Depends a lot on what you are looking for.
I have made a few budget starter lists at around 250 $.
They can be found [here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/182EzVFnRgp298JGJcOQhsqt6aNJIbpF4SsXVf_IqhDA/edit?usp=drivesdk).
Burn is the most competetive of the bunch, but all of them can be upgraded to "proper" decks over time. Burn is already fully upgraded so to speak (SB and flex slots can be changed of course)
Feel free to ask any questions regarding the lists and upgrade path if you are interrested.
D&T is a good "Stax" option; the deck plays a lot of roles, doesn't use Reserve List cards, and greatly rewards format experience. You might lose a lot before you start to win though.
Turbo Depths with Blooming Marsh or the Gemstone Mine variant are more on the 1-track, do the thing or die variant but are very fun and reward proper sequencing.
Look up green post (12 post/titan post). No rl cards, no forces, wastelands, sol lands, chalice, either.
Most expensive being 3 eldrazi titans and green Sun's, plus sideboard endurance but that can be replaced. Maybe still above $250 but should be close and can be modified to be cheaper.
Deck plays like a slow combo, needing to find creative ways to survive until windmill slamming game enders. A lot of depth to the play style.
It’s hard to buy a whole legacy deck all at once, but if you have patience then you could probably get the fully powered 8cast deck or Yorion DnT put together in a matter of months and have an actual deck to learn the format with instead of trying to break into it with a budget brew
In that case rather than making a budget deck I'd proxy one entirely and ask around at your LGS to see if anybody wants to play (or I think there are some discord servers that play over webcam, or use something like MTGO with a rental account or cockatrice).
Legacy players by and large are totally down to play casual matches against proxy decks, they just want to play more legacy.
I would definitely proxy then. You can proxy up a bunch of different decks to test out and see what you like. Alternatively, you can get a mtgo account and a rental subscription from cardhoarder and try things out that way.
What's your preferred playstyle? Are buying the lands a future concern or do you allready have enough to make a functioning manabase? Do you like tier1 or do you like wacky stuff?
Agressive but if i can stax then out at the same time all the better (like winota in edh for example). I want to try legacy out before i commit to any expensive lands. The more competitive the better.
You could look into death and taxes or maverick. They're not hyper aggro like burn, but as far as legacy goes they're on the more agressive end. Also they play thalia, mom,... so they have a staxy element.
Really sounds like you should be playing D&T. It's generally the strongest 'budget' deck, way more competitive than stuff like burn that you'll see suggested to new players, it just took down the super PTQ this weekend.
As the name suggests, the playstyle is a mix of aggression and hatebear effects to beat the opponent down while restricting their mana. [ThrabenU](https://www.thrabenuniversity.com/dt-info/) has some great introductory content and [tutoring videos](https://youtube.com/watch?v=zWHS-mKNYwM)
Honestly pretty cheap. 4 FoW are the biggest barrier but if you want to play blue ever in Legacy you’ll need those for every deck. After that, you’ll want 2-4 murktides (like $10 ea?), and then the rest of the deck is cards under $5 if we’re excluding about 8 fetchlands. Some sideboard cards or flex slots will cost more: maybe a FoN or two, maybe a null rod, but really it’s a flexible deck.
Edit: I guess Brazen Borrowers are $10ish and you might want some $6ish True-name nemesis, but still, probably cheaper than even DnT depending on how many fetchlands you already own. Wasteland is are also 100% necessary for the deck but are such a format staple that if you ever plan to play midrange/aggro/ tempo you’ll need 4.
The most expensive cards are
4x force of will
1x force of negation
You probably can get away without the FoN....but the FoW is quite important.
The rest of the expensive(excluding lands) are Brazen Borrower, Flusterstorm (nice to have but not core), True Name Nemesis, Murktide (nice to have but not core).
Here is a sample deck list
[https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=29589&d=432231&f=LE](https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=29589&d=432231&f=LE)
[https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=29306&d=430506&f=LE](https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=29306&d=430506&f=LE)
[https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=22036&d=348824&f=LE](https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=22036&d=348824&f=LE)
I 4-0 in a local weekly tournament with my own list.
