Legacy

From Judge Wiki

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

Introduction

Legacy is an Eternal format, meaning that any card ever printed is legal in Legacy except for a banned list. The Legacy banned list can be found here: [1]

Eternal format means that there is a lot to know about Legacy. If you don't have much time, or just want the most useful information, read the sections "Most common decks" and "General issues". If you have a bit more time, or want to delve deeper, you can read the other sections. We attempted to put the most relevant content first in each section.

Most common decks

In this section, you'll find a brief description of the most played decks. Obviously, the metagame can change from one place to another, or from one moment to another. But those deck are "classic" of a Legacy tournament. You can find an exemple of decklist by clicking on the name of the deck.

UW Blade

Similar to the Standard deck: an aggro-control UW deck built around hitting the opponent with equipped creatures.

BUG

A control deck built around green creatures, blue countermagic, and black spot removal and hand disruption.

Tempo

A UGR aggressive or aggro-control deck built around small creatures, burn and free countermagic. Sort of a hybrid of Merfolk and Zoo.

  • Delver of Secrets's ability is all one trigger. If the player looks at a card during their upkeep (for example, by drawing it), they have chosen not to reveal. This trigger is not missed if the player just draws their card.
  • The converted mana cost of Insectile Aberration, the transformed Delver of Secrets, is 0.

Merfolk

Mono-blue aggressive or aggro deck control with a lot of Merfolk lords, free counterspells, and mana denial.

Reanimator

This deck is based on putting expensive creatures in the graveyard and using cheap reanimation spells to cheat them onto the battlefield.

  • Exhume is not optional; the non-active player cannot forget to return a creature to the battlefield. Also, Exhume does not target.
  • If Animate Dead's ETB triggered ability is Stifled, it remains on the battlefield enchanting a creature card in the graveyard.

Tendrils Combo

The most common combo deck in Legacy. The goal is to cast at least 9 spells and then cast Tendrils of Agony for 20 damage. Because having a hand of 8 cards would not be sufficient damage, these decks use an engine to generate more storm and mana: Ad Nauseam or Past in Flames (with occasional appearances from other cards). The core set of mana acceleration is the same, but decks may vary wildly in how they find and protect the combo.

Zoo

Aggressive GWR deck focused on cheap creatures and plentiful burn. Unlike other Legacy decks, Zoo runs fetchlands and dual lands in all three of its colors. They are usually interchangeable, but players may accidentally try to fetch a Mountain with a Windswept Heath. Some builds run Sylvan Library, but they don't run draw spells alongside it.

High Tide

A blue combo deck which uses its namesake card to produce large quantities of mana. It chains untap effects and draw effects to either cast a lethal Blue Sun's Zenith or Brain Freeze.

  • This deck sometimes plays entirely on the opponent's turn via Reset. It is common to leave the opponent's spells (usually countermagic) on the stack and continue going off in response. Memory of what is on the stack and targeting what is critical.

Dredge

Aggro-combo deck similar to the well-known Extended deck. The goal is to replace draw steps with Dredge to fill the graveyard. Sometimes mana-less, and often players choose to draw instead of play. Cards in the graveyard can put creatures onto the battlefield (Ichorid, Bloodghast, Narcomoeba, Dread Return, Bridge from Below) or strip the hand (Cabal Therapy).

  • Ichorid only triggers at the beginning of the upkeep. Players often trigger a draw effect in response to the trigger, and they can easily run into trouble if they dredge new Ichorids (that will not trigger this turn).
  • Players are required by the Magic Tournament Rules to keep their graveyard in one pile. Players may also not rearrange their graveyard because some cards care about graveyard order. If multiple cards would be put in the graveyard at the same time, the controller chooses the order.
  • If Golgari Grave-Troll is put onto the battlefield from the graveyard, it will count itself.
  • If the creatures on both sides die while Bridge from Below is in the graveyard, the Dredge player may stack the triggers how they choose (avoid coaching).
  • If Bridge from Below is in the graveyard, and it's trigger to make a zombie on the stack, it will not make a zombie if the non-dredge player has a creature that dies. This is due to an intervening if clause in Bridge's first ability.
  • A player must have X cards in their library in order to dredge X.
  • Dredge is a replacement effect that replaces the draw. Once the draw effect is resolving, nobody can respond. The player chooses whether to replace the draw with dredging only as the draw is resolving, not before.
  • Whoever lost game 2 or game 3 is not required to choose whether they play or draw until after sideboarding is complete and decks are presented. They are required to announce before they see the opening hand. If they make no announcement and they see their hand, they are assumed to be playing first.

