Cards to own.

[cosmicassassin]

Just got back into the game of Magic after a decade away.
I was wondering if there's a comprehensive list of cards to own floating around anywhere?
Did a quick search but couldn't find one. I was hoping for a list with perhaps obscure/inconspicuous cards. Even numbers would be cool, especially of the more expensive cards. Just want to know if you need two or three Moats.

I'm trying to decipher between the chaff and the good stuff. I really want to focus on Legacy because of the diversity of the metagame.

[Kuma]

No, you don't need Moats to be competitive. Here's a non-comprehensive list of cards you should try to acquire as a start.

Alpha/Beta/Unlimited/Revised dual lands (Scrubland, Tropical Island, etc.)
Onslaught Fetchlands (Polluted Delta, Wooded Foothills)
Force of Will
Brainstorm
Tarmogoyf
Pithing Needle
Tormod's Crypt
Swords to Plowshares
Thoughtseize
Krosan Grip
Stifle
Counterbalance
Sensei's Divining Top
Wasteland

After that, it really depends on what deck you want to build, but those are probably the most used cards in the format.

[cosmicassassin]

Thanks for the quick reply.
I was hoping for something a little more detailed. If a list doesn't exist or someone doesn't have one immediately available, that's cool. I was simply wishing there was a list somewhere I wasn't able to find. Assume cost of cards is irrelevant.

[B.C.]

Just want to know if you need two or three Moats.
The correct number is zero.

If you are concentrating on Legacy, I would start with the following semi-expensive cards:
4 Force of Will
4 Tarmogoyf
3-4 Polluted Delta
2-3 Flooded Strand
2-3 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
2 Volcanic Island

That's a good place to start. From there just find a decklist you like and get the rest of the cards.

[Noisome]

From my knowledge, there isn't really just one set of cards you should own, you gotta catch them all..err..anyway...

There are just too many decks, some with dual lands, some without. Some without Tarmogoyf, but most with. Just pick a deck and go with it. Then onto the next one. Then once you get all the cards in all the decks to beat, other decks will come along and you get those too. The popularity cycles in and out.

So, start with Burn, then Faerie Stompy, then Stax, then Eva Green, then SI, then Goblins. By then you should have some of the best cards in the legacy and should be able to build your own decks with ease.



My $0.02 is now worth half that, going along with the US dollar.

Noisome

[Clark Kant]

Rule 1: To enter legacy, don't collect cards, build a deck.

Rule 2: Build a deck with a strategy such that it can easily be modified/tweaked. Your first legacy deck shouldn't be a combo deck for example. The lists there are really tight. You need to have the flexibility to try new cards in your deck, to have it evolve with you.

Rule 3: Build a deck that you wouldn't get tired of playing with or playing against repeatedly. Burn (and combo) for example gets tiresome fast. So unless your only goal is to win tourneys, I wouldn't build burn. I would build a fun deck that you can play again and again, and that your opponents won't hate you for playing repeatedly. So perhaps something with creatures.

Rule 4: Don't spend a lot of money on cards initially unless they are format staples (fetchlands, dual lands, force of wills etc). IE: Don't blow a wad of cash on getting Moats early on. They are narrow in which decks use them. Your high priced buys should be cards that have a home in many different decks and strategies.

Rule 5: Don't build 9 land stompy. It's a waste of time. I swear.

One very cheap and powerful deck you could start with is Affinity. It's almost all commons and uncommons, the rares aren't neccesary. You can get the commons/uncommons form a store at findmagiccards.com for cheap.

But a better idea might be to take a deck you already have for standard and add legacy cards to port it to the format. If you do this though, be honest if you post a thread about it here asking for help. Be clear that this is a standard deck being ported over and you just want suggestions on legacy cards that it should probably run. The replies may not be as rude that way, though no promises, this place IS a hell hole :p

[Frenger]

Priority:

1. 4 Force of Will. These are invaluable, and are used in SO many decks.
2. Dual lands (first buy ones you'll need for your first deck)
3. Fetch Lands (first buy ones you'll need for your first deck)
4. 4 Tarmogoyf
5. Cheap cards. Swords to plowshares, Sensei's top, counterbalance, counterspell, stifle, krosan grip, lightning bolt, duress, dark ritual, etc. Lots of deck use these, and they're general utility cards that you'll likely get to play with alot, and only cost a few dollars each.
6. The rest of the fetches you dont have.
7. The rest of the duals you dont have.