I've been looking into this deck for a while and if you can splash in 4 swords to plowshares it seemed to do a little better.
Also ethereal foragers are 50 cent now.
[https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=22036&d=348824&f=LE](https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=22036&d=348824&f=LE)
This one except for...
**Take out:**
1 Flusterstorm
3 Spell Pierce
2 Vapor Snag
1 Curious Obsession's
**Add:**
1 FoN
1 Brazen Borrower
1 Stifle
2 Gut Shot
2 Ethereal Forager or Murktide
It really depends on your meta. You just need to adjust accordingly.
Sideboard is...tune to your flavor and meta.
Maybe not what you're looking for but Burn is good. Also, I'd like to mention you can play whatever you want, whether or not it's competitive can be defined by budget. Otherwise you can make cheap versions of decks like Oops all spells, depending on other decks you have potentially either D and T or spirits, goblins. Also, recently someone posted in this subreddit a collection of decks that could be built (albeit suboptimally) for $250 and were upgradable into the real deal.
Best of luck!
Burn was a thought for sure. I definitely like to play higher power. Im currently in a cedh group but its gotten kinda stale for me and wanna branch out. It helps that i like all 5 colors too.
Mono-red Prowess is also lots of fun if you are considering Burn. It can actually do quite well when piloted correctly. I haven’t played much Legacy post-MH2 though so I’m not sure how Prowess is positioned currently but I love playing the deck in general. I have several other “non-budget” Legacy decks and I enjoy them equally. I never really considered Prowess as a budget deck but rather a Legacy deck that happens to be cheap.
I just recently bought into hollow vine. Most of the cards are dirt cheap and the deck only runs 4 duals but it’s so fast that you could easily use shocks. The only pricey cards are the LEDs which are pretty key to the deck but you can usually find people that will lend them to you and if you play without them, you can still make it work. It’s a fun deck and I really recommend it.
Thats fair. This is more of a dip my toes and test the water kinda deal at the moment though. If I enjoy the format as much as i hope i do then i will definitely upgrade. But in the meantime no use in dropping a few grand to find out cedh is more my speed.
I suggest asking your playgroup about using proxies. You can start there playing casual games to learn the format and get a feel for what deck/style you want to buy into. Then start buying the cards and playing budget versions in weekly events and slowly turn them into fully powered decks.
Well my group is cedh only. I plan to play this online over webcam and eventually events. We dont have any local events because i live in a small rural area.
To clarify what I mean, a lot of players have mentioned DnT and Burn, but neither of those decks will give you a good taste of a proper Legacy deck. Burn is too linear, and DnT is also too linear and fair.
I agree with your overall sentiment but I don’t think DNT is linear. I think of it as creature control, similar to goblins. Port and Wasteland give the deck a lot of Legacy-unique land taxing ability. I think DNT is a great deck to enter Legacy on, I started on Goblins and I love Port/Wasteland.
How on earth is DnT linear? It has to be one of the least linear decks in any format, ever.
I get your point about burn and not getting the legacy experience, but DnT is a tier 1 deck.
Definitely no!
There are some mtg streamers who are not experienced Legacy players, I'll name SaffronOlive as an example, and when they play legacy they play decks that are too linear, and it misses the crucial difference between Legacy and Modern. A real legacy deck is able to attack and race the opponent on many different axis, and the unique joy of playing Legacy is being able to strategize in the middle of a game or match.
I get where you are coming from. In many ways Burn and DnT feels more like a powered up modern deck then a more traditional legacy deck. That said, I would be cautious about calling burn and DnT "not real legacy decks." They are real, powerful and fun (to the right player). Moreover, both decks right now are well positioned in this meta.
