Extended deck, it will be covered next week. There are also a few lists that are more combo than aggro. I love Elves probably more than I should, but it's a combo deck at heart, and that's where it will be featured. Just a hint of foreshadowing: Expect some of our old favorites to be revisited next week, too (I'm looking at you, U/G Madness!). Until next week, I hope this has given you an idea of where we can start with aggro—at least from the more powerful end. I'd love to hear from everyone and I look forward to some more spirited discussions in the forums!