Legacy is my favorite format in Magic (followed closely by Modern). The deep card pool, complex interactions, powerful card selection, and aggressively-costed staples make the format highly skill intensive. I feel more in control of the outcome of a match of Legacy than I do in any other format. I can count on one hand the number of Standard games I’ve won with less than five cards in my starting hand. In Legacy, I’ve won off of just four cards dozens of times.

One of the results of Legacy’s massive card pool is that a large variety of archetypes can be successful in the format. Based on some data collection I’ve done, in the last month-and-a-half there have been 32 different decks that have finished in the top 16 of large Legacy events.

While it is true that some archetypes are more represented than others, no single deck represents more than 12% of the top finishes:

As you can see, our five most-represented archetypes are:

RUG Delver Sneak and Show UWR Delver Shardless BUG Reanimator

All of these together only represent 46% of the top finishes! That means if you spend all of your time preparing against these five “best” decks, they may only account for half of the matches you will end up playing at a large event.

Today I am going to provide some sample deck lists for each of the archetypes on my pie-chart above as well as a few decks from the “other” slice of the pie. I’ll give a short overview on how each deck functions and what you should be conscious of while playing with/against a given archetype.

[deck title=RUG Delver]

[Land]

*4 Misty Rainforest

*4 Scalding Tarn

*3 Tropical Island

*3 Volcanic Island

*4 Wasteland

[/Land]

[Creatures]

*4 Delver of Secrets

*4 Nimble Mongoose

*4 Tarmogoyf

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Brainstorm

*4 Daze

*1 Fire // Ice

*4 Force of Will

*4 Lightning Bolt

*2 Spell Pierce

*4 Stifle

*3 Gitaxian Probe

*4 Ponder

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*1 Grafdigger’s Cage

*1 Zuran Orb

*1 Sulfur Elemental

*1 Ancient Grudge

*1 Flusterstorm

*2 Pyroblast

*3 Submerge

*1 Vendilion Clique

*1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

*1 Life from the Loam

*2 Rough / Tumble

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

Also sometimes called “Canadian Thresh,” RUG Delver is easily the most popular fair deck in legacy. It plays efficient threats and resource denial to hinder its opponent’s game plan while it chips away at their life total.

When playing against RUG Delver it is important to remember to play around [card]Stifile[/card]/[card]Daze[/card]/[card]Wasteland[/card] unless you absolutely cannot. These cards are exceptionally good at punishing bad players, but are often fairly useless against folks that know they are there.

[deck title=Sneak and Show]

[Land]

*3 Island

*3 Ancient Tomb

*2 City of Traitors

*3 Misty Rainforest

*4 Scalding Tarn

*4 Volcanic Island

[/Land]

[Creatures]

*4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

*4 Griselbrand

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Lotus Petal

*4 Sneak Attack

*4 Brainstorm

*2 Daze

*4 Force of Will

*2 Misdirection

*3 Spell Pierce

*4 Ponder

*2 Preordain

*4 Show and Tell

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*3 Blood Moon

*3 Leyline of Sanctity

*2 Echoing Truth

*1 Red Elemental Blast

*2 Through the Breach

*2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

*2 Pyroclasm

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

Sneak and Show is arguably the most powerful combo deck in legacy at the moment. Only needing to assemble two cards for its combo makes it fast and difficult to disrupt. Some versions of Sneak and Show maindeck [card]Blood Moon[/card] and the rest of them sideboard some copies – fetch around it if you can. If you get the chance to disrupt their mana with [card]Wasteland[/card]s, always prioritize killing their [card]Volcanic Island[/card]s over the soul lands. They often need double (or even triple) red to kill you outright with a Sneak Attack.

