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By: Raddman, Graig W
Mar 02 2010 1:52am
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Seriously........An article that is anti-blue.

How could you not like blue?  Blue has brought us so many great images.

 

                 The Sky!

     Where would we be without the earth?  (Insert funny Uranus planet jokes here)

       The beautiful Ocean!

And most importantly, where would we be in life without this icon?

         

Oh, but in Magic, some people have a severe hatred for cards this color such as Force of Will, CounterspellMana Drain and my least favorite Counterbalance.

Personally, I am not hater of the color.  However, I do know that many people are and that is why I have decided to write an article stressing cards that do not fall into this category.  

I have been working on a Legacy card list series consisting of 4 total articles.  Below are the links:

           1.  To Infinity and Beyond

           2.  Riddle me this

           3.  The Top Ten of Legacy

           4.  Second impressions can sometimes last forever too!

 Originally my research consisted of 47 decklists.  Of those 47 decklists, 27 ran at least one blue spell.  57% of Legacy decklists researched ran at least one blue spell.  Surprised?  Maybe, maybe not?

Here are the decks that didn't run any blue:  Pox, Green Stax, Elves, RDW, Belcher, Deadguy Ale, EvaGreen, Stax, AggroLoam, Death and Taxes, Dragon Stompy, Enchantress, Goblins, Imperial Painter, Loam Control, Naya Zoo, Sligh, Survival Rock, Rock, and White Weenie.

 So what are the Top non-blue lands?

Card Name # of Decks Using # of Times Cards Used Card Price
Ancient Tomb 4 16  $       4.00
Arid Mesa 1 3  $       4.00
Badlands 1 1  $     17.00
Bayou 8 25  $     19.00
Bloodstained Mire 6 14  $       4.50
Chrome Mox 4 14  $     15.00
City of Traitors 3 10  $     27.00
Lion's Eye Diamond 1 4  $     40.00
Lotus Petal 1 4  $       2.75
Marsh Flats 2 7  $       3.75
Mishra's Factory 2 6  $       2.50
Misty Rainforest 2 3  $       2.75
Mox Diamond 3 12  $     35.00
Mutavault 1 3  $     10.00
Pendelhaven 2 2  $       0.40
Plateau 1 2  $     12.00
Polluted Delta 2 5  $       5.50
Savannah 5 10  $     18.00
Scalding Tarn 1 3  $       3.75
Scrubland 3 8  $     14.00
Taiga 3 6  $     21.00
Verdant Catacombs 5 16  $       3.75
Volrath's Stronghold 2 2  $       5.50
Wasteland 13 51  $     14.00
Windswept Heath 5 16  $       4.75
Wooded Foothills 4 10  $       5.00
       

Couple of things to note here.  First of all, some non blue decks are running blue fetches such as Polluted Delta and Misty Rainforest.  In most cases those fetches could be replaced with other types such as Marsh Flats for instance.  I can only assume the player used them because that is what they had at their disposal.  Another thing to note here is the price differences from some of the cards since I wrote the first land article on 2-4-2010.  Wasteland has gone up $4, Bayou up $5, Ancient Tomb up $2.25, City of Traitors up $6, Bloodstained Mire down $1, Chrome Mox down $1.50, Marsh Flats down $1.25 just to name a few.  These significant increases are a little disappointing for me personally, as I still need to secure many Legacy staples between now and December.  Free cards for everyone would be nice, amiright? 

Here's to the market starting to settle down!

   oops, more like this one..........

So no real surprises here.  Wasteland is by far #1, followed up by Bayou at 2nd, Ancient Tomb 3rd, Verdant Catacombs 4th and Windswept Heath 5th.

If anti-blue is your thing, I recommend purchasing 4x of the Top 5 which will put a $182 dent in your wallet!

What about creatures you say?  I thought you would never ask!

