A Tale of Ale

Legacy Aggro Discard Goodstuff WB (Orzhov)

TheGodofNight

Land (23)

• 3x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Horizon Canopy
• 1x Karakas
• 4x Marsh Flats
• 2x Plains
• 3x Scrubland
• 1x Shambling Vent
• 4x Swamp
• 2x Wasteland
• 2x Windswept Heath

Sorcery (14)

• 2x Collective Brutality
• 2x Council's Judgment
• 2x Inquisition of Kozilek
• 2x Lingering Souls
• 4x Thoughtseize
• 2x Toxic Deluge

Planeswalker (4)

• 1x Gideon of the Trials
• 3x Liliana of the Veil

Creature (12)

• 4x Dark Confidant
• 4x Stoneforge Mystic
• 4x Tidehollow Sculler

Artifact (3)

• 1x Batterskull
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1x Umezawa's Jitte

Instant (4)

• 4x Swords to Plowshares

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Sideboard

Creature (4)

• 1x Containment Priest
• 1x Ethersworn Canonist
• 2x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

Enchantment (2)

• 2x Rest in Peace

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Council's Judgment

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
• 1x Kaya, Ghost Assassin

Instant (4)

• 4x Surgical Extraction

Artifact (2)

• 1x Batterskull
• 1x Grafdigger's Cage

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Maybeboard

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Chains of Mephistopheles

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A exploration of the Legacy Deck "Dead Guy Ale". Currently based on the lists of TCC (Tolarian Community College) and Jeff Hoogland.

My Tale (My Introduction to the Legacy Format)

Like most new players, I started in standard, enjoyed the game, and blissfully played, learning and honing my knowledge. After a year, I branched into modern and EDH. I found very quickly that I am not as skilled as an EDH player, I don't have the creativity or vision for creating brews in EDH as well as I did in standard. Modern appealed to me, it was fast paced, super charged, and lot of action. I flourished in the format realizing that it was the pinnacle of Magic. A couple friends tinkered with Legacy, and I refused to get on board, because I didn't have piles of money to spend on this game. I made a bastardized Affinity deck for legacy play to tinker with when my friends wanted to switch it up. My friends delved into legacy deeper, and left me behind, and I felt woefully out of my element playing against them. One of my friends recommended a deck archetype to me called "Dead Guy Ale" for modern, since he knew I enjoyed the format. I gave it a glance, but decided against building it. Fast forward two years, and I remember him mentioning the deck, so I delve into reading about its history and found that it was exactly the type of deck I would enjoy playing. However, I decided to follow the roots of the deck, which were in legacy and began to build a legacy version of "Dead Guy Ale." Admittedly, it is still a work in progress and I am learning more and more about the richness and diversity of the format. So while this is a deck list, it is also my adventure into the legacy format.

The Landbase

3x Bloodstained Mire - Fetch lands serve the twofold purpose of mana fixing, ensuring that you have the correct colors of mana when you need them, and thinning the deck. The more popular choice for this slot is Verdant Catacombs, which allows Dead Guy Ale players to splash green for Tarmagoyf and Deathrite Shaman. While I can see the inherent value of the two cards, I have always felt that the third color is risky in decks where you cannot control your draws. Decks running blue, have access to Ponder, Brainstorm, and Preordain, which solves many of their color fixing options.

1x Horizon Canopy - While I said I wasn't splashing green, the illusion of doing so creates some confusion for my opponents, perhaps lulling them into expecting certain threats that aren't really there. While this is a completely political move, the card does provide an additional white source of mana, another target for wasteland (which protects the lands I need most), and in the late game, it can be used to give me another draw outlet.

1x Karakas - The ability to protect Thalia, Guardian of Thraben against storm and spell decks is amazing value, but it also works against decks running legendary creatures, prevent them from becoming serious threats.

4x Marsh Flats - Black and white mana fixing, as well as more deck thinning.

2x Plains - Provides a solid option to play around Wasteland and Blood Moon.

3x Scrubland - While most would run a full playset of these dual lands, I've opted to add in an additional basic land, as most decks running Wasteland run a full playset, making these lands prime targets for land destruction.

1x Shambling Vent - This doubles as fixing for my double white or double black spells, and provides me with a body that can attack and gain me life post board wipe, ensuring that I maintain a threat on the board.

4x Swamp - More basics to play around Wasteland and Blood Moon.

2x Wasteland - A way to remove troublesome lands, creature lands, utility lands, or to shut my opponents out of a color of mana that I do not want my opponent to have access to.

2x Windswept Heath - More thinning, more mana fixing, but this provides me with an additional way to get just white mana for the spells I need it for.

The Creatures

4x Dark Confidant - Bob. Widely known for his power and ability. The ability to get extra cards off of him makes him a serious threat to my opponent. If left unchecked, he could provide enough card advantage to win the game. Additionally, he also applies pressure as he beats in for 2 each turn.

4x Stoneforge Mystic - The utility toolbox card, that fetches up my equipment that allows me to win games. Not only does it thin out my deck, remove expensive targets from Bob's gaze, but it allows me to put those threats onto the board at instant speed, but it allows me to dodge counter spells, protecting my equipment.

