Good [[Grief]]! Legacy is in an interesting (and potentially unfortunate) spot right now. With a “no changes” format update in the most recent Banned & Restricted announcement, many Magic: The Gathering players are crying out against a “Lame Duck” format. The purported reasoning for no changes being enforced is due to the Modern Horizons 3 release, which hopefully allows for a shake-up of the format.
Modern Horizons 3 (MH3) certainly has brought several Legacy-playable cards into the format. In no particular order: [[Vexing Bauble]], [[Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student]], [[Psychic Frog]], [[Necrodominance]], several MDFC lands, [[Nadu, Winged Wisdom]], [[Nulldrifter]], and [[White Orchid Phantom]] are seeing various levels of play. There are a couple of biggest winners thus far. One would be Cephalid Breakfast, which already was playing with [[Shuko]] and could easily slot [[Nadu, Winged Wisdom]] into the deck (not to mention how ridiculously powerful [[Field of the Dead]] has become in the deck). Another is [[Dark Ritual]] Combo decks that can lean into a more “all-in” line with [[Necrodominance]]. Lastly, Bant Stiflenought decks that are already playing [[Doorkeeper Thrull]] and [[Dress Down]] can add card advantage and Annihilator triggers with the addition of [[Nulldrifter]].
During this period of increased brewing and format exploration, The EPIC Storm has remained surprisingly stable. Very little has come to pass that required an update to the latest v15.9 decklist. Only one potential change has been tested for these scenarios: [[Approach of the Second Sun]]. In direct response to the printing of [[Flare of Fortitude]], the team began to test with that in mind. To beat such a card, a win condition needed to be found that didn’t require killing the opponent. [[Thassa’s Oracle]] is a very popular one for [[Doomsday]] decks, but that is not particularly feasible due to the restrictions of [[Burning Wish]] to only find sorceries. [[Approach of the Second Sun]] perfectly fits the needs of The EPIC Storm and has been swapped for [[Grapeshot]]. Both win through [[Veil of Summer]], but [[The One Ring]] and [[Flare of Fortitude]] are new strengths of the card swap.
Only time will tell if the format adopts [[Flare of Fortitude]] and if the subsequent format change is worth the [[Approach of the Second Sun]] technology. At the moment, [[Force of Will]] has remained a good addition, but perhaps it’s time to begin testing with decklists that feature another MH3 card. Until then, let’s dig into the puzzles of the month! Happy solving.
Special Guest
Romario Neto
(Twitter: Romario Neto | Twitch: Romariovidal | Spotify: Legacy Small Talk | MTGO: romariovidal)
Romario Neto, originally from Brazil, has been living in Richmond, VA since 2000. He started playing Magic: The Gathering (MTG) in 1995/96 but took a break upon moving to Virginia. Unable to stay away from the game, he resumed playing in 2009. Romario’s favorite formats are Legacy and Premodern. Having played nearly every archetype in Legacy, he now favors combo decks, particularly enjoying the power of [[Dark Ritual]], and considers Doomsday and Storm to be among the best decks in the format.
Deck List
SITUATION No. 1 — 8-Cast
Historically speaking, 8-Cast has been an artifact-based deck that leans into card advantage ([[Thoughtcast]], [[Thought Monitor]], and [[Urza’s Saga]]) and Control/Prison elements ([[Force of Will]] and [[Chalice of the Void]]). With the meta shifts brought about by [[Orcish Bowmasters]], the reliance on card draw has wounded the ability of the deck’s key strengths. Because of this, pilots have had to adapt playstyles to meet the demands of a modern Legacy.
Adaption in this case is seen as a tonal shift away from Prison Control elements to more Prison Aggro elements. Pillars of the so-called Stompy archetype are seen with more aggressive creatures like [[Patchwork Automaton]] — the champion of this change — and [[Kappa Cannoneer]]. While the [[Thoughtcast]] and [[Thought Monitor]] card draw is still present, the stickiness of threats with Ward abilities allows 8-Cast to play through any [[Orcish Bowmasters]].
