What Is Legacy In Magic: The Gathering?

What is Legacy in Magic: The Gathering? It’s a question players who’ve been around in the MTG space for a little while will all eventually end up asking, because while Modern might have once seemed like something you can move into from Standard, Legacy is something else entirely.

Well, it’s a question that’s got a pretty simple answer, so we’re going to dig into what the format is and what the banned cards are below. All you have to do is keep reading.

What is Legacy in Magic: The Gathering?

Legacy is a constructed format with a minimum of sixty card decks, up to fifteen cards in your sideboard, and the usual rules of no more than four of any single card in your deck outside of Basic Lands and Snow Lands.

Legacy is probably the second-most expensive format in MTG, with Vintage taking the top spot there. Well – kind of.

Legacy is, by far, the second most expensive format to get into, but if you plan on playing MTG for the long haul, it is likely to become the cheapest format. This is because, while buying into the format requires a small fortune, not much changes otherwise. Once you grab your expensive staples, you don’t need much else to play Legacy. There isn’t much risk of a new Modern Horizons set completely flipping the format on its head. You don’t need to buy a whole new deck every once-in-a-while to keep up. Of the non-rotating formats, this one rotates the least.

That said, Legacy is expensive to get into for a few reasons, but the main one is simply that it’s a format that contains cards from every set in MTG ever.

That’s not just those sets that were in Standard either, but ones that come from expansions and special sets like Commander decks and Conspiracy. This makes it an incredibly diverse format in theory, and if you want to brew a deck, you have a lot of freedom to do so aside from the banned list.

What cards are banned in Legacy?

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The banned list in Legacy is pretty lengthy because of the huge selection of cards available. You can look at it below:

