Legacy: Blue Post - Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

Greetings, Legacy community! It is remarkable how innovation still finds space in Legacy, even though many players believe the format to be dead.

When Modern Horizons 3 came out, one of the most critical cards released back then was the powerful Sowing Mycospawn. And one deck that became a lot more powerful once this green/colorless creature came along was Cloudpost Ramp (also known as 12-Post). Naturally, once Mycospawn left the format, it deteriorated. However, its skeleton, which was still incredibly strong, remained, and the green version still sees play to this day. It does struggle against Wasteland and combo lists, though.

Then someone thought, "If combo lists are an issue, why not play counterspells, then?"

And that's how Blue Post was born!

The list we'll work with today put SwitchTwitch in the top 8 of a Magic Online Challenge 32 on September 28th. Sixty-two other players competed at this event.

It still plays the same core cards as the green version: Cloudpost and Urza's Tower, as well as the tower's best friend, Planar Nexus. It also plays Glimmerpost, Ancient Tomb, Karn, the Great Creator, Kozilek's Command, The One Ring, and Ugin, Eye of the Storms. But this is where the resemblance ends.

To play Force of Will and Force of Negation, this deck needs a decent amount of blue cards. Part of them are MDFCs, namely Sink Into Stupor and Waterlogged Teachings. The first card is quite popular in many decks because it is incredibly flexible. It answers problematic cards and is a source of mana, as well as fuel for counters. The second is a bit more uncommon, but it can find you that Kozilek's Command just when you need it.

Another blue card that is conquering space in Legacy is Stock Up, which we can conveniently cast with 1 Urza's Tower and 1 Planar Nexus. It will both find your key cards for you and create card advantage.

The last blue card is Thundertrap Trainer, another card that has proved to be quite useful in this format. This deck can also easily create value from its Offspring.

Finally, we have the quite uncommon Tishana's Tidebinder. There are many valuable abilities we can counter in this format, like Wasteland and Thassa's Oracle. This card also prevents opponents from using cards like The One Ring and other enemy Planeswalkers in the future, and this could make a difference against Forge or Red Stompy, for instance.

Besides the cards above, this list plays Chalice of the Void, which deals with the many 0- and 1-cost cards that define the format, even though you can't play it on turn 1 unless an occasional Ancient Tomb shows up. It also plays Eldrazi Confluence, which is mostly an answer to aggressive decks but can create extra value by "blinking" (exiling and returning) permanents like Thundertrap Trainer or accelerating future turns with Eldrazi Scion tokens.

Other cards you may find in this archetype are Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Disruptor Flute, Impulse, Lórien Revealed, and Portent of Calamity.

"Big Mana" decks, that is, decks that can create a truckload of mana with lands, are always remarkable. When they're efficient, like Forge Combo, they usually become quite popular in Legacy.

Cloudpost Ramp was already an important and respected player in the meta when Sowing Mycospawn was banned. After that, it left a vacuum for players that enjoy this style. A new archetype similar to it rising again, even more so one that can play control, is a great gift for players who enjoy these styles.

As this deck relies on its land combinations and doesn't play cantrips (Brainstorm, Ponder), your opening hand is crucial, as is your mulligan. The card you want to see in your hand is Planar Nexus, because it makes your Cloudposts and Urza's Towers a lot more powerful. This deck also plays many counters with alternative costs, so you can keep hands that are a bit slower but that have protection.

Let's see a few examples:

This is the hand you want with this deck: Nexus and Tower let you play The One Ring on turn 2, and you also have Force of Will as protection. Verdict: You should keep it.

This hand is a bit more complicated to assess. It has protection and Nexus, so you can accelerate Karn on turn 3 and eventually play Waterlogged Teachings to find more action later on. You can keep it, particularly if you know you're against decks that need an answer straight away or are vulnerable to Karn.

If you're against other decks, I'd send it back. Verdict: You should keep it if you're playing first or are facing decks that are vulnerable to Karn and Force of Negation.

This hand is a bit slow, but it is what this deck is looking for: you'll open with Cloudpost, which means you might be able to accelerate later on. You also have protection and something to play on turns 2 and 3. Verdict: You should keep it.

This hand has too much mana and no protection, though it can play something on turn 2 and accelerate Ugin. I wouldn't keep it. Verdict: You should mulligan it.

As this deck plays Karn, the Great Creator, a good part of this sideboard is dedicated to his toolbox. You'll find the usual suspects: Mycosynth Lattice, Ensnaring Bridge, Tormod's Crypt, Disruptor Flute, Walking Ballista, and the fourth copy of The One Ring. Batterskull is an odd choice, but the life points it gives you could make a difference.

Other options for this archetype are the fourth copy of Chalice of the Void, Cursed Totem, Grafdigger's Cage, Liquimetal Coating, and Moonsnare Prototype.

As for the rest of the slots, they mostly target graveyards, as it includes 4 copies of Surgical Extraction, one of the most efficient turn-0 answers. It also plays the fourth copy of Force of Negation so you can play against combos and the best removal for decks that don't play white or black: Dismember.

Apart from Karn's artifacts, you can also play Blue Elemental Blast/Hydroblast, Consign to Memory, Faerie Macabre, Hullbreacher, Hurkyl’s Recall, Venser, Shaper Savant, and extra copies of Tishana’s Tidebinder.

Dimir Reanimator

You might have a lot of counters, but they have an advantage: Thoughtseize lets them push their cards through. On the other side, if you can make the most out of your leftover mana, The One Ring and Karn, the Great Creator will give you so many resources they won't be able to resist.

The sideboard is pretty straightforward: you'll remove less useful cards to make sure they can't reanimate their creatures.

In:

Out:

Dimir Aggro

As they don't play Entomb + Reanimate, you'll have a little bit more time to get more mana. You'll have to be a bit more careful when you use the Ring so you don't get ambushed with Orcish Bowmasters. Finally, you'll end up using Force of Will more to push your cards through, so Force of Negation is a bit less useful. You'll remove it after game 1.

In:

Out:

Forge

If there is a reason to play Blue Post, this is it: it is practically already sideboarded against Forge. Your Karn destroys their plan, but theirs can't impact your game plan directly. Your many Forces should prevent them from playing their key cards. There's no secret here: they would rather not face you if possible.

Post-side, I believe you should bring your fourth copy of the Ring because if you manage to play Karn, the game will already be half solved.

In:

Out:

Red Stompy

Another great thing about this deck is that it can simply ignore Chalice of the Void. On the other side, Blood Moon and Magus of the Moon (which are immune to Force of Negation) can ruin your day. If you have enough mana, Sink Into Stupor could prevent issues.

Your main out for this problem is Ugin, Eye of the Storms, so, if Moon enters play, your out, besides finding your basic Islands, is dragging out the game until you can play your Planeswalker.

In:

Out:

Cephalid Breakfast

This game can be quite tough because if they can play their combo fast and with a Force of Will as backup, it can be pretty difficult to prevent. After all, Force of Negation can't stop creatures. What you want is to expand your mana base so you can get more resources than them.

If the game drags on, you'll probably be able to bury them. Karn, the Great Creator blocks their combo with Shuko.

In:

Out:

I remember that, a long time ago in Standard, we used Urzatron to accelerate Tooth and Nail, and someone realized they could use that base for a control list. That's how Izzetron was born. Blue Post is similar: by swapping green with blue, we got a control list tailor-made to turn leftover mana into advantage, all without exposing yourself too much. It is practically a new deck in an Eternal format!

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!