The StarCityGames.com $5000 Legacy Open in Philadelphia was a smashing success this past weekend, and the fine folks here have already got the Top 16 decklists posted! This week, we'll take a look at them and their strengths and frailties. I am especially excited because there are a lot of new Zendikar cards showing up, and I'm not just talking fetchlands. I've grouped similar decks together to compare their individual compositions. Let's take a look!

Naya Zoo

Zoo A Legacy deck, by Mitchell Reiners 13th place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Creatures 4 Grim Lavamancer 4 Kird Ape 2 Knight of the Reliquary 4 Qasali Pridemage 4 Tarmogoyf 4 Wild Nacatl Enchantments 2 Sylvan Library Instants 2 Fireblast 4 Lightning Bolt 2 Lightning Helix 3 Path to Exile 3 Price of Progress	Sorceries 1 Chain Lightning Basic Lands 1 Forest 1 Mountain 1 Plains Lands 1 Arid Mesa 3 Horizon Canopy 2 Plateau 2 Savannah 2 Taiga 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills	Sideboard: 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Tormod's Crypt 2 Krosan Grip 1 Path to Exile 4 Red Elemental Blast 2 Volcanic Fallout 2 Umezawa's Jitte
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Mitchell's deck is very similar to the Naya Zoo decks that made a strong showing in Charlotte. He has the characteristic Sylvan Library, Horizon Canopy, and Knight of the Reliquary. His sideboard packs a full four Red Elemental Blasts, a nod to Counterbalance decks and their proclivity for locking up the long game if they can survive. Mitchell does not pack the fourth copy of Price of Progress in the sideboard, nor does he run Vexing Shushers or Choke in the sideboard. I'm not sure whether the Pyroblast plan or Shushers are better against Counterbalance; the former is considerably cheaper and can remove problematic permanents like Rhox War Monk, but the Zoo player really needs the counterspell in their hand with a Red mana open to actually realistically stop the Blue enchantment. Shusher is much slower, but it shuts down the same cards that Red Elemental Blast does and attacks too.

Zoo A Legacy deck, by Robert Cusick 14th place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Creatures 3 Figure of Destiny 3 Goblin Guide 3 Grim Lavamancer 3 Keldon Marauders 4 Tarmogoyf 2 Vexing Shusher 4 Wild Nacatl Instants 3 Fireblast 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Magma Jet 3 Price of Progress	Sorceries 4 Chain Lightning Basic Lands 6 Mountain Lands 4 Arid Mesa 2 Plateau 4 Taiga 4 Wooded Foothills	Sideboard: 3 Tormod's Crypt 1 Vexing Shusher 3 Krosan Grip 1 Price of Progress 2 Red Elemental Blast 3 Volcanic Fallout 2 Shattering Spree
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Robert's deck is a really interesting take on Zoo and uses two relatively new creatures, Figure of Destiny and Goblin Guide, to make sure he has a critical mass of one-drops. I'm glad to see the Guide seeing play; it's the kind of creature that Zoo absolutely wants on the first turn, though I'm unsure of how effective it would be later on. Robert only runs White for Wild Nacatl, which is absolutely okay. I like that the deck has a lot of basics to rely on, but the most troubling thing for me is the large number of 3-ofs. This implies that they used to be four-ofs, but were shaved back to make room for different cards. I'm inclined to cut some cards, like Keldon Marauders, for quads of Grim Lavamancer and Goblin Guide (or maybe just Kird Apes). Fascinatingly, Robert runs Volcanic Fallout on his sideboard. Since most of his creatures can survive the sweeper, the spell can really swing Zoo matchups when the opponent is utilizing Qasali Pridemage and similar smaller creatures.

