Legions/Theme decks

Legions has two monocolored and two bicolored theme decks.

Elvish Rage
Elvish Rage is a green theme deck with a Elf tribal theme.

No spells? No problem! Smash your opponent senseless with your overwhelming horde of Elves. Every card in the "Elvish Rage" deck is either a forest or an Elf, so you'll be putting Elves into play quickly and attacking relentlessly until your opponent is history.

The order in which you play your Elves is important for inflicting maximum carnage. You should play Birchlore Rangers, Elvish Pioneer, and Wirewood Channeler at the first opportunity - the extra mana will help you put your entire army out much faster. Your next priority should be your large attackers, such as Stonewood Invoker and Elvish Warrior, so you can start beating up your opponent. Wirewood Hivemaster is also an excellent early play, because it will add Insect tokens to your attacking force. Taunting Elf delivers a knockout blow by letting all your other creatures get by unblocked.

A few of your Elves - such as Timberwatch Elf and Tribal Forcemage</c> - will pump up your army and dramatically increase the damage your attackers deal. For maximum effect, use their abilities after your opponent decides how to block your deceptively small Elves. Carefully budget the abilities that strengthen your creatures. Make sure to hold them in reserve so you can pump up your Elves to negate damage-dealing spells or punch through early blockers. If you want to boost your Elves even more, consider swapping in some cards like Giant Growth</c> or Elvish Champion</c> from the Seventh Edition set.

"Elvish Rage" has two weaknesses: large defenders that hit the table early (such as Walls) and spells that get rid of more than one creature at a time. If you slap down a lot of your Elves fast, a single Earthquake</c> or Wrath of God</c> from Seventh Edition can really ruin your day. Play only as many Elves as you need to win. You'll have to decide how many you'll need to commit and how many you should hold back.

Be sure to attack aggressively the moment your creatures hit the table. After all, this deck was named "Elvish Rage," not "Elvish Apathy!" With so many angry Elves at your beck and call, your opponent will soon fold. Get out there and fight for the forest!

<d title="Elvish Rage"> Lands 25 Forest

Creatures 1 Birchlore Rangers 1 Bloodline Shaman 3 Defiant Elf 2 Elven Riders 1 Elvish Pathcutter 1 Elvish Pioneer 1 Elvish Scrapper 1 Elvish Soultiller 1 Elvish Warrior 2 Everglove Courier 2 Gempalm Strider 1 Heedless One 3 Patron of the Wild 3 Stonewood Invoker 1 Snarling Undorak 1 Taunting Elf 2 Timberwatch Elf 1 Tribal Forcemage 1 Wellwisher 2 Wirewood Channeler 2 Wirewood Elf 2 Wirewood Hivemaster </d>

The Elvish Rage decklist states that the deck contains a Taunting Elf</c>; however, the physical deck itself contains a Snarling Undorak</c> in its place. Customers may contact Wizards Customer Service for that Taunting Elf if necessary.

Morph Mayhem
Morph Mayhem is a white/blue theme deck with a morph theme.

If you enjoy turning your opponent's brain into a puddle of goo, give the "Morph Mayhem" deck a try. Many morph creatures equals many options-options that no one else will know about until it's too late.

Your goal is simple: keep your opponent guessing. Always play your creatures with morph face down and attack aggressively. Wait until all blocking decisions have been made, and then decide whether or not to flip anything face up. Your success with this deck depends greatly on your bluffing skills, so show no fear during your attacks. Make your opponent afraid to block, and if he or she does, you can flip your morph creatures face up to use their special abilities.

Don't play any spells before your attack because you'll want to have mana available to power your morph abilities during combat. That way, you'll be able to do practically anything instants can do during combat, but with a good beefy creature attached. For example, Wingbeat Warrior</c>'s ability will help you win creature battles while Voidmage Apprentice</c> and Willbender</c> will keep bothersome spells away.

Of course, playing a deck that contains so many 2/2 creatures is tricky. One cheap 2/3 creature, like Elvish Warrior</c> from the Onslaught set, can cause a fatal slowdown. And since many of your morph creatures have fairly high costs, you might get caught flat-footed by a single Harsh Mercy</c> (Onslaught). To provide early support, cheap nonmorph creatures like Glory Seeker</c>, along with cheap morph creatures like Whipcorder</c>, are in the deck.

Some other interesting additions to this deck from the Onslaught set might include Dream Chisel</c>, which will make your morph creatures cheaper, and Backslide</c>, which can reset your tricks. Unlike tap abilities, morph abilities can be played the same turn a creature comes into play, so plan accordingly. Play your cards right, and your opponents won't know what hit them - literally!

<d title="Morph Mayhem"> Lands 11 Island 11 Plains 2 Lonely Sandbar 2 Secluded Steppe

Creatures 2 Ascending Aven 1 Aven Redeemer 1 Chromeshell Crab 1 Daru Mender 1 Daru Lancer 2 Deftblade Elite 2 Echo Tracer 4 Glory Seeker 1 Imagecrafter 1 Ironfist Crusher 1 Liege of the Axe 1 Master of the Veil 1 Mistform Mutant 1 Swooping Talon 2 Voidmage Apprentice 1 Wall of Deceit 1 Weaver of Lies 1 Whipcorder 2 Willbender 2 Wingbeat Warrior

Instants 1 Akroma's Blessing 1 Discombobulate

Enchantments 1 Improvised Armor 2 Pacifism </d>

Sliver Shivers
Sliver Shivers is a green/white/blue theme deck with a Sliver tribal theme.