[[Urza’s Saga]] remains an unchanged pillar of the deck, with several key tutor targets being [[Pithing Needle]], [[Shadowspear]], and the new [[Lavaspur Boots]]. Other unchanged aspects of the deck are the high numbers of counterspells and interaction. [[Force of Will]] is paired with [[Metallic Rebuke]] and [[Chalice of the Void]] in main decks. Sideboard slots of [[Force of Negation]], [[Hydroblast]], and [[Flusterstorm]] can also be found. So even if the deck has shifted more into a Stompy-style roll, the interactive strengths of 8-Cast remain.
SIDEBOARDING:
+2 [[Boseiju, Who Endures]]; -2 [[Mox Opal]]
There is a lot to parse through with this one! It is our second turn, the Storm count is two, and we have [[Veil of Summer]] protection. An additional three cards are available from a first turn [[Galvanic Relay]], but one of them is [[Gaea’s Will]]! With the [[Song of Creation]] used to Imprint underneath [[Chrome Mox]], there are very few options left for us. Our opponent controls a [[Soul-Guide Lantern]] and has three cards in hand. How can we overcome the low resources available and present either a combo or better setup for the remainder of the game?
Special Guest
Romario Neto
[[Gaea’s Will]] is one of the best tools to overcome low resources, but it’s not available in this case. Another option to “go up” in resources is [[Echo of Eons]], which is what I would do in this scenario. Cast [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint [[Veil of Summer]]) and use the mana from [[Chrome Mox]] and [[Lotus Petal]] to cast [[Burning Wish]]. Grab [[Echo of Eons]] from the sideboard and use [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to cast it for its Flashback cost. After drawing seven, there would still be a [[Dark Ritual]] and [[Beseech the Mirror]] ready to find a win. Giving an opponent a fresh seven cards when they play countermagic is usually not a good line, but in this case, [[Veil of Summer]] makes it okay.
#TEAMTES
Jordan Karim
I feel better with [[Veil of Summer]] protection, but the mana just doesn’t quite work out how I would want it to. But there is a route to build Storm and keep the combo turn going. An easy line would be to simply cast [[Chrome Mox]], Imprint [[Veil of Summer]], and cast [[Burning Wish]] for an [[Echo of Eons]]. But this loses out on additional Storm that could be crucial to the remainder of the turn.
Instead, there is a line that builds more Storm. We can start by casting [[Dark Ritual]] from exile using the [[Lotus Petal]] and the [[Chrome Mox]] from hand (again, Imprint the [[Veil of Summer]]). [[Beseech the Mirror]] is next, but without a Bargain sacrifice. We can get [[Echo of Eons]] from our maindeck and use the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to pay its Flashback cost (Storm 6). With a higher Storm count, there is a greater chance of drawing into a lethal seven-card hand.
Bryant Cook
This is deterministic! Cast [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint: [[Veil of Summer]]), [[Burning Wish]], hold priority, and then sacrifice [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for . Now, cast [[Dark Ritual]] (Storm 5 — ). [[Burning Wish]] can now resolve; select [[Beseech the Mirror]], casting it without Bargain (Storm 6 — ), tutor for [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], and then play it (Storm 7 — ). Sacrifice [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for to cast the [[Beseech the Mirror]] in exile with Bargain (Storm 8) for another copy of [[Beseech the Mirror]] with Bargain (Storm 9) into [[Tendrils of Agony]] (Storm 10).
Alex McKinley
Cast [[Chrome Mox]] and imprint [[Veil of Summer]] (Storm 3). Cast [[Burning Wish]] with the [[Lotus Petal]] and [[Chrome Mox]], hold priority and crack [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for three black mana (Storm 4). Find the sideboard [[Beseech the Mirror]]. Cast [[Dark Ritual]] from exile (Storm 5), then the [[Beseech the Mirror]] from hand without Bargaining (Storm 6). Find [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], then cast it and sacrifice it for three black (four black floating, Storm 7). Cast the [[Beseech the Mirror]] from exile Bargained (Storm 8). Find another [[Beseech the Mirror]] to cast Bargained (Storm 9) to find exact lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]].
