Brewing Legacy Stompy Decks with Rob White

Today’s guest article was written by Rob White. If you have ever considered playing Legacy Stompy, Rob has “a few” decks to share.


I love Stompy decks. In a world where people say decks are getting homogenised and optimised, Stompy is the deck that just keeps on giving. All you need is some fast mana and disruption and your win cons can be whatever you like! You can play this deck in any colour, with all your favourite janky tribes and still win games! Here’s how…

Legacy Stompy is a disruptive, Chalice-based aggro deck that grinds the opponent’s plans to a halt with Trinisphere, Chalice of the Void and Ensnaring Bridge. It uses fast mana in City of Traitors, Ancient Tomb and ritual effects to play these out early, then plays a powerful 3 or 4+ drops to take over the game. Originally, this deck was Green. But it found fame as Dragon Stompy, moving to Red and adding Blood Moon to the disruption package and playing powerful 4 drops with the help of burning monkey hair. Rakdos Pit-Dragon and Arc Slogger were the win con du jour back then. It also used the fabulous Gathan Raiders, which is a card you never knew ever existed.

But today, Red is also great for its planeswalkers and the deck has only gotten better over time. Dragons were replaced first by Koth, the Hammer and ultimately Chandra, Torch of Defiance. Even Hazoret the Fervent appears from time to time.

“Dragon” Stompy

Land (19)
City of Traitors
Ancient Tomb
11 Mountain

Creatures (15)
Simian Spirit Guide
Magus of the Moon
Goblin Rabblemaster
Hazoret the Fervent
Sin Prodder

Other Spells (26)
Ensnaring Bridge
Blood Moon
Trinisphere
Lotus Petal
Koth of the Hammer
Chalice of the Void
Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Chrome Mox
Sideboard (15)
Sulfur Elemental
Volcanic Fallout
Leyline of the Void
Phyrexian Revoker
Sudden Shock
Surgical Extraction
Quicksmith Rebel


How to Play Legacy Stompy
This deck is all about your opening hand. Getting your prison pieces down early is so important to this deck, so being on the play makes a lot of difference. Ideally, your opening hand will have some fast mana, a couple of lock pieces and a payoff. Slamming a T1 Blood Moon is backbreaking for so many decks in Legacy, but sometimes they don’t scoop and you have to get into the red zone. Follow up with a threat as soon as possible. There can be some tension between playing a threat and resolving another lock piece. Generally speaking, get a Blood Moon and a Trinisphere down and you’re good to start dropping bombs. The deck has a decent game against pretty much anything with a Delver in it as long as it can get its lock pieces down. A Chalice on one hoses pretty much every cantrip in the deck and you have more threats than they have Force of Wills. Slamming a T1 Blood Moon against Lands is easy-mode Magic, so I needn’t elaborate further. Dragon Stompy can slow down aggro decks and combo long enough to go over the top, but Burn can sometimes just kill you out of nowhere. Basically, anything that wants to play fair usually folds to Dragon Stompy, with the exception of D&T. Death and Taxes cares least about Blood Moon and the deck can bide its time long enough to alpha strike you to death with a timely Flickerwisp on the Bridge. Sword of Fire and Ice and Battlerskull will also kill you to death super fast if you aren’t careful. Sneak & Show is the bane of your life. Bridge won’t save you fast enough for you to empty your hand and Sneak Attack doesn’t care about Blood Moon. Reanimator is similar, but at least you have your Bridge to protect you.


Building Legacy Stompy
To build this deck, you need:
4x City of Traitors
4x Ancient Tomb
4x Chalice of the Void
4x Trinisphere
This is your basic shell. You can add extra lock pieces, like Ensnaring Bridge, or more fast mana like Chrome Mox as you see fit. If you’re running Red, Blood Moon and Magus of the Moon are essential for obvious reasons, along with Simian Spirit Guide. Other than that… pretty much anything so long as it costs more than three mana. Sometimes you’ll be caught out by your own Trinisphere, so to limit that, the threats in this deck are, for the vast majority, 3 or higher CMC. As cards get more powerful and synergistic, our Stompy options have grown and grown. Last year, the super-secret Popeye Stompy took the deck into Blue. This crazy build used Rishadan Brigand and Cutpurse to sink opponents’ lands into Davey Jones’ locker. It used Siren’s Ruse to get extra value from their pirates and beat down with 2/2s like you’ve forced your opponent to play Limited.

This, more than anything else revealed that literally, ANYTHING can be Stompy as long as you have the lock pieces.
So let’s explore the options!

Soldier Stompy

Land (18)
Plains
Ancient Tomb
Cavern of Souls
Karakas

Creatures (30)
Daru Warchief
Enlistment Officer
Preeminent Captain
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Thalia, Heretic Cathar
Recruiter of the Guard
Odric, Lunarch Marshal
Palace Jailer
Aerial Responder

Other Spells (12)
Chrome Mox
Suppression Field
Chalice of the Void
Sideboard (15)
Thorn of Amethyst
Ethersworn Canonist
Sanctum Prelate
Faerie Macabre
Leonin Relic-Warder
Containment Priest
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

You’ve probably seen this one. Preeminent Captain rushes out the tribal Soldiers, while Thalia (also a Soldier) and Palace Jailer round out the prison strategy. This deck works a little differently to standard Stompy list because it cuts the Trinisphere for a more aggressive line. Thalia helps slow things down enough to get the job done. White is the colour of prison strategies, and a main deck Suppression Field puts a real hurting on everyone’s favourite 1-mana planeswalker. Not to mention regular ‘walkers who can sometimes allow your opponent to claw out of a lock through gradual card advantage.



Goblin Stompy

Land (23)
Mountain
Plateau
Karakas
Wasteland
Rishadan Port
Cavern of Souls
Scalding Tarn
Arid Mesa

Creatures (27)
Goblin Chieftain
Goblin Ringleader
Stingscourger
Krenko, Mob Boss
Gempalm Incinerator
Goblin Matron
Mogg War Marshal
Siege-Gang Commander
Goblin Lackey

Other Spells (12)
Trinisphere
Tarfire
AEther Vial
Pyrokinesis
Sideboard (15)
Relic of Progenitus
Containment Priest
Ethersworn Canonist
Tuktuk Scrapper
Goblin Sharpshooter
Pithing Needle
Surgical Extraction

Again, Red rocks for Stompy decks. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Legacy manabases are getting VERY greedy, so Blood Moon is a beating. Add to that some tutor Gobbos, Krenko and Siege-Gang Commander and you’ve got a sweet go-wide Stompy strategy.



Sky Stompy

Lands (18)
Ancient Tomb
City of Traitors
10 Island

Creatures (12)
True-Name Nemesis
Vendilion Clique
Mulldrifter
Serendib Efreet

Other Spells (30)
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Chalice of the Void
Counterspell
Back to Basics
Umezawa’s Jitte
Flusterstorm
Daze
Force of Will
Chrome Mox
Sideboard (15)
Hydroblast
Grafdigger’s Cage
Echoing Truth
Sower of Temptation
Pithing Needle
Piracy Charm
Llawan, Cephalid Empress

Having access to countermagic in a prison deck just isn’t fair (I’m looking at YOU Miracles). Fast, powerful flyers backed up by Force of Will to catch any spells that slip through the lock, is a potent combination. Back to Basics is your ghetto Trinisphere because a) it’s sweet! And b) it allows you to cast your counterspells. You can also add card draw to find your fatties faster. And as for planeswalkers? Well, there is this one guy who they say is better than all…



Stompy Stompy

Land (18)
Ancient Tomb
City of Traitors
10 Forest

Creatures (22)
Elvish Spirit Guide
Carnage Tyrant
Chancellor of the Tangle
Deranged Hermit
Kalonian Hydra
Polukranos, World Eater
Primeval Titan
Master of the Wild Hunt
Tireless Tracker

