This Week in Legacy: A Look Ahead at 2026
Howdy folks! It's time yet again for another edition of This Week in Legacy! I'm your host, Joe Dyer, and this week we're going to be diving into what's coming in 2026! We've got an imminent short spoiler season for Lorwyn Eclipsed coming soon, so we'll probably be doing our set review for that next week. We've also got some Challenge data on our last Challenge of 2025 and first Challenges of 2026 (including a Showcase Challenge), in addition to some paper event news.
Without further ado, let's dive right in!
The Future of 2026
2025 was one heck of a year for Legacy, and 2026 is going to be even more interesting. To start with, we've got SEVEN whole Standard sets coming down the pipeline, and that doesn't even begin to cover what other things Wizards may have in store for this year.
So let's discuss some of the three big things to think about for this year.
#1 - The In Universe Sets - Lorwyn, Strixhaven, Reality Fracture
We are only getting three in Universe Standard sets in 2026, and while that doesn't seem like a ton compared to the four Universes Beyond sets, I think it is important to keep an eye out for the in-Universe sets more. The major reason for this? Well, 2025's in Universe sets had a far greater impact on Legacy overall. Cards like Stock Up, Eumidian Hatchery, and Quantum Riddler were huge additions to the format. While it's reasonable that there could be something in the Universes Beyond sets in 2025 (and realistically, the one I'd expect is something I'll talk about shortly) I do think it's more realistic that the format-impacting cards will come out of the in-universe sets.
We will know what to expect from Lorwyn pretty soon so I won't touch too hard on that one, but the one set that I do think the set to really keep an eye out for is Reality Fracture. I have heard some rumor here or there that the possibility of this set being a type of Future Sight-esque style set and those kinds of sets tend to always have something that could impact Legacy. I also do expect Secrets of Strixhaven to have some interesting cards. If there's any amount of Learn in the set and anything that is actually good, it could boost all the Lesson cards we just got in Avatar: The Last Airbender for sure.
The greater philosophy here seems to be that in Universe set card designs are pushed a little harder, and just based on how 2025 went, I think we'll see some interesting stuff come from these sets. These sets also likely have some amount of Commander product, so it's certainly possible that cards from those products could also impact the format.
#2 - The Universes Beyond sets
So, we have some in Universe sets, but we also have some Universes Beyond sets coming in 2026 as well. Four of those to be exact: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marvel Super Heroes, The Hobbit, and Star Trek. Of these, the one that I actually expect may have anything interesting going on with it is actually The Hobbit. The Lord of the Rings was a very popular set, and while Hobbit is a Standard set and not direct to Modern like LOTR was, there still stands to reason that at the very least we could get some pretty impactful reprints. I can't really imagine a world where we revisit Middle-Earth at all and not actually get a special reprint (on a bonus sheet more than likely) of The One Ring or Orcish Bowmasters. I'd be extremely surprised if it didn't happen.
Compared to 2025's slate of Universes Beyond though, I have a hard time considering what from these sets could actually end up being long-term playable. Final Fantasy was one of the biggest sets in 2025 in general, and yet long-term pretty much nothing from the set stayed in Legacy (with the occasional Astrologian's Planisphere I see from time to time). At the very least, it is more plausible that we will see cards that we will want to try in the format, but will ultimately prove to come up short. Of the remaining sets, I expect something to look possibly interesting for both TMNT and Marvel Super Heroes. I am very much not a Trekkie, and I do think it's probable that nothing comes out of that set for Legacy.
#3 - Hopefully, a Year without Horizons
One thing I have to hope for out of 2026 is that we don't get any more direct to Modern sets this year like Modern Horizons. It's well established that these sets generally come every three years and not every two, and this falls in the second year of that sort of cadence, since Modern Horizons 3 was just in 2024. However, I do have to wonder if the push and shift focus on Standard in general is a wind in the direction of no longer doing these sets.
Don't get me wrong, there have been generally some good designs to come out of the Horizons sets, with ultimately only a few cards here or there that end up being problematic, but overall I like the approach of pushing cards through Standard, and not having something of a forced rotation on the format with Horizons sets.
