Locations
You know this by now, but if you're going to Grand Prix Columbus [2010 for those of you who do a Google search for this article and find it some years later] you won't be able to use Mystical Tutor. I'm not going to waste too much time arguing the pros or cons of this decision because right now, but the reality is the that the huge Legacy metagame has had two constants removed. As a result, it is impossible for a small group of people to dictate where the format will settle. However, it is possible to make educated speculations and to attempt to evaluate some of the possibilities in a rational way while hopefully avoiding biases; this is where the most productive speculation is going to come from. This article is designed to discuss the Grand Prix, the Legacy metagame after the event, and what this means for you. The short of it is:
You can still play [with and against] a non-Belcher storm deck – but it isn't going to be as linear, as easy to pick up, or as clean.
You can still play [with and against] Reanimator – but it isn't going to be as consistent and will need to play with more redundancy.
Most people are going to be looking away from these decks, as they will be less consistent. The big takeaway is that decks that had poor combo matches may be seeing fewer highly unfavorable match-ups. We can then infer that most decks that had bad combo matches are going to get better.
Decks that have traditionally had a bad ANT and/or Reanimator match:
We should also take a look at some of the decks that had highly favorable match-ups against one of the decks that has been removed from the gauntlet. These decks face the likelihood of fewer positive rounds during the tournament:
It came as a real shock to me that a banning was made just before this Grand Prix. What we have now is essentially a new and unstable format where a new deck is bound to rise to the top. Generally holding secret deck-tech in Legacy seldom works because there are so few large-scale tournaments and so much discussion among the format's pioneers. However, this time around there are almost no large or mid-sized tournaments before the Grand Prix aside from Grand Prix Trials. With such a strange shift in the metagame, there is actually substantial room for a private development to be launched at the Grand Prix. Considering that the nature of such a development is to be shrouded from public view, it's not really possible to predict or discuss any of it. However, we can discuss the known quantities of the metagame and still gain quite a bit of knowledge.
In my previous article I had proposed a top tier that consisted of ANT, Goblins, Bant Counter-Top decks, Merfolk, and Zoo. When we strip ANT from that list we're left with 3 aggro decks and an aggro-control deck as the top tier decks. By seeing that many aggro decks left in the top tier most people are going to be able to make the logical conclusion that a deck that beats aggro decks is going to be an excellent choice. The next step is to infer that a deck that is able to beat aggro decks and also beat the decks that are designed to be a foil to the aggro decks is going to be an excellent choice. Examples of decks that are just designed to really ruin the aggro decks are Enchantress, 43 Lands, Belcher and Dredge – there are also some fringe decks such as Show and Tell and Dream Halls that will do exactly the same thing but haven't truly entered the gauntlet just yet to most players.
The real winners that will emerge from the shifting sands of this banning are likely Life from the Loam decks. Aggro-Loam to the more mid-range Rock decks that use it as a source of card advantage and disruption to the land-based control decks such as 43 Lands and even the Scapeshift combo variant all stand to gain from the changing metagame. All of these decks run a little on the slow side, but have a very strong mid-game that leads into a much stronger late game – but they could never hope to compete with a deck that had it's win condition on the table by turn two. Most Loam decks traditionally do well against aggro decks and would only need a small bit of tuning to do very well against a tournament filled with them. With both "degenerate" Blue/Black strategies taking a bit of a hit, it shouldn't be a surprise to see Dredge rising from the grave. There is a mindset of players who want little more than to do broken, non-interactive things and Dredge is often a deck which fits that bill.
Overview of the Big Players
All of the decks in the gauntlet have a shot at winning the Grand Prix and if a deck had no shot then no one would discuss it. That is not to say that because a deck does not receive widespread exposure that it is not a contender. This section of the article issues predictions, testing results and concerns for the format's biggest decks at the moment. Each heading for a deck contains a deck list that has done relatively well for a point of reference.
Zoo
People have been talking about how Zoo is currently the best positioned deck. Zoo has favorable matches with all of the other most common decks (Goblins, Merfolk, Natural Order Counter-Top) and does very well against most of the second tier and random decks that turn up at a tournament.
Some of the other decks that get better have a great track record against Zoo; Aggro-Loam, Enchantress and 38-43 Lands.dec had far worse games against the combo decks that have been largely removed from the metagame and the resurgence of these decks can be a problem for Zoo. A lot of other personalities commenting on Legacy are talking about how those are some of the top decks to play. Zoo can be built to have a fighting chance against most any deck in the metagame, so even if everyone is gunning for Zoo, pilots playing the deck will undoubtedly do well in Columbus.
I don't think I could pick this deck up without including at least three, but more comfortably four copies of Price of Progress split between the main and sideboard. This would go in the slot occupied by Steppe Lynx in builds that were playing it. I like Price right now because it can single-handedly be the end-game against a lot of decks that are not careful about their mana. It is Zoo's only real option at victory against the land based control decks that many pros seem to favor.
As for the debate over Burning-Tree Shaman or Knight of the Reliquary – it seems as though a lot of Counter-Top's good match-up are disappearing and if we are concerned with the Zoo mirror, it often comes down to whom has the largest creature in the mid-game. Burning-Tree Shaman seldom is larger than Tarmogoyf and the number of decks that he really seems to punish are on the downward swing where as Knight of the Reliquary is amazing on his own. There was an argument made that Burning-Tree Shaman will really punish a Lands player, but the evidence of this from reports or testing is seemingly non-existent.
If one was to take a look at Zoo's sideboard it should be obvious that there is a lot of room to play with and find the right cards for. Ultimately it should include three to five pieces of graveyard hate and at least a pair of Krosan Grips but after that there is a lot of flexibility. Gaddock Teeg is likely still a good inclusion to bring in against control decks and Dream Halls. Perhaps even Leyline of Punishment or something with a bit more surprise attached to it, such as Flaring Pain, to break through the defenses of Glacial Chasm and Enchantress. As for the last bit of sideboard tech it's probably a bit too early to be taking Karakas out of boards because there are still a lot of decks that want to drop a huge legendary creature on the table such as Bant Survival and any Show and Tell-Eureka deck. If these decks show up en masse, that poses a large problem because these are decks that Zoo struggles with. Karakas isn't guaranteed to pull out wins from these decks but it at least gives Zoo a shot where there wasn't before.
When examining weak links for your Zoo deck it would be wise never to go below three Grim Lavamancer as they are tops against Goblins, Merfolk, Elves and even make the math much smoother for any pairing where your opponent has huge animals as well. Merfolk promises to be one of the most popular decks at this event and if these players come in hoping to win the Zoo match it's going to be a real up-hill battle for them, While Merfolk is a favorable match-up don't make modifications to the main that allow yourself to be overwhelmed by their hate.
Goblins
Goblins is favorable against all decks that were previously in the top-tier save Zoo. Like Zoo, Goblins does very well against many of the lower tier decks. There isn't too much to be concerned about there. Goblins also has the ability to pull wins from behind on the backs of Goblin Matron and Goblin Ringleader, which decks like Zoo and Merfolk seldom are able to achieve. The problem however is that Zoo is really good against Goblins; Zoo is able to produce creatures immediately that Goblins cannot remove for some time reducing the effectiveness of something like Goblin Lackey and negating the early damage that Goblins is accustomed to accumulating.
The primary concern leading into the Grand Prix should be on how to play against Zoo more efficiently. It likely isn't possible for Goblins to play enough removal one-for-one Zoo's creatures while still having a coherent deck. Goblins can't have access to something like Firespout that many other decks use to combat Zoo because it neuters Goblin's own game plan. However there are several routes that could possibly be taken:
Staying in mono red offers the fewest options. Traditional answers such as Stingscourger are lackluster against Zoo as they will undoubtedly be able to recast the returned creature plus something else. Lightning Bolt is generally the removal of choice and it takes care of many of the early problems but there is simply no way that the four copies of Bolt are going to keep Zoo's creatures at bay. Going into mono red really seems like a poor choice for trying to beat Zoo but the stable mana will help against any opposing mana disruption.