 

Card Name # of Decks Using # of Times Cards Used Card Price
Dark Confidant 5 17  $       6.00
Elvish Spirit Guide 2 8  $       0.35
Eternal Witness 2 4  $       5.00
Figure of Destiny 2 7  $     10.00
Gaddock Teeg 2 3  $       1.65
Grim Lavamancer 2 6  $       3.00
Hypnotic Specter 2 6  $       0.50
Imperial Recruiter 1 4  $       2.00
Iona, Shield of Emeria 1 1  $       4.75
Keldon Marauders 1 3  $       0.12
Kitchen Finks 3 9  $       1.25
Loyal Retainers 1 1  $       0.25
Magus of the Moon 2 8  $       7.00
Nether Spirit 1 2  Non-Mtgo 
Noble Hierarch 1 4  $       9.00
Painter's Servant 1 4  $       2.50
Progenitus 1 1  $     10.00
Qasali Pridemage 2 5  $       0.08
Simian Spirit Guide 3 12  $       0.05
Squee, Goblin Nabob 1 1  $       1.50
Tarmogoyf 8 32  $     58.00
Tombstalker 3 10  $       3.25
Vexing Shusher 2 2  $       2.50
Goblin Shell 1 1  $     80.90
White Weenie Shell 1 1  $       8.96
Elves Shell 1 1  $     17.03

 No surprise again here with Tarmogoyf being on top.  In my original research Tarmogoyf was played in 19 decklists, without blue that number goes down to 8 decklists.  How about this for a dominating statistic, Tarmogoyf is played in 40.7% of decklists using blue (11 out 27).  Non-blue decks has an almost perfect mirror image at 40% (8 out of 20).  Total is 19 out of 47 or 40.4% of Legacy decklists researched run Tarmogoyf and every single decklist researched ran 4x.  It is pretty safe to say if you plan on playing Legacy, blue or non-blue you might as well pick up a playset of this bad boy!

So Top 5 is Tarmogoyf, Dark Confidant, Simian Spirit Guide, Tombstalker, Kitchen Finks.  Without Blue Trinket Mage and Nimble Mongoose are removed from the overall Top 5 and replaced with Kitchen Finks, followed closely by Magus of the Moon at 6th.

If you were looking to save money in this category you will be disappointed.  Playsets of these 5 will run you $274.  Tarmogoyf has dropped $4 since the last creature article I wrote, I would look for them to continue a nice decline.

So how about them spells?

 

Card Name # of Decks Using # of Times Cards Used Card Price
Aether Vial 3 11  $       1.25
Cabal Therapy 2 7  $       0.40
Chain Lightning 3 12  $       0.40
Chalice of the Void 4 16  $       7.00
Crucible of Worlds 1 4  $       6.75
Dark Ritual 3 12  $       1.50
Diabolic Edict 1 1  $       2.75
Duress 2 4  $       0.08
Engineered Explosives 2 5  $     20.00
Enlightened Tutor 1 1  $     10.50
Entomb 1 2  $     14.00
Fireblast 3 11  $       2.25
Grindstone 1 4  $     16.00
Hymn to Tourach 3 12  $       4.50
Life from the Loam 3 10  $       3.00
Lightning Bolt 4 14  $       0.20
Maelstrom Pulse 2 5  $     18.00
Magma Jet 3 10  $       2.00
Natural Order 1 4  $     17.00
Oblivion Ring 3 6  $       0.08
Pernicious Deed 3 9  $     21.78
Pithing Needle 1 1  $       0.60
Pox 1 3  $       2.00
Price of Progress 3 10  $       3.50
Pyroblast 1 3  $       0.70
Rift Bolt 3 10  $       0.12
Seething Song 2 8  $       0.08
Sensei's Divining Top 6 14  $       0.75
Sinkhole 2 8  Non-Mtgo 
Smallpox 2 8  $       0.12
Snuff Out 1 2  $       7.00
Survival of the Fittest 1 4  $     42.00
Swords to Plowshares 5 18  $       0.75
Thoughtseize 5 18  $       8.00
Trinisphere 3 11  $       1.15
Umezawa's Jitte 5 10  $     11.50
Vindicate 2 8  $     22.77
       

