Legacy Checklist

[Jak]

I'm getting back into the game and I started making a list of Legacy staples to buy. It went from small and concise, to large and having most, if not, all Legacy playable cards. I want a collection that allows me to put together, literally, any deck, so it grew to where it is at now. I plan to use this list as I purchase and acquire the cards, and I figured I might as well share it and also get some help from you guys in case I omitted anything or could refine the list at all.

The Legacy Checklist

A few things about the list:
-It is split up by color and then land
-Staples are italicized and at the top of each list
-I used the TCGplayer.com to get the median pricing
-I used StarCityGames.com for their buylist price
-The card editions chosen are just personal preference

There might be stuff on this list of "Legacy Playables" that you don't agree with, which is fine. A lot of it is outdated, or not suited for the format currently, but I want a well rounded collection. You never know when cards are going to get good. That is why I would much rather add to this than trim it down.

Any refinements that I should make or cards I forgot, let me know!

[supremePINEAPPLE]

EDIT: I suck at excel online

[ESG]

Welcome back, Jak. That's quite an extensive list. Did you keep any of your cards from years before? With such a lengthy list, I'm sure you could build any number of decks, but it might be worthwhile to browse the Established section, if you haven't already, for stuff on the fringe.

@supremePINEAPPLE: List is multiple pages. I'm guessing you saw just the colorless page?

[supremePINEAPPLE]

Ah yeah that was it. I was thinking he just really-really liked MUD haha. Much more complete list.

[Jak]

Welcome back, Jak. That's quite an extensive list. Did you keep any of your cards from years before? With such a lengthy list, I'm sure you could build any number of decks, but it might be worthwhile to browse the Established section, if you haven't already, for stuff on the fringe.

@supremePINEAPPLE: List is multiple pages. I'm guessing you saw just the colorless page?

Thank you! Yes it is pretty exhaustive. I searched up other lists so I didn't have to make one, but they were mostly outdated. I decided to build my own and should have quit after just doing the Lands list due to how long it took, but I was bored and had nothing better to do. I did already check around some threads but I'm sure I missed some stuff.

I unfortunately sold all the valuable cards I had. I didn't know if I would or when I would be able to come back to the game so I figured I better sell. Pretty sad really. I was adding those prices in and my chest would actually ache.

[T-101]

Looks like a great start! I'd love to pore over the list and offer advice when I can.

I'd like a little bit of help understanding the threshold of cards we're putting on this list. I apologize, because I will sound a little derisive. I am honestly just trying to find out how to help the list.

I'll go off the blue page, because that's what I saw first.

4x Force of Will - Obviously a mainstay as a 4-of. Makes sense to me.

4x Winged Sliver - I can see it. Slivers is a fun deck that has some history in old 1.5/old Legacy. Makes sense to have it on the list, but this means we're including cute/fun decks as well.

4x Wipe Away - This one is curious. 1 or 2 is a common sideboard card to Wish for. I don't recall ever seeing 4 of anywhere. Any reason there's 4?

4x Cryptic Command - Another curious one. I can't recall ever seeing Cryptic cast in Legacy since way back in the day. Is this on the list because "Hey, why not, I might include it in a deck one day"?

Basically, where should I draw the line on what cards to suggest?

Core cards that regularly top 8/16/32 SCG events and GPs definitely make the list. Random pet decks that we saw or heard about once... I dunno. Random cards that sit in the 100 card maybe pile but never actually get registered on a deck list... probably not.

[Jak]

Looks like a great start! I'd love to pore over the list and offer advice when I can.

I'd like a little bit of help understanding the threshold of cards we're putting on this list. I apologize, because I will sound a little derisive. I am honestly just trying to find out how to help the list.

I'll go off the blue page, because that's what I saw first.

4x Force of Will - Obviously a mainstay as a 4-of. Makes sense to me.

4x Winged Sliver - I can see it. Slivers is a fun deck that has some history in old 1.5/old Legacy. Makes sense to have it on the list, but this means we're including cute/fun decks as well.

4x Wipe Away - This one is curious. 1 or 2 is a common sideboard card to Wish for. I don't recall ever seeing 4 of anywhere. Any reason there's 4?

4x Cryptic Command - Another curious one. I can't recall ever seeing Cryptic cast in Legacy since way back in the day. Is this on the list because "Hey, why not, I might include it in a deck one day"?

