I was just curious about what everyone's approach to legacy in regards to deck diversity. One of the bigger discussions in the B/R Thread (don't worry, I'm not going there) is about learning the metagame and how the metagame evolves. Do people have different decks available to adjust to changes in the metagame or are you all-in on one deck? Some people are hard-core masters at their deck (Bryant Cook with TES comes to mind, or Julian Knab with Elves) but others seem to bounce around to different decks. I was just curious what the percentages are for this community as far as committing to one strategy or having several options available given metagame changes (or boredom, personal whim, etc.)
For me, my primary deck is Turbo Depths. It used to be Rock/Junk before DRS was banned, but c'est la vie. However, I am also actively trying to have several other decks available in case of a big metagame shift or if I get bored. It gets expensive that way, but I am also patient and watch prices, trade in cards I don't use to the LGS for credit so I can purchase other cards. However long it takes I am actively trying to have staples available to play the types of decks I enjoy.
So I have these decks available to play if I wanted to:
Turbo Depths
Ruby Storm
Punishing Maverick
Deadguy Ale/Rock/Nic Fit
Mono-blue Delver/Mono-Blue Dreadstill
TL,DR - Do you play only one deck in Legacy or do you have 2+ options to keep from getting stale or bored?
Last edited by Mr. Safety; 09-17-2019 at 04:26 PM.
Brainstorm Realist
I close my eyes and sink within myself, relive the gift of precious memories, in need of a fix called innocence. - Chuck Shuldiner
I usually only own 1 or 2 decks at a time. Right now Painter and Steel Stompy because they have a fair amount of overlap. But I've piloted many different decks at larger events from borrowing cards or just trading in and out of decks.
I have Miracles, Storm, Elves, and Dredge around, and I just got some wastelands so I could probably build Delver without too much effort.
Hilariously (I guess ) I built Elves so that if and when they banned either Gitaxian Probe or Deathrite Shaman, I would still have an engine deck to play; naturally, the DCI bans both in the same announcement....
I play with my wife and lend decks out to friends, so once a deck gets built it usually stays built in some form. My "trade" binder ends up being all the sideboard options and deck variant cards.
Right now I have built:
- UBg Reanimator
- UWr Miracles
- ANT
- Deadguy Ale
- Food Chain
- Burn
I could turn Reanimator into some sort of UBx Delver list; Miracles has been reincarnated many times ad Landstill, Quinn & Parfait; ANT was TES once; Deadguy came from a Pox list; Food Chain could just as easily be BUG Delver. Burn is just Burn I guess.
I mean I could recombobulate all the cards and make a UR Delver list, but it would leave behind a number of 75% completed decks, which does me no good if someone tags along to a tournament and needs a deck. So if I ever made that move, it would be by getting another set of Force of Wills and Volcanic Islands. But in this economy, seems unlikely. My ceiling has been reached.
I don't get to play much any more (usually about once a month), because I just don't have the time, but here's an idea of the last few decks I played:
Strawberry Shortcake
12 Post
Aggro Loam
Enchantress
Grixis Control
Death and Taxes
Bomberman (Wb)
Steel Stompy
That's all I can remember since the Deathrite ban. I can pretty much build anything, I own more than enough cards. Looking at this list:
The only deck there I can't build would be Burn, because I never bothered to buy Eidolons. Oh and I am missing one Thalia's Leuitenent to build Humans correctly. I don't know what RUG Faeries is, but I likely have the cards to build it. I think I am missing a couple sideboard cards for optimal Dragon Stompy too.
"The Ancients teach us that if we can but last, we shall prevail."
—Kaysa, Elder Druid of the Juniper Order
For the moment I'm on slow depths, but I also have in (descending order of most played):
Enchantress
Elves
Painter
Dredge (both LED and manaless)
Mono-Red Prison
Lands
Infect
UW RiP Helm
Belcher
I had everything, but I found I was not using most of it so I sold a lot. Now I have:
Lands
Turbo Depths
Elves
Stax
Red Stompy
Eldrazi
Man of Steel
Reset Tide
Cool, it seems like a lot of people have the option to play legacy essentially how they want to. I think this is one of the bigger issues facing the format. It changes so slowly over time so your deck is valid almost indefinitely (in some form) but the issue becomes how to stay engaged without getting bored. One thing I noticed for a while is that many of the locals would have a tier deck built but have Turbo Depths or Death and Taxes in their back pocket.
I also noticed that a lot of players let others borrow decks to get a different experience at the weeklies. This takes a tight community, which we have, which is pretty awesome. People that would never purchase a Tabernacle get the experience of piloting Lands if they want. Non-blue players get to sling Force of Wills and Volcanic Islands. The Miracles guy that is bored borrows Turbo Depths or Br Reanimator. I didn't know if this was widespread or if people are just lone rangers dedicated to their one deck.
