For a long time, Legacy has been dominated by one problematic deck. Rescaminator, similar to Nadu, Winged Wisdom in Modern, remains a problem that only the ban list can solve. That doesn’t mean that players aren’t figuring out ways to combat the tier-zero deck in the meantime. Eldrazi Aggro, a historically problematic strategy, is beginning to strengthen its hold on the Legacy format.
Once again, Eye of Ugin is playable in a competitive format, and it’s just as powerful as it used to be.
Eldrazi Aggro
Eldrazi Stompy, as the deck is commonly coined in the Legacy format, dominates the standings. The top three decks in the last Legacy Challenge on Magic Online were all taken by variations of this strategy. Considering how dominant the Rescaminator is in the Legacy format, this is immensely impressive.
The success of the new Eldrazi Stompy deck is a combination of a few different elements. The first is the abundant amount of fast mana that this deck has access to. Between Ancient Tomb, Eye of Ugin, Eldrazi Temple, and Lotus Petal, it is extremely easy for this deck to have an incredibly aggressive start. Having access to Cavern of Souls makes it difficult for the traditional Force of Will and Daze packages to stop this deck as well.
The other piece of the puzzle is all the new Eldrazi coming out of Modern Horizons 3. Eldrazi Linebreaker combined with Glaring Fleshraker and It that Heralds the End can create a seriously fast clock. Wastescape Battlemage is surprisingly adept in the format, taking out all kinds of different threats.
Perhaps the most impressive Eldrazi addition to the Legacy format is Sowing Mycospawn. This card has made its impact in multiple new Legacy decks including the new 12-Post deck, as well as in Tron in the Modern format. The ability to search a land that goes directly into play is a lot more powerful than many think. Whether you want another Eldrazi Temple to ramp harder the next turn, Cavern of Souls to protect yourself from counterspells, or Wasteland to destroy a problematic land, Sowing Mycospawn creates a lot of powerful lines of play. If you have extra mana, you can get rid of an opposing land! Combining this with a Wasteland is devastating.
Shockingly, winning Eldrazi Stompy decklists even include a common from Modern Horizons 3. Eldrazi Repurposer, a creature that creates an Eldrazi Spawn on cast and death, is good enough to see play in this strategy!
Why is it Working?
Eldrazi Stompy seems to have a strong matchup against the boogeyman of the format. Rescaminator’s power comes from the ability to play as both a reanimator combo deck and as a fair Dimir Midrange deck. Frankly, the fair plan just doesn’t work against Eldrazi Stompy, which leaves the reanimation line as the only one that can deal with Eldrazi Stompy’s game plan.
To combat this, the winning decklist has four copies of Leyline of the Void in the sideboard. This should stall the reanimation plan enough for Eldrazi Stompy to crash through the enemy’s life total. Leyline of the Void has the added benefit of stopping the Oops, All Spells deck if they don’t switch the Goblin Charbelcher plan after game one.
Like every deck, Eldrazi Stompy definitely has its weaknesses. You’ll have a hard time beating combo decks that win in the opening turns with this deck. Lots of sideboard options, including Chalice of the Void and Mindbreak Trap are there to help combat these decks, but decks like Necrodominance, The Epic Storm, and Oops, All Spells are commonly crafted to deal with hindrances like this.
Alternatively, decks that play the ‘fair’ Magic game better than Eldrazi Stompy does can also pose a problem for the deck. Affinity, in particular, can go over Eldrazi Stompy decks far too quickly for the archetype to keep up.
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