Interested in getting into Legacy. What deck to play?

Legacy forum

Posted on March 14, 2016, 4:18 a.m. by MTGNuclear

I'm interested in getting into legacy by slowing buying into it. I've looked up the meta decks and I'm still unsure what is the best deck for me. Maybe you legacy enthusiast can help me.

1-I don't like playing 50 minutes round. Ideally I'd like to be done in 40minutes max.

2-Glass canon combos don't tickle my bum(I dislike them)

3-I kinda of like turning creatures sideways... Like a lot. A loooooot.

:D

MollyMab says... #2

7 Land stompy. Jund. Abzan. Mavrick. Death and Taxes. Affinity. Eldrazi.

March 14, 2016 4:37 a.m.

BreadManDan says... #3

I'm just starting out in legacy too so I went with an eldrazi build because of cost. So far it's been fun. Some is still proxied but I've done well against miracles and elves

March 14, 2016 4:49 a.m.

Boza says... #4

Death and Taxes. Sure, Rishadan Port and Karakas are pricy, but not so much compared to any dual. And deck is quite competitive. I would say tier 1, provided you build right for the expected meta.

March 14, 2016 5:04 a.m.

MTGNuclear says... #5

Oooooh Death and Taxes sounds fun. I've played it in modern. Do you have a list for it anywhere Boza ?

March 14, 2016 5:29 a.m.

Boza says... #6

Death & Taxes

There you go!

March 14, 2016 6:11 a.m.

Coinman1863 says... #7

Death and taxes is great (I piloted it myself) but have you seen 12-post? It is the premier ramp deck of the format.

March 14, 2016 6:24 a.m.

ThisIsBullshit says... #8

Elves? Ramp into craterhoof and then dome them for five billion. It may be a bit too combo-y for your tastes.

Sample list

March 14, 2016 8:15 a.m.

lemmingllama says... #9

I'd say Affinity or Death and Taxes. If you want to go a bit more midrangey, then Maverick would be a strong choice.

Affinity in Legacy is somewhat similar to the Modern deck, so its also easier to swap between the two formats with one deck.

March 14, 2016 8:59 a.m.

Affinity is nuts in Legacy with the artifact lands and Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas. I've seen the deck win turn two with a nut draw. Turn 3 is more common.

Goblins and Merfolk are also pretty Aggro. Mana Dredge (sans Lion's Eye Diamond) is fairly affordable and fast, but it's kinda combo-esque and has a learning curve to pilot. But it can win turn two.

RDW/Burn is cheap for a Legacy deck, and with some slight modifications, can also be played in Modern. Same with Affinity.

Mono 12 Post is a blast to play and is one of my pet decks. Not exactly Aggro, more midrange, but hard casting Emrakul turn four is wildly fun. For me lol.

March 14, 2016 12:50 p.m.

smackjack says... #11

Boza hey look at that, thats my list :). Thanks for sharing it :)..

Yeah Death & Taxes is a very good deck, and it has plenty of ways to adjust to a changing meta. Death & Taxes will always be played.

Its also a deck where your performance is vital. You need to pilot it well and adjust the list based on the expected meta. This means its fun to play because when you win its often because you play good, not because you have this and that card in your opening hand.

March 14, 2016 12:58 p.m.

EndStepTop says... #12

Why is DnT being pushed as a fast creature deck? The deck excels at bogging down the hyper efficient decks of legacy and winning long games. If you want short creature based combat look up elves. You should proxy up a bunch of decks and try them against other legacy players or playtest on cockatrice /xmage or what ever the newest one is.

March 14, 2016 1:41 p.m.

smackjack says... #13

EndStepTop Who said fast? Its not a particularly slow deck, its not a glass cannon and it does win by turning creatures sideways (well, except Batterskull and Serra Avenger ;). Fits MTGNuclears list of what he wants.

Elves is more combo and a much more linear deck. You don't win by attacking (well technically you do...). You do your thing to get a lot of mana, then you win with one big swing. I wouldn't say attacking is a vital part of elves except the turn you win. Its a fun deck, but doesnt fit MTGNuclears preferences as well as D&T.

March 14, 2016 1:57 p.m.

EndStepTop says... #14

His first piece of criteria is a deck that won't be going to time for 3 rounds,"40 minutes max".

