Reanimator has been doing well recently and is a fun deck. It is not the be all and end all as some people think, but it is good.

Also, I agree, storm is amazing, but people just getting into legacy beware, it is an exceptionally unforgiving deck and you really have to work at learning every in and out of the deck perfectly before taking it to a tournament, it is not a deck that you pick up the night before and just decide to play.

Another reason not to play enchanter: when was the last time it won again? It is just too fragile. If it loses its enchantress early it has a really difficult time winning.

For someone just getting into legacy I would actually recommend zoo, merfolk, or another deck with a simple game plan.

Enchantress is something that no one can catch on to. No one has the right build except for Jeremy Marsh, who is in my local scene. I am desperate for him to play more outside of the scene because his list is incredible. It's the one that is never too fragile.

For getting into Legacy I agree, Zoo and Merfolk are easy to play decks that are (or, at least Zoo is right now) putting up good numbers. But these are the decks that I believe are most powerful or could be most powerful but are ignored.

Do you have a list for the build your friend plays?

Those are nice decks, but they are common in most cases because of it. Playing less known decks is also a good way to go if they can keep up with the known top contenders. I have two that I play that generally don't have too many problems.

The first is Lokri Irlymi. It's a variant of a Death & Taxes deck. It's basically white control with weenies, but it packs a nasty punch. The main function of the deck is a combo beetwwen Karakas and Mangara of Corondor which exiles any permanent and is reusable. Although that may be the main combo, it isn't needed to win (I only use it in maybe 3 out of 5 games). Mother of Runes is a big problem to most people because she just poses too much of a problem and if you don't deal with her right away, you most likely won't be able to deal with her. A personal addition that I found helpful was the use of card:Angel's Grace. Your opponent go for an all-out attack that will just barely beat you if you block every possible situation so what do you do? You let it all go through and play an card:Angel's Grace then proceed to shut them down on your turn. It is so annoyingly funny and works.

You can side it for top decks like Enchantress, Merfolk, Goblins, Zoo, and any other deck that relies on a specific type of card too much with Cataclysm . It will shut them down for a few turns. Ethersworn Canonist helps against Enchantress and Storm decks, but a Mana Tithe also shuts down Storm because they usually will have just enough mana to start their combo string. Against Reanimator, the maindeck is generally enough, but there is the Relic of Progenitus in the side if you feel you need it, as well as some Mystical Tutor s to help you find it.

The second deck I play is Virus in Legacy. Because my first deck generally plays slowly, I made a quick deck. It's pretty straight forward and usually wins on turn 2 or 3 if I'm not disrupted too badly. The main issue is that the deck is very focused. So the sideboard was made to deal with every resistance possible. Extirpate for Dredge and Reanimator, Reverent Silence for Enchantress, Engineered Plague for Merfolk and Goblins, card:Autumn's Veil for control, and Snuff Out for zoo if the Go for the Throat s just weren't enough.

Legacy is one of the best formats (along with EDH) because of all the possibilities for decks that can work. It allows you to be creative, different, and still do decently. If you know your deck well, then even a homebrew deck can come out on top in a tournament. There isn't the top 8 decks, and that's all there is. Legacy requires more skill than it requires having a top deck. The players make the decks in legacy and it will always be that way. Although winning may be important, focus on finding a deck that you enjoy first. If you can thoroughly enjoy and know your deck, then you can make it to the top as well.

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents to this thread. Remember to have fun. XD

One of the easiest decks to get into Legacy with is Affinity. I know in my meta, it's a pretty feared deck. Ornithopter s can swing for huge amounts turn 2, Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas is an amazing win con that goes off a turn after he's played. Sure, artifact hate comes into play. But if you have a Disciple of the Vault in play, destroying your things only hurts them. And dropping an Arcbound Ravager almost wins every game hands down. Eating all your lands and other permanents you control to pump the one creature they let through is awesome. I think it's one of the most solid decks presently in Legacy.

Why do you think it is that not many people are playing it? Have the not caught on?

Probably because Affinity decks are basically auto pilot decks. Given you don't get a crappy hand, the hand will play itself (and rather quickly too). There is some initial thinking involved when learning how to use the deck, but after that you don't need to think about it. It'll just play itself and can get quite boring. It's also very easy to side against. Pithing Needle , Extirpate , and Fate Transfer are just some cards I've seen to put it at a stop. My friend had 2 legacy decks (not sure if he still does), and one was Affinity. Because he would get bored of it, he also had a Tooth and Nail deck which was fun too.

The reason people are not currently playing affinity is too much hate really. A lot of decks have artifact destruction in sideboard. Eventually people forget about it enough that it steals a random event, but generally its pretty well suppressed since a lot of decks feature artifact hate in sideboard anyways.

@burkek It's the same reason Dredge will win occasionally. It tapers off, then graveyard hate tapers, then boom! Unexpected random win, then graveyard hate is back.

Yeah I agree with what you are saying, but in general more people continue playing artifact hate because it is used against so many different decks. There was an affinity deck within a year or so of now that won something, but I don't recall any other occasions. So I agree with the theory completely but I think it applies more to dredge than to affinity.

Those are all nice suggestions, but what about the rest of us who have student loans and houses and cars to pay for let alone kids and spouses? why is there no Legacy on a Budget articles?

Because to be honest, there aren't any really decent budget legacy decks that can pull off a win at competitive levels. I can write up a few legacy decks for you that can be made on a budget that are decent, but they still won't compare because the cards that are needed to be competitive are pricey for that reason.

I think there is a lot more options out there for those of us restricted by our disposable income, i.e. you can't afford Hallowed Fountain s at 30 bucks a piece? especially not Tundra at 120.00 big ones? play Nimbus Maze at 3.99 a pop and Adarkar Wastes . Thats the only real example i have at the moment but I am very sure someone could put some brain sweat into this and help us out.