General issues

Avoiding coaching

Here is a list of questions that pop up regularly in Legacy tournaments, for which the short answer is usually not what the player would want to know. To avoid giving away any strategic information, it is safer to just answer "yes". However, it is advised to stay around after the ruling to prevent any potential problem.

Put on the stack/versus casting copies

Oracle texts

Legacy is an old format. As such, quite a lot of cards have changed since they were printed. For example, a lot of creatures have changed creature types from printing, which is important since cards like Engineered Plague see some sideboard play. The most notable cases are Lord of Atlantis and Goblin King which now have the creature types they affect. Many other creatures that did not have a race now have one, like Mother of Runes. You will also encounter a lot of foreign, old and altered copies of cards. You may not be able to look at a card and know what it is. All this means that you should make sure before the tournament start that you have access to the gatherer or another source of oracle texts.

Split Cards

When a card needs a characteristic of a split card like Assault // Battery, it gets both results. If it's trying to match a value, it succeeds if either half succeeds. If it needs a number, it gets both values (and you get a sum).

Problematic cards

Counterbalance

  • Spells with split second, like Krosan Grip, still trigger Counterbalance.
  • Players will try to rules lawyer by saying their opponent did not explicitly say "Counterbalance is still on the stack". If you don't specify, you're assumed to be responding to the top thing on the stack.

Humility

  • Humility's P/T setting effect applies in 7b with Mishra's Factory's P/T setting. If Factory animates after Humility enters the battlefield, Factory will be a 2/2. If Humility enters the battlefield after Factory animates, Factory will be 1/1. Either way, it will lose all of its abilities, but is still an Artifact Creature Land - Assembly Worker.
  • If Elspeth, Knight-Errant's +1 ability that gives +3/+3 and flying is activated when Humility is on the battlefield, the creature gets the bonus. (If the ability is activated before Humility is on the battlefield, the creature gets +3/+3 and does not have flying.)
  • Humility cannot affect abilities that apply before it. The effects of Magus of the Moon and Painter's Servant still apply.
  • Humility removes "enters the battlefield" abilities; Viridian Shaman will not destroy an artifact if it enters the battlefield after Humility.
  • Humility will not affect replacement effects that modify how a permanent enters the battlefield. If a Meddling Mage enters the battlefield under Humility, the controller will still name a card. That card can be cast, but if Humility leaves the battlefield, Meddling Mage will remember what was named.
  • Indestructibility and Unblockable are characteristics, not abilities. If these characteristics are set by an effect (like that of Elspeth, Knight-Errant's ultimate ability), Humility cannot remove them. Humility will remove the ability that makes Darksteel Colossus indestructible, leaving it fragile.

Blood Moon and Magus of the Moon

  • Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth will not apply when Blood Moon is on the battlefield. All non-basic lands will be Mountains (including Urborg) and no lands will gain the Swamp subtype. This is because Urborg depends on Blood Moon.
  • Blood Moon will not stop replacement effects that modify how a land enters the battlefield; Tranquil Thicket will still enter the battlefield tapped.
  • Blood Moon does not remove supertypes; two Flagstones of Trokair will still kill each other under Blood Moon, but no lands will be searched.
  • Blood Moon does not remove non-land types. A Seat of the Synod will still be an artifact under Blood Moon.
  • Blood Moon does not change the name of a land on the battlefield.
  • Blood Moon does not convey the "Basic" subtype. A nonbasic land will still count for Price of Progress.
  • Riftstone Portal will still let lands tap for Green and White under Blood Moon.
  • Because of Innistrad and color indicators, Dryad Arbor is still green under Blood Moon.

