Hello everyone, my name is Luca, I've been playing since Ravnica and I never expected to find myself writing a Legacy tournament winning report! This is certainly my most important achievement, which will entitle me to mock my Friday night playgroup friends at least until my next 0-2 drop...
In my years of Magic, I've played almost every possible format and archetype, from super aggro to "fetch land" control to "dump everything on the table and hope" combo, but lately a particular deck has caught my attention: BG Cradle Control.
As you can see, the decklist is very straightforward: many mana dorks, many creatures that cast Crop Rotation to fetch a couple of spicy utility lands, 2 big green beaters to close out the game, and a pinch of tutors to always have everything when needed. All seasoned with a good dose of insects.
Bg Cradle Control
- 4 × Elvish Reclaimer
- 4 × Endurance
- 4 × Ignoble Hierarch
- 4 × Noble Hierarch
- 4 × Wight of the Reliquary
- 3 × Springheart Nantuko
- 1 × Atraxa, Grand Unifier
- 1 × Craterhoof Behemoth
- 1 × Grist, the Hunger Tide
- 3 × Once Upon a Time
- 4 × Green Sun's Zenith
- 3 × Natural Order
- 4 × Gaea's Cradle
- 3 × Verdant Catacombs
- 3 × Windswept Heath
- 3 × Wooded Foothills
- 2 × Bayou
- 2 × Dryad Arbor
- 2 × Forest
- 2 × Talon Gates of Madara
- 1 × Bojuka Bog
- 1 × Lair of the Hydra
- 1 × Underground Mortuary
- 4 × Thoughtseize
- 3 × Force of Vigor
- 2 × Faerie Macabre
- 2 × Fatal Push
- 2 × Snuff Out
- 1 × Collector Ouphe
- 1 × Natural Order
The deck struck me because I saw the word "control" associated with Gaea's Cradle (towards which I've had an unhealthy attraction for several years) which I never thought I'd see in my life. After seeing the good Mengucci go undefeated at the 4 Seasons, having had a heated discussion with the aforementioned friends that led to nothing but further doubts, I armed myself with patience and the right amount of money to buy the very affordable Cradles, assembled the deck, and headed to Pisa for the Law Legacy ELMq 2025.
THE TOURNAMENT
On the day of the tournament, I equipped myself with Gaviscon to digest the holiday feasts and my human, elf, and insect friends, hoping not to make my usual bad impression... I admit I wasn't prepared for what would happen or for having to recount it, so I apologize in advance to my opponents if they read this report and I missed any fundamental points.
Round 1: STORM 2-1
I know my opponent, and from my past experiences, I know that's usually the deck they play. Game 1, they keep a strong hand with which they can close on turn 4, but a couple of elves followed by a Natural Order on turn 3 ends the game. Out of the sideboard come Thoughtseize and Faerie Macabre to try and contain their overly fast plays and add graveyard hate. Game 2, unfortunately, they weren't enough to contain them, and I lost badly, but Game 3, a timely Endurance blocked a Past in Flames that would have allowed my opponent to combo off.
Round 2: MONO W D&T 2-1
I admit I don't remember the first 2 games very well. I only remember a Stoneforge Mystic calling Kaldra Compleat and beating me down, and a Craterhoof Behemoth resolving the other game. Out of the sideboard come the Endurance for 4 much more solid removals (Fatal Push and Snuff Out). I remember Game 3 a bit better; we ramp with various elves, their hand wasn't the fastest, and the Wight of the Reliquary would close the game.
Round 3: BW D&T 2-1
A deck similar to the previous round, although the addition of black, as I would discover, held some very nasty surprises. Game 1, we traded some resources; they didn't see a great hand, and the usual big beater would end the story. Again in this match, out with Endurance, in with removal. Game 2, a sequence of annoying cards made my life hell, and despite an all-in Craterhoof Behemoth that put them to 1 life, an unexpected Wrath of God took me out. Game 3, this time, Craterhoof Behemoth delivered lethal damage, closing the game.
Round 4: Mystic Forge combo 2-1
Game 1 starts very fast, and my only chances to close with Behemoth are "countered" by the protection of multiple The One Ring, which allow them to draw practically their entire deck and untap with Voltaic Key and Paradox Engine. Game 2, a couple of discard spells + the artifact hate package come in, and Endurance go out. It will be one of those discard spells that takes away The One Ring on turn one. A Collector Ouphe follows and wins the game. Game 3, I seem to recall a bad mulligan on their part, and the Ouphe, which they couldn't answer, sealed the deal.
Round 5: Eldrazi Aggro 2-0
Game 1, a horde of 0/1 Eldrazi spawns was eating away at my life thanks to their Glaring Fleshraker, but I managed to survive thanks to creatures searching my deck for Talon of Madara, phasing out the annoying Eldrazi. Despite the first Craterhoof Behemoth not being able to close the game, with an Once Upon a Time I found a Springheart Nantuko that enchanted the Craterhoof Behemoth, copying it on the first landfall, and this time the damage was lethal. Game 2, I know the deck well, so out go the poor Endurance, in with removal and the 4th Natural Order. This time too, I barely survived the damage from Glaring Fleshraker, but a giant Craterhoof Behemoth closed the game. Luck helped me, I admit.