Being in Black gives the obvious options of Warren Weirding and Wort, Boggart Auntie. Warren Weirding is solid and I tend to think that Wort is a real beating against many decks. Black really appeals in that it offers Perish or Nature's Ruin for the sideboard. Perish has proven to be a great choice against decks like New Horizons and really any deck playing Goyf + Knight. Perish isn't truly a one-sided Wrath of God against Zoo, but with some accurate use of Gemplam Incinerator it can likely make enough of an impact to be able to regain board position. Something that I've personally been thinking about but have been unable to test is the use of Patriarch's Bidding for the situations where you are fighting a war of attrition. Bidding seems to fulfill the requirements of casting a five-cost spell in Legacy in that it should win the game if it resolves. The plan with Bidding is to allow a Goblins player to make unfavorable trades with Zoo that it would have to make anyway and have creatures die to Grim Lavamancer and then have a trump that should end the game. While I have not tested it, it may be worth considering for your build if you are looking at this route. Dralnu's Crusade was another card used years back but the effect likely isn't desirable any longer as the number of Engineered Plagues is relatively low.
White does not offer much other than the most efficient targeted removal in the form of Swords to Plowshares (And maybe Path to Exile if you're not going to run a mana-denial plan.) White also has access to Tempest of Light (or Leave No Trace) and the even Disenchant – but all of these hate cards can be found in Green in the form of Naturalize, Krosan Grip and the new Back to Nature. White can only really offer one creature to the deck which is Mirror Entity who has seen limited play but is certainly able to turn a table of 1/1 dorks with nothing to do into a win. It was brought to mind that Harsh Justice could potentially be good against Zoo, likely killing more creatures than Warren Weirding would; but is still far too narrow and dependent to be as consistent as something like Perish.
Green won't really offer much that can really swing a battle with Zoo or or any creature-heavy decks although there is Steely Resolve which has seen play in the past. Green is mostly added as a support color to hit things like Moat, Humility, anything that Enchantress may throw at you or general nuisances such as Ensnaring Bridge and Ghostly Prison. Generally a player will load the sideboard up with Krosan Grips because they cannot be countered but I think there are many instances where this extra mana is not an acceptable trade-off for uncounterability. Consider that Goblins is generally able to ignore Counterbalance and a deck like Thopter Control produces a swarm of blue creatures – significant in that they can not block Goblin Piledriver. The real problem decks are going to be Stax variants which will try to keep land counts low and Enchantress which doesn't interact at all but can get out of control very quickly. It has been the bane of many Goblins players that Krosan Grip costs three and as such it's likely reasonable to have a split in Naturalize or Nature's Claim with Krosan Grip. If you're concerned with Enchantress then Back to Nature is far greater than Tranquility or Tranquil Domain although there will likely never be a word on if it is superior to Reverent Silence.
[cardlist]
[Lands]
5 Mountain
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Badlands
2 Taiga
[/Lands]
[Goblins]
4 Goblin Warchief
4 Goblin Matron
4 Goblin Piledriver
4 Goblin Ringleader
4 Goblin Lackey
3 Gempalm Incinerator
2 Siege-Gang Commander
2 Stingscourger
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Wort, Boggart Auntie
1 Lightning Crafter
1 Goblin Chieftain
1 Skirk Prospector
[/Goblins]
[Spells]
4 AEther Vial
1 Warren Weirding
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
3 Perish
2 Blood Moon
2 Patriarch's Bidding
2 Naturalize
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Back to Nature
1 Extirpate
1 Tormod's Crypt
[/Sideboard]
[/cardlist]
This is the list that I've been testing with and suggesting to people who are looking at playing Goblins as a good option to start with. Despite being a liability against Zoo, Lightning Crafter and Kik-Jiki, Mirror Breaker are excellent ways go get way ahead and can even produce an infinite damage combo which can end games (Kiki-Jiki + Lightning Crafter + Skirk Prospector) the combo itself could be considered running the risk of falling into the danger of cool things but the only weak link in the combo is Skirk Prospector. Prospector can still power out a Ringleader or other 5cc monster and can also deny counters to a Jitte or super power a Bidding if you decide to go that route. The real reason to include this is for the, “Oops, I win” factor that can be assembled against control decks or any mid-range decks that you catch without a removal spell.
In the board, I have been testing Blood Moon to foil Lands, other loam decks and some of the more harsh control match-ups. Perish and Bidding are both for reasons described above. And the graveyard hate is to not auto-lose to a dredge deck and have some additional tools to bring in against Loam.
