Locations
When talking about the new Planeswalker rule, we’ve mostly talked about how it affects Modern. Gideon of the Trials along with a sufficient density of other Gideons makes it shockingly difficult for opponents to actually get you dead since we’re seeing more and more Fatal Pushes and Abrupt Decays over traditional answers to Planeswalkers like Maelstrom Pulse. But while that’s true in Modern, does that logic extend to Legacy? YOZO certainly seems to think so:
Blue-White Planeswalker Control - Legacy | YOZO, 5-0 Legacy League
- Creatures (5)
- 2 Vendilion Clique
- 3 Snapcaster Mage
- Planeswalkers (7)
- 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
- 2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
- 2 Gideon of the Trials
- 2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
- Instants (16)
- 2 Counterspell
- 2 Flusterstorm
- 4 Brainstorm
- 4 Force of Will
- 4 Swords to Plowshares
- Sorceries (10)
- 1 Council's Judgment
- 1 Preordain
- 2 Supreme Verdict
- 2 Terminus
- 4 Ponder
- Enchantments (1)
- 1 Back to Basics
- Lands (21)
- 3 Plains
- 6 Island
- 1 Arid Mesa
- 1 Karakas
- 1 Marsh Flats
- 1 Misty Rainforest
- 1 Polluted Delta
- 1 Scalding Tarn
- 2 Tundra
- 4 Flooded Strand
- Sideboard (15)
- 1 Back to Basics
- 1 Containment Priest
- 2 Disenchant
- 2 Ethersworn Canonist
- 1 Hydroblast
- 1 Invasive Surgery
- 1 Path to Exile
- 2 Rest in Peace
- 1 Spell Pierce
- 1 Surgical Extraction
- 2 Wilt-Leaf Liege
deck in a post-Sensei's Divining Top world. You’ve still got some number of Terminus alongside Brainstorm and Ponder. This build is a little different in that it’s playing some Supreme Verdicts alongside Terminus rather than playing the full package of Portents and Terminus. You’ve also got the pretty typical suite of countermagic, Swords to Plowshares, and Snapcaster Mage making up the backbone of the deck.
What’s different is how you work on winning the game. Typically, these decks will play something like Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Monastery Mentor, or Entreat the Angels. Some will even go into Stoneforge Mystic plus Batterskull. This build goes all-in on Planeswalkers, but plays just one Jace. Instead, you’ve got multiple copies of Gideon of the Trials, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, and Elspeth, Knight-Errant.
The idea here is that there aren’t as many evasive threats as there used to be. Delver of Secrets isn’t nearly as prevalent and we’re seeing a lot of Leovold, Emissary of Trest midrange and combo decks. It turns out that Gideon of the Trials is really good at forcing those decks to overextend into removal spells or sweepers. Similarly, Elspeth and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar are very good at protecting Gideon of the Trials, particularly when backed up by sweepers and spot removal.
By sticking to two colors, you even get access to a powerful haymaker in the form of Back to Basics, which is incredibly good as more and more people are playing greedy four-color decks or relying on Ancient Tomb.
If you’re looking for a classic Planeswalker-based control deck for Legacy, this seems like a great place to start. The exact mix of Planeswalkers may change based on what you expect to play against, but the idea of keeping the board under control while generating incremental value with your Planeswalkers will always be a fun and powerful strategy.