Other Spells (20)
Garruk Wildspeaker
Garruk, Primal Hunter
Nissa, Vital Force
Chalice of the Void
Trinisphere
Hall of Gemstone
Chrome Mox
Lotus Petal
Sideboard (15)
Arbor Colossus
Reclamation Sage
Pithing Needle
Mistcutter Hydra
Obstinate Baloth
Hurricane
Choke

Today, Green isn’t known for its disruption. Just its card draw, damage, great creatures and removal. Seriously, what is with Green?! In this build, Chancellor of the Tangle helps get out your lock pieces even faster. You have a wide range of planeswalkers on offer in Green to back up your beaters. Hall of Gemstone is a great hoser against the 4 colour manabases of the moment. That means no Leovold, no Strix, no K-Command and no Snapping for removal spells.



Dead Stompy

Land (18)
Ancient Tomb
City of Traitors
Swamp
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Creatures (25)
Phylactery Lich
Grave Defiler
Undead Warchief
Skinrender
Vengeful Dead
Zombie Master
Chalice of the Void
Gempalm Polluter
Noxious Ghoul

Other Spells (17)
Liliana of the Veil
Liliana, the Last Hope
Trinisphere
Chrome Mox
Lotus Petal
The Abyss
Sideboard (15)
Pithing Needle
Surgical Extraction
Chains of Mephistopheles
The Abyss
Underworld Dreams
Bojuka Bog
Dread of Night
Engineered Plague

No classic black disruption here. It’s terrible with the Trinisphere and the Chalice. Instead, we’re just going to bring the pain. My favourite card in this list is Phylactery Lich. It combos with our artifacts and is just such cool design. Grave Defiler helps you find your zombies, while Liliana takes Chandra’s role as an inevitable win con.



Cleric Stompy

Land (21)
15 Plains
Cavern of Souls
Karakas

Creatures (31)
Master Apothecary
Mikaeus, the Lunarch
Mirror Entity
Mother of Runes
Phyrexian Metamorph
Phyrexian Revoker
Recruiter of the Guard
Sanctum Prelate
Selfless Spirit
Banisher Priest
Battletide Alchemist
Beloved Chaplain
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
Leonin Relic-Warder

Other Spells (8)
Lotus Petal
Chalice of the Void
Sideboard (14)
Banisher Priest
Beloved Chaplain
Containment Priest
Ensnaring Bridge
Ethersworn Canonist
Leonin Relic-Warder
Phyrexian Revoker

And now for a guilty pleasure. I’m known for playing Clerics in EDH and Pauper, so why not Legacy too? Clerics synergise so well with the prison strategy. Sanctum Prelate is a Chalice that beats face! What’s not to love? Meanwhile, the cleric synergies help preserve your life total against aggressive decks. This build is similar to the Soldier list but lacks the card advantage. But it is fun! And that’s what counts.



Future Stompy
Dominaria is giving us a whole host of tribal options to create all-new Stompy lists! Knight Stompy is a shoe-in thanks to the new knight lords. Benalish Marshal, Pride of Femeref and Kwende will do a decent job of closing out the game and even History of Benalia might be fun to try. But Angel Stompy is where it’s at. The classic big bad fliers are the perfect call-back to classic Dragon Stompy. The tribal lifelink effect will get you back in the game against Burn and make Storm that little bit harder to go off if they can bounce our lock pieces.

Angel Stompy

Land (21)
10 Plains
Cavern of Souls
Ancient Tomb
City of Traitors
Karakas

Creatures (23)
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Thalia, Heretic Cathar
Blade Splicer
Gisela, the Broken Blade
Lyra Dawnbringer
Restoration Angel
Angel of Sanctions

Other Spells (16)
Council’s Judgment 
Chrome Mox
Chalice of the Void
Suppression Field
Board the Weatherlight
Sideboard (15)
Rest in Peace
Containment Priest
Swords to Plowshares
Holy Light
Blessed Alliance
Timely Reinforcements
Shalai, Voice of Plenty
Trinisphere

So that’s Dragon/Soldier/Stompy/Goblin/Genie/Zombie/Cleric/Angel Stompy. A deck for every flavour. What’s your preferred form of Legacy Stompy deck?

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