Welcome fellow Legacy enjoyer! I’m Gustav Holmberg, a relatively young Swedish Magic player who recently Top 4’d the European Legacy Masters (ELM), hosted during Eternal Mania in Hasselt, Belgium. I’ve played Legacy since 2023, with my interest coming from old GP coverage and other than the eternal formats.
I’ve found most of my success in Modern and Standard by grinding RCQ’s and RC’s. This dedication led to an offer in Worldly Counsel’s RC Group, for which I am eternally grateful. For more information about me, check out my X.
Diving deeper into Legacy, I’ve been a Lands player through and through. Until now, I’ve mostly only found success locally, winning two dual lands through the player-run “Legacyligan” in Trollhättan, Sweden. My other accomplishments are Top 8 at an RCQ on MTGO (approximately 110 players).
My achievement at ELM, however, is my biggest thus far, so let’s dive into it!
Exploration by Brian Snõddy
Part One: Qualification, Brainstorming, & The Fantasticar
I barely knew anything about Eternal Mania or the ELM before qualifying. Every year on Ascension weekend, a convention is held in Linköping, where the Swedish Modern Championship headlines as the main event. Having nothing to do on Friday noon and afternoon, I decided to play an ELMQ to, hopefully, win some prizes. Long story short, I “accidentally” won it and qualified!
I knew I would play Lands from the get-go, due to my experience and inability to correctly play Brainstorm and Ponder. The meta hadn’t really changed in a long time, but suddenly Wizards of the Coast (WotC) decided that Legacy needed to be turned on its head; queue The Fantasticar's printing less than a month before the event.
The Fantasticar by Maxim Ruabtsev
The Fantasticar immediately proved its raw power when combined with already existing strategies like Affinity, but the most worrying deck was Vroomsday. Doomsday was already challenging, though not impossible, to deal with, and The Fantasticar slotting in perfectly alongside Dark Ritual made a bad matchup even more rancid.
Two game plans glued together with the same card that require completely different interaction: how should this be solved? I’d lie if I said I wasn’t worried…
After extensive testing and theory-crafting, I decided on this for the event:
Lands by Gustav Holmberg
Creatures (2)
1 Haywire Mite
1 Icetill Explorer
Instants (4)
4 Crop Rotation
Sorceries (8)
4 Life from the Loam
4 Malevolent Rumble
Artifacts (11)
4 Mox Diamond
3 Disruptor Flute
1 Expedition Map
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Pithing Needle
1 Skateboard
Enchantments (4)
4 Exploration
Lands (32)
2 Ancient Tomb
1 Bojuka Bog
3 Boseiju, Who Endures
4 Dark Depths
1 Forest
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Karakas
1 Maze of Ith
1 Talon Gates of Madara
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
4 Thespian's Stage
4 Urza's Saga
4 Wasteland
4 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth
Sideboard
2 Agent of Treachery
1 Choke
2 Damping Sphere
2 Drop of Honey
2 Endurance
3 Force of Vigor
1 Ghost Vacuum
1 Otawara, Soaring City
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
Opens TCGPlayer Mass Entry with the full decklist pre-loaded — select Magic: The Gathering as the Product Line, then click Add to Cart
What led to this weird-looking version of the Lands? First, I had to pick a lane. Lands pilots have been running different builds for a while, which can be simplified into the following:
Sphere of Resistance
The One Ring
Once Upon a Time
Disruptor Flute
With The Fantasticar encouraging cheap spells, Sphere of Resistance seemed like the best option to punish it, but I disagree. My primary reasoning was that it only delayed the “combo” by a turn or two at best, and that Disruptor Flute was better at outright stopping it altogether.
Sphere of Resistance also has a tendency to punish your own gameplan, since you often don’t have much mana to spare due to Wasteland-style gameplay on both sides of the table.
Sphere of Resistance by Doug Chaffee
Spells such as Icetill Explorer, Malevolent Rumble, and Life From the Loam are core engines for consistency, all of which are hindered by Sphere of Resistance.
The One Ring seemed decent, but it was either an auto win or loss depending on matchup. Historically, I’ve played Once Upon a Time in my Lands lists, but without Faerie Macabre/Endurance as maindeck necessities for turn 0, I found Once Upon a Time more or less redundant. My choice was clear: Disruptor Flute to the end!
