What Should I Play In My Metagame?

[sherko7]

So a couple of months ago I had to sell out my whole Legacy collection due to iRL. Right now, I'm planning on getting back into Legacy with a $2000 budget. Maybe a hundred or two more. So my question is, what's the best deck to get with this budget? My meta is pretty wide, most DTB's can be found as well as a few of the older DTB's. I only play during big tourneys, which normally takes place only once a month.

I want a deck that plays well in a wide open meta. I can play fair and unfair (my older decks include Nic Fit, UWR Delver, RUG and Dredge), but I'd rather not play DnT or Miracles.

Suggestions?

[Megadeus]

Deadguy

[Kyle]

My meta regularly consists of:

D&T
Lands (with Dark Depths win-con)
Merfolk
Jund
BUG Delver

And sometimes:

UR Delver
Reanimator
Painter
Big Red (Sneak Attack)
Manaless Dredge
Patriot Delver
Esper Stoneblade with TNN

And I can't seem to break through this meta! An online play buddy of mine recommended I try Belcher, but I just don't like the deck or can't get the hang of it. Suggestions por favor!

[Emo]

My meta regularly consists of:

D&T
Lands (with Dark Depths win-con)
Merfolk
Jund
BUG Delver

And sometimes:

UR Delver
Reanimator
Painter
Big Red (Sneak Attack)
Manaless Dredge
Patriot Delver
Esper Stoneblade with TNN

And I can't seem to break through this meta! An online play buddy of mine recommended I try Belcher, but I just don't like the deck or can't get the hang of it. Suggestions por favor!

Imperial Painter

Lots of removal for Merfolk
and Blood moon effects for Lands, Jund (to some extent) and Bug Delver
I can't really speak for D & T though

[Kyle]

Imperial Painter

Lots of removal for Merfolk
and Blood moon effects for Lands, Jund (to some extent) and Bug Delver
I can't really speak for D & T though

Thanks for the reply Emo. D&T is a tough matchup for Painter due to stuff like Phyrexian Revoker and STP. Also, it's one of the decks I can't build

[ESG]

@Bongo: Either Burn or Manaless Dredge. I agree with Vastros that Manaless Dredge is the more fun option. At least in my area, Burn would be the more competitive of the two, however. Price of Progress is amazing right now. If graveyard hate is low in your area, then play Manaless and profit.

@LDX: TES and ANT are pretty similar and share a lot of cards. If you build one, you'll be able to shift into the other fairly soon after. My personal opinion is that neither deck is strictly better. They have slightly different strengths and weaknesses. TES is the faster of the two. I'm sure you would get much deeper responses if you PM'd some of the Storm players on these boards or if you posted in the ANT thread and the TES thread.

@Matsaya: There's enough non-blue in that room that Charbelcher might be a good option. Burn doesn't seem too bad a choice either. I also would think Sneak and Show and Turbo Eldrazi would be favored. The viability of graveyard decks would depend on how much graveyard hate people are playing, but those could be good, too. If the meta shifts, then the current information isn't much use and my advice would be to play whatever you feel most experienced and comfortable with.

@ORDAL: Hello, and welcome to The Source. I would run BUG Delver for that field and plan on mirror matches. I also would focus my sideboard on beating Death and Taxes and Miracles.

@sherko7: Any blue-based deck is likely to hold up better over time. The creatures might change, but the majority of the spells will stay the same. Also, in a big tournament, playing blue will afford you more consistency. Blue is also usually well-equipped to play against a wide-open field. I think any Delver or Stoneforge deck would be a fine place to start, and you would be able to shift to a variation later if needed.

@Kyle: Along a similar line as Belcher, you could play around with All Spells. Non-blue decks historically have a lot of trouble beating Turn 1 combo decks. Bant and Big Zoo also seem like they would be decent there (just have a plan for True-Name Nemesis).

[zeus-online]

Moderators: If i have accidentally placed this post in the wrong forum, please move it. Merged to this thread - Jander

Hi,
I more or less quit magic 4 years ago, but i am thinking about playing some legacy this summer. The thing is that while i still have my old collection (I was primarily a vintage player) i lack a lot of legacy staples*.
My preferred deck type is definitely control, but as i said i lack the cards. I am of course willing to pay for some cards, but i do not have infinite funds.