Basically, where should I draw the line on what cards to suggest?

Core cards that regularly top 8/16/32 SCG events and GPs definitely make the list. Random pet decks that we saw or heard about once... I dunno. Random cards that sit in the 100 card maybe pile but never actually get registered on a deck list... probably not.

No worries, I knew there would be questions over the choices. To be honest, I kept asking myself the same thing when I was putting it together. I aimed to build the list more like Stephen Menedian's Legacy Checklist from 2009). I wanted to update it. I found more recent lists online, but they limited themselves to what were staples or saw heavy play. Now, that is great. That is where I plan to start buying, but most different decks have their obscurer cards. So, I kept adding the lesser seen cards, like Winged Sliver, because you never know if something could make that deck better in the future or if you just get the urge to play it. Slivers are fun and I want to have fun with my collection. I don't mean to claim that I need every card on the list, but over time, acquiring those cards opens up new decks and play-testing opportunities. Most of the questionable choices are also dirt cheap, so why not? That is why there are a lot of older cards that might not see play or have already had their time in the sun. I do have to admit that nostalgia played a part in some of the choices too :). Cryptic Command on the other hand, I can see your point. It really only saw a little play in Solidarity and MUC as a 1-of or 2-of, if I recall and it's price tag doesn't make it one of the cards I see and go, "Oh, might as well pick these up". I just wasn't sure where to draw the line, so I didn't.

The numbers can be fixed. I'm just guessing I got a little "4" crazy because Wipe Away should definitely be a 2-of. I'll go through and try and fix up a few things. I appreciate the help and would love more input too. If you have your thoughts on why I should trim it down, I am all ears.

[T-101]

Cool. I can see the perspective from which you want to build this list. It might be more liberal than a list that I would build, but this way allows for maximum fun decks.

I'll keep the spreadsheet book marked, and I'll start posting replies or PMs to you over the next couple weeks. Here's what I'm thinking; if I notice a widely played card that's missing, I'll say "+4 Thoughtseize", and when I add a fringe card, I'll give context "+4 Ballustrade Spy (for Oops All Spells).

[Jak]

Cool. I can see the perspective from which you want to build this list. It might be more liberal than a list that I would build, but this way allows for maximum fun decks.

I'll keep the spreadsheet book marked, and I'll start posting replies or PMs to you over the next couple weeks. Here's what I'm thinking; if I notice a widely played card that's missing, I'll say "+4 Thoughtseize", and when I add a fringe card, I'll give context "+4 Ballustrade Spy (for Oops All Spells).

Awesome! Thank you I really appreciate it. I'll go ahead and add in 4 Balustrade Spy :).

I also have a question for the masses. How do you store your collections? It will be a bit of time before I start acquiring the cards, but I might as well get these answers now. Do you use boxes for most of the cheaper cards and store duals, fetches, and other high value cards in binders? I also thought about just keeping all of the cards sleeved in either KMC perfect fits or just a normal sleeve. Is this what most people do?

[H]

Awesome! Thank you I really appreciate it. I'll go ahead and add in 4 Balustrade Spy :).

I also have a question for the masses. How do you store your collections? It will be a bit of time before I start acquiring the cards, but I might as well get these answers now. Do you use boxes for most of the cheaper cards and store duals, fetches, and other high value cards in binders? I also thought about just keeping all of the cards sleeved in either KMC perfect fits or just a normal sleeve. Is this what most people do?

I have a binder for every set. Everything (up to 4x) goes into it's respective set-binder except extra foils and promos which I keep in a separate binder. Extra commons and uncommons go into some 5000 count boxes.

If I play it, I perfect fit it. Once it's in a perfect fit, I never take it out.

[Bobmans]

Hello,

I downloaded your excel and put all tabs in one list. Then i went to mtgtop8 and copied all the most played cards from past 2 month's. I then compared the data and added a column in my collected data. 1 = the played card is present in your list. 0 = either it is missing or something is wrong with the spelling as i did a exact match comparison. There is a fairly large number of actually played cards in legacy missing in your list and is now more easily identified. Also with mtgtop8 we could go deeper then 2 month's, but this should cover most played staples.

