Tell me about legacy
Legacy forum
Posted on Oct. 29, 2017, 9:27 p.m. by icehit6
I'm looking to dive into legacy. Probably competitive since I am a competitive junky, but what do I need to know about the format?
I'm a modern player. I'm used to medium/fast paced gameplay that's somewhat forgiving on mess-ups.
The deck I'm specifically looking to play is Reanimator; it looks the most fun to me, I don't care if from a competitive aspect it isn't that great.
I'm diving into a new format, I'm in foreign territory. Please tell me about and what is most important to know. I would greatly appreciate it :P
Thanks everyone!
I am playing on playing B/W reanimator :P
I had a vague idea that games go pretty fast, however through looking at games on youtube there are a lot that seem to go past 5 turns, which seems weird.
What are the most dominant decks in legacy?
October 30, 2017 12:42 a.m.
So, right now the most dominant decks in Legacy are:
Grixis Delver/Grixis Control
Storm
Show and Tell
Eldrazi Stompy
Death and Taxes
UW Stoneblade
For reanimator there are like 3 varients of it that are any good.
You have UB Reanimator, which gets some nice stuff in counterspells, card selection to try and make a dude and protect it hard. It plays a tempo game I've seen described as similar to Giest decks. Out the side you also get Show and Tell.
BR Reanimator is the king at the moment. Forgoing the selection for better disruption (8 discard spells), better reanimator targets (sire of insanity) and faster mana Chrome Mox often gets a shout) it is a faster version of the deck, but it relies on Chancellor of the Annex to protect itself and its speed to win a lot more where UB can sculpt a hand then go off.
There is also TinFins, a Griselbrand reanimator deck that aims to make Griselbrand, attack once thanks you Goryo's Vengeance, then combo off with him and Children of Korlis to storm off and win on turn 1.
In that style of graveyard deck that is also Zombardment, a lower tier deck that uses recurring creatures and Goblin Bombardment in Mardu or Mardu-Blue colours. Show and Tell which does the "make a fatty" a little more efficiently than reanimator that can also be a mono-blue Omniscience version with a combo win.
Also the going past 5 turn thing isn't weird. Legacy is characterized as having lightning fast decks by people but often the combo decks will sit there sculpting a hand and protecting themselves by going for your hand before they go off, or having powerful grindy decks like Grixis or Czech Pile.
October 30, 2017 4:24 a.m.
chaosumbreon87 says... #5
legacy is very less forgiving if you mess up. it is often why youll see matches end within 20 minutes as opposed to take the full 45 minutes. (thank god miracles is gone, and no judge is willing to let 4 horsemen play out). Pre-board, ive faced very good BR reanimator decks and the 4 of chancelor of the annex is backbreaking. Post board though.... yeah surgical extraction, graveyard hate, very hard matchups. So far I believe your biggest challenges are EVERY deck that can safely run chalice, and anything with deathrite/scooze.
It is a great learning experience and you get to see many combos and interactions that you might never have considered.
October 30, 2017 9:10 a.m.
Ahh! I didn't mean B/W. I was tired when I commented, I meant blue black! I'll post the list that I have and maybe you guys can also help me out with a sideboard :D
It's good to know legacy is a lot less forgiving, as I expected, but I've been starting to see a theme that modern games (when I am at FNM) take a ludicrously long amount of time. A lot longer than they should.
I want to start playing legacy because I want a faster format, but more careful and strategic play too. Vintage I feel like is a complicated s*** show, and it's crazy expensive, so I'm staying away from that :P
Here's the decklist that I have for my reanimator deck; I would appreciate some help with a sideboard and any other opinions of it you have. It's (probably obviously) not my original list.
October 30, 2017 11:23 a.m.
UB is a vastly different play style from BR, especially post side, but I know most of their sideboards have some amount of S&T, 1-2 if you have one mainboard. Lots of reanimator decks are on 1-2 Grave Titan in the SB because D&T and other Swords to Plowshares fair decks like UW control are popular.
You can usually fit one more hate reanimator target in the side in addition to Titan. Youve got your pick of Ashen Rider (vs S&T, other reanimator decks), Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite (vs small creature decks like Delver, D&T, dredge), Keranos, God of Storms (personal favorite, destroys fair decks), etc.
Then there are UB specific slots that Im unsure about. Lots of people run different hate pieces there because you side into a controlly playstyle. You can put in Thoughtseize, Daze, Echoing Truth, Pithing Needles, etc.
October 30, 2017 11:39 a.m.
AkromaPhage6 says... #8
Legacy is an amazing format, and by far my favorite. The back and forth interaction can be even better than modern (imo). Yes, there are games that there is no interaction at all, but for every one of those games there is one where you and your opponent are basically playing chess in your heads.
The format can be difficult, and you may look back on a game and go how did I lose this match? And the answer can sometimes be that I fetched the wrong land on turn 1. The rules depth and interactions will teach you an immense amount about mtg though. I've grown by leaps and bounds in my gameplay just by playing this format every week (luckily, my lgs has a weekly event). A huge portion of becoming good at this format is knowledge. Knowing your deck intimately is a default. You'll also benefit when you can identify your opponents deck quickly. With the opponents first play (even if it's just a fetchland), I'm narrowing down the possibilities. By their 2nd play I've probably narrowed them down to usually 1-3 decks. Reanimator is a great first choice (although Underground Seas are pretty expensive).
abby315 says... #2
WOO! Reanimator!
I havent played much Modern so I dont know what presuppositions you have. I have only played legacy against friends, but they all run very competitive decks. Those are my disclaimers!
Especially for reanimator, the first turn matters even more than modern, even if youre not comboing off. Sussing out your opponents deck, game plan, and likely lines of play are extremely important (but I wont lie, sometimes on reanimator your best line is just fuck it). the first land someone plays is a great indicator.
Its a faster format and the game is usually basically over turns 1-3. If it doesnt shake out that way and one side can prevent a win, it can often get into a weird topdeck war as most decks dont run a source of card advantage.
where Modern is like a game of slowly ramping action, Legacy has turns of intense action and lulls inbetween as players resculpt their hands for another go at the win, whether its ANT comboing off or BUG resolving JTMS.
Knowing decks and matchups is also key, which I think is like modern. Knowing what to fight over. For Reanimator that means using your discard on the right targets and at the right time, figuring out good spells to bait counters with, etc.
Its a great format that rewards learning! Lmk if you have questions! I play BR reanimator :)
October 29, 2017 10:20 p.m.