Zoo A Legacy deck, by Joe DiClemente 16th place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Creatures 4 Grim Lavamancer 4 Kird Ape 4 Qasali Pridemage 4 Tarmogoyf 4 Wild Nacatl 3 Woolly Thoctar Enchantments 2 Sylvan Library Instants 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Path to Exile 3 Vines of Vastwood	Legendary Artifacts 1 Umezawa's Jitte Sorceries 3 Chain Lightning Basic Lands 1 Forest 1 Mountain 1 Plains Lands 3 Horizon Canopy 2 Plateau 1 Savannah 3 Taiga 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills	Sideboard: 2 Relic of Progenitus 3 Choke 4 Leyline of the Void 3 Krosan Grip 2 Red Elemental Blast 1 Umezawa's Jitte
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Joe's deck is similar to the Alix Hatfield-style Zoo deck from Charlotte, but it has some fascinating twists. For example, he has three Vines of Vastwood, perhaps one the best (meaning actually playable) pump spells around. The card answers blocking Tombstalkers and Tarmogoyfs and can foil spot-removal. An interesting choice; I'm curious how they were for Joe this past Sunday.

Zoo made another strong showing, with three decks in the Top 16. The archetype is definitely worth taking notice of; since it's putting up consistent high showings, decks that were previously ponderously slow, like Landstill, could profit if they were tuned to beat it. There's also an undercurrent of discussion among Threshold players regarding Firespout; more Zoo means that the sweeper gets a lot better when maindecked (and makes manabases that much trickier).

Dredge

The two Dredge decks really benefit from being compared side-by-side; take a look and then scroll down for some analysis.

Dredge A Legacy deck, by Jason Imperiale 15th place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Creatures 1 Flame-Kin Zealot 4 Golgari Grave-Troll 2 Golgari Thug 3 Ichorid 4 Narcomoeba 4 Putrid Imp 1 Sphinx of Lost Truths 4 Stinkweed Imp 1 Woodfall Primus Enchantments 4 Bridge from Below Instants 1 Darkblast 2 Tolarian Winds	Sorceries 4 Breakthrough 3 Cabal Therapy 4 Careful Study 3 Dread Return Lands 4 Cephalid Coliseum 4 City of Brass 4 Gemstone Mine 3 Underground Sea	Sideboard: 2 Chalice of the Void 4 Pithing Needle 1 Ancestor's Chosen 1 Ancient Grudge 4 Chain of Vapor 1 Ray of Revelation 1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath 1 Crippling Fatigue
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Dredge A Legacy deck, by Matthew Bartlett 3rd place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Creatures 4 Bloodghast 1 Cephalid Sage 1 Flame-Kin Zealot 4 Golgari Grave-Troll 3 Golgari Thug 4 Narcomoeba 1 Sadistic Hypnotist 4 Stinkweed Imp 4 Tireless Tribe Enchantments 4 Bridge from Below	Sorceries 4 Breakthrough 4 Cabal Therapy 4 Careful Study 3 Dread Return Lands 4 Cephalid Coliseum 1 City of Brass 2 Dakmor Salvage 4 Gemstone Mine 4 Undiscovered Paradise	Sideboard: 4 Pithing Needle 1 Ancestor's Chosen 1 Sadistic Hypnotist 2 Ancient Grudge 4 Chain of Vapor 3 Force of Will
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The first thing to notice is that neither deck runs Lion's Eye Diamond or Deep Analysis. This move is generally regarded as a way to make the deck more consistent, but less busted in the early turns. Jason's deck runs two Tolarian Winds in addition to his Breakthroughs, giving him some really explosive starts off the back of an early dredger discard. Further, he techs out his Dread Return targets with Woodfall Primus, who can destroy problems like Moat. He's adopted the new Sphinx of Lost Truths as a replacement for Cephalid Sage, since it's a meatier target and can reasonably attack in the air.

Matthew's deck is a bit different in that he's adopted Bloodghast as a replacement for Ichorids. He and I have corresponded a little bit and he mentioned that Bloodghast was superior for him because it didn't require removing precious dredgers from the graveyard and could essentially come back from the grave every turn, a nod over Ichorids. I asked Matthew why he ran Cephalid Sage over the Sphinx, and he replied that he's often needed the extra card in hand because he usually dredges back a Dakmoor Salvage to trigger Landfall. He also runs Sadistic Hypnotist (all glory to the Hypnotoad!), a juicy Dread Return target early in the game that can constructively win the game in situations where it's too early to win with Flame-Kin Zealot.

