This Week in Legacy: Buffalo Chicken Dip Double Header!
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 covering not one, but TWO Buffalo Chicken Dip Legacy events! There were some awesome paper Legacy events this weekend and they were so much fun to watch. In addition to that we've got Challenges to discuss.
Without further ado, let's dive right in!
Some Crazy News Regarding TWITCH!
Before I get to the meat of this week's article on the BCDL, I did want to call out something kind of cool that happened last week. I was extended to become a Twitch Affiliate! I'm doing a lot of reworking of things now at the moment, but this means more streams from yours truly! In fact, I will be starting on August 29th here to stream at 7:30 PM EST every Thursday! I may not always be streaming Legacy (although there's a firm possibility my first stream will be Legacy due to any possible bans), but I will always be streaming something on MTGO!
You can find the announcement of my stream schedule here, and my Twitch channel here. Follow along for more info on when I am streaming!
Buffalo Chicken Dip Legacy Open 3
This past weekend at the Warp Gate's brand new store on Kenny Road in Columbus, OH, Buffalo Chicken Dip Legacy returned and brought with it TWO total events over the weekend. The first event was the BCDL Legacy Open 3, a continuation of BCDL's Open series over the past year. The prizes for this event are always great, as first place walked away with THREE Revised Volcanic Island and not to mention their name on the giant Golden Chicken trophy. Prizes went all the way down to Top 16 as well!
I made the journey up to this particular event, but not to play! Instead I was able to do coverage alongside Adam Wasburn-Moses for the day for the event, which was six rounds of Swiss followed by a cut to Top 8.
This store is quite nice!
The Warp Gate's new location is an amazing store and very large overall, with lots of space for people to spread out during events. It really felt like a much nicer space for them as they have continued to grow and grow. Their staff are also amazing, so shout out to them for being such a great store.
This event was fantastic for a lot of reasons for me, and it wasn't just because of getting to do coverage. There were a lot of folks I got to interact with over the course of the day, many for the first time. Getting to meet folks like mr_usea, Eureka22422, Jared McCall, the list goes on and on. And of course, getting to see people I know like Michael Mapson (seriously, love this guy and his energy so much), Curran Delahanty (Testacular), Zak Toth, Carey Banyas, Matthew Strand, and well of course Rob Wilson is always amazing. This community of people who support these events are really something, and I very much needed that energy this weekend for sure.
OH AND I SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST. The one and only Kai Sawatari (of the Everyday Eternal Podcast) was in attendance all weekend hanging out and selling sick tokens, playmats, and having a blast. Kai is an amazing guy and it was so much fun to meet him.
KAI!
As for the event itself, it brought out 60 players total (58 technically after drops before Round 1) to play a lot of Legacy. There was a lot of speculation about how this event would go, with the imminent threat of the fire nation attacking (I mean Grief getting banned), that we were definitely wondering what this event would look like.
Unfortunately, despite there being coverage of the event, the VODs weren't exactly ready by the time this article was needed to be submitted, but as soon as they are I will push them into a future article.
The store even has a dedicated room for feature matches!
You can find all of the decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
The most popular deck of this event actually just so happened to be non-standard Tempo decks, typically like Dimir Frog Tempo, and not actually UB Reanimator. UB Reanimator did have a small presence, but for the most part, the deck was not omnipresent in the event. As it so happened, people showed up and played what they thought was fun instead of the absurd deck. And honestly, the Dimir Tempo deck slayed pretty hard overall. Lands also looked very good in this event for sure. Wildly enough it was Eldrazi, a scourge online if you ask anyone, that did the worst of the decks above the cutoff. This deck is highly beatable and still needs time in the cooker.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | Player Name |
|---|---|---|
| Jeskai Control | 1st | David Jimenez III |
| Mystic Forge Combo | 2nd | Stefan Hayden-Rowe |
| Cradle Control | 3rd | Romario Neto |
| Dimir Tempo | 4th | Gabriel Balannik |
| RUG Cascade | 5th | Carey Banyas |
| Lands | 6th | Andrew Beldin |
| UB Reanimator | 7th | Chris Schiber |
| Death and Taxes (Yorion) | 8th | David Lance |
This is an incredibly cool Top 8 here, and the matches we had on coverage for this Top 8 were absolutely insane to watch. At the end of the event, pulling out a 2-1 win was David Jimenez III on JESKAI CONTROL.
This list is WILD. It was so cool to watch David pilot this list on coverage in the Semifinals and Finals. This is a very much of a blast from the past Narset + Day's Undoing Jeskai list, but with new cards like Wrath of the Skies and Forth Eorlingas! putting in the work. In addition, main deck Back to Basics seems great. We got to watch several Day's Undoing on camera, and also DACK FAYDEN winning a game with a Hullbreacher in play. Absolutely wild.
In Second Place was Stefan Hayden-Rowe on Mystic Forge Combo.
The big things to note about this list are the fact that we get main deck Glaring Fleshraker, which looked absolutely spot on for this deck whenever we saw it, but also Birgi, God of Storytelling as a sort of Fleshraker-esque card that makes mana but occasionally the back half does some things. Also the fact that we're seeing the Planar Nexus + Urza's Tower thing outside of Cloudpost decks is sick.
Also in this Top 8 we had Lands.
The big thing here is the addition of main deck Swords to Plowshares over things like Sphere of Resistance, which actively feels worse when everyone is running around with Eldrazis and stuff. It was also cool getting to see Consign to Memory a lot this weekend out of this and many other decks. That card is so versatile.
At the bottom of the Top 8 we had my good friend David Lance on D&T.
Several cards out of this deck looked really good whenever we had David on camera. Primarily, Emperor of Bones from Modern Horizons 3 looked incredibly good. Being able to rip out a Stoneforge Mystic or Skyclave Apparition into exile and then pay TWO MANA to put it into play for even just a bit is is absolutely nutters. Also, both Pre-War Formalwear (let's get this guy on MTGO) and Phantom Blade looked incredibly powerful.
All in all this was a super fun event, and I'd like to thank Robert Wilson for having me up on commentary for it. Be on the lookout for the VOD for this soon!
Buffalo Chicken Dip Legacy 16
The SECOND BCDL event of the weekend was held on Sunday and it was a regular Buffalo Chicken Dip Legacy event, labeled BCDL 16. Overall this event had 46 players in it, which is still very good for these grass-roots style events. Prizing for this one did include a Revised Volcanic Island for First Place including prizes down to Top 8.
There was coverage for this event as well, but I believe only for Top 8.
You can find all of the decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Both Grixis Delver and Lands were the two popular decks, but neither had a very good win rate overall. Even the Dimir Tempo decks seemed to suffer, leaving the Top 8's fate in the claws of a bird.
Let's look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | Player Name |
|---|---|---|
| Bant Nadu | 1st | Michael Mapson |
| Jeskai Control | 2nd | Patrick Green |
| Necrodominance Combo | 3rd | Ian Hoffman |
| Doomsday | 4th | Michael Reed |
| Cradle Control | 5th | Landis Atkinson |
| Grixis Delver | 6th | Buffalo Chicken Dip Legacy |
| Ninjas | 7th | Michael Grafton |
| MUD Aggro | 8th | Jim Monolith |
Quite a wildly insane Top 8 here, and at the end of the event it was MICHAEL MAPSON (of the Dark Depths Podcast) who won the event on Bant Nadu.
This list looked so good on camera. Everything from the Bristly Bill to the Keen-Eyed Curator (Bloomburrow coming in clutch on these cool innovative cards) and of course the real star of the show, Nadu himself. This was super fun looking to play for sure.
In Second Place, our good friend Patrick Green on Jeskai Control! (SERIOUSLY, JESKAI A SECOND TIME IN THE FINALS?!)
This is more on the opposite end of the spectrum of David Jimenez's list, being more focused on the card quality and card quantity aspects. Seriously, playing FOUR each of Brainstorm, Ponder, AND Brainsurge is insane, but also Tune the Narrative to build energy up for Wrath of the Skies. THERE'S ALSO TWO JACE IN THIS LIST. It looked so good.
Also in this Top 8 we had Necrodominance Combo.
Talk about a deck that largely disappeared from Legacy after being touted as one of the most broken decks of all time. One way to capitalize on that is to play it into an event where nobody expects it, and Ian did just that! Sick run for sure.
Further down the Top 8 we had DIMIR NINJAS.
Talk about a real blast from the past for sure. There's not even any Psychic Frog here to convert all that card quantity. This is very much an OG Ninjas list from way back. Kudos to Michael Grafton for bringing back the OG Yuriko deck. Very cool.
Legacy Challenge 32 8/14
The first Challenge event of the week was the Wednesday event. This event had 49 players according to the MTGO website. There was no data for this event.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here. The Top 8 is below.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Doomsday | 1st | Enrichetta |
| Dimir Tempo | 2nd | GuiBonella |
| UB Reanimator | 3rd | Schiaveto |
| Gruul Stompy | 4th | GLAM_ |
| UB Reanimator | 5th | Ale_Mtg |
| Mono Green Cloudpost | 6th | Jumba |
| Red Painter | 7th | izzy-wilde |
| Grixis Delver | 8th | Arca_de_Karn |
Definitely an interesting Top 8. Seems like a lot of people are feeling like not playing Reanimator. At the end of the event it was Doomsday that won.
A more tempo-esque Doomsday list here, and it looks pretty neat. I like going up to the full four Murktide Regent in the sideboard, and Cursed Totem is super duper sweet.
In Second Place we had Dimir Tempo.
Mockingbird is a card I definitely think warrants much more exploration in Legacy. It's really a bonkers Clone effect, since it also grants flying.
Also in this Top 8 we had Cloudpost.
Very straightforward list here, but there is an Emrakul, the World Anew so that's spicy. The Tower + Planar Nexus game plan has truly become part of this deck at this point. Very wild.
Legacy Challenge 32 8/16
The second Challenge event of the week was the late Friday night event. This event had 37 players according to the MTGO website. There was no data for this event.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here. The Top 8 is below.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| UB Reanimator | 1st | jessy_samek |
| Eldrazi | 2nd | Ayyypeks |
| Grixis Delver | 3rd | SHAKELION |
| Orzhov Pride | 4th | PunishingWaterfalls |
| BR Reanimator | 5th | snoopy-magic |
| Red Painter | 6th | hrvr |
| Eldrazi | 7th | DayBreakMe |
| UB Reanimator | 8th | BazaarOfBagDaddy |
Some Reanimator here, but also some Eldrazi. At the end of the event it was UB Reanimator that won.
I don't know what else to say about this deck at the moment, really. #BanGrief
In Second Place we had Eldrazi.
The top end of this deck going up to Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger is pretty wild. There's also a KOZILEK in the sideboard! Insane.
Further down this Top 8 we had Orzhov Pride.deck.
Wow this deck is cool. Static Prison and Chthonian Nightmare?! Super duper cool deckbuilding.
Legacy Challenge 32 8/17
The third Challenge event of the week was the early morning Saturday event. This event had 43 players according to the MTGO website. There was no data for this event.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here. The Top 8 is below.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Doomsday | 1st | clan |
| Doomsday | 2nd | Enrichetta |
| Red Painter | 3rd | ganesh_69 |
| Red Painter | 4th | oskiyaa |
| BR Reanimator | 5th | snoopy-magic |
| Worldgorger Dragon | 6th | Roodslay |
| Bant Nadu | 7th | jibeta |
| Eldrazi | 8th | DayBreakMe |
Lots of Doomsday and Painter. This means that the semifinals of this event was each a Doomsday vs Painter matchup! Two DOOMSDAY in the finals!
These are two very very different lists overall. The winner here is a more classic full on "ABCD" (Always Be Casting Doomsday) list, while the Second Place list is a more tempo-esque variant like Enrichetta won on earlier in the week. Both seem quite strong.
Down at the bottom of this Top 8 we had WORLDGORGER DRAGON.
Not just Dragon, but Dragon that boards into Smog combo. NICE.
Legacy Challenge 32 8/18
The final Challenge event of the weekend was the 32 player Sunday event. This event had exactly 32 players according to the MTGO website. Worth noting there was no 64 player event that fired this same day. Ban fatigue is real. There was no data for this event.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here. The Top 8 is below.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| 4C Nadu | 1st | Mogged |
| Gruul Stompy | 2nd | Asa_Akira |
| UB Reanimator | 3rd | Venom1 |
| BR Reanimator | 4th | Magic_Dads71522 |
| Red Painter | 5th | choutin |
| Stiflenought | 6th | DominiqueTutor |
| BUG Tempo | 7th | JKnecht |
| Eldrazi | 8th | oosunq |
Very interesting Top 8 actually. At the end of the event it was 4C Nadu that won.
Nadu indeed seems quite insane, and Living Wish? WILD. This list is sick.
In Second Place we had Gruul Initiative.
Very solid and straightforward game plan here. Make creatures, turn them sideways, blast open their face with Broadside Bombardiers.
Also in this Top 8 we had Stiflenought.
Main deck four copies of Consign to Memory not only makes sense for this deck since it's also on four Stifle, but HOLY cow the amount of cool things this deck can do. Parallax Tide?!
My Video for the Week
I put up an amusing one for last week. It was a deck featuring Ocelot Pride + Guide of Souls. I also tried to do fun things with Zinnia, Valley's Voice but that didn't quite pan out. Check it out below!
Around the Web
- Eternal Durdles had 27 players (myself included) weigh in on the next BNR. Check it out here.
- GreenSunsZenith.com has a tournament report on 4C Nadu from SCG CON Baltimore. Check it out here.
- Fenruscloud has the best deck post ban. Check it out here.
- PunishingWaterfalls has a sweet video on their Challenge Top 8 with Orzhov Pride. Check it out here.
- The Legacy Gambit also has a video on Pride, this time in Esper! Check it out here.
- MARDUUUUUUUUUU
The Spice Corner
Now that Leagues are posted throughout the week, let's find some Spice!
PRIDE.
Prowess Echo?
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!
