Legacy is a world of extremes. Some games are won before the opponent gets a first turn. There are decks with no lands and there are decks with more than forty lands. Creatures that have only seen the light of day for a couple of months coexist with the most powerful spells printed nearly twenty years ago. And amidst the chaos of the best that Magic has to offer, there is an ever-changing environment, a format where all these extremes somehow balance each other out. In this world, nearly anything is possible.
As a Legacy enthusiast with an appreciation for the weird and wondrous decks of the format, I had no hesitation trying 12Post. Created by Jeremiah Rudolph (mtgthesource.com user Rock Lee), the 12Post deck plays as a Combo-Control deck, looking to keep itself alive long enough to make enough land drops and generate an overwhelming mana advantage late-game. By playing multiples of the namesake Cloudpost, it breaks the fundamental rule of lands adding only one mana each. In the later stages of the game, Eldrazi are simply hardcasted, and with the Eye of Ugin land being able to tutor for Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, victory can be attained without a possibility of being countered. No deck in Legacy threatens with so much inevitability.
With a heavy dependence on its Locus lands, 12Post is extremely vulnerable to the ever-present Wasteland. Despite having Pithing Needles and Crop Rotations as answers, I was hoping to run into as few decks running Wasteland as possible. Additionally, combo decks like Storm and Elves are able to go off unfettered against me Game One and still very easily post-boarding, so I would need some luck in avoiding those bad matchups. However, with Legacy being as diverse as it is, you have to pick your poison when deciding on a deck, and I felt like my strong matchups against Control variants gave me enough reason to take a chance on 12Post.
After narrowly missing the Top 8 at the StarCityGames Legacy Open in Las Vegas, I was anxious to give the deck another go. I brought along this build to San Diego:
Now, on to the report:
Round 1 – Reanimator
Game One he played first and opened with a fetch for an Underground Sea to cast Careful Study. Considering Reanimator is my all-time favorite deck, I instantly knew what he was playing and that I was in for a beating. He discarded Iona and Griselbrand and I had no land tutors to find a Bojuka Bog or Karakas. His second turn, he Reanimated Griselbrand and quickly won from there.
In: 4 Flusterstorm, 3 Chalice of the Void
Out: 4 Repeal, 3 Pithing Needle
Game Two I started with a Crop Rotation in hand and led with a fetch for a Tropical Island. His first turn he Careful Studied and dropped a Griselbrand and an Angel of Despair. Second turn I played a basic Island and passed. I was wary of his potential Dazes and avoided tapping out or playing lands that came into play tapped early in the game. When he Exhumed next turn, I successfully Crop Rotated my Island for a Bojuka Bog, stalling him for at least one more turn. I also had a Vesuva in hand to possibly recopy my own Bog, but I never ended up doing so. We went back and forth for a few turns, each dropping lands and him not binning anything else. Eventually, he was able to Entomb a Griselbrand and Reanimate it in a single turn, but I was able to survive one hit from Griselbrand before hardcasting an Emrakul and winning shortly after.
Game Three I once again decided to play conservatively, holding back mana for the Flusterstorm in my hand. I countered one of his early reanimation spells, preventing a Griselbrand from coming into play and then dropped a Chalice of the Void at one on my following turn. He had no Exhume or Animate Dead in hand, and at some point shortly after I played a Bojuka Bog and remove his graveyard. Over the course of several turns, I played lands and he played nothing, waiting to get to eight cards and drop a large creature into his graveyard during his discard step. I eventually hardcasted an Emrakul. He showed me his hand afterwards and it was entirely one mana spells.
1-0
Round 2 – Esper Stoneblade
Game One was probably my greatest steal of the day. I was on the draw, but I decided to mulligan down to five cards and keep a hand with no land, not wanting to go to four cards. The five cards included a Top, Brainstorm, Crop Rotation and Expedition Map, so as long as I drew some mana fast enough, I would be able to get going. His first turn, he cast Inquisition of Kozilek, removing the Top, then on my turn I drew a Glacial Chasm. His next turn, he Thoughtseized and took away my Brainstorm, after which I finally draw a Tropical Island on my turn. Luckily for me, he had no other plays for several turns, allowing me to slowly play lands and search with another Top that I drew. At one point he had seven lands in play without a threat. A Stoneforge Mystic grabbing Batterskull followed by a Lingering Souls eventually changed that, and then my time was very limited. He dropped me to five with some beats, then on my turn I played the Glacial Chasm to preserve myself for one more of his combat steps. My next turn I cast Emrakul, then swung on my next turn to leave him with just enough creatures to attack and leave me at one life. A second attack from Emrakul wiped his board and gave me a victory that I should have never had.
In: 3 Flusterstorm
Out: Bojuka Bog, 2 Show and Tell
Game Two went much smoother for me, although he did drop a second turn Stoneforge Mystic to get Batterskull and pressure me as fast as possible. I attempted to Repeal his germ token but he bounced his Batterskull back to hand in response, countering my cantrip but at least buying me some time. While I was making land drops, I attempted a Primeval Titan but it was countered. He beat me down to seven life and even got a Jace to start fatesealing me, but I eventually drew Eye of Ugin and was able to fetch out Emrakul and win.
2-0
Round 3 – RW Goblins
Game One he started with Cavern of Souls into Goblin Lackey. I played Glimmerpost and cast Sensei’s Divining Top. On his turn, he played a Plateau and swung with the Lackey, putting a Goblin Ringleader into play after connecting and revealing a Gempalm Incinerator from the Ringleader trigger. My second turn, I played a second Glimmerpost and passed. For his next attack, he put in a Goblin Warchief off of his Lackey trigger. On my next turn, I fetched for a Tropical Island and was able to Show and Tell a Primeval Titan onto the battlefield, grabbing a Cloudpost and a third Glimmerpost to gain four life. He put a Goblin Matron into play and searched for Stingscourger. On his turn, he bounced my titan with the Stingscourger and then attacked for seven, leaving me at 15 life. He then dropped a Piledriver in with his Lackey. On my following turn, I found a Candelabra of Tawnos and was then able to play it and cast Primeval Titan, this time searching for Cloudpost and Glacial Chasm, sacrificing my Tropical Island to the chasm. Over the last few turns of the game, he was unable to draw into a Wasteland and I continued to make land drops behind the Glacial Chasm until I had enough mana to hardcast Emrakul for a nail-biting win.
In: 2 Elephant Grass, The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, Pithing Needle
Out: Bojuka Bog, 2 Repeal, Expedition Map
Game Two he started out with Lackey first turn again and I started with Glimmerpost into Top again. His second turn, he Wastelanded my Glimmerpost and swung with the Lackey, putting a Goblin Chieftain in. My next turn I played Tropical Island, cast Crop Rotation and replaced my Tropical Island with the Tabernacle. His next turn, he decided to keep his Lackey but then immediately played a second Wasteland, destroying the Tabernacle. His attack resulted in putting in a Goblin Matron and searching for Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. On my turn, I played a fetchland and passed. His fourth turn was finally a land other than a Wasteland, but it did not matter much for me at this point. He cast a Mogg War Marshall, Kiki-Jiki came in off the Lackey trigger, made a copy of Matron, and then searched for a Piledriver that he then cast. My next turn delivered nothing and I was dead the turn afterward.
Game Three my opening hand contained a Pithing Needle and an Elephant Grass, so I had adequate defenses this time. I started with a Tropical Island into Pithing Needle on Wasteland. His first turn, he dropped a first turn Goblin Lackey for the third game in a row. I played a Cloudpost on my second turn and passed. His Lackey trigger this time put a Piledriver in play, then he played a Rishadan Port and tapped my Tropical Island during my upkeep. I fetched a Tropical Island and then cast Elephant Grass, ensuring that he could either attack with only one creature, or keep his mana up to port me. His next turn, he played a second Rishadan Port and then passed, porting a Tropical once again on my upkeep. I played a second Cloudpost on my turn and passed. He played a Plateau his turn and then passed, tapping my two Cloudposts on my turn. After I played my third Cloudpost, I knew I now had several turns to keep paying the Elephant Grass cumulative upkeep even if he ported two of the Cloudposts. On his next turn, he abandoned his port plan and paid mana to attack with Lackey and Piledriver, dealing four damage to me and putting Siege-Gang Commander into play. My next turn, I was able to Show and Tell in a Primeval Titan, search out Eye of Ugin and Cloudpost, and then win on my following turn.
3-0
Round 4 – Esper Stoneblade
Game One I started first and opened with a Cloudpost. He played a fetch and passed the turn. I played a second Cloudpost, cast Top and activated. His second turn he played Stoneforge Mystic fetching Batterskull. On my third turn I attempted Show and Tell but it met Force of Will. He put Batterskull into play at the end of my turn and then swung for five during his attack. On my following turn, I attempted Show and Tell again and this time it was successful. I dropped in a Primeval Titan, grabbing Cloudpost and Eye of Ugin and he dropped in a land. My next turn, I was able to cast an Emrakul that I found with Top.
In: 3 Flusterstorm
Out: Bojuka Bog, 2 Show and Tell
Game Two he started with a fetch for an Underground Sea into a Thoughtseize. While he was looking at my cards in hand, I noticed that he had six cards in his hand and notified a judge. For having one too many cards in his hand, he was given a game loss and I won the match. I hate to be the one to call over a judge and win this way, but I would expect anyone else to do it against me as well.
4-0
Round 5 – Sneak and Show
Game One began with me playing a Cloudpost. On his first turn, he played a basic Island and Ponder and I figured I was playing against some sort of combo deck. Next turn I played Vesuva copying Cloudpost, then Top and an ensuing activation. He played a Volcanic Island and passed, then on my turn I played Expedition Map and used it to grab and play another Cloudpost. His third turn resulted in only another land drop. My fourth turn, I played Eye of Ugin and then cast Kozilek. His next turn, he played Show and Tell and I was paranoid that he would drop an Omniscience. Luckily, he only put in a Griselbrand. I put in a Primeval Titan and fetched a Cloudpost and Glimmerpost, in order to have twenty mana the next turn to find and play Emrakul. I also had my Karakas in hand, making it a wrap the next turn.
In: 4 Flusterstorm, 2 Venser, Shaper Savant, 2 Chalice of the Void
Out: 4 Show and Tell, 2 Repeal, 1 Pithing Needle, Bojuka Bog
I had never seen a Sneak Attack the entire first game, so I was still convinced that he was running an Omniscience deck and had just settled with a Griselbrand off his Show and Tell. The two Chalice of the Voids that I sided in may have been the wrong choice, but I figured they would be more useful than several of the other cards I had maindeck, cutting off his cantrips. Game Two he started with Volcanic Island and passed. I followed with a Cloudpost. Next turn he only played a fetchland. On my turn, I played a Glimmerpost and then cast Top followed by Chalice at one. His turn, he played a third land and then dropped Blood Moon, much to my surprise. I now had only two Mountains in play, with my Chalice preventing me from casting an Expedition Map in hand and finding my basic Island. We spent the next couple of turns dropping lands and luckily, I was able to find my basic Island with my Top. While waiting to find a Repeal, he cast a Show and Tell, with him putting in an Emrakul and me putting in an Ulamog. He then attempted a second Show and Tell, which I countered with a Flusterstorm sitting atop my library. The next turn, I swung with Ulamog and he sacrificed his Emrakul and Blood Moon to the annihilator trigger. His next turn, he used Show and Tell to put in a Griselbrand, then I attacked with Ulamog to win the next turn.
5-0
Round 6 – RUG Delver
Game One he started the game with a Delver of Secrets. On my turn, I played Tropical Island and Pithing Needle, which was countered by Daze. His next turn revealed a Ponder to flip Delver, then he attacked me for three before casting another Delver. I attempted a second Pithing Needle and this one was successful, preventing his Wastelands from destroying my lands. I then played Cloudpost and passed. His next draw was a Lightning Bolt, which flipped the second Delver and allowed him to swing for six, leaving me at eleven life. On my turn, I played a second Cloudpost and then cast Show and Tell, which was countered by Force of Will. His next turn dealt a total of nine damage to me, with six from the Insectile Aberrations and the Lightning Bolt, leaving me at two life. He also cast a Tarmogoyf. On my turn, I cast a Primeval Titan and went to find a Glimmerpost and Glacial Chasm, losing me a Tropical Island but putting me back to five life and saving me from his lethal damage next attack step. His next turn, he added nothing to the board. On my turn, I got rid of the Chasm, attacked with the titan and fetched two more Glimmerposts, gaining me ten life and putting me at fifteen. He was unable to kill me the following turn, and on my next turn I was able to attack and have enough loci in play to cast an Emrakul.
In: Pithing Needle, 2 Elephant Grass, The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
Out: Bojuka Bog, 3 Expedition Map
Game Two he began with a Delver once again. I played a Cloudpost on my following turn. The next turn, Delver flipped again and swung for three, then he played a fetchland. On my turn, I played a Tropical Island and Top, but it was met by Spell Pierce. His next turn he attacked for three again but added no more pressure to the board. Next turn, I played a fetch and then attempted Show and Tell, but Force of Will countered it. That was the last of my business spells, and his Insectile Aberration followed by a Nimble Mongoose finished me quickly.
Game Three I took a mulligan to six and started with a Glimmerpost into Pithing Needle naming Wasteland. His first turn play was a Delver of Secrets for a third time. My next turn I played Cloudpost and Expedition Map. His next turn the Delver flipped off a revealed Brainstorm and he swung for three. On my turn, one of my fetchlands was Stifled. His next turn, he played a Tarmogoyf and swung again for three, leaving me at fourteen life. Another draw step for me revealed no land. I played an Elephant Grass, but it was countered by a Force. Next turn he attacked for six to bring me to eight. A Karakas was my next draw, but I had nothing to follow up with it, so I lost to a swing next turn followed by a Lightning Bolt.
5-1
Round 7 – RUG Delver
Game One he started with a Delver of Secrets. I played an Island and Sensei’s Divining Top. His Delver did not flip on his turn, and so he attacked for one, played another dual land, Ponder, then passed. I played Cloudpost and passed. His Delver flipped after he revealed a Daze, then he attacked, played a Nimble Mongoose and two more cantrips. My next turn I played Glimmerpost and went to seventeen life. His next turn, another Ponder resulted in him having threshold already, so he was able to attack for six and bring me to eleven life. My next turn I successfully played a Show and Tell to put Kozilek into play while he had nothing in hand. Another turn and an attack was all I needed to win.
In: Pithing Needle, 2 Elephant Grass, The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
Out: Bojuka Bog, 3 Expedition Map
Game Two he started with a fetchland for Tropical Island into Nimble Mongoose. I played a Tropical Island and Pithing Needle naming Wasteland. He hit me for one before playing Brainstorm, fetching for another Tropical Island, and then Ponder. Next turn, I played Cloudpost and passed. After playing a Brainstorm, activating a fetchland, and then playing another Ponder, he reached threshold already and attacked for three, bringing me to sixteen life. On my turn, I played Cloudpost and then Elephant Grass successfully. His next turn, he played a fourth land, then he paid the two mana to attack with the mongoose and bring me to thirteen life before casting a second Nimble Mongoose. On my turn, I paid for the Elephant Grass, played another Tropical Island and passed. His next turn plays consisted of playing a Brainstorm, a fifth land, and then paying to attack with both creatures and bring me to seven life. On my turn, a Glimmerpost brought me to ten life, followed by a Show and Tell that put Primeval Titan into play and grabbed two more Glimmerposts and bringing me up to twenty life. Next turn, he added a third Nimble Mongoose to the fray and passed, saving his creatures as blockers. On my turn, he blocked my Primeval Titan with a pair of his creatures, but not before I got a Cloudpost and Glimmerpost to get to twenty-seven life. Before passing the turn, I played Eye of Ugin, which I used to find Emrakul at the end of his turn and then cast on my own turn after ditching the Elephant Grass.
6-1
Round 8 – ID to get into Top 8
6-1-1
Since StarCityGames wanted to give the world a good view of my deck in action, they had all three of my Top 8 matches broadcasted in their entirety. Since watching the videos will give you a lot more information than my recount possibly could, I’ll end the report at that and let you watch those rounds yourself. My final three matchups ended up being against UW RIP/Helm Combo, Esper Stoneblade (same player as my Round 2 match), and RUG Delver. The videos can be found on blip.tv.
Top 8 vs Robert Wilkinson (UW Rest in Peace)
Top 4 vs Jonathan Salem (Esper Stoneblade)
Finals vs Kurt Samson (RUG Delver)
All in all, I had an amazing weekend, the kind of tournament experience that every competitive Magic player dreams of. Legacy is a tournament format where an obscure deck can take any given tournament by surprise and make it to the top, with a little bit of luck and a lot of know-how. I was able to do just that, and I hope that my success will encourage other Legacy players to try something a bit outside-of-the-box when they go to their next tournament. You might think that your deck is too fragile, or too weak to your worst possible matchups, that it will never survive the diverse, brutal world of Legacy. But it just might.