[Article] The Top Five Legacy Decks — What the Experts think

[Julian23]

Hi guys,

earlier this year I surveyed 19 selected Legacy experts about their choice of the 5 strongest decks in the format. Among them are several Legacy GP Top8'ers & Winners, SCG Open Champions and Bazaar of Moxen winners. And there's also Lemnear (). You can find their answers and what to make of them in my most recent article:

https://www.mindsportsacademy.com/Ar...Legacy%20Decks

[JamieW89]

Thanks for the article! Was looking forward to see everyone else's lists. I also like the idea of this article, they have similar tier-list articles in Hearthstone and I always enjoyed them there.

[nevilshute]

Does this article take into account the new Eldrazi stompy deck?

[Julian23]

Several, if not all the Eldrazis had been spoilered when I asked everyone about their picks, but I doubt anyone really considered it.

[Dice_Box]

Very nicely put.

Yes, this do show up one of the weakness of the DTB section, that a deck needs to have a certain level of popularity to it to end up there. But it also shows that true knowledge of the format is in itself a skill and one that rewards the educated. Well done.

[spirit of the wretch]

Thank you a lot. A really informative article.

No groundbreaking news, but it is interessting to read what some of the more legacy enthusiastic guys think.

[Lemnear]

earlier this year I surveyed 19 selected Legacy experts about their choice of the 5 strongest decks in the format. Among them are several Legacy GP Top8'ers & Winners, SCG Open Champions and Bazaar of Moxen winners. And there's also Lemnear ().

I laughed so hard. Felt like I am discrediting your article by my presence

edit: Dunno how I feel about the "achievements" of my introduction lol

Edit2: Would habe prefered a link to the TES homepage

Does this article take into account the new Eldrazi stompy deck?

Not yet, but I tried to credit the 12-Post manabase as a (potential) Legacy powerhouse when Julian asked me. Had to settle at a specific deck with the 12-post manabase and choose MUD as the representative of a colorless ramp-deck, which is basically what Eldrazi stompy is

[Stuart]

Really cool survey. Thanks for doing this, Julian!

It's interesting to see Reanimator, MUD, and RUG all getting a vote. I'd love to hear why those were picked, considering how many other contenders there are. Lemnear, it looks like you picked MUD; could you expand on that at all?

[Lemnear]

Really cool survey. Thanks for doing this, Julian!

It's interesting to see Reanimator, MUD, and RUG all getting a vote. I'd love to hear why those were picked, considering how many other contenders there are. Lemnear, it looks like you picked MUD; could you expand on that at all?

See the previous post, Stu. I was free to edit my post:

Not yet, but I tried to credit the 12-Post manabase as a (potential) Legacy powerhouse when Julian asked me. Had to settle at a specific deck with the 12-post manabase and choose MUD as the representative of a colorless ramp-deck, which is basically what Eldrazi stompy is

[Stuart]

See the previous post, Stu. I was free to edit my post:

Thanks Lemnear - I guess I snuck in before your edit. MUD seems like a good choice for your 12-Post deck, especially in a survey where Miracles and ANT dominated .

Again, I'm interested in the Reanimator choice. There's no denying it's a strong deck, but in a world where Deathrite is very regularly maindecked, I'm surprised someone voted for it.

[Lemnear]

Thanks Lemnear - I guess I snuck in before your edit. MUD seems like a good choice for your 12-Post deck, especially in a survey where Miracles and ANT dominated

Thats intended. Chalice/Thorn/Trinisphere are good counters to Storm as well as to all the cheap cantrip decks in general and the manaramping paired with Eye of Ugin is incredible good against Miracles. If you use Lodestone/Wurmcoil/batterskull/ThoughtKnotSeer/Kozilek/etc. did not matter for me here. I had the concept in mind only, but had to pick a deck. We will see if I am wring on that idea

[Julian23]

I decided to "embrace" you not having any flashy results yet poking a bit of fun at it, yes I still wanted you in there because of your contributions to the scene as well as general format knowledge and awareness.

[Megadeus]

I think my vote would've gone
ANT, Miracles, Lands, Delver, Show and Tell. Which seems to be fairly average of an answer.

One thing that I do find interesting about legacy is something a commenter brought up about how this list also helps to tell you what to expect. I actually disagree with this claim. Yes you will see your fair share of miracles and such, but due to budgetary reasons over a large tournament I believe you have a very good chance of seeing a much larger swath of decks at any given event.

[Sloshthedark]

great article - I think it would be interesting to mention what deck those players actualy play (most of them seem to have strong affinity to one of the archetypes) compared to what's the best deck in their opinion

[apple713]

I guess its a good thing that the experts agree with the data. Our DTB + Established decks probably captures 100% of the decks in your article. That probably just reinforces that this site is the best, or one of the best, resources for Legacy. There is always going to be some variance in decks played but it's clear that when developing a new deck it should perform well vs the top 8 (or 5) decks of the format.

[Lemnear]

I decided to "embrace" you not having any flashy results yet poking a bit of fun at it, yes I still wanted you in there because of your contributions to the scene as well as general format knowledge and awareness.

You're welcome poking. A special thanks for the lovely appreciation. We will see how my "format awareness" in terms of "colorless ramp" pays out

great article - I think it would be interesting to mention what deck those players actualy play (most of them seem to have strong affinity to one of the archetypes) compared to what's the best deck in their opinion

Funnily, I don't feel quite adressed :)

I guess its a good thing that the experts agree with the data. Our DTB + Established decks probably captures 100% of the decks in your article. That probably just reinforces that this site is the best, or one of the best, resources for Legacy. There is always going to be some variance in decks played but it's clear that when developing a new deck it should perform well vs the top 8 (or 5) decks of the format.

The interresting point of this article is that you got direct format feedback from accomplished players and/or deck designers based on impressions/experience through whole and several tournaments rather than just Top 8 lists most of the format meta data in the web ground on.

[Varal]

I wonder why so many people think Lands is great but not that many play it to success in tournaments. It seems like most people playing it locally have great results but maybe a few too many draws. The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale cost is the usually stated reason but it's still less than a playset of blue duals.

[Julian23]

I think while most people are comfortable with buying ten 50 € cards, psychology it's harder to buy one 500 € card, even though the total cost of the deck is the same most blue decks will cost you.

[Sloshthedark]

Funnily, I don't feel quite adressed :)

the difference is most striking in

Marius Hausmann - D&T not in his 5
Niklas Kronberger - Loam 5th in the list

also roughly 50% of people who have Miracles on 1st do not really play it

I think while most people are comfortable with buying ten 50 € cards, psychology it's harder to buy one 500 € card, even though the total cost of the deck is the same most blue decks will cost you.

you also do not usually pay 10x50 € to expand the U core you already have, the similar non-U way is close just from Aggro loam and a lot of the cards have little use outside of Lands, I think it also goes to that it's not a deck for everyone or it used to be so before Thespian Stage

[Patrunkenphat7]

I think it's interesting when competitive players think a deck is the best but then do not play the deck themselves. There are certainly many factors in why one would play a deck, but if you are trying to be competitive and top 8 a Legacy GP it seems that you would play what deck you think is the best. I am curious to know why so many players think Miracles is the best deck and don't even play it.