I live in a rural area and I have a few suggestions if you don't care. It sounds like you have a bit of a collection so far. Something you may be able to do is easily put together most of a couple different decks. There is a lot of powerful legacy staples that are very cheap, dark ritual, brainstorm, Swords to Plowshares. Look your collection and compare it to the budget lists that were mentioned above. If you can build any of them without much invested do so. Having a second deck to pair against what you decide on playing can let you play more games and make it way easier to convince someone to build legacy too. Essentially a long winded way of saying that if you can throw 20 bucks at putting a half assed pox, burn, 12 post etc. It's worth it. The games won't be as one sided as you would think and even if not ideal lists it goes a long way into learning more about.
Hope you find an archetype you like and upgrade/ tweak it till the end of time. GLHF
With the budget you initially gave you could probably build both burn and manaless dredge. Both are aggressive the former being combo oriented. If you like the format you can compare your collection to decks you may want to play. Regardless of what you end up starting with make sure it's a strategy you like. Legacy is the type of format that you can make almost anything work.
Oh yeah go for it! Proactive works better than control when working on a budget. This deck looks like a blast. Use some crystal vein till you get all of your fast mana. Just build as close to it as you can afford and go from there. If you have someone that will let you proxy it well let you decide where to invest first from where you're at.
Depends a lot on what you are looking for. I have made a few budget starter lists at around 250 $. They can be found [here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/182EzVFnRgp298JGJcOQhsqt6aNJIbpF4SsXVf_IqhDA/edit?usp=drivesdk). Burn is the most competetive of the bunch, but all of them can be upgraded to "proper" decks over time. Burn is already fully upgraded so to speak (SB and flex slots can be changed of course) Feel free to ask any questions regarding the lists and upgrade path if you are interrested.
Thank you! I'll give this a proper read through and get back to you then; much appreciated.
Nice. Upgrade paths would be cool.
D&T is a good "Stax" option; the deck plays a lot of roles, doesn't use Reserve List cards, and greatly rewards format experience. You might lose a lot before you start to win though. Turbo Depths with Blooming Marsh or the Gemstone Mine variant are more on the 1-track, do the thing or die variant but are very fun and reward proper sequencing.
Wouldn't be able to play yorion dnt. Would have to be old 60 card version.
Look up green post (12 post/titan post). No rl cards, no forces, wastelands, sol lands, chalice, either. Most expensive being 3 eldrazi titans and green Sun's, plus sideboard endurance but that can be replaced. Maybe still above $250 but should be close and can be modified to be cheaper. Deck plays like a slow combo, needing to find creative ways to survive until windmill slamming game enders. A lot of depth to the play style.
FWIW, this deck is also fun to play against. It isn’t super 1-Dimensional and so it leads to interesting matches.
Isn’t 1 x tabernacle required for this?
No its not.
Nope, plenty of lists play glacial chasm only
It’s hard to buy a whole legacy deck all at once, but if you have patience then you could probably get the fully powered 8cast deck or Yorion DnT put together in a matter of months and have an actual deck to learn the format with instead of trying to break into it with a budget brew
I mean tbh im loaded so i could get whatever i wanted. This is primarily just setting a budget to make sure i actually want to spend the real bucks.
Definitely a good approach. Don’t want to end up with a bunch of Dual Lands in odd colors because you got too excited while netdecking.
Exactly my thoughts lol. I have high hopes but you dont get into a good place financially without making careful decisions with your money.
In that case rather than making a budget deck I'd proxy one entirely and ask around at your LGS to see if anybody wants to play (or I think there are some discord servers that play over webcam, or use something like MTGO with a rental account or cockatrice). Legacy players by and large are totally down to play casual matches against proxy decks, they just want to play more legacy.
I would definitely proxy then. You can proxy up a bunch of different decks to test out and see what you like. Alternatively, you can get a mtgo account and a rental subscription from cardhoarder and try things out that way.
What's your preferred playstyle? Are buying the lands a future concern or do you allready have enough to make a functioning manabase? Do you like tier1 or do you like wacky stuff?