[deck title=UWR Delver]

[Land]

*2 Arid Mesa

*1 Flooded Strand

*1 Misty Rainforest

*4 Scalding Tarn

*3 Tundra

*4 Volcanic Island

*4 Wasteland

[/Land]

[Creatures]

*4 Delver of Secrets

*2 Grim Lavamancer

*3 Stoneforge Mystic

*2 True-Name Nemesis

*1 Vendilion Clique

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*1 Batterskull

*4 Brainstorm

*4 Daze

*3 Force of Will

*4 Lightning Bolt

*3 Spell Pierce

*3 Stifle

*3 Swords to Plowshares

*1 Umezawa’s Jitte

*3 Ponder

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*1 Engineered Explosives

*1 Relic of Progenitus

*1 Sulfur Elemental

*1 True-Name Nemesis

*1 Rest in Peace

*1 Disenchant

*1 Divert

*2 Flusterstorm

*1 Force of Will

*2 Surgical Extraction

*1 Swan Song

*1 Venser, Shaper Savant

*1 Karakas

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

UWR Delver plays a game plan similar to RUG Delver, only its white splash allows it to answer resolved threats via [card]Swords to Plowshares[/card]. There is still some debate to if [card]True-Name Nemesis[/card] is better than [card]Geist of Saint Traft[/card] in this deck. True-Name is undoubtedly better against opposing fair magic decks, but Geist provides a much faster clock.

[Deck Title=Shardless BUG]

[Lands]

*2 Bayou

*2 Creeping Tar Pit

*3 Misty Rainforest

*4 Polluted Delta

*2 Tropical Island

*3 Underground Sea

*4 Verdant Catacombs

*2 Wasteland

[/Lands]

[Creatures]

*2 Baleful Strix

*4 Shardless Agent

*4 Deathrite Shaman

*4 Tarmogoyf

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Abrupt Decay

*4 Brainstorm

*3 Force of Will

*4 Ancestral Vision

*2 Hymn to Tourach

*1 Maelstrom Pulse

*2 Thoughtseize

*3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

*1 Liliana of the Veil

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*3 Nihil Spellbomb

*2 Baleful Strix

*2 Disfigure

*2 Flusterstorm

*2 Golgari Charm

*1 Liliana of the Veil

*1 Hymn to Tourach

*2 Thoughtseize

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

BUG decks became extremely popular in legacy with the printing of [card]Deathrite Shaman[/card] and [card]Abrupt Decay[/card]. Similar to the BGx decks in Modern, Shardless BUG is simply a “good stuff” deck. It just plays a pile of inherently powerful cards and hopes to overwhelm its opponent with pure card quality. It is important to remember when playing Shardless BUG that your two [card]Wasteland[/card]s are not for denying your opponent mana for a turn – they are there to deal with utility lands that cause you grief.

[Deck title=Reanimator]

[Land]

*1 Island

*1 Swamp

*1 Bloodstained Mire

*3 Misty Rainforest

*4 Polluted Delta

*4 Underground Sea

*1 Verdant Catacombs

[/Land]

[Creatures]

*1 Inkwell Leviathan

*1 Blazing Archon

*1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

*4 Griselbrand

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Lotus Petal

*4 Brainstorm

*2 Daze

*4 Entomb

*4 Force of Will

*4 Careful Study

*4 Exhume

*4 Ponder

*4 Reanimate

*2 Show and Tell

*2 Thoughtseize

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*2 Pithing Needle

*1 Ashen Rider

*1 Chain of Vapor

*1 Coffin Purge

*1 Echoing Truth

*1 Flusterstorm

*2 Spell Pierce

*2 Show and Tell

*2 Thoughtseize

*2 City of Traitors

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

Reanimator is the better deck for cheating large things into play when graveyard hate is less prevalent. [card]Lotus Petal[/card] and/or [card]Dark Ritual[/card] enable the deck to call forth a large threat as early as the first turn. [card]Entomb[/card] acts as a [card]Demonic Tutor[/card] for whatever threat works best for a given situation.

When you expect a pile of graveyard hate out of your opponent’s sideboard you simply board in a couple of extra lands and up to the full set of [card]Show and Tell[/card]s.

