We’re coming up on our third Invitational, and this is a very special one, for me, because this will be the first Invitational I get to play in! It’s slightly tainted by the fact that I’m going to be doing a million fetch and Top activations with a broken wrist, but sometimes, big game competitors need to battle through injuries.. I mean, I can either be like Patrice Bergeron, who played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a punctured lung, or I can be like Lebron and decide to sit out because of “cramps,” and then skip town. Annnnnyways, enough sportsball talk, nerds, let’s get down to business! An Invitational means that the current SCG season is ending, and our last Open has been played (remember, the Opens that run concurrent with the Invitational are actually the start of the next season). And end of season means it’s time to take a look at what’s hot and what’s not in the (North American) Legacy metagame! As always, feel free to skip the indented copypasta, below, if you’re familiar with my methodology (here are links to other articles where I explained this exercise):
“We will assign each archetype two points for finishing 9th-16th, three points for 5th-8th, four points for 3rd-4th, five points for 2nd, and six points for 1st, then average out the data from the events to arrive at what the expected metagame should look like.”
The method described above was developed by Frank Karsten for analyzing the “winner’s circle” metagame. These results are meant to show the likeliness of seeing a given archetype at the top tables. I don’t want to mislead anyone into thinking that they can safely forget about the plethora of decks that exist in this great format and assume that they will be playing against nothing but Delver and Show and Tell decks, because it is not uncommon to see some pretty wacky shit in the first couple of rounds (or the later rounds if you have fallen below x-3).
For our data, I aggregated the results from each SCG Legacy Open, from Columbus (6/15) to Washington, D.C. (8/24). Here’s what I came up with:
| Archetype | K-Score | Last Season K | Change | T-Score | T/K | |
| 1 | Sultai Delver | 12.06% | 10.17% | 1.89% | 11.40% | 0.9452 |
| 2 | Jeskai Delver | 9.93% | 5.91% | 4.02% | 9.99% | 1.0065 |
| 3 | Temur Delver | 9.46% | 10.17% | -0.71% | 9.82% | 1.0381 |
| 4 | Miracles | 8.51% | 7.09% | 1.42% | 8.59% | 1.0095 |
| 5 | Shardless Sultai | 7.80% | 2.84% | 4.96% | 8.06% | 1.0331 |
| 6 | Burn | 5.20% | 2.13% | 3.07% | 4.93% | 0.9483 |
| 7 | Elves | 5.20% | 6.15% | -0.95% | 4.34% | 0.8337 |
| 8 | Esper Deathblade | 4.96% | 6.38% | -1.42% | 5.30% | 1.0682 |
| 9 | Death and Taxes | 4.73% | 5.20% | -0.47% | 4.48% | 0.9477 |
| 10 | Sneak and Show | 4.26% | 5.44% | -1.18% | 4.16% | 0.9773 |
| 11 | Jund | 3.07% | 1.18% | 1.89% | 3.05% | 0.9913 |
| 12 | Esper Stoneblade | 2.60% | 1.18% | 1.42% | 2.74% | 1.0537 |
| 13 | Dredge | 2.13% | 0.00% | 2.13% | 2.76% | 1.2955 |
| 14 | Belcher | 1.42% | 1.42% | 0.00% | 1.16% | 0.8182 |
| 15 | Omni-Tell | 1.42% | 0.47% | 0.95% | 1.35% | 0.9545 |
| 16 | TES | 1.42% | 0.47% | 0.95% | 1.48% | 1.0455 |
| 17 | MUD | 1.18% | 0.95% | 0.23% | 1.35% | 1.1455 |
| 18 | Infect | 1.18% | 0.71% | 0.47% | 0.95% | 0.8045 |
| 19 | Lands | 1.18% | 0.95% | 0.23% | 1.29% | 1.0909 |
| 20 | Imperial Painter | 0.95% | 2.34% | -1.39% | 1.06% | 1.1250 |
| 21 | Mono-Red Sneak Attack | 0.95% | 0.00% | 0.95% | 1.23% | 1.2955 |
| 22 | Bant Stoneblade | 0.95% | 0.00% | 0.95% | 1.29% | 1.3636 |
| 23 | Merfolk | 0.95% | 0.00% | 0.95% | 1.10% | 1.1591 |
| 24 | Reanimator | 0.95% | 1.42% | -0.47% | 0.90% | 0.9545 |
| 25 | BG Pox | 0.71% | 0.00% | 0.71% | 0.63% | 0.8864 |