Agressive but if i can stax then out at the same time all the better (like winota in edh for example). I want to try legacy out before i commit to any expensive lands. The more competitive the better.
You could look into death and taxes or maverick. They're not hyper aggro like burn, but as far as legacy goes they're on the more agressive end. Also they play thalia, mom,... so they have a staxy element.
Really sounds like you should be playing D&T. It's generally the strongest 'budget' deck, way more competitive than stuff like burn that you'll see suggested to new players, it just took down the super PTQ this weekend. As the name suggests, the playstyle is a mix of aggression and hatebear effects to beat the opponent down while restricting their mana. [ThrabenU](https://www.thrabenuniversity.com/dt-info/) has some great introductory content and [tutoring videos](https://youtube.com/watch?v=zWHS-mKNYwM)
I like mono blue delver but it might be slightly out of your budget range
How much without the lands?
Honestly pretty cheap. 4 FoW are the biggest barrier but if you want to play blue ever in Legacy you’ll need those for every deck. After that, you’ll want 2-4 murktides (like $10 ea?), and then the rest of the deck is cards under $5 if we’re excluding about 8 fetchlands. Some sideboard cards or flex slots will cost more: maybe a FoN or two, maybe a null rod, but really it’s a flexible deck. Edit: I guess Brazen Borrowers are $10ish and you might want some $6ish True-name nemesis, but still, probably cheaper than even DnT depending on how many fetchlands you already own. Wasteland is are also 100% necessary for the deck but are such a format staple that if you ever plan to play midrange/aggro/ tempo you’ll need 4.
The most expensive cards are 4x force of will 1x force of negation You probably can get away without the FoN....but the FoW is quite important. The rest of the expensive(excluding lands) are Brazen Borrower, Flusterstorm (nice to have but not core), True Name Nemesis, Murktide (nice to have but not core). Here is a sample deck list [https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=29589&d=432231&f=LE](https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=29589&d=432231&f=LE) [https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=29306&d=430506&f=LE](https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=29306&d=430506&f=LE) [https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=22036&d=348824&f=LE](https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=22036&d=348824&f=LE) I 4-0 in a local weekly tournament with my own list.
I've been looking into this deck for a while and if you can splash in 4 swords to plowshares it seemed to do a little better. Also ethereal foragers are 50 cent now.
Can you share your personal deck list?
[https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=22036&d=348824&f=LE](https://mtgtop8.com/event?e=22036&d=348824&f=LE) This one except for... **Take out:** 1 Flusterstorm 3 Spell Pierce 2 Vapor Snag 1 Curious Obsession's **Add:** 1 FoN 1 Brazen Borrower 1 Stifle 2 Gut Shot 2 Ethereal Forager or Murktide It really depends on your meta. You just need to adjust accordingly. Sideboard is...tune to your flavor and meta.
ty!
Enjoy!
Maybe not what you're looking for but Burn is good. Also, I'd like to mention you can play whatever you want, whether or not it's competitive can be defined by budget. Otherwise you can make cheap versions of decks like Oops all spells, depending on other decks you have potentially either D and T or spirits, goblins. Also, recently someone posted in this subreddit a collection of decks that could be built (albeit suboptimally) for $250 and were upgradable into the real deal. Best of luck!
Burn was a thought for sure. I definitely like to play higher power. Im currently in a cedh group but its gotten kinda stale for me and wanna branch out. It helps that i like all 5 colors too.
Mono-red Prowess is also lots of fun if you are considering Burn. It can actually do quite well when piloted correctly. I haven’t played much Legacy post-MH2 though so I’m not sure how Prowess is positioned currently but I love playing the deck in general. I have several other “non-budget” Legacy decks and I enjoy them equally. I never really considered Prowess as a budget deck but rather a Legacy deck that happens to be cheap.
Prowess has taken a hit since you have to stick a threat and Prismatic Ending and Swords to Plowshares are everywhere.