[Deck title=Elves]

[Land]

*1 Forest

*2 Bayou

*4 Misty Rainforest

*1 Savannah

*4 Verdant Catacombs

*1 Wooded Foothills

*4 Gaea’s Cradle

[/Land]

[Creatures]

*1 Craterhoof Behemoth

*4 Deathrite Shaman

*1 Elvish Mystic

*4 Elvish Visionary

*1 Fyndhorn Elves

*3 Heritage Druid

*1 Llanowar Elves

*4 Nettle Sentinel

*1 Priest of Titania

*4 Quirion Ranger

*1 Regal Force

*4 Wirewood Symbiote

*1 Ezuri, Renegade Leader

*2 Dryad Arbor

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Glimpse of Nature

*4 Green Sun’s Zenith

*3 Natural Order

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*2 Meekstone

*1 Scavenging Ooze

*1 Viridian Shaman

*2 Abrupt Decay

*1 Gaddock Teeg

*1 Progenitus

*3 Cabal Therapy

*1 Natural Order

*3 Thoughtseize

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

Legacy Elves is very similar to Kiki-Pod in modern. By this I mean it can combo in a couple of different fashions ([card]Glimpse of Nature[/card] or [card]Natural Order[/card]) and when it isn’t comboing it is still a midrange creature deck that can kill you by attacking with little green men. When playing against this deck it is important to remember a couple of things:

First is that they can kill you out of nowhere with a few creatures and a [card]Natural Order[/card].

Second is that [card]Wirewood Symbiote[/card] + [card]Elvish Visonary[/card] is a powerful draw engine.

Lastly, if they lead with [card]Dryad Arbor[/card] as their first land, nine times out of ten this is their only mana source. Kill it.

Storm

There are two types of storm decks that see play in Legacy: ANT and TES.

[Deck title=TES]

[Land]

*2 City of Brass

*1 Flooded Strand

*4 Gemstone Mine

*1 Misty Rainforest

*1 Polluted Delta

*2 Underground Sea

*1 Volcanic Island

[/Land]

[Spells]

*3 Chrome Mox

*4 Lion’s Eye Diamond

*4 Lotus Petal

*1 Ad Nauseam

*4 Brainstorm

*4 Dark Ritual

*4 Silence

*4 Burning Wish

*1 Cabal Therapy

*2 Duress

*1 Empty the Warrens

*4 Gitaxian Probe

*4 Infernal Tutor

*4 Ponder

*4 Rite of Flame

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*2 Xantid Swarm

*3 Abrupt Decay

*2 Chain of Vapor

*1 Cabal Therapy

*1 Diminishing Returns

*1 Empty the Warrens

*1 Grapeshot

*1 Ill-Gotten Gains

*1 Past in Flames

*1 Tendrils of Agony

*1 Thoughtseize

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

TES is a five-color, fast storm deck. The deck is capable of killing on turn one more often than ANT due to the extra fast mana it plays in the form of [card]Chrome Mox[/card] and [card]Rite of Flame[/card]. Another big difference between TES and ANT is that TES plays Burning Wish while ANT generally does not.

[Deck title=ANT]

[Land]

*2 Island

*1 Swamp

*2 Gemstone Mine

*4 Polluted Delta

*3 Scalding Tarn

*2 Underground Sea

*1 Volcanic Island

[/Land]

[Spells]

*4 Lion’s Eye Diamond

*4 Lotus Petal

*1 Ad Nauseam

*4 Brainstorm

*4 Cabal Ritual

*4 Dark Ritual

*2 Cabal Therapy

*4 Duress

*4 Gitaxian Probe

*4 Infernal Tutor

*1 Past in Flames

*4 Ponder

*4 Preordain

*1 Tendrils of Agony

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*3 Carpet of Flowers

*2 Abrupt Decay

*2 Chain of Vapor

*2 Slaughter Pact

*1 Surgical Extraction

*1 Cabal Therapy

*1 Massacre

*1 Tendrils of Agony

*1 Tropical Island

*1 Karakas

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

ANT trades off some speed for stronger disruption and a more stable mana base by playing a few basic lands. In the past year ANT has put up more top finishes than TES, but I’m not sure it is the strictly-better combo deck.