Take a look at the sideboards of these decks; neither really has a way to stop Ravenous Trap. I think the Trap might see some play, and I don't see relying on Cabal Therapy to get rid of it as a reasonable reaction. However, since the Traps weren't anywhere to be seen in Philly, it likely worked out fine. Both players run full sets of Pithing Needles to stop Tormod's Crypt and Relic of Progenitus and Ancestor's Chosen, a good card for the Zoo matchup because the opponent can easily foil Bridge from Below and race Dredge. Matthew's Force of Wills are also an interesting addition, drawn from some Vintage lists that have experimented with the Best Counterspell Ever. Look for an interview with Matthew next week in this column!

The Combo Decks

Ad Nauseum Tendrils A Legacy deck, by Mark Tocco 10th place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 2 Chrome Mox 4 Lion's Eye Diamond 4 Lotus Petal 2 Sensei's Divining Top Instants 1 Ad Nauseam 4 Brainstorm 4 Cabal Ritual 4 Dark Ritual 4 Mystical Tutor 4 Orim's Chant 1 Pact of Negation 1 Silence 1 Wipe Away	Sorceries 1 Ill-Gotten Gains 4 Infernal Tutor 2 Ponder 1 Tendrils of Agony Basic Lands 1 Island Lands 1 Bayou 4 Flooded Strand 1 Misty Rainforest 4 Polluted Delta 1 Scrubland 1 Tropical Island 1 Tundra 2 Underground Sea	Sideboard: 1 Mox Diamond 2 Xantid Swarm 1 Ad Nauseam 2 Disenchant 1 Echoing Truth 1 Hurkyl's Recall 2 Krosan Grip 1 Ray of Revelation 2 Slaughter Pact 1 Ill-Gotten Gains 1 Plains
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Mark packed Ad Nauseam for an admirable finish in Philly. The deck is probably underplayed, since it's challenging to play correctly when you build the deck to be more consistent and less explosive, like this list. Mark shaved down to only one copy of Ad Nauseam and upped Chant counts with a copy of Silence. This deck is built with the understanding that finding the Ad Nauseam is relatively easy, especially with four Mystical Tutors, but protecting it is more difficult. I also dig the sideboard; Ad Nauseam doesn't have much to board in or out, so Mark can devote space to corner cards like Ray of Revelation.

Charbelcher Combo A Legacy deck, by Cedric Phillips 6th place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 4 Chrome Mox 4 Goblin Charbelcher 4 Lion's Eye Diamond 4 Lotus Petal Creatures 4 Elvish Spirit Guide 4 Simian Spirit Guide 4 Tinder Wall	Instants 4 Dark Ritual 4 Desperate Ritual 3 Manamorphose 4 Seething Song Sorceries 4 Burning Wish 3 Empty the Warrens 4 Land Grant 4 Rite of Flame Lands 1 Bayou 1 Taiga	Sideboard: 4 Ingot Chewer 4 Xantid Swarm 3 Duress 1 Empty the Warrens 1 Hull Breach 1 Pyroclasm 1 Tendrils of Agony
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Oh, that Cedric, what will he play next! Belcher has a reputation for being inconsistent, explosive, fragile after mulligans and dead to Blue cards. However, it has a great surprise value, which Cedric obviously exploited on his way to a 6th place finish. Part of its power is that Belcher is a little too fast for most sideboard anti-combo cards to contain, so decks have to bank on what they have in their maindeck, by and large, to fight the Tinder Walled menace. Ced also packs Black in the deck, which gives it some punch with Dark Ritual but also means you have to run another land (how unfair!). Manamorphose is a great workaround and can get the elusive double-Black for a Burning Wish-recovered Tendrils of Agony. Ced's board has a full seven cards to pack against heavily Blue decks, enabling him to slow-roll the combo or make six or eight highly protected Goblin tokens on the second turn.