SITUATION No. 2 — Moon Stompy
Primarily the reason The EPIC Storm has adopted [[Force of Will]] in its sideboard, Moon Stompy has seen some amount of resurgence after the banning of [[_____ Goblin]] (though it was already a top meta deck beforehand). Instead of decks focusing on aggressive Goblin creatures, the classic Prison elements of [[Chalice of the Void]] and [[Trinisphere]] are making a comeback. Of course, [[Broadside Bombardiers]], [[Fury]], and [[The One Ring]] are still major tenants of the strategy. Having a classic Prison deck in the format again has made attempts to keep the remaining format honest. The jury is still out as to whether the efforts have been in vain.
The Combo versus Prison story is as old as time. One player wants to speed the game up, the other wants to slow the game down. As the Combo player, The EPIC Storm pilots need to craft plans against reasonable levels of hate. Just like Storm combo turns that happen before a Prison pilot can even blink, there are going to be some games where lock elements are insurmountable. One common instance would be a Moon Stompy pilot deploying both [[Blood Moon]] and [[Chalice of the Void]] with zero counters on their first turn. With no basics and no way to produce non-Red mana, The EPIC Storm is out of the game. However, with the addition of [[Force of Will]], those doomsday scenarios are less likely to occur. [[Force of Will]] acts as a backstop to some of the more troublesome Prison elements presented in a game.
SIDEBOARDING:
+4 [[Force of Will]], +2 [[Boseiju, Who Endures]], +2 [[Chain of Vapor]]; -4 [[Veil of Summer]], -3 [[Galvanic Relay]], -1 [[Mox Opal]]
Oh boy. [[Leyline of the Void]] and [[Chalice of the Void]] for zero? Things are looking a bit rough. It is game three at the first main phase of our second turn. At least our hand was emptied on our first turn to play around an opponent who displayed an aptitude for throwing a [[Chalice of the Void]] out quickly.
The key decision point here stems from the Surveil trigger on [[Undercity Sewers]]. [[Beseech the Mirror]] is being shown. Is it a card we can plan around at this point? What is the plan for the remainder of the game and what does winning look like?
Special Guest
Romario Neto
In this scenario, I would like to keep [[Beseech the Mirror]] on top of the deck. Then, on the following turn, I would cast [[Chain of Vapor]] targeting [[Chalice of the Void]] using the mana from [[Volcanic Island]]. Tap [[Mox Opal]] for , sacrifice [[Volcanic Island]] to copy [[Chain of Vapor]] and target [[Mox Opal]], cast [[Beseech the Mirror]] with Bargain sacrificing [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to get the copy of [[Song of Creation]]. Replay [[Mox Opal]] and hopefully draw enough cards to build into a win.
#TEAMTES
Jordan Karim
First things first, we need to keep [[Beseech the Mirror]] off of the Surveil trigger. It actually serves as a perfect card to begin a combo here! The only thing we really need next is a Blue card to protect against a copied [[Chain of Vapor]]. While this is a multi-turn line, the plan is fairly simple. Draw the [[Beseech the Mirror]] on our next turn. The following turn (hopefully) find a Blue card. If not, the speed of the game will primarily be dependent on our opponent’s speed.
Once we are ready, we can cast [[Beseech the Mirror]] and Bargain the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to cast [[Song of Creation]]. Using the remaining [[Lotus Petal]], we can bounce our own [[Mox Opal]] back into our hand before sacrificing a land to copy [[Chain of Vapor]] and target the opposing [[Chalice of the Void]]. Having a Blue card for [[Force of Will]] will allow us to both protect our [[Song of Creation]] and draw into our deck. We also have the [[Mox Opal]] to trigger the powerful enchantment. The chances of a successful combo win are high!
