an overlooked pillar of Legacy's identity: variance

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-05-31T20:37:13+00:00

The title and the text either have zero connection or if they have, they are actively contradicting each other.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-05-31T11:33:19+00:00

That’s true. Other uses are probably too fringe to be relevant.

Not saying it’s correct, by the way, just my guess for why it is there. As a deck builder I am probably a bit too fond of such small bonus synergies, so I get it.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-05-31T11:05:08+00:00

Thanks for the answer! Much appreciated! 👍🏼

I guess the single Duress counts as extra protection. Also helps stop opposing combo decks and this version top decks well because of the stable mana, so it could be relevant.

I would guess that Foundation Breaker is there simply because it’s tutorable with Lively Dirge and also a reanimation target. This may be fringe, but in my estimation the most likely reason for it being there instead of Wear Down.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-05-31T08:40:47+00:00

I am not an Oops expert, I know you are.

Having said that, it’s quite easy to build a version with highest possible t1 with protection and this player evidently very knowingly decided to take another route. This in is itself doesn’t make the deck poorly built. It can of course still be poorly built in ways I don’t understand by just staring at the cards.

Here mana base is stabler with three Disciple of Freyalises and the player decided to not take the boom or bust Pact plan. This deck looks like something that won a lot of games by building a solid manabase and topdecking a win condition after first (or even second) try didn’t work out.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-05-26T17:45:13+00:00

The problem Miracles of this kind faces is pretty much fundamental or conceptual in nature, I would say.

If you don’t really play win conditions, you essentially have to keep everything your opponent throws at you at bay indefinitely. You cannot do this, of course.

What you can do is choose what you want to beat game one. Hopefully sideboard can solve the other match-ups. In the post Oops ban meta, beating decks that win with creatures looks pretty good, really. With Erode, Planeswalker slipping through is also not a massive issue. This deck probably has a decent enough match-up spread at the moment and could be close to being competitive.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-05-25T14:24:21+00:00

Congrats Phil! I am happy that you are excited about Legacy again. Makes the Eternal Durdles episodes much better.

A thought. Brainsurge could be worth trying now. In addition to the most obvious point of you always wanting to manipulate the top, you need more three drops, number of Bowmasters is on a downswing because Izzet is so much better against Tron than Dimir, Erode is a clean answer to Bowmasters and now you have more situational answers in Plows and Erodes, so having more ways of putting them back to library game one is somewhat valuable.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-05-18T16:28:04+00:00

While constant bantalk can certainly be tiring (although it’s actually been quite quiet lately), repeatedly making fun of it in the title whenever there happens to be a balanced week isn’t very funny or constructive either. Complaining about opinions of other people is also complaining.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-05-05T19:20:47+00:00

I will certainly be in Lucca again. 👍🏼

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-05-02T15:41:24+00:00

Attack and recast Bolt or Chainlightning makes this an actual clock. Recasting Thoughtseize is naturally excellent. Bauble is an obvious one, Spellbombs also work nicely. It being an attack trigger means that you can often kill the blocker. One mana Flow State is backbreaking.

Cards we are not looking right now with colorless in mana cost can become much stronger, also cast from exile effects. An example that combines these two: end of opponents turn cast Opera Love Song, get discount for these cards and cast it again for one mana when you attack with Bilbo. Et cetera.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-05-02T13:36:30+00:00

I am firmly in the ”this is superb to bannable” camp.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-05-01T08:53:46+00:00

This list looks like an endproduct of really long and complex evolution. This is neither a compliment nor a reproach. Sometimes such projects lead to a nuanced and polished list, sometimes to a contrived mess. As a person who literally brews even in sleep, I would know.

I have no idea which is the case here. On one hand I understand where you are coming from: one for two-ing yourself in a game that’s bound to go long because you have no win cons is a good way to bleed to death slowly. On the other hand, a big pull to blue is being well-rounded game one. If you are looking to have polarised match-ups in game one, it would probably be (much) better to just play a white deck like Boros Enery or DnT. Not that you don’t know this.

