Legacy: Urza's Ramp - Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

Greetings, Legacy community! Today, we'll explore a very controversial list that is both performing well in tournaments and making clear that online Legacy and tabletop Legacy are worlds apart.

It's clear that cards in the Reserved List (a list of cards that WotC promised to never reprint again) have one price tag on Magic Online and a different price tag on tabletop MTG (often in the hundreds of dollars). The list we'll explore today, however, which won a Showcase event on March 15th, 2026, and beat 237 players in the process, also plays 4 copies of a card that not only costs an absurd amount of money in real life but is also quite rare:

A player named venganza_ns ended up winning this Showcase event with the list above. It looks like Cloudpost Ramp but doesn't play the land that names this archetype and yet plays the Urzatron combo and Planar Nexus. It also looks like Forge Combo because it plays its acceleration but no Glaring Fleshraker. And, finally, it looks like Colorless Prison, as it plays Trinisphere and Karn, the Great Creator and these can destroy the opponent completely. What sets this list apart from the others is that it leans heavily into creating absurd amounts of mana with 4 Candelabra of Tawnos.

Decks that lean heavily into lands that create more than one mana are already popular in Legacy, but they are not usually that difficult to deal with because Wasteland is also quite popular, as well as some effects that are very similar to Blood Moon. To beat Wasteland, this deck in particular plays lots of cards that "disable" or disrupt activated abilities - Pithing Needle, Sorcerous Spyglass, and Disruptor Flute. To beat Blood Moon or similar, it plays less copies of these cards. After all, decks like Red Stompy have been pushed out of the format because of Show and Tell lists, which have become quite popular.

This mana base stands out because it plays 24 Urza lands - Towers, Power Plants Mines, Sagas, Workshops, and Planar Nexus, the honorary Urza land. All of these cards do more than just give you one mana each, and, particularly with Candelabra, they accelerate cards like Ugin, Eye of the Storms and even Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Cards like The One Ring and Kozilek's Command allow us to use all this excess mana and not run out of resources.

We must confess: most players would not be able to get the tabletop version of this deck without resorting to proxies, not even if they went in debt and got loans to do it. This discussion is quite controversial, and we won't particularly explore it in detail. So, for nearly everyone interested in this list, keep in mind that you're better off playing the online version.

Many players really enjoy getting an absurd amount of mana all at once. They're just not interested in playing the most popular list with this base: Forge Combo. If you're looking for a list that creates a huge amount of mana and does something quite straightforward with it, you're in the right place!

When it comes to mulliganing, this deck is similar to Stompy lists: you won't be able to put cards on the top of your deck to draw them later, so you'll have to rely on the lands on your opening hand to figure out what you'll do in the next few turns. The most important card in your starting hand is Planar Nexus because it enables Tower, Mine, and Power Plant all by itself. It also puts Urza's Workshop in motion.

If you don't get it, you can keep hands that accelerate mana with Grim Monolith and Manifold Key. The only issue is keeping too much acceleration and nothing that allows you to do something with all that mana, so be careful.

Let's see a few examples:

Hands with Planar Nexus are usually viable. This one even has a way to protect you from Wasteland and can put Ugin in play on turn 3 (if you don't feel the need to put Spyglass in play on turn 2 or if you draw a Candelabra of Tawnos, Urza's Tower, or Manifold Key/Voltaic Key). Verdict: you should keep it.

This hand also has Nexus. In particular, it allows you to put Trinisphere in play on turn 2 or the Ring or Karn on turn 3 even if you don't draw anything else relevant. It's exactly what we want. Verdict: you should keep it.

We can't keep this one. It can explode if you find Urza's Power Plant or Planar Nexus, but you'll have to rely a lot on your next draws. Verdict: you should mulligan it.

This hand is rare: it has Planar Nexus, but you should still send it back. You can't Metalcraft, so you can't accelerate with Workshop, and that makes it quite mediocre. Verdict: you should mulligan it.