| 26 | ANT | 0.71% | 3.78% | -3.07% | 0.82% | 1.1591 |
| 27 | All Spells | 0.71% | 0.00% | 0.71% | 0.58% | 0.8182 |
| 28 | Sultai Control | 0.71% | 1.65% | -0.94% | 0.58% | 0.8182 |
| 29 | UG 12 Post | 0.47% | 1.42% | -0.95% | 0.55% | 1.1591 |
| 30 | UW Standstill | 0.47% | 0.00% | 0.47% | 0.35% | 0.7500 |
| 31 | Grixis Delver | 0.47% | 0.00% | 0.47% | 0.58% | 1.2273 |
| 32 | Mono-Green 12 Post | 0.47% | 0.00% | 0.47% | 0.35% | 0.7500 |
| 33 | UB Tezzeret | 0.47% | 0.00% | 0.47% | 0.35% | 0.7500 |
| 34 | Maverick | 0.47% | 0.64% | -0.17% | 0.58% | 1.2273 |
| 35 | UR Delver | 0.47% | 1.89% | -1.42% | 0.32% | 0.6818 |
| 36 | Hypergenesis | 0.47% | 0.00% | 0.47% | 0.55% | 1.1591 |
| 37 | High Tide | 0.47% | 2.60% | -2.13% | 0.58% | 1.2273 |
| 38 | Manaless Dredge | 0.47% | 1.42% | -0.95% | 0.39% | 0.8182 |
Sultai continue to be a powerful color combination, between both the Delver and Shardless variants. Shardless, in particular, really exploded back onto the scene, this quarter. I said that BUG Sultai is king, early in the quarter, and it continues to hold true. Burn has also risen like a phoenix from the ashes, more than doubling it’s share of showings at the top tables! It’s pretty easy to see what happened here: people realized how good Eidolon of the Great Revel is. Jeskai Delver also had impressive gains, which really just make me wonder what happened that it dropped off in the previous quarter.
Here is the macro archetype breakdown, aka, the “Holy shit, look at all that Delver!” breakdown:
| Archetype | K-Score | Last Season K | Change | T-Score | T/K | |
| 1 | Delver Tempo | 32.39% | 31.44% | 0.95% | 32.11% | 0.9914 |
| 2 | Miracles | 8.51% | 7.09% | 1.42% | 8.59% | 1.0095 |
| 3 | Stoneblade | 8.51% | 8.04% | 0.47% | 9.33% | 1.0966 |
| 4 | Sultai Midrange | 8.51% | 4.49% | 4.02% | 8.64% | 1.0152 |
| 5 | Show and Tell Combo | 6.15% | 5.91% | 0.24% | 6.06% | 0.9860 |
| 6 | Aether Vial Aggro | 5.67% | 7.57% | -1.90% | 5.58% | 0.9830 |
| 7 | Burn | 5.20% | 2.13% | 3.07% | 4.93% | 0.9483 |
| 8 | Elves | 5.20% | 6.15% | -0.95% | 4.34% | 0.8337 |
| 9 | Graveyard Combo | 3.55% | 3.78% | -0.23% | 4.05% | 1.1409 |
| 10 | Other* | 3.31% | 5.20% | -1.89% | 3.08% | 0.9302 |
| 11 | Jund | 3.07% | 1.18% | 1.89% | 3.05% | 0.9913 |
| 12 | Storm Combo | 2.13% | 4.26% | -2.13% | 2.30% | 1.0833 |
| 13 | Belcher | 1.42% | 1.42% | 0.00% | 1.16% | 0.8182 |
| 14 | Infect | 1.18% | 0.71% | 0.47% | 0.95% | 0.8045 |
| 15 | Lands | 1.18% | 0.95% | 0.23% | 1.29% | 1.0909 |
| 16 | MUD | 1.18% | 0.95% | 0.23% | 1.35% | 1.1455 |
| 17 | 12 Post | 0.95% | 1.42% | -0.47% | 0.90% | 0.9545 |
| 18 | Mono-Red Sneak Attack | 0.95% | 0.00% | 0.95% | 1.23% | 1.2955 |
| 19 | Painter | 0.95% | 3.78% | -2.83% | 1.06% | 1.1250 |
*Archetypes with only one showing go here
Here are a couple of the more interesting lists that caught my eye, last season:
Hypergenesis
by Scott Lipp
13th Place at StarCityGames.com Legacy Open on 8/3/2014
| Creatures (23) 4 Shardless Agent 4 Elvish Spirit Guide 4 Simian Spirit Guide 4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn 4 Griselbrand 3 Progenitus | Lands (16) 1 Forest 1 Island 1 Mountain 4 Misty Rainforest 2 Scalding Tarn 1 Taiga 1 Tropical Island 1 Volcanic Island 4 Wooded Foothills Spells (21) 4 Omniscience 4 Force of Will 3 Misdirection 4 Violent Outburst 2 Hypergenesis 4 Show and Tell Sideboard (15) 2 Ashen Rider 2 Ingot Chewer 2 Sneak Attack 3 Dismember 1 Misdirection 3 Ricochet Trap 1 Eureka 1 City of Traitors |
Here, we have a Show and Tell deck that basically runs 12 Show and Tells. All eight cascade spells can only hit the namesake card. The potential for early kills is high, with eight Spirit Guides to fuel the three-mana “I win” cards.
