Tarmogoyf

RUG Delver

Taylor Scott

1st Place at StarCityGames Legacy Open on 2/9/2014

This is a very classic Legacy build which has been around since Delver of Secrets appeared mutating Canadian Threshold into RUG Delver. It is a tempo deck based around resource denial and board control with cheap but high rate creatures to finish games quickly.

The beatdown is centered around a trio of very mana efficient creatures with Delver of Secrets, Nimble Mongoose and Tarmogoyf. All three grow much larger then they’re costed at and can quickly decimate your opponents life total. Then with a stacked control suite of Force of Will, Daze, Spell Pierce and Spell Snare almost any threat can be suppressed before it even starts threatening. You can’t have a blue deck in Legacy without the requisite draw package with Brainstorm and Ponder helping not only to dig through your deck but also to set up the top of your deck to flip Delver. The red slips into the deck with a modest amount of burn with Lightning Bolt and Forked Bolt both working to remove small pesky creatures or dome the skull to finish off the opponent. The final piece of the puzzle is the resource denial which comes primarily with Wasteland razing their mana but also the sneaky and handy Stifle which can prevent a fetch after they’ve paid a life and sacrificed it already. And it can also be used against an Emrakul or Storm trigger just to name a few.

This deck with its super low curve and streamlined build is going to be a mainstay in the Legacy scene for years to come. With such a complete package in that shell it’s no doubt Taylor was able to take down the room. I highly recommend this deck.
Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter