Zach Koch: First place with Legacy Infect as the SCG Atlanta Classic

Hello everyone! My name is Zachary Koch.

I’m a middle-aged engineer from Huntsville Alabama with a penchant for playing Legacy Infect. I’ve had a handful of what I would term “Respectable” results in my career thus far. Two weeks ago, July 23^rd specifically, I had the pleasure of playing in the StarCityGames Legacy Classic in Atlanta, and even though it has seemed like the Legacy meta may be somewhat hostile to Infect for a while now, I ran back to old faithful. It turns out it was a good decision…

Here’s my decklist, courtesy of TopDecked: https://www.topdecked.me/decks/086f1a3c-854f-4454-8b64-f58467712869 (TopDecked is a great app/resource to find events near you, build and share decklists, and even get automatic mobile pairings at most premier events!)

And here’s a recap of how the each round went:

Round 1 – Bye, So lucky… (1-0)

Round 2 – R/B Reanimator, Jordon Robbins (1-2)

I’ve played against Jordon a number of times and he’s always been on Delver. He fooled me good this time, however. I kept a Hierarch heavy hand and despite his turn-one Chancellor of the Annex reveal into hand disruption, I was able to get a pair of Noble Hierarchs out and top deck a Blighted Agent to steal the game before the resurrected Chancellor could kill me.

Game two, I had my opponent empty handed and dead on board to Noble Hierarch attack + pumps if he misses a reanimate effect, but he found it and Sire of Insanity killed me.

Game 3 I mulligan into a soft hand and get run over. Rough beats. (1-1)

SB: In 2x Surgical Extraction, Grafdigger’s Cage, Spell Pierce, Flusterstorm, Force of Will (FOW); Out – Green Sun’s Zenith (GSZ), Viridian Corrupter, Wasteland, Crop Rotation, 2x Vines of Vastwood

Round 3 – Burn, Mike Styer (2-1)

Game one I steal through an Eidolon of the Great Revel, because my opponent doesn’t have a bolt effect when I combo off on an Inkmoth Nexus (leaving myself at 2).

Game two I get murdered by T1 Grim Lavamancer, T2 Eidolon, T3 Lava Spike + Eidolon…

Game 3 I have the Blue Elemental Blast for his Grim Lavamancer and he dies to a quick double pump kill over two turns (2-1)

SB: in Force of Will, Spell Pierce, Flusterstorm, Blue Elemental Blast, Sylvan Safekeeper, Blossoming Defense; Out – Viridian Corrupter, Wasteland, 2x Gitaxian Probe, 2x Daze

Round 4 – R/B Reanimator, Braden Crocco (2-1)

I knew what my opponent was on this time around, because he played my friend Drake the round before. Game one he has an opener of Chancellor into a Thoughtseize. I lose my only counterspell and he reanimates an Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite on turn two. He never attacks with it unless I’m tapped out, correctly playing around the Berserk I drew. I die.

Games two and three were much different affairs where I had tons of permission, and the only really interesting moment is this: He has 2 land, a Lotus Petal, and a stocked graveyard. I have 2 Tropical Islands and nothing else on board. I draw Brainstorm (BS) and cast it to a hand of Glistener Elf, Hierarch, 2x Daze, Become Immense, Windswept Heath, and Wooded Foothills. I have to put 2 of them back and decide I’m safest hanging onto the two Dazes, Elf, Heath and Become Immense (BI). I play my Heath and the Glistener Elf and have Become Immense and 2xDaze in hand. I can crack the fetch if I need to reset the Hierarch or I can draw it. My opponent rips an Animate Dead and I double Daze it.

I decide I like the math on cracking a fetch for a possible kill this turn (or more counterspells) over the guaranteed  2-turn kill in Hierarch + Pump. I draw force and attack for 1. I decide not to pump because it means a topdeck Berserk isn’t lethal. He draws and passes. I draw Gitaxian Probe, attack for 1 and pass (knowing he’s dead with the Force + Pump unless his draws are exactly Thoughtseize + Reanimate) he draws, passes and dies. Drake thinks my line was incorrect but I’m pretty sure mathematically I was better off looking for my possible other draws of 2x Ponder, 1 Brainstorm, 2x Gitaxian Probe, 4x Invigorate, 2x Berserk, Vines or just a redraw at Hierach.

If anyone thinks otherwise please give me your reasoning because I’m not positive. (3-1)

SB: in 2x Surgical Extraction, Grafdigger’s Cage, Spell Pierce, Flusterstorm, Force; Out – GSZ, Viridian Corrupter, Wasteland, Crop Rotation, 2x Vines of Vastwood

Round 5 – Temur Delver, Nicholas Moss (2-1)

G1 I mull to 4 and die.