 Here is your Top Ten Non-Blue Legacy Spell List:

# of Times Used # of Decks Using
1.   Swords to Plowshares - 18 1.   Sensei's Divining Top - 6
2.   Thoughtseize - 18 2.   Swords to Plowshares - 5
3.   Chalice of the Void - 16 3.   Thoughtseize - 5
4.   Sensei's Divining Top - 14 4.   Umezawa's Jitte - 5
5.   Lightning Bolt - 14 5.   Lightning Bolt - 4
6.   Hymn to Tourach - 12 6.   Chalice of the Void - 4
7.   Dark Ritual - 12 7. 12 tied at 3
8.   Trinisphere - 11  
9.   Aether Vial - 11  
10. Fireblast - 11  

 

Top Ten Price List Average # Times Used per Deck Price # to Purchase Total
1.   Swords to Plowshares 3.6  $          0.75 4  $          3.00
2.   Thoughtseize 3.6  $          8.00 4  $        32.00
3.   Chalice of the Void 4.0  $          7.00 4  $        28.00
4.   Sensei's Divining Top 2.3  $          0.75 4  $          3.00
5.   Lightning Bolt 3.5  $          0.20 4  $          0.80
6.   Hymn to Tourach 4.0  $          4.50 4  $        18.00
7.   Dark Ritual 4.0  $          1.50 4  $          6.00
8.   Trinisphere 3.7  $          1.15 4  $          4.60
9.   Aether Vial 3.7  $          1.25 4  $          5.00
10. Fireblast 3.7  $          2.25 4  $          9.00
     $        27.35 40  $     109.40

 

So basically for $110 you can secure playsets of the Top Ten Non-Blue Legacy Spells.  So how does this pricing compare to the Top Ten Legacy spells altogether?  If you remember correctly my original list included 6 Blue spells in the Top Ten.  Here was that Top Ten in case you forgot.

Top Ten Price List Price Total
1.   Force of Will  $       64.00   $      256.00 
2.   Brainstorm  $         0.35   $         1.40 
3.   Swords to Plowshares  $         0.75   $         3.00 
4.   Daze  $       10.50   $       42.00 
5.   Sensei's Divining Top  $         0.75   $         3.00 
6.   Ponder  $         0.05   $         0.20 
7.   Thoughtseize  $       10.00   $       40.00 
8.   Stifle  $         5.00   $       20.00 
9.   Engineered Explosives  $       28.00   $       84.00 
10. Spell Snare  $         1.25   $         5.00 
   $     120.65   $     454.60 

Quite a difference from $110 to $455.  Force of Will accounts for $256 of the difference, the rest is made up in Daze, Stifle and Explosives.  Engineered Explosives was only found in 2 of the 20 non-blue decklists I researched.  Its' price has dropped significantly since I wrote that article and is now sitting around $20.

Continuing the Journey of Non-Blue here are the cards purchased so far:

 4x Wasteland, 4x Bayou, 4x Ancient Tomb, 4x Verdant Catacombs, 4x Windswept Heath = $182

 4x Tarmogoyf, 4x Dark Confidant, 4x Simian Spirit Guide, 4x Tombstalker, 4x Kitchen Finks = $274

 4x Swords to Plowshares, 4x Thoughtseize, 4x Chalice of the Void, 4x Sensei's Divining Top, 4x Lightning Bolt, 4x Hymn to Tourach, 4x Dark Ritual, 4x Trinisphere, 4x Aether Vial, 4x Fireblast = $109

Total cards purchased: 80      Total cost: $565

I used this same line of thinking in my Top Ten of Legacy Article, purchasing the Top 5 in Lands, Creatures and Top Ten in spells.  After all those cards were purchased the price altogether was $1049.

So how many reason do you need to play non-blue decks?  How about 484 of them.  Its astounding how much cheaper these top non-blue cards are compared to their counterparts. 