The Counterbalance Decks

CounterTop Progenitus A Legacy deck, by Johnathan Mosier 4th place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 4 Sensei's Divining Top Creatures 4 Noble Hierarch 3 Rhox War Monk 4 Tarmogoyf 1 Trygon Predator Enchantments 4 Counterbalance Instants 4 Brainstorm 4 Daze 4 Force of Will 4 Swords to Plowshares	Legendary Creatures 1 Progenitus Sorceries 3 Natural Order 2 Ponder Basic Lands 1 Forest 1 Island Lands 1 Flooded Strand 4 Misty Rainforest 2 Polluted Delta 2 Savannah 4 Tropical Island 1 Tundra 1 Windswept Heath Land Creatures 1 Dryad Arbor	Sideboard: 2 Engineered Explosives 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Tormod's Crypt 2 Trygon Predator 2 Blue Elemental Blast 2 Hydroblast 3 Krosan Grip
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CounterTop Progenitus A Legacy deck, by Vincent Pau 9th place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 4 Sensei's Divining Top Creatures 4 Noble Hierarch 4 Rhox War Monk 4 Tarmogoyf 2 Trygon Predator Enchantments 4 Counterbalance Instants 4 Brainstorm 3 Daze 4 Force of Will 4 Swords to Plowshares	Legendary Creatures 1 Progenitus Sorceries 3 Natural Order Basic Lands 1 Forest 1 Island 1 Plains Lands 2 Flooded Strand 4 Misty Rainforest 4 Tropical Island 2 Tundra 2 Volcanic Island 2 Windswept Heath Land Creatures 1 Dryad Arbor	Sideboard: 2 Engineered Explosives 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Tormod's Crypt 1 Trygon Predator 3 Blue Elemental Blast 2 Krosan Grip 3 Firespout
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Both Vincent and Jonathan ran very similar Natural Order-Counterbalance decks. They've got Rhox War Monk, a concession to aggressive metagames, and both also pack full sets of Counterbalance and Sensei's Divining Top. The deck essentially plans to set up the Counterbalance lock or play a standard Threshold game, while being able to pull out the unexpected Natural Order for the biggest Hydra you've ever contemplated. If you see Noble Hierarch cast with Tropical Island on the first turn, it's safe to assume that the opponent has Natural Order somewhere; I can't think of another deck in the format that leads in such a way. It's interesting that this deck made two high placements, where there was only one non-Natural Order Counterbalance deck showing up. This is possibly the next development in CounterTop decks and people interested in the highly-annoying archetype should consider cramming green sorceries into their deck.

CounterTop Goyf A Legacy deck, by Timothy Hunt 5th place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 3 Sensei's Divining Top Creatures 4 Dark Confidant 2 Sower of Temptation 4 Tarmogoyf Enchantments 4 Counterbalance	Instants 4 Brainstorm 3 Daze 4 Force of Will 2 Putrefy 3 Smother 4 Stifle Sorceries 3 Thoughtseize Basic Lands 1 Forest 2 Island 1 Swamp Lands 2 Misty Rainforest 4 Polluted Delta 2 Tropical Island 4 Underground Sea 4 Wasteland	Sideboard: 1 Sower of Temptation 3 Leyline of the Void 3 Pernicious Deed 3 Blue Elemental Blast 2 Hydroblast 3 Krosan Grip
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Timothy packed a very similar deck to what he piloted to a Top 8 finish at GenCon this year. He's adopted Black removal spells so that he can have pinpoint kill cards and support Dark Confidant while avoiding manascrew problems that come with running Swords to Plowshares. I like his deck a lot; it's straightforward, reliable in its draws and rewards a good pilot. I'm glad to see Timothy placing highly in several events; seeing the same name in Legacy Top 8 results supports the idea of a contiguous format with repeatable successes by certain players.

Rounding Out the Top 16

Fish A Legacy deck, by Alex Bertoncini 11th place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 4 Aether Vial 2 Pithing Needle Creatures 4 Cursecatcher 4 Lord of Atlantis 1 Merfolk Sovereign 4 Merrow Reejerey 4 Silvergill Adept 4 Tarmogoyf Enchantments 4 Standstill	Instants 4 Daze 4 Force of Will Basic Lands 4 Island Lands 2 Flooded Strand 1 Misty Rainforest 4 Mutavault 2 Polluted Delta 1 Scalding Tarn 3 Tropical Island 4 Wasteland	Sideboard: 2 Chalice of the Void 3 Engineered Explosives 2 Tormod's Crypt 3 Trinket Mage 3 Krosan Grip 2 Umezawa's Jitte
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Alex chose a relatively standard Merfolk deck, but makes a subtle use of the new fetchlands. With two Pithing Needles maindeck, Alex can not only shut down Engineered Explosives and Sensei's Divining Top, he can also slam an opponent's manabase by naming their fetchlands. Misty Rainforest is probably the one to call at the moment.