I wasn't able to add conditional formatting to distinguish the 1's and 0's. The data is rough, but if this is what your looking for i could make a better file.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resi...nt=file%2cxlsx

[jedi_gof]

I store my collection sorted in Color > type > casting cost within each type.

Then it is always fast to deckbuild and put the cards back in the binders again.

Since I have tuned my collection quite alot, and dont have much chaff anymore i store all cards in 2 fourTwo binders in this way.
Makes for an easy maintenance for me, but if you collection is large, i dont know how this works for you.

I used to do this as well when I had a huge collection, and back then I had them alfabetically sorted as well, which quickly got out of hand when aquiring new cards:-D

[Karrcinegin]

I also have a 3-ring binder for each color and sort cards by casting cost. I keep anything I think is playable in the binders and all the bulk cards in long boxes. This way it's quick to find what I want and easy to look thru binders for inspiration for building a sideboard or EDH deck. And it makes sorting new cards or taking a deck apart way faster than if they were alphabetical or by set.

[T-101]

I also have a question for the masses. How do you store your collections? It will be a bit of time before I start acquiring the cards, but I might as well get these answers now. Do you use boxes for most of the cheaper cards and store duals, fetches, and other high value cards in binders? I also thought about just keeping all of the cards sleeved in either KMC perfect fits or just a normal sleeve. Is this what most people do?

I went to WalMart or Target and bought 8 tupperware containers. Each one is about the size of a loaf of bread. 1 for each color, 1 for artifacts, 1 for lands, 1 for multicolored cards.

I use www.deckbox.org to inventory my collection. It takes a while to get started, but it's well worth it in the end. It's free to sign up, and the information you can attach to each card is pretty good. Set, language, signed or not, foil or not, and the database includes cards from all printings I know about (FNM promos, pre-release cards, arena basic lands, etc.) After I had sorted all the cards into the color bins, I just added them all in deckbox, and once every 6 months or so, I go through and verify inventory. It's quite easy after everything's already in there. I only inventory my personal collection. Trade stock is completely separate, on a different site even, so this stuff is only for cards that I play, or might play one day.

The other cool part about www.deckbox.org is that it will let you build decks, and then check that list against your inventory, and tell you what you need. So when a sweet variant of Death and Taxes shows up on SCG, I can type it all in to a new deck, and it will say "You are $50 short from building this deck" and it will highlight the missing Wilt-Leaf Lieges for me. Very handy.

Also, I keep everything in the same sleeve. Everything that is inventoried gets put in a KMC Perfect Kit. Everythign over $10 also gets put in a KMC matte black. When I put a deck together, anything without a matte black sleeve now gets one, and cards never come out of those matte black sleeves. Draft stuff, and trade stuff is never allowed to go into a matte black, so I never get stuff mixed up.

The initial start up time for this management system was long, but it's great now.

[Jak]

Hello,

I downloaded your excel and put all tabs in one list. Then i went to mtgtop8 and copied all the most played cards from past 2 month's. I then compared the data and added a column in my collected data. 1 = the played card is present in your list. 0 = either it is missing or something is wrong with the spelling as i did a exact match comparison. There is a fairly large number of actually played cards in legacy missing in your list and is now more easily identified. Also with mtgtop8 we could go deeper then 2 month's, but this should cover most played staples.

I wasn't able to add conditional formatting to distinguish the 1's and 0's. The data is rough, but if this is what your looking for i could make a better file.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resi...nt=file%2cxlsx

Wow, that is a great tool. I appreciate your work! I went though and fixed a lot of spelling errors and added in everything that was missing. Thank you, Bobmans.

I have a binder for every set. Everything (up to 4x) goes into it's respective set-binder except extra foils and promos which I keep in a separate binder. Extra commons and uncommons go into some 5000 count boxes.

If I play it, I perfect fit it. Once it's in a perfect fit, I never take it out.

I store my collection sorted in Color > type > casting cost within each type.

Then it is always fast to deckbuild and put the cards back in the binders again.

Since I have tuned my collection quite alot, and dont have much chaff anymore i store all cards in 2 fourTwo binders in this way.
Makes for an easy maintenance for me, but if you collection is large, i dont know how this works for you.