As usual, decks that play Karn, the Great Creator need to save a decent amount of space in the sideboard for his toolbox. Among the artifacts this colorless friend can use, we have the usual suspects: Mycosynth Lattice wins the game on the spot with Karn because the opponent won't even be able to create mana with their lands. Liquimetal Coating prevents them from developing their mana base because it destroys one land per turn with Karn's +2 ability. Ensnaring Bridge is the usual answer to disable creature decks, and Tormod's Crypt is the most efficient way to deal with graveyards.

Besides the usual cards, this list plays a few that deal with problematic permanents and can put a lot of pressure on the opponent. They also allow you to do something with the absurd amount of mana you'll get. We're talking about Extinguisher Battleship and Cityscape Leveler.

The rest of the sideboard centers primarily around defending yourself against combo lists, particularly the ones it usually can't interact a lot with: Leyline of the Void is the standard turn-0 answer for Oops and other graveyard lists. Mindbreak Trap deals with combo decks that put in play lots of spells at once, like Storm. Finally, Dismember answers creatures that usually ruin your day, like Magus of the Moon and Clarion Conqueror.

Dimir Tempo

These lists play many problems: Wasteland breaks your mana base, Thoughtseize and Force of Will prevent you from using your excess mana, and Orcish Bowmasters counterattacks The One Ring.

Spyglass/Needle/Flute will mainly target Wasteland, but your excess copies can target Tamiyo, Seasoned Scholar.

Post-side, you'll remove a few cards that cost a lot of mana and add Dismember. You can use this removal to deal with cards like Moonshadow or Super Shredder before they get out of hand, but it's also an answer to an occasional Harbinger of the Seas.

In:

Out:

Show and Tell

A fast Show and Tell can destroy you if they reveal an Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or an Atraxa, Grand Unifier (if they do Omniscience, revealing a Trinisphere can buy you the time you need). So, you should try to put Karn, the Great Creator in play as soon as possible and get an Extinguisher Battleship in your hand. Sneak Attack is easier to play around because of the Spyglass/Needle/Flute trio.

This sideboard didn't take this opponent into consideration, so there's nothing we can really add.

In:

Nothing.

Out:

Nothing.

Boros Aggro

The Spyglass/Needle/Flute trio is meant to prevent Wasteland from ruining your day most of the time, but its other target is Goblin Bombardment. This card is an alternative way to win for this opponent, even over an Ensnaring Bridge. If you manage to create mana undisturbed, Ugin, Eye of the Storms should be enough to prevent them from coming back into the game.

Post-side, Dismember will prevent some of their expensive cards, like Ajani, Nacatl Pariah or Ocelot Pride, from getting out of control. It will also buy you some time so that you can figure out what to do.

In:

Out:

Oops

Game 1 is basically unwinnable, even if you win on the dice, because you can't put Trinisphere in play on turn 1, despite all your acceleration. Only a really bad sequence of mulligans for them will give you a chance to win before you can sideboard.

Post-sideboard, you'll get enough cards to get to turn 2. Then, you can play a Trinisphere or a Karn, the Great Creator into Tormod's Crypt and seal their fate. You can deal with the alternative win conditions they can get with your own cards: Spyglass/Needle/Flute/Karn stop Goblin Charbelcher, and Kozilek's Command deals with the graveyard and the creatures they can bring.

In:

Out:

Lands

This opponent can be a real nightmare because they focus on getting Wasteland and play Boseiju, Who Endures to break your defenses against this land. Furthermore, they're not really worried about Trinisphere. On the other side, you can deal with graveyards and Dark Depths because of Kozilek's Command. If they can't stop your lands, a The One Ring or Karn, the Great Creator could get you the win.

Post-side, your dead Trinispheres will open space for a way to stop them from getting their Wastelands through Life from the Loam.

In:

Out:

Legacy is not really an accessible format. Even decks that are considered cheap in this format are more expensive than decks in other formats. A competitive deck that plays 4 cards that are incredibly difficult to find is not the best advertisement. But it does bring up an interesting debate, particularly regarding proxies. Online, this deck is no different from the others in terms of cost.

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

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!