[Deck title=Stoneblade]

[Land]

*1 Island

*1 Plains

*1 Swamp

*1 Creeping Tar Pit

*4 Flooded Strand

*2 Marsh Flats

*4 Polluted Delta

*1 Scrubland

*3 Tundra

*2 Underground Sea

*1 Academy Ruins

*1 Karakas

[/Land]

[Creatures]

*2 Baleful Strix

*2 Snapcaster Mage

*4 Stoneforge Mystic

*3 True-Name Nemesis

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*1 Batterskull

*1 Engineered Explosives

*1 Detention Sphere

*4 Brainstorm

*4 Force of Will

*2 Spell Pierce

*1 Spell Snare

*4 Swords to Plowshares

*1 Umezawa’s Jitte

*2 Ponder

*4 Thoughtseize

*2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*1 Engineered Explosives

*1 Pithing Needle

*1 Sword of Fire and Ice

*4 Meddling Mage

*2 Rest in Peace

*3 Flusterstorm

*1 Path to Exile

*1 Zealous Persecution

*1 Supreme Verdict

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

Stoneblade decks got a huge boost with the printing of [card]True-Name Nemesis[/card]. Stoneblade decks are either Esper or pure UW. The Esper mana base is weaker against [card]Wasteland[/card] decks, but having access to one-mana discard spells with [card]Snapcaster Mage[/card] is very powerful against most decks in the format.

[Deck title=UWr Miracles]

[Land]

*5 Island

*2 Plains

*2 Arid Mesa

*4 Flooded Strand

*3 Scalding Tarn

*3 Tundra

*1 Volcanic Island

*1 Academy Ruins

*1 Karakas

[/Land]

[Creatures]

*1 Snapcaster Mage

*3 Stoneforge Mystic

*2 Vendilion Clique

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*1 Batterskull

*4 Sensei’s Divining Top

*3 Counterbalance

*4 Brainstorm

*2 Counterspell

*3 Force of Will

*1 Misdirection

*2 Spell Pierce

*4 Swords to Plowshares

*1 Entreat the Angels

*1 Supreme Verdict

*3 Terminus

*3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*1 Engineered Explosives

*1 Tormod’s Crypt

*1 Rest in Peace

*1 Flusterstorm

*1 Path to Exile

*3 Red Elemental Blast

*1 Wear

*1 Umezawa’s Jitte

*1 Vendilion Clique

*2 Venser, Shaper Savant

*1 Terminus

*1 Mountain

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

UWr miracles is a UW based [card]Stoneforge Mystic[/card] + [card]Counterbalance[/card] deck. If [card]True-Name Nemesis[/card] continues getting popular then playing [card]Terminus[/card]/[card]Supreme Verdict[/card] is a good place to be in the meta game. The red in the deck is purely for sideboard cards, generally [card]Red Elemental Blast[/card] and occasionally [card]Blood Moon[/card]. Because [card]Abrupt Decay[/card] is so good at killing [card]Counterbalance[/card], these decks generally play one to two copies of [card]Misdirection[/card] – sometimes instead of the fourth copy of [card]Force of Will[/card].

