With the announcement of Eternal Masters today, we are sure to see an influx of potential Legacy players come June 10th. But what can they do with their shiny new Force of Wills and Wastelands (really, there’s going to be a foil in each pack!) in a format as wide as Legacy? We’ll start to dig into the many decks of Legacy and see what cards in their maindeck is a card on the Reserved List. While many of the non-Reserved List cards are still going to likely be expensive, we can at least see which decks can be a good starting point for players looking to dive into Legacy. We’ll sort the decks into three different categories:
- 0% Reserved List Cards: These are the decks that have the most to gain from Eternal Masters, as their entire maindeck is eligible for reprint.
- <10% Reserved List Cards (6 cards or fewer): These decks likely include dual lands (the main offender of the Reserve List), but if the rest of the cards are reprinted in Eternal Masters, finishing out these decks may not be as difficult.
- >10% Reserved List Cards: These decks may include multiple sets of dual lands while also including other Legacy playable cards that are on the Reserved List (Mox Diamond, for example) – this can make finishing a deck started by Eternal Masters more difficult. I may also include in this category decks that are prohibitively expensive for a player just looking to get into Legacy (decks with Tabernacle of Pendrell Vale, I’m looking at you).
We’ll take a look a couple different decks today. If you want to see more, let us know!
0% Reserved List Cards
Death and Taxes
| Creatures (26) 4 Flickerwisp 3 Mirran Crusader 4 Mother of Runes 3 Phyrexian Revoker 4 Serra Avenger 4 Stoneforge Mystic 4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben Spells (11) 4 Swords to Plowshares 1 Batterskull 1 Sword of Fire and Ice 1 Umezawa’s Jitte 4 Æther Vial Lands (23) 2 Horizon Canopy 3 Karakas 10 Plains 4 Rishadan Port 4 Wasteland |
It’s likely that Death and Taxes will be the most to benefit from Eternal Masters – not only are all of the cards are eligible for reprint in Eternal Masters, but it’s a solid Tier 1-1.5 deck in the format. Of the non-land cards, AEther Vial and Stoneforge Mystic are the expensive cards, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see these cards in Eternal Masters either. Stoneforge Mystic is also the GP promo for this year too, so this deck looks to be one of the most accessible for new Legacy players.
Merfolk
| Creatures (25) 4 Cursecatcher 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 2 Merrow Reejerey 3 Phantasmal Image 4 Silvergill Adept 4 True-Name Nemesis Spells (14) 1 Echoing Truth 4 Force of Will 3 Chalice of the Void 2 Umezawa’s Jitte 4 Æther Vial Lands (21) 3 Cavern of Souls 12 Island 4 Mutavault 2 Wasteland |
Not only does Merfolk port pretty well over from Modern, the deck can also take advantage from the beautiful new Force of Wills!
Burn
| Creatures (13) 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel 4 Goblin Guide 2 Grim Lavamancer 3 Monastery Swiftspear Spells (27) 4 Chain Lightning 4 Fireblast 4 Lava Spike 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Price of Progress 4 Rift Bolt 2 Searing Blaze 1 Sulfuric Vortex Lands (20) 2 Arid Mesa 4 Bloodstained Mire 10 Mountain 4 Wooded Foothills |
It wouldn’t really be a getting into Legacy article without Burn, would it? Well, it’s a solid Modern deck that really only needs the following cards to port into Legacy:
| Legacy Cards (12) 4 Chain Lightning 4 Price of Progress 4 Fireblast |
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chain Lightning in Eternal Masters either, so maybe the deck will get even cheaper!
