Hey everyone! Last Sunday, I participated in the Legacy 1K tournament at Face à Face Montréal.
First off, although I love the format, I don't play Legacy very often. Face à Face Montréal is one of the only stores that offers weekly Legacy nights, with a great, welcoming community, and it's difficult for me to travel to Montreal during the week. I still keep an eye out for the few weekend tournaments with attractive prizes so I can enjoy this wonderful format.
Yes, the format is difficult to access, due to the nature of the Reserved List and the exorbitant price of some cards. I've gradually built my preferred deck (Izzet Delver), and even now, it's not complete. I make do for the few tournaments I play, because I'll probably never get my hands on the two missing Volcanic Islands. Anyway, an Island and a Steam Vents do the job perfectly well and can even be an advantage in certain situations. Despite its accessibility, the format is incredibly challenging, especially with Izzet Delver. It's a stable deck in the format that has seen many bans in the past (Dreadhorde Arcanist, Ragavan, Expressive Iteration, etc.) during its more dominant periods, but ultimately it's the most versatile deck in the format. There's a lot of interaction, and every decision becomes important, as they can influence the outcome of the match 3-4 turns later.
There were 23 of us, most of whom knew each other since they meet every Tuesday. I was definitely an "outsider," but I received a very warm welcome.
In the first round, I faced a Legacy classic: Lands. As the name suggests, the strategy revolves around several lands that provide different advantages. The most notable are Dark Depth, Thespian's Stage, Urza's Saga, Wastelands, and The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale. The latter is particularly effective against creature decks and annoying against Delver as well, since it's difficult to keep your creatures alive while maintaining interaction when your limited lands are taxed every turn. Fortunately, Wasteland helps a lot against this deck. Also, the fact that I was playing an extra Island also helped me a lot against my opponent's Wastelands and their recursion with Life from the Loam. After three very close games, I started my day 1-0.
In the second round, I faced a slightly newer deck in the Legacy scene: Jeskai Wizards. Jeskai Control has always had a presence in the format, but this specific version relies heavily on the versatility of Flame of Anor combined with several good Wizards (Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Snapcaster Mage, and Thundertrap Trainer) to maximize its advantages. After two close games where we split the wins, we reached the final turns after the 50-minute mark. Although all hope seemed lost after my opponent killed all my creatures and attacked me with their four, I persevered until turn five. There, I drew my six lands and cast Lightning Bolt to finish off my opponent, reducing them to three life. My Force of Will was my guarantee that the spell would resolve. Never give up, as they say!
In round three, I faced another Legacy classic in Death and Taxes. The current version is somewhat similar to the Orzhov Blink deck that was popular in Modern last year, but it plays 80 cards with Yorion as a companion. It's a strategy I've often struggled with, and it's theoretically at an advantage against Delver. Nevertheless, with constant pressure from one or two creatures and minimal interaction at opportune moments, I managed to win in just two games.
Now up 3-0, I could safely draw the 4th and 5th rounds to finish 3rd in the Swiss round standings and secure my place in the top 8. We then all agreed to split the top 8 prizes equally and head home a little earlier. So, it was a day with slightly fewer Magic games than planned, but some definite winnings.
Thanks to Cartes Léo for their support and to you for reading about my tournament adventures. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy writing them.