Sejiri Steppe by Anthony Francisco
Talon Gates of Madara vs. Sejiri Steppe
Both have the same function: to save game-winning creatures or to push through damage. Sejiri Steppe has the advantage of being much quicker, allowing Marit Lage to be saved during an attack. Talon Gates of Madara, however, works against Kozilek’s Command, and as pseudo-removal to survive a turn. I wouldn’t fault anyone for choosing Sejiri Steppe, but I found Talon Gates of Madara to be the better option for this event.
Maindeck Graveyard-Hate
This slot is often between Soul-Guide Lantern and Grafdigger’s Cage, to which I chose the latter. The rise of Grixis Reanimator online makes Grafdigger's Cage the stronger choice, since it shuts down their plan completely in game one. They could easily play through Soul-Guide Lantern.
Soul-Guide Lantern is undoubtedly better against Flow State, Murktide Regent and Cam-combo, but I those matchups are favorable enough.
Ancient Tomb by Colin MacNeil
Ancient Tomb: One vs Two Copies
Consistency vs. speed. Disruptor Flute, Urza's Saga, and Icetill Explorer reward having earlier access to Ancient Tomb.
Haywire Mite
An answer to The Fantasticar in the maindeck; mostly free in the Urza's Saga package. Haywire Mite can be held up easily after turn three, is strong against Cam-combo, opposing Urza's Saga decks, and the mirror, which was around 10% the day before.
Dark Depths: Three vs Four Copies
This is a question about speed. The Fantasticar decks are weak to Marit Lage, which creates weird decisions when attacking with their flying 4/4 construct tokens.
The downside of four copies of Dark Depths is the risk of more “dead cards,” but Mox Diamond and Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth help mitigate that. For this event, I felt speed was necessary. For other events, three may be better.
Dark Depths by Stephan Martiniere
Sideboard
Drop of Honey
A card that I more or less reintroduced to the Lands deck a few months ago, meant specifically to combat Eldrazi Aggro, Energy, and Cutter.
The game plan against these decks is The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale plus Wasteland, but early aggression with Wastelands from the opposing side can make those matchups swing in their favor, especially since our resources don’t go to development but rather to slow them down.
Drop of Honey isn’t necessarily good because of the destruction, although undoubtedly neat, but because of how it changes the opponent's behavior: they aren't inclined to progress their board against a Drop of Honey, especially if The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale is on the field.
This allows time to develop via Malevolent Rumble, Life from the Loam, or another engine. Having two Drop of Honey provided consistency, which helped in my matches.
Drop of Honey by Anson Maddocks
Agent of Treachery
DO NOT PLAY THIS CARD UNLESS YOU’RE CERTAIN IT WILL BE GOOD!!!
Initially played by the legend Sprouts online in recent large events (please check him out online if you’re interested in Lands), it’s a response to Grixis Reanimator.
Their tech is swapping reanimation effects for Show and Tell and Stronghold Gambit. Agent of Treachery is the matchup breaker against both, since it either matches their creatures' mana values or is lower.
Sneak and Show is widely played, as I saw the day before, which made this a good call. In a more open meta, I wouldn’t recommend Agent of Treachery at all. It was amazing in this event, but it won’t always be.
Thrun, the Last Troll by Jason Chan
Thrun, the Last Troll
Phelia is a niche deck with Stifle-like effects, which is disruptive against The Fantasticar and Thassa’s Oracle. Phelia gained traction as a scalpel against the current meta.
This matchup is bad, since Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd is so good at removing constructs and Swords to Plowshares ruins potential Marit Lage plans.
Thrun, the Last Troll was proposed by Sprouts (the G.O.A.T.). Throughout my testing, I found more and more for Thrun, the Last Troll in various matchups. It can’t be removed in this meta!
While originally on two copies, I only registered one, since the previous day’s meta didn’t show as many Phelia decks as expected.
Ghost Vacuum by David Szabo
Soul-Guide Lantern vs. Ghost Vacuum
This is a decision I hadn’t seen anyone discussing previously, since Soul-Guide Lantern was stock (probably due to Oops! All spells, may you rest in the 9th circle).
My hypothesis was that Ghost Vacuum was better against Flow State and Cam-Combo, since it prevents the opponent from refilling their graveyard. When playing it in Magic: The Gathering Online (MTGO) Challenges, I found my theory to be true; especially with Surgical Extraction at an all-time low.