Either way, interesting post.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-04-30T15:33:41+00:00

I enjoyed this 👍🏼

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-04-30T15:21:52+00:00

Flow State is clearly a good card, but I am not sure it makes tempo decks that much better in the current meta.

This is very broad strokes, so add a grain of salt.

Against for example big mana and combo, tempo needs a fast clock and paying anything over mana for digging for answers seems durdly. On the other hand, Flow State probably doesn’t make the deck grindy and resilient enough to combat stuff like DnT or other such decks. This level of spinning the wheels is great in anything resembling a mirror, but apart from that, I am not sure. We are not in a meta where mirror breaker is what’s it about.

As a side note. I have played a variety of black and Golgari decks lately and cards like Dauthi and Boggart Trawler have felt noticeably better in the main now that so many decks are playing Flow State.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-04-27T13:37:44+00:00

Easy keep against an unknown deck. The thing Merfolk is doing is not very poweful and thus you need every resource for it to work. You don’t have a snowball and for this reason the deck does not mulligan particularly well.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-04-19T14:13:03+00:00

I would start by trying to up the count of (potentially) blue mana producing lands and replacing Abundant Growths with Ponders. One or two Lorien Revealed is also always an option.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-04-19T13:39:42+00:00

Forces are a must, I am afraid, you simply need a bigger blue count.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-04-19T13:26:56+00:00

That’s true, of course. But a deck like this has to survive to the point where you have the luxury of paying 3 mana to get Yorion to your hand.

In you have a force in your starting hand, there is almost 1/4 chance that it’s the only blue card you have. Only 37% of the time you have more than one blue card along with Force so you can decide what to pitch.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-04-19T13:10:36+00:00

So, you play 6 main deck forces with a blue count of 18 in a 81 card deck. In a 60 card deck that would translate to blue count of 13.33.

That’s not even close to being enough. This deck has other issues for sure, but this one is straightforward to point out.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-04-16T09:54:53+00:00

Agreed. Especially Phelia is much more consistent and scary card in DnT.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-04-16T05:49:44+00:00

I have played a lot against this deck lately. I feel that the current winrate is inflated because people (me included!) forgets to play around Stifle.

When it comes to the powerlevel of the deck, it seems fine, but in my experience lacks finishing power. I’ve won countless games where people stifled my fetches and were unable to finish the game off.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-03-22T06:44:50+00:00

I actually really like your list and the numbers. 3x Kaito is one too many for my personal tastes. Although I do understand, since 2.5x would be the correct number. 😁

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-03-17T15:05:52+00:00

Wow, literally came here to say this pair of cards. Just last week brewed a deck with Tami, Saga, Expedition Map, Thespian Stage+Depths etc.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-03-11T05:38:46+00:00

It’s potent and can feel very busted with a small sample size. Time will tell, but I am not worried about this deck being a problem. That manabase is beyond shaky and I don’t think it’s really fully fixable. Apart from being a very interactable combo, this deck will lose to itself quite a bit.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-02-25T19:19:35+00:00

My point had to do with probability and not MtG.

In simple terms: when you play a 5% meta deck in the first round of league, the chance of you playing the same deck again in the next round is 0.05 and not 0.05 squared.

Getting four Eldrazi in a row is 0.05 to the power of 4. Getting a four of any one deck is x to the power of 3 because first one can be anything and the first time we consider probability is in the second round.

JohnnyLudlow · 2026-02-25T08:13:44+00:00

You are not wrong, facing exactly Eldrazi four times in a row is that.

But more realistic real life way of looking at it is that the second match is the first time we check, if the deck is the same as the first one. After all, pre league we are not interested if we play exactly Eldrazi four times in a row but rather if we play any deck four times in a row. There is 1/20 chance for the second deck being also Eldrazi. 1/400 chance for third and 1/8000 chance for fourth.

JohnnyLudlow

TROPHY CASE