[Deck title=Death and Taxes]

[Land]

*8 Plains

*1 Cavern of Souls

*2 Horizon Canopy

*4 Rishadan Port

*4 Wasteland

*1 Eiganjo Castle

*3 Karakas

[/Land]

[Creatures]

*4 Phyrexian Revoker

*2 Aven Mindcensor

*1 Fiend Hunter

*3 Flickerwisp

*3 Mirran Crusader

*4 Mother of Runes

*4 Stoneforge Mystic

*2 Mangara of Corondor

*4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Aether Vial

*1 Batterskull

*4 Swords to Plowshares

*1 Umezawa’s Jitte

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*1 Cursed Totem

*1 Grafdigger’s Cage

*1 Manriki-Gusari

*1 Meekstone

*1 Sword of Fire and Ice

*2 Ethersworn Canonist

*2 Wilt-Leaf Liege

*2 Oblivion Ring

*1 Rest in Peace

*2 Enlightened Tutor

*1 Sunlance

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

There are only three things that are certain in life:

Death Taxes Some form of White Weenie is a viable archetype

Death and Taxes is a hate-bear style deck that utilizes [card]Aether Vial[/card] to get ahead on resources in conjunction with cards like [card]Thalia[/card], [card]Wasteland[/card], and [card]Rishadan Port[/card] to put the other player behind. Don’t underestimate this pile of [card]Squire[/card]s, [card]Jackal Pup[/card]s, and [card]Grizzly Bears[/card] – they mean business.

[Deck title=Jund]

[Land]

*1 Forest

*1 Swamp

*3 Badlands

*2 Bayou

*3 Bloodstained Mire

*4 Grove of the Burnwillows

*4 Verdant Catacombs

*3 Wasteland

*3 Wooded Foothills

[/Land]

[Creatures]

*3 Bloodbraid Elf

*4 Dark Confidant

*4 Deathrite Shaman

*4 Tarmogoyf

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*1 Sylvan Library

*3 Abrupt Decay

*2 Lightning Bolt

*3 Punishing Fire

*4 Hymn to Tourach

*1 Inquisition of Kozilek

*1 Maelstrom Pulse

*2 Thoughtseize

*4 Liliana of the Veil

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*1 Grafdigger’s Cage

*1 Scavenging Ooze

*2 Engineered Plague

*2 Ancient Grudge

*1 Golgari Charm

*1 Pyroblast

*2 Surgical Extraction

*1 Umezawa’s Jitte

*1 Chainer’s Edict

*2 Duress

*1 Life from the Loam

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

Legacy Jund is everything the Modern Jund deck wishes it could be. [card]Punishing Fire[/card], [card]Bloodbraid Elf[/card], [card]Hymn to Tourach[/card] – it is the essence of a good-stuff deck. Jund tends to dominate opposing fair decks, but it often comes up short against combo decks. It is especially cold to a [card]Leyline of Sanctity[/card].

[Deck title=MUD]

[Land]

*4 Great Furnace

*4 Ancient Tomb

*4 Cavern of Souls

*4 City of Traitors

*4 Wasteland

[/Land]

[Creatures]

*1 Blightsteel Colossus

*4 Kuldotha Forgemaster

*4 Lodestone Golem

*4 Metalworker

*1 Sundering Titan

*4 Wurmcoil Engine

*4 Goblin Welder

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Chalice of the Void

*1 Crucible Of Worlds

*4 Grim Monolith

*2 Lightning Greaves

*2 Mox Diamond

*1 Spine of Ish Sah

*2 Voltaic Key

*2 Mox Opal

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*1 Bottled Cloister

*2 Trinisphere

*2 Duplicant

*3 Phyrexian Revoker

*1 Steel Hellkite

*2 Faerie Macabre

*3 Blood Moon

*1 Mindslaver

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

Sometimes also called “Mono Brown,” MUD is an artifact ramp deck that aims to lock its opponents out of the game with cards like [card]Chalice of the Void[/card], [card]Trinisphere[/card], and [card]Blood Moon[/card]. It then uses the cards [card]Metalworker[/card] and [card]Grim Monolith[/card] to ramp into giant threats like [card]Wurmcoil Engine[/card] and [card]Blightsteel Colossus[/card].