But see, with that you are missing the points of the other two, making them much less effective. In legacy, all your moves should be effective. If you pop let's say a Flooded Strand , you can get the Tundra or Hallowed Fountain and not have to worry about not having the other mana type. If you use Nimbus Maze or Adarkar Wastes , then you can't fetch them so easily. If you want to play a budget legacy that can effectively run, then it would need to be mono colored because of the resources you won't have to use otherwise.

Really? No mentioning of dredge? At all? The deck is just bonkers, and the only real way to beat it is to outrace it, or have Leyline of the Void out on turn 0. All other graveyard hate is easy to play around, and, worst case scenario, you just start hard casting your dredgers and hope to get there. Not to mention the deck is pretty cheap when compared to all the decks running FoW and dual lands.

And what about merfolk? Or counterbalance? Or Goblins? Or death and taxes? Or any of the other extremely good decks in legacy?

Here is my advice to new legacy players: Screw the best decks. Find a deck you like that fits your style, and just play it. If its one of the 'best decks', learn how to play through the hate. If it isn't, then learn how to play against the 'best decks'. In all honesty, being a good pilot with your deck will win you more matches than anything else. So just play a fun deck, and the rest will eventually fall into place.

I think the actual meaning of this thread was which decks to play because of statistics and results, but I fully understand and agree with your point SocialistElite. I actually think mongoose/delver decks will get better soon with the addition of a non-random red draw spell that helps you get threshold in the form of faithless looting.

Hey Dredge Nihil Spellbomb turn one, pass?

Oh hey. Nice Nihil Spellbomb . I'm really glad you mulled to a subpar 5 card hand for that. Let me dredge for 2 turns using the second best cards in my hand until you pre-maturely sac your spellbomb. Then I can just go all in turn 3 using that breakthrough I've been holding all game.

Just because you dedicate 3-4 cards in your sideboard against dredge doesn't mean you automatically beat it. The deck is the most redundant deck in the format. Test against a competent pilot, and they will wreck you in games 2 or 3 despite your turn 1 card:Tormod's Crypt. Sure, sometimes dredge just loses to hate, but a good percentage of the time it just slows them down.

As for what the best deck in the format is, its probably TES of ANT. I've played the deck before, along with SI, PSI, and QSI decks and almost every game loss comes from a misplay on my own part. The decks are just so difficult to learn how to play, and take hours of goldfishing before even attempting to play against hate.

Oh, and I would also like to agree with Burkek that Faithless Looting is going to do scary things in alot of different decks. I know I'm going to put 4 in my dredge deck, and Past in Flames might just become a tier 1 combo deck akin to its abbreviated brethren. I even know some Reanimator pilots who are going to splash red for them!

Whoa is there Mr. Rant, I'm just pointing out that you can wreck a good deck with a bad card.

I like Socialist Elite's "play the fun deck". I think it's something we should all take into extreme consideration.

When it comes down to it, the deck itself in a format like this doesn't really account for much. If you can pilot a mediocre deck to a point of extreme efficiency because you like it and know it so well, then it has a pretty good chance at being a top contender in most situations. Most legacy decks are designed to be better than possible, and have side materials against the other good decks, but end up costing a lot. Play a manageable deck and there's a good chance you can get off a win game one if your opponent doesn't throw out broken combos right away. Then they'll be even more confused game two because your deck is original. They are just focused and expect others to play top decks, so they don't know how to side against you. Situations like that happen all the time, but we still need to remember one fundamental thing. This is a game. A complicated and fun card game. So the main goal should be to enjoy yourself when you play. (yay for blocks of text)

All the winners of legacy decks pilot $1000 dollar plus decks and are frequently top tier players. The problem with budget legacy decks is that by definition they are inferior to a non-budget version of that deck, and less consistent. They will win less regardless of how good a player you are. If you really want to get into legacy you need a good deck, and that most of the time means spending a few pretty pennies.

Why would anyone want to play any format that does not reward skill? I know there is a level to which decks must be but why would you want to sit down at a tourney where who ever's wallet is bigger wins?

Thats not what I meant, legacy is the most skill intensive format to be honest. You need to both invest money and time to win, just having one is not going to cut it.

Halidir and burkek, your take on Legacy is far from the truth. It is not the person with the biggest wallet, for skill is immensely involved.

I would pray that i am wrong about it

I can assure you so. In my Legacy community, everyone loans each other cards, even when they're about to play against them. It allows everyone to play, and it works well.

Pox Pox Pox Pox Pox Pox Pox Pox Pox

I disagree. It is money and skill. A pauper legacy deck and a perfect top money legacy deck built and played by the same player against the same field WILL NOT yield equal results. Skill is required to play and build a good legacy deck but so is lots of money. Land alone can mark a huge diffence in budget and playability of a deck.

It's not necessarily money. There are quite a few players in my Legacy scene, and we all play various decks. One of the decks that normally takes top 5 is a mono green elf deck that runs about $50. It's beaten out my Ad Nauseam deck several times. Sometimes just by me not being able to get a good opening hand, other times because he knows his deck very well. Another of the ones that goes to the tops is a black/blue fairy control deck. It's about $300, but it's still nowhere near as expensive as some of the decks around. But again, normally it is the more expensive decks that come out on top. Terrible when two Ad Nauseam decks meet for 1st and 2nd. Then it's normally whomever goes first. But you can still do really well with a decently built, inexpensive deck, as long as you understand it, and know how to play it.

That's a very good way to put it. The deck itself is huge, and not all decks need too much money.

Vs Ad nauseam, Extract will wreck! Just sayin'