G2 I have a very fast hand with multiple counterspells and Blossoming Defense to protect my Blighted Agent.

G3 I keep a slightly slow hand with fetch, ponder, Hierarch, FOW, Spell Pierce, Vines of Vastwod, Blossoming Defense. My opponent opens on Tropical Island into Delver of Secrets. I rip a second Hierarch, fetch and cast my first one. My opponent’s delver didn’t flip (for 3 turns). He draws, plays a fetch attacks for 1 and passes. I draw Inkmoth Nexus, cast second Hierarch and pass to protect from Wasteland.

My opponent draws, makes Nimble Mongoose attacks and passes. I draw Blighted Agent, cast it and pass. My opponent draws, attacks for 2 and casts a 2/3 Tarmogoyf. I draw, Ponder, seeing Become Immense, Invigorate, and land. Keep and draw Invigorate, attack with Blighted Agent for 3 and pass back. Opponent draws, attacks for 4, and casts Rough//Tumble with 2 mana available. I FOW, he FOW’s back, I kick Vines of Vastwood to protect Blighted Agent and let the Noble Hierarchs and Mongoose/Delver die. I untap draw Become Immense and go for it + Invigorate. My opponent dies.

I got super lucky his draws were basically all land. (4-1)

SB: in Spell Pierce, Flusterstorm, Blue Elemental Blast, Sylvan Safekeeper, Blossoming Defense, 2x Submerge, Teferi’s Response; Out – Viridian Corrupter, Wasteland, 2x FOW, Berserk, Glistener Elf, 2x Gitaxian Probe

Round 6 – Burn, Anthony Avotillo (2-0)

G1 I saw Caleb Scherer playing Anthony earlier and knew he was on burn. I mulligan into a Glistener Elf and Tropical, Fetchland, Crop Rotation, Invigorate, and Ponder hand. I scry Inkmoth Nexus to the top. I play Tropical Island into Elf. My opponent plays Goblin Guide, I get my Inkmoth and take two. I draw Daze, attack for 1, play Inkmoth Nexus and pass. Anthony casts Eidolon of the Great Revel and I daze. I draw Vines of Vastwood, play my land and attack for 1. Anthony attempts to Searing Blood my Elf with one land up. I Crop Rotation the Inkmoth into Pendlehaven to save it and kill my opponent with the Invigorate + Vines on the following turn.

G2 is almost exactly the same game except I have a Noble Hierach into Blighted Agent hand that again Crop Rotation saves from a Searing Blood. 3 + 7 from an Invigorate the following turn is game. (5-1)

SB: in FOW, Spell Pierce, Flusterstorm, Blue Elemental Blast, Sylvan Safekeeper, Blossoming Defense; Out – Viridian Corrupter, Wasteland, 2x Gitaxian Probe, 2x Daze

Round 7 – Jund Lands, Zack Dalton (2-1)

G1 I get killed by my slow hand and my opponent T3 naturally makes Marit Lage (thanks to Riftstone Portal and Crop Rotation).

G2 I keep a pump, hierarch, ponder hand with no infectors. I attack him to about 12 before getting an infect guy. I get him to 8 poison with a pump, and then on a lethal attack, he Crop Rotation’s into a Glacial Chasm. He has a Molten Vortex on the board but I’ve Surgical Extraction‘d his Life from the Loams and have a Sylvan Safekeeper, so he naturally draws for 3 turns before his Chasm Expires and I can finish him with the Safekeeper + Hierarch combo.

Side note: Safekeeper is so good sometimes it’s absurd.

G3 my opponent has a better opening, but I have a clutch Blue Elemental Blast on his Molten Vortex and connect with Blighted + 2x Hierarch agent for 3. Next turn I suspect my opponent has a Crop Rotation, and I only have 2 lands. He has been using Life From the Loam to get me with repeat Wasteland. I decide I need him to mess up so I use my fetch to get a Tropical Island and Invigorate + Safekeeper, sacrificing Inkmoth to give the Blighted Agent shroud for a lethal hit. He Crop Rotations into Glacial Chasm. On end step he tries to Wasteland my Tropical Island. I hit him with the Teferi’s Response and draw into FOW + Wasteland He draws naturally looking for a Molten Vortex I think. He whiffs and I Wasteland his Glacial Chasm, pump again, and sac my last land to shroud up for the win. (6-1)

SB: in 2x Surgical Extraction, Blue Elemental Blast, Pithing Needle, Sylvan Safekeeper, Blossoming Defense, Teferi’s Response; Out – 2x FOW (1 on Draw), 3x Daze (2 on Play), Viridian Corrupter, 2x Gitaxian Probe

Round 8 – ID with Evan Nyquist on Turbo Depths (Intentional Draw)

This was a slightly risky decision because if the pair-down player plays and wins his match one of us could have possibly been pushed out of the Top 8. I was ok with that risk because I don’t like my chances against Depths. As it turned out, the pair-down played and lost so it didn’t matter. I am seeded 7th. (6-1-1)

Quarterfinals – ANT, Caleb Scherer (2-0)

I’ve wanted to get to play Caleb for like 2 years, ever since we both top 8’d a previous Atlanta Classic but I died before we could meet.