Let's hope that Wizards keeps this up, because I like seeing Standard cards impact Legacy in positive ways.
2026 for You
What are you most looking forward to in 2026? Is it Lorwyn? Strixhaven? The Hobbit? Whatever it is, I want to know about it. Let me know in the comments what you're looking forward to in regards to Legacy in 2026.
Upcoming Paper Events - BCDL 24 / Excalibur 1.5K
We've got a bit of upcoming paper event news from our good friend Rob Wilson of Buffalo Chicken Dip Legacy.
First off, BCDL 24 is taking place in Texas over at Asgard Games in Houston, TX on January 24th, 2026. You can find all of the registration information for that event here. If you're in the area, sign up and check it out! BCDL events are always a great time.
Secondly, Excalibur Events is hosting a Legacy 1.5K event in Arlington, TX the weekend of February 7th-8th, 2026. You can find all of the registration information for that event here.
Big thanks to Rob Wilson for letting us know about these events! If you have an event you'd like to promote, please reach out and let me know.
Legacy Challenge 32 12/31/2025
The first Challenge event of the week (and the last one of 2025 ever) was the Wednesday event. This event had 42 players in it thanks to the MTGO website.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Several decks were the most played here, mostly Tempo but also Eldrazi. Of the three, both Dimir and Eldrazi looked pretty good. Oops also did very well here with all three of its pilots making the Top 8. Affinity Stompy also fared pretty good.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Dimir Tempo | 1st | connormc02 |
| Beanstalk Control (Non-Yorion) | 2nd | Harry1232 |
| Saga Storm | 3rd | billster47 |
| Eldrazi | 4th | soggymeatball |
| Oops! All Spells | 5th | choutin |
| Oops! All Spells | 6th | xDingusKhan |
| Affinity Stompy | 7th | jake-upLVT |
| Oops! All Spells | 8th | Cachorrowo |
As noted, three Oops pilots (all three players in the event) made the Top 8 here. At the end of the event though, it was Dimir Tempo that won.
This looks like a fairly straightforward list. Feed the Cycle is kind of a cool creature/planeswalker destruction spell. Foraging three cards seems pretty easy to do to keep the cost at 1B, but 1BB isn't hateful either. Unconditional destruction is good.
In Second Place, we had Beans.
Having played this deck pretty recently, this is a solid-looking list. Phelia + Quantum Riddler is pretty groovy.
Legacy Challenge 32 1/2/2026
The second Challenge event of the week was the Friday event. This event had 58 players in it thanks to the MTGO website.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Again, several decks were the most played, with Dimir Tempo having the strongest win rate out of the three. Oops did very poorly here, as did Izzet and Doomsday.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Coveted Jewel Combo | 1st | TonyScapone |
| Death and Taxes - BW (Yorion) | 2nd | IsacConoli |
| Dimir Tempo | 3rd | _INF_ |
| Dimir Tempo | 4th | OSCA66 |
| Naya Stompy | 5th | LuckSackJack |
| Mardu Energy | 6th | SenorLarson |
| Red Stompy | 7th | Andy_Over |
| Mono Black Reanimator | 8th | Magic_Dads71522 |
Honestly, this is a pretty interesting Top 8. At the end of the event, it was Coveted Jewel that won.
This list is super cool. Lat-Nam's Legacy is a super duper sweet card. This is definitely a list I'd like to play at some point.
In Second Place we had D&T.
Phelia and Meteor Sword is such a powerful combination of cards. It can be incredibly backbreaking when it gets rolling.
Legacy Challenge 32 1/3/2026
The third Challenge event of the week was the Saturday event. This event had 55 players in it thanks to the MTGO website.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Dimir Tempo was the most played deck, and its overall win rate was pretty good. Cradle Control also looked strong, as did Oops.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Cradle Control | 1st | duke12 |
| Dimir Tempo | 2nd | grindstone-cowboy |
| Oops! All Spells | 3rd | silencsong |
| Stoneblade | 4th | OBaranov |
| Oops! All Spells | 5th | SPyromancer |
| Death and Taxes - BW (Yorion) | 6th | Akaleth |
| Dimir Tempo | 7th | ReformedPaolo |
| Grixis Control | 8th | Sisma_ |
Fairly diverse Top 8 here. At the end of the event it was Cradle Control that won.