[Deck title=Painted Stone]

[Land]

*9 Mountain

*4 Ancient Tomb

*3 Arid Mesa

*4 City of Traitors

[/Land]

[Creatures]

*4 Painter’s Servant

*1 Phyrexian Revoker

*1 Spellskite

*1 Goblin Welder

*4 Imperial Recruiter

*2 Magus of the Moon

*4 Simian Spirit Guide

*1 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Grindstone

*3 Sensei’s Divining Top

*4 Blood Moon

*3 Lightning Bolt

*3 Pyroblast

*3 Red Elemental Blast

*2 Chandra, Pyromaster

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*4 Ensnaring Bridge

*2 Ratchet Bomb

*4 Thorn of Amethyst

*1 Phyrexian Revoker

*1 Magus of the Moon

*1 Manic Vandal

*1 Pyroblast

*1 Red Elemental Blast

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

The mono-red Painter deck wins with the combination of [card]Painter’s Servant[/card] + [card]Grindstone[/card] to mill out its opponent. Its backup plan is [card]Blood Moon[/card]’ing the more greedy mana bases out of the game. And its backup, backup plan is beating down with one and two power creatures while you [card]Red Elemental Blast[/card]/[card]Pyroblast[/card] all of their spells.

[Deck title=Belcher]

[Land]

*1 Taiga

[/Land]

[Creatures]

*4 Elvish Spirit Guide

*4 Simian Spirit Guide

*4 Tinder Wall

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*3 Chrome Mox

*4 Goblin Charbelcher

*4 Lion’s Eye Diamond

*4 Lotus Petal

*4 Desperate Ritual

*4 Manamorphose

*1 Pyretic Ritual

*4 Seething Song

*4 Burning Wish

*3 Empty the Warrens

*4 Gitaxian Probe

*4 Land Grant

*4 Rite of Flame

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*4 Xantid Swarm

*3 Guttural Response

*1 Diminishing Returns

*1 Empty the Warrens

*1 Hull Breach

*1 Infernal Tutor

*1 Pyroclasm

*1 Reverent Silence

*1 Shattering Spree

*1 Forest

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

[card]Force of Will[/card] is the Magic card that keeps the Legacy format from being completely overrun by decks like Belcher. Belcher is a volatile combo deck that generally wins the game on turn one, or it doesn’t win at all. Winning the die roll is especially important for this deck – you want them dead before they even play a land.

[Deck title=Goblins]

[Land]

*3 Mountain

*3 Arid Mesa

*4 Cavern of Souls

*1 Plateau

*4 Rishadan Port

*1 Taiga

*4 Wasteland

*3 Wooded Foothills

[/Land]

[Creatures]

*4 Gempalm Incinerator

*4 Goblin Lackey

*4 Goblin Matron

*4 Goblin Piledriver

*4 Goblin Ringleader

*1 Goblin Sharpshooter

*4 Goblin Warchief

*3 Mogg War Marshal

*2 Siege-Gang Commander

*1 Skirk Prospector

*1 Stingscourger

*1 Tin Street Hooligan

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

*4 Aether Vial

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

*3 Relic of Progenitus

*3 Mindbreak Trap

*3 Pyroblast

*3 Pyrokinesis

*3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

[/Sideboard]

[/Deck]

Goblins is one of the oldest legacy decks that still sees play today. People often mistakenly call Goblins an aggro deck, when in reality it is more of a control deck. Similar to Death and Taxes, it plays [card]Aether Vial[/card] alongside [card]Wasteland[/card] and [card]Rishadan Port[/card] to get ahead on resources. It then plays cards like [card]Goblin Ringleader[/card] and [card]Goblin Matron[/card] to generate card advantage.

Closing

As I mentioned at the start of the article, Legacy is an immensely complex and diverse format. The descriptions and deck lists I’ve outlined here only scratch the surface of the archetypes that exist. If there is a desire for it I will write a follow-up piece that outlines some of the more fringe archetypes that see play in the Legacy format that are fun/powerful.

I’m heading to the GP in DC this weekend to play some Legacy myself. If you are there and see me feel free to say hello.

Cheers,

~Jeff Hoogland