Control in legacy has many faces. Unlike today’s modern format, legacy has quite some ways to play control-style decks. There’s classic blue control, land-based control strategies, artifact prison-esque decks and even creature-centric control decks. Classification is always subjective and never the absolute truth, but the decks I consider control in legacy are:
- UWx control (Jeskai, Bant, WURG)
- Lands
- UBx control (Grixis, Sultai, UBRG)
- Artifact control (Karn Echoes)
- Pox
- Landstill
- Curses
- Stasis
A plethora of choices. Allow me to introduce some format staples that are usually found in control strategies:
Besides control, there are also some midrange strategies in legacy:
- Artifact midrange (8-cast)
- Death & Taxes
- Stoneblade
- RUG midrange
- Goblins
- Esper Vial
- Maverick
- Nic Fit
- Stiflenought
Control and midrange archetypes in Legacy
As stated above, there are different ways to play control in legacy. There’s also quite some overlap between control and midrange strategies. Most creature decks that aren’t aggressive enough to be classified as aggro or tempo fall under midrange decks, and many of those decks have some control elements to them.
Control on a budget in Legacy
So you want to play control in Legacy? I’m going to be straight with you: it’s not easy. First of all, it’s not easy playing control at all. Especially in a format as diverse and complex as Legacy. If you’re a blue deck, you have to know what cards are a must-answer because you’ll often find yourself investing two cards to counter a problem using Force of Will. Secondly, budget restrictions are extra tough for control, since you need many staples to work with. We’re handing you some examples – it’s very much possible, but note that you’re setting difficulty on hard for yourself with this path.
That being said, don’t be discouraged if you’re a true blue mage of a land aficionado. In fact, I started playing legacy with a budget control deck. Back in 2017, despite Sensei’s Divining Top being banned earlier that year, Miracles was one of the top tier decks. The best variant of that UWr control deck had 2 Tundra and 1 Volcanic Island (in the sideboard no less) at the time, which made the deck inaccessible for me. I decided to ditch the duals, play only basics and jam 2 Back to Basics in the main deck. Was it good? Not really, but there were plenty of matchups in which it won me games. Eventually, I decided to upgrade and bought 1 Tundra. A couple of months later I bought another and my then girlfriend surprised me with a Volcanic Island for our anniversary (she’s my wife now, obviously). Over the course of a year I upgraded the deck to a solid competitive deck while learning the ropes of playing control in legacy.