G1 Caleb keeps a slower hand, Gitaxian Probes me and sees my hand of pumps, Glistener Elf, BS, lands and Daze. Not great, but not something I can throw back. I draw something irrelevant and cast my elf. Caleb plays a fetch and passes. I draw, play a land, decide not to Brainstorm because I’d have hit exactly Berserk to kill and don’t like the odds. I attack for 1 and pass back. He draws, plays a 3rd land and tanks. He cracks his fetch and casts Cabal Ritual without threshold. I brainstorm, finding 2x Vines of Vastwood and Berserk. I put back lands and keep all the pump spells plus Daze. I Daze and he pays. With his 3 mana he Infernal Tutors for a second Duress, then Duress’s me. He sees all the pump and knows he’s dead no matter what he takes. On to game 2.

G2 I have a good hand with Glistener Elf, Blighted Agent, Force, Brainstorm, Flusterstorm and 2x Lands. Caleb plays a land and Ponders, he takes the second card down and puts the top card second. I figure the 3rd card is junk and it’s getting shuffled away. I open on my elf, drawing a 3rd land. Caleb untaps, draws, fetches and Ponders again. This one sucks and he shuffles. Then he Fatal Pushes my Elf. I untap draw a second Blighted Agent and cast it. Caleb untaps, draws, and passes back. I draw Invigorate. Attack for 1, play a third land and pass back. Caleb untaps, Brainstorms, plays a fetch, and casts Duress. I Force the Duress so he won’t know I’ve drawn the Invigorate. I untap and draw a dud. I Brainstorm and find a Become Immense, hierarch, and land. I put the land Hierarch back and Invigorate + Become Immense for the kill. Caleb has another Fatal Push but I Flusterstorm it and he dies.

SB: in FOW, Flusterstorm, Spell Pierce; Out – GSZ, Viridian Corrupter, Wasteland

Semifinals – R/G Lands, Andrew Hampton (Concession)

In the Quarterfinals, one player (who got eliminated) said no to a prize split. In the top 4 we ask again and everyone wants to split. Once it is confirmed, Andrew concedes as he has a 2 hour drive home and needs to get back to his 12-week old puppies that are tearing his house apart – lol.

Finals – Sultai Death’s Shadow, Justin Parnell – G1

I have a slow hand with Inkmoth Nexus and a Tropical Island, 3x Invigorate, Ponder, and Daze. Justin opens on a Watery Grave into Deathrite Shaman (DRS). I’m on the draw and draw Blighted Agent. I cast ponder Turn 1 and find a Hierarch, Vines of Vastwood, and a Fetch. I decide to take the fetch. Justin ponders, fetches, and casts Delver of Secrets. I draw the Hierarch. Play Blighted Agent and it gets FOW’d. Justin flips is Delver, revealing a Daze and attacks for 3. He misses a land drop passes back with mana up. I assume he has a Death’s Shadow and/or permission and some removal. I draw Vines of Vastwood and play my Hierarch.

I animate Inkmoth Nexus attack and trigger Hierarch. Dustin responds with Dismember. I Invigorate, he dazes, I invigorate 2 more times and Dustin takes 6 poison. End of turn, I get hit by DRS. Insectile Abberation crashes in again and I take another 3. I untap, animate Inkmoth Nexus and attack for 2, Dustin messes up the math or gets nervous and jumps the gun on a second Dismember. I use my Vines of Vastwood with Kicker and win. It was definitely wrong to try to kill my Inkmoth in that position and he immediately recognized it, but as he said after the match, he wasn’t going to be the kind of guy to try and do “take backs” in the Finals. Good guy.

G2, I don’t actually remember the specifics of this game super well. I recall an early Delver of Secrets that refused to flip along with a DRS and a Gurmag Angler and a Death’s Shadow, but it seemed like he didn’t have any removal or permission and I basically just killed him at my leisure. Anticlimactic but a win is a win.

SB: in Flusterstorm, Spell Pierce, Blossoming Defense, Sylvan Safekeeper, 2x Submerge; Out – FOW, 2x Daze, Viridian Corruptor, 2x Gitaxian Probe.

Great event and some great Magic.

Legacy is awesome. If you read all this, thanks and feel free to comment or critique. I’m sorry I don’t always have the best details on my matches. I’m kind of “Tom Ross”ish in that I play by gut instinct a lot and forget the specifics. Get down with the Sickness!