This Week in Legacy: Postgraduate Studies
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 following up on the final bits of Secrets of Strixhaven set review. In addition, we've got our weekly recap and the Challenges from last week to look at.
Without further ado, let's dive right in!
Advanced Studies
Last week we looked at a good majority of Secrets of Strixhaven, but of course, we were still in the middle of spoiler season, so that makes it a little hard when cards release after the article is due to be edited, etc. These things happen. There are some cards still to look at from this set, so let's dive right in!
Petrified Hamlet
This card is definitely incredibly interesting. One of the biggest caveats of this card is that even though it looks like it should operate like Pithing Needle, it does not. This is important to keep in mind. The first ability that names a card name is a triggered ability, which is not the same as how Needle and other effects like this operate. This means that the opponent does get a window of opportunity to respond to this. So if you are going to name a fetchland, they do get a chance to respond. This does mean that IN PAPER GAMEPLAY, you should not be putting this into play and immediately naming something with it. You have to ask the opponent if the trigger resolves first and then you can name the land name. I do expect this is gonna trip some people up there, and I expect more players will fetch in response so their fetches don't get blasted. You can also just Wasteland this with the trigger on the stack and nothing happens, so like, that's also a thing. That hasn't stopped other lands before though (see Urza's Saga for more details).
Now that being said, I do think this is actually really powerful, and I do expect decks playing Crop Rotation will want it. Being able to Crop Rotation for a functional Pithing Needle once you get past the weirdness of the triggered ability is incredibly good. I think we'll see this around, maybe not in crazy numbers since Crop Rotation makes it functionally four copies anyways, but I think it will be a roleplayer.
Fractal Anomaly
I don't really think this is actually all that great, but the on rate for Legacy to generate something bigger than a 3/3 is pretty high... just unfortunately has no evasion and dies to Fatal Push. Still, the effect is really cool and being Instant speed helps. Ult Tamiyo, cast this? NEAT.
Emeritus of Woe
I feel like four mana is a bit much on this guy. Turning him back on is kind of interesting, but having literal Demonic Tutor is a bit of a thing.
Pox Plague
POX POX POX POX POX. That's FIVE POXES. Excited to see this in a Pox build somewhere.
Blazing Firesinger
The stonks of Displacer Kitten continue to go up and up in this set with all the Prepared creatures. Infinite red mana okay? Sure. Is Kitten still 2026 playable? Probably not, but this is fun.
Ark of Hunger
Four mana is a bit, but I guess you can weld this into play. This is another card that could sit in play with the Sewer-veillance Cam combo and just generate damage and life gain. I believe if you also weld this in and out it should do the trigger on Cam leaving the graveyard when sacrificing this (don't quote me on this though that's just my understanding of Rules), but the amount of clicking is a bit much more than other options. Still, having a life gain attached to it is kind of fun.
Weekly MTGO Recap
This past week was a pretty bare minimum week, with just the regular Challenge events on the docket. You can find the weekly recap data sheet here.
We had the following events this past week:
| Event Name | Top 32 Link | Data Sheet Link | Number of Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legacy Challenge 32 4/8/2026 | Top 32 | Data Sheet | 45 |
| Legacy Challenge 32 4/10/2026 | Top 32 | Data Sheet | 34 |
| Legacy Challenge 32 4/11/2026 | Top 32 | Data Sheet | 32 |
| Legacy Challenge 32 4/12/2026 - 1 | Top 32 | Data Sheet | 39 |
| Legacy Challenge 32 4/12/2026 - 2 | Top 32 | Data Sheet | 56 |
Overall this looked like a bit of a slow week, with just a little over 200ish entries overall. Let's look at the graphical data for the week.
Spell-based combo decks were all over the place this past week! In fact, for once, Dimir Tempo was NOT the most played deck for the week. It was... Sneak and Show.
Sneak not only claimed the top spot of most played, but its win rate was quite good at a solid 56.9% non-mirror. This is slightly down from last week's 57.7%, but at the same time, we had more players on the deck from 16 up to 23. More players mean a slightly larger sample size and possibility for players to also not perform as well with the deck.
Oops came in second in terms of raw play at 17 copies down from 24, while its win rate was worse than the week before, dipping below 50% for a 47.7% non-mirror win rate. I do think that Oops tends to wax and wane, and if players are prepped for it, it can be beaten back rather easily.
Dimir was riding the line last week in terms of win rate, and it had a lot more players than this at 42 copies, but now we're at a measly 15 with a 49.3% non-mirror win rate. I have a feeling as players are now exploring more decks like the Azorius Tempo deck and also that Dimir is not nearly as good as people make it out to be, that this deck will continue a trend of going up and down in terms of play rate.
Tron was right alongside Dimir Tempo at 15 copies, down from 21, but its overall win rate was really strong at 57.1% non-mirror. I think this deck's popularity cannot be understated. It is a very good deck and something to be prepped for.
As we continue to evolve the classifications in the Legacy Data Collection Project, sometimes we add new ones! Tron was one recent one, but we just finally established a space for the Phelia/Riddler deck under its specific nomenclature of Azorius Tempo. This deck's also grown quite a bit in popularity, and it had only 14 copies this past week with a 55.5% non-mirror win rate. I feel as if you were going to shift to a Tempo build, this is a good place to be. It's strong and has some really powerful cards in it.
Overall I think Legacy continues to look very good and has some great gameplay to it. There's certainly a lot of combo in the format, but I think giving the format time to breathe and adjust makes the most sense. Are you currently happy with Legacy? What are your thoughts on the format? Let me know in the comments below.
Legacy Challenge 32 4/10/2026
The first Challenge event we are covering is the Friday event. This event had 34 players based on the data collected by the Legacy Data Collection Project.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Sneak and Show was the most played deck of the event, and it had a pretty reasonable win rate. Azorius Tempo also looked very good here, as did Oops. Dimir Tempo was popular but seemed to not do as hot.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Oops! All Spells | 1st | vinilopes |
| Aluren | 2nd | SiL3nTGoaT |
| Sewer-Cam Combo | 3rd | Harry1232 |
| Mono Black Reanimator | 4th | Roodslay |
| Azorius Tempo | 5th | nick4567 |
| Sneak and Show | 6th | snoopy-magic |
| Jeskai Control | 7th | jankyb |
| Oops! All Spells | 8th | xDingusKhan |
Fair bit of Combo in this Top 8. At the end of the event, it was Oops that won.
Lively Dirge is kind of a neat card in this shell. It has a modal amount of flexibility to it that allows it to do various things, but it can also do both things as well. It's got a bit of some Reanimate action, but it can do so without the life loss, and it can get back two creatures so it can either get back two Spies or a Spy and Informer if you're looking to beat Consign to Memory or Stifle.
In Second Place we had Aluren.
I think it's safe to say the very clean version that won the Showcase Qualifier is going to be the gold standard for the deck going forward. It's definitely a solid looking list.
Also in this Top 8 we had Mono Black Reanimator.
Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers definitely seems like it's a very powerful card in this deck. Being able to convert any attack step into a Griselbrand or Atraxa is really gross. The sideboard option juke of going into Chain of Smog combo is pretty cool too.
Legacy Challenge 32 4/11/2026
The second Challenge event we are covering is the Saturday event. This event had 32 players based on the data collected by the Legacy Data Collection Project.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Eldrazi was the most played deck of the event, and it did quite well overall. Dimir Tempo again seemed to suffer a bit, while Azorius Tempo (featuring Phelia and Quantum Riddler) did very well. Oops also performed quite well.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Esper Vial | 1st | Carroz |
| Eldrazi | 2nd | Schmeckles |
| Oops! All Spells | 3rd | MattheusPonciano |
| Azorius Tempo | 4th | onelastkiss |
| Azorius Tempo | 5th | Ettore09 |
| Sneak and Show | 6th | JPA93 |
| Death and Taxes - BW (Yorion) | 7th | yoshiwata |
| Sneak and Show | 8th | snoopy-magic |
Very interesting Top 8 here. At the end of the event, it was Esper Vial that won.
Carroz is definitely one of the big names in the development of Esper Vial as a deck. Having access to both Overlord of the Balemurk as well as Quantum Riddler alongside Phelia is some pretty potent stuff. In addition, you get to have some cool silver bullets like Hullbreacher/Opposition Agent, etc.
In Second Place we had Eldrazi.
Super aggressive build here. You get to throw some Broadside Bombardiers in the mix as well here.
Also in this Top 8 we had Azorius Tempo.
This deck has continued to look better and better every time it shows up in an event. It's continually being refined, but the powerhouse level of Quantum Riddler and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd is just extremely powerful. This deck having access to Stifle too is really good, as you can use it to either stop a Warp trigger, or even better to use it to blank someone's permanent returning from Phelia's delayed trigger.
Legacy Challenge 32 4/12/2026 - 2
The final Challenge event we are covering is the second Sunday event. This event had 56 players based on the data collected by the Legacy Data Collection Project.
You can find the Top 32 decklists for this event here and the data sheet here.
Sneak and Show was the most played deck here, and it looked very good. Dimir Tempo performed better this event, while Lands did not. Tron also performed very well here alongside a smattering of other decks.
Let's take a look at the Top 8.
| Deck Name | Placing | MTGO Username |
|---|---|---|
| Boros Energy | 1st | ReformedPaolo |
| Sneak and Show | 2nd | Sommertroll |
| Tron | 3rd | Jumba |
| Doomsday | 4th | ResponsiblyStupid |
| 8Cast | 5th | DNSolver |
| Mardu Energy | 6th | Darthkid |
| Black Midrange | 7th | erojas86 |
| Coveted Jewel Combo | 8th | TonyScapone |
Some sweet looking decks here, but definitely still some good Combo presence. That being said, the winner of the event was Boros Energy.
This deck has a bunch of ways it can pressure and stop combo right in the main deck, but then in sideboard games, you get access to a bunch more cards that can do the thing too. Gaddock Teeg as a splash is pretty strong, as is Containment Priest.
In Second Place we had Sneak and Show.
There's a lot of hubbub on this deck and it's getting a lot of play at the moment. I think it just has a lot of velocity against a lot of the current metagame, and it's such a straightforward and powerful deck that it can muscle through quite a bit.
Also in this Top 8 we had Tron.
The popularity of this deck is incredibly explosive. It's got some really powerful lines of play and can just slam haymaker after haymaker until your opponent can no longer answer it. It's pretty cool how strong it is.
Around the Web
- BeExcellent has a video with 4x Stifle. Check it out here.
- DasSourKraut has a video on NIC FIT. Check it out here.
- Douges is playing some Naya Maverick. Check it out here.
- Sharkcaster is leaguing it up with Aluren. Check it out here.
The Spice Corner
Now that Leagues are posted throughout the week, let's find some Spice!
Ok, this is a deck.
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!
