IntroductionGreetings, Legacy community! Our format has been quite busy! First, a big ban, then a new set. Well, now that The Fantasticar is in the past and Bilbo, Thief in the Night is a reality, it's time to explore this beloved Hobbit and the decks that are playing him. And that includes a wide variety of different decks, at least until players find the best home for him.In this article, we'll focus on the decks with Bilbo that have been performing well. And, look at that, some of these decks have already done well in the first Magic Online Challenge 32 events!DeckbuildingContent creator echobaronen is a pretty popular figure in the Legacy community, and, as it turns out, they have managed to get to the Top 4 of a Challenge 32 with the list we'll explore today.Ok, at first it seems like a standard Dimir Tempo list: Force of Will, Thoughtseize, Daze, Fatal Push, Brainstorm, Ponder, Flow State, Nethergoyf, and a few single copies of Brazen Borrower and Snuff Out, which should be helpful in multiple situations. But then there are 4 Bilbo, Thief in the Night, and, as a result, some cards you usually see in this archetype were left out.The first noticeable absences are Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student and Murktide Regent. Tamiyo might be one of the strongest cards in Legacy, but it often leads to long matches, and I imagine that the idea was to keep this version more aggressive. But then, why not play Regent, the most efficient creature in terms of stats/cost that blue has to offer?We'll show you why soon. Not playing Orcish Bowmasters is actually pretty controversial, but this card is in the sideboard. Kaito, Bane of Nightmares is also not part of this list, and that makes sense. After all, it already doesn't play Tamiyo, so you can't enable Ninjutsu that easily.Besides these cards, this list also doesn't play as many copies of certain cards as it can, like other traditional versions do. Instead, it plays 3 or 2 copies of them so that you have space for new cards. This includes cards like Ponder, Daze, Fatal Push, and Flow State.Now let's see what was added. The first card is Mishra's Bauble, the easiest target for Bilbo's ability because you can cast it for 0 cost. You can't do that with Brainstorm or Flow State, for instance. On top of it all, it will grow Nethergoyf and another aggressive addition to this deck: Moonshadow. This powerful 1-cost creature is this list's big attacker with evasion that grows whenever you manage to use Mishra's Bauble. Traditional versions often played Murktide Regent in this role.Finally, an interesting detail is the one copy of Watery Grave. In the past, there were a few Izzet lists that played a decent number of 1-cost red cards adopt Steam Vents as well. The idea was to be able to get both mana colors in the first few turns more consistently, and the logic in this case is the same. Moonshadow demands a lot considering this deck plays 4 Wasteland.Why Play Bilbo Dimir Tempo in LegacySo far, no card in the game looks more exciting than Bilbo, Thief in the Night, and blue tempo archetypes seem like great homes for it. So, finding a list that has performed well consistently to use it seems to be the best bet for anyone who wants to use this beloved Hobbit.But it's a bit early, and the meta is still changing and adapting to The Fantasticar ban. This list is most likely leagues away from its definitive form, refined and better-adjusted. But, for a first draft, it seems like a great starting point for tempo players who want to use Bilbo.MulliganTempo decks and their various cantrips (Brainstorm/Ponder), as well as Mishra's Bauble, can keep many hands. You just need to have enough mana (not too much of it) to play your spells and ways to draw cards. All hands like this are valid.Let's see a few examples:I believe this is the best example of a hand you should keep. It has everything you want early on. Verdict: you should keep it.This hand is also pretty safe. Even the 2 Bilbos won't be that heavy because you can return one of them with Brainstorm. Verdict: you should keep it.This hand is a bit heavy on the lands, but one of them is Wasteland, which is, in practice, a land destruction spell. It also has 2 cantrips, so you can find more resources later. Verdict: you should keep it.This hand is a bit riskier. You'll have to look at your opponent first before you draft a basic game plan for your first few turns. Against Wasteland decks, it is quite risky, particularly if you can't find another land with Ponder. Fatal Push is excellent against other aggressive decks, but it's useless against many archetypes. In a vacuum, you can find reasons to get another hand because this one could go wrong in many ways.Verdict: mulligan if you don't know the opponent's deck all that well, but you can keep it against a few decks if you know for certain what's coming from the other side of the table.Building the SideboardThis sideboard was built with a certain question in mind: am I playing against aggro or combo? Against aggressive decks, you'll get Toxic Deluge, Fatal Push, and Snuff Out. Depending on the opponent, Orcish Bowmasters and Hydroblast are also efficient removals.Against combos, Force of Negation is the standard. You can then add Consign to Memory, Surgical Extraction, Orcish Bowmasters and other removals based on how efficient they are against each particular combo.Other cards that usually show up in these sideboards are Barrowgoyf, Dauthi Voidwalker, Engineered Explosives, Massacre, Nihil Spellbomb, and Sheoldred’s Edict.Sideboard GuideDimir TempoWhat the opponent is playing will determine the game style and sideboard you'll adopt. The key card in this matchup is Murktide Regent, which they can't really answer effectively, not even with their own Regents. You'll soon see yourself in a war for resources in this case, but if you can keep one Bilbo alive, it will make a huge difference.Against lists with Murktide Regent:In:Out:Against lists without Murktide Regent:In:Out:Azorius PupPhelia, Exuberant Shepherd will be a problem while it is in play because it can reset Moonshadow or create a truckload of value with Quantum Riddler. So, your main goal in this matchup is to prevent it from doing anything. This will destroy them almost immediately. Be careful when you use your fetchlands so that you don't get ambushed by Stifle. Your best tool is Thoughtseize.In:Out:Boros EnergyThis opponent is really difficult to deal with because they can put a lot of pressure on you, and you can't really deal with it properly. Your best bet post-sideboard is Toxic Deluge, which I believe sees less play than it should.In:Out:ReanimatorLuck will be a key factor in this game. If you're playing first, you can play Thoughtseize and Daze to break their combo. But, if you're drawing first, all you have is Force of Will (and Force of Negation and Surgical Extraction post-side). Depending on what they bring up, you can keep a few Fatal Push (remove a few Bilbos and Baubles) to stop the Chain of Smog + Witherbloom Apprentice combo.In:Out:DoomsdayNow that they don't have The Fantasticar "plan B," they have to focus on their plan A, which makes them more vulnerable to Thoughtseize.Post-side, they might adopt a creature-based game plan, but even if you get your best removals, your list is still a real Dimir Tempo strategy, while theirs is, at most, a sub-optimal version.In:Out:Final WordsBilbo, Thief in the Night still needs to find his place in Legacy. So far, players have been struggling with its real cost and availability, so we haven't been able to play it everywhere. We still don't know what it can really do. As the days go on, however, our theories will be proved right or wrong, and we'll see if Bilbo lives up to its reputation. In any case, this deck is a good place to start.What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.Thank you for reading, and see you next time!
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