Damping Sphere vs. Void Mirror
I confess, I’m a Void Mirror enjoyer to the core. When Mystic Forge and the various Show and Tell builds were at an all-time high, it was essential to shut down their gameplan, but with those decks struggling against The Fantasticar, I switched to Damping Sphere.
Damping Sphere by Adam Paquette
The EPIC Storm with The Fantasticar has always been a tough matchup. With its rise in popularity, I needed more precaution. Damping Sphere also works against The Fanasticar and two copies seemed free.
These are all unique decisions I made in deckbuilding. If you have any inquiries, I would happy to answer questions in my DMs.
Part Two: Tournament Report & Match Deep-Dive
Round One — Sneak and Show | WW
Starting the day by beating an unfavoured matchup always feels good.
Game one, I kept a turn two Icetill Explorer on the play, which worked against my opponent’s rather slow hand. Some number of Ponder and Brainstorm allowed me time to present Marit Lage every turn, with Karakas and Disruptor Flute as defense.
Game two was not close, with an early Disruptor Flute into to a Wasteland-lock.
Round Two — Energy | WLW
I had the luck of knowing who my opponent was, since he defeated one of my friends the day before in the quarterfinals. This allowed me to keep a good hand game one, locking my opponent out with Wasteland and The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale and eventually presenting a Marit Lage in the late game.
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale by Nicola Leonard
I lost game two due to early pressure followed by Goblin Bombardment plus Voice of Victory.
Game three displayed how much Drop of Honey could slow my opponent down, killing his turn one Guide of Souls and preventing a turn two play. This opponent made Top 8, which I am not surprised by. Terrific player and a good sport!
Round Three — Eldrazi | WW
My luck of knowing my opponent’s decks continued, pairing into a fellow Swede.
Game one wasn't interesting, but game two was a bit more intellectually challenging for the both of us. I could present Thespian's Stage plus Dark Depths early on, but he didn’t pressure me early and always held up mana, forcing me to respect Kozilek’s Command. The game slowed, but eventually ended when he presented enough threats to force action from me. Fortunately, he didn’t actually have Kozilek’s Command.
Round Four — Eldrazi | WW
Another highly skilled opponent, Matthew Hayden from the UK piloting Eldrazi Aggro with Thorn of Amethyst.
Thorn of Amethyst by Chuck Lukacs
Game one, I presented a turn one Exploration, to which he presented a turn one Thorn of Amethyst. Thankfully, this hurt him more than me, since it I could Wasteland-lock without worrying about Kozilek’s Command.
Game two, I kept a risky hand of Urza's Saga, Thespian's Stage, Exploration and two Dark Depths; which turned into four Dark Depths after my first two draw steps.
Luckily, a top decked Boseiju, Who Endures destroyed his Disruptor Flute to unlock my gameplan. There are many worlds where his threat-light hand would have totally crushed me, but it wasn't this time. He also reached the Top 8, so congrats again, mate!
Round Five — Grixis Reanimator | WLL
My first loss of the event.
Game one went as planned: an early Grafdigger's Cage prevented him from playing his game.
Grafdigger's Cage by Daniel Ljunggren
In game two, I made my first really bad misplay: I had Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth and Mox Diamond on the battlefield, Dark Depths and two Crop Rotations in hand.
He cast Show and Tell, I put in Dark Depths against his Atraxa, Grand Unifier which tutored Unmask. “It doesn’t matter if he takes a Crop Rotation or not," I thought. "My plan is to find Thespian's Stage to create Marit Lage and pray for Skateboard/Karakas/Talon Gates of Madara off the top."
I let him Unmask me. The correct play, however, would have been to tap both lands for green, Crop Rotation Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth for Talon Gates of Madara to phase out Atraxa, Grand Unifier, then tap Talon Gates of Madara for colorless and then Crop Rotation it into Thespian's Stage for the win on the following turn.
Why didn’t I see this line?
Heat Stroke by Andrew Robinson
To be honest, I partly blame Bazaar of Boxes, who didn’t open a window to let the streaming room balance to a reasonable temperature. At the time, I was frustrated with this, but fixed the problem later on.
Looking back, I’m glad that they learned from their mistakes and made the experience better for the players. I respect them deeply for it. Well done, Bazaar of Boxes! You were essential in making this event as good as it was; keep it up!
Game three, I mulliganed to four looking for Agent of Treachery, but it was nowhere to be seen. I lost this match because of my mistake, which is better than losing to variance, in my opinion. No one is perfect, so learning from these experiences is something we should be grateful for.