Let's take a look at what's left to purchase by decklist:

 

Deck Name Needed Cards Add Cost
Pox 2 Nether Spirit, 2 Entomb, 3 Duress, 2 Life from the Loam, 3 Pox, 4 Smallpox, 4 Pernicious Deed, 4 Bloodstained Mire, 4 Mishra's Factory  $                   155.84
Green Stax 3 Cold-eye Selkie, Dryad Arbor, 4 Elvish Spirit Guide, 4 Noble Hierarch, Progenitus, 4 River Boa, 4 Wickerbough Elder, 4 Natural Order  
  3 Umezawa's Jitte, Misty Rainforest, Pendelhaven, 1 Wooded Foothills, 3 Garruk Wildspeaker  $                   191.49
Elves 3 Chord of Calling, Crop Rotation, 3 Summoner's Pact, 4 Glimpse of Nature, Gaea's Cradle, 2 Misty Rainforest, Pendelhaven, Savannah  $                     80.40
Belcher  4 Elvish Spirit Guide, 4 Tinder Wall, 4 Desperate Ritual, 3 Manamorphose, 4 Seething Song, 4 Burning Wish, 3 Empty the Warrens, 4 Land Grant, 4 Rite of Flame, 4 Chrome Mox, 4 Lion's Eye Diamond, 4 Goblin Charbelcher, 4 Lotus Petal, Taiga  
     $                   280.99
Deadguy Ale 2 Hypnotic Specter, Smother, 4 Vindicate, Pernicious Deed, 2 Bloodstained Mire, 4 Marsh Flats, 4 Scrubland  $                   194.58
EvaGreen 4 Hypnotic Specter, 4 Nantuko Shade, Diabolic Edict, 2 Snuff Out, Duress, 4 Sinkhole, Umezawa's Jitte, 3 Bloodstained Mire, 3 Marsh Flats  $                     69.08
Stax 2 Baneslayer Angel, 3 Magus of the Tabernacle, 4 Armageddon, 4 Ghostly Prison, 3 Oblivion Ring, 4 Crucible of Worlds, 4 Mox Diamond  
  4 Smokestack, 3 City of Traitors, 3 Flagstones of Trokair, Horizon Canopy, Kor Haven, 2 Mishra's Factory, Nomad Stadium, Savannah  $                   369.33
Aggro Loam 4 Countryside Crusher, Terravore, Terminate, 4 Life from the Loam, 2 Maelstrom Pulse, 3 Seismic Assault, 2 Engineered Explosives  
  4 Mox Diamond, Badlands, 3 Bloodstained Mire, 4 Forgotten Cave, 2 Taiga, Volrath's Stronghold, 4 Wooded Foothills  $                   349.03
Death and Taxes 4 Flickerwisp, 2 Gaddock Teeg, 3 Mangara of Corondor, 4 Mother of Runes, 3 Qasali Pridemage, 3 Serra Avenger, 2 Oblivion Ring  
  2 Umezawa's Jitte, 3 Karakas, 4 Savannah  $                   103.55
Dragon Stompy Akroma, Angel of Fury, Arc-Slogger, Deus of Calamity, 4 Gathan Raiders, 4 Magus of the Moon, 4 Rakdos Pit Dragon, 2 Taurean Mauler,  
  4 Seething Song, 3 Blood Moon, 4 Chrome Mox, 2 Umezawa's Jitte, 4 City of Traitors  $                   252.19
Enchantress  4 Argothian Enchantress, Enlightened Tutor, 2 Replenish, 2 City of Solitude, 4 Elephant Grass, 4 Enchantress's Presence, Moat, 3 Chrome Mox, 2 Horizon Canopy, 2 Savannah, 2 Serra's Sanctum, Oblivion Ring, Runed Halo, 2 Sigil of the Empty Throne, 2 Solitary Confinement, 4 Sterling Grove, 4 Utopia Sprawl, 4 Wild Growth  
     