U/B/r Bitterblossom Control A Legacy deck, by Chris Hartten 12th place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Creatures 4 Spellstutter Sprite 3 Tombstalker Instants 4 Brainstorm 4 Daze 3 Fire / Ice 4 Force of Will 4 Stifle 4 Terminate Legendary Artifacts 2 Umezawa's Jitte	Sorceries 4 Ponder Tribal Enchantments 4 Bitterblossom Basic Lands 1 Island 1 Swamp Lands 1 Badlands 3 Bloodstained Mire 4 Polluted Delta 3 Underground Sea 3 Volcanic Island 4 Wasteland	Sideboard: 2 Engineered Explosives 2 Relic of Progenitus 1 Tormod's Crypt 3 Hydroblast 3 Pyroblast 4 Firespout
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Chris packed an unorthodox Legacy deck, replete with tempo counters and small removal spells, in a deck that bears a resemblance to Faeries decks of Extended. He supports three colors as well as Wasteland, and, importantly, runs Tombstalker. This is critical in a deck like this because sometimes you need a big dumb animal to throw at the opponent. This deck style is well-suited to playing the tempo game, and a Tombstalker to drop down on turn 4 or 5 can make the Daze on turn 2 retroactively much more powerful. I haven't seen many successful applications with Bitterblossom in Legacy; the Umezawa's Jittes go a long way to powering up tokens to the creature level we're used to. I can't help thinking that this deck probably wants Dark Confidant somewhere in the 75, even if hitting a Tombstalker with it is a nonbo.

Hexmage Depths A Legacy deck, by Ken Adams 8th place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 3 Crucible Of Worlds Creatures 4 Bloodghast 4 Tarmogoyf 3 Vampire Hexmage Instants 3 Ghastly Demise	Sorceries 4 Cabal Therapy 3 Grim Discovery 4 Living Wish 4 Sinkhole 4 Smallpox Basic Lands 2 Swamp Lands 4 Bayou 1 Bloodstained Mire 2 Marsh Flats 1 Polluted Delta 4 Verdant Catacombs 3 Wasteland Legendary Lands 4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth Legendary Snow Lands 3 Dark Depths	Sideboard: 4 Dark Confidant 1 Tombstalker 1 Vampire Hexmage 4 Ravenous Trap 1 Maze of Ith 1 Treetop Village 1 Wasteland 1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale 1 Dark Depths
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Did you see that? Three copies of Grim Discovery in the maindeck, the card I've been harping on about for the last two weeks! In a deck like this, it's always going to “draw” two cards and it also resets the Dark Depths combination. Ken packs a startling FOUR copies of Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. That seems excessive to me, but at least it makes Dark Depths and Wasteland tap for relevant mana colors. I like the tack he's taken with Smallpox, and that makes me think tangentially about whether Pox would benefit from the Dark Depths combo. Living Wish gives access to a really reasonable sideboard that isn't overblown with corner cards. I would probably move the fourth Wasteland to the maindeck and put something like Indrik Stomphowler in its place. I really dig the Dark Confidants on the sideboard; they are a real edge in attrition matches. Surprisingly, Ken avoided Hymn to Touarch and Thoughtseize, two cards I would figure were staples in this deck. Ken also makes use of Bloodghast for reusable beats. It's a pretty slick deck.