Merfolk
Being the cheapest established deck with access to Force of Will means that Merfolk is likely to be the single most popular deck in Columbus despite having its favorable matches disappear. Merfolk still has any Counter-Top deck to pick on, plenty of Bant Aggro decks, and it's a total beating against any blue-based control deck. Merfolk looks poised to face a lot of resistance and get into a number of attrition wars that it likely cannot win because unlike the other big name aggro decks in the format Merfolk is seldom able to come from behind to win.
The big debate happening with Merfolk is if Tarmogoyf should be included or if the deck should stay mono-blue. Green offers strikingly little to Merfolk aside from the Lhurghoyf as most of what Merfolk wants in a sideboard it can get from additional counter magic such as Annul or Spell Pierce; although Krosan Grip does stand out as normal. Staying in mono-blue is a lot easier now that Coralhelm Commander has become the standard, allowing its mana base to remain one of the most stable in the format.
Most of Merfolk's sideboards are generally overwhelming dedicated to shoring up the zoo match up. The list I offer as an example [link in heading] has between 7-10 cards for Zoo which is really the standard range of cards. Generally when a match is this poor it is best to accept it as a bad match and commit cards to other, winnable decks; but when your match is this dismal against the top deck it is reasonable to play 7-10 cards that come in against it although none of these cards are so narrow that they are only for Zoo, a lot of these cards are simply to address the fact that Merfolk has no removal.
While some people call Tarmogoyf the best Merfolk in the deck, I have a difficult time seeing a build featuring the green splash going all the way. I'm inclined to think that the more stable mana base and greater access to Back to Basics is what is really going to push Merfolk through the rounds. There really isn't a lot of tech available for sideboards that isn't well known already. Although it does contradict my previous statement about the mana base – it may very well be worth considering to play a copy or two of Karakas as Sean Gray did in the Legacy Open in Indianapolis. Playing Karakas offers at least the chance of an out against an Iona or Emrakul that may show up, and specifically for Merfolk it enables an answer to Llawan, Cephalid Empress. Having real removal in the board probably doesn't hurt too much either.
Enchantress
Few decks have been getting more attention recently than Enchantress and with good reason. It seems that most of its bad match-ups have taken quite a hit and it certainly has the tools to combat otherwise problem decks. The key to Enchantress doing well in this tournament is to play a plethora of basics to avoid untimely Wastelands and to stay clear of your own Blood Moon or Back to Basics if such a route is taken. If the hype about Enchantress pans out to be true and people anticipate the deck, it will be important to play Karmic Justice in the main and perhaps an Enlightened Tutor or two in the main to smooth out the consistency of the deck.
Enchantress too is going to be vulnerable to Iona and Emrakul that may be running around. As such, it may still be a good idea to play a Karakas and have access to the Lignify and Oblivion Ring that many people were using previously although Lignify can likely be committed to the sideboard. The other consideration is the balancing act that happens between having ample disruption for control in the form of Choke, City of Solitude and the often overlooked Carpet of Flowers, catch-all cards to shore up aggro match-ups, and the few silver bullets that Enchantress can lean on for combo hate. Runed Halo is the standby card for combo although Leyline of Sanctity looks like it could be playable as it truly is a card that can disable a combo opponent's turn one win. Without access to Mystical Tutor, many decks are going to stumble when it comes to finding a timely answer for this sort of card. While it is difficult to predict how relevant combo is going to be for this tournament, it may be wise to consider Silence or Orim's Chant for the sideboard for the straggling storm decks that may still turn up.
This a personal list that I have been testing.
[cardlist]
[Lands]
6 Forest
4 Windswept Heath
3 Savannah
3 Plains
2 Serra's Sanctum
1 Karakas
1 Taiga
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
4 Argothian Enchantress
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Enchantress's Presence
4 Elephant Grass
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Sterling Grove
3 Wild Growth
2 Solitary Confinement
2 Ground Seal
2 Sigil of the Empty Throne
2 Replenish
1 Runed Halo
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Moat
1 City of Solitude
1 Sacred Mesa
1 Words of War
1 Blood Moon
1 Chrome Mox
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Carpet of Flowers
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
2 Lignify
2 Choke
2 Aura of Silence
1 Solitary Confinement
1 Replenish
1 Runed Halo
1 City of Solitude
1 Ground Seal
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
1 Cleansing Meditation
1 Karmic Justice
[/Sideboard]
[/cardlist]
I have found that this list does very well against any committed aggro deck which traditionally have been more difficult than an aggro-control deck. Post-board is going to give most any blue deck a difficult time trying to keep up with the number of silver bullets the deck fires at them. Playing four win conditions is essential to avoid losing to Sadistic Sacrament which may be held over for many black decks as a way to steal wins from combo decks and control decks such as Enchantress with a combo finish. One Chrome Mox is a hold-over from playing more; it can be nice to have an extra mana while going off and it enables the occasional turn one Argothian Enchantress. Previously it was important to play at least two, but likely three Moxes due to the fact that every deck needed to go a bit faster, but it seems that it may now be safe to play a slower, more consistent game.