4x Tidehollow Sculler - This slot is flexible, but the Sculler not only strips my opponent of their hand, but it also provides a body with which I can apply more pressure to my opponent's life total. While there are other options for this slot, this card takes away threats, and keeps me in the game longer.

The Walkers

1x Gideon of the Trials - In modern, few Planeswalkers make the cut to be playable, usually they cost to much for very little advantage. In legacy, the cost is important, but they are able to make a larger impact on the board the longer they last. Gideon's emblem makes me a real threat if he is allowed to remain, and he must be answered before a deck can win the game. Additionally, he can be used as a beater when a clear path forward is available. While he is still new in the format, and his viability is still in question, I will be testing him out.

3x Liliana of the Veil - Hand disruption or an edict if I need it, she provides advantage the moment she hits the board. By stripping away cards from my opponent to removing singularly deadly threats, she presses on and impacts the board state in my favor. If left unchecked, her ability to cripple my opponent's board state, makes victory that much easier.

The Spells

2x Collective Brutality - A utility card that can remove many of the most common creature threats in the game. While it doesn't kill everything, it does take care of the majority of targets that would otherwise be a thorn in my side. Additionally, it allows me to further strip threats from my opponent's hand, tilting the tide of the match in my favor, and in a pinch, it can keep me alive with a little life gain, or get in the last couple points of damage needed for victory.

2x Council's Judgment - A catch all for hard to deal with threats, with how voting works, I can remove such things as True-Name Nemesis or a Jace, the Mind Sculptor that has survived far too long.

2x Inquisition of Kozilek - Early hand disruption ensures that my opponent does not have answers against my later threats.

2x Lingering Souls - Evasive beaters, a perfect target for my equipment suite. With flashback, this card is a double threat, providing me with an aerial army.

4x Thoughtseize - Early hand disruption ensures that my opponent does not have answers against my later threats. This allows me to get any target, no matter the cost.

2x Toxic Deluge - An effective sweeper that trades life for -X/-X. Since I set the value of X, I can wipe the board in my favor, protecting some of my much needed threats. A fantastic resource against decks that go wide with tokens or small creatures.

4x Swords to Plowshares - Instant speed exile. The life gain to my opponent is barely beneficial when I can remove their key win conditions for a single white mana.

The Equipment

1x Batterskull - A powerhouse that helps keep me alive through extensive self damage and can close out a game quickly. Vigilance and lifelink serve to protect and attack to my advantage when I press the attack.

1x Sword of Feast and Famine - Many of the swords serve different purposes, and in the case of this one, not only does it disrupt my opponent's hand by removing cards, it untaps my mana for additional tricks, spells, and creatures.

1x Umezawa's Jitte - A testament to why Legacy is such an amazing format. This equipment is like a planeswalker on a stick. It can gain me life, remove threats, or pump up an attacker for the kill. Certainly a powerful equipment card that always trades favorable for me.

The Sideboard

1x Batterskull - An additional piece of equipment, this makes the mainboard Stoneforge Mystics that much more relevant. Additionally, this helps me close out the games faster.

1x Containment Priest - A fantastic way to shut down Reanimator decks, Token strategies, and even Natural Order or Green Sun's Zenith. This makes amassing an army that much harder.

1x Council's Judgment - A third copy of the Judgment allows as another catch all for the difficult to remove threats of the format. This rounds out the deck post board to make the hard to remove targets less of a threat.

1x Ethersworn Canonist - When coupled with Tidehollow Sculler and my equipment package, I can come out on top, this slows the advance of storm decks, Elves, and anything else wanting to play multiple spells in succession.

1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar - A great way to compete with token strategies and keep the pressure on my opponent's life total. Pairs well with Gideon of the Trials, making the emblem that much more valuable.

1x Grafdigger's Cage - Shutting down graveyards and turning off cards that fetching things from the library straight to the battlefield, this card gets in a lot of work.

1x Kaya, Ghost Assassin - The best planeswalker that can out grind Jace, the Mind Sculptor, forcing my opponent to discard while I continue to draw into answers and gas. Kaya is a beast.

2x Rest in Peace - The bane of Reanimator and Dredge decks.

4x Surgical Extraction - This card serves as the perfect accompaniment to my discard suite, allowing me to pluck the win conditions from my opponent's deck, hand, and graveyard; permanently removing their answers or win conditions from the game, making winning difficult or impossible at times. Additionally, against blue decks who will hide valuable cards on top of their libraries with a Brainstorm to protect them from my discard spells, this allows me to shuffle those cards away, inflicting double the damage of each discard spell.

2x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben - While she is a symmetrical effect, also affecting my board, she can slow the progression of storm decks, and keep them from going critical. A fantastic answer.

Top Ranked	Achieved #50 position overall 6 years ago
Date added	7 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is Legacy legal.
Rarity (main - side)	15 - 5 Mythic Rares 26 - 10 Rares 13 - 0 Uncommons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.11
Tokens	Emblem Gideon of the Trials, Emblem Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Knight Ally 2/2 W, Phyrexian Germ 0/0 B, Spirit 1/1 W
Folders	Nice, legacy, Legacy testing, Digs, Favs, Good Decks, sweet, Really Cool Deck Names, Neat, Inspiration