This Week in Legacy: A Look at Legacy Post-Ban
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 taking a look at where Legacy is at post-ban. In addition to that we have some Challenges to look at.
Without further ado, let's dive right in!
Post Ban Legacy Update
It's been a few weeks since the bannings of Sowing Mycospawn and Troll of Khazad-dum, so I figure it's a good time to look into the format itself and see what is going on since then. You can find the current aggregate dashboard for this data set here. Note that this isn't 100% complete of all events since the banning but it is what data we have.
Let's start with a graphical look at the Legacy format as it stands since 3/31/2025.
It hasn't been a full month just yet, but in this initial look at the format I definitely believe we are not in a fully settled place just yet. One of the big things to note is just how popular certain decks are. Red Stompy, Oops, Grixis Tempo, and Dimir Tempo are all in the upper range of popularity here, with all of them having 40+ copies of decks. Of these, Red Stompy is the one with the worst overall win rate (just below 50% at 49.4% non-mirror). The highest of these is Oops at a 54.5% non-mirror.
Outside of these Top 4, we see Omni-Tell being quite popular below 40 copies, but it's win rate is not as good at all (41.7% non-mirror), in addition to Izzet Tempo having a positive win rate and Beanstalk decks having a not-so-positive win rate. Nadu also appears towards the bottom, having a fairly poor 49.6% non-mirror win rate, and Sneak and Show taking up the bottom cutoff with one of the better win rates at 58.7% non-mirror but also having a fairly low sample size.
One other big thing this data tells us is that the format has a lot of Tempo in it, but if you combine Spell Combo/Permanent Combo/Graveyard into one "Combo" flavor, there is a ton of Combo all over the format right now. And I think with this early few weeks that is definitely to be expected, but it is certainly indicative of what Legacy has been up to for a while now.
So really what does this all mean? Well for starters, two of the big decks named at the end of the last BnR were indeed Red Stompy and Oops decks. Of these two, Red Stompy seems to be having a harder go at the format right now while Oops is certainly looking great. I think a bit part of this is that Red Stompy did lose some of its prey with the BnR. Eldrazi dwindling even further and Reanimator moving more into Mono Black is not a reasonably good thing for the Blood Moon deck realistically.
Oops having such big numbers is indeed quite concerning however. The deck does place a lot of pressure on the format to deal with it, and realistically, that hurts a bunch of other decks trying to find space in the format. I do believe it's still early and we might see Oops dip back down in the next two months as the format adjusts to things like Tarkir, but I also can see a world where it continues to be a strong deck that puts that pressure down. I cannot remember a time where Oops has ever had this combination of metagame share and win rate, which is very concerning. However, most often when we see these decks show up in events even when they do well it's generally a pretty low sample size per event.
There is a fair amount of diversity in the Tempo shells at the top of the format, it seems. Grixis, Dimir, and Izzet all seem to have reasonable space. Izzet is most assuredly growing in popularity as well given the recent developments of implementing cards like Cori-Steel Cutter into the deck. Tarkir definitely has had an impact on the format and it will be interesting to see how that pans out, but typically for me when there's multiple different Tempo strategies that is usually a good thing.
Beans being back in the mix is not very surprising, given that a lot of players definitely were looking to explore the deck more with Sowing Mycospawn gone. While initial results seem to be rather down on the deck's win rate, there have been some new things happening to these decks that make them interesting to look at. Implementing Standard technology like This Town Ain't Big Enough and Stormchaser's Talent alongside new cards Rakshasa's Bargain have given the deck new deckbuilding life and ways to approach playing the deck. It's honestly kind of nice to see. Control's space in the format in general is not so bad, around 11.4% overall, but just in general it's good to see people trying the decks.
Nadu is a point of contention I feel like I come back to a lot, and realistically my stance on the deck hasn't changed from pre-ban. I don't think the Midrange variant is so incredibly overpowered that Nadu needs a ban. In fact, it feels like the deck is right on line with power level of Legacy, and while there's some concern on the deck's play patterns, it just doesn't feel like the card is so banworthy at the moment. If in the future that changes, I might reconsider that stance, but the deck just doesn't seem so good that it needs addressing.
I think one of the biggest winners since the post-ban era continues to be decks playing Stock Up. Omni-Tell hasn't done a super good job of showcasing this, but Blue Painter and Sneak and Show have both had really strong performances over the past few weeks and have showcased how good 2U with Ancient Tomb and Stock Up really is.
Finally, just for things to think about below the cutoff here, while their sample size is small... decks like Lands, Mono Black Reanimator, Red Painter, and Helm Stompy have all had their moments in the sun in events, and continue to look like reasonable decks to consider. And realistically... that's kind of cool that there's a fair spread of decks here that are all doing something good or playing well.
At the end of the day, I do think it's okay to be concerned about a deck like Oops, but at the same time I don't think the format is in a terrible space either, and I think it's far too early to make any true judgment calls on the format.
I'll be doing another check-in on the format next month to see where we are, but I think for right now Legacy does seem pretty fine.
Legacy Challenge 32 4/16/2025
The first Challenge event of the week was the Wednesday event. This event had 32 players in it according to the MTGO website. There was no data for this event.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Izzet Tempo | 1st | duke12 |
| Izzet Tempo | 2nd | O_danielakos |
| Echo Stompy | 3rd | GHash77 |
| Red Stompy | 4th | KoolooLimpah |
| Mono Black Reanimator | 5th | The_shallow_grave |
| Red Stompy | 6th | WadeB |
| Izzet Tempo | 7th | Schiaveto |
| Stiflenought | 8th | Hammafist |
Quite a bit of Stompy and Tempo here. At the end of the event it was a pair of Izzet Tempo lists in the finals. Let's look at the winner.
Cori-Steel Cutter has very much proven to be a solidly powerful card in Legacy so far. Curving a DRC into a Turn 2 Cutter + a Bauble and then getting to swing is really solid curve. I like how this list has just cut Delver entirely, and also no Questing Druid. It's just far more aggressive.
Let's look at the Second Place list.
This is certainly more traditionally Delver-oriented and more what we've seen in the past with the Questing Druid variants. I do have to wonder if pursuing the more aggressive builds with Cori-Steel Cutter will win out however.
Legacy Challenge 32 4/18/2025
The second Challenge event of the week was the Friday event. This event had 41 players in it according to the MTGO website.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Grixis Tempo and Oops were the two most popular decks of the event, but despite a Top 8 finish Grixis had a pretty poor win rate. Oops had an even worse win rate. Blue Painter, Izzet Tempo, and Mono Black Reanimator were the big winners here.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Mono Black Reanimator | 1st | Magic_Dads71522 |
| Izzet Tempo | 2nd | Lord_Beerus |
| Blue Painter | 3rd | XanaZero |
| Necrodominance Combo | 4th | TonyScapone |
| Grixis Control | 5th | JamesKisau |
| Grixis Tempo | 6th | _INF_ |
| Izzet Wizards | 7th | jibeta |
| Red Painter | 8th | yapperdoodle |
Honestly this is a pretty reasonable Top 8. At the end of the event it was Mono Black Reanimator.
Shallow Grave is pretty cool especially when you have Borborygmos Enraged to toss at your opponent with it. Archon of Cruelty is another sweet thing to hit with Shallow Grave. Very slick list. The sideboard juke into Show and Tell is pretty neat.
In Second Place we had Izzet Tempo.
This one is much more like the Second Place list from the previous event. Not much frills here.
Legacy Challenge 32 4/19/2025
The third Challenge event of the week was the Saturday event. This event had 38 players in it according to the MTGO website.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Grixis Tempo was the most popular deck by a lot here, and its win rate was pretty good. Mystic Forge had some popularity but a lower than 50% win rate. Dimir Tempo and Doomsday both had strong win rates, while the rest above the cutoff had some middle of the roat to below win rates.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Lands | 1st | Sprouts |
| Jeskai Wizards | 2nd | jibeta |
| Cephalid Breakfast | 3rd | _epinephrine |
| Grixis Tempo | 4th | _INF_ |
| Grixis Tempo | 5th | ReformedPaolo |
| Cradle Control | 6th | _Joseba_ |
| Doomsday | 7th | Azerate218 |
| Dimir Tempo | 8th | karma_00 |
Pretty good Top 8. Fair amount of Tempo, but the end of the event was won by Lands.
Malevolent Rumble I do believe has to be one of the more solid cards to come out of Modern Horizons 3 for this deck, honestly. It's such a powerful card and honestly way better than Mulch or Winding Way because it can get any permanent card (not just a land).
In Second Place we had Jeskai Wizards.
Kind of amusing that Magus of the Moon is a Wizard. The primary big synergy here is being able to leverage four copies of Flame of Anor with all the Wizards. Thundertrap Trainer is also just a very powerful card overall. Noting the single copy of Mistrise Village here, because that's something sweet.
Legacy Challenge 32 4/20/2025 - 1
The fourth Challenge event of the week was the first Sunday event. This event had 39 players in it according to the MTGO website.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Red Stompy was the most popular deck, and despite a Top 8 appearance it had less than 50% win rate (just below). Beans decks also seem to have not done well despite a Top 8 appearance. Nadu Midrange did very poorly, but Oops was the big winner here.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Oops! All Spells | 1st | SilversRayleigh |
| Oops! All Spells | 2nd | death_grips |
| Death and Taxes - BW (Yorion) | 3rd | yoshiwata |
| Grixis Tempo | 4th | _INF_ |
| Beanstalk Control (Non-Yorion) | 5th | AlwaysSleepy0 |
| Red Stompy | 6th | Chris_McNasty |
| Grixis Tempo | 7th | AdventuresWithTarmo |
| Jeskai Control | 8th | DLCabelo |
Reasonable rest of the Top, but the event had two Oops lists in it overall, and both of those players made the Finals. Let's look at both lists.
The major differences here are the fact that the Second Place list moved its typical sideboard juke into its main deck by having a Goblin Charbelcher kill there. The winner let that sit more in the sideboard for post-board games, but imagine thinking its Oops and your opponent Belchers you Game 1. What a wild thing to consider. These decks continue to have a lot going on for them, but in a small sample size. I do think it's a deck to keep eyes on but I also think the sample size is quite low still sofar.
Legacy Challenge 32 4/20/2025 - 2
The final Challenge event of the week was the second Sunday event. This event had 46 players in it, according to the MTGO website.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Both Dimir Reanimator and Grixis Tempo had popularity here, with both having good numbers as well on win rates. Beanstalk looked pretty reasonable too, as did Breakfast, D&T, and Lands. Honestly, this is a very reasonable spread of decks across the event.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Dimir Reanimator | 1st | Halle87z3 |
| Izzet Tempo | 2nd | silviawataru |
| Dimir Tempo | 3rd | Oceansoul92 |
| Sneak and Show | 4th | JPA93 |
| Grixis Tempo | 5th | bless_von |
| Beanstalk Control (Non-Yorion) | 6th | ScreenwriterNY |
| Lands | 7th | alli |
| Cephalid Breakfast | 8th | Otazz |
Fair bit of Tempo, Combo, and even Control. Not bad. At the end of the event, it was Dimir Reanimator that won.
This list is definitely leaning so hard on the Tempo elements and using the Reanimator plan as a "I can do this if I need to". I don't think this is cause for real alarm, and I don't think this deck is necessarily going to return to its previous glory, but a good run here and there is to be expected by these kinds of decks.
In Second Place we had Izzet Tempo.
Again, Cori-Steel Cutter looks so very, very good. I think it's one of the best breakout cards of the set that even I wasn't expecting to do much, but it has proven its worth.
Around the Web
- IN RESPONSE has a new episode. Check it out here.
- The Legacy Archive has a video on Painter vs Cradle Control. Check it out here.
- The Eternal Glory Podcast has a new episode out. Check it out here.
- StrassDaddy is slamming Hatebears in a Combo Meta. Check it out here.
The Spice Corner
Now that Leagues are posted throughout the week, let's find some Spice!
R/W Energy in Legacy!
Glacierwood Siege in Temur Tempo is kind of sweet.
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!