Ground Seal turns off opposing Life from the Loam and even Dread Return. While against some decks Carpet of Flowers may be a one-mana do nothing it is reasonable to play as it will still draw cards and can give a nice mana boost the same turn it enters play (Hint: Go to second main phase and add mana with the trigger.) The maindeck City of Solitude can cover you from counters, of course. But it will also protect you from burn if you plan on letting your Solitary Confinement go for a step or two. It's important to note that players cannot even tap lands on an opponent's turn with this effect. The extra Solitary Confinement often comes in against fast aggro decks and there is plenty of catch-all hate available in this list. Cleansing Meditation is the secret tech for the Enchantress mirror that has been coming up a lot in the local meta-game (as Luis-Scott Vargas said, "Sometimes it's Enchantress day.")
New Horizons
A lot of people have been talking about how New Horizons is going to see a lot of the decks it's good against start to disappear in the form of ANT and Reanimator – while this is true, if Zoo, Goblins, Merfolk, Counter-Top decks and perhaps even Dredge start to replace it on a large scale then this is actually quite good. New Horizons is excellent against Zoo and Counter-Top decks, and it splits games with Goblins and Merfolk although these could both be improved with some work. However New Horizons will falter if the decks that replace these fallen giants are control decks such as Lewis Laskin's Landstill or a more traditional U/W/x build with Elspeth and Jace, Enchantress or Lands.
I've had an excellent track record with the use of a small red splash for Firespout in the board and it really goes a long distance into ensuring the crushing the tribal decks and gives another strong option against Zoo. Additional creatures such as Rhox War Monk help as well. There is something about playing 11 beaters that doesn't seem to cut it in a world where people are going to be fully utilizing Perish and have access to eight Swords to Plowshares effects. I don't think there is a lot of tech that New Horizons has open to it that has not currently been utilized as the list is rather tight. The strength of the deck entirely depends on how many Zoo decks there are compared to how many control decks are in the metagame.
43 Lands
This deck was often being called the best deck in Legacy before the banning of Mystical Tutor and now that the deck in the gauntlet that it's worst against is gone it has been getting a lot more attention. It's difficult to agree with the sentiments that others express about it being the most broken deck in the format when the deck still doesn't put up the numbers that are attributed to that title. Furthermore it seems difficult for this deck to do well when the focus of so many people is to beat the deck despite the relatively low turn out and low placements that the deck has displayed.
Above all else the trick to this deck doing well is going to be finding a way to eliminate draws. The Lands decks have the highest number of average draws per pilot of any deck and through two days of play it will likely ruin many players. Scapeshift may not seem like the most elegant route to victory for the deck but it is a way for the deck to win now where as wins in the form of Smokestack or Mindslaver plus attacking with factories takes quite a while. It is unlikely that an opponent is going to concede a game to even a hard lock unless they are going to benefit from it more than you because a deck like Zoo or Goblins is going to be able to win a couple of games in a very short amount of time where as it will take Lands at least twenty minutes to end a game, even if it manages it in a relatively low number of turns.
While fine tuning this deck it's going to be essential to include copies of Ray of Revelation to hit incoming hate cards such as Blood Moon and Back to Basics, you'll want a copy of Flame Jab to be able to jab a stray Magus of the Moon that should really be expected from any nearly deck in red. The most recent list that Chris Woltereck played had passed over these cards and I think that it really caused the pilots that were playing that list to suffer. At least Ken Adams was packing Indrik Stomphowler in the wishboard to deal with this sort of problem. The problem with having Living Wish and Krosan Grip as outs to incoming hate is that you must either have them in your opening hand or draw them – and this deck does not want to be drawing cards and Engineered Explosives will require two Mox Diamond or the deck's basic Forest and a Mox Diamond.