Ancestral Recall Ancestral Recall Target player draws three cards.
Arcum’s Astrolabe Arcum’s Astrolabe ({S} can be paid with one mana from a snow source.)
When this artifact enters, draw a card.
{1}, {T}: Add one mana of any color.
Balance Balance Each player chooses a number of lands they control equal to the number of lands controlled by the player who controls the fewest, then sacrifices the rest. Players discard cards and sacrifice creatures the same way.
Bazaar of Baghdad Bazaar of Baghdad {T}: Draw two cards, then discard three cards.
Black Lotus Black Lotus {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add three mana of any one color.
Channel Channel Until end of turn, any time you could activate a mana ability, you may pay 1 life. If you do, add {C}.
Chaos Orb Chaos Orb {1}, {T}: If this artifact is on the battlefield, flip it onto the battlefield from a height of at least one foot. If this artifact turns over completely at least once during the flip, destroy all nontoken permanents it touches. Then destroy this artifact.
Deathrite Shaman Deathrite Shaman {T}: Exile target land card from a graveyard. Add one mana of any color. (Activate only as an instant.)
{B}, {T}: Exile target instant or sorcery card from a graveyard. Each opponent loses 2 life.
{G}, {T}: Exile target creature card from a graveyard. You gain 2 life.
Demonic Consultation Demonic Consultation Choose a card name. Exile the top six cards of your library, then reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a card with the chosen name. Put that card into your hand and exile all other cards revealed this way.
Demonic Tutor Demonic Tutor Search your library for a card, put that card into your hand, then shuffle.
Dig Through Time Dig Through Time Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for {1}.)
Look at the top seven cards of your library. Put two of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
Dreadhorde Arcanist Dreadhorde Arcanist Trample
Whenever this creature attacks, you may cast target instant or sorcery card with mana value less than or equal to this creature's power from your graveyard without paying its mana cost. If that spell would be put into your graveyard, exile it instead.
Earthcraft Earthcraft Tap an untapped creature you control: Untap target basic land.
Expressive Iteration Expressive Iteration Look at the top three cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand, put one of them on the bottom of your library, and exile one of them. You may play the exiled card this turn.
Falling Star Falling Star Flip Falling Star onto the playing area from a height of at least one foot. Falling Star deals 3 damage to each creature it lands on. Tap all creatures dealt damage by Falling Star. If Falling Star doesn't turn completely over at least once during the flip, it has no effect.
Fastbond Fastbond You may play any number of lands on each of your turns.
Whenever you play a land, if it wasn't the first land you played this turn, this enchantment deals 1 damage to you.
Flash Flash You may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield. If you do, sacrifice it unless you pay its mana cost reduced by {2}.
Frantic Search Frantic Search Draw two cards, then discard two cards. Untap up to three lands.
Gitaxian Probe Gitaxian Probe ({U/P} can be paid with either {U} or 2 life.)
Look at target player's hand.
Draw a card.
Goblin Recruiter Goblin Recruiter When this creature enters, search your library for any number of Goblin cards, reveal them, then shuffle and put those cards on top in any order.
Gush Gush You may return two Islands you control to their owner's hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Draw two cards.
Hermit Druid Hermit Druid {G}, {T}: Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a basic land card. Put that card into your hand and all other cards revealed this way into your graveyard.
Imperial Seal Imperial Seal Search your library for a card, then shuffle and put that card on top. You lose 2 life.
Library of Alexandria Library of Alexandria {T}: Add {C}.
{T}: Draw a card. Activate only if you have exactly seven cards in hand.
Lurrus of the Dream-Den Lurrus of the Dream-Den Companion — Each permanent card in your starting deck has mana value 2 or less. (If this card is your chosen companion, you may put it into your hand from outside the game for {3} as a sorcery.)
Lifelink
Once during each of your turns, you may cast a permanent spell with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard.
Mana Crypt Mana Crypt At the beginning of your upkeep, flip a coin. If you lose the flip, this artifact deals 3 damage to you.
{T}: Add {C}{C}.
Mana Drain Mana Drain Counter target spell. At the beginning of your next main phase, add an amount of {C} equal to that spell's mana value.
Mana Vault Mana Vault This artifact doesn't untap during your untap step.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay {4}. If you do, untap this artifact.
At the beginning of your draw step, if this artifact is tapped, it deals 1 damage to you.
{T}: Add {C}{C}{C}.
Memory Jar Memory Jar {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Each player exiles all cards from their hand face down and draws seven cards. At the beginning of the next end step, each player discards their hand and returns to their hand each card they exiled this way.
Mental Misstep Mental Misstep ({U/P} can be paid with either {U} or 2 life.)
Counter target spell with mana value 1.
Mind Twist Mind Twist Target player discards X cards at random.
Mishra’s Workshop Mishra’s Workshop {T}: Add {C}{C}{C}. Spend this mana only to cast artifact spells.
Mox Emerald Mox Emerald {T}: Add {G}.
Mox Jet Mox Jet {T}: Add {B}.
Mox Pearl Mox Pearl {T}: Add {W}.
Mox Ruby Mox Ruby {T}: Add {R}.
Mox Sapphire Mox Sapphire {T}: Add {U}.
Mystical Tutor Mystical Tutor Search your library for an instant or sorcery card, reveal it, then shuffle and put that card on top.
Necropotence Necropotence Skip your draw step.
Whenever you discard a card, exile that card from your graveyard.
Pay 1 life: Exile the top card of your library face down. Put that card into your hand at the beginning of your next end step.
Oath of Druids Oath of Druids At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player chooses target player who controls more creatures than they do and is their opponent. The first player may reveal cards from the top of their library until they reveal a creature card. If the first player does, that player puts that card onto the battlefield and all other cards revealed this way into their graveyard.
Oko, Thief of Crowns Oko, Thief of Crowns +2: Create a Food token. (It's an artifact with "{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: You gain 3 life.")
+1: Target artifact or creature loses all abilities and becomes a green Elk creature with base power and toughness 3/3.
−5: Exchange control of target artifact or creature you control and target creature an opponent controls with power 3 or less.
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Whenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card.
Dash {1}{R} (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.)
Sensei’s Divining Top Sensei’s Divining Top {1}: Look at the top three cards of your library, then put them back in any order.
{T}: Draw a card, then put this artifact on top of its owner's library.
Shahrazad Shahrazad Players play a Magic subgame, using their libraries as their decks. Each player who doesn't win the subgame loses half their life, rounded up.
Skullclamp Skullclamp Equipped creature gets +1/-1.
Whenever equipped creature dies, draw two cards.
Equip {1}
Sol Ring Sol Ring {T}: Add {C}{C}.
Strip Mine Strip Mine {T}: Add {C}.
{T}, Sacrifice this land: Destroy target land.
Survival of the Fittest Survival of the Fittest {G}, Discard a creature card: Search your library for a creature card, reveal that card, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
Time Vault Time Vault This artifact enters tapped.
This artifact doesn't untap during your untap step.
If you would begin your turn while this artifact is tapped, you may skip that turn instead. If you do, untap this artifact.
{T}: Take an extra turn after this one.
Time Walk Time Walk Take an extra turn after this one.
Timetwister Timetwister Each player shuffles their hand and graveyard into their library, then draws seven cards. (Then put Timetwister into its owner's graveyard.)
Tinker Tinker As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice an artifact.
Search your library for an artifact card, put that card onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
Tolarian Academy Tolarian Academy {T}: Add {U} for each artifact you control.
Treasure Cruise Treasure Cruise Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for {1}.)
Draw three cards.
Underworld Breach Underworld Breach Each nonland card in your graveyard has escape. The escape cost is equal to the card's mana cost plus exile three other cards from your graveyard. (You may cast cards from your graveyard for their escape cost.)
At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice this enchantment.
Vampiric Tutor Vampiric Tutor Search your library for a card, then shuffle and put that card on top. You lose 2 life.
Wheel of Fortune Wheel of Fortune Each player discards their hand, then draws seven cards.
White Plume Adventurer White Plume Adventurer When this creature enters, you take the initiative.
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, untap a creature you control. If you've completed a dungeon, untap all creatures you control instead.
Windfall Windfall Each player discards their hand, then draws cards equal to the greatest number of cards a player discarded this way.
Wrenn and Six Wrenn and Six +1: Return up to one target land card from your graveyard to your hand.
−1: Wrenn and Six deals 1 damage to any target.
−7: You get an emblem with "Instant and sorcery cards in your graveyard have retrace." (You may cast instant and sorcery cards from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying their other costs.)
Yawgmoth’s Bargain Yawgmoth’s Bargain Skip your draw step.
Pay 1 life: Draw a card.
Yawgmoth’s Will Yawgmoth’s Will Until end of turn, you may play lands and cast spells from your graveyard.
If a card would be put into your graveyard from anywhere this turn, exile that card instead.
Zirda, the Dawnwaker Zirda, the Dawnwaker Companion — Each permanent card in your starting deck has an activated ability. (If this card is your chosen companion, you may put it into your hand from outside the game for {3} as a sorcery.)
Abilities you activate that aren't mana abilities cost {2} less to activate. This effect can't reduce the mana in that cost to less than one mana.
{1}, {T}: Target creature can't block this turn.