Agent of Treachery by Igor Kieryluk
Round Six — UB Tempo | WW
These games were ordinary, punishing greedy, early fetches and choking basics with The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale. This accumulated game one into a situation where I presented Thepian's Stage plus Dark Depths against my opponent’s board of Orcish Bowmaster, Necrogoyf, and Orc Army in front of three lands.
He correctly chose not to pay for anything to unlock Brazen Borrower (or rather Petty Theft), but it wasn’t enough against Life from the Loam.
Life from the Loam by Hristo D. Chukov
Game two came down to my turn two play: Life from the Loam. My hand relied on it, and a Force of Negation or Surgical Extraction would have been lights out. He didn’t have either, so the game spiraled in my favor. The game ended after Ghost Quarter loops.
Now came a difficult question: could I intentionally draw into Top 8? After my associates and I did the math, we came to the conclusion that I could if I paired into seat four or five. Naturally, I paired from seat three to seat nine and had to play, my luck seemed to be running out…
Round Seven — GW Depths | WW
…or not. My opponent presented Noble Hierarch on turn one of game one, which was punished by Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth into Exploration into The Tabernacle at the Pendrell Vale.
After some Wastelands, my opponent saw the writing on the wall and scooped.
Game two was sluggish, with an Elvish Reclaimer shut off by my Disruptor Flute, but could still clock for three each turn.
He cast his own Disruptor Flutes, shutting down Urza's Saga and Thespian's Stage. Boseiju, Who Endures unlocked Thespian's Stage.
Karakas by Nicola Leonard
On the final turn of the game, I presented Urza's Saga with two lore counters and a Thespian's Stage. He drew Once Upon a Time, which found Karakas. Skateboard sprung from my Urza's Saga, tapping down Karakas and when I showed my Dark Depths, I officially locked top seat in the Top 8!
Quarterfinals — Esper Czech Pile | WW
The top 8 was thankfully open decklist, which allowed me to know exactly what to play around. My opponent’s deck seemed difficult to deal with at first; Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Quantum Riddler, Swords to Plowshares, five basic lands…yuck.
Thankfully, I had an explosive start game one via Icetill Explorer, finding Urza's Sagas and Thespian's Stages to play through his interaction so Marit Lage could finish the job.
Thespian's Stage by John Avon
Game two was weirder. My opponent kept six cards on the play to my seven. I presented Mox Diamond into Malevolent Rumble on turn one; no response. I cast Thrun, the Last Troll on turn two; no response.
For five turns, I Ghost Quartered him and swung with Thrun, the last Troll to kill him. He cast one spell the entire game: a Prismatic Ending on Exploration. I wondered what was in my opponent’s hand; but he obviously knew what he was doing since he reached the Top 8. It may have been terrible draws or all blanks against Thrun, the Last Troll. Awesome guy to talk with, ggs!
Semifinals — Vroomsday | WLL
This match was the feature match between Rodrigo Togores and I. As I stated previously, this matchup is rancid. Fortunately, I won game one since he mulliganed to four. Unfortunately, I got obliterated game two by his turn one Doomsday with Force of Will back up.
Game three was brutal, since I played around certain cards, but I lost the gamble on which ones.
Part Three: Conclusion & Praise
I'm satisfied with my performance, having the Swedish crew (most of which I had never met before) as support meant a lot. To all of you: Tack för att ni var där och hejade på, det betyder väldigt mycket för mig!
I ranked third overall, an accomplishment I won’t forget. I will continue to play and innovate on Lands, hopefully to continued success! Follow me on my journey via X!
I would like to take these last moments to show some gratitude:
Thanks to Emjati, the main host of Eternal Mania, you crushed it!
Thanks to Bazaar of Boxes and the ELM crew for hosting such an amazing event. The promos, accessories, and other prizes really made the event worthwhile!
Thanks to the judge staff, especially the scorekeeper who helped me when I had decklist problems!
Thanks to the Swedish crew for being so supportive, I hope to see all of you soon again!
And finally thanks for you, reader. Getting the opportunity to write for Eternal Durdles is a pleasure. Thank you to ForceofPhil for reaching out!
Below is a list of people mentioned throughout this report and their handles on X (whom you should definitely follow):
Until next time may your top decks be good!
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Featured image: Marit Lage by Stephan Martiniere