Bryant Cook
Keep off of the Surveil trigger. Draw the [[Beseech the Mirror]] and then tap [[Volcanic Island]], [[Undercity Sewers]], [[Mox Opal]], and a [[Lotus Petal]] to cast [[Beseech the Mirror]] with Bargain by sacrificing [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. Then, [[Chain of Vapor]] your own [[Mox Opal]] by sacrificing the second copy of [[Lotus Petal]]. The next part depends on what your draws are. If one of them is a blue card, sacrifice [[Volcanic Island]] to copy [[Chain of Vapor]] on the [[Chalice of the Void]]. At this point, you can then [[Force of Will]] the copy of [[Chain of Vapor]] much like in last month’s article. If you don’t draw the blue card, do not copy. The plan would then be to cast zero-mana artifacts into [[Chalice of the Void]] until another [[Chain of Vapor]] or [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] is found with two mana. There is a real chance of passing the turn if a blue card isn’t drawn.
Alex McKinley
Keep the [[Beseech the Mirror]] on top. Untap, then cast [[Beseech the Mirror]] Bargaining away the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. Find [[Song of Creation]], then cast [[Chain of Vapor]] targeting [[Mox Opal]]. Copy the [[Chain of Vapor]] and target the opponent’s [[Chalice of the Void]]. This gives a minimum of four cards drawn with [[Song of Creation]], which tends to be the number to continue going off consistently.
SITUATION No. 3 — Jeskai Control
Three-drops are the name of the game in Jeskai Control. [[Hullbreacher]], [[Narset, Parter of Veils]], [[Teferi, Time Raveler]], [[Back to Basics]], and even [[Snapcaster Mage]] feature heavily ([[Snapcaster Mage]] being an honorary three-drop). The curve of a Jeskai Control deck can often look a bit “wonky” unless you consider the desired sequence of events these decks build to. The first turns of the game are spent card selecting with cantrips and removing creatures on a one-for-one basis until a permanent can be deployed to further stabilize the board and begin generating actual card advantage. From there, cards like [[Supreme Verdict]] or [[Terminus]] can mop up remaining creatures to leave the door open for [[Day’s Undoing]] and [[Narset, Parter of Veils]] to generate insurmountable advantages.
Winning the game is not a strength of Jeskai Control. Their strength lies in creating a game where any draft common would be able to win; locking an opponent out of meaningful decisions and shutting down avenues to any loss. While this plan has not changed over recent years, win conditions certainly have improved. Cards like [[Murktide Regent]] and [[Triumph of Saint Katherine]] are fat beaters with evasion or stickiness that can close games out quickly. But the real gem of Jeskai has been [[Forth Eorlingas!]]. This is a card that can either serve as a giant [[Fireball]] in late-game situations or as small-ball board building in the mid-game to take advantage of the Monarch ability. Both aspects of [[Forth Eorlingas!]] appeal to Jeskai Control’s game plan and easily allow for fewer slots to be spent on win conditions and more to be spent on matchups that need work. Matchups like Storm or Combo in general.
The same sideboard plan against 8-Cast is used here but with drastically different applications in this matchup against Jeskai Control. The EPIC Storm plans for longer games against Control decks that lean towards redundancy and strength, with [[Galvanic Relay]] playing a key part here. Problematic permanents that call for [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] would be things like [[Back to Basics]], [[Counterbalance]], and [[Damping Sphere]]. These cards, and more, often feature in eclectic Control builds typically seen in the Jeskai color wedge. The EPIC Storm has historically performed quite well against slower Control decks, but with the advent of cards that can drastically speed up the clock (see the previous paragraph), a win needs to not take ages to build towards. Let’s take a look at an atypical situation that allows us to potentially sneak underneath an opponent’s plan.
