It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a non-Blue aggro deck really do some work in Legacy. The presence of Eldrazi has certainly shaken things up, but it’s just not the same as a classic Wild Nacatl deck. The problem with that style of aggro deck is it doesn’t really have the tools to battle back against cards like Counterbalance, Monastery Mentor, Reality Smasher, or Terminus. That didn’t stop nekoyama from brewing up a fresh take on zoo with enough midrange elements to hold its own in the new Legacy metagame.

Four-Color Zoo ? Legacy | nekoyama, 5-0 Legacy League

• Creatures (16)
• 1 Gaddock Teeg
• 1 Qasali Pridemage
• 1 Scavenging Ooze
• 2 Huntmaster of the Fells
• 3 Tarmogoyf
• 4 Deathrite Shaman
• 4 Wild Nacatl

• Spells (22)
• 3 Abrupt Decay
• 3 Selesnya Charm
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Lightning Helix
• 4 Green Sun's Zenith
• 4 Isochron Scepter

• Lands (22)
• 1 Forest
• 1 Plains
• 1 Dryad Arbor
• 1 Savannah
• 2 Bayou
• 2 Plateau
• 2 Taiga
• 2 Verdant Catacombs
• 2 Wasteland
• 4 Windswept Heath
• 4 Wooded Foothills

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Arlinn Kord
• 3 Path to Exile
• 2 Pithing Needle
• 3 Surgical Extraction
• 1 Sylvan Library
• 4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

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The creatures here remain largely unchanged from previous iterations of zoo. Knight of the Reliquary chaining Wastelands isn’t great in a four-color deck, though, so Huntmaster of the Fells comes in as an important tool against other midrange decks. The key to this brew is the spells. Rather than leaning on more efficient and flexible spells like Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, and Dismember, nekoyama has decided to focus on more powerful 2-mana options.

Abrupt Decay is critical as an early removal spell which can also break up Counterbalance soft locks. Lightning Helix gives the deck some play in damage races or against combo decks caring about life totals like burn or storm. Selesnya Charm is a flexible removal spell capable of beating up on Tarmogoyf and Reality Smasher, and generates instant-speed threats against Counterbalance. All of these cards are just reasonable effects to play in contemporary Legacy.

But they all get so much better with Isochron Scepter. Now we’re not talking about just a powerful interactive spell; now we’ve got an engine. Suddenly Abrupt Decay means Counterbalance is never going to stick. Lightning Helix means your burn, storm, and Delver opponents are going to have an impossible time racing. Selesnya Charm means Reality Smasher is never getting in, and you have instant-speed threats every turn against Terminus. The combination of card advantage and utility is a powerful tool to add to the arsenal of an aggressive deck, since it gives you unique ways to apply additional pressure in difficult matchups.

A huge part of the reason this is such a powerful strategy in Legacy is there isn’t a ton of artifact removal. The presence of Stoneforge Mystic means few sideboards will be completely devoid of Disenchant effects, but most are only playing one or two copies, which means that your Scepters will go largely unchecked against non-Abrupt Decay decks. Even then, if your Scepters are eating removal spells instead of Wild Nacatls, you’re probably doing just fine.