     $                   137.02
Goblins Goblin Creature Shell  $                     80.90
Imperial Painter  3 Figure of Destiny, 4 Imperial Recruiter, 2 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage, 4 Magus of the Moon, 4 Painter's Servant, Vexing Shusher, 2 Magma Jet, 3 Pyroblast, 3 Red Elemental Blast, 3 Chrome Mox, 4 Grindstone, 3 City of Traitors, Wooded Foothills  
     $                   279.80
Loam Control  Gigapede, 4 Innocent Blood, 4 Life from the Loam, 2 Raven's Crime, 4 Sinkhole, 4 Vindicate, Worm Harvest, 3 Engineered Explosives, 4 Mox Diamond, Bloodstained Mire, Cabal Pit, 2 Scrubland, 2 Tranquil Thicket  
     $                   343.60
Naya Zoo 3 Grim Lavamancer, 4 Kird Ape, 4 Wild Nacatl, Lightning Helix, 4 Magma Jet, 4 Price of Progress, 4 Chain Lightning, 3 Rift Bolt  
  3 Arid Mesa, Bloodstained Mire, 2 Plateau, 3 Scalding Tarn, 3 Taiga, 4 Wooded Foothills  $                   170.19
Sligh  4 Ball Lightning, 4 Figure of Destiny, 3 Grim Lavamancer, 4 Hellspark Elemental, 3 Keldon Marauders, Magus of the Scroll, 4 Magma Jet, 4 Price of Progress, 4 Chain Lightning, 3 Rift Bolt  
     $                     81.66
Survival Rock 4 Birds of Paradise, 2 Eternal Witness, Faerie Macabre, Gaddock Teeg, Genesis, Iona, Shield of Emeria, Loyal Retainers, 2 Qasali Pridemage  
  Shriekmaw, Squee, Goblin Nabob, 3 Cabal Therapy, 4 Survival of the Fittest, 2 Savannah, 2 Scrubland  $                   258.49
Rock 2 Eternal Witness, 4 Llanowar Elves, 4 Cabal Therapy, 3 Maelstrom Pulse, 4 Pernicious Deed, 2 Umezawa's Jitte, Volrath's Stronghold  $                   185.20
White Weenie 4 Shared Triumph, 2 Flagstones of Trokair, 3 Mutavault, White Weenie Creature Shell  $                     46.36
RDW 4 Keldon Marauders, 4 Chain Lightning, 4 Flames of the Blood Hand, 4 Incinerate, 4 Lava spike, 2 Price of Progress, 2 Relic of Progenitus  
  4 Rift Bolt, 2 Volcanic Fallout  $                     16.44

 I know what you're thinking......Those added costs to complete each deck are high.

Comparing them to the list I posted in the Top Ten article here is what we find.

All Non-Blue decks combined total: $3636.14 or $182.31 per deck

All 47 Decks combined total: $7877.43 or $167.60 per deck

All Blue only decks combined total: $3743.16 or $138.64

So while our initial investment was $484 dollars cheaper, the average cost to complete each deck is higher than its blue counterparts.

Outside of Force of Will, Non-blue cards dominate in the cost area.

Mox Diamond Pernicious Deed Vindicate Lion's Eye Diamond

 

 These cards are to blame for the increase cost to finish each deck.  All four of these cards are pretty much 4x must haves, Playsets for all would cost you $479.  You might be able to get away with only using 2 or 3 copies of Deed and Vindicate, but the decklists I researched said otherwise.  Earlier we purchased 80 cards for $565, here we purchase 16 for $479.........OUCH!  Plus I didn't even include Chrome Mox or City of Traitors.

The last little tidbit of information I wanted to finish off my series with was the cost of each deck I researched.  I know most people reading these articles won't have the funds to build all 47 decks.  I'd like to at least give you a glimmer of hope. There are some Legacy Decklists that won't break the bank.

