Stybs has played Magic the world over, writing and drafting as part of the event coverage team and slinging Commander everywhere his decks will fit.

Legacy is a format that finds room for every type of player. While there are powerful decks that form guideposts to the expectations for the metagame, there’s ample room to bring interesting choices players love.

Take for example the Day 2 metagame breakdown from Grand Prix Seattle-Tacoma:

Archetype Count % Day 2 Shardless Sultai 30 13.7% Jeskai Miracles 21 9.6% Sultai Delver 17 7.8% Death and Taxes 15 6.8% Elves 12 5.5% Grixis Delver 12 5.5% Temur Delver 12 5.5% Lands 11 5.0% Ad Nauseam Tendrils 10 4.6% Burn 10 4.6% Reanimator 10 4.6% Sneak and Show 9 4.1% Infect 6 2.7% Jund 6 2.7% Merfolk 6 2.7% Jeskai Stoneblade 5 2.3% Esper Stoneblade 4 1.8% Dredge 3 1.4% Imperial Painter 3 1.4% Blue-Red Delver 2 0.9% Esper Mentor 2 0.9% Food Chain 2 0.9% 12 Post 1 0.5% Abzan 1 0.5% Aggro Loam 1 0.5% Aluren 1 0.5% Black-Red Burn 1 0.5% Blue-Red Burn 1 0.5% Dragon Prison 1 0.5% Four-Color Delver 1 0.5% Goblin Prison 1 0.5% Hypergenesis 1 0.5% Oops! (All Spells) 1 0.5% TOTAL 219 100.0%

Even rolling things up doesn’t consolidate things much:

Archetype Count % Day 2 Delver (All Types) 42 19.2% Shardless Sultai 30 13.7% Jeskai Miracles 21 9.6% Death and Taxes 15 6.8% Burn (All Types) 12 5.5% Elves 12 5.5% Lands 11 5.0% Ad Nauseam Tendrils 10 4.6% Reanimator 10 4.6% Sneak and Show 9 4.1% Stoneblade (All Types) 9 4.1% All Others 38 17.4% TOTAL 219 100.0%

While the potency of Miracles – the Jeskai version now defining all the Miracles archetype overall – was the talk of the town in a post-Dig Through Time Legacy world, it was Delver of Secrets and Shardless Agent that have returned in spades.

While the Delver decks covered a variety of angles – from Young Pyromancer meets Gurmag Angler Grixis to Tarmogoyf meets Lightning Bolt Temur and Abrupt Decay meets Tasigur, the Golden Fang Sultai – the common thread connecting them all was a stockpile of Legacy's best one- and two-mana instants and sorceries to back up a turn one Delver of Secrets. Death by Insectile Aberration was a common theme throughout Day 1.

Shardless Sultai was similar to many Delver builds – Brainstorms and removal – but layers in things like Ancestral Visions and Baleful Strix to provide resources and removal while setting up their endgame, often leading up to a Jace, the Mind Sculptor set to ultimate.

Miracles of course had made a splash, presenting Counterbalance-meets-Sensei's Divining Top throughout the day as well. Close behind included Death and Taxes, Burn, Elves, Lands and Ad Nauseam Tendrils, all staples that never seemed to truly dwindle at large Legacy events.

Buried deep in the Day 2 breakdown were some fascinating gems as well. Patrick Chapin and Matt Spering, together in collaboration with Tom Martell, both made Day 2 with a unique twist on Esper built around Monastery Mentor. Aluren and Goblin Prison – Blood Moon and Trinisphere meets Goblin Settlers into Siege-Gang Commander – went undefeated alongside a 12 Post deck that can cast impressive and expensive threats like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn and Karn Liberated.

With staples and off-the-radar choices leading the way it was still any deck's tournament to take.