UW Landstill
by William Booth
11th Place at StarCityGames.com Legacy Open on 6/22/2014
| Planeswalkers (2) 1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor | Lands (22) 2 Island 2 Plains 4 Flooded Strand 4 Mishra’s Factory 4 Tundra 2 Volcanic Island 4 Wasteland Spells (37) 1 Helm of Obedience 1 Pithing Needle 4 Energy Field 2 Humility 4 Rest in Peace 4 Standstill 4 Brainstorm 4 Daze 3 Enlightened Tutor 4 Force of Will 3 Stifle 3 Swords to Plowshares Sideboard (15) 1 Ratchet Bomb 1 Relic of Progenitus 1 Tormod’s Crypt 2 Energy Flux 2 Leyline of Sanctity 2 Oblivion Ring 2 Pyroblast 2 Red Elemental Blast 2 Supreme Verdict |
If a rogue control deck places highly, I’m obviously going to fawn over it and mention it, in the post, right? It’s good to see the RIP-Helm-E.Field combo getting some use; I miss the days when I ran it in Miracles. Enlightened Tutor really shines in this list, as not only can it grab various combo pieces or silver bullets, but it can also erase it’s drawback (card disadvantage) by finding a Standstill.
Bant Stoneblade
by Paul Lynch
4th Place at StarCityGames.com Legacy Open on 8/24/2014
| Creatures (9) 4 Shardless Agent 4 Stoneforge Mystic 1 Vendilion Clique Planeswalkers (2) 2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor | Lands (22) 1 Forest 2 Island 1 Plains 4 Flooded Strand 4 Misty Rainforest 1 Savannah 2 Tropical Island 3 Tundra 2 Windswept Heath 1 Academy Ruins 1 Karakas Spells (27) 1 Batterskull 1 Ensnaring Bridge 1 Sensei’s Divining Top 1 Sword of the Meek 3 Thopter Foundry 1 Detention Sphere 4 Brainstorm 1 Enlightened Tutor 4 Force of Will 1 Misdirection 4 Swords to Plowshares 1 Umezawa’s Jitte 4 Ancestral Vision Sideboard (15) 1 Grafdigger’s Cage 1 Pithing Needle 2 Relic of Progenitus 1 Ethersworn Canonist 3 Meddling Mage 1 Humility 1 Seal of Cleansing 2 Flusterstorm 1 Path to Exile 2 Supreme Verdict |
It’s like Shardless Sultai and Stoneblade had a baby, and Tezzeret helped deliver it. Instead of cascading into ‘Goyf, Decay, and Hymn, you cascade into Stoneforge Mystic or Swords to Plowshares. Or you just randomly (or not so randomly, because Brainstorm!) cascade into the Sword-Thopter combo (which Stoneforge can also help assemble)!
Maverick
by Chris Scagnelli
10th Place at StarCityGames.com Legacy Open on 8/10/2014
Nothing sexy or exciting to see, here. Just an old format stalwart—one of the “pillars,” to be exact—that hasn’t seem much play, these days. It’s probably because when people realized that Thalia, Stoneforge, and Mom were a good enough creature core, and they didn’t need Knight of the Reliquary, they cut green, altogether, and built Death and Taxes.
Mono-Red Sneak Attack
by Terry Vanderwall
9th Place at StarCityGames.com Legacy Open on 8/10/2014
| Creatures (15) 2 Inferno Titan 4 Simian Spirit Guide 1 Worldspine Wurm 4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn 4 Griselbrand | Lands (20) 6 Mountain 4 Ancient Tomb 1 Arid Mesa 4 City of Traitors 3 Sandstone Needle 1 Scalding Tarn 1 Wooded Foothills Spells (25) 4 Chalice of the Void 3 Lotus Petal 4 Blood Moon 2 Pyromancy 4 Sneak Attack 4 Seething Song 4 Through the Breach Sideboard (15) 3 Defense Grid 4 Tormod’s Crypt 2 Trinisphere 3 Sulfur Elemental 3 Pyroclasm |
Here’s a neat combo list that caught my eye, and actually made back-to-back appearances! We’re taking the Mono-red lockdown shell of dropping a turn one Chalice or Moon, using Sol lands or other fast mana, and adding a bunch of fatties and eight ways to dump them into play.
Esper Stoneblade
by Al Karabell
5th Place at StarCityGames.com Legacy Open on 7/27/2014
I just wanna take a minute to applaud the use of maindeck Ashiok and Sorin. Was this on a bet, Al? Either way, love it! I like the Moorland Haunt, too.