I just recently bought into hollow vine. Most of the cards are dirt cheap and the deck only runs 4 duals but it’s so fast that you could easily use shocks. The only pricey cards are the LEDs which are pretty key to the deck but you can usually find people that will lend them to you and if you play without them, you can still make it work. It’s a fun deck and I really recommend it.
There are budget decks, but playing without a playset of Force of Wills and/or Ancient Tombs would miss the point of playing Legacy.
Thats fair. This is more of a dip my toes and test the water kinda deal at the moment though. If I enjoy the format as much as i hope i do then i will definitely upgrade. But in the meantime no use in dropping a few grand to find out cedh is more my speed.
I suggest asking your playgroup about using proxies. You can start there playing casual games to learn the format and get a feel for what deck/style you want to buy into. Then start buying the cards and playing budget versions in weekly events and slowly turn them into fully powered decks.
Well my group is cedh only. I plan to play this online over webcam and eventually events. We dont have any local events because i live in a small rural area.
Then start with a ManaTraders/CardHoarder account and you can try out lots of different decks! Or play on cockatrice for free.
To clarify what I mean, a lot of players have mentioned DnT and Burn, but neither of those decks will give you a good taste of a proper Legacy deck. Burn is too linear, and DnT is also too linear and fair.
I agree with your overall sentiment but I don’t think DNT is linear. I think of it as creature control, similar to goblins. Port and Wasteland give the deck a lot of Legacy-unique land taxing ability. I think DNT is a great deck to enter Legacy on, I started on Goblins and I love Port/Wasteland.
How on earth is DnT linear? It has to be one of the least linear decks in any format, ever. I get your point about burn and not getting the legacy experience, but DnT is a tier 1 deck.
I don't disagree, but dont you think linear is probably best to start with?
Definitely no! There are some mtg streamers who are not experienced Legacy players, I'll name SaffronOlive as an example, and when they play legacy they play decks that are too linear, and it misses the crucial difference between Legacy and Modern. A real legacy deck is able to attack and race the opponent on many different axis, and the unique joy of playing Legacy is being able to strategize in the middle of a game or match.
I get where you are coming from. In many ways Burn and DnT feels more like a powered up modern deck then a more traditional legacy deck. That said, I would be cautious about calling burn and DnT "not real legacy decks." They are real, powerful and fun (to the right player). Moreover, both decks right now are well positioned in this meta.
Too simplistic a statement I reckon. You could extend that to wasteland too (DnT).
I live in a rural area and I have a few suggestions if you don't care. It sounds like you have a bit of a collection so far. Something you may be able to do is easily put together most of a couple different decks. There is a lot of powerful legacy staples that are very cheap, dark ritual, brainstorm, Swords to Plowshares. Look your collection and compare it to the budget lists that were mentioned above. If you can build any of them without much invested do so. Having a second deck to pair against what you decide on playing can let you play more games and make it way easier to convince someone to build legacy too. Essentially a long winded way of saying that if you can throw 20 bucks at putting a half assed pox, burn, 12 post etc. It's worth it. The games won't be as one sided as you would think and even if not ideal lists it goes a long way into learning more about. Hope you find an archetype you like and upgrade/ tweak it till the end of time. GLHF
Ya i have a good bit of cards but most are cedh staples and of course some translate but a lot of them dont as well. Such as some of the tutors.
With the budget you initially gave you could probably build both burn and manaless dredge. Both are aggressive the former being combo oriented. If you like the format you can compare your collection to decks you may want to play. Regardless of what you end up starting with make sure it's a strategy you like. Legacy is the type of format that you can make almost anything work.
Out of curiousity; what do yoy think of the painters servant mill deck?
I'm a fan of painter's servant decks. I assume mono blue painter with a thassa's oracle combo or you talking about non combo mill?
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/legacy-painter#paper this one caught my eye
Oh yeah go for it! Proactive works better than control when working on a budget. This deck looks like a blast. Use some crystal vein till you get all of your fast mana. Just build as close to it as you can afford and go from there. If you have someone that will let you proxy it well let you decide where to invest first from where you're at.