When Landstill first become a big deal people were using Tsabo's Web to shut down the lands; This plan may not be amazing against the Lands deck but it can still be something that should be on a Lands player's radar of possible incoming hate, especially from a deck that cannot make good use of Back to Basics or a Blood Moon effect. Finally when piloting this deck, when using Intuition it is so important to play around Daze. Getting around Daze more easily is actually one of the big reasons to play red for Gamble and Burning Wish or even make the shift to a more Eternal Garden-esque build featuring black for Entomb and Dark Confidant.
Natural Order Counter-Top
Being honest here, no matter which direction the metagame shifts it's looking very hostile for all Counter-Top decks. Vial-based aggro decks have seldom been more appealing and that is a bad match. Zoo players have finally fine tuned the list to perform well against Counterbalance. Storm decks are going to be turning up in much smaller numbers, Reanimator as well. The non-storm combo decks that will be turning up such as Scapeshift and Show and Tell are built to be as difficult as possible for the Counter-Top combo to hit. If Stax or artifact-aggro decks make a big appearance this is another problem. The good news is that Progenitus still has protection from everything and having him on the table by turn three will steal a lot of games.
The Counter-Top decks packing Tarmogoyf have some decisions to make if they want to keep pace with the metagame. Using Firespout is an excellent way to X-for-one the aggro opponent and have any creature besides Noble Hierarch live to talk about it. This does have problems against the three problem aggro decks though: Goblins rebuilds quickly. Merfolk can either counter it or may have a team that is too large to die to it and Zoo just plays huge creatures too and the guys that die to Firespout are there entirely to just deal the first ten points – But something is better than nothing and accurate aiming of Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile can handle both Merfolk and Zoo.
Another card that a lot of these decks have been picking up is Jace, the Mind Sculptor. I think this is an important card to discuss because it seems that this card is being misused. Jace shines in the control mirror where you can either use him as a source of card advantage or perhaps at best as a win condition. Jace is great when your opponent is putting exactly one creature on the table, such is the case with many Bant Aggro decks or Eva Green and Reanimator. Jace is also decent at killing an opposing Jace, generally coming from a control deck. But Jace is awful when there is any deck that plays 20 or more creatures. He may be able to absorb some damage, but this is only if you +2 him and you are at a high enough life total so that your opponent can't just kill you in the next couple of turns. Also, you can't see my arms but I'm going to use them to show you how expensive Jace is: Jace is THIS expensive. The general philosophy in Legacy is that if you are going to pay four or five mana for a spell it needs to win the game. Natural Order fits this bill, Ad Nauseam, Moat and Humility generally do as well but in most of these decks Jace is not that card. And when Merfolk, Goblins, Lands, any Rock variant and many other random decks are going to be attacking mana bases all day, it isn't reasonable for an aggro-control deck like this to cast a four-cost Brainstorm or Unsummon. If a 4cc Planeswalker must be played in this slot, at least Elspeth breaks Goyf-stills provides a reasonable clock and can act as a Maze of Ith but more likely there is just room to play something like Knight of the Reliquary or more targeted removal such as Jesse Hatfield did:
[cardlist]
[Lands]
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Tropical Island
3 Tundra
2 Flooded Strand
2 Horizon Canopy
2 Windswept Heath
1 Forest
1 Island
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Tarmogoyf
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Counterbalance
4 Brainstorm
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Ponder
3 Portent
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Path to Exile
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
3 Pithing Needle
3 Tormod's Crypt
2 Faerie Macabre
3 Krosan Grip
3 Path to Exile
1 Bojuka Bog
[/Sideboard]
[/cardlist]
Speaking of the list that Jesse Hatfield played, you should really take a look at it. Portent may seem janky but it was the cantrip that everyone played before Ponder existed and what it gives him is a super consistent deck where cards are either exactly what he wants or will filter him into what he wants. Counterbalance is mostly here to protect his creatures from removal and anything else it's able to do is a bonus. I can see wanting to play another creature such as Rhox War Monk somewhere but throughout the SCG Open series Jesse has proven that he knows how to play this format and isn't going to fall into the traps that so many other deck builders fall into, although this isn't exactly something new for the Hatfield brothers who are largely responsible for the modern Zoo list.
