Originally Posted by
atm0
On this note, I want to ask about some interesting SB choices I've been testing. For the past ~3 weeks I've been playing the GW 12-Post that T8'd an SCG Open a few weeks back (don't remember the pilot's name offhand), with a few small tweaks, the only significant one being play around with the mana to fit 4 Caverns. While I know conventional wisdom says that the UG Post is a "better" deck and that people mostly play the Mono-G version for budget considerations, I have been playing the GW version by choice, as I can easily play the UG version. I have forces, flusterstorms, Trops, etc., but the smooth engine of this deck caught my eye and I've been extremely impressed by how consistent it is. Explore is absolutely ridiculous in Legacy, and I feel like I'm significantly ahead in every game that I'm able to resolve it, even just once. In a format that's all about tempo and where most opponents stop somewhere between 3-5 lands, having 6+ lands out by the end of turn 4 feels so absurdly strong. I've been so happy with my results when I'm able to resolve an Explore that I'm very interested in testing the Exploration-based Titanless build that's discussed here a few pages back. The only thing discouraging me from trying it right now is the fact that If I actually like the list I'll be compelled to buy 4 Candelabras instead of the 2 that I'm planning on purchasing at the moment.
With regards to the comment that I quoted, Postman brings up a great point about the 2 vs. 3 CMC difference between Sphere and Laboratory. In that vein, the difference between playing this type of hate on T2 and T3 can mean the difference between winning and losing, and I think I've found an excellent solution for GW players looking for Storm/Omni hate: Aethersworn Canonist. Against the decks where it matters, they won't be playing removal for it maindeck, and no one will be expecting it G2, so don't expect them to board bounce. After G2 it's not quite as strong against UR Omni, who can board in Pyroclasm, but still excellent G3 vs. Elves and Storm. Storm will be forced to dig for their bounce spell one cantrip per turn, and Elves will only be able to play one little green man per turn until they hit 4 mana for GSZ into Rec-sage.
I'm playing 2x Canonist, 1x Krosan Grip (trying to find room for AT LEAST 1 more, if not 2), 1x Nevermore and 1x Iona in the slots where Leyline of Sanctity was from the SCG list. I found that card, as always, to be either amazing or downright awful, and being able to hard cast it did nothing to impact its playability. It's the kind of hate that you want on Turn 1 or not at all. The only matchup I found it to be somewhat useful in, and not just cute, was vs. Burn, and it still doesn't matter enough to make the chances of winning that matchup any better. I played 3 games with a friend (not a huge sample size by any means), and every game came down to the same thing: if he draws one Price of Progress, I lost, and if he didn't draw it, I won. Leyline does nothing to stop PoP, so I'd rather take my chances without it than try to improve an already bad matchup by maybe 5%. Leyline was nice against UBx decks to protect the hand from discard, but feels in no way necessary considering how well this deck plays both OFF the top and WITH a Top. Nevermore is cheeky, and probably not good enough for Legacy, but I threw it in because I needed one more card and I love Meddling Mage. So far it's won me a game vs. Elves already by naming NO while I had a Canonist out, slowing him down enough for me to Prime Time into Tabernacle while he had ~4-5 creatures out and no Cradle yet. I only made my SB changes last night, so I'll have to see how it plays out against other decks with more testing. I could see it being good enough to up to 2 or 3 if it does enough work against combo.
Here's the rest of my list for anyone who's curious:
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
2 Oracle of Mul Daya
4 Primeval Titan
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
4 Ancient Stirrings
2 Candelabra of Tawnos
3 Crop Rotation
4 Explore
2 Natural Order
3 Pithing Needle
3 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Bojuka Bog
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Cloudpost
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Eye of Ugin
1 Forest
4 Glimmerpost
1 Karakas
1 Maze of Ith
3 Savannah
1 Snow-Covered Forest
3 Vesuva
4 Windswept Heath
SB:
1 All Is Dust
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Krosan Grip
1 Nevermore
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Pithing Needle
3 Rest in Peace
2 Sacred Ground
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
Please share any comments/thoughts about my decklist! I'm new to the archetype, but I feel like I've finally found MY deck after nearly 3 years of Legacy, playing nearly every tempo/combo deck in the format! I've already enjoyed a ton of success with this deck, and I can't wait to tune it into the unstoppable monster that will earn me the reputation as "The Post Guy" at my LGS. :cool: