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)
4 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb
11 Mountain
Creatures (15)
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Magus of the Moon
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Hazoret the Fervent
2 Sin Prodder
Other Spells (26)
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Blood Moon
4 Trinisphere
1 Lotus Petal
1 Koth of the Hammer
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
4 Chrome MoxSideboard (15)
2 Sulfur Elemental
4 Volcanic Fallout
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Sudden Shock
1 Surgical Extraction
1 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)
8 Plains
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Karakas
Creatures (30)
4 Daru Warchief
4 Enlistment Officer
4 Preeminent Captain
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 Recruiter of the Guard
1 Odric, Lunarch Marshal
4 Palace Jailer
4 Aerial Responder
Other Spells (12)
4 Chrome Mox
4 Suppression Field
4 Chalice of the VoidSideboard (15)
4 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Sanctum Prelate
2 Faerie Macabre
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
2 Containment Priest
2 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)
5 Mountain
1 Plateau
1 Karakas
4 Wasteland
3 Rishadan Port
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Scalding Tarn
3 Arid Mesa
Creatures (27)
3 Goblin Chieftain
3 Goblin Ringleader
1 Stingscourger
2 Krenko, Mob Boss
4 Gempalm Incinerator
4 Goblin Matron
4 Mogg War Marshal
2 Siege-Gang Commander
4 Goblin Lackey
Other Spells (12)
2 Trinisphere
4 Tarfire
4 AEther Vial
2 PyrokinesisSideboard (15)
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Containment Priest
4 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Tuktuk Scrapper
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
1 Pithing Needle
3 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)
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
10 Island
Creatures (12)
4 True-Name Nemesis
2 Vendilion Clique
2 Mulldrifter
4 Serendib Efreet
Other Spells (30)
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Counterspell
3 Back to Basics
2 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Flusterstorm
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Chrome MoxSideboard (15)
3 Hydroblast
2 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Echoing Truth
1 Sower of Temptation
3 Pithing Needle
3 Piracy Charm
1 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)
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
10 Forest
Creatures (22)
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
2 Carnage Tyrant
2 Chancellor of the Tangle
1 Deranged Hermit
2 Kalonian Hydra
4 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Primeval Titan
2 Master of the Wild Hunt
4 Tireless Tracker
Other Spells (20)
3 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Nissa, Vital Force
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Trinisphere
2 Hall of Gemstone
4 Chrome Mox
1 Lotus PetalSideboard (15)
1 Arbor Colossus
2 Reclamation Sage
2 Pithing Needle
2 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Obstinate Baloth
3 Hurricane
3 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)
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
8 Swamp
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Creatures (25)
2 Phylactery Lich
4 Grave Defiler
3 Undead Warchief
4 Skinrender
4 Vengeful Dead
1 Zombie Master
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Gempalm Polluter
1 Noxious Ghoul
Other Spells (17)
4 Liliana of the Veil
3 Liliana, the Last Hope
4 Trinisphere
4 Chrome Mox
1 Lotus Petal
1 The AbyssSideboard (15)
2 Pithing Needle
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Chains of Mephistopheles
1 The Abyss
3 Underworld Dreams
2 Bojuka Bog
3 Dread of Night
1 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
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Karakas
Creatures (31)
4 Master Apothecary
1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
1 Mirror Entity
4 Mother of Runes
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Recruiter of the Guard
4 Sanctum Prelate
2 Selfless Spirit
1 Banisher Priest
4 Battletide Alchemist
3 Beloved Chaplain
1 Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
Other Spells (8)
4 Lotus Petal
4 Chalice of the VoidSideboard (14)
1 Banisher Priest
1 Beloved Chaplain
4 Containment Priest
4 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
1 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
3 Cavern of Souls
4 Ancient Tomb
2 City of Traitors
2 Karakas
Creatures (23)
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
3 Blade Splicer
3 Gisela, the Broken Blade
3 Lyra Dawnbringer
3 Restoration Angel
4 Angel of Sanctions
Other Spells (16)
2 Council’s Judgment
4 Chrome Mox
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Suppression Field
2 Board the WeatherlightSideboard (15)
3 Rest in Peace
2 Containment Priest
3 Swords to Plowshares
2 Holy Light
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
2 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?