I have considered the following four decks, and would like advice on card choices as well as honest opinions on deck strength, and advice on which investments would be most useful for future legacy play:

UR Delver
Lands: 18
4 Volcanic island
4 Scalding tarn
2 Polluted delta
4 Wasteland
3 Island
1 Mountain

Creatures: 10+
4 Delver of secrets
4 Young pyromancer
2 Grim lavamancer (More than two might be hard to maintain ?)

Spells: 24
4 Force of will
4 Daze
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Gitaxian probe
4 Lightning bolt

One of the main reasons that i am seriously considering this deck is because of the capital investment, i would only require 1 wasteland, 3 scalding tarns and a few commons and uncommons. It also seems to me that this type of aggro control is highly successful in the format.

I am unsure about the last 8 cards, i feel like the deck is a bit short on creatures. I would like a few more counterspells, perhaps even counterspell itself. Other cards i have considered include fire/ice, pyrokinesis, red elemental blast and spell pierce.


WUB aggro control
Lands: 20
4 Polluted delta
4 Flooded strand
3 Underground sea
2 Tundra
5 Island
1 Swamp
1 Plains
(Wasteland is an option, but i am uncertain if it is worth it, as it destabilizes the mana base)

Creatures: 15
4 Delver of secrets
4 Mother of runes
4 Dark confidant
3 Stoneforge mystic

Spells: 25
4 Force of will
4 Daze
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Swords to plowshares
1 Jitte
1 Batterskull
3 ??

A bit more controllish, i would need to purchase batterskull, stoneforge mystic and jitte - But i dont know if this deck is viable.


Miracle control:
Lands: 24
4 Flooded strand
4 Polluted delta
2-3 Tundra
2 Plains
1 Academy ruins
8-9 Island

Creatures: 4
2 Vendillion clique
2 Snapcaster mage

Spells: 18
4 Force of will
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to plowshares
4 Terminus
2 Entreat the angels

Other: 12
2 Engineered explosives
2 Jace, the mindsculptor
4 Sensei's top
4 Counterbalance

2 ??

Probably the deck i would have most fun playing, but the problem here is cost: Jace (If money was no issue, i would play 4), 3rd tundra, counterbalance, snapcaster mage, vendillion clique as well as the actual miracle cards. I also wonder if a splash would be worth it - and what splash would be best.

Storm:
This is not very high on my list, from what i gather i would need lion's eye diamond and either burning wish or infernal tutor.
I am also doubtful about how strong these decks are in a format full of aggro control.

I would like honest opinions on the four decks i am considering, are they viable, which one would be strongest. There is also the financial question, and as such i would be more inclined towards playing a cheaper deck if it is equally strong.

/zeus

* Using this site for deck research and understanding of legacy staples and meta-game.
http://www.mtgtop8.com/format?f=LE

[JPoJohnson]

In regards to lists, here are the lists that placed highly in recent tournaments of the archetypes you have listed:

UR Delver
Lands (18)
4 Volcanic Island
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Arid Mesa
2 Mountain
2 Island

Creatures (14)
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Goblin Guide
2 Grim Lavamancer

Spells (28)
4 Force of Will
4 Chain Lightning
4 Brainstorm
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Gitaxian Probe
3 Ponder
2 Spell Pierce
2 Price of Progress
1 Forked Bolt

Sideboard (15)
1 Price of Progress
2 Sulfuric Vortex
2 Flusterstorm
2 Pyroblast
2 Smelt
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Lava Spike

Stoneblade (WUB Aggro Control as you put it, more commonly referred to as Stoneblade or Deathblade if you splash green for Deathrite Shaman and have a singleton Tropical Island)
Lands (23)
6 Island
4 Flooded Strand
3 Marsh Flats
3 Polluted Delta
2 Tundra
2 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Scrubland
1 Underground Sea

Creatures (9)
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 True-Name Nemesis
2 Snapcaster Mage

Spells (21)
4 Force of Will
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Brainstorm
3 Flusterstorm
2 Counterspell
2 Supreme Verdict
2 Lingering Souls

Permanent Spells (7)
3 Engineered Explosives
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull

Sideboard
3 Swan Song
2 Pithing Needle
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Rest in Peace
1 Engineered Plague
1 Back to Basics
4 Thoughtseize

