Creatures (2)
Planeswalker (4)
Spells (24)
Sideboard
Now here’s an interesting deck that’s really piqued my interest. The interaction between Dark Depths and Vampire Hexmage brought about a resurgence of Depth‘s somewhat around Zendikar but the inherent fragility of Hexmage being a spell allowed there to be some answer in countermagic. Then along comes Return to Ravnica with the interesting new Vesuva variation Thespian’s Stage to spin the power of a 20/20 flying Avatar in a new direction. Because copy effects like Vesuva trigger onto the battlefield effects it was not able to pair with Depth‘s for value but Stage is already in play so doesn’t get the tokens placed on it. Thus you are able to copy and trigger the token generating effect immediately. This is the basis for the win condition of this cool new Loam brew.
Esper mastermind and longtime magic aficionado Shaheen Soorani battled last weekend at the SCG Invitational in Las Vegas to a third place finish. Fighting through a field of 299 qualified participants he was able to slaughter most every mage who stood in his way. The Invitational, much like the Pro Tour, is a multiformat tournament requiring proficiency in both Standard and Legacy to find success. In true Soorani fashion his weapon of choice for both formats was blue, white and black control style concoctions. With the two byes he had been awarded he drudged to a final swiss record of 12-3-1, the last round an intentional bye with Thea Steele to clinch the top 8 berth. The competition was fierce with hard wins against Tom Ross, Tim Landale, Erik Smith and Jeff Hoogland. Some tough losses came at the hands of Matt Nass the last round of day 1 playing for the perfect 8-0 and against eventual winner Max Brown entering the second leg of Legacy putting Shaheen on the ropes fighting to maintain a top positioning. In the top 8 he was immediately put to the test against Brian Brawn-Duin but dispatched him easily in three games but was knocked out by Greg Hatch after a hard fought five game battle.
Planeswalkers (6)
Spells (25)
Creatures (8)
Planeswalkers (3)
Sideboard
Creatures (1)
Planeswaker (1)
Other Spells (38)
Sideboard
While Max did ride the power of his Standard deck through the top 8 there was still eight of sixteen rounds in the swiss of Legacy where he was able to pilot this list to an 6-0-2 record, the two draws intentional the last two rounds. The deck operates on a powerful engine which consists of using Show and Telll or Dream Halls to cheat out an Omniscience. Once the Omniscience is in play if you already have Emrakul in hand then you can cast it for free which will net you the extra turn and most often draw a concession on the spot. Otherwise the deck also plays to cast Enter the Infinite free which gives you access to your entire deck to then complete your combo win with definitive counterspell backup. A key cog in the engine comes from Burning Wish which has access to combo pieces Show and Tell or Enter the Infinite to help get it going. The wishboard also can get Time of Need to search for an Emrakul win, Spiraling Embers after Enter the Infinite for an blast to the dome, or answers to permanent roadblocks through Eye of Nowhere, Pyroclasm or Tremor. The deck uses Brainstorm, Ponder, Gitaxian Probe and Jace to help dig through the deck to assemble the combo as quickly as possible. Then it is backed up by Force of Will, Daze and Pact of Negation to ensure your opponent isn’t able to thwart your plan. Fast mana sources from Lotus Petal, Ancient Tomb and CCity of Traitors allows the possibility of a turn one combo kill with a surprise Show and Tell. The Omni-Tell deck is a true powerhouse and showcases exactly how legacy can exploit card interactions to create these incredible combo masterpieces.
Creatures (10)
Sideboard
You really have to admire the sheer versatility of this deck. Packed with threats and answers I personally find it to be one of the true top tier lists in legacy right now. This is one of the decks that can actually capitalize on the full potential of True-Name Nemesis by providing an armory of weapons for it to wield. Stoneforge Mystic is working overtime in this build with three targets to snag in Batterskull, Umezawa’s Jitte and Sword of Fire and Ice. The sword is particularly useful in sneaking Batterskull or Snapcaster through opponents defensive True-Names. To round out the creature base there is a Vendilion Clique which just offers so much value in conjunction with Karakas and a pair of Snapcaster Mage to grind extra use out of the decks varied spells. With the Planeswalker rules how they are there’s just a pair of Jace, the Mind Sculptor which is more than adequate given he is much less vulnerable now. As with almost every blue deck in legacy there is the set of Brainstorm and a singleton Ponder to sift through the deck to find your answers. The deck is backed up with permission by a set of Force of Will and a pair of Counterspells which give some hard counters to deal with big threats. A great removal package is headlined by a full four Swords to Plowshares for creature threats and a one of Vindicate as a catchall answer with sweepers from two Supreme Verdict and an Engineered Explosives. One thought I had with having the Explosives and the equipment that there might be a one of Academy Ruins in the mana base replacing one of the Underground Sea, but it may be too much. Finally the deck is rounded out with some small disruption with two Thoughtseize and one Inquisition of Kozilek to assure some answer to random threats.
30 other spells
15 sideboard cards
Main Deck
60 cards
12 lands
21 creatures
27 other spells
15 creatures
22 other spells
1 planeswalker
