Is legacy still worth it?
Legacy forum
Posted on July 22, 2014, 7:08 p.m. by Brett05
With the rising popularity of modern and the rising cost of getting into legacy, is it worth dropping 4k to build a deck? I currently play modern and commander, and would love getting into legacy, but would hate to see it fade away in popularity and for me to have a deck with no tournaments to play in. What are your thoughts or experiences with the format. Thanks
NobodyPicksBulbasaur says... #3
Do it if you already have a place to play and people to play with. Don't do it just to have a deck.
there aren't any sanctioned events near you and you just want to "have" a Legacy deck so that you can play Legacy-level games, just proxy a deck or two to play around with.
July 22, 2014 8:16 p.m.
Legacy is a fantastic format and very interesting. Try to proxy first and buy later.
July 22, 2014 8:36 p.m.
I'm definitely looking to build a deck to play inn tournaments, which happen fairly often about an hour from me. I just wanted to see if you guys think there will continue to be a strong enough following and player base to keep stores having events for it over other popular formats like modern. Thanks for the input so far
July 22, 2014 9:05 p.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #6
Def look into the archetypes of the format and proxy before playing, to ECHO, echo, echo others. Joke, yeah...
Seriously though, Legacy is a format where cards will continue to rise in value. Well worth the financial investment. It's also extremely fun and challenging to play.
July 22, 2014 11:27 p.m.
I have to say the argument "Legacy is less expensive than Modern" is getting less and less relevant. Its really just the manabase, nothing else that is expensive. But it will never get cheaper, only more and more expensive as supply is limited and finite. Looking at budget legacy options is also a thing. Things you can do:
1/ Look for decks that have just 1 expensive card and play without it. Combo elves is a nice example - Gaea's Cradle is nice, but if you cannot afford, just go without it. Additionally, old builds of solidarity without the candelabras are very viable as well and they get you force of will, a staple in every blue deck.
2/ look for budget decks and gradually build up. Death and Taxes is a good example of that - the mana base there is the only really expensive item, everything else costs a fraction of the Karakas , Rishadan Port and Wasteland . Play with only plains and build up from there, focusing on wastes first, as they are also a staple.
3/ Play with ravnica duals. Not the best option but it is a nice bridge between legacy and modern, plus paying 4 life on average per game will not matter THAT much.
4/ look for something that can serve double duty - functions in Legacy and Modern. Acquiring multi-format staples is a good approach in general. Example of deck is Merfolk. You get like 90% card overlap between modern and legacy. Modern Death and Taxes is also a thing.
5/ look for budget decks in general. Dredge is a fine option - the manaless version is a lot cheaper, and contains a lot of the cards that are present in the other one.
July 23, 2014 6:42 a.m.
Honestly, the prices of Legacy staples are much more stable and more likely to rise than Modern cards. Most of the Modern staples are also Legacy staples. Expensive cards that dominate the Modern meta but only see fringe play in Legacy (Birthing Pod , Splinter Twin ) could very well be outclassed in several years or get banned due to some unforseen interaction.
A good example of this happening recently was when they printed Blightsteel Colossus , which made Darksteel Colossus obsolete for most decks. While they probably won't ban Splinter Twin or Birthing Pod in the forseeable future (hell, few cards in Modern are worth even having a discussion over whether they should be banned), WotC does silly things sometimes. They could reprint Natural Order . They could unban Jace, the Mind Sculptor and make U/R/x decks prefer him over Splinter Twin and just go with the Tarmogoyf beat down plan. Modern is still a young format.
It's unlikely they'll print a card strictly-better Wasteland (which would be Strip Mine ) or Underground Sea (a land that has no penalties and is an Island -Mountain -Swamp ?). And WotC has made it clear the reserved list is here to stay. Legacy staples are well-worth picking up.
July 23, 2014 6:52 a.m.
Just to clarify, not really looking for deck help or choices. If i do get into legacy, I'll be building BUG Delver, so i understand the price I'm looking at. I just want to hear what you feel the support will be for the format, and for players that have been playing legacy, if they have noticed a decline in support for it or not. Meaning I am willing to pay to build the deck, but just want to see if anyone feels the format is slowly fading out any time soon. But again, I really appreciate all of the input so far.
July 23, 2014 11:11 a.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #10
There are definitley not as many Legacy players as Modern or Standard. Some LGS's may not have Legacy tourneys. I'm fortunate to have tourneys in my area, albeit a small pool of players, limited to about once a month.
Obviously in larger areas and cities, support for the format will be greater, on average. Players who are currently playing the format will definitely continue to support it. The large cost, as a barrier of entry to newer players, is a deterrent to building a competitive deck.
July 23, 2014 1:10 p.m.
fluffybunnypants says... #11
I'm about to have two Legacy tourneys available weekly: One unlimited proxy FNM style, the other no proxy. HYPE!
For me it has been 100% worth the investment. Legacy games are much more interesting than Standard or even Modern, for me at least.
July 23, 2014 1:19 p.m.
@fluffybunnypants: As the saying goes at my LGS: "Every time I'm playing Standard, I wish I was playing Modern. Every time I play Modern, I wish I were playing Legacy."
July 23, 2014 6:19 p.m.
I just double checked to make sure - and it does look like Legacy gets played in the town I am overwhelmingly likely to be moving to - which I would be moving to for a job - so I'd say, yes.
I just hate "letting go" of some of that nostalgic stuff.
July 23, 2014 10:45 p.m.
mtghotspot says... #14
The best format you'll ever play! I'm sick of hearing "I wish this card was legal in standard" SCREW STANDARD! Play what you like! Have a card from 2009 and it wasn't reprinted? You can still play it in legacy!!! It's the best format for your money and enjoyment!!
Slycne says... #2
Legacy is never going to go away entirely, there's just too much support behind it from different places. While it might not reach the popularity of Modern or Standard, it's supporters are all that much more die-hard about it. Dedicated, or older players, love playing with their older and powerful cards, and organizers like StarCity want to keep running Legacy events because it's good for the business of selling cards - you got to flip a lot of Standard cards to equal out a single dual land. If you have an active legacy community in your area I would say dip your toes in it.
July 22, 2014 7:47 p.m.