[Clark Kant]

A good question is, considering the Ravnica duals cost a fourth of what regular duals cost, should players on a tight budget invest in them instead?

What do you guys think?

[umbowta]

Rule 5: Don't build 9 land stompy. It's a waste of time. I swear.

A good question is, considering the Ravnica duals cost a fourth of what regular duals cost, should players on a tight budget invest in them instead?

What do you guys think?That's right folks. The correct number of land for Mono Green Stompy is 18.

Rav Duals have done nothing but depreciate, so their investment rating is currently at sell. Do not buy. Meanwhile, the original duals steadily increase. Buy the originals.

[raharu]

Rav Duals suck... I hate playing with them. Just run Gemstone Mine or something if you don't have duals yet (like me). Seriously. Rav duals are horrible, even with fetchlands they bite... for 3 >.< Fetchies, basics, and Gemstone Mines/ other enabelers beat the snot out of Rav Duals (unless you're playing budget thresh... in this case, one of each ravdual is kinda mandatory... ick).

[MTG Guru]

I'd also invest in 4 Ancient Tomb, 4 City of Traitors, 4 Chalice of the Void, 4 Trinisphere, 4 Chrome Mox and 4 Mox Diamond, since alot of Legacy decks play these certain cards. Stompy-esque decks pretty much run Legacy or is atleast discussed with a particular amount of respect and reverence.

[raharu]

I'd also invest in 4 Ancient Tomb, 4 City of Traitors, 4 Chalice of the Void, 4 Trinisphere, 4 Chrome Mox and 4 Mox Diamond, since alot of Legacy decks play these certain cards. Stompy-esque decks pretty much run Legacy or is atleast discussed with a particular amount of respect and reverence.
:confused:...

:laugh:

[Happy Gilmore]

Just got back into the game of Magic after a decade away.
I was wondering if there's a comprehensive list of cards to own floating around anywhere?
Did a quick search but couldn't find one. I was hoping for a list with perhaps obscure/inconspicuous cards. Even numbers would be cool, especially of the more expensive cards. Just want to know if you need two or three Moats.

I'm trying to decipher between the chaff and the good stuff. I really want to focus on Legacy because of the diversity of the metagame.

here they are, layed out in priority (with rating):

1. Fetchlands *****
2. Dual-lands ****
3. everything else. ***


Fetchlands are the #1 best investment you can make in legacy. You really don't need many duals, and def. not a whole set of them to play most decks in this format.

[Atwa]

When looking at moneycards, I'd say invest in a playset of Force of Wills.

After that, start buying Fetchland. I know everyone here just loves the ancient duals (just like me), but Fetchland with basics are better than duals with basics in my opinion.

I think Tarmagoyf is also a card you want to get into your collection.

I would almost suggest buying a Threshold deck. Then you have a very competive deck, plus you have a lot of the staples for this format:

Blue Fetch
Blue Duals
Force of Will
Tarmogoyf

Brainstorm
Swords to Plowshares
Counterbalance
Sensei's Devining Top
Krosan Grip
Engineered Explosives.

These cards are used in a lot of other decks. Just build your collection from there. If you want to play Landstill, just buy manland and Standstills. Want to play MUC? Get more counterspells and Veldaken Shackles.

Here is a list of other cards very usefull in the format:
Burning Wish
Lion's eye Diamond
Dark Confidant
Meddling Mage
Survival of the Fittest (almost a whole archtype)
Pernicious Deed
Thoughtseize
Pithing Needle
Wasteland
Leyline of the Void

Lightning Bolt
Counterspell
Standstill
Mishra's Factory
Duress
Cabal Therapy
Tormod's Crypt

General good cards:
Birds of Paradise
Wrath of God
Damnation

Never buy decks like Ichorid, Goblins of Afinity as your first Legacy deck. Most of the cards in it are useless in other decks, except maybe for the Duals, Fetch and LED in Ichorid.