Round 6: Bant Nadu, Winged Wisdom 1-2
Game 1, my brain turned off and I missed a free 3 damage attack that would have allowed me to close the game two turns later with Natural Order + attacking Craterhoof Behemoth for 18. I paid for my mistake by being overwhelmed by an infinite number of Bant Nadu, Winged Wisdom tokens. Game 2, Endurance went out again, along with some ramp, and in came discard and removal. This time I managed to count to 20 like a good child, and the classic Natural Order + Craterhoof Behemoth closed the game. Game 3, his 2 Veil of Summer countered my discard and removal, allowing him to draw the necessary combo pieces, which proved fatal to me.
Round 7: Mono R Painter 2-0
Game 1, despite my opponent showing me a basic Mountain and a Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, my Craterhoof Behemoth closed the game before my brain could tell me to watch out, they're playing Painter.
Game 2, convinced they were playing a strange version of Mystic Forge
I sided out the Endurance like a dummy, but the artifact hate package still came in. An early game Collector Ouphe + Springheart Nantuko stalled the board, and when they made a mistake and left me an open spot to close, the top of my deck gave me a tutor that promptly called Craterhoof Behemoth to resolve the game.
Round 8: Bant Nadu, Winged Wisdom draw 1-1
I still can't believe it. After so many years of Legacy, an indefinite number of Counterspells, Brainstorms, and weird Delver shenanigans, I find myself in the Top 8 of an important event with an unexpected deck. The top awaits me: the invitational at stake forces us to play to elect a winner.
Top8: BW D&T 2-1
I found myself facing the guy from Round 3 who was screaming for revenge. Game 1 was incredibly difficult, lasting about 50 minutes, in which I brought him low on life but saw hell because of an Opposition Agent and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, who kept blinking his value pieces that only searched his deck for more hate for me. The only thing keeping me alive was the synergy between Springheart Nantuko and Grist, the Hunger Tide, spawning insects, aided by a couple of Solitudes that kept my life total high. In the very few moments when Opposition Agent wasn't bothering me, the deck didn't offer me tutors for Craterhoof Behemoth, and in the long run, I lost too much ground and died badly.
Game 2, my opponent kept a two-land hand (and never saw a third) which prevented them from casting Wasteland on my Gaea's Cradle, giving me the opportunity to cast a Natural Order. Despite being under Containment Priest, I could search for Grist, the Hunger Tide thanks to its peculiar ability, which stabilized the board until a Talon Gates of Madara phased out the Containment Priest, combined with a Natural Order for Craterhoof Behemoth, allowed me to close the game. Game 3, they quickly went low on life, thanks to a land that gave 3 life and a discard spell. I saw the usual tutor for Grist, the Hunger Tide, which again ruined their plans, filling the board with insects, and at the right moment, a Snuff Out and a gigantic Wight of the Reliquary closed the game. MVP was definitely Grist, the Hunger Tide.
Semifinal: Nadu, Winged Wisdom Elves 2-0
Unfortunately, there's not much to say; in Game 1, both decks tried to combo off as quickly as possible with not much interaction, and my Craterhoof Behemoth arrived before their Nadu, Winged Wisdom. Game 2, out came removal, discard, Endurance, and some tutor creatures. I HAD TO BE FASTER. They didn't see their sideboard but only a lot of tokens, and a truly enormous Craterhoof Behemoth of mine closed the game.
Final: UB Death's Shadow
Game 1, unfortunately, Death's Shadow requires me to go low on life. I filled the board with tokens with two Springheart Nantuko, and despite a huge mistake of mine in combat, the next turn, double Talon Gates of Madara phased out his two Death's Shadows, and I managed to attack for lethal.
Game 2, I know the deck but wasn't sure about the number of creatures it played, so I only sided in 2 Fatal Push for 2 Endurance. He kept a 5-card hand. He immediately played Tamiyo, I had the answer but he cast Daze. The next turn, Tamiyo flipped, and a sequence of Fatal Pushes and Daze allowed the planeswalker to ultimate, and with an empty board, I died to his 30 cards in hand and a Death's Shadow on the field.
Game 3, I kept a strong hand and put my little creatures on the board, but his Tamiyo flipped on turn one, aided by two Street Wraiths, gave me Vietnam flashbacks that I wouldn't wish on anyone. I managed to play the MVP of the Top 8, which destroyed his Tamiyo and stalled the board. A few turns later, creating insects, I managed to get enough mana thanks to Gaea's Cradle to cast an 8-mana Green Sun's Zenith for Atraxa, followed by Natural Order for Craterhoof Behemoth, which definitively closed the tournament.
It's done... finally after a long time I achieve an important result and I'm super happy!! Despite me having dismissed the deck a bit at the beginning, it has some very interesting spots: the elves and knights that cast Crop Rotation open up lines that I never would have expected at the start of the tournament. Talon Gates of Madara is definitely the best utility land in the deck, but an honorable mention goes to Lair of the Hydra which really makes its presence felt when it attacks. The MVP for tough matchups is definitely Grist, the Hunger Tide, which saved me from several bad situations and at least stalled the board every time it came down. Obviously, the top "ignorant" creature when it comes to closing out is Craterhoof Behemoth, but Atraxa certainly helps refill your hand when needed. The good Springheart Nantuko is also a great token provider that helps with the entire game plan of the deck!
Thank you for reading, I hope I was clear and not too boring. I apologize again to my opponents if I forgot or distorted any part of the story, but I genuinely didn't plan on having to recount my tournament!
I thank the guys from Damnation, the guys from ELM, and everyone who made me feel like a rock star on Sunday! Big hug and see you in Belgium.
