
Deck tech
Legacy: 8-Cast Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide
07/18/22 0 comments
In this article, we'll get to know one of the decks that recently appeared in Legacy and discover that it's actually an old acquaintance.
Presentation
Knowing the Deck
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Artifact Blue
and sometimes using just 7 “Casts”) is a relatively recent archetype to the Legacy setting, solidified with the inclusions of Kappa Cannoneer, Urza's Saga and Thought Monitor. The name comes from the nickname given to cards with Affinity that draw two cards, Thoughtcast and Thought Monitor, and to fuel these and other synergies, it uses a considerable amount of artifacts, preferably at the lowest possible cost. It's also one of the few blue decks in the format that can afford to forgo Brainstorm and Ponder! When this deck came out, it took the format off guard and its success was resounding, but now things have been adapting, and it's now one of several viable archetypes in Legacy, capable of extremely explosive plays combined with elements of Prison and Control. Here's a list for reference before we discuss how the deck works, what the key cards are, and what's replaceable:Posture

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Mulligan
As for mulligans, as this is a deck that can take on many roles, you need to assess what your starting hand offers and which path you will have to take. On thedraw
, for example, it's important to be more reactive and have access to Force of Will, so you don't fall victim to explosive decks like Storm, Oops or Red Prison. On theplay
, you can afford to keep hands that will result in a Blastoise, I mean, Kappa Cannoneer on turn 2 or a Chalice to 1 on turn 1. Hands that fall halfway between the deck's various play styles or that offer a lot of acceleration but no cards to make use of or even a way to replenish are candidates for Mulligan.Deck Building
Sideboard Guide
Izzet Delver
Your main threats are generally immune to Lightning Bolt — Turtle, Sai, and Saga tokens, and you can usually play around Daze. The main cards that this deck usually comes up against you are Pyroblast/Red Elemental Blast, Abrade, and the most complicated, Meltdown. Many other decks tend to trade Force of Will for more proactive cards against Delver, but you can't afford that luxury - Meltdown is pretty much game over unless you've managed to resolve a Cannoneer.Ad


Death and Taxes
They don't have many answers against the Turtle and luckily Mother of Runes doesn't grant protection from artifacts, but coming from the sideboard some decks have started using Kataki, War's Wage and even Serenity in some cases. Chalice, in addition to not being very effective against them, can be used against you through Flickerwisp, changing it from 1 to 0. IN:

Burn
They are extremely vulnerable to Chalice and the main card against artifacts they use is Smash to Smithereens, although Meltdown is starting to appear in lists. Here your objective is either to fit a Chalice and protect it or to quickly put a big threat into play and win the race — Shadowspear is great for cheating this contest. Brazen Borrower is interesting for dealing with potentially problematic cards like Sulfuric Vortex or Maddening Hex. IN:

Jeskai/Grixis Control
Although they are quite different decks, our game plan is similar against both. Grixis has access to Meltdown and Hidetsugu Consumes All while Jeskai can add Null Rod or Serenity against you, and neither is good news. IN:

BG Depths
This is the matchup in which Aether Spellbomb shines! Shadowspear can also put you out of the singe-hit range by Marit Lage. Post-side, it is common for them to come with Seeds of Innocence and/or Collector Ouphe. Dismember is for dealing with both Ouphe and Elvish Reclaimer. IN:

Red Prison
Chalice for 0 and Trinisphere are extremely problematic cards, and they tend to come with Fiery Confluence after game 1, having counters to hold these cards is crucial. Except for Bridge, they have no means of responding to Turtle. IN:

Oops, All Spells
They have Force of Vigor and some discards to try to force the combo over our Chalices and counters, it's not easy for them, but an oversight is enough for them to go all-in. IN:
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Mirror Match
Here it is important to be as explosive as possible, so very slow hands must be a mulligan. Usually, the first Turtle to resolve wins the game. IN:


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