42 Land A Legacy deck, by Chris Woltereck 7th place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 4 Mox Diamond Enchantments 4 Exploration 4 Manabond	Instants 3 Intuition Sorceries 3 Gamble 4 Life from the Loam Lands 2 Barbarian Ring 4 Maze of Ith 4 Mishra's Factory 4 Rishadan Port 2 Savannah 3 Taiga 4 Tranquil Thicket 2 Treetop Village 3 Tropical Island 4 Wasteland 2 Windswept Heath 2 Wooded Foothills Legendary Lands 2 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale	Sideboard: 4 Chalice of the Void 3 Zuran Orb 1 Ancient Grudge 2 Krosan Grip 1 Ray of Revelation 1 Flame Jab 1 Worm Harvest 1 Ghost Quarter 1 Glacial Chasm
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Chris made the finals of the StarCityGames.com $5000 Legacy Open in Charlotte, so it's no surprise to see him here with a substantially similar deck. He's packing Intuitions this time to act as more Gambles; they're also supercharged if you need to grab, say, three cycling lands or three Maze of Ith and play them immediately through Life from the Loam and Manabond. He's relegated Glacial Chasm to the sideboard but runs no Nomad Quarter maindeck; it's a gamble against strategies like Burn or Zoo. I also like Chris's extensive use of sideboard cards that are still valuable if they end up in the graveyard.

Threshold A Legacy deck, by James Bishop 2nd place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Creatures 4 Nimble Mongoose 4 Tarmogoyf	Instants 4 Brainstorm 4 Daze 4 Fire / Ice 4 Force of Will 4 Lightning Bolt 2 Rushing River 4 Spell Snare 4 Stifle Sorceries 4 Ponder Lands 3 Flooded Strand 3 Polluted Delta 4 Tropical Island 4 Volcanic Island 4 Wasteland	Sideboard: 3 Disrupt 1 Krosan Grip 2 Pyroblast 2 Red Elemental Blast 4 Submerge 3 Pyroclasm
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James Bishop opted for Canadian Threshold, packing the standard Rushing River over the alternative Vendilion Cliques. His success shows that this is a resilient list, especially when compared to other Threshold decks that have been unable to match the north-of-the-border phenomenon. It's hard to say more on this archetype, so if you're interested in finding its ins and outs, check out my recent interview with Ben Wienburg in the archives.

Trinistax A Legacy deck, by Brian Peters 1st place at a StarCityGames.com Legacy Open tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 2009-10-11 As reported at http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 4 Chalice of the Void 4 Crucible Of Worlds 4 Mox Diamond 4 Smokestack 3 Trinisphere Creatures 2 Baneslayer Angel 3 Magus of the Tabernacle Enchantments 4 Ghostly Prison 3 Oblivion Ring	Sorceries 4 Armageddon Basic Lands 5 Plains Lands 4 Ancient Tomb 3 City of Traitors 1 Horizon Canopy 2 Mishra's Factory 1 Nomad Stadium 1 Savannah 4 Wasteland Legendary Lands 3 Flagstones of Trokair 1 Kor Haven	Sideboard: 2 Tormod's Crypt 1 Trinisphere 1 Aura of Silence 3 Choke 2 Karmic Justice 2 Sphere of Law 3 Suppression Field 1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
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If there was ever a metagame call, this was it. Trinistax was completely set up to dominate the Top 16, thanks to a horde of pesky artifacts and lots of mana denial. Brian makes some uncommon calls; Baneslayer Angel is the biggest one I'm thinking of. She does a good job of gaining back life and lets the deck act like a superpowered Angel Stompy deck. He packs a pile of really potent cards on the sideboard, too; can CounterTop actually resolve their Krosan Grip through Suppression Field to take out that Choke? Brian's deck is aptly suited to set up that now-banned Vintage play of Trinisphere, Smokestack and Crucible of Worlds to lock an opponent right out of the game. His Chalice of the Void really does a number on just about everything else in this Top 16, especially when set with one counter. Whitestax can be an excellent or awful choice in a metagame; it suffers from inconsistencies if it has to account for a lot of decks, but the core of the deck is built to take advantage of Legacy's low mana cost curve.

Congratulations to everyone who played at the StarCityGames.com event both days, and especially to the Top 16! This event showed that Legacy players have really embraced M10 and Zendikar, so Wizards is doing a lot of stuff right when they can get that many new cards into an Eternal format.

Until next week…

Doug Linn

legacysallure at gmail dot com