Legacy’s Recent Banlist Changes

Since this article was last updated (its been quite some time), three new cards have been added to the banlist, and one has been taken off. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Whenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card.
Dash {1}{R} (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.) ‘s addition happened quite some time ago, so we won’t touch on that. Instead, let’s talk about Legacy’s most recent banning.

Expressive Iteration and White Plume Adventurer saw recent bannings thanks to two archetypes dominating the Legacy format not too long ago. White Plume Adventurer White Plume Adventurer When this creature enters, you take the initiative.
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, untap a creature you control. If you've completed a dungeon, untap all creatures you control instead. was the main villain, creating a hostile format where Mono White Initiative preyed on Izzet Delver, and Delver preyed on everything that could prey on Initiative.

Expressive Iteration Expressive Iteration Look at the top three cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand, put one of them on the bottom of your library, and exile one of them. You may play the exiled card this turn. was the nerf to Delver. Should the foil to Delver fall, that deck might become too good for in the Legacy format again. Many bans have been a result of Izzet Delver, and this is unlikely to be the last.

Otherwise, Mind’s Desire saw a recent unban a few days ago as of the writing of this section, and the format is already getting shaken up by it. Combo has been a bit weaker in recent times, so Wizards of the Coast unbanned the card to throw combo players a bone.

All of this is to hopefully say that even though Legacy is a nonrotating format, innovations quietly promote change, and the format continues to grow.

What Is Legacy In Magic: The Gathering?

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What is Legacy in Magic: The Gathering?

What cards are banned in Legacy?

Legacy’s Recent Banlist Changes