 

Dream Halls  $      504.90 Death and Taxes  $            407.58
Dark Depths  $   1,029.90 Dragon Stompy  $            273.47
Green Stax  $      495.78 Enchantress  $             156.70
4C Thresh  $       955.77 Faerie Stompy  $             487.35
Elves  $       122.31 Goblins  $             140.90
UGB Thresh  $       905.75 Imperial Painter  $             276.30
UGR Thresh  $       783.04 4C Landstill  $             643.51
UGW Thresh  $       883.16 UWB Landstill  $             631.55
Oath  $       908.80 Loam Control  $             449.95
Merfolk  $       444.00 Naya Zoo  $             452.44
Ad Nausem  $       406.88 Reanimator  $             598.45
Aluren  $       774.53 Sligh  $               93.02
Survival Bant  $       836.24 Solidarity  $             369.74
Belcher  $       295.77 Survival Rock  $             630.59
Countersliver  $       559.41 Rock  $             610.84
Deadguy Ale  $       593.98 Trinket Painter  $             652.90
Dreadfish  $       943.65 White Weenie  $             106.98
Dreadstill  $       656.45 Dredge  $             228.68
EvaGreen  $       505.33 RDW  $               82.56
43 Land  $       434.30 Rogue Wizard  $             418.68
Stax  $       429.61 Rogue Walker  $             860.36
Team America  $       984.70

If you thought Magic the Gathering was an innocent hobby let me humor you for a moment.

Let's say you decided to watch a tournament involving 47 players using these 47 decklists.  You would be watching $25,900.71 worth of cards being pushed (or clicked) around.  47 decklists which total $25,900.71, that is an average of $551.08 per decklist.  20 decklists not using blue spells totals $7167.30 or $358.37 per deck.  27 decklists using blue totals $18733.41 or an average of $693.83.  Lots of money flying around those tables during tournament times.

 

          Please help control the hoarder population, have your hoarder spayed or neutered.

Well this article finishes off my series.  I hope you have enjoyed reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them.  Remember to look me up online (ImpinAintEasy) for a Legacy/classic match anytime.

Thanks again!

-Graig W.-

ImpinAintEasy on MGTO

6 Comments

goyf by GainsBanding (not verified) at Tue, 03/02/2010 - 05:45
GainsBanding's picture

Tarmogoyf just went down to $35 a day or two ago!

Yup, unfortunately I by Raddman at Tue, 03/02/2010 - 11:21
Raddman's picture

Yup, unfortunately I submitted the article last Thursday when prices were still relatively high.

good stuff, but your end by JustSin at Tue, 03/02/2010 - 11:09
JustSin's picture
4

good stuff, but your end numbers are a bit off lol that's all well and good, but the odds of those people each running individual decks is incredible lol what you'll more likely see is several people playing a really expensive list and 2-3 with full foil like Oath in Classic for example... I'd imagine that the price is way more then that lol

I am assuming you mean the by Raddman at Tue, 03/02/2010 - 11:28
Raddman's picture

I am assuming you mean the end numbers relating to people playing 47 individual decks. I hope my math on deck pricing and total cost is correct. I agree the chances of 47 players running 47 different decklists is impossible. Like you said though, my prices are based only on regular mtgo card prices excluding foils. I know many players who pimp out their decks(Looking at you Whiffy). Adding foils into the mix would really make your wallet vomit.

What do you mean by Goblin by Anonymous (not verified) at Wed, 03/03/2010 - 03:46
Anonymous's picture

What do you mean by Goblin Shell and White Weenie Shell? Is it a nickname for a card like "Bob"?
In any case, nice article, I thought blue would be way more expensive.

Just the creatures by Raddman at Wed, 03/03/2010 - 09:52
Raddman's picture

The Goblin shell means the creature shell. Instead of typing out each creature name I just combined them. The Goblin creature shell for instance cost around $80. There are many white weenie shells, the deck I researched was more on the soldier side.

If you are interested in the actual cards for each shell just let me know here and I'll post decklist. You can also head over to deckcheck.net and search Goblin/White Weenie Legacy decklists for a variety of options.