I absolutely love how good Badgermole Cub is in these decks. It's such a powerful card, especially in multiples.
In Second Place, we had Dimir Tempo.
Pretty close to the same list that did well in the first event in this article. There isn't much frills here, and that's fine. There doesn't always need to be to be good.
Legacy Challenge 32 1/4/2026
The final regular Challenge event of the week was the Sunday event. This event had 42 players in it, thanks to the MTGO website.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Dimir Tempo was the most played deck by a lot, and it had a pretty good win rate. Affinity Stompy and Doomsday both looked really solid, as did Oops (given that both Oops pilots made it into the Top 8).
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Affinity Stompy | 1st | TeaW1thRum |
| Oops! All Spells | 2nd | Deskbot000 |
| Mono Black Reanimator | 3rd | Roodslay |
| Doomsday | 4th | clan |
| Doomsday | 5th | phazonmutant |
| Dimir Tempo | 6th | xfile |
| Sneak and Show | 7th | ZYX-FXY |
| Oops! All Spells | 8th | Cachorrowo |
Fairly combo-heavy Top 8 here. At the end of the event, it was Affinity Stompy that won.
This list has some added bonus of having Broadside Bombardiers as well, which can be kinda brutal with Kappa Cannoneer (attack for a big amount then fling the Cannoneer at your opponent for nine damage is wild).
In Second Place, we had Oops.
The big thing to primarily note on most Oops lists with their sideboard jukes is that quite often the fair jukes like Mai, Barrowgoyf, and stuff like that is that they don't run things like Pact of Negation main deck. If you see Pact, more than likely the sideboard juke is something like Goblin Charbelcher. These lists often use stuff like Thoughtseize and Cabal Therapy to clear the opponent's hand of any problematic spells.
Legacy Showcase Challenge 1/4/2026
This weekend was also the first Showcase Challenge event of the Premier Play season. These events are entered using Qualification Points only (40 QPs to be exact) and the Top 8 of the event gets invited to the Showcase Qualifier at the end of the season. This particular event had 211 players in it, which is a really solid turnout for an event held the first weekend of the year.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Dimir Tempo was the most played deck in the event by quite a bit, and it had a strong win rate. Next in line was Oops and it also had a solid win rate. Affinity Stompy was popular but had a poor win rate.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Lands | 1st | Sprouts |
| Dimir Tempo | 2nd | jvidarte |
| Mardu Energy | 3rd | Mav40121 |
| Oops! All Spells | 4th | boom_bust |
| Jeskai Control | 5th | Kako_Ferrer |
| Saga Storm | 6th | CrazyMorango |
| Sneak and Show | 7th | wingzerofnc |
| Oops! All Spells | 8th | xDingusKhan |
This is an actually reasonable Top 8 here. Good variety of things. At the end of the event, it was Lands that won.
Lands has a pretty solid matchup against a good number of current decks in the format, so I'm actually not all that surprised by this showing. Sprouts in general is a powerful Lands player, so this is just a very great result. More people should be playing Lands, in my opinion. It's a very good deck with a lot of really powerful and deep gameplay.
In Second Place, we had Dimir Tempo.
This is yet another stock list similar to the other well-placing lists in this article. Still, as previously noted, this is a deck where you don't need to have frills to be good. It's just good deckbuilding.
Around the Web
- BeExcellent has some Beans content. Check it out here.
- Kirdie has some Dimir Tempo content. Check it out here.
The Spice Corner
Now that Leagues are posted throughout the week, let's find some Spice!
This is a sweet Energy list.
This Mono Blue Tempo deck keeps popping up. It definitely looks like a ton of fun.
Wrapping Up
That's all the time we have this week folks! Thanks for continuing to support the column and join us next week as we continue our journey into Legacy!
As always, you can reach me at all my associated links via my Link Tree! In addition I'm always around the MTGGoldfish Discord Server and the MTGLegacy Discord Server.
Until next time!