There will be Counter-Top decks that perform well but I'm not convinced that they are the best choice but rather that the pilots that take them into the tournament will generate wins from play skill. I think the best aggro-control Counter-Top lists are going to feature Knight of the Reliquary (with perhaps one or two utility lands, Nantuko Monastery isn't bad.) A list will also likely need to be in four colors or pack four Swords to Plowshares and four Path to Exile in much the same fashion that Jesse Hatfield did. For a build that is not using Natural Order it seems as though Noble Hierarch is going to be chaff and should be replaced with a real threat or a real form of defense.
Reanimator and ANT
June 18th at 12:15 A.M. EST after the world had seen that Mystical Tutor was no more in Legacy there were endless cries that ANT and Reanimator were dead. Leveler heads eventually awoke and started seeing what could be salvaged. The true statement is that ANT is dead, there will no longer really be a world where a storm deck can play two colors with eight pieces of disruption ten draw spells seven tutors two win conditions and the rest of the deck as mana; it simply isn't consistent enough without Mystical Tutor.
However there will be storm decks at the Grand Prix and in the future. Some of these builds will look pretty familiar to the ANT, this build is called Fetchland Tendrils and it leans on Burning Wish and Lim-Dul's Vault for it's tutoring. The other common build is likely going to be T.E.S. which like Fetchland Tendrils also heavily depends on Burning Wish as the catchall tutor. There are even deck builders working on builds of ANT that simply work around Mystical Tutor and the conclusion is that Mystical Tutor seldom affects ANT's game one but it makes it much more difficult to punch through defenses in game two and three, that always was where Mystical Tutor shined.
Reaniatmor isn't going to have the same coping strategies that storm decks have, but there is remedy for this problem. Playing a greater number of creatures and greater redundancy in the form of Animate Dead and perhaps even Buried Alive are good solutions to make up for the loss of the toolbox that Reanimator had. This may even be the time to start looking at the Counter-Top protection suite to cover the combo, even though you may not have the ideal creature you can give it ample protection to go the distance. And while it may not be consistent enough for the Grand Prix, cutting back on blue may be a good call as well, a number of people tested well with builds for Reanimator that were nearly mono-black prior to the builds with Mystical Tutor becoming accepted as the standard. A heavier black build may use a full play set of Iona and Putrid Imp along with Cabal Therapy to enable discards or to just disrupt the opponent and it would really need to utilize Dark Ritual to power out quick creatures because as was the case before – if you don't have a creature down quickly you're not going to win the game.
Testing gauntlet for the Grand Prix
All of the decks listed at the start of this article are the main faces of Legacy that you can expect to see at any given tournament. There are some decks that are up and coming that were not discussed at in depth or at all in this article such as "Counter-Top Thopter Control" which has been getting some sporadic play. There are a limited number of resources to find what the secondary decks in the metagame are; the best being The Source, which if you haven't been there you really should get over there. But the best experience for the Grand Prix is going to come from getting out there and playing in Legacy tournaments if that isn't the sort of thing you do right now. Confining yourself to a playgroup is going to limit your exposure to decks that may be written off or overlooked. The greatest advantage is seeing how the cards play in the real world and experiencing high level play with those outside your group.
This is not to discredit playtesting; which I need to buckle down into as we're approaching crunch time so I can do much more leading up the Grand Prix. I suggest that the first wave of testing be done against the decks listed in this article. While Enchantress and Lands may not be top tier decks it certainly is worth testing against them as knowing how to interact with this decks is an essential skill to Legacy. The next wave of testing should consist of Aggro-Loam, one or two forms of storm decks, Belcher, Counter-Top Thopters, Eva Green or another Rock-like deck, Dragon Stompy and then Stax, both Blue and White versions. If you are entering this tournament with no byes it would be wise to know how your deck can combat Burn, Mono-Black Aggro-Control (featuring Vampire Nighthawk and Dark Confidant but not Tombstalker) and Pox.
~Christopher Walton
im00pi at gmail for Electronic Mail
Master Shake on The Source
