Legacy: RG Initiative Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

As I said in my post-ban meta prediction article, the exclusion of White Plume Adventurer left a power vacuum in the format.

As many players experienced the power of the Initiative and saw the damage it was able to wreak on the format, it was inevitable that new alternatives for abusing the mechanic would emerge. One of the most successful versions of the mechanics is today's deck, RG Initiative.

An important note regarding deck construction is that there is a discrepancy between the online and tabletop lists, as the card Mawloc is not yet available in Magic Online, but is found in in-person tournaments.

The lists that I used as a basis for this article are fundamentally linked to Magic Online, therefore, without the presence of the Golden Tyranid.

It is important to emphasize that this is not a case of simply adding the creature in place of some other card if there is an intention to use it in tabletop tournaments: the manabase of the presented list doesn't easily support the RG mana cost with 8 Sol Lands (Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors), Cavern of Souls naming some other creature type and Magus of the Moon.

To include Mawloc, it's quite possible that you'll need to cut some City of Traitors and maybe even add an amount of Mossfire Valley to fix the mana. But is it worth it? The Tyranid is really strong and versatile, but while it doesn't pass the test of fire of hundreds of online games, it's hard to say if its presence is crucial or just another option.

It is good to remember that the White Initiative itself already existed on paper, but it was only with the release of its key cards on the digital platform that it gained traction, the lists were refined, and the deck became one of the two dominant forces of the format.

Returning to the list, in the first weeks the lists of RG Initiative aimed at everywhere: Chalice of the Void in main or side, Trinisphere, Green Sun's Zenith, Natural Order, Ignoble Hierarch, Mox Diamond, Lotus Petal. All of this and more showed up in the lists until they started to converge, and more similar lists emerged in the top 8s of tournaments.

The list presented has been the most common currently, but this could change both with the launch of the new sets and updates, as with the entry of the aforementioned Mawloc in Magic Online, as with new adaptations of the Metagame to the rise and fall of new decks in the format.

At root, this RG Initiative is pretty similar to the current Red Prison decks: Sol Lands, Chalice of the Void, Fable of the Mirror-breaker, Fury, and Caves of Chaos Adventurer. But while the Mono Red version only has the Adventurous both as a drop above 3 mana and as an Initiative enabler, the RG list is much more greedy and aims to skip turns 1, 2 and 3 to fit a 4-drop already in the turn 1 if possible.

Consequently, it is far more explosive at the cost of consistency. In addition to the Initiative's 4-drop triggers (Undermountain Adventurer is the other trigger), the deck runs one of the most broken Planeswalkers to appear in Legacy: Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes. The Ranger and his Hamster companion are extremely difficult to deal with, especially if they come into play right away.

Another important difference to its monocolored brother, is that RG makes use of Cavern of Souls at the cost of not running Blood Moon – resorting to its creature version, Magus of the Moon for games where its presence is crucial. It's good to point out that both the Magus and the red Explorer have a type in common (Human) to be named in the cavern to get past the opposing counterspells.

As previously stated, this is an explosive deck, so you want to keep hands that put a bomb in play on the first turn, whether it's a simple Chalice of the Void for 1, or Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes. It is possible to keep hands unplayable in the first turn if the objective is to trigger the Initiative in the second turn with the protection of Cavern of Souls, but this will depend a lot on you identifying what you are playing against.

Once Upon a Time can increase the range of hands you can hold, as there's a good chance the spell will find one of the 8 Sol Lands or one of the 8 Adventurers - assuming the rest of your hand can go off if you find the right card. Reactive hands are an invitation to Mulligan unless you know they are precisely what you need in a specific matchup – a hand with 2 Fury against Elves, for example.

Following Stompy tradition, the deck opts for 4 Leyline of the Void to deal with graveyards. While Faerie Macabre or Endurance are also valid options for dealing with this zone, Leylines have an extra use – they serve as a way to neutralize much of the apparatus of Delver decks.

Opening with a Leyline virtually disables Murktide Regent and significantly reduces the pressure exerted by Dragon's Rage Channeler. It's a high-risk-high-reward plan - sometimes, you have to keep suspicious hands, but that has the enchantment, which reduces the need to have so many answers against this opponent, sticking to the traditional Pyroblast to complement your defense.

Having access to green cards opens up the option to use Force of Vigor, one of the strongest cards for dealing with enchantments and artifacts available on the market.

Playing without counters, even if you have some Prison elements, makes the deck relatively vulnerable against Combo decks. Looking at the source, Trinisphere is a card that is a nightmare for decks that want to run multiple low-cost spells at once.

Dismember is a broad response to large creatures, in particular other Initiative triggers like Seasoned Dungeoneer or Undermountain Adventurer.

Ultimately, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is a response to the increase in Painter's Servant decks, but will eventually become a memorable story when it comes into play via an alien Show and Tell.

In addition to those listed, cards such as Blood Moon, Carpet of Flowers, Collector Ouphe, Fiery Confluence, Run Afoul and Veil of Summer are also suitable options.

UR Delver

Cavern of Souls is your main tool to force some adventurer, preferably the Green one – Its 4 toughness is quite useful against Lightning Bolt.

Regardless, it's a tricky opponent that can easily steal control of The Initiative Card // Undercity Card and their Wasteland are particularly effective against our manabase. As I said up there, post-side the idea is to neutralize most of their threats through Leyline of the Void

IN

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Reanimator

In game 1, Chalice of the Void is your best friend and Magus of the Moon can win by itself if it hits on turn 1 on the play, but outside those cases, it's a tough game. Post-side, go all out for Leyline of the Void.

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Blue Control

Trinisphere in this game works as a kind of Defense Grid: once resolved, it becomes very difficult for them to counter cards that aren't already protected by Cavern of Souls.

Control has a lot of difficulty playing against Undercity, take the opportunity to demonstrate that they are not safe just because the White Initiative left the scene.

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Elves

Here you put your faith that Fury will carry you. Magus of the Moon is quite effective too and if it wasn't for Allosaurus Shepherd, Chalice of the Void would end the game.

On the post-side, the Red Adventurer is less effective against them, but you need to have a fair amount of red cards to fuel your Fury.

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Painter

Chalice of the Void for 1 is too good here, Magus of the Moon isn't a big deal, but kills their Urza's Saga.

However, they have many ways to get past you in Game 1. In Game 2, Force of Vigor and Emrakul disrupt their game plan too much. There is the possibility of adding Leyline of the Void as well, but then you'll dilute too much of your strategy.

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Mirror Match and Red Prison

Basically, the game here is the same against both archetypes. Both decks have many dead cards, and Fable of the Mirror-breaker is a way to get rid of the junk. The cards you add are just because it's a bit more useful than the stuff that comes out - Force of Vigor is useful for hitting opposing Fables and eventually taking a Chrome Mox along the way.

IN

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With that, I conclude another visit to Undercity, and next week, we'll be back to the Secret Entrance to New Phyrexia!

See you next time!