They're back! It's been a few years, but Slivers make their long-awaited return in the Legions set, complete with some cool new abilities. The "Sliver Shivers" deck isn't the fastest deck on the planet, but what it lacks in speed it makes up for in strategy and great mid-game strength. Almost all of this deck's creatures can splice their abilities onto all your other creatures in play, and in some cases, even onto cards in your hand!

The key to winning with this deck is patience. Stall your opponent in the early game using your <c>Plated Sliver</c>s and <c>Pacifism</c>s so you can survive to the mid-game, when you can drop a <c>Shifting Sliver</c> and outrace your foe to victory. Racing with either <c>Essence Sliver</c> or <c>Brood Sliver</c> is especially attractive, because you'll gain life or extra Slivers each time you attack.

Don't be afraid to hold back on playing Slivers during your main phase if you have <c>Quick Sliver</c> in play. You can always wait until your opponent's combat phase if you need a blocker, or until his or her end step if you don't. This deprives your opponent of some information during his or her turn, and can really swing a game if you play a few creatures he or she wasn't expecting.

It can be really tempting to play every Sliver you draw. Sometimes that's the right move, but always be mindful of mass-destruction spells like <c>Wrath of God</c> from the Seventh Edition set. As a general strategy, consider not playing a duplicate of a Sliver that you already have in play. That way you'll be less likely to overextend yourself.

This deck's main weakness is mana. It runs on three colors, and there aren't many ways available to change colors if you're missing one. You might try swapping out some of the basic lands in favor of pain lands, like the Seventh Edition card <c>Brushland</c>, or fetch lands, like the Onslaught card <c>Flooded Strand</c>. <c>Rampant Growth</c> and <c>Birds of Paradise</c> (Seventh Edition) are also options.

Customizing this deck is very easy because there are many other Slivers available to choose from. The Legions set also includes red and black Slivers, and for you nostalgic folks out there, head down to your local store and check out the Tempest and Stronghold sets for the originals. You need diversity to win, and Slivers have diversity to abundance.

<d title="Sliver Shivers"> Lands 7 Forest 5 Island 9 Plains 2 Lonely Sandbar 4 Secluded Steppe

Creatures 1 Brood Sliver 1 Essence Sliver 3 Mistform Dreamer 4 Plated Sliver 4 Quick Sliver 1 Root Sliver 3 Shifting Sliver 3 Ward Sliver

Instants 2 Akroma's Blessing 2 Mage's Guile 2 Tribal Unity

Sorceries 2 Explosive Vegetation

Enchantments 1 Crown of Vigor 4 Pacifism </d>

Zombies Unleashed
Zombies Unleashed is a black theme deck with a Zombie tribal theme.

The "Zombies Unleashed" deck draws on the power of the grave to send your opponents to theirs. Every card in this deck is a Zombie, a card that helps Zombies, or a card that needs Zombies to function. Together they create a lethal synergy.

"Zombies Unleashed" has different yet equally effective strategies for the early and late stages of a game. Early on, cheap creatures like <c>Festering Goblin</c> and <c>Withered Wretch</c> will decrease your opponent's life total quickly and steadily. Later, once both players have built up defenses, Zombies like <c>Skinthinner</c> and <c>Corpse Harvester</c> step into the spotlight. They allow you to get more cards and take out your opponent's creatures, clearing the way for your larger army. <c>Infernal Caretaker</c> restocks your Zombies quickly, and <c>Gempalm Polluter</c> can deliver a knockout blow even through an army of blockers. Both <c>Soulless One</c> and <c>Ghastly Remains</c> can become huge attackers thanks to the massive number of Zombies in the deck. They can often take out your opponent in just a couple of attacks.

Even with a bunch of cheap Zombies, however, you might still have some problems in the early game because most of the deck's creatures cost three or more mana. Play defensively until your big bruisers come up. <c>Boneknitter</c> is key on defense, as it can regenerate the vast majority of your creatures. Don't worry about losing some creatures - <c>Infernal Caretaker</c> and <c>Cruel Revival</c> will allow you to get them back again. Save your creature destruction for troublesome fliers you can't block.

When modifying this deck, try to find some other cards that interact well with Zombies to replace your more expensive ones. The Onslaught set includes many possibilities, such as <c>Unholy Grotto</c>, but you can also look to older sets for help. The Planeshift set's <c>Lord of the Undead</c> is an excellent Zombie helper, and <c>Carrion Wurm</c> from Torment has a very low cost for its huge size. Another possibility is to just add more of the same. For example, if Festering Goblin is working really well for you, swap in a few more.

As you improve the deck, you'll improve the certainty of your victories. Soon the entire world will drown under the unstoppable tide of your undead minions. Long live the dead!

<d title="Zombies Unleashed"> Lands 23 Swamp 2 Barren Moor

Creatures 1 Aphetto Exterminator 1 Boneknitter 2 Corpse Harvester 2 Deathmark Prelate 2 Dripping Dead 2 Embalmed Brawler 1 Festering Goblin 2 Frightshroud Courier 2 Gempalm Polluter 1 Ghastly Remains 1 Graveborn Muse 2 Infernal Caretaker 1 Noxious Ghoul 2 Shepherd of Rot 4 Skinthinner 3 Smokespew Invoker 1 Soulless One 2 Withered Wretch

Instants 1 Cruel Revival 1 Feeding Frenzy

Sorceries 1 Dirge of Dread </d>