In fact, take a look at the Decks to Beat forum. Compare the decks. Most cards multiple decks have in common are worth buying.

EDIT: please don't listen to MTG Guru. It seems like he lives in a town where the only Legacy decks played are staxs and stompy.

[mercenarybdu]

Just go with a DS build to get cha started an when you get bored of that, build a tribal deck followed by Landstill.

[raharu]

Just go with a DS build to get cha started an when you get bored of that, build a tribal deck followed by Landstill.
I don't follow your logic.

[Timmy, Power Gamer]

Assuming no budget, compiling a list is going to be difficult. The lists in the thread for the most part give the staples that are played in many (or at least several) decks. To answer the question regarding Moat, very few competitive decks play Moat. However, Enchantress, for example, may play between 0 and 2. White control decks will also play Moat. Not even close to a staple of the format, but certainly a playable card.
I don't know of any compiled list that will tell you every playable card in the format, but for a good indication, in the "Decks to Beat" forum, look under the historical Top 8's. Scanning through successful decklists can give you a good starting point for that list.
Hope that helps,
Chris

[stalkerzero]

Here is a very, very long list of Legacy staples. Some of them may be semi-outdated but for the most part it's updated. It is not my list. I just stole it from another forum.

Seriously though, if you're going to play blue pick up the Forces first. Follow that with some fetches. If you are playing 3+ colors at least pick up 6 fetches and one dual combining each of the colors. That's a pretty good start.

If you truly have no budget here is your list. Order playsets of all of them and be able to making nearly any legacy deck for less than 50-100 additional dollars.

Black:
Dark Ritual
Cabal Ritual
Tendrils of Agony
Sinkhole
Duress
Hymn to Tourach
Pox
Smallpox
Dark Confidant
Nantuko Shade
Tombstalker
Shriekmaw
Engineered Plague
Diabolic Edict
Cabal Therapy
Chainer's Edict
Innocent Blood
Diabolic Edict
Hypnotic Specter
Funeral Charm
Ill-Gotten Gains
Smother
Damnation
Thoughtseize
Reanimate
Exhume
Unearth
Animate Dead

Red:
Goblin Piledriver
Goblin Warchief
Goblin Lackey
Goblin Ringleader
Chain Lightning
Lightning Bolt
Fireblast
Pyrokinesis
Lava Dart
Firebolt
Rift Bolt
Incinerate
Seal of Fire
Tarfire
Sulfuric Vortex
Price of Progress
Pyroclasm
Rolling Earthquake
Devastating Dreams
Mogg Fanatic
Red Elemental Blast
Pyroblast
Imperial Recruiter
Siege-Gang Commander
Flametongue Kavu
Rite of Flame
Simian Spirit Guide
Seething Song
Burning Wish
Empty the Warrens
Countryside Crusher
Magus of the Moon
Blood Moon
Ancient Grudge
Shattering Spree
Squee, Goblin Nabob

Green:
Tarmogoyf
Genesis
Krosan Grip
Gaea's Blessing
Elephant Grass
Argothian Enchantress
Enchantress's Presence
Survival of the Fittest
Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
Regrowth
Rancor
Eternal Witness
Birds of Paradise
Llanowar Elves
Quirion Ranger
Terravore
Life from the Loam
Living Wish
Nimble Mongoose
Werebear
Tinder Wall
Elvish Spirit Guide
Sylvan Library
Seal of Primordium
Basking Rootwalla
Wild Mongrel
Fyndhorn Elves
Priest of Titania
Nostalgic Dreams

White:
Armageddon
Ravages of War
Eternal Dragon
Exalted Angel
Jotun Grunt
Serra Avenger
Decree of Justice
Wrath of God
Humility
Moat
Ghostly Prison
Runed Halo
Magus of the Tabernacle
Swords to Plowshares
Condemn (these days)
Abeyance
Orim's Chant
Wing Shards
Pulse of the Fields
Solitary Confinement
Akroma's Vengeance
True Believer
Glowrider
Isamaru, Hound of Konda
Silver Knight
Savannah Lions
Loyal Retainers
Reprisal
Oblivion Ring
Seal of Cleansing
Disenchant
Abolish
Aura of Silence
Karmic Justice
Samurai of the Pale Curtain
Tivadar's Crusade