Brainstorm Realist
I close my eyes and sink within myself, relive the gift of precious memories, in need of a fix called innocence. - Chuck Shuldiner
This has been my approach to legacy/T1. Build your core deck, and then slowly update it as cards come out/the format shifts. Works real well since I don't have lots of time to dedicate to legacy :(
My current legacy builds:
-aggro Pox
-Ruby storm (see comment above about time, I still haven't taken out my probes yet)
-Mono black Griselstorm.
-proxied UB Death's Shadow (Have all the cards, just in different decks atm)
-Manaless dredge.
-flavor of the week jank build (tribal zombies, etc)
basically budget builds lol.
I spend most of my magic time in standard and EDH since that's what my friends mostly play.
I'll chime in just cause my situation is different that the posts so far...
I'm on one deck. No plans to- or interest in- building another. If I get bored, I take a break (from Legacy, not Magic).
There's no legacy near me since my last move, but I've got the following decks that I'd love to play again at some point...
Death and Taxes (+all splashes)
Miracles
4c Loam
Ux Landstill (UR, UW, UB, UBR, UWR, BUG, 4c)
MOST
Dr Evil (BUG Control Lands)
Aluren (R / W splashes)
Green Stax / Trinity Green / Sylvan Plug types
Merfolk
Burn
Parfait
Nic Fit (BUG / Junk)
Esper Mentor
Tezzerator (UB / UBR)
Grixis tempo
Maverick (GW / GWb / GWr)
Brave Sir Robin
Deadguy Ale
Stoneblade
Panopticon (Thalia & Eldrazi stompy)
And some even more jank like things like Bant Edric Fish, Shardless Bant, Stasis, and several more various stompy flavors.
Cockatrice: Bosque
I have cards for dozens of different decks. I try to disassemble my decks as soon as I get home so I can build whatever for the next time around. That said, I usually have one deck I'm playing for a few months and I'll play a random less-good deck occasionally.
I try to have just one or two decks ready to play. I am lucky enough to own a fairly decent pool, so I usually lend cards/decks to my friends. Just for the record, this is what I've been playing since last year:
Moon Stompy
MUD Post
Steel Stompy
Turbo Depths
Colorless Eldrazi
Burn
Zombardment
White Eldrazi
Manaless Dredge <--- Currently playing
Eldrazi Post
...I've just realized that I've not sleeved any Brainstorm since January 2017.
Colorless is the new blue
http://ooh---shiny.blogspot.com
As for many of us adult players the money constraint is not so severe but the time constraint is - and we become more collectors and theorycrafters. I got all the cards for the blue decks, delver, blade, miracle, SnT, storm, shardless, food chain. I also have cards for rock/nicfit and am working towards lands. I currently got TES, uwr miracle and Slow depths put together and sometimes lend a deck to a younger player on legacy nights at the game store. Most restrictive cards that i dont own is cradles, ports (i only play OG art) and cities. I recently accuired tabernacle by getting out of old school so next protect i lands. I’m also a playset fow away from having two blue fair decks at the same time. I’m teaching my 7yo son to play so there’s a meaning with that beyond just collecting.
I can build literally everything, unfortunatelly I get to play legacy one every onth or even two months. In past I used to gravitate towards few decks I really liked, nowadays I try to bring a different deck every time.. still far from completing the full circle of all decks rotation.
I was able to build anything in legacy up until a few years ago (with some small exceptions.)
right now i have sleeved up:
(in no particular order)
mud stompy
elves
ruby storm
goblins
dredge & manaless dredge
oops all spells
i probably would sleeve up ANT or TES, but my local has at least 1-2 ANT players every week. I used to play doomsday exclusively for several years, but I'm not such a fan in its current offering. i also still have all the cards for burn.
i like nicfit too and did have some fun playing a 75 card maindeck reanimator before DRS was banned, but i don't have enough time to play. i guess i average about 1-2 times per month, although in 2018 i probably played around 5 times.
-rob
Pretty much this. If I enjoy playing something I'll play it for 2 or 3 events, most of the time I just build something new each week. The exception would be GP prep, where I'll pick a deck and jam it for a couple months before the event.
EDIT: I think the last few events I played these:
Steel Stompy
Faerie Stompy
Miracles
I used to be on one deck only with a second one starting to build. Then they banned SDT and GP.
So it used to be:
- Doomsday
After the ban I started soul searching and my wallet screams at Wizards every day as I now can run:
- ANT
- UB OmniTell
- Bant Bomberman
- UWr Standstill
- Esper or Bant or Atraxa Colour Greed/Tempo
- BUG Lands
- Tin Fins
So yeah.....
The Doomsday Codex
We're catching bullets in our teeth,
Its hard to do but they're so sweet.
And if they take a couple out,
We try to work things out.....
Meow.
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