March 14, 2016 2:31 p.m.

smackjack says... #15

EndStepTop D&T doesn't go to time. Its not a slow deck, its a deck that slows down your opponent while you play as fast as any White Weenie strategy. Turn 3 Batterskull protected by Mother of Runes (common play) ends the game pretty fast (not tinfins fast, but he said no Glass cannons). I have played the deck for more than 3 years and never gone to time.

My other deck, Tipping the Scale on the other hand. I have never played a game without going to time :P. But thats another story :)..

March 14, 2016 2:38 p.m.

BreadManDan says... #16

Nobody is mentioning Eldrazi LOL Did I make the wrong decision going with them???

March 14, 2016 2:47 p.m.

EndStepTop says... #17

smackjack fair I have a friend who's played DnT for ~6 years exclusively and always hates hearing it described as a fast aggro deck, and I've never seen it played as one.

BreadManDan it's a valid choice I think people are waiting to see if the deck is all hype or actually going to be staying for a while.

March 14, 2016 3:03 p.m.

Death&Taxes is a control deck. It can have aggressive draws though, but if you're looking to play something aggressive play Eldrazi. Eldrazi is actually a thing in Legacy. If you like to turn creatures sideways then you'll love to turn Reality Smashers sideways. The big problem with Eldrazi is its inconsistency. This deck trades of consistency for power as with other non-Brainstorm, Chalice of the Void decks.

Welcome to this beautiful fun and powerful format, Legacy. Have fun.

March 14, 2016 3:26 p.m.

smackjack says... #19

EndStepTop yes, its not a fast aggro deck. There is a gray-zone here where D&T is. Its not a fast aggro deck. Its not a slow deck. Its in the middle with the advantage of making your opponent play slower than you. MTGNuclear is not asking for a fast aggro deck, just a deck that doesnt drag games out to time, and D&T fits that description perfectly, its in the middle.

Eldrazi is very good as well. My friend plays it and its really tough. And the legacy version is safe from the inevitable modern ban. Altho, its Eldrazi.. Is there anything more bland and boring to play today?

March 14, 2016 3:50 p.m. Edited.

MTGNuclear says... #20

I think I'm going to go with D&T. Eldrazi is interesting but most of its card are gonna be restricted to legacy as Eye of Ugin is Defo going to be banned in modern, all the eldrazi will become close to unplayable.

Btw it hurts a bit that I only own the plains for the decklist you provided me XD

March 15, 2016 3:14 a.m.

Are you looking for an aggressive creature deck or just something that turns creatures sideways as a win con?

If you're looking for a creature deck that usually combos, pick up Elves/Sneak&Show/Infect.

If you're looking for a deck that turns lots of creatures sideways aggressively, play Goblins/Fish/Zoo. There was a very interesting midrange like Zoo deck that 5-0'd a League a few weeks ago. I did like it. It was on 4 Oath of Nissa 3 Bloodbraid Elf 3 Ghor-Clan Rampager.

Said Zoo Deck

Goblins can play a role similar to Death&Taxes with their ability to play mana disruption in the form of Wasteland and Rishadan Port. Goblins is a card advantage deck using Goblin Lackey to put out stupid things very quickly like Goblin Ringleader that get you more Goblins. The deck is very flexible and can be tailored to your liking. Goblins often plays Thalia, Guardian of Thraben in the sideboard for blue decks as well.

March 15, 2016 7:58 a.m.

mtgmanatee says... #22

Green Blue infect costs about $800 for both the modern and legacy versions if you replace Berserk with more Become Immense and replace Force of Will with Misdirection and more counterspells like spell pierce and daze. You can also replace Wasteland with Ghost Quarter because lots of decks play only 1 or less basics and the decks that do often have specific lands that you want to remove (gaea's cradle, serra's sanctum, rishadan port, grove of the burnwillows, inkmoth nexus, cavern of souls etc.). All of the expensive cards see both modern and legacy play in other decks and flusterstorm could be in eternal masters. There is also manaless dredge that will be very cheap if you buy the non-ichorid and cabal therapy cards now and wait until eternal masters is released and get them when they are $5 each. The rest of the deck will rapidly increase when eternal masters comes out because lots of new legacy players will buy manaless dredge because its probably the cheapest competetive legacy deck. Omni-tell could be very good with the printing of Pieces of the Puzzle. Good luck.

May 25, 2016 5:37 p.m.

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