Blue:
Sea Drake
Serendib Efreet
Morphling
Meloku, the Clouded Mirror
Rainbow Efreet
Stifle
Intuition
Reset
High Tide
Counterspell
Force of Will
Counterbalance
Back to Basics
Propaganda
Brainstorm
Ponder
Impulse
Diminishing Returns
Remand
Daze
Trickbind
Chain of Vapor
Echoing Truth
Wipe Away
Rushing River
Submerge
Cunning Wish
Misdirection
Blue Elemental Blast
Hydroblast
Fact or Fiction
Standstill
Ancestral Visions


Artifact:
Lion's Eye Diamond
Null Rod
Umezawa's Jitte
Lotus Petal
Pithing Needle
Aether Vial
Tormod's Crypt
Chrome Mox
Chalice of the Void
Engineered Explosives
Trinisphere
Sensei's Divining Top
Nevinyrral's Disk
Crucible of Worlds
Tangle Wire
Sword of Fire and Ice
Mox Diamond
Vedalken Shackles
Powder Keg
Arcbound Ravager
Cursed Scroll
Razor Golem
Smokestack
Phyrexian Dreadnought

Land:
Wasteland
Rishadan Port
Ancient Tomb
Cabal Coffers
Underground Sea
Badlands
Scrubland
Bayou
Tundra
Tropical Island
Volcanic Island
Savannah
Plateau
Taiga
Flooded Strand
Polluted Delta
Bloodstained Mire
Windswept Heath
Wooded Foothills
Gemstone Mine
Mishra's Factory
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
Maze of Ith
City of Traitors
Barbarian Ring
Cephalid Coliseum
Karakas
Nantuko Monastery
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Flagstones of Trokair
Academy Ruins

Multicolored:
Pernicious Deed
Vindicate
Meddling Mage
Shadowmage Infiltrator
Psychatog
Lim-Dul's Vault
Hull Breach
Artifact Mutation

[Apex]

Easier solution? Go to this page: http://www.deckcheck.net/format.php?format=Legacy

and click on the "view the top 30" link to the side, under MVC.

Subtract the 5 basics, and you've got some of the most played mainboard and sideboard cards in legacy.

Quick thing to note: Brainstorm is beating Force of Will as the most played (well, registered in deckcheck) card in legacy.

[stalkerzero]

2741 Tarmogoyf

I find this hard to believe. There have to be more than 685.25 legacy decks in the world.

[mercenarybdu]

I don't follow your logic.

I mean to go through the forums, look up hundreds of plans and pick one or two of them out then build a deck out of the deck you find with slight mods here and there while you are at it.

As for cards you must own here is a small list:

Dual Lands (A/B/U/R)
Fetchlands

Force of Will
Brainstorm
Daze

Dark Confidant
Dark Ritual
Duress
Thoughtseize
Hymn to Torach

Lightning Bolt
Incinerate
Fireblast

Krosan Grip


Just to get you started....otherwise your best shot is to pick a deck out of the forums, and build it then twick it to your liking.

[Maagler]

If you like combo I would pick up some lion's eye diamonds.

This is how I made my first legacy decks:
Belcher-> TES (w/Burning wish LED)-> dragonstompy (w/chrome mox lots of uncommons)-> Ichorid (with LED)

Then I remembered I had a playset of Forces hanging around in my binder, so I made Dreadstill. Next I'm off to make thresh, then Landstill.

The trick is to find a deck with something you like to do, whether it be attack, combo off, or control the game, then make a deck in that archetype that can be morphed into other decks. that way you will slowly build your collection and have more decks to play.

[conboy31]

This is how I made my first legacy decks:
Belcher-> TES (w/Burning wish LED)-> dragonstompy (w/chrome mox lots of uncommons)-> Ichorid (with LED)


By and large I agree with Maagler and also happened to have a similar transition. I went something like tes - ichorid - dragonstompy and am assembling the few missing cards for belcher. Though, his progression makes more sense.