<10% Reserved List Cards
RUG Delver
| Creatures (12) 4 Delver of Secrets 4 Nimble Mongoose 4 Tarmogoyf Spells (30) 4 Brainstorm 3 Chain Lightning 4 Daze 4 Force of Will 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Ponder 3 Spell Pierce 4 Stifle Lands (18) 4 Misty Rainforest 4 Polluted Delta 3 Tropical Island 3 Volcanic Island 4 Wasteland |
| Reserved List Cards (6) 3 Tropical Island 3 Volcanic Island |
The great thing about RUG Delver budget-wise is the flexibility of fetchlands. You don’t need the Zendikar fetches to play this deck – you can use 3 of the different Khans of Tarkir fetches – Flooded Strand, Polluted Delta, or Wooded Foothills! And with Wasteland coming back as a rare in Eternal Masters, it really seems like RUG Delver can be a solid entry point for players.
Sneak and Show
| Creatures (8) 4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn 4 Griselbrand Spells (33) 4 Brainstorm 1 Flusterstorm 4 Force of Will 1 Misdirection 4 Ponder 4 Preordain 4 Show and Tell 3 Spell Pierce 4 Lotus Petal 4 Sneak Attack Lands (19) 3 Ancient Tomb 2 City of Traitors 1 Flooded Strand 3 Island 1 Mountain 2 Polluted Delta 4 Scalding Tarn 3 Volcanic Island |
| Reserved List Cards (5) 2 City of Traitors 3 Volcanic Island |
Surprise! Show and Tell and Sneak Attack are not on the Reserved List.
Miracles
| Creatures (5) 2 Monastery Mentor 3 Snapcaster Mage Spells (34) 4 Brainstorm 1 Council’s Judgment 2 Counterspell 1 Entreat the Angels 4 Force of Will 4 Ponder 4 Swords to Plowshares 3 Terminus 4 Counterbalance 3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 4 Sensei’s Divining Top Lands (21) 2 Arid Mesa 4 Flooded Strand 3 Island 2 Plains 4 Polluted Delta 3 Tundra 3 Volcanic Island |
| Reserved List Cards (6) 3 Tundra 3 Volcanic Island |
Miracles is a super flexible shell that can contain anywhere from 2 or 3 Reserved List cards up to six (2 Tundras and a Volcanic Island, and up to 3 of each) – so don’t take this specific decklist as the de facto Miracles list. Hell, if you want to feel really clever on a budget, you could build a Miracles list with Back to Basics and include maybe one Tundra and the rest basics and fetchlands! It’s not just limited to the manabase either. The creature base is also very flexible. Monastery Mentor; Snapcaster Mage; Vendilion Clique; Venser, Shaper Savant; and Stoneforge Mystic have all seen play in Miracles lists, so you can even just split your creature base among those creatures – or play zero creatures.
>10% Reserved List Cards
Shardless BUG
| Creatures (14) 2 Baleful Strix 4 Deathrite Shaman 4 Shardless Agent 4 Tarmogoyf Spells (25) 4 Abrupt Decay 4 Ancestral Vision 4 Brainstorm 4 Force of Will 3 Hymn to Tourach 1 Maelstrom Pulse 1 Toxic Deluge 2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 2 Liliana of the Veil Lands (21) 1 Bayou 2 Creeping Tar Pit 1 Forest 1 Misty Rainforest 4 Polluted Delta 1 Swamp 3 Tropical Island 4 Underground Sea 4 Verdant Catacombs |
| Reserved List Cards (8) 1 Bayou 3 Tropical Island 4 Underground Sea |
Shardless BUG is just barely over the 10% threshold, having 8 cards on the Reserved List in the main deck. It’s a color intensive deck that requires two colors to cast its main removal spell of choice, Abrupt Decay, as well as double blue for Jace, the Mind Sculptor, and double black for Hymn to Tourach and Liliana of the Veil – it’s no surprise the deck needs 3 to 4 Underground Seas and 3 Tropical Islands.
There are still plenty more decks to cover in Legacy – are there any others you want to see? Let us know.
Undomian
Aluren is a relevant deck when talking about the reserved list. It typically runs duals, but when you’re splashing out on Imperial Recruiters that’s not much extra. Could easily run with Just the 4x Aluren plus 1 or 2 duals.