I used to do this as well when I had a huge collection, and back then I had them alfabetically sorted as well, which quickly got out of hand when aquiring new cards:-D

I also have a 3-ring binder for each color and sort cards by casting cost. I keep anything I think is playable in the binders and all the bulk cards in long boxes. This way it's quick to find what I want and easy to look thru binders for inspiration for building a sideboard or EDH deck. And it makes sorting new cards or taking a deck apart way faster than if they were alphabetical or by set.

I went to WalMart or Target and bought 8 tupperware containers. Each one is about the size of a loaf of bread. 1 for each color, 1 for artifacts, 1 for lands, 1 for multicolored cards.

I use www.deckbox.org to inventory my collection. It takes a while to get started, but it's well worth it in the end. It's free to sign up, and the information you can attach to each card is pretty good. Set, language, signed or not, foil or not, and the database includes cards from all printings I know about (FNM promos, pre-release cards, arena basic lands, etc.) After I had sorted all the cards into the color bins, I just added them all in deckbox, and once every 6 months or so, I go through and verify inventory. It's quite easy after everything's already in there. I only inventory my personal collection. Trade stock is completely separate, on a different site even, so this stuff is only for cards that I play, or might play one day.

The other cool part about www.deckbox.org is that it will let you build decks, and then check that list against your inventory, and tell you what you need. So when a sweet variant of Death and Taxes shows up on SCG, I can type it all in to a new deck, and it will say "You are $50 short from building this deck" and it will highlight the missing Wilt-Leaf Lieges for me. Very handy.

Also, I keep everything in the same sleeve. Everything that is inventoried gets put in a KMC Perfect Kit. Everythign over $10 also gets put in a KMC matte black. When I put a deck together, anything without a matte black sleeve now gets one, and cards never come out of those matte black sleeves. Draft stuff, and trade stuff is never allowed to go into a matte black, so I never get stuff mixed up.

The initial start up time for this management system was long, but it's great now.

I like the idea of binders for the valuable and very playable cards. I think I will separate the colors into different binders and then go by type and then cost and then alphabetical. For all the extra chaff, I will look into getting those tupperware containers. I have long single row boxes from way back when but they get worn down easily. I'm going to be buying a lot of KMC perfect fits, but it will be worth it. I always felt more secure when I had the perfect fits on my old decks so having them on every card will make life easier. It won't be a pain in the ass to put those damn sleeves on every time I want to put a new deck together.

Thank you guys for the help! I updated the list in the OP.

Edit- I also totaled up the staples for each color, colorless, and land just to add a bit more info. If you think there are staples I omitted or I have some that shouldn't be there, let me know!

[Ace/Homebrew]

I like the idea of binders for the valuable and very playable cards.

Just be conscience that ring-binders can cause binder marks on your cards. I used to store all my cards in binders by color and casting cost. When I winnowed down my collection, I was disappointed to see binder marks on more cards than I expected.

[Jak]

Just be conscience that ring-binders can cause binder marks on your cards. I used to store all my cards in binders by color and casting cost. When I winnowed down my collection, I was disappointed to see binder marks on more cards than I expected.

That's good to know. I was going to try and stay away from them anyway just because in the past when I used them, the rings always got bent or broken. I also want to stay away from the 9 pocket pages just because it makes displaying playsets really awkward. I looked and saw the SCG 12 pocket portfolios or whatever they are called. Anyone have experience with those? They look really nice.

[T-101]

I've used 9-pocket Monster binders for a few years, and they do the job well. No rings, durable. A lot of my friends use the "Four" binders, that hold 12 cards in 3 rows of 4 cards each. They are pretty sweet, because 12 per page is much more useful for Magic players than 9. Though none of them use the Star City brand ones, I've heard they are good.

[Ace/Homebrew]

A lot of my friends use the "Four" binders, that hold 12 cards in 3 rows of 4 cards each. They are pretty sweet, because 12 per page is much more useful for Magic players than 9. Though none of them use the Star City brand ones, I've heard they are good.

I use 2 "Four" binders and would buy more if I had the need.
The only critique I have is that the plastic used for making the 'pockets' isn't always evenly cut. So a little bit of the right edge of a card might stick out and the card in the pocket next to it is buried deep in a 'too big' pocket. Minor detail, I still feel like my cards are fully protected. And it is just 1 of the 2 that has this ailment, so it might just be a quality control issue more than anything.

[square_two]

I've started using these and I have so far been impressed. Visually looks very nice to see 3 rows of playsets at a time.