SIDEBOARDING:
+2 [[Boseiju, Who Endures]]; -2 [[Mox Opal]]
Our Control opponent has been missing their land drops. That feels ominous from the Combo deck side. It is our fourth turn of game two and we have just drawn the last card seen from our [[Ponder]] (the [[Lotus Petal]]). Our opponent opted to cast a [[Brainstorm]] on their second turn and then played a non-Fetchland. They now have seen all of the cards from [[Brainstorm]] (they were on the play) and passed with seven cards in hand.
In the pre-sideboard game, the opponent played cards like [[Narset, Parter of Veils]], [[Day’s Undoing]], and [[Spell Pierce]]. There are several options available to us here. Which lines provide the most benefit against our opponent’s full hand? What are the reasons that we should choose one over another?
Special Guest
Romario Neto
In this situation, I would probably start by casting both copies of [[Lotus Petal]] and [[Burning Wish]]. If they have a response, I would cast [[Veil of Summer]]. If they have two pieces of interaction, then you can still hope to draw another Red mana source and go for an [[Echo of Eons]] or [[Galvanic Relay]] line the following turn. Red mana is definitely the bottleneck in this scenario, but I believe casting [[Burning Wish]] and [[Veil of Summer]] in the same turn gives you a better chance to win.
#TEAMTES
Jordan Karim
Even though our opponent’s hand is clearly all spells, there is a high likelihood that at least some of those spells are three-drops being locked behind a lack of mana rather than a hand chocked full of interaction. This “fog of war” effect is a strength of our opponent, because we don’t know what needs to be played around (or how much interaction they have). The nice thing is that we can play out our turn in a similarly misleading way. It has been a focus of skill development for my Storm game over the past several months and now it’s time to flex the muscles.
Let’s start with both copies of [[Lotus Petal]] and then [[Dark Ritual]]. If our opponent wants to interact at this point with [[Spell Pierce]] or [[Flusterstorm]], we can use [[Veil of Summer]] to protect (and especially so if they [[Force of Will]]). Casting [[Burning Wish]] next will allow us to get a card depending on what has happened thus far. I am more likely to get a [[Galvanic Relay]] if [[Veil of Summer]] has not been cast. If it has and has resolved, then I may consider [[Echo of Eons]]. This line of not playing out copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] does not allow for a [[Beseech the Mirror]] kill, but we can play around [[Surgical Extraction]] and I want to. Heck, if our opponent interacts enough, we may even be able to simply get a [[Thoughtseize]] to clear the way before using the second [[Lotus Petal]] to cast the backup [[Burning Wish]] for a lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]].
This situation is very fluid depending on how our opponent chooses to interact with us. If they have soft permission or little interaction, we can likely set up for success on this turn or the next.
Bryant Cook
This is a difficult spot. Play one [[Lotus Petal]] and then [[Dark Ritual]] to check them. Assuming it resolves, play the second [[Lotus Petal]] before casting [[Burning Wish]]. Hiding information such as the pair of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] in your hand can be valuable. There’s a chance the opponent allows the [[Burning Wish]] to resolve only to be destroyed by consecutive copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] into [[Galvanic Relay]]. If they [[Force of Will]] or [[Hydroblast]], then you are obligated to [[Veil of Summer]]. This only leaves you with [[Echo of Eons]] as a selection to win this turn. You could play out the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] earlier in the sequence to allow for [[Beseech the Mirror]] into a win, but that signals the opponent to counterspell the [[Burning Wish]], which isn’t the goal here. There are many different avenues to take with this spot; passing the turn after playing a [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] is also very reasonable.
Alex McKinley
I’d start by trying to bait out a [[Spell Pierce]] by just casting the [[Dark Ritual]]. They need double [[Force of Will]] to actually stop this turn and both the [[Dark Ritual]] and [[Spell Pierce]] are good for building Storm. Once I cast the [[Dark Ritual]], I’d cast all of the Artifacts, then a [[Veil of Summer]] and then a [[Burning Wish]] for [[Tendrils of Agony]] if it is lethal or an [[Empty the Warrens]] if it is not.
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