Forcing the Will: Zoo

Welcome all to another edition of Forcing the Will. Today I will be covering Legacy card prices, the Legacy metagame, and some insight on the deck known as Zoo. Let’s begin by looking at some Legacy card prices this week.

Legacy Price Watch

This week we are seeing a slight increase in Legacy cards mostly because this month’s MOCS (Magic Online Championship Series) format is Legacy. Also the price of Urza’s Legacy cards have gone up slightly. Grim Monolith jumped from 17 tix to 20 tix this last week. Like I stated in my previous article it would be a wise decision to pick up your copies especially if the price of Monolith keeps going higher.

Stifle has made a jump from about the 5 tix range to the 8 tix. I expect this card to be going up right before the MOCS since stifle is ran in Landstill, Stiflenought, Mosswort, Show and Tell, New Horzion, and a variety of other decks. Stifle can stop Ad Nauseam dead in its tracks as well as cause an opponent to falter on their mana when using a fetchland. It can also help protect you from an opponent’s wastelands and any other cards that has activated abilities such as Qasali Pridemage. Pick up your copies now since Stifle is selling out everywhere.

Force of Will has increased slightly this is due to the fact that all the extra Forces that were put into the system during the ME123 Nix Tix events are starting to dissipate into players/traders accounts. If you aren’t planning on using Force of Will anytime soon then you can wait till the ME123 Nix Tix events in August when the price of Force will drop once more.

A surprising raise in price came in the form of Aluren this week. Aluren was sitting pretty at a measly 4 tix then on Sunday an Aluren deck showed up in the Legacy Premier Event as well as 2 4-0 records in the Legacy Daily event on the same day. Overnight Aluren jumped from 4 tix to 7 tix. In my opinion the Aluren combo that abuses Cavern Harpy and Parasitic Strix among a large other number of creatures that cost 3 or less is not the best Combo in the format, but nevertheless the deck did take the top spots 3 times in a single day. The reason why Aluren does so well is that Zoo really struggles against the combo, and we all know Zoo is the most played deck in Legacy right now. My suggestion would to pick Aluren up now while it’s still relatively cheap, and before more players start playing this combo more and more in Legacy Events.

Another card that can be found in Aluren decks has gone up in price over the last few weeks as well. Intuition jumped from 6 tix to 21 tix, and I contribute this jump to the fact that people are buying this card for use in the MOCS. Intuition has seen play in many ducks such as Aluren, Lands, Loam, and many other decks that utilize Blue and want a cheap tutor card. Intuition is sold out in most places so if you’re going to need this card try to find some ASAP or wait until we get some TSE nix tix events.

Pernicious Deed jumped from around 24 tix to about 31 tix. This is no doubt to the cards presence in the Landstill decks, and is a great way to deal with Aggro/Dredge/Thopter decks. I expect Deed to continue to rise until after this month’s MOCS. Deed is one of those cards you always keep 4 of, but if you’re not going to use them this month wait till after the MOCS.

Our old friend Orims Chant will be dropping rather hard in the weeks to come. Last month Chant was given out as the MOCS Promo card, and the promo currently sells for around 17 tix. While the Planeshift version is still listed as 32 tix, and I expect the price to drop down lower to mirror the Promo’s price. If you haven’t picked up your set 15-17 tix is not a bad investment for this card, but the only problem with Chant is that it doesn’t see much play anymore. Chant was great back in EXT when we had Scepter/Chant decks, but in Legacy there isn’t much of that. I would suggest picking up your set as cheap as you can, and sit on them until they are needed.

One last card is Jace, the Mind Sculptor who dropped from around 95 tix to 80 tix this week. Jace is a huge staple in every single format, but Jace hasn’t been seeing as much play in the Standard Top 8s, causing the card to drop. I’m not certain how far Jace will fall, but this could be the time to get Jace or wait until Jace rotates from Standard.

Moving along let’s take a look at the decks that have been winning the Legacy events since my last article!

Legacy Metagame

6/24/2010 (Event #1350922)

4-0 Ad Nauseam Storm (ANT)

4-0 New Horizon

3-1 Ad Nauseam Storm (ANT)

3-1 Mono Blue Control

3-1 Zoo

3-1 Survival Bant

3-1 Rb Goblins

6/25/2010 (Event #1350905)

4-0 Ad Nauseam Storm (ANT)

4-0 Survival Bant

3-1 Rb Goblins

3-1 Zoo

3-1 UGr Thresh

3-1 Dredge

3-1 UBgw Landstill

3-1 Zoo

6/26/2010 (Event #1358128)

4-0 Belcher (0 Lands)

4-0 UBgw Landstill

3-1 Ub Merfolk

3-1 Reanimator (Variant)

3-1 Zoo

3-1 UGr Thresh

6/28/2010 (Event #1358131)

4-0 Dredge

4-0 Red Deck Wins (RDW)

3-1 New Horizon

3-1 Dragon Stompy

3-1 UGr Thresh

3-1 Zoo

3-1 UBgw Landstill

6/29/2010 (Event #1358134)

4-0 UGr Thresh

4-0 Zoo

3-1 High Tide

3-1 UBgw Landstill

3-1 Dredge

3-1 UBgw Landstill

3-1 Mono-White Stax

3-1 Rb Goblins

3-1 Dredge

3-1 Merfolk

6/30/2010 (Event #1358135)

4-0 Dredge

3-1 Countertop/Thopter

3-1 Survival Bant

3-1 New Horizon

3-1 Zoo

3-1 UBg Landstill

3-1 Countertop/Thopter

7/1/2010 (Event #1373703)

4-0 UBg Landstill

4-0 Death and Taxes (DnT)

3-1 Dredge

3-1 Zoo

3-1 Astral Slide

3-1 Survival Bant

7/1/2010 (Event #1373717)

4-0 UBgw Landstill

4-0 New Horizon

3-1 Mono-White Stax

3-1 Zoo

3-1 Deadguy Ale

3-1 Enchantress

3-1 Merfolk

3-1 Death and Taxes (DnT)

7/3/2010 (Event #1373725)

4-0 Death and Taxes (DnT)

4-0 Show and Tell

3-1 Astral Slide

3-1 Zoo

3-1 Zoo

3-1 UBgw Landstill

3-1 Death and Taxes (DnT)

3-1 New Horizon

3-1 UBg Landstill

3-1 UBgw Landstill

7/3/2010 (Event #1373742)

4-0 Show and Tell

3-1 Survival Bant

3-1 Dredge

3-1 Belcher (0 Lands)

3-1 New Horizon

3-1 Zoo

3-1 Zoo

3-1 Zoo

3-1 Deadguy Ale

7/4/2010 (Event #1373746)

4-0 Zoo

4-0 Belcher (0 Lands)

3-1 Show and Tell

3-1 Zoo

3-1 Show and Tell

3-1 Zoo

3-1 Survival Bant

7/5/2010 (Event #1373764)

4-0 UBg Landstill

3-1 Countertop/Thopter

3-1 Show and Tell

3-1 Countertop/Thopter

3-1 Merfolk

3-1 UBgw Landstill

3-1 Zoo

3-1 Zoo

3-1 High Tide

Top winning Legacy Decks

Deck	Wins	Percentage of Wins
1. Zoo	19	20.65%
2. Landstill	13	14.13%
3. Dredge	7	7.61%
4. New Horizon	6	6.65%
5. Survival Bant	6	6.65%
6. Death and Taxes (DnT)	4	4.35%
7. Merfolk	4	4.35%
8. Thresh	4	4.35%
9. Ad Nauseam Storm (ANT)	3	3.26%
10. Belcher	3	3.26%
11. Countertop/Thopter	3	3.26%
12. Goblins	3	3.26%
13. Astral Slide	2	2.17%
14. Deadguy Ale	2	2.17%
15. High Tide	2	2.17%
16. Stax	2	2.17%
17. Dragon Stompy	1	1.09%
18. Enchantress	1	1.09%
19. Mono Blue Control	1	1.09%
20. Reanimator	1	1.09%
21. Red Deck Wins (RDW)	1	1.09%
Total Decks:	92

Look at that folks Zoo is still holding the number 1 spot for the 6th week in a row at almost the same winning percentage each time! This should be expected seeing as Zoo is the most played deck in the format. I have been facing Zoo over and over and over again in the Legacy events I have been playing. Zoo isn’t going anywhere anytime soon so make sure you have plenty of practice facing the deck in preparation for your next Legacy event. I for one hope we see a fall in Zoo decks and replace them with a few Aluren decks.

Landstill has gained a lot of moment these last two weeks going from the number 8 spot to the number 2 spot. I have already gone over Landstill in great detail and that article can be found here. Landstill is an extremely powerful deck, and there are many versions of the deck running around. Make sure you practice against the UBg and UBgw versions of Landstill for your Legacy events seeing as they are the most commonly played versions.

Coming in at 3rd is Dredge surprisingly! I didn’t expect to see Dredge in the Top 3 spot especially with so much graveyard hate in the format. The reason I think Dredge is performing so well is that it has been under the radar for the past month or so, and players are not boarding as much Dredge hate as before. In addition Dredge is also a cheap Legacy deck and great for new players trying to break into the format. Fallowing the Top 3 we have our usual list of Control/Aggro/Combo decks. Expect to see these decks shifting spots from week to week, and always be prepared to face them. Now it’s time to take a plunge into the deck known as Zoo!

Zoo

Zoo is a deck that’s been around for years, and for good reason. When I first got into Magic Zoo was the deck I was playing, and at the time I had no idea about deck archetypes or strategy I just simply liked to smash my opponents face in with my hoard of creatures. The idea behind the Zoo deck is rather simple. Lay down as many small costing big power creatures as you can the first few turns, and finish off your opponents with a couple of burn spells. Most players believe Zoo is a simple straightforward deck, and while the objective may be straightforward there is in fact a lot of strategy involved while piloting a Zoo deck. There are many instances where a player must choose to take 4 damage from Sylvan Library in order to beat their opponents, or to burn an opponent’s creature or send the burn straight at an opponent’s face.

Sideboarding is one of the most challenging aspects of Zoo, for one must predict what they will be facing in the tournament as well as which cards are optimal to board in against certain opponents. All these factors contribute in creating a successful Zoo pilot, and with repetition and practice you too can become a successful Zoo player. Let’s take a look at a few examples of Zoo decks that have been successful on the online Legacy Meta.

First up we have the fastest version of the Zoo deck:

What makes this version so much faster than the others is the use of Goblin Guide. This Goblin has enabled the deck to effectively attack for 2 damage on Turn 1 and follow up the rest of the game if unmolested. The only downside is that it can provide your opponent with a land effectively giving them a free card draw over and over. This version of the deck is one of the better builds in my opinion, but I chose not to run it due to the amount of Landstill and New Horizon decks being ran in the format. Another important part of this deck is Price of Progress which is effective against all decks that run nonbasic lands including Zoo. I tried to play with this version, but I often found myself with Price in my hand as a dead card since it would kill me if I casted it. Faerie Macabre is a card used against graveyard strategies such as Dredge, Loam, Reanimator, and even Academy Ruins. Volcanic Fallout is useful against other Zoo decks, Countertop/Thopter, or as a way to get that last 2 damage in against an opponent running counters. I will cover the rest of the cards in my video so let’s now take a look at another Zoo deck.

This next version uses more White spells than any of the other builds:

We have a slightly slower version of Zoo here, but the deck can still have a nasty Turn 2 with the use of Steppe Lynx. For example we can cast Lynx on Turn 1 and on Turn 2 we can lay down a fetchland and put another land into playing effectively dealing 4 damage to our opponent. This has the same effect as Goblin Guide without the opponent having a chance to draw any cards. The only downside is that Lynx becomes a 0/1 when there are no lands put into play on your turn, but late game Lynx is a great partner with Knight of the Reliquary. The deck also runs Loam Lion which is White’s version of Kird Ape. I have also seen other versions of this Zoo build that run Lightning Helix as a way to deal extra damage and gain some important life. I find Helix is a great tool when facing other Zoo decks, and if I were to do this event again I would add Helix to my maindeck. For the Sideboard we have Leyline of the Void which is one of the best cards against graveyard decks, but the problem with Leyline is that in this build if you don’t have it in your opening hand the card becomes completely useless as there is no way to hard cast it. Pyrostatic Pillar is a useful tool against almost all Legacy decks as most spells in the format cost 3 mana or less. Pillar helps aid Zoo along in dealing extra damage and is best used when facing decks like Ad Nauseam Storm (ANT). Pillar can even help race against other Zoo decks if you played first allowing you to lay down more creatures then adding Pillar to the board to force your opponent take extra damage. The last sideboard card we’re going to cover is Ranger of Eos. Ranger is a MVP late game especially against the mirror as it not only gives you a beater but allows you to tutor up 2 other 1 drops. Dropping 2 Wild Nacatl is a huge boost giving you a total of 9 power on your side of the board with Ranger giving you a huge swing in momentum. Ranger can also be used when facing decks with board sweepers as a way to refill your hand after your army of face smashers are destroyed.

Next we have a the version of the Zoo deck I chose to play:

I will cover this deck in the video below as well as provide videos from a Legacy daily event. I am by no means a great Zoo deck pilot, and in fact it’s one of the decks I struggle within the Legacy format. Enough of me rambling on let’s get into some of those videos now!

ZOO DECKTECH

LEGACY DAILY EVENT ROUND 1

I believe I played this match the best I could, but if you see any mistakes please let me know so I may correct them and point them out to my viewers.

LEGACY DAILY EVENT ROUND 2

I made a few mistakes this game, but I cover those in the video since this round was a replay due to a recording problem. As always, feel free to comment and point out any mistakes you see.

LEGACY DAILY EVENT ROUND 3

When I boarded in for Game 2 I should have added my 2 Krosan Grip looking back this was a huge mistake on my part. Other than that I believed I did my best against this deck.

LEGACY DAILY EVENT ROUND 4

I believe I played this match the best I could, but if you see any mistakes please let me know so I may correct them and point them out to my viewers.

Well there you have it I went 2-2 in a Legacy daily with my version of Zoo, and one of our wins was essentially against a horrible Lorwyn Tribal block deck. This doesn’t say a lot for me as a Zoo player, but if you are interested in running Zoo don’t let my videos scare you off give it a try! Who knows you may end up being very successful with the deck, and may even become a Zoo master yourself. If I were to do this Legacy event again I would run a slightly faster build of Zoo and include Price of Progress as well as Lightning Helix.

That’s all the time I have for his week. I hope you found this article insightful and useful in some way. As always please leave any comments, questions, or requests you have good or bad, and I will do my best to respond to them. Thanks for reading and watching my videos! Until next time may the Force of Will be with you!

KillerOwen