Legacy is a pretty big format so we’re not done with more odd (and hopefully relevant) Legacy interactions. This time we’ve got another five interactions. Per the usual, go ahead and submit more odd interactions that we’ll feature in the near future.

Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas and Equipment

Bolas’ new servant actually sees a little bit of Legacy play. Obviously he has a home in Affinity, but other decks like the Enlightened Tutor control decks or even Stax use Mr. Tezzeret as a win condition. With the number of cheap artifacts and artifact lands legal in Legacy, it’s very common for Tezzeret to one-shot opponents. However, there are other uses for him.

Say you’re playing Affinity and your opponent is on Maverick and he plays an Umezawa’s Jitte. Jitte can be pretty tough to beat sometimes, but if you have a Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas, beating it can be easy. Simply -1 your Tezzeret to turn the Umezawa’s Jitte into a 5/5 creature. What good does this do, you ask? Well, equipment that’s a creature can’t be equipped. Here’s the relevant Comprehensive Rules:

301.5c An Equipment that’s also a creature can’t equip a creature. An Equipment that loses the subtype “Equipment” can’t equip a creature. An Equipment can’t equip itself. An Equipment that equips an illegal or nonexistent permanent becomes unattached from that permanent but remains on the battlefield. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.) An Equipment can’t equip more than one creature. If a spell or ability would cause an Equipment to equip more than one creature, the Equipment’s controller chooses which creature it equips.

So now you’ve effectively neutralized the Umezawa’s Jitte. A 5/5 is probably a little easier than a Jitte eating all of your creatures, so now you’re free to go crazy with your robots.

Credit: Shawon from MTGTheSource

Miracles versus Vendilion Clique or Stifle

Miracles are a new addition to Legacy, but they’ve already found a home in the UW Control decks – what a surprise, right? Brainstorm and Sensei’s Divining Top interact so well with Miracles that they’re not really Miracles at all anymore. Regardless, there are ways to fight the Avacyn Restored mechanic.

Let’s go over the Miracle mechanic first. The Comprehensive Rules:

702.92a Miracle is a static ability linked to a triggered ability (see rule 603.10). “Miracle [cost]” means “You may reveal this card from your hand as you draw it if it’s the first card you’ve drawn this turn. When you reveal this card this way, you may cast it by paying [cost] rather than its mana cost.”

702.92b If a player chooses to reveal a card using its miracle ability, he or she plays with that card revealed until that card leaves his or her hand, that ability resolves, or that ability otherwise leaves the stack.

While the mechanic functions similarly to Delver of Secrets in terms of physical actions (you peek at the top card of your library before drawing), the actual mechanic is different. With Delver of Secrets, if your opponent reveals an instant or sorcery, it’s too late to kill it with Gut Shot or Stifle it. This is because the look and reveal are a part of the resolution of the ability.

Miracles are a bit different. They trigger upon actually drawing the card, so the Miracled card is actually in your opponent’s hand (though it is revealed). Then once the trigger resolves, they can pay the Miracle cost to cast it. Then the Miracled card is placed on the stack. The Miracled card is technically in the hand, but physically is not in it. This allows for several differences.

Once your opponent reveals the Miracle card (and is in their hand), the ability triggers and is placed on the stack. Now players have the opportunity to respond. For example, a Vendilion Clique cast in response to the trigger can snatch the Miracle out of the hand of the opponent. Similarly, a Stifle can stop your opponent from paying the Miracle cost. The Miracle card will just stay in their hand and your opponent does not need to pay the mana for the Miracle card, since it’s a cost paid on resolution of the Miracle trigger.

Sylvan Library and Dredge

Sylvan Library is a favorite for green based decks that seek to grind out matches versus control decks. The library manipulation combined with shuffle effects can allow the controller to see the most amounts of cards possible. However, because it is an older card, it lends itself to some unorthodox wording and consequently, some odd interactions with other cards.

For example, combining the Dredge mechanic with Sylvan Library. Life from the Loam is a card often seen alongside with Sylvan Library.

Say you choose to draw the two extra cards off of Sylvan Library, and you choose to replace one of those draws with a Dredge. The Dredged card isn’t a card you can legally put on top of your library, because you didn’t actually draw it this turn. This, in turn, forces you to put the other two cards you drew that turn on top of your library unless you pay 4 life. Not very useful, but good to know for those Maverick or Aggro Loam players.

But say you had three Dredgers in your graveyard. You could Dredge all three off Sylvan Library and your draw step and not put any cards back at all with Sylvan Library!

Sylvan Library also interacts oddly with other cards, like Brainstorm. But that’s a story for another day.

Indestructible creatures vs the Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale or Magus of the Tabernacle

The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale is a beloved card for Lands decks. Magus of the Tabernacle is a card seen in White Stax decks. However, read the cards carefully. Even though Magus is essentially a reprint of Tabernacle, they actually have some functional differences (just like how Eureka can put planeswalkers into play but Hypergenesis cannot). Magus of the Tabernacle forces the controller to sacrifice the creature while the Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale destroys the creature. So don’t worry about paying the 1 mana for your Blightsteel Colossus against Lands, but remember to pay for it against Stax.

Batterskull vs. Reality Ripple

Phasing? In my Legacy? It’s more common than you think. Actually, that’s not true. Not true at all. Hopefully though, it will be after this article. The clever folks at MTGTheSource are to credit for this odd interaction. First, the relevant comprehensive rules for phasing:

702.24f When a permanent phases out, any Auras, Equipment, or Fortifications attached to that permanent phase out at the same time. This alternate way of phasing out is known as phasing out “indirectly.” An Aura, Equipment, or Fortification that phased out indirectly won’t phase in by itself, but instead phases in along with the permanent it’s attached to.

702.24k Phased-out tokens cease to exist as a state-based action. See rule 704.5d.

See it now? When Reality Ripple targets the Germ token equipped by Batterskull, this monstrous artifact will phase out too. However, since the token will cease to exist, it won’t phase back in and consequently, the Batterskull will just not exist anymore, as odd as it sounds. In fact, it’s not even exiled, so if you had some sort of Pull from Eternity shenanigans, it wouldn’t work. Golden Wish wouldn’t work either because it’s not outside of the game. It…just doesn’t exist.

Credit: Hopo & Julian23 on MTGTheSource

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That concludes Part 3 of Tricky Legacy Interactions. Once again, feel free to submit any odd synergies, interactions, or otherwise obscure combos in Legacy that people may not know about.

Jason and Jeff

@mtgtwin1 and @mtgtwin2 on Twitter, respectively (follow us!)