Do you know what type or style of deck you are looking for?

[cosmicassassin]

Thanks for all the responses everybody.

I was looking for a list like Stalker presented. I already have a ton of cards either because of my old collection (Sinkhole, FoW, Wasteland, ...) or my recent introduction back into Magic and moving directly to Extended. It was more all the commons and uncommons that are played where I hoping for a list to simply pick them all up at once. Like Chainer's Edict, didn't see that one coming. I would have assumed Diabolic Edict would be played everyday of the week over it.

I just started building a number of decks. Just finished Enchantress. Need 3 x Mox Diamond for an Angel Stax build. Need 4 x Pernicious Deed for my Deadguy Ale/Eva Green mash.

I love to play denial/prison/control style decks. Combo ranks pretty high up also.

[chokin]

I'd say start with UG Madness(should be under $50). From there, get FoWs, Fetches, Goyfs, and Tropical Islands. That'll give you UG Threshold. From there, pick a splash and stick with it. Play Thresh until you get enough winnings to build a new deck.

Always buy things that have multiple uses when you first start.

[Kitchen Table Hero]

So basically you want suggestions on what are the staple commons and uncommons from the more "recent" sets?
I cant really think right now so here are a few off the top of my head:
Ponder, Daze, Echoing Truth, Engineered Plague, Werebear, Nimble Mongoose, Smother, Chainers Edict....

Ill try to add more as they come up.

[cosmicassassin]

So basically you want suggestions on what are the staple commons and uncommons from the more "recent" sets?
I cant really think right now so here are a few off the top of my head:
Ponder, Daze, Echoing Truth, Engineered Plague, Werebear, Nimble Mongoose, Smother, Chainers Edict....

Yeah, and random rares that aren't really obvious would help as well. Just going through the list which Stalker put up, didn't know about Ravages of War, Nostalgic Dreams, Karakas, Imperial Recruiter (looks like Alluren could be a fun deck, but how competitive is it?), and others like it. Then there's all the commons and uncommons I didn't know about.

[Apex]

2741 Tarmogoyf

I find this hard to believe. There have to be more than 685.25 legacy decks in the world.

Of course, these are just the numbers on deckcheck, which is the list of all the top 8 decks people bother to put up on there.

As for commons and uncommons that are worth owning, when in Magic did you stop playing? It would help to give a time frame, since you said you already owned stuff like FoW, Sinkhole, Hymn, etc.

[Skeggi]

I see everyone forgot to put Chub Toad on the list.

[cosmicassassin]

As for commons and uncommons that are worth owning, when in Magic did you stop playing? It would help to give a time frame, since you said you already owned stuff like FoW, Sinkhole, Hymn, etc.

Quit playing when Tempest came out. Started up again five months ago,have Goyfs and any other pertinent card in Standard. Have been working my way back. I played in the Extended PTQ season and amassed some cards there. Mainly all the fetchlands and the cards for Rock and U/G Tron.

[SuckerPunch]

A good question is, considering the Ravnica duals cost a fourth of what regular duals cost, should players on a tight budget invest in them instead?

What do you guys think?


I bought some Rav Duals for cheap for my less competitive decks. Losing 2 life is a pretty big drawback though so if you want your deck to be uber competitive, they don't work well.

Btw, AWESOME sig.

[Apex]

Quit playing when Tempest came out. Started up again five months ago,have Goyfs and any other pertinent card in Standard. Have been working my way back. I played in the Extended PTQ season and amassed some cards there. Mainly all the fetchlands and the cards for Rock and U/G Tron.

Then I suggest you get some of the dredge stuff (looks like you pretty much missed almost everything in that deck). That deck will pretty much always be playable here, the cards won't de-value (they also aren't worth that much in the first place), and it's always nice to have a spare deck to test against whenever you are building a new deck.

Since you quit when Tempest came out, I'd also suggest you get a set of Intuitions, it's like Gifts upgraded (and you played Tron and Rock too in extended, so you'll have no problem playing intuition-based decks in legacy)