Trinisphere

  • Trinisphere applies last after cost increasers and cost reducers.
  • Trinisphere affects every spell that would be cast, even copies from Isochron Scepter or spells with an alternate casting cost like Force of Will. The activation cost of Isochron Scepter does not count towards the cost to cast the spell.
  • Extra costs count towards Trinisphere's restriction. Shattering Spree un-replicated will cost {2}{R} to destroy one artifact. Shattering Spree replicated twice will cost {R}{R}{R} to destroy three artifacts.
  • Trinisphere does not change the converted mana cost, just the total cost.
  • Extra mana paid because of Trinisphere (or other cost increasers like Thorn of Amethyst) will still count as colors of mana paid towards Sunburst on cards like Engineered Explosives or in other cards where the color used to pay for the spell matters, like Firespout.

Tarmogoyf

  • Tarmogoyf has a CDA setting its power and toughness that applies in all zones.
  • Tarmogoyf's power and toughness are derived information. Opponents are not obliged to assist in determining it and judges must avoid assisting players with it.
  • Some players will track Tarmogoyf's P/T with a die; this is considered a personal note, and has no bearing on the game. If Tarmogoyf deals damage, it is both players responsibility to ensure the proper amount of damage has been dealt.
  • State-Based Actions are not checked until after a spell has finished resolving. If you Lightning Bolt a Tarmogoyf with types Sorcery, Land, Tarmogoyf will be a 3/4 with 3 points of damage. Swords to Plowshares works differently because it gains life during its resolution, before the spell goes to the graveyard.
  • If Gempalm Incinerator is cycled, it is already in the graveyard before its triggered ability goes on the stack. (potentially changing Tarmogoyf's P/T)
  • With Yixlid Jailer on the battlefield, a Tarmogoyf in the graveyard will be 0/1.

Lion's Eye Diamond (LED)

  • A player can only activate this when they have priority. They cannot activate it while a spell is being cast or an ability is being activated like most mana abilities. It is still a mana ability and is not stopped by Pithing Needle or Stifle.
  • A common play with LED is to put Infernal Tutor or some draw spell on the stack and respond by breaking Lion's Eye Diamond. Priority passes can get tricky here; if they wait to see if their opponent has a response before cracking LED, the opponent can pass and force the spell to resolve without cracking LED.
  • Lion's Eye Diamond's mana ability can still be activated while a split-second spell is on the stack, as long as its controller still has priority.

Aether Vial

  • Putting a creature on the battlefield when resolving the activated ability is optional.
  • You don’t pay additional costs (like Silvergill Adept).

Other common rulings

  • Karakas can only return Legendary creatures, not any Legendary permanents.
  • Meddling Mage cannot stop spells cast by Isochron Scepter. Meddling Mage prevents players from casting the named cards; Isochron Scepter allows players to cast a copy.
  • Players who steal Mishra's Factory with Vedalken Shackles will not lose control of the creature at end of turn when it stops being a creature or if its toughness increases later. They will lose control only if Shackles untaps or leaves play.
  • Jotun Grunt's ability can select multiple graveyards to pay for its upkeep as long as both cards at one time come from the same graveyard, i.e., two from my graveyard and four from yours.
    • Partial payments are not allowed. If Jötun Grunt has three age counters, a player cannot choose to move just four cards from graveyards.
  • Turning morphed creatures face up is a special action that does not use the stack, cannot be responded to, and can be taken even when a split second card is on the stack.
  • Dryad Arbor is a creature and is therefore affected by summoning sickness.

See also

Retrieved from "http://wiki.internationalmagicjudges.net/index.php/Legacy"
Personal tools