This was my first ever legacy event.  I guess it was also my first team event too.  Here’s the link for my decklist.  I run a white splash for wear//tear in the sideboard.  I think more people run Tidespout Tyrant main, but I prefer Iona, Shield of Emeria.  I also run Stronghold Gambit in the side as a way to get a fatty on the battlefield without it touching the graveyard.  Anyway, here’s how it went.
There wasn’t much to it this round.  I go to 5 cards while on the play in the first game, but never see a reanimate spell.  He plays DRS turn 1 and another on turn 2 and that’s all she wrote.  Game 2 didn’t go much better.  I keep a six I like, but have no protection or disruption.  I go for it anyway, but can’t fight through the counter magic.  I try to cast two reanimation spells a few turns later in a single turn, but he’s got the graveyard hate.  A rough way to start the tournament, but I wasn’t too worried.
Like me, he was new to Legacy.  I’m on the play game 1, again go to 5 and play a Thoughtseize on turn 1.  From his hand, I know what he’s on, but I just don’t have enough to deal with it.  His Ad Nauseum ends up not being enough to get there, but I don’t draw any action.  He manages to get there the next turn.  I brought in the 3 Stronghold Gambits, taking out a Reanimate Dead and 2 Unmask.  In game 2, I have a quick lock on the board state, bringing out Griselbrand on turn 1 and then going to 5 and getting a Sire of Insanity in play.  Game 3 ends in the middle of it since my teammates won theirs, but we play it out anyway.  Stronghold Gambit to put an Iona in play on turn 2 is all I needed though.
Round 3 - R/B/g Reanimator
In game 1, I’m on the play and start by showing him a Chancellor and he laughs and tells his teammates he’s playing the mirror.  I play a Faithless Looting binning the Chancellor and a Grisielbrand.  He plays a Lotus Petal into the Chancellor’s effect and then plays a Thoughtseize, seeing double Exhume in my hand.  I bring back the Griselbrand and bring myself down to 3, but am able to put an Iona into play naming black and lock him out of the game.  I brought in the 3 Faerie Macabre, shaving on Griselbrands and another Reanimation target, thinking I’ll be able to reanimate his creatures if I get the chance.  He leads with a Thoughtseize, taking my only renanimation spell, but I do the same thing on my turn.  It goes on for a few turns with each of us making land drops.  It eventually gets down to a turn where I flashback a Faithless Looting.  This apparently reminds him of his own Faithless Looting, which he flashbacks on his turn.  This turns out to be a misplay since he would have been able to Dark Ritual and cast the Griselbrand from hand.  On my turn, I Thoughtseize his Griselbrand into his yard, then reanimate it.  Since it’s his only creature in the yard, I cast Exhume bringing out a Chancellor and that quickly closes the game.
Round 4 - Death and Taxes
In game 1, I have a turn 2 Griselbrand and go down to 5, activating Griselbrand twice looking for a way to get something else on the battlefield.  I don’t find it and he casts Swords to Plowshares the next turn.  I manage to get a Sire of Insanity out the next turn, but by then, it’s too late because he has Mother of Runes out and too many creatures to stop.  In game 2, he puts a Karakas down on his turn 1, making the Griselbrand in my graveyard look terrible.  He then vials in a Containment Priest and that’s all she wrote.
Round 5 - Omni Sneak & Show
I’m on the play and show him a Chancellor.  He knows what’s up.  After a Faithless Looting, Chancellor is the only thing in my yard.  He ends up with a lot of counterspells in his hand and is able to keep me from getting the Chancellor back on the battlefield.  I finally land a Reanimate Dead on it.  A Thoughtseize shows me that my Chancellor is locking him out of casting the 2 Sneak Attacks in his hand.  He can’t find it and we go to game 2.  I bring in the Strong Hold Gambits here and a Wear // Tear.  My hand lets me put Sire of Insanity in on my second turn and that’s all I needed.
This match was pretty quick.  He’s on the play and starts with a turn 1 Goblin Guide.  This nets me a swamp.  I start with Dark Ritual into Entomb, grabbing Iona.  Cast Exhume and naming red slams the door shut.  In Game 2, I power out a Griselbrand turn 2, but don’t activate.  After he passes it back to me, I attack with Griselbrand, draw 7, and find the cards to bring Iona out.  I end up 4-2, but the team took the third loss in this round, so we call it a day and head back to the hotel room.
Overall, I was pretty pleased with my results.  The next morning, I ran the same list again for the Legacy Challenge and proceed to drop the first three rounds.  Not as great as the day before, but it happens I guess.  I think that the deck was a good start into the format and since the combo is so straightforward, I felt it was a good choice for the tournament since it was so linear.  Variance was pretty cruel on Sunday, but I don’t regret my decision.  It’s just part of playing the combo like that. Â
I don’t know when the next chance is for me to play Legacy at a large event is, but one of the shops near me is getting Legacy to fire every weekend.  If I were to play this list tomorrow, I’d probably opt for a green splash over the white.  I think Abrupt Decay is where I want to be at right now, but I think I’ll also be trying to jam some other decks I was able to trade into. Â
I’m going to try and keep doing these tournament reports in different formats.  I have some time over the next few weeks, so hopefully I get a chance to jam a few games.