Legacy is one of the most cutthroat formats in all of MTG, and the barrier to entry is extremely high, making brewing a nightmare. That said, every once in a while, a new idea works, like this Mono-White Legends deck revolving around the dog Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful.
After going 5-0 in a Magic Online Legacy League this week, this white beatdown deck is a great way to try the format without investing in Dual Lands. Built to maximize a plethora of Universes Beyond legends, this strategy has plenty of cool inclusions throughout.
Yoshimaru in MTG Legacy
As you might expect from an aggressive white deck in an Eternal format,
Ocelot Pride
Ocelot Pride
First strike, lifelink
Ascend (If you control ten or more permanents, you get the city's blessing for the rest of the game.)
At the beginning of your end step, if you gained life this turn, create a 1/1 white Cat creature token. Then if you have the city's blessing, for each token you control that entered this turn, create a token that's a copy of it.
and
Guide of Souls
Guide of Souls
Whenever another creature you control enters, you gain 1 life and get {E} (an energy counter).
Whenever you attack, you may pay {E}{E}{E}. When you do, put two +1/+1 counters and a flying counter on target attacking creature. It becomes an Angel in addition to its other types.
are two of your go-to one-drops. The Cat threatens to build a wide board state on its own, and with Guide’s life-gain trigger, you don’t even have to attack to do it.
What makes this deck really interesting, though, is the third one-drop:
Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful
Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful
Whenever another legendary permanent you control enters, put a +1/+1 counter on Yoshimaru.
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.)
. This Dog has made a name for itself in Commander thanks to the infamous Partner mechanic, which doesn’t apply in Legacy. That won’t stop Yoshimaru from being a monster in this deck.
Succeeding with Yoshimaru lies in growing it every turn, which the massive influx of Universes Beyond legends has made easy. In the one-mana slot,
Zack Fair
Zack Fair
Zack Fair enters with a +1/+1 counter on it.
{1}, Sacrifice Zack Fair: Target creature you control gains indestructible until end of turn. Put Zack Fair's counters on that creature and attach an Equipment that was attached to Zack Fair to that creature.
does an excellent job protecting Yoshimaru on the cheap.
Zack Fair is also a great tool to reset with
Leonardo, Cutting Edge
Leonardo, Cutting Edge
Sneak {W} (You may cast this spell for {W} if you also return an unblocked attacker you control to hand during the declare blockers step. He enters tapped and attacking.)
Lifelink
Whenever you gain life, put a +1/+1 counter on Leonardo.
‘s Sneak ability, as long as you have an open lane to attack. With Guide of Souls and
Haliya, Guided by Light
Haliya, Guided by Light
Whenever Haliya or another creature or artifact you control enters, you gain 1 life.
At the beginning of your end step, draw a card if you've gained 3 or more life this turn.
Warp {W} (You may cast this card from your hand for its warp cost. Exile this creature at the beginning of the next end step, then you may cast it from exile on a later turn.)
gaining you lots of life over the course of the game, Leonardo is a natural inclusion.
As Yoshimaru and Leonardo continue to rack up +1/+1 counters,
Mikey & Leo, Chaos & Order
Mikey & Leo, Chaos & Order
Whenever you put a counter on a creature you control, draw a card. This ability triggers only once each turn.
can generate card advantage turn after turn. All the while,
Matt Murdock, Justice Seeker
Matt Murdock, Justice Seeker
At the beginning of combat on your turn, you may pay {1}. When you do, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
Each creature you control with a counter on it has ward {1}. (Whenever it becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays {1}.)
taxes your opponent’s removal spells, and
Urdnan, Dromoka Warrior
Urdnan, Dromoka Warrior
When Urdnan enters, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.
Whenever you attack, target attacking creature with a +1/+1 counter on it gains first strike until end of turn. If that creature has two or more +1/+1 counters on it, it gains double strike until end of turn instead.
enables some ferocious attacks.
If these legendary creatures weren’t enough, this deck also uses 11 legendary lands to further accelerate Yoshimaru’s growth.
Karakas
Karakas
{T}: Add {W}.
{T}: Return target legendary creature to its owner's hand.
is particularly impactful, protecting all of your legends while letting you replay cards like
Loran of the Third Path
Loran of the Third Path
Vigilance
When Loran enters, destroy up to one target artifact or enchantment.
{T}: You and target opponent each draw a card.
for extra disruption.
The only downside is that this is a mana-intensive process, but luckily,
Mox Amber
Mox Amber
{T}: Add one mana of any color among legendary creatures and planeswalkers you control.
provides a nice burst of acceleration, which creates explosive starts with Yoshimaru.
Mono-White in a Busted Environment
While this deck may seem a bit underpowered in Legacy, it lines up decently against the format’s fair decks. Having 12 must-kill one-drops gives you a strong chance to overload opposing interaction, and the efficiency of your threats makes
Daze
Daze
You may return an Island you control to its owner's hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Counter target spell unless its controller pays {1}.
less concerning.
Izzet Delver decks, in particular, can struggle to answer Yoshimaru once it sticks, since it quickly grows out of
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt deals 3 damage to any target.
range. If the Dog prompts a
Force of Will
Force of Will
You may pay 1 life and exile a blue card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Counter target spell.
, you’re thrilled, since you can easily keep the threats coming and punish the opponent for pitching extra resources.
While Dimir Tempo does have access to stronger removal, the deck’s reliance on
Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student
Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student
Flying
Whenever Tamiyo attacks, investigate. (Create a Clue token. It's an artifact with "{2}, Sacrifice this token: Draw a card.")
When you draw your third card in a turn, exile Tamiyo, then return her to the battlefield transformed under her owner's control.
and
Bilbo, Thief in the Night
Bilbo, Thief in the Night
Spells you cast from anywhere other than your hand cost {1} less to cast.
Whenever Bilbo attacks, you may cast an artifact, instant, or sorcery spell from your graveyard. If an instant or sorcery spell cast this way would be put into your graveyard, exile it instead.
makes Karakas a major weak spot. Karakas also hoses
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
You can't spend mana to cast this spell.
Convoke, delve (Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of that creature's color. Each card you exile from your graveyard pays for {1}.)
You may cast this card from your graveyard.
Trample
, which is the new hotness in Legacy.
As a mono-white deck, however, you’re naturally at the mercy of combo decks. Even with a fast Mox Amber draw, racing strong starts from
Doomsday
Doomsday
Search your library and graveyard for five cards and exile the rest. Put the chosen cards on top of your library in any order. You lose half your life, rounded up.
or Reanimator is nearly impossible.
The good news, at least, is that your sideboard is filled with anti-combo cards like
Mindbreak Trap
Mindbreak Trap
If an opponent cast three or more spells this turn, you may pay {0} rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Exile any number of target spells.
and
Leyline of the Void
Leyline of the Void
If this card is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it on the battlefield.
If a card would be put into an opponent's graveyard from anywhere, exile it instead.
. Still, you really need to draw them to stand a chance.
Forgoing a Fetch-Dual manabase in favor of more legendary lands also comes at a cost, since you can’t splash other disruptive tools. While Orzhov Death and Taxes decks get to lean on
Thoughtseize
Thoughtseize
Target player reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card. You lose 2 life.
, for example, you don’t have that luxury.
With limited access to MTG’s strongest tools, Mono-White Legends offers a swingy matchup spread, giving you varying results depending on the room. This means that the deck is unlikely to have a major breakout, but it’s a really fun strategy to try in an eternal format.
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