Miracles
Lands (22)
4 Flooded Strand
4 Island
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Plains
2 Arid Mesa
2 Tundra
1 Volcanic Island
1 Mystic Gate
1 Karakas
1 Mountain
1 Misty Rainforest

Creatures (4)
3 Vendilion Clique
1 Snapcaster Mage

Spells (24)
4 Terminus
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
2 Ponder
2 Counterspell
2 Entreat the Angels
1 Spell Snare
1 Spell Pierce

Permanent Spells (10)
4 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Counterbalance

Sideboard
1 Enlightened Tutor
2 Batterskull
2 Rest in Peace
1 Sulfur Elemental
2 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Pithing Needle
1 Pyroblast
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Wear / Tear

Storm
Lands (15)
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Polluted Delta
2 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island
1 Tropical Island
1 Badlands
1 Swamp
1 Island

Spells (36)
4 Infernal Tutor
4 Brainstorm
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Dark Ritual
4 Ponder
4 Gitaxian Probe
3 Cabal Therapy
3 Duress
2 Preordain
1 Ad Nauseam
1 Grim Tutor
1 Past in Flames
1 Tendrils of Agony

Permanent Spells (9)
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
1 Sensei's Divining Top

Sideboard
2 Defense Grid
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Karakas
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Chain of Vapor
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Massacre
1 Pyroclasm
2 Dark Confidant

Of course these are fairly personalized lists and can be tailored to what you have and don't want to buy, but I think that the spell setup of the miracles here is more towards what I would personally run over what you have listed. The UR Delver list really depends on meta as to the one-two ofs that you run or do not run.

I personally prefer a Grixis Epic Storm list that is currently on the front page of the TES forum here over this list, but they both have their merits.

And in regards to stoneblade, the one listed here has some great game against fair decks and unfair decks with a very flexible control/aggro gameplan that can shift based on what you're up against. I really like the list here.

If you're keen on going with the decklists that you have, I'm more than happy to give advice or feedback in any regard, just wanted to give you a tried-and-true starting point since you're just getting back into the swing of things (:

[zeus-online]

What you said :)

What i usually do when i know little about a format is to gloss over a collection of successful decks and make my own interpretation of the one i settle on playing :)
I am not settled on any particular deck yet, and would like to figure out which deck i want to play before committing more time to producing a deck list. Which deck would you choose? and do you consider all four decks equally likely to win in a varied field? (I do not know what the local meta game is at this point)

[JPoJohnson]

What i usually do when i know little about a format is to gloss over a collection of successful decks and make my own interpretation of the one i settle on playing :)
I am not settled on any particular deck yet, and would like to figure out which deck i want to play before committing more time to producing a deck list. Which deck would you choose? and do you consider all four decks equally likely to win in a varied field? (I do not know what the local meta game is at this point)

Sure, that's fair enough. I'm going to respond to the decklists that I posted so you get a better feel for the archetypes. If I may be blunt though, I really do not care for the WUB Aggro-Control list you posted. It's going two different directions and doesn't have as much synergy in either the control or the aggro direction to do well against the wide field you may encounter. *Personal Opinion*

In regards to the decklists that you posted:

1. UR Delver - A very aggressive deck compared to other decks that run blue. It has the control aspects to slow/disrupt the opponent's gameplan enough to steal many wins. It's almost always on the aggressive and if the opponent's deck stabalizes or breaks away there is almost no coming back. Fortunately, that's where the disruptive gameplan comes into play and makes it so that this occurs very little. If you like aggressive decks, this is the one out of the four for you.

2. Stoneblade - This is a very interesting deck that has been a legacy top rated deck for years. It's split between control and aggro has almost been perfected at this point so that it has game against any type of deck that you may find yourself playing against. It has the pressure necessary to keep combo decks on a clock while keeping them locked down. It has enough control aspects to keep the field open for their aggro plan, and their aggro plan is backed up by a very specific choice of spells that makes it hard to disrupt. The addition of True-Name Nemesis has made the Stoneforge Mystic package that this deck typically packs very powerful as well as neigh unbreakable by many fair decks out there. If you want a deck that the playstyle can be shifted depending on what you're playing against and has game against almost anything you'll find yourself against (but requires tight play and makes the matchup% much closer with no blowout-matchups), then this is the one you'd want out of the four.

3. Miracles - The true control deck of the format. This deck requires massive amounts of skill as well as knowledge about the format as a whole. On T1/T2 you need to already have an idea of what you're up against and what you need to do in order to overcome it as these first few turns can be devastating. One slip up from this deck ends in a loss when you could have had a win in the end. Each game is a grind and in longer tournaments can be extremely mentally taxing. It has pretty decent matchups around the board, but you will fight and grind for every win you get. The best miracles players will almost always do well at tournaments, but it took them a while to get to the skill level in order to do so. If you're willing to invest the time to learn a deck and master the format, there are few decks that will reward you more than miracles.

4. Storm - This deck has been around since scourge and is going nowhere soon. It has a lot of hate that will simply destroy beginning pilots, but you will wipe the floor with unexpecting opponents just as often, if not even more often. This deck is fluid, it has lines of play that make it adapt to the current matchup you're against and allows no single piece of hate to blow you out. It's resilient, it has cards that can fill its hand once emptied as well as play everything from the graveyard, or have a wishboard so that you can play exactly what you need. Similar to miracles, tight play is rewarded with wins out of nowhere or comebacks that no one saw coming. It's power is something that NO one ignores and the deck is more fine tuned than ever with so many minds coming together to work on it. If you want a deck that's explosive, but resilient and is feared by almost anyone that doesn't play it, this is the deck for you.


Each deck has it's own pros and cons. You will find that as long as you pick up a playstyle that you like that each of the four decks you have listed can be very rewarding and enjoyable to play time and time again. Each of the decks can be tweaked to their own playstyle, the meta, or as new cards come out without disruption to their primary gameplan. Each is fluid and all are great choices.

[vhirvela]

I see Imperial painter mentioned many times in this thread.
If you want to attack your meta and people are playing a lot of top tear decks (means a lot of fetches and duals!) you really can go no wrong.
If you want a budget version. Try playing without recruiters. I think the sol lands are the key and (mana monkeys!) you just get the blood moon on turn 1 out! (or magus of the moon) and kinda hope it lasts until you can dig up the combo.
then its easy to improve into a very deadly deck if you decide to buy the rectruters based on your experience. I think those sol lands can also be used in for example show and tell type decks if you decide to go that way instead.

[Dragonslayer_90]

So I didn't know where to ask this but this seemed like the perfect forum for my question: This weekend (for the legacy open specifically, not the invitational) I'm playing either Shardless or Team America since I have the most experience with each deck. What do you guys think is better positioned at the moment? I think I'm leaning towards shardless since I haven't had too much success with Team lately. The only thing I'm worried about in running shardless is an influx of Sneak and Show this weekend with Todd Anderson and other scg folk pushing that deck real hard. If this is something to genuinely be afraid it I think it would be better to play Team I think since it has a better matchup against sneak and show while still being at least decent against most fair decks.

[btm10]

Of the two decks you named, I think Shardless is better positioned. It supports basic lands better, it has a better Miracles matchup, and is probably equally good against Sneak and Show. Honestly, between Sneak and 12 Post, I wouldn't show up with fewer than 2 Diabolic Edicts in the 75. I think you heard my arguments for them on the way down to Cincinnati. I'm not sure if I'd run Shardless or BUG Control in Columbus (I can't make it this time), but they're probably the two best positioned decks in the format right now, and which you pick has a lot to do with how much Storm combo you expect. Drew Levin's article today made the case for running sweepers in control lists, and while I wouldn't run the 4 color control deck he recommends, but my BUG control sideboard currently has 2 Deluge, 2 Deed, and I'm running 72 of Lejay's 75 in Shardless, with the white splash in the board. Meddling Mage is the real deal in that deck.

[Kyle]

@Kyle: Along a similar line as Belcher, you could play around with All Spells. Non-blue decks historically have a lot of trouble beating Turn 1 combo decks. Bant and Big Zoo also seem like they would be decent there (just have a plan for True-Name Nemesis).

Thanks @ESG for the feedback.

[ethebubbeth]

Given this Top 8: http://azmagicplayers.tumblr.com/pos...ay-event-top-8
And this overall meta: http://azmagicplayers.tumblr.com/pos...ries-may-event

What should I run at the next event?
1.) Out of the following that I currently have built: RUG Delver, Reanimator, Goblins, Elves, Enchantress
2.) Out of the entire legacy meta should I decide to build something new

I'm rusty and haven't played in a while, but my decks have been brought to current meta builds. Any suggested splashes/variants are welcome as well.

Thanks in advance!

[afb0032]

My wife and I will be attending the upcoming Eternal Weekend in October and she is considering playing. She has limited experience outside of some standard, but tends to prefer aggressive decks or ones that win with attacking creatures (she liked playing boros cards from RTR block). She would not do well with a deck with a lot of triggers or counterspells. Money/card staples are not an issue. I am looking for suggestions on decks that would fit her playstyle and allow her to at least have chance to have fun and not get annihilated.

[ethebubbeth]

My wife and I will be attending the upcoming Eternal Weekend in October and she is considering playing. She has limited experience outside of some standard, but tends to prefer aggressive decks or ones that win with attacking creatures (she liked playing boros cards from RTR block). She would not do well with a deck with a lot of triggers or counterspells. Money/card staples are not an issue. I am looking for suggestions on decks that would fit her playstyle and allow her to at least have chance to have fun and not get annihilated.

You could add green to boros and make it naya zoo. It should play pretty much the same as the archetype she's used to from standard just with fat green creatures added to the mix. The other hyper aggressive creature option is G/U infect but that does include counter magic and tricks, making a bit more combo-ish. Elves would rely on too many triggers. Goblins could be another aggressive creature-based deck as well.

[JPoJohnson]

Given this Top 8: http://azmagicplayers.tumblr.com/pos...ay-event-top-8
And this overall meta: http://azmagicplayers.tumblr.com/pos...ries-may-event

What should I run at the next event?
1.) Out of the following that I currently have built: RUG Delver, Reanimator, Goblins, Elves, Enchantress
2.) Out of the entire legacy meta should I decide to build something new

I'm rusty and haven't played in a while, but my decks have been brought to current meta builds. Any suggested splashes/variants are welcome as well.

Thanks in advance!

Just noticed you had decks listed. I like RUG Delver. Decent aggro match ups, removal for the top aggro contenders and plenty of counter spells for the plethora of combo I see in the higher numbers listed.

My wife and I will be attending the upcoming Eternal Weekend in October and she is considering playing. She has limited experience outside of some standard, but tends to prefer aggressive decks or ones that win with attacking creatures (she liked playing boros cards from RTR block). She would not do well with a deck with a lot of triggers or counterspells. Money/card staples are not an issue. I am looking for suggestions on decks that would fit her playstyle and allow her to at least have chance to have fun and not get annihilated.

Maverick feels like a good fit for what you're describing. BUG Delver has counter spells, but really not many so that could also be an option?

[janluis1]

Given this Top 8: http://azmagicplayers.tumblr.com/pos...ay-event-top-8
And this overall meta: http://azmagicplayers.tumblr.com/pos...ries-may-event

What should I run at the next event?
1.) Out of the following that I currently have built: RUG Delver, Reanimator, Goblins, Elves, Enchantress
2.) Out of the entire legacy meta should I decide to build something new

I'm rusty and haven't played in a while, but my decks have been brought to current meta builds. Any suggested splashes/variants are welcome as well.

Thanks in advance!

Uwr delver 100% has favourable and evenish matchups along the last top8 and has just 2 bad matchups in the meta breakdown(Imperial Painter)

UWR delver is very strong against combo and burn evenish against other delver decks (rug slightly favourable bug slightly unfavourable) deathblade, maverick and death and taxes. decently positioned against miracles(TNN) and has very bad matchups against Painter, Pox , Jund(still winnable with a bad draw on their side). I would bring Uwr for sure with this meta

[Tibmag]

Hi everyone, I'm going to a monthly event tomorrow and I'm unsure what to play I have attended the last 2 and came 9th and 8th, with r/w painter and burning reanimator respectively. It's a very varied meta, for instance the first event I faced dredge, dead guy, punishing fit and rug delver. The second event was Ant, death blade, traditional reanimator, death and taxes and planeswalkers bug fit. I have access to most staples so can